Celebrating the first post with a tutorial...

... And it could not be in any other way, it is about miniatures!

My dollhouse began as many others, as a boring Victorian style dollhouse. But after moving to the United States and began my crafting, I decided that the overrated Victorian parlors were not good enough for me. So I decided to transform my common dollhouse into something more uncommon, but very popular these days...

Think about Diagon Alley, and how the houses there could be... A charming exterior, no doubt, but the inside is what gives me the freedom to explore! I am fortunate enough to own a dollhouse with a shop, and no kitchen! "Good", I thought to myself. "Vampires don't need kitchens, anyway..." So you can say that the owner of my house is a charming vampire lady with a magic shop - more fitted to Knockturn Alley than Diagon Alley, if you follow me...

Anyway, this lady is a great admirer of J. R. R. Tolkien - some say that she knew him very closely - and she has just added a Middle Earth map to her bedroom.

The idea of the map came after I purchased some lovely mini-books featuring The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings series and The Silmarillion. Want your own set of books? Try Miniature Bookshelf!

I did a little search and found a beautiful map from a fellow blogger (scroll down to see it):

http://myhobbit-hole.blogspot.com/

A Hobbit Hole is a really neat idea for a dollhouse! Maybe some day...

Here is how you can have your own miniature Middle Earth map:

1- Download the image. Remember, this image has a copyright. You can only do this for personal use, not for selling it in any way!

2- Open your favorite photo-editor program (Adobe Photoshop is great for miniatures!)

3- Change the size of the map to your desired size. Change the pixel size to 300 pixels/inch.

4- Print it in high quality paper.

5- Frame it, hang it directly on the wall of your dollhouse or display it over a table.

The map in the bedroom wall