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 :)

Vampire hunting kit for my dollhouse

Remember that project that I wanted to start with a chest box that I bought?  Well, it is almost finished, but I could not wait to share some pictures of it and to talk about what the project entailed.

I wanted to do a vampire hunter kit to display in Kassandra's shop.  I had seen some of these kits for sale, but the ones that I liked were really out of my budget.  So, I decided to try and make my own.

So I bought this box:

I had seen some kits that were made into a suitcase or a trunk, and they were absolutely gorgeous.  But I though "If someone is running or galloping after a vampire he or she needs something portable that could be carried without too much effort, like a small box".  So I chose this box that was, maybe, the size of a jewelry box or small chest.

The first thing I did was strip the box of everything it had inside:

Then, I took red "suede" paper like the one it had, took measurements and cut some pieces to redo the inside:

And then, I started making everything a vampire hunter may need.  First, a bible.  I made it by cutting small pieces of wood for the pages, and covering them with a nice vintage-looking paper cover.  I also painted the wood with golden paint, to imitate gilded pages:

Then I purchased some crosses and a silver dagger, and attached everything to the lid of the box with suede paper strips:

I knew I needed a very small glass bottle for the "Holy Water" - my usual apothecary glass bottles would not do. I had the opportunity of buying a very cute bottle at one of Tom Bishop's shows:

After that came a long hiatus of work and the move to the new home, so I was too busy with life things.  Today I retook the vampire hunter project after finally knowing how I wanted to continue. I cut a couple of pieces of plywood to redo the box compartments:

Then I covered the pieces with the red suede paper:

Next, stakes!  I took decorated toothpics, cut them to fit the box and filed the end to a point with the help of a blade. Then I used regular acrylic ink to paint them:

Next step, parchments rolls.  I simply took my parchment paper, cut a couple of strips, rolled them and tied them with black cord:

And finally!  My cute glass bottle!  I made a label saying "Holy Water", printed it on the parchment paper and attached it to the bottle.  And this is how the box looks now:

I still need to do a mallet and a garlic from polymer clay.  But I probably need to buy some new blocks for that - mine were rather unworkable.  I am so happy how well turned out!

I will post more pics when I do the mallet and the garlic.  I hope you enjoy this post.  I certainly did, both doing the project and writing about it!

UPDATE: This is awesome!  You want your own life-sized, portable vampire hunting kit?  Check these out!  Oh, one day one of these will be mine...

Introducing Kassandra, my vampire tenant

The long wait is finally over.  May I intruduce Kassandra, my lovely tenant?

Here she is, in her dollhouse parlor

Isn't she the most beautiful creature ever?  She finally allowed me to share some pics of her, so please enjoy:

Working in the study

Attending her witches' shop

Taking care of her daughter Perséfone.  Notice Perséfone's tiny teeth.

You can see some professionally taken pictures of her here.

I am very happy to finally introduce her to all of you.  I hope you find her as delightful as I do.

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Fantasy apart, she is the magnificient creation of Terri's Dolls.  I contacted her with some ideas in mind, and she has brought her to life just as I dreamed her.  It has been a looooong wait until my country's Customs has let her go (more than a month!), and I have been very anxious not only to have her safely at home, but also to enjoy her.  She is an absolute treasure that will be cherished forever. 

Titanic plates and great news

Today my lovely tenant informed me that the holders for the Titanic plates arrived, and the plates are already in their final setting.

They are so unusual and pretty!

She had thought about putting them on the wall, following up the stairs, but she decided that they were not really visible from there.  So instead she decided to place them on top of the parlor library:

She is very happy about how well they look, and she hopes that you all like them as well.

She then told me that after thinking long and hard about it, she has decided to let me take some pictures of her so I can share them with my readers.  I was surprised, because she is a very private creature, but she winked and said surely people would like to finally meet her.

As soon as she is ready, I will share her photographs.

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Fantasy apart, the thing is I finally was able to comission the lady vampire doll I have always dreamt about.  It is already paid for, and I am currently waiting for it to be delivered.  I am so excited, I can't wait to have her here.  The doll is a beauty, and the amazing artist that made it has created it as if she could have taken a look inside my head and produce what she saw.  I am counting the days...