Display table with snuff boxes

As I mentioned in the previous entry, here is another mini directly from an episode of Downton Abbey:  a Queen Anne table showcasing a collection of snuff boxes.

Here are a couple of stills from the episode in which you can see the table in question, belonging to Lord Grantham:

Lord Grantham in front of the table

Several snuff boxes...

... but one is missing...

You can check out the episode 5 in season 1 to find out what happened to the lost box.  There is also a mention of snuff boxes in the movie Amadeus - a maid mentions that Mozart used to have 7 boxes but now he only has one left.  You can see the maid holding a box, but you cannot see it:

The maid showing the box to Salieri

The history behind snuff boxes is fascinating, so I encourage you to do a bit of reading on them.  

Let me talk about how I made the snuff boxes.  First, I looked for an appropiate table to display them, and found it in the shape of a mahogany Queen Anne table.  It even has a small drawer, but as of now, I have kept the drawer empty:

Picture courtesy of Beautifully Handmade

As always with miniatures, the most difficult part is: how do I make a box so tiny, and how to make it look good too?  The answer is Bindels Ornaments.  I perused their catalogue to see what I could use to make and decorate little boxes.  Do you know they have a workshop to teach you precisely that?  I purchased several kinds of findings, and my imagination took flight!

I made the boxes in several sizes, but mostly two shapes: round and square.  I found out that some snuff boxes had erotic art in them, so I tried and found several paintings that suited the purpose.  I scaled them down, printed them and glued them to the lids of several boxes.  Some others have metallic decorations and gems.  Here is the final collection already in the display table:

The silver box in the second line is actually a powder box from Aderon, made of sterling silver, and it even opens!  The rest are pieces from Bindels.  The painting in the smallest golden box is 6 mm!  I had to use a puncher to cut it.  The rest I cut by hand.

I am so happy with it!  It is already in its final place at Kassandra's parlor:

It's kind of big, but who cares?

Kassandra's big renovation part 1 - Bedroom

Since we have just moved our big house, Kassandra thought it was the perfect moment to have some major renovations in hers.

She asked that I finally put wallpaper in her walls.  I bought the dollhouse already mounted (at the time I did not want to deal with the building up), and it came with a rather dull, standard beige with white flowers wallpaper.  I had been waiting years to find the perfect wallpaper for her, and since she knows I finally found it, she insisted it was time I redecorate the whole building.

To tell the truth, I was very anxious to not make any major mistakes that could ruin the whole appearance, but I found that putting up wallpaper is rather simple and fun, although time consuming.

First of all, I made several visits to Ana to buy different wallpapers sets.  Hers are the best wallpapers I have ever seen.  So different and out of the ordinary.  Really, Halloween papers are fun, but for people with inclinations and tastes like Kassandra's, those simply would not do.  Ana's wallpapers are regal, scrumptious and luscious. 

First, clearing out the space.  With our recent move it was easy, as everything was securely packed.  You can see the awful wallpaper the house had all these years, and the stains caused by the Blue Tack holding the pictures.

For the bedroom, I chose the Red Velvet Panel wallpaper.  It is just perfect.  Fancy that Ana called it the Count Dracula!  First I decided the layout, and modified the images so they would fit my walls height.  Then I took scrap paper and made patterns of the walls.  I printed the images in matte photographic paper and cut them using the patterns as guides.

In this pic, you can see that I made I mistake.  I cut the wallpaper from the top instead of from the bottom, so I lost the pretty golden design.  I had to reprint and cut again.  And then, for the dreaded moment of attaching the paper to the wall.  I knew I had several options, but I finally opted for using double-sided tape.

I was so nervous when glueing it down!  But I think it looks pretty nice.  Then I did the two side walls the same way.

Peeling the double-sided tape before glueing the paper

And the room is completed!  Or so I thought...

I absolutely loved it!  However, upon careful inspection, I noticed that the ceiling had the same terrible beige wallpaper - the rest of the ceilings are just unpainted wood - so I decided that the ceiling had to be wallpapered too.  For that, I wanted to resemble an antique paneled wood, and so I chose this wood panel wallpaper.  As with the other images, I adjusted the design to my measurements, and printed it.  The ceiling now looks imperial!

So gorgeous!

Now, I thought, it is finished!

But then I realized that I had not made the last wall, the one that opens up and closes the room.  Oh, the horror!

No matter, I printed two more sheets of the red panaled wallpaper, and got ready to finished it.  But unluckily for me, the sheets did not cover the whole wall!  They lacked about an inch, so I decided to add a decorative wooden trim at the bottom.  And lo and behold, now it was finished!

Kassandra is delighted with her new bedroom, and I am very happy she likes it!  She says she cannot wait for the rest of the house to be redone.  I understand her eagerness, but I need to buy some more double-sided tape first.  I spent a whole roll (5 meters) to do just the bedroom.

If you want to see all the renovations in the house, just click here.

A miniature Historia Naturalis collection

My boss' husband is an avid collector of rocks, shells and other natural specimens. He is a biologist, and teaches in a high school.  One day hubby and I were invited onto their house, and he showed us some specimens of his collection.  I told my boss that I wanted to make for him a miniature shell collection, but that thought was forgotten for a long time.

Now that we are about to relocate again (it is a long story, and for another post), I am making all the miniatures that I promised people I woud do.  And I made his yesterday evening:

The label says "Found at Virginia Beach. West Atlantic Ocean"

Actually, I bought the shells at a Michael's craft store when I was living in Virginia. In a way they come from Virginia, right?

I brought it today to work to give to my boss so she could give it to him.  She says he is going to be awed, but not as much as their little girl, who is only 6 but already loves dollhouses.  I can't wait for her to tell me about his reaction!

This afternoon I am making a chocolates box for Cris' sister (the same Cris that gifted me the fabulous miniature hat, hat stand and hat box).  Pictures of that tomorrow!

Do you like butterflies?

This beauty arrived yesterday all the way from Italy:

Roberta from MairiTales has a great talent to make terrariums and vivariums.  I found her shop while looking for pots to plant my Echeverias, and her terrariums with succulent plants are some of the prettiest I have seen.  I was amazed too when I saw her creations under a dome; what I love most about them is that you can choose between thinking they are taxidermized, or not.  I always wanted butterflies in my dollhouse, but I did not like the classical frame filled with butterflies that mimics the real ones in which the pretty insects are staked with a pin.  I find those terribly sad.

Naturally, when I took this to my vampire tenant, she was very happy to see they were nocturnal butterflies, and of course they were alive!  She was quick to put them in her study, and said she would take very good care of them.

The poster was included with the vivarium

I am very happy she has new pets to keep her company.

Penny Dreadful Magazines!

I don't know how I did not think about this before!  What better way to capture the gothic literature from Victorian times than penny dreadfuls!

When I searched "Penny Dreadful" the first thing that popped up were links for the famous HBO series.  I wonder how many people actually know that penny dreadfuls were British weekly publications that costed a penny, and that were supposed to be about gory and bloody events.  Probably the most known penny dreadful is "Sweeney Todd, or The String of Pearls".  My first penny dreadful was, obviously, "Varney the Vampire".  Did you know that Varney had more than 500 episodes the first time it was published?  Talk about telenovelas!

As predicted, my lovely tenant asked for some copies for herself.  She is very fond of Varney.  She insists the poor soul is just misunderstood.

In any case, they are available now for sale in my shop, so go take a look and buy some.  If you have a Victorian home they are definitely a must!

Free printable! Dollhouse magazine holders

I have embarked on a new project that requires to organize a lot of magazines.  

My vampire tenant says her stuff needs some order, and asked for some magazine holders.  I suggested she buy some of the pretty designs that are available, but she said that many of them did not match her taste.  She does not like "girly" things such as flower prints or polka dots, and wanted some Steampunk or Victorian holders.

Once again, I had to design them myself, and once again, she was very happy with what I provided.

She also said it was a pity that people were going to miss on the pretty and unusual design, and said that I should share them with my readers.  So, to satisfy my lovely tenant, here are the magazine holders for you to enjoy.

One is blank so you can add you own design if you wish.  Have fun organizing your dollhouse magazines!

New absinthe design up for sale

A new creation for all of you absinthe fans!

This is a new design of absinthe bottle, created after the real absinthe Ridge, made by Joe and Jules Legate, owners of Ridge Distillery. Joe kindly gave me permission to make a miniature of their handcrafted creation - which by the way I recommend wholeheartedly!
The credit for the design of the label goes to no other than Mr. Gwydion Stone himself, absinthe expert, and owner of Marteau Absinthe - you should try that one too! If you are interested at all in absinthe you should visit The Wormwood Society for answers to any question you may have regarding this delicious drink.

New apothecary cabinet up for sale in my shop!
Filled to suit your medicinal needs, with real glass bottles and authentic reproductions of vintage apothecary labels.
Grab it today before somebody else does!

Absinthe Sunday

Not only was I included in a delightful treasury by maxemilia; there is a new Absinthe fountain up for sale at my shop. As of now, I'm out of Absinthe sets, but I have ordered more supplies to make them again. Cheers!

I did it! I made it!

Remember some posts ago, when I talked about the Absinthe fountain that I purchased for my real size house? Contar gave me an idea that I desperately wanted to try: to make an absinthe fountain in miniature.

I spent some days thinking about the design, and today it all came together. Since my fountain is completely made of glass, and I can't blow glass from scratch, I took as inspiration the Bonnecaze and Cie N. 2 fountain:

And voila! The miniature absinthe fountain became a reality:

Can you see it on the table, next to the Absinthe set?

This design is definitely going to be on my shop. I hope I will be listing the first absinthe fountain in miniature in a couple of days. Stay tuned!

A macabre addition...

Have you seen the movie "The Others"? Are you familiar with the Victorian tradition of post-mortem photography? Well, this is the new addition to my mourning line: a box full of post-mortem pics.

I did not know of this tradition, but I was quick on researching it, and I find it fascinating. We see pics as something so natural that we do not consider the money that cost producing a single picture years ago. So much money that families did not spend it in capturing images of the living. After all, they did see their family everyday. But when Death took a loved one, not only they did pictures of the deceased, they posed them as if they were sleeping. I have seen many pictures of parents with their dead babies, and there is a lovely beauty and melancholy to them...

Most of us have Victorian homes, and these pictures were definitely part of them. Maybe a forgotten box could be found in an attic or at the bottom of grandma's trunk...

A new line for Victorian fans!

My mother asked me some time ago to make a pretty mini fan to go with the wedding gown in her mini shop. Obviously it had to be in white, but when I finished, I made one in black and put it for sale in my shop as a mourning fan.

It occurred to me that I could not only sell fans, but a whole line of Victorian mourning displays. Thus, the Victorian Mourning Line was born!

I have designed all the boxes myself with Victorian artwork. They all open, and some of them even have "something" inside!

I will be listing them in my shop in the following days, so stay tuned!

So happy today! Featured in a Treasury!

One of my Apothecary cabinets got featured in a Treasury on Etsy, made by SerenHandCrafts:

A beautiful and dark theme, that is making me consider the "Mad Scientist" theme for my Halloween party...

By the way, there is a new set of medicine boxes up for sale in my shop.

Working on something new

Since I loved so much the idea of Apothecary cabinets, I began to think about other stuff to fill them up, and then it occurred to me that there are other things in Apothecaries and pharmacies, apart from glass bottles - even though they are awesome with their tiny labels!

The idea of making tiny boxes of medicine was obvious with a visit to my bathroom, so I began the search for antique drug labels. And thus, the sets of Apothecary boxes were born!


The first set is already for sale in the Apothecary section of my Etsy shop. The second set will be up in a couple of days. The great thing about them is that you don't need to have a miniature pharmacy to display them. They will fit in any bathroom, drugstore or doctor's office!

By the way, if you like Apothecary labels as much as I do, you will love what Cathe Holden has made to her towels!

More Absinthe crafting

But this time not in miniature. This time in real-life size, and for personal use, no less!

Have you ever crafted soap? It's so much fun, and I love to do it. The down side is that I can not craft soap all the time or my cupboards would be full of bars - although family and friends get their share sometimes, at Christmas or Valentine's Day. I confess that I don't know how to do the cold process method, and that I have enough with the melt and pour system. Yes, I know it's not the same, but it works for me. And I love making, displaying and using my own soaps!

Well, having fall in love with the Absinthe scent, I wanted to craft an Absinthe soap - that is, with anise scent. It was easy to find anise oil on eBay; I bought it from Bulk Oils, and it was an easy transaction with a fast shipping. But I was dying to get one of the Victorian Blossom molds:


Isn't it lovely? I found it some time ago in Southern Soapers; I could not resist more, and bought one. And with some clear soap, lime green dye, my new mold and the anise oil, I made this:


The two white thingies inside are a couple of real sugar cubes! Not only it looks beautiful, every time I enter the bathroom I can smell the anise scent in the air...

The Absinthe Tray is finished!

...and up for sale in my shop!

I love how it came out! I thought the tray was going to be too small to hold everything, but it's perfect.

I have been considering talking with Fake Food Decor (in case you don't know him, he makes the most fabulous and realistic fake food in real life size I have ever seen) and ask him to make one just like this for me. I would love to have an Absinthe display in my living room...

Update on the Apothecary cabinets

The first round of bottles for the apothecary cabinets arrived yesterday!

They are a cute set of mini bottles in the characteristic caramel color of antique jars, and I was happy to see that the labels fitted perfectly. In fact, I was so happy with the result that I decided to make some for myself. Here is a first pic of them in my dollhouse shop:

After I began to craft the first cabinet that was going to be sold in my shop, it was painfully obvious to me that I was not going to be able to part with it, unless I had my own cabinet. So I took my food cabinet, emptied it, and began to think about the new apothecary design. Here is a sneak peak of what I have accomplished today:

The first shelf has the bottles that I normally use for potion jars; the second shelf has the new caramel bottles. All of them have a reproduction of a real vintage apothecary label. The third shelf has a candy jar that my mother sent me; I removed the lid, took out the candy canes and filled it up with tiny polymer clay Aspirin pills. The fourth shelf has a mixing bowl and a glass stirrer; I may end up painting lines on it to make it look like a pipette. Take a closer look:

There are 80 pills inside the jar... and you can see that it appears almost empty. I guess I need to make two times that to fill it up almost completely. Oh goodness!

Still waiting on two more packages with mini bottles to arrive...

Sources of inspiration

Sometimes the Muse can strike from the most strange places...

It had been some time since I wanted to try and make a pharmacy/apothecary/laboratory supplies cabinet.

My husband is a scientist, and I can tell you, a messy table/bench is the last thing you need if you want your work to be successful; dirt can spoil many hours of work if you are dealing with cells, and a glass left in the wrong place can finish in the floor with all your precious DNA inside. So I am not very fond of cluttered furniture, not even when it is in miniature. That's why all my cabinets are so tidy - blame it on the hours that we had to spend in the lab when experiments don't come out OK. I figure that if tidiness is necessary in real scale, more so in the cabinet of a skilled witch or wizard. Think about the protocols that are described in magic books and that you have to follow to the last detail... Anyway, the idea of the mad scientist or Victorian chemist have been going around my head, but I was not sure about how to bring them to reality.

Yesterday I put on a CD that I had not listened to in a long time. It's from Attrition, and it's called "All mine enemys whispers". It is inspired by the story of Mary Ann Cotton, who was sentenced to death in 1873 for killing children with arsenic. Attrition's Martin Bowes is a descendant of the arresting officer, Police Sergeant Tom McCutcheon.

And then the vision stroke me! I saw a dark chemist in London, where this woman went to buy the poison; the unsuspected pharmacist who sold it to her; the neatness of the filled jars in the shelves...

Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary, Alexandria

Right now I am on the hunt for different kinds of glass jars to fill the cabinets, and I am already working on the labels, which will be, of course, reproduction of real vintage pharmacy labels.

I hope to have a new line of apothecary cabinets, parallel to the magic cabinets. Science is as much part of my world as it is fantasy. How contradictory the human race can be... Will you come with me on my journey?

Dollhouse accesories from jewelry findings

I was doing some shopping at Michael's today and found some lovely jewelry findings that may work well in a dollhouse setting.

They belong to the Madame Delphine's collection. I saw some charms small enough that would look lovely on a dresser, as well as mirrors framed with delicate Victorian flowers that could belong on a bedroom or parlor. Here is a link to the collection.

If you have a chance go take a look before they are gone!

Working on my bed...

No, I'm not laying on my bed while working! I am working on dressing my old dollhouse bed while my new Tudor bed arrives. I was inspired by debsminis' beautiful beds, and wanted to try and make my own.

It didn't occur to me to take a picture before beginning the process, but here is a catalog picture of how my bed was dressed when I purchased it - my bed is a different model, though; doesn't have a canopy:

Quite simple and unoriginal, right?

When I began to change the house setting for my vampire tenant, I did not want to spend much time working with fabric, so I simply laid a burgundy velvet bedspread over it and made a couple of throw pillows:

You can see the ivory bedding underneath.

Well, the make-over began yesterday. I chose a burgundy and black theme, to be in sync with the rest of the house. What can I say? My vampire loves those colors! The fabrics of choice were lace, satin and velvet. Luscious and decadent. I'll post pics when it's finished...