Crafting together (February) - A 24th scale soap shop, part 1

Due to various circumstances I'm still not making miniatures as often as I'd like, but luckily Jolinda and I still craft together every month and that keeps the creativity flowing :)

In November and December we worked on Santa Claus/Mrs. Claus, although neither of us had finished ours by Christmas. But at least Mrs. Claus now got sleeves ;)

Door allerlei omstandigheden ben ik nog steeds niet zo vaak miniaturen aan het maken als ik zou willen, maar gelukkig knutselen  Jolinda en ik nog steeds elke maand samen en dat houdt de creativiteit op gang :)

In november en december werkten we aan onze kerstman/kerstvrouw, hoewel we beiden nog niet klaar waren toen het kerst was. De kerstvrouw heeft in ieder geval mouwen gekregen ;)

Jolinda continued in January and has now finished her Santa Claus (see here), but I continued making kitchen cabinets for the cottage in the new year.

Jolinda ging in januari verder en heeft haar kerstman inmiddels af (zie hier), maar ik ben in het nieuwe jaar verder gegaan met het maken van keukenkastjes voor de cottage.

Last time, however, I suddenly found myself without Balsa wood of the right thickness, so I started working with a kit that a friend had given me in January.

De afgelopen keer bleek ik echter opeens zonder de juiste dikte Balsa te zitten, dus ben ik aan de slag gegaan met een bouwpakketje dat ik in januari van een vriendin gekregen had.

I'd often looked at those kits, but for various reasons I'd never bought one.

The scale is half the size of what I usually work with. Plus I always like to invent and create everything myself.

Ik had vaak met een pakketje in mijn handen gestaan, maar had er om verschillende redenen nooit eentje gekocht.

De schaal is de helft kleiner dan waar ik normaal gesproken mee werk. Plus ik vind het juist leuk om zelf alles te bedenken en te creëren.

Surprisingly, when I started working on it, I really liked it. Precisely because this time I didn't have to come up with anything myself; after all, I've been struggling with that for months ;)

Toen ik er mee aan de slag ging, bleek ik het verrassend genoeg erg leuk te vinden. Juist omdat ik dit keer niets zelf hoefde te bedenken; daar had ik tenslotte al maanden wat moeite mee ;)

So I've been working on the miniature soap shop for a while on a regular basis for the last two weeks and I look forwards to next week when we're going to craft together again ;)

Dus heb ik de laatste twee weken regelmatig een poosje verder gewerkt aan de miniatuur zeepwinkel en ik kijk uit naar volgende week als we weer samen gaan knutselen ;)

 

A birthday swap, garlic and kitchen plans

It really feels like autumn now and I'm finally starting toget into miniature again ;)

So far, the past few months have been limited to the days when I crafted with Jolinda.

Last month, however, it was Jolinda's birthday and that meant making a swap :)

I'd seen a great workshop from SweetMiniDollHouse for making a plant with a Fimo cane and I wanted to try that. Funnily enough, Jolinda'd happened to watch that same workshop too, with the idea 'for later'.

I also tried making a tea box (a workshop by Anita Brouwer). That was - especially with Balsa - so delicate that I didn't even dare to stain it :'). At last made a leather shopping bag, which always comes in handy with all those vegetables Jolinda has made these last few months :)

Het is inmiddels echt herfst geworden en ik begin eindelijk weer wat knutselkriebels te krijgen ;)
Tot dusver bleef het de afgelopen maanden beperk tot de dagen dat ik samen met Jolinda knutselde.
Afgelopen maand moest ik echter wat eerder beginnen, want toen kwam de verjaardag van Jolinda eraan en dat betekende een swapje maken.

Ik had een geweldige workshop gezien van SweetMiniDollHouse voor het maken van een plant met een cane van Fimo en die wilde ik maken. Grappig genoeg had Jolinda diezelfde workshop toevallig ook bekeken, met het idee 'voor later'.
Nog geprobeerd er een theedoos bij te maken (een workshop van Anita Brouwer). Dat was - zeker met Balsa - zo priegelig dat ik het niet eens meer durfde te beitsen :'). Tenslotte nog een leren boodschappentas gemaakt, die komt altijd wel van pas met al die groente die Jolinda de laatste maanden gemaakt heeft :) 

We both made garlic last time using this tutorial from This Charming Stuff. My first ones turned out very large (I made a strand of that anyway). Finally found the right size and shape.

We hebben de vorige keer allebei knoflook gemaakt met behulp van deze tutorial van This Charming Stuff. De eerste vielen wel erg groot uit bij mij (daar heb ik toch ook een streng van gemaakt). Uiteindelijk de juiste maat en vorm gevonden.

Last weekend I got inspiration to move on with the cottage kitchen.

First I looked at my notes so that I could make a coherent whole with all those separate ideas. Decided that the wall lenght units that were on my to-do list didn't really fit the atmosphere I want to give my cottage. Instead, fewer furniture so I can fit a small kitchen island and a (fake)back door.

I made another map (the fourth and hopefully last version ^^);

Afgelopen weekend kreeg de inspiratie om eindelijk verder te gaan met de cottage keuken.
Eerst eens gekeken naar mijn aantekeningen zodat ik met al die losse ideeën een samenhangend geheel kan maken. Besloten dat de hele kastenwand die op m'n to-do-lijstje stond eigenlijk niet echt past bij de sfeer die ik m'n cottage wil geven. In plaats daarvan minder kasten en iets meer ruimte zodat er een klein keukeneiland en een achterdeur in de ruimte past.
Opnieuw een plattegrond gemaakt (de vierde en hopelijk laatste versie ^^);

Generally, I want to make the kitchen a bit lighter than the living room. With the ceiling beams stained in a lighter colour. A paneling of light wooden slats up to a height of one meter. A stone tiled floor in gray tones and white plastered walls and ceiling.

I made a mood board for myself with the images below from the internet.

In grote lijnen wil ik de keuken een wat lichter maken dan de woonkamer. Met de balken aan het plafond in een lichtere kleur gebeitst. Een lambrisering van licht houten latten tot een hoogte van 1 meter. Een stenen tegelvloer in grijze tinten en wit gestucte muren en plafond.

Ik heb voor mezelf een moodboard gemaakt met de onderstaande plaatjes van het internet.

Tiles behind the stove, maybe the
edge decorated with a strip of lace.

Maybe a pan rack above the sink unit.

A kitchen island/cart...

... with a rustic hanging pan rack above.

Those lamps, and this kind of stone floor tiles,
though in a lighter - more grey - colour.

There will also be a small table for two to three people, maybe a round one depending on how it turns out. And a third chair, which will have a wicker seat.

Finally I tried to draw a part of the kitchen, just for fun :')

Verder komt er nog een kleine tafel voor 2 a 3 personen, misschien een ronde afhankelijk hoe het uitpakt. En nog een derde stoel, die een rieten zitting krijgt.
Ten slotte heb ik voor de lol ook nog geprobeerd een deel van de keuken te tekenen :')

While I was drawing, I suddenly realized that I had never shared a photo of the AGA I made early this year, so here it is. Created using a tutorial from a book by Julie Warren.

Terwijl ik aan het tekenen was, realiseerde ik me opeens dat ik de foto van de AGA die ik begin dit jaar maakte, nooit gedeeld had, dus bij deze nog. Gemaakt met behulp van een tutorial uit een boek van Julie Warren.

So for now I can go ahead in the winter months. Hopefully I'll have the kitchen finished in the spring :)

I hope you enjoyed seeing my plans.

Thanks for the visit and have a creative autumn 💜

Voorlopig kan ik dus de wintermaanden vooruit. Hopelijk heb ik de keuken dn in het voorjaar af :')
Hopelijk vonden jullie het leuk om mijn plannen in te zien.
Bedankt voor het bezoekje en een creatieve herfst gewenst 💜

Making a sink unit for the cottage kitchen

 

Een paar maanden geleden was ik begonnen met het maken van een aanrechtkastje volgens de beschrijvingen van Julie Warren. Ik heb de aanrechtkastje uit de boeken Creating Dolls' House Kitchens in 1/12th Scale en Step by Step Dolls' House Furniture Projects in 1/12th Scale gecombineerd omdat ik het op deze manier het leukst vond.
Het kostte wel iets meer tijd om het e.e.a. uit te puzzelen en om te rekenen, maar ik ben erg blij met het resultaat.

A few months ago I'd started making a sink unit from tutorials by Julie Warren. I combined two units from the books  Creating Dolls' House Kitchens in 1/12th Scale en Step by Step Dolls' House Furniture Projects in 1/12th Scale to get one I liked best.
It took some extra time to figure it out and calculate it, but I'm very happy with the result.

Op de beurs in Rijswijk had ik het mooie kraantje en de ladeknoppen gekocht bij 't Tafereeltje. In de week erna had ik een knutselmiddag met Jolinda en heb ik de knoppen gebeitst en de kraan bevestigd.
Toen enkel nog een gordijntje maken van een leuk stofje dat ik bij Minidoor was tegengekomen en het aanrechtblok was klaar. In de toekomst wil ik nog een afwassopje maken :)

At the fair in Rijswijk I'd bought a beautiful tap and drawer knobs at 't Tafereeltje. The following week Jolinda and I had a craft afternoon so I stained the knobs and attached the tap then.

The only thing left to do was to make a little curtain from some nice fabric that I'd come across at Minidoor and then the countertop was ready.

A bookcase for the Hogsmeade cottage

In Oktober I'd started on the first piece of furniture for the living room; the bookcase from the first book of Julie Warren, and after a - very long - break I've finished it this weekend.

I'm so very happy with it; can't hardly believe I managed to do the drawers and glass doors ;)

I'd almost finished the base before birthdays
and the holidays and 1:1 painting got in the
way :)

I've used a light oak stain and I'm thinking about polishing it with the beeswax I've bought for the (mini) living room floor. Next: making lots and lots of books :)

Bits and bobs, or, what I've been up to in Oktober.

It has been a bit hectic the previous weeks. As well inside as outside of my head :')

I'd started on the first piece of furniture for the living room; the
bookcase from the first book of Julie Warren.
(Though I have my own crafting room with everything I could
need, I do most of my crafting here in the living room ^^)

After I was almost done with the base I needed
to take a break because unfortunately wood-
working is a bit to straining physically atm.

So, mainly, I've been cross stitching and made a couple of new cushions.

I wanted to make a couple of Halloween related cushion for my
Etsy store, but I started a bit too late and only got to finish this
one. Maybe next year I can do more to sell :)

Last year I've made a series of Santa cushions, and this year
I'm working on three snowmen :)

I also finished the three geometrical cushions I've scross
stitched in September. I need to make a few pretty pictures
and then they be listed in Etsy.

  

But, I didn't have a couch that I could use as a prop for taking those photo's, so needed to remedy that ;)

This tutorial got me started on a simple couch but I didn't like
the straight sides, so I carved and sanded untill the arms had
a rounded shape :)

I covered the back part and the arms (partly) with fiberfill,
and tried to figure out how to go from there.

I used flat head pins and texile glue to attach the fabric. They
easily went through the Balsa wood and I could snipe
them off before covering that part with fabric.

Three extra pins gave my couch the tufted look I wanted.

Hopefully I can finish the couch in the next couple of days, but I had to tidy my diner table this weekend because we had a little party last night. As soon as I'd put the half finished couch away, Harry claimed it to get very comfortable. Before the first guest arrived he had already started on a bottle of elf-made wine!
I guess I can wait another day before I continue with the couch ;)

The living room is decorated!

After I had finished the living room floor, all that was left to do was finishing the fire place and then I could get all the removable panels in place.

I painted the bricks on the inside with black, grey/cottage green
and white and repainted the outside and on of the walls
with chalk paint (no 2 van Het Kabinet).

I love the shade so I decided to repaint the
ceiling as well :)

Inspiration for making the fire came from this blog.
The flickering fire is a camp fire block from Nalladris. 

And then finally I could slide the ceiling with beams and
the fire place back in the room, which wasn't easy because
the chandelier and the wires from the fire place all needed
to get into place at the same time. Getting all the lights on at
the same time was the next challenge but I managed :)

To see the flickering fire - and all the walls - here's a short (and not very good :P) video:

The arm chair won't stay in the living room, but for now Penny can sit very comfortable with Blast in front of the fire, her book about toadstools next to her.

It's so exciting to have finished decorating the first room of the cottage. Can't wait to start furnishing :) I've already chosen a bookcase and a writing desk (from Julie Warren's book) I want to make and put against the back wall but I still haven't found the right furniture for the sitting area :)
And of course I still need to wax the wooden floor (a)

A bed for Penny

When showing the non-sewing quilt I made I used Draco's four poster bed in the final photo, but that didn't feel right. So I put the quilt away for the time being because, of course, I wanted to make a bed for little Penny next :)
I decided to make the bed based on Julie Warren's tutorial (left), but with the head- and footboard I found in an other tutorial (right).

  

One tutorial was in cm, the other was in inches, so lots of adapting needed to be done, and then they both happened to be double beds, so I had to resize - and remeasure - everything to a smaller size as wel. Secretly I liked the measuring and drawing part though (a)

Can you tell I love masking tape? (a) I'd be lost without it, ghe ghe

I used tiny doorknobs, bought at Minidoor, to decorate the head- and footboard.

After I finished Penny's bed I couldn't find the quilt anywhere o.O I looked everywhere, untill finally I found it. Someone took it!!

Harry was just trying to sneak into the bed also, when I came and started making photo's (a)

 

After a lot of arguing - and the promise to make them a quilt too - I could place it on Penny's bed :)

I thought mother Bianca should get the same bed (with other bedding of course) because it might look weird having two different beds in one small room. It's not the same as with the different kitchen chairs, I think. I image (since they rented the cottage furnished) that there should be two single beds that could be shoved together for a couple :') Unless a previous tenant must have broken the bed and it had been replace by a different bed (a)

The first bed ended up becoming Bianca's bed, because lack of space in the attic room asked for a smaller second bed. Wish I could make it less long as well, but even old cottages probably have decent beds ;) Without the legs and boards there could be even more space but I decided against that.

After seeing the quilt on the four poster bed, I decided not to paint Penny's bed but stain it. I like the warm colours of wood for an attic room. This time I didn't use the oak stain like I did on the table and chair seats (the square in the middle) but used two different shades of brown shoe polish.

So on the right side is the smaller, lighter bed, which will be Penny's, and the left, regular single size bed with darker shade will be for Bianca.