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.

Baquettes for a birthday swap

Last week the crafting club met again :) I'll tell you about the (Italian) project in another blog, but since we had another birthday girl, I want to show you the swap I've done.
I knew Jolinda likes brocantes and is working on a French doll house. So for inspiration I spend some time on her blog and thought something for the kitchen would be nice. So I started looking for French bread and found this (Dutch) tutorial for a box to store a baguette.

For the baguettes I found these tutorials on Pinterest that were helpful, by thinkpastel and The Enchanted Gallery. In March I'd bought a mould for bread at Stella Que Passa, so I made two loaves of bread with the leftover Fimo :)

I think the bread and baguettes are a bit too yellow, so next tine I'll add a bit of brown Fimo to the mixture, but for a first try I liked it :)

For making the knife this tutorial from SugarCharmShop was helpful. I used little dots of silver nail polish on the handle, and a tiny strip from a peel off sticker sheet.

This is the finished swap for Jolinda:

Happy I made enough bread to fill a basket for the cottage :)

A plate rack for an English tea set

Since I'll be meeting the mini craft club tomorrow, I'm busy preparing for the next project. I'll tell you all about it after tomorrow :)
Due to that project though, and my visit to England, I haven't done much work on the Hogsmeade cottage. Working on the walls, ceiling and floor of the living room isn't something I can do in just a few hours or even days, but I still wanted to feel like I did something for the cottage.

I decided to make a (plate) rack for the tea set I bought at Studley Grange, the craft village in Swindon. Having googled for images I started without a tutorial - oh boy - and only a vague idea ^^

It seemed to be going well ...

... but the plate would keep falling unfortunately :')

So I adapted the part I've done and created another design :)

So, not the nodel I was going for at the start but at least it's
a one of a kind, I guess?

And I accidentally made it just wide
enough (a)

I've used a walnut stain for this rack ...

... because I want a bit of a mismatch
regarding the (wood colours of the) furniture.

Not sure if it'll end up in the kitchen or
in the living room. We'll see ;)

Crocheted potholders

I only did some small crochet projects *pun intended ^^ * the previous months. Due to Pinterest I got inspired by making tiny pot holders. Why? I don't know, they just looked so pretty (the 1:1 scale version) that I just wanted to try it ;)
I don't have a stove, don't have a finished kitchen, in fact, I don't even have a house yet (a)

Anyway, after a few attempts I ended up with these pretty things. I used a crochet hook 0.6 and a single strand of DMC embroidery floss.

Aren't they pretty? <3

Update on Hogsmeade house

It's long overdue, but I finally have figured out how to solve the different problems that kept popping up :) Or that's what I hope.

I figured that I could better change plans now, before the walls would be glued together. In the end it will be just a little bump along the road, right?
First there was the problem with the stairs.

 

Having solved that, I discovered that the doors on the attic landing would be very small and a bit too low, though that could probably work since it's a cottage, right? ;)
Also I thought it might be very hard to fit two beds in the room, with that roof above.

 It's exciting to see it in 3D once in a while 
(after 2 days the masking tape will come loose).

Due to all the problems that roof was bringing, I'd got the idea to make the lower part of the attic walls straight for about 10 cm, so there wwould be more room. For the beds, the doors and any other similar problems the bathroom would have. Kind of like the picture below. The floor between the two levels would be the yellow or red line.
I'd had to buy new wood, saw/cut new walls, and of course, made new plan drawings (a)

When I finally found the time and courage to work out this new idea, I came across a next challenge. One a more expierenced builder could have easily managed, but seemed too big for me :')

I'd forgotten the fact that a dolls' house is supposed to get open once in a while, and while I'd figured out how to do that in the first plan, I got stuck everytime I tried to figure it out with this latest idea :(

So, two days ago, I spend hours on the internet searching for other solutions. Got a new idea (a), made new plan drawings, and brainstormed with my friend Kim about it. She is my go to girl for all cottage related issues after all ^^

The idea is something like the picture below though my house will be twice as deep as this one.

The gable end (side) of the house would be;

Blue lines instead of red

So having finally figured out what to do, I woke up yesterday at 4 am, too exited to start to stay in bed :) I drew and measured, cut and glued, and when it was noon I was ready to get the masking tape (again ^^) and put it all together.
Tadaa!

The bedroom will still be small for two single beds but after all the cottage is supposed to represent the one I describe in my story; a tiny house in Hogsmeade they rent just for the summer holidays untill Penny will go to Hogwarts on September 1st, and maybe mother Bianca, as the new professor, as well. So, they'll just have to make do ;)
I'm thinking of keeping the beds on either side of the fireplace though. That way I can put the door in the middle of the wall, right across the fire place and have place on both sides of the wall for cupboards or cabinets. Maybe even trunks by the end of the beds ^^

The stairs are now placed on the other side, and against the back wall. Being able to see the stairs is a plus, but it also gives more room on both levels.

So the next thing will be to check every wall, floor and roof panel for (measuring or cutting)  errors and mark out where exactly the opening for the doors and windows will come before  I'll remove the tape :)