A long forgotten project: the Handbook for the Recently Deceased. And free printable!

I watched Beetlejuice when it first came out on cinemas in 1988.  I was a teenager at the time, and I remember vividly how much I felt in sync with Lidia, and how I would have loved to live in the Maitlands' home.  My dad bought me the VHS when it came out; I watched it so many times I could have recited the dialogue by heart.  Later I bought myself the DVD, and kept watching until Beetlejuice Beetlejuice came out last year.  

I was delighted when I saw all the merchandise pop up for the new movie - we did not have such things in the eighties!  I had wanted the Handbook for the Recently Deceased from the first moment.  But it was impossible to find it then.  And later, some replicas appeared, but they were valued in hundreds of dollars that I did not want to spend.  Most of them were blank journals with the original front and back cover, but they cost so much I was put off by the prices.

But I was so lucky that my husband got one for me for Christmas!  It was official merch, and it cost about $20 dollars.  The beloved book from my childhood was finally in my hands!

And that reminded me, that a long time ago, I had bought a printable to make my own Handbook for the Recently Deceased book box.  To do that, I purchased a book shadow box from Tim Holz - I think now it has been discontinued (this was in 2019!).  It looked like this:

 

A regular book box to embelish made of paper mâché

 

The inside little boxes are removable, which was great, because I wanted it to store inside my DVD copy of Beetlejuice.  A kind of personal limited edition, if you may.  But for some reason, even though I started the project anxiously, it got relegated to the back burner.  Well, now it was the time to retake it!

The image I bought to act as the cover was bigger, so it had to be manually adjusted in an image program.  I measured carefully and adjusted it to the precise size needed to cover the box.  I printed it professionally in A3 size.  It only took two tries to make it fit pefectly.  Since the box had been in storage for long, the part that holded the inside boxes came unglued, which was perfect.  It was super easy to just cover the outside with the printing, and it looked great!

So wondefully spooky!

I removed the inside boxes, and I was ready to store all my treasures:

 

If you would like to get the paper props, you can find them on Etsy.  I got mine from Paul Elder Designs, but he no longer offers them.  Instead, you can go to Legendary Tales Edit to get a whole bunch of Beetlejuice curiosities.  And from my part, I am happy to offer you the Take-Your-Turn numbers HERE. *Update*  I also made business cards with the Maitland Hardware shop info.  I hope you like them!

I hope you enjoy having your own Beetlejuice numbers!  Feel free to print as many as you like, and pass the file along to anyone; links back are nice too.  Just please do not sell the file.  Thank you very much, and enjoy! ♥ 

Crafting journals

Long time no writing!

My absence is only due to a lot of crafting.  As many of you know, I am a follower of Vectoria Designs, and of course I have been doing many of the tutorials Tinne posts on YouTube.  The last one is one I am particularly proud of.

I have zero knowledge of scrapbooking, and most of the time I reproduce what Tinne does as faithfully as possible.  Not only to learn, but to see if my imaginations sparks a bit and I can create some pretty designs of my own.

The last tutorial she made was something that I just HAD to do.  Here is the video:

Since the student year has finished, I wanted to make this planner for my husband for next year.  It is something so simple and nice looking!  So, I took the freebie, printed about 27 sheets of paper (double sided) so it would last a whole year, and started crafting, following the instructions closely.  I so enjoyed it!  And here is the final result:

Front

Back

Weekly planner

My husband loved it!  And then I wanted to make one for myself.

Since I do not have a need for a planner, I decided to make a blank journal.  I chose a marine theme, with some of Tinne's gorgeous nautical papers, and this is what I finally made:

Front

I was bold enough to add liner pages in this one :)

Back

The little inside pocket holds a mermaid tag, that I will use as bookmark, when needed. 

I will probably make more of these as Christmas presents.  They are addictive, and there so many themes one can choose!

So, stop reading this and go make one for yourself! 

More books and free printable

The book fever is consuming me.  Please send help!

Just kidding, I am having a blast making mini books for my libraries.  Today I even managed to make some inside pages sets of my own.  One of them features the antiphonary pages that I used to sell in my shop; the other features sheet music from my favorite operas.

I am so happy how they turned out I want to share them.  So, here you are, some medieval and sheet music pages.

I left the sheet music in white in case you want to use them in a more modern setting; but if you print them in cream or yellow colored paper, or even parchment paper, you will have a lovely antique look.

As always, feel free to print as many as you like and pass them along to any one - links would be nice too.  But please do not sell them.

Enjoy making books!

Egyptian miniature project

Kassandra was telling me the other day that a member of her family is a woman born and raised in Egypt.  Then confessed that for obvious sunny reasons she has never visited Egypt, but also confided that some of her grandparents were supposed to have acted as pharaohs.  I am not sure how that could have been possible, but she is quite sure about the fact.  She also pointed out that vampires have been using the Egyptian cross, the Ankh, for many years as a symbol of eternal life.

In any case, she has developed a recent interest about all things Egyptian, and has acquired some art: a statue of a lying Anubis, that came from Stewart Dollhouse; and a collection of papyrus.  She says she likes Anubis because he is one of the gods of the Dead.  She is not quite sure what to do about the papyrus, so she is keeping everything at hand in her table of curiosities:

Images found on Google

She is also reading a book about Egypt, and some guides to learn to decipher hieroglyphs:

I scanned my own book to make the cover for this.

And of course, a famous Hercule Poirot novel that is set on a cruise through the Nile:

She says she feels fascinated by Egyptian history and she must visit the country soon.

Oh, if you would like your own Egyptian minis, you should definitely check Lilliput's Treasures!

Gone batty for open books!

This beauty arrived last week, but I was so exhausted from work that I could not make myself to post pictures.  Until now.

Just look at the texture of the pages!

My tenant is very happy with it.  She says there are so many lovely open books out there, but so few suited to her taste.  This piece was custom made by Athena of Gothic Miniatures.  The Kraken book is now in the parlor, so my tenant can read it.

1:144 scale dollhouse finished!

My vampire tenant was very happy today to show me she has finished her dollhouse.  The gothic chairs are made and put in their final place in front of the fireplace:

She even added a couple of rugs to the rooms.  They look more cozy now.  And the dollhouse is finally finished, except for the outside paint, that my tenant says she will do in due time.

She says doing this dollhouse was so much fun she is thinking in buying another bigger one, with more rooms to decorate.  She has her eye already in one...

Also, this beauty arrived this week from LDelaney:

A lovely open book with the drawing of a Kraken fighting a ship.  She says she has become very interested lately in issues regarding the ocean.

New printable book up for sale!

Remember that mermaid book that I mentioned it was in the makings?  Well, it's finished, and it has made its debut on my shop; "The Book of Mermaids":

It has the same measurements as the vampire book, but a lot of different covers to choose from, all of them with a lovely mermaid scale pattern.

Another printable for you to have fun!  If you want it as a kit or as an already made book it can be done too. Just contact me.

Fun with books

Inspired by the lovely books of My Miniature WorldShop, I have made my own readable book; it was unavoidable that it was related to vampires, and lo and behold, The Book of Vampires:

My goodness, it was a loooong process from beginning to end.  Good thing is, I have learnt a lot of stuff about Adobe Photoshop in the process; that is always helpful.

And as it could not be any other way, the book is now for sale as a printable in my shop.  Stay tuned, as a book about mermaids may be coming up next...

Puzzle in its final setting and new books

So yesterday the end table I bought to showcase the puzzle arrived!

The puzzle on the new table in its final place

It's a lovely table, just the right size, and it matches the rest of the forniture in the room.  Perfect!

Also, I have been experimenting with some new printables that I bought from My Miniature World Shop:

They are lovely books with actual information in the inside pages.  They are so much fun to do!  It took me a bit to get the hang of them, but I just can't get enough, and will be buying more soon.  Rebecca has lots of books for you to choose from, not only in printable form, also in kits in case you don't have a printer.  Mine are now waiting for new owners in the shelves of my Magic Shoppe:

See them in the bottom shelf, hold by the crystal ball

More books to come soon!  I cannot wait to have the Herbology one!  

I may even try my hand in making one of these books from scratch...

New Spell Books up for sale in my shop

A new collection of books are now up for sale in my shop:

They can be acquired as a collection, or one by one.  The first three feature graphics mady by Chocolate Rabbit.  They feature skulls, bats, scrolls and other motives.  The last one features graphics made by Vectoria Designs.  It looks like a very old tome with decorated corners.  

All of them have antiqued blank papers, hand cut one by one.

They will look perfect in any medieval setting, library or study of a witch or wizard.

Make them yours today!

The drawing room renovations

So, my vampire tenant said that the drawing room in the dollhouse had been planned for a human inhabitant, and that was fine, but she had no need for some of the items on it, and asked for some renovations.  Sometimes it is stressful to keep her happy, but I am happy to oblige because I adore her.  Let me show you how the drawing room was before:

She said she had no need for a china cabinet, or even china, since she is not so fond of tea or coffee.  Instead, she wanted it replaced with a bookshelf to have a library - the book cart was too small for her.  She also wanted new wall art - and for the dog to find another home.
This is the after, althoug it is far from finished:

I substitued the china cabinet for the bookshelf, and replaced the existing paintings for some with a medieval theme, which she likes very much.  The bookshelf needs still to be painted but that will be done soon.  My tenant says she misses her castle, but now she feels more at home.  The tapestry and the coat-of-arms are a nice addition too, she adds.  I have a surprise for her, since I bought 3 big shields that are going to be put on the wall beside the clock - but they will take some time since they are unpainted (don't say anything to her!).

The Pomeranian dog has found a new place to live in my mother's garden (they are doing a barbecue party over there, so he is quite happy with the change), and a kitty in his basket is sleeping now near the table.  I mentioned before the new chandelier with LED lights.  

But I wanted to note specially the books on the shelf.  Some I already had, but the new batches come from Treefeathers, and the big Dracula volume that is on the book cart is from Lee Ann on eBay:

The books from Treefeathers feature real antique editions of the covers of the books; and the Dracula volume is written: it has the first chapter of the book in tiny tiny print.  The shelf still have lots of room for books, but those will keep coming in time...

A new book addition to the shop!

Which dollhouse would be complete without books?  And what better books that ones that were sold at the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th?  And among those is Dracula, by Bram Stoker, of course!

Here is a lovely collection featuring 4 different covers for Dracula as they were when they were first released.  Each cover has been created using images from the original books.  All of them open, and the inside pages can be chosen as white or cream colored - so they can be new for a Victorian house or a rescued antique copy for a modern house.

These books were so much fun to make.  I myself have one of each in my dollhouse bookshelf!   Come and take a look!

More new minis

So, here are the promise pictures of the new minis from Linda Sweigart.  This is probably my new favorite thing in the dollhouse:

It is a wonderful tapestry entitled "Sir Galahad".  My vampire lady says it reminds her a lot of her beloved, who used to be a knight of the realm too.  You can see there is a picture of "The Accolade" very near it.  Also, a coat-of-arms that I purchased ages ago, and that I just recently finished painting:

I also have a stack of medieval pages (you can see them on the red chair), also the work of Linda, that are waiting for their new place to be.

There are too new lamps in the bedroom and in the exterior wall of the house:

I love these lamps!  I was too afraid of wiring my dollhouse for electricity, so up to now, it had no lights at all.  All the lamps were just props, and did not work.  But some time ago my mom told me about a new type of lamps that worked with batteries and had LED lights, and that did not need wiring; you just attach them to the walls or ceilings with a magnet.  She purchased one for me, and I acquired these two.  They are great!  They have an ON/OFF switch (just like the real ones) and have a lot of shine.  They look wonderful when it's dark.

As of today, I am going to make renovations in the drawing room, and I just purchased a new bookshelf that is going to be full with books and papers.  Books with pages, as I do not like dummy books.  I am also waiting for the first book to arrive, and I have more that I intent to purchase soon.  More info on that when they arrive...

HAPPY HOLIDAYS, EVERYONE!

P.S. My mother decorates her dollhouse and scenes for Christmas (trees, gifts, cakes, decorations, Christmas cards, nativity...)  Do you as well?  My vampire lady celebrates Winter Solstice, but she does not decorate.