Scene: First Communion Book Nook

This has certainly been certainly a challenge!

Remember my coworker who had a baby girl, and I made a little scene for?  Well, she was so happy with it that she commissioned one for her goddaughter, who is taking her First Communion next June.

Since it is so difficult (and expensive!) to find empty book nooks, I decided to make one from scratch with foam board.  That way I could make it to the measurements I needed.  

For starters, I decided on the base side (15 x 12 cm), and continued from there:

I cut the base, and then the walls, to adjust them to it,  It was easy, as the foam board cuts very well with a cutter.  Next step, to cover the walls and floor with wallpaper (my favorite part!).  Sure enough, they come from Pixelmarket's shop:

I chose an elegant French wallpaper with wainscott...

...and a French parquet that I already had.

Next step, to glue the walls and floor together.  I used regular white glue and it worked very well.  For the ceiling, I used a wood carved ceiling that I already had.  The decoration was very easy and fast:

The final scene

A lovely tiered flower cake, a cross, a chalice, a little tray with Holy Bread, a Bible with a metal cross and a crucifix on a chain.

I made the bunting with the girl's name

All the metal pieces (expect the silver cross) come from Bindels Ornaments

And of course, gift boxes for the honoree!

The table is just a round table that I painted white and covered with fabric paper that I printed at home.  For the outside, I bought a bunch of First Communion papers:

You can see that the outside rose paper is the same as the tablecloth.  I was very happy how it turned out, and my coworker loved it too.  

I myself have learnt a lot while making it, and I am on my way to making another one, this time with a beach wedding theme! ♥♥

A new chest finished

Remember when I made that vampire hunting chest kit?  Well, one was not enough, so I had to make another.  Bigger and better!

I bought a Dragonfly trunk kit a long time ago.  It was supposed to be something like this:

Stock photo

 

But it turned out to be very small for what I wanted to do with it; after all, it was supposed to be a doll trunk, so I turned it into another vampire hunting chest:

It was a project that I had postponed for a very long time.  I am happy to have finally finished it.  Here are some pics of the making process.

This is the new, opened kit:

 

I started by assembling the two boxes that would make the main body of the trunk, and then staining them with brown ink:

After that, I covered the inside with red velvet paper:

Then I assembled the drawers, stained them, covered the inside and put them in place:

Then I started getting together what was going to be put inside.  I chose a cross and a couple of candles for one of the trunk sides, and a hand mirror, a bible and wooden stakes for the other:

 

Next, to cover the outside with a faux leather finish.  A black faux leather was included with the set, but it was 1 mm too short to use (a pity, I really liked it!), so I used the same faux snake skin I used in the folders for the maps cabinet:

And then I put the gold embelishments: hinges, corners, locks, handle and the keyhole.  Everything is from Bindels Ornaments, except the locks:

 

 I absolutely love the locks!  They even have a mobile part that latches into the other piece.  I got them in one of Tom Bishop's shows.  And then I put some extra stuff in the drawers.  A necklace with a cross, and a bottle of holy water.  The mallet I made from polymer clay a long time ago for the other chest, but it looks way better in this one:

And voilà!

 I hope you like it as much as I do :)

More haberdashery pieces

I just can't get enough!

I think that these two are, as of now, my favorites (along with the measuring tape display!):  two cute thimbles displays!

I also made two individual cards with thimbles

The thimbles are pieces from Bindels Ornaments.  They look gorgeous and so authentic-looking on the displays!

The collection is growing...

 More soon!

Table for the museum, and some new pieces

Yay, it's done!

It only took one afternoon of work, but I am happy with the final result.  This was a serving table that I purchased from Beautifully Handmade, and that I wanted to incorporate to Kassandra's museum.  The drawers did not have holes for me to put on the pullers, so I had to do them myself.  Good thing that my husband had the right tool for me to do it!

I simply stained it with Scalecolor Inktense Chestnut ink, and let it dry.  Then, I added the handlers, which are, of course, pieces from Bindels Ornaments.

And vòila!

The lower shelf has a bit of uneven color, but it was hell trying to stain the little rail between the boards!  I had to use a double 0 brush, and even so, ink got everywhere.  But alas, I am guessing most of the shelf will be covered by artifacts, so I do not think it will matter in the end.  Here are already some pieces decorating the table:

You can see here the sides of the Egyptian jewelry box.  The round box is supposed to have lapislazuli inlays.

Also, here are some religious artifacts, made with Bindels pieces as well:

Today I put a huge order with them, hoping I can recieve it for next weekend, which will be four days long!  I cannot wait to start crafting with them,  I have plenty to do!

New minis for the museum

Happy Day of the Dead, and belated Halloween!

Nothing like a free day to craft and enjoy minis.  Today I was busy with some pieces from Bindels Ornaments.  I made two sets of vanity tray, one for me and one for my mom:

Marijke shows you how to do the lovely box in this video.  And you can see how to make the rest of the pieces here.

I wanted to include this tray in the soap shop, in the Black and White shelf.  I think now the shelf is finally finished:

And I made another box for the museum scene.  This one is a piece recovered from an Egyptian site, with lapis lazuli inlays:

I am still waiting for the furniture to arrive, but in the meantime, I can share this lovely fossil from the hands of Val Harper, owner of Unique Miniatures:

See the box with the triceratops head?

Triceratops have always been my favorite dinosaur!  I was very lucky to snatch this piece!  I am currently working on more pieces for the museum.  Very soon Kassandra will have lots of tales to tell you about the new "acquisitions"...