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 :)

Little masks and boxes for dollhouse

People say that art imitates life.  I bring you a post about something of the sort.

This year our way of life has been altered by Covid-19.  Masks, gloves and plastic screens have become an everyday necessary object to use, to protect ourselves, and others as well.

I have seen many (many!) people incorporating such articles to their miniature scenes.  I refuse to do it.  First, because Kassandra is a vampire, and as such, she cannot get sick.  But second, because for me, my miniature wold is an ideal place.  A place where bad things cannot happen.  Where people do not die, and sickness cannot enter.  Covid-19 does not exist in miniature - even though the real virus is smaller than 1:144 scale.

I asked my mom today if she would be interested in some masks for her dolls, and she said no - apparently, she thinks the same as me: that with real-life Covid is more than enough.  However, she said she would be happy to have a box for her medical scene - a doctor practice.

Some days ago, I found a blog where the owner was providing a template to make a mask box.  Doing the mask was another thing.  I managed to come up with a method using blue tissue paper, regular white paper and a bit of white cord (white thread would work as well):

It is a little bigger than it should, but I could not manage to make it smaller.  If you are in need of a mask for your dolls or a little bit of hand sanitizer, you can get them at Buttecups Miniatures.

Stay safe and happy holidays!

One final renovation in the library

 Kassandra called me up this morning so I would come help her with some flooring issues.  Good thing I am on vacation and I have some free time!

"What is it that you want to do?", I asked when I arrived there.

"I got rid of the stairs; they took up so much space off the living room."

"Yes, I already know that".

"Well, we need to close up the ceiling of the living room.  Or the floor of the library, however you prefer".

"Oh, my.  Does this mean we have to rip up the library floor?"

"Yes, I'm afraid so."

And so we did.  We took off all the wood flooring and procedeed to close up the gap in the floor.  My coworker Carlos was able to help with that.  He cut up for me a piece of wood to insert in the gap.

I only needed to sand the edges a bit so it would fit on the gap.  When we were sure the piece fitted, we glued it and let it dry.

Meanwhile, Kassandra showed me another new floor she had acquired.

"Marble?  Well, it will look very pretty for sure."

"Do you not recognize it?"

"No, I'm afraid not."

"My dear, this floor comes straight from the Opera Garnier, in Paris.  You surely know that is the place that Gaston Leroux used to set up the stage for "The Phantom of the Opera"?  I love that book!  I would haved liked more a different ending, but I am happy to enjoy some of Erik's floors in my house."

"I see.  Well, it seem very fitting to your tastes, for sure."

Trying on the floor...

... and getting it installed!

"Well, I must say, I like the library much better now!  Before seemed so dark, with all that dark wood..."

"I know.  Veroniqué, the lady that designed the floor, is very talented.  I may redo the floor of the ballet studio with another of her designs..."

"Oh, Kassandra, another floor change?!"

"Well, do not take it like that, I have still not decided.  Is it my fault if I find things I like better?"

"I guess not..."

"It's looking good!"

"Yes.  I still have some things to put up in the walls, but I may order new furniture, and I won't do it until then..."

Free printable, because Christmas is coming

This weekend I found Kassandra very busy.

"What are you up to?", I asked.

"Well, since the weather is awful and we are better at home, I decided to decorate for the solstice.  Our kids love this time of year."

"Oh, you are still starting."

"Yes, I only have hung the bounting.  I still have to take out the Christmas tree and decorate it.  Would you like to help?"

"Sure, why not?  It will be fun."

Taking out the Christmas tree...

... and putting on ornaments

"What about this?"

"Oh, that is Santa's mailbox.  Each kid writes a letter and deposits it inside for Santa to pick up.  We only let them ask for one thing each, although we always put on more gifts for them."

"And do you write Chrismtas cards as well?"

"Those are for the kids to write to their cousins.  We have family all scattered throughout Europe, and they like to send them cards.  But we will see them at the Solstice party".

"Of course!  I forgot that you do not actually celebrate Christmas..."

 

"But you have very little decorations, Kassandra..."

"I have bought some more this year, but I still have to prepare them before I take them out.  You'll see them soon."

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Do you decorate your dollhouse for Christmas?  If you do, do you have a Christmas tree? And if so, does it have its proper box to be put away the rest of the year? No? Well, you are lucky, because I bring you one!

I designed this box some time ago, but today is the day I actually printed it and assembled it.  It measures about 8.5 cm long, so I could fit my mini Christmas tree inside, but you can make it bigger or smaller if you need to.  There are three files: one with the box as you can see in the pictures - you can print this one in white paper; one in which the box has no decorations, so you can use any colored paper that you like; and one with the labels so you can cut them and stick them in the box, if you prefer that look.  HERE you go!  Just click on the file(s) you want, right-click and select "Download". Have fun!

As always, feel free to craft and gift, or share the file (links back are nice too!), but please, do not sell the files or your finished creations.  Thank you!

Free printable! Miniature box of condoms

This is something that I have been wanting to do for years!  I love that we can include in our houses modern stuff like tablets, phones and computers.  But my favorite things are the subtle ones: like a box of tampons... or a box of condoms!

The one I have made I have scanned from a brand new box that I had at home; I composed the images, cleaned them a bit and made to scale.  I even scanned the condom packets and the pamphet!  Unfortunately, the pamphlet did not look good in 1:12 scale, so I omitted it.  But I very much like the end result:

The fun part is, the condom packets fit inside the box!  I may try something adventurous and glue a tiny jump ring inside them, to mimick an actual condom - I don't know if jump rings will be small enough to fit, but it's worth a try.

This will go into Kassandra's nightstand :)

I am very happy to share with you all the printable to make this.  As allways, feel free to share, make and give as gifts and pass the file along to anyone (links back are nice too), but please do not sell the file, or your creations.  Thank you!

HERE you go!  Have fun!

New piece for the museum

I had been wating for ever to finish this project, but today was the day.  

I bought a file cabinet from Beautifully Handmade to transform into something very different:

I wanted something to display in the museum that gave the illusion of organized artifacts.  I have a thing for antique documents, and since it is so difficult to display books on a small roombox already filled up, I opted for a file cabinet with folders.  They can be extracted, opened, and the maps removed from them for study:

All the maps are previous to the 19th century (some are from the 17th century!).  The folders are made with cardboard and texturized paper (brown snake skin).  The inside covers and the maps are prints on regular paper.  To top everything up, there is a little bookend with a rotating globe on top of the cabinet - I am currently waiting on one with better looks.

It took me several months to start this project, but once on it, it took me about a week to finish it.  I am very happy with the final result, and it looks fantastic on the museum:

Happy Halloween!

Kassandra hopes you all had a wonderful Halloween!

She certainly had fun.  She offered a party for friends and family, and she had so much fun decorating the house and the living room:

You certainly need a vampire pumpkin at your door

The coffin shelf was full of games for the kids, who naturally forgot their candy bags as soon as there was fun stuff to do... 

Some spooky drinks for those thristy...

The kids had some toys and activity books set up for them...

Happy Samhain, everyone!