Sailboat and starfish planter

The inspiration pieces for these two tiny accessories I’ve just made were found from links on Completely Coastal. If you love anything beachy, that is the place to go!

The first is a 1:12 scale replica of a driftwood sailboat made from scraps from my wood bin. The fabric is a ticking stripe pattern that I had attempted to recreate by printing on fabric, but my scale was too large for what I envisioned so I didn’t end up using it. But, for this project, I thought it fit wonderfully.

I first saw this on The Lettered Cottage, and the real life size one is from White Flower Farmhouse.

The other item was inspired by a starfish planter I also saw on The Lettered Cottage (see more on the original here) made from a vintage cricket cage. I made mine out of 1/32″ thick bass wood, wire mesh and a ceramic planter from Manor House Minis. My cage measures 3/4″ square. That’s an actual tiny starfish from Marco Island Shells. I chose to leave the starfish unpainted to preserve its natural beauty.

I love the creativity of the original.

Categories: Baxter Pointe Villa, Miniatures
June 20, 2011 | 0 comments

Is it drafty in here?

I love how the front door turned out! I primed the whole assembly with white acrylic and then painted the front of the door with Robin’s Egg Blue from Jo-Ann Craft Essentials (left over from the mirror in the Newport hallway). The interior I left white.

But something seemed off to me…then I noticed the gaps all around the door.

To fix this problem, I cut strips of 1/16″ x 3/32″ bass wood to create an inner frame.

Could I have noticed this before I had the whole thing painted and sealed? No, that would have interfered with my master plan to do things the hard way. :D

I painted the inner frame white to match the rest of the door frame. Ah, much better…

For the record, this door was a bit damaged and rough when I bought it…but I didn’t repair it past sanding a bit. I wanted it to look weathered but in reasonably good shape as though it gets a fair amount of wear but the homeowners try to keep up with the painting. :]

Categories: Miniatures
May 21, 2011 | 0 comments

Dollhouse miniature ice cubes

There are so many creative people out there who are incredibly generous to share their ideas on homemade and often inexpensive minis. The first time I saw mini ice cubes made from suction cups on My Small Obsession, I was amazed at how realistic they looked.

So, I went to the dollar store and bought a pack of suction cups. I cut them into strips and then into tiny cubes. I didn’t measure or try to make them perfect. In fact, I used all but the thinnest edge of the cups and tried to vary the size and shape. I wanted them to look like full cubes, broken cubes and shards. This is the amount of ice two 1 5/8″ diameter suction cups made.

The ones I bought were a bit bluish in tone, and my ice cubes also turned out to be on the blue side. I worried that this might detract from their realism until I added a couple of mini beer bottles to a tub full of them. :D I think they look wonderful!

Categories: Miniatures
April 12, 2011 | 0 comments

Vintage crochet throw blanket

I am ever in awe of those who can crochet in miniature. I have the patience for needlework, but I don’t think I could wrap my mind around using sewing thread as yarn with a tiny crochet hook well enough to produce anything close to resembling the works of art Mary of Roslyn Treasures makes.

After admiring her work for close to a year, I bought myself an early Christmas present…one of her fabulous miniature crochet blankets, just like the ones my grandma and great grandma used to make (mom still has one of the life sized ones).

Mary does flawless work. Magnified, the stitches are indiscernible from a real life sized blanket.

And, her creations drape so realistically.

Categories: Miniatures
December 14, 2010 | 0 comments

Café shutters

This tutorial ran in the September 2010 Greenleaf Gazette. :D For those who missed it, here it is in its entirety.

For the master bathroom, the need for privacy while bathing was a must. In order to stick with the clean lines of the room so far, I decided to make some café shutters for the bottom halves of the windows.

I started with half scale window shutters from Houseworks. Each one measures approximately 1/2″ x 2 1/2″. Four of them lined up side by side are just about the right fit for the standard windows of the Newport. If you wanted the look of café shutters without the work of putting the hinges on them, you could paint them, glue them together along the edges and glue them as a single piece to the window frame.

I painted the shutters white, including the plain (non-louvered) backs. Once dry, I sanded them before putting on a second coat.

In order to make the shutters functional, I used eight very tiny hinges per window; they each measure 3/16″ square when open. They have incredibly tiny nails as well. I recommend working in an area where you won’t easily misplace them (spoken from experience). Cats get very curious about you when you are scrounging on the floor on all fours, but they are not much help. I did find the wayward nail, by the way…all four times!

Lining up two shutters with the louvers going the same direction, I marked the hinge placement 1/2″ from each end.

I used a tiny hand drill to make shallow pilot holes.

I cut out an indentation in the sides to allow for a recessed fit for each hinge, otherwise there would be gaps between the shutters and they would no longer fit the window width correctly.

Holding the two shutters side by side and aligned top to bottom (plain backs together, with louvers on the fronts going the same direction), I copied the indentations and nail placement onto the second shutter.

After putting a tiny dab of clear gel glue on each nail and inside the indentation, I pressed the nails into place using tweezers. Be careful not to mar the opposite side by squeezing too hard or at the wrong angle (also spoken from experience). But, that’s what spackle is for!

Attaching the hinges takes time and a lot of patience. I attached the first set of two shutters in one long sitting and then came back to the project the following night. Remarkably, it took considerably less time and effort for the second set. When doing the second set, make sure the louvers are going in the same direction as your first set.

After the hinges were in place on both sets, I touched up any imperfections in the finish. I finished the bathroom window inside and out. Your window may or may not need to be installed before attaching the shutters, depending on your structure. In my case, I was able to work on the window while separate from the house.

Next, the two outer hinges were attached using the same process as the inner hinges: pilot holes were drilled, notches were cut out, small dabs of glue were put on the nails and the nails were pressed in place.

I placed the hinged shutter assembly on the window with the non-hinged side lined up with the center of the window and the top edges of the shutters flush with the board across the middle of the window. If your window doesn’t have this feature, you may need to add one for stability.

I marked the nail holes for the hinges on the side pane. I drilled pilot holes for the nails and cut out a thin indentation to allow for better movement of the hinge.

After putting a tiny dab of glue on the nail, I attached the hinges to the pane using the end of the tweezers to press the nails in.

The assembly should open smoothly. These assemblies need to be treated gently – the hinges are tiny and can be easily bent.

Making sure the louvers of the second set were going the same direction as the first, I attached the outer hinges on the second set. After butting the center edges together, I marked the hinge placement on the pane. To keep the whole assembly from shifting, I pressed in the top and bottom nails first.

For the finishing hardware, I used laser cut brass hooks and eyes from The Ironworks (website appears to be defunct as of 2024). Closures can be fashioned from wire as well.

I bought extra hinges and one of them was bent on arrival – instant extra nails! I used one of those extra hinge nails to attach the hook, leaving a bit of slack so it would turn freely. I had to cut the eye pin short since its length was longer than my shutter thickness. I used the tip of an X-Acto blade to make an incision and then glued the eye in place.

Once the window was installed, I added the interior trim while making sure there would be ample room for the shutters to open and close.

And open…

Categories: Miniatures
October 17, 2010 | 0 comments

Hard wiring table lamps

For the usual light fixtures — wall lights and ceiling lights — the wires are usually easy to hide. Holes are drilled through boards and channels are made to hide the wires.

The same thing can be done with table lamps, but what about the times when there isn’t a piece of furniture to hide where the wire enters the wall? In the guest room, I had just this situation; the table next to the bed had a thin base. I could have pulled the wire behind the bed and hid it there, but where’s the fun in that? :D

So, I decided to make a mock outlet. First, I slipped a white bead onto the lamp wire; this will mimic a plug.

I cut a channel in the wall behind the table to feed the wire up the wall and through the ceiling (eventually, when the ceiling is put on).

I cut a small hole in the wallpaper where I want my outlet to be, making sure it was in line with the wire channel.

I used a small piece of bass wood painted gloss white to mimic the outlet cover. For the “open” outlet, I drew on the outline, indented it a bit with an X-Acto knife and then brushed a bit more paint over the drawing. On the other side, I made a hole to feed the lamp wire through.

I slipped the outlet onto the wire behind the bead and then fed the wire through the hole in the wallpaper.

I determined the length of cord I wanted and taped the wire into the channel in the wall.

I glued the wallpaper in place, glued the outlet in position on the wall and then moved the bead to sit flush against the outlet cover.

Categories: Miniatures, The Newport
September 11, 2010 | 0 comments

Scratch built table lamps

One of the bigger challenges in decorating a dollhouse in a more contemporary style is the limited amount of contemporary lamps and other accessories on the market. There are some modern fixtures, but most are brass or old-fashioned. The table lamp selection can be pretty good, but I wanted to see if I could custom build my own lamps.

I had the bases all figured out just from looking at real life and miniature lamps. Stack beads, feed a wire through, etc. Even making shades from paper seemed simple enough, but it was attaching the shades to the bases that had me scratching my head.

Store bought mini lamps usually have a plastic disk holding the bottom of the lamp shade. I could use acrylic disks, but I would be limited by the pre-cut size of them. Then I happened upon the handmade lamps by M Carmen at Mini Shabby. She had used a jewelry finding to hold her shade in place, and it looked like a great idea! I left her a comment on her blog, and she was kind enough to send me the information on where she found them.

The site was Bindels Ornaments, and let me tell you, they have great items and ideas! They sell components and kits for lights and accessories in small scale. They even have pages showing you how they built bottles, lights, trays and candlesticks from jewelry findings. I bought both the three-prong and four-prong findings, but I found the four-prong worked best for this particular project.

I started with a wood bead base, three copper colored beads, a NovaLyte LED and some miscellaneous jewelry findings.

I first glued the three beads together, using a metal rod to keep them lined up as they dried. It’s not very stable, but it kept them from shifting around while working with them.

I glued the stack of three beads to the wood base. Again, the metal rod is only to keep things aligned and not glued inside the beads.

I had cut out a groove in the bottom to let the wire out the back and to keep the lamp bottom flat.

I fed a small black wood bead onto the LED wire and then fed the wire through the bead assembly.

The shade is made from a strip of heavy paper 1″ wide and 4″ long, the ends lapped and glued.

I formed a holder from a fancy head pin and glued it inside the short black bead under the LED.

Unlike how M Carmen made her shade, though, I cut off the four circles on the jewelry finding and used it to support the top of the shade, not the middle. Since the four-prong holder showed when the light was on, I glued a strip of black quilling paper around the top edge of the paper shade.

Here are the two lamps on either side of the master bed.

I love the way they turned out, and the LEDs provide great light not usually seen in miniature lamps.

I didn’t save any money making my own lamps since I used pricier LEDs and had to buy more materials than necessary just for two lamps, but I have unique fixtures in a more contemporary style than what’s available on the market.

Categories: Miniatures, The Newport
August 10, 2010 | 0 comments

Italian shoes and matching handbag

I now own three things from Italy, though I have never been there. First is a Venetian mask I bought online about ten years ago. And, now…these beautiful shoes with a matching handbag from the wonderfully talented Patrizia Santi.  :D  I just love them!

I originally saw the shoes at the Bishop Show in Chicago back in April.  I hesitated about buying them and lost out.  The price was reasonable considering the outstanding workmanship and time involved; I just hadn’t wanted to go overboard with shopping on my first night at the show.  When I went back later, however, the ones I wanted were gone.

After looking at the photo I took at the show over and over, I decided to write to the artist to find out what I had to do to get those shoes! She made a pair for me and (as a complete surprise to me) included a matching handbag. It was so thoughtful of her. I think the shoe box and shopping bag are so awesome, too.  :D

I don’t typically carry handbags in real life, but I would carry this one and I would definitely wear those shoes!  :D

Categories: Miniatures
May 22, 2010 | 0 comments

Rya rugs and clover pitcher

I’ve received a few minis from a two international miniaturists. First, two rya rugs made by the talented Glenda at Peppercorn Minis in New Zealand. They’re so soft and pretty I wish I were mini so I could run my toes through the pile! :D

The second is a tiny pitcher with flowers from the gifted Sylvia at lotjesdollshouse in The Netherlands. I love the color and the clovers!

Categories: Miniatures
April 5, 2010 | 0 comments

Flipping the opening direction of a door

Houseworks has some of the best dollhouse components on the market, and their doors are fabulous in that they are premade and hung in frames. All you have to do is slide them into place. But, sometimes you want the door to open the other direction. As they are currently made, if the premade door is facing you, the door opens in to the right.

Here’s how I flipped one to open in to the left. First, I used masking tape to indicate the “up” direction and sides 1 and 2.

Since you are always keeping the “up” side in the right direction, this will work with other paneled doors where there is an obvious up direction. It’s less important with this type of door where the style is uniform up and down.

I removed the hinge pin on the bottom but left the pin at the top in the door.

I then measured where the original holes were and marked that same measurement on the opposite side. These need to be precise. I then used a pinvise to make the new holes. I slid my drill bit into the original hole to make sure I had the right size before drilling on the opposite side.

I installed the original door with side 2 facing me. The door now opens in to the left. The original holes can be filled or left in case you change your mind again.

Categories: Baslow Ranch, Miniatures
April 2, 2010 | 0 comments

Plant stand and mannequin

While buying supplies from a shop in the UK, I added a plant stand kit by McQueenie Miniatures to my order. It’s a beautiful kit made from mahogany that was very easy to put together. I sealed the wood with satin varnish by Delta Ceramcoat to bring out the grain of the wood.

The hydrangea plant is by Falcon Miniatures. I made the roses and bowl from quilling paper many years ago. The rug is a paper printout of the Piazza rug by Dynamic Rugs.

The other kit came from Hazel Dowd, a different supplier in the UK. The mannequins are sold premade as well, but I bought it unassembled at a lower cost. It was a very easy kit, again with a wood base and cap beautiful enough to varnish without modification.

The wire hanger is by Handley House and the dress is a scrapbooking item by Jolee’s by You. I plan to make some clothing myself but couldn’t pass up this beautiful dress in perfect scale. :D The brass coat rack came from a furniture lot a friend gave to me.

Categories: Furniture, Miniatures
March 13, 2010 | 0 comments

Kitchen sink

The kitchen sink that came with the Euro Mini’s sink cabinet was very shallow and not exactly what I wanted.

The hole in the top of the cabinet for the sink was deep, so there was plenty of room to add a deeper sink. My attempts at making a sink out of polymer clay were lumpy and rather sad. So, I built one out of 1/8″ basswood and balsa.

I first measured and cut the vertical pieces to fit inside the opening in the cabinet. I then glued them onto a thin sheet of balsa using a jig. Before enclosing the box, I used a metal sewing eyelet to punch a hole for a drain.

Once the basic box was dry, I cut the balsa base to fit and drilled a hole in the base cabinet to match up with the drain.

Using 1/4″ half round strip wood, I built a frame for the top of the sink box.

I used a tiny bit of spackling to fill in any gaps between the frame and the box.

I watered down the paint so the finish would dry without any brush marks, sanding in between coats to remove any imperfections that would give away the fact that the sink is wood and not porcelain. Once the paint finish was dry, I added a couple of coats of gloss sealer (Delta Ceramcoat gloss varnish). To get the effect in the bottom of the sink, I let the gloss sealer pool. I also covered it after applying the gloss to keep dust from settling on the finish.

UPDATE (01-12-10)
Alas, the above sink is no more. The gloss varnish cracked and yellowed in the thicker areas when it dried. I had used it on the faux granite without a problem. Thin coats of this varnish work great.

I made a second sink, and this time I used Triple Thick Brilliant Brush-On Gloss Glaze by DecoArt for the finish.

The finish turned out like porcelain again, though the glaze was definitely thick and not easy to use. You have to work fast because it dries so fast. I am pleased with the second sink but disappointed that the varnish I had used ruined the first.

Here the sink is installed in the cabinet with the sewing eyelet drain pressed into place. Crisis averted! :D

Update 02-20-10:
Well, I spoke too soon. The second varnish (Triple Thick Brilliant Brush-On Gloss Glaze by DecoArt) turned yellow, too. There are big letters on the front of the package that read, “Non-Yellowing,” so I don’t know what happened.

I wasn’t going to give up on the second sink without trying to fix it first. I removed it from the cabinet, removed the hardware and gave it two coats of Krylon indoor/outdoor gloss white spray paint. It worked! :D

Categories: Miniatures
January 10, 2010 | 0 comments