Scene: Laundry room inside a laundry detergent bottle

 This idea is not mine, I saw it perusing miniature scenes, and I thought it was so cute.  

We don't usually have laundry rooms in Spain - unless you live in a very big apartment or your own house (the ones which stand alone, with a tiny garden at the front or the back).  Most people keep their washing machines in the kitchen or the bathroom (even hidden inside furniture); many don't even own a dryer, and most people just keep a folding rack someplace (probably behind a door) and air dry their clothes after washing them.  But still, I wanted to make something fun my mother with this theme and I finally made this:

I used an ordinary laundry detergent empty bottle.  I thoroughly washed it and let it dry, and my coworker Carlos helped me to cut the front.  It is very slim, so I did not have much space, and since it does not have straight walls I could not put shelves on them.  So I was content with using the floor for the decoration.  First, I chose the wallpaper and the floor, and fitted them.  I used a bit of cardboard to make the bottom straight, so nothing would be wobbly, and then put on the tiled floor - which is just printed, of course.

In terms of decorating, it did not need a lot of stuff, and I got everything from Tienda de Casitas: a washing machine, a shelf, an iron and an ironing board.  The rest of the staff I had at home, and I repurposed it for this project.

Trying the washing machine for space

 

I printed mini labels for the jars, and I filled them up accordingly.  The detergent pods are little round  pieces of polymer clay made with purple and blue clay.  The baking soda and detergent are just white sugar.

The bottles I already had around, and I only fitted them with the labels.  I put the boxes of Ariel and Calgon because they are popular brands in Spain.

 

The towels on top of the washing machine I printed on fabric; the designs come from Pixelmarket.  I folded them, tied them together with a black ribbon and added a fancy label as decoration.

For the posters in the wall I simply searched for laundry art.  I mounted them on foamboard for 3D effect.

See the little iron resting there?

And of course, a lamp.  It is battery operated, so no wiring required.  The ironing board is by the side, waiting to be used.  

A happy scene indeed!  It is a gift for my mother, so I hope she likes it.

Finally! The Japanese room decor arrived!

Customs had me waiting for more than a month to get my stuff!  I even had to submit a lot of documentation online for the package to be released.  Just crazy!

But finally, it's here!  I painted the shelf units immediately, as I was eager to put them in place.  A simple sanding and black paint did the trick:

Love the modern, simplistic style

 And this is how the room looks now, with everything in its place:

Wow, a lot of new things!

The picture if finally in the wall.  I used the big unit to display a battery operated lamp, an orchid, and some boxes - they hide objects inside when not in use, such as the food when the table is being used for other purposes - like studying, writing or playing.  I still have to put a couple of pictures on the silver frame.  You can also see the aquarium:

A tray with sushi waiting to by munched, and a tea jar with painted goldfish (from Reutters).  Also, new plates and a sake set:

I designed and made the floor lamp, and printed it on vellum paper, and used a balloon light inside to ligth it.  The beautiful katana and stand come from the talented hands of Manu, and the set of pictures from Ana Circea.  The books are the work of Véronique:

The outside walls are still not printed - I am lazy to go to the shop, LOL!  I have a vase and a smaller set of teapot and cups that need to be painted.  Hopefully I´ll do that soon...

Something new, never done before

Following up with the Japanese scene, I had purchased a long time ago a kit to make a pond - with gravel, rocks, plants and fish.  However, the recipient was more intended for a garden or an outside scene, so I opted for doing an aquarium instead.

I was surprised when I caught myself thinking that Reutter boxes looked very much like an aquarium.  You just need to turn them upside down, both the clear plastic cover and the base:

Reutter box without the brand paper

... and turned upside down

It didn't take me long to design the aquarium.

I was nervous about mixing the resin for the "water", but I had brought home graduated cylinder to help with measurements.  I had to do 40 ml of water and that was too much for a couple of 5 ml syringes, which was what I had at home.  It turned out OK, and I poured the mixed resin in the aquarium:

I was hoping the fish would float, but it didn't happen...

Still, I love the composition!

I set everything apart so the resin would settle without incidents.  This morning I checked up on the tank, and I noticed that the resin had yellowed a bit, but not too much - it looks a little like murky water, but still everything can be seen clearly:

I am very happy with it.  My furniture is still stuck at Customs, so I have rescued an old table to put it on until the new ones come.

Japanese roombox. Day 3

Yesterday I almost wrapped up.  So I just finished putting the finishing touches in the last wall - a couple of decorative beams, and voilà!  The Japanese room is finished!  At least, the construction process itself:

A vision of beauty! ♥

What is left to do but glue all the walls?  Well, the ceiling, naturally, but that will have to wait.  I was so, so excited to start decorating! So, while the glue was drying up, I unpacked all the accessories that I had been collected for this moment, and started the display.  First off, a lovely table, also the creation of Ana, was put in place first.  It is all paper and foamboard.  It took me about 30 minutes to do, and I finished it off with some Mod Podge so it would look shiny:

Love it!

A little bit of food - it was almost lunch time!

Oh my.  How long I have waited for this...

The pictures and the book are also Ana's creations.  I won't hang the pictures until some more furniture has been placed, as well as the lamps that will iluminate the scene - that is something that I am planning to do from scratch!  The cabinet is a spice cabinet full of tiny drawers and pigeon holes - I am sure I will not be able to find anything so small to fill them.  The tiny tea box on top of the cabinet is from Zenas Miniatures.  

It was so exciting to start thinking in little details to add, and decorations too!  I made a couple of sake bottles after lunch:

I spent the afternoon window shopping, and I have already ordered some little details to display, as well as some furniture.  I can't wait for them to show up, but it's going to take some weeks!  In the meantime, I'll keep thinking of little things to add!

I am so happy with everything.  Tomorrow, the only thing that is left: the ceiling.

Japanese roombox. Day 2

I started early because I was eager to continue seeing progress.  First things first, to finish the left wall.  For starters, I finished the beams, made a 3D door and glued it in place:

3D door

Glued in place

Trying the wall for effect.  Love it!

Next, the right wall.  Pretty much like the left, but sans the door.  I started with the white cardboard (cheapest wallpaper ever, two A2 sheets for just 1 euro!), and added the wainscott and the little wood beams:

Fabulous!

Just one wall left!  I started with the cardboard, of course, and added the wainscott and the upper wood beam:

So clean lines!  I love the effect!

I am torn with this last wall.  I had been thinking of adding a window with views to a garden, as a mirage.  But after several tryouts it did not really appeal to me.  So today I will just add the last beam and keep it simple - very zen!  More room to decorate!

Working on a new scene: Japanese Roombox. Day 1

It's almost 2 years since I bought a roombox, hoping to do a Japanese scene on it.  I decided it was a perfect moment to start, taking advantage of my Easter holidays.  So yesterday I started the work, and this is what I accomplished on day 1.

Firstly, I took out all the components, and did a dry fit to ensure correct placement of the parts:

I was pleasantly surprised to see it had fitted corners, like puzzles pieces

They all fit perfectly!

 Since I know better now, instead of gluing together the walls and floor, I decided to wallpaper and put the floor before any other work.  So I spread out all the walls as to not make mistakes, and started by printing a beautiful tatami floor, work of the talented Ana Circea:

Starting with the center piece: the floor

Pieces fit together like a puzzle

Just the little upper corner missing...

Done!  Then trimmed to size

Looking good!!

First piece done, 3 to go!  Next one, the left wall.  For this, I covered the entire wall with white cardboard, and then placed a sliding door in the center - also from Ana's shop:

Simple white cardboard - it is a bit texturized, but you cannot see that in the picture

Sliding door, and some molding to decorate

Perfect!

Trying both parts together for effect.  Love it!

I still needed to add some beams for decoration, but the natural light was getting low, so I stopped the work right here.  

More pics tomorrow of the progress!