New project finished! Advent calendar

Happy New Year, everyone!

I just realized that I had not posted a single thing since the finishing of the beach hut.  How is that possible?  Weeeell, truth be told, I haven't done much minis since then.  However, taking advantange of my husband's absence (he went to Hannover for 3 months), I wanted to make an Advent calendar for him - I promised to do it, and bought the calendar in the July sales.

I chose a blank wood calendar; I bought it here:

Stock photo

Since it has a central space, I thought it was perfect to do a Christmas scene in it.  But I started by painting it in gold and copper - hubby requested Steampunk feel.  So gold for the frame and copper for the drawers.  After that, I started designing the scene.  First, some wallpapering to set up the ambience:

You can see the gold and copper painted frame and drawers

The wallpaper comes from Easy Print and Cut, and so does the floor.  Super easy to cover, compared to a regular dollhouse with all its nooks and crannies!  Next, a fireplace:

There were several options available, but the dark ones gave a me a "sad" vibe, if you know what I mean.  This one was perfect for a warm and cozy room on a holiday.  Then, a window was needed:

I wanted to use both two windows, but the scene looked too crowded for my taste - a pity, cats and bats together are a perfect thing for me ;)  But really, it did not work.  Well, once the room was set up, it was time for decorations.  And after all the decorating, this is the final result:

The numbers on the drawers are from Vectoria Designs

The picture behind the Christmas tree you can find here.  The gifts piles are the work of Michael R. Miniatures

The rug is also from Easy Print and Cut.  There is a table with milk and cookies for Santa.

The cards and and paper tree on the fireplace come from Ever After Miniatures. The little basket and the pinecones are from Art of Mini.

My mother suggested a mirror on top of the fireplace, but I thought a tapestry was nicer. 

The tree, the sconce, the table and the rest of accessories are from Tienda de Casitas.   

 It was a super fan project, specially since I am not so fond of Christmas.  Hopefully I can start soon with the new project, with will involve even making furniture!  More on that very soon, I hope!

Tarot reading in Kassandra's shop

Today I found Kassandra very busy.  She was beautifying one of the corners in her shop.  She has a small sitting place behind a screen to do readings for her customers; mainly tea leaves, tarot cards and palm readings.  She said she had not changed the decorations for very long, and it was time to try something new.

Before:

And after:

She explained that her friend Ana had provided her with the supplies, and the change looks really good.  The tiny pictures on the wall, the big placemat on which the new deck of cards rests and the advertising sign on the screen.  There is also a small picture on the table of a lovely lady.  Kassandra said that she was an old friend that taught her some clairvoyance secrets.  

She also has new merchandise in her shop: tiny tarot decks in their boxes.  She hopes that her customers will like them.

The Tarot cards are the ones I used to sell in my shop

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fantasy apart, the tiny tarot boxes I made myself with the help of an awesome template, creation of Craig P. Forbes.  You can custom made any box for any set of cards of any size that you may have.  However, I had to tweak my way around them, because the design works well for real life card size, but the 1:12 scale proved to be very tiny for the program and some flaps were omitted.  But I had loads of fun adjusting and mounting the boxes.  I even made a real life box for a deck of Steampunk cards that I bought from Vectoria Designs.  They fit perfectly!

Long postponed project finally done!

Today I did something that I have wanted to do for a long time.

Many months ago I purchased this canvas bag:

I loved the design the moment I saw it!  The colors, the insde, the straps... It only had one thing that I did not like: the featuring of the Converse logo in the middle.  For a time I thought I needed to buy some patches to cover it up, but quite never find what I was looking for.

But one day I came across this beauty:

I found it in Harlots & Angels on Etsy.  I have been an admirer of Jules Vernes since I was a teen, and "20,000 leagues under the sea" is my favorite book of his.  So I decided to join Nemo's crew and add this to my bag.  And lo and behold:

I absolutely love it!  It makes something quite extraordinary of an ordinary bag, and it is not too flamboyant for everyday use.

I wish I had the opportunity to use more of the marvelous pieces Harlots & Angels feature in their Steampunk section...

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!

Review of the Steampunk corset and skirt

About time!  I know, I'm sorry, I should have done this a long time ago, but alas, better late than never.

Well, like I mentioned in this post, this ensemble comes from Corsets UK.  They have expanded a lot their Steampunk line (which I absolutely adore!), but as of today, I only have 3 of their pieces, two of which I am going to review today.  

So, we will begin with the corset, which you can find here:

Picture from the Corsets UK website

For technical details, I will refer you to their description.  These are some of my own observations:

The zipper.  The pull tab looks like a spring, which is a fun addition.  Even though the zipper goes up to the edge of the corset, it won't close that far, since the design of the corset won't allow it; you have one of the stays in the middle, as well as one of your breasts.  In my case, it won't go up more than an inch or two, and occasionally it goes down a little by itself, but you cannot tell looking from the outside that it is not in the correct place.

The pocket and leather part.  As it is advertised in the website, the corset DOES NOT come with a pocket watch.  I knew that when I bought it, and I keep on it my pocket compass.  The pocket slot measures 3 1/8 inches (8 cm), but you won't be able to fit something that big inside, as the fabric itself takes up some space.  My compass measures 1 3/4 inches (4.5 cm), and it fits inside perfectly well and with some extra room.  The inside of the pocket is faux leather too.

The faux leather is flexible, and I have had no tears, discoloration or scratches on it.

The side ornaments.  As you can see there are two snap buttons on the low edge of each side of the corset.  They are there mostly for decoration, because they cannot be used to adjust the corset to your size (they cannot be unbottoned, because there are no other snap buttons underneath to adjust the size).  There is a buckle-like thingy in each of the straps.  The commercial pic shows the watch chain over there to add visual interest.  Some time ago there used to be this pic in the corset listing; it is not there anymore, but it is still on the Amazon page for this corset:

Picture from the Amazon listing for the corset

The tab to which the chain is attached is NOT there, so I attached my compass chain to the buckle of the strap so there is no risk of me losing it if it comes out of the pocket (which has never happened).

The skirt, which you can find here:

Picture from the Corsets UK website

Once again, for technical details I will refer you to their description.  These are some of my own observations:

First and foremost, it is a thin skirt.  Very very thin.  The fabric does not have any weight, and if you are going to use it in Winter, you need leggins or a thick pantyhose underneath, or you will get cold.  On the other hand, is perfect to use in Summer.

It closes with a zipper on the left side, and it has a nice corset-style lacing in the back of the waistband, which is fully adjustable.  The belt straps on the waistband front are adjustable too, but they only have one extra hole.

That is all I can think about.  If there are any questions, I'll be happy to answer them.  I hope I can put up a review for the other steampunk corset I have very soon.

A new Steampunk corset

Steampunk craze is getting on to me!

The new corset is a gift from my mother, showing here:

Image from the Corsets UK website

I am breaking it in just as I type this.  I love the design, specially the buckles and the swivel closure.  I used to like very much this other Steampunk corset from Corsets UK, but since Lucy made a review stating that the closing swivels were not strong enough for tight lacing and the front opened, I have been hesitant to buying it.  When I saw this one I thought it was nice to have a proper busk with just a swivel detail to embellish it.

I will post a review when I had the chance to use it properly.  From what I can notice now, it is strong and it seems durable - at least, that is the first impression I have from all of Corsets UK pieces.

I have not forgotten about the review of the other ensemble I bought, and I promise it will be up soon.

In the meantime, here is a link to the corset, in case you want to order one for yourself.

Long live Steampunk!

Little could I suspect that I would fall for the Steampunk craze... I am not tech-savvy, and machines do not particularly interest me.  But I love the aesthetic, and since it is Victorian-inspired I guess it was just a matter of time.

In any case, my friend Esther is to blame for the ignition spark.  Last month was my birthday, and she said she had "an absolutely useless gift" for me.  Imagine my surprise when she gave me a beautiful pocket compass.  The exterior is aged brass, the compass is hidden under a bronze rib cage lid that can be opened and closed, and it hangs from a matching bronze chain.  Just gorgeous!  She was lying though: a compass is something very, very useful.

Thinking about what could I pair it with, I remembered I had seen a lovely Steampunk corset that had a little pocket to store a pocket watch in the Corsets UK website.  So I decided to purchase my first Steampunk ensemble.

Here are the links to the corset and the skirt I bought.

And here is my pic, wearing the ensemble (my mom took it):

The skirt was a bit wrinkled; this was taken a few minutes after unwrapping the clothes

A review of the corset and the skirt will be up in a few days.

A bit about corsets

I had thought about writing a series of posts about corsets for newbies, but after finding about the lovely Lucy, I think you better check out her YouTube channel, as well as her webpage to find out anything related to corsets.

Not only she provides thorough reviews on all kinds of corsets; she also offers tips on how to mend them, storage them, as well as videos about corsets and health.  If you can sew, you can also find information about how to make your own corsets and patterns.  If not, you can always ask her to make you your very own customized corset.  I am a big fan of hers :)

Also, if you are a Steampunk lover, you may want to check out the new 2012 collection of fantastic steampunk corsets.  You have them available at Corsets UK, if you live in Europe, and at Corset Story, if you live in the US.  You have available a review on one of these corsets by Lucy here.

A sample of the Steampunk Corset Collection

I have purchased from Corsets UK, and I am happy both with the service and the merchandise.  The corsets are great quality for off-the-rack garments, and very affordable, specially if you like variety in your wardrobe.