Crafting together (autumn) - October

We've decided last month to put our projects on hold for a couple of times and work on a small autumn themed scene. Our initial inspiration was this lovely fence.

Though I'd decided to do a wooden fence like this one.

 

So I've worked on the base and the fence while they were here and then did some more that evening and yesterday 🙂

I'll add some more sunflowers to the single one and next month we'll try to make a raven with Fimo and a scarecrow.

The little toad Kim from Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo made is very content now that I finally found him somewhere to live :)

A scratching post for Blast.

While planning the furniture for the cottage living room this weekend, I also wanted to craft a little something, so I had some fun making this scratching post.
The coulours will fit the living room, though it might end up in one of the other rooms ;)

I got tips & tricks & inspiration from the following sites:

• this Dutch tutorial, 
• this French photo tutorial, 
• these photo's for inspiration from SillySisters
• and this Youtube tutorial by SugarCharmShop:

Credits:
The half cat/half Kneazle was a gift from my friend Kim of Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo for Penny.
The name 'Blast' comes from my all time favourite Harry Potter fanfiction 'Secrets' by Vorabiza, in which Draco's daughter gets a little white kitten which they call Blast.

Mini-knitting

I totally had forgotten to talk about my New Years resolutions on crafting projects :)
After one failed attempt a couple of years ago, I'd decided that this would be the year to finish a knitted miniature o.O
Instead of the Venne Shetland wool I used the first time, I now choose Venne cotton (34/2), in the hope it would go better with my dry, rough skin, which it did.
Of course me being me, I started the first weekend of January with a very difficult pattern. So that didn't work out well (a)
A simpeler one, with just knits and purls, worked better and I thought it would make a nice cushion cover.

Because I had 'plans', I went ahead of myself and ordered some new Venne cotton in colours matching the (Harry Potter) Hogwarts Houses ;)
The plan was knitting something else for the birthday of my friend Kim the next month. Hardest part was not to tell her about my progress and pretend I kept failing and trying again and again ;)

But the next miniature knitting went even better - probably because of the lighter colour. I found a tutorial and taught myself how to maze, so it would look like a Hufflepuff scarf in progress. The wrapper reads 'Never-tangle wool', and was designed by me.

Because there was still plenty of time before I had to send the parcel, I wanted to try the ultimate (for now at least); a sock.
It's kind of a joke between us that Kim would ask (nag :P) for socks and I would tell her that would never happen ;)
I'd found a pattern in an old Dutch P&M dollshouse magazine for socks, using only two needles, so I tried. And succeeded! Yay, So proud of myself. And excited, but of course I couldn't share for another couple of weeks :')

It all arrived exactly on her birthday and I was so happy with her surprised and enthusiastic respons! :)

A surprise from abroad

The previous weeks have been a bit chaotic and challenging on many levels 😏
Among other things, my hard disk died and even though I always save everything in a cloud, I haven't been able to recover any data. Well, nothing but the miniature related files and photo's which happen to be in another cloud :') (writing English is hard enough, but writing about computer stuff is even harder ^^)

So, it definately made my day (and week ) when the postman rang (just once :P) and delivered this parcel from my dear friend Kim, from Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo.

The best things come in small packages!

It's all so gorgeous and incredible tiny! I had
to hold my breath or the quill and ring would
have been lost :')

Together with some other items she included. I'm sure Bianca
of the Hogsmeade cottage will be very pleased with all of these!

Introducing Penny

I'm pleased to introduce Penny to you, who'll be living in the Hogsmeade cottage with her mother Bianca. 

Penny is an original character from my Dutch story Wentelende Wereld (which roughly translates as 'Turning World'). It is a post Deathly Hallows (Harry Potter) fanfiction, which has already 44 chapters on line, but is nowhere near finished ;)

Penny grew up in a totally Muggle neighbourhood, and wasn't told about the Wizarding world until her own magic started to show. Now, in the summer after Harry Potter defeated Voldemort, she'll turn 11 years and she anxiously waiting for her Hogswarts acceptance letter. Her mother, who has been a teacher in a Muggle school for the last decade, has applied for a job at Hogwarts. To make it easier for Penny to enter the Wizarding World for the first time, Bianca has decided to move to a small cottage in Hogsmeade for the summer. 

Ofcourse there's a lot more to their story, like meeting lots of new people, dark secrets, a hidden identity, a new romance etc, but it would be to much to translate all of that :')

When I was looking online for someone who could resemble Penny, I searched for 'pre teen girl braids' and found these photo's.

As soon as I saw this photo
I knew it was 'my' Penny :)

Me at 11 (or 12) ;) Now I'm
wondering if I based Penny
unconsiously on my image ^^

After a (very) long search on the internet for the right doll, I found Dollhousedoll (in Dutch Poppenhuispop.nl). Esther has made this 12 cm high doll for me, painted the face and braided the hair. I was so happy when she arrived, I could hardly wait to make her some clothes ;)

Seeing as Penny grew up in a totally Muggle neighbourhood, she had alway worn Muggle clothes. 

I decided to just go with the outfit the girl on the photo wears. Quite a challenge with no pattern and hardly any experience in sewing miniature clothes. 

I found fabrics in the right colour for the tops/shirt and the jeans (which all where clothes from my own wardrobe ^^).

I really love how this turned out, would love
that in 1:1 for myself ^^

Because the doll only had half porcelain
arms and legs, I needed to make at least
half long sleeves.

Fitting the shirt, the sleeve turned out to be
just the right lenght to cover the not porcelain
part of her arm.

I think this is the smallest piece of clothing
I've made so far :)

Looks as comfy as it was when I wore the
original shirt :P

The jeans are still inside out while Penny is
very helpful lifting her top while fitting them.

For the jeans I had found this great tutorial
by SugarCharm!

Thanks to the stretchy fabric the jeans fit
like a glove ;)

I still want to give the jeans a worn looking maybe even rip them a little if I dare :')

Also want to change the shoes/boots she's wearing now to something more sporty and fitting of a ten-year old, like sneakers/trainers of walking boots.

After Penny gets her Hogwarts acceptance
letter, there will definitely be newly bought
robes and books on her bed ;)

Credits: the half cat/half Kneazle, called 'Blast', was a gift from my friend Kim of Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo for Penny.

Pretty in pink

"... now I've no more excuses left to not start shaping the clematis leaves and flowers," I said last week.
So what did I do? Anything but shaping leaves and flowers (a) Well, I did a few, but then I got distracted ... again.
I filled the planter with potting soil (mostly clay with a mixture of ground coffe from a coffee pad and tea from a tea bag glued onto it). While looking for some left over coffee and tea, I also found the box with the other bamboo items we made together, so I've added the bird house, the round planter with tulips and the broom to the scene.
The black bird, which Kim from Bibbidi Bobbibi Boo had made me, has found its definate place. Sitting on a broken flowerpot, a bit hidden between the garden bench and the lilac planter he's enjoying small bites of apple. The Kneazles are both made by Kim as well!

Did I originally think about putting an old man on the bench, perhaps smoking a pipe, suddenly I got the image of a little girl playing with a pet :)
I happened to have these two little christmas angels, so I gave the little redhead an make over :)

The top is reversible, so did I want to dress her in a top with 

roses and a pink skirt or the other way around?

I choose the little roses for both the top and the skirt, with some pink accents, but didn't attach the skirt to the top, so I'll be able to change her outfit if I make another skirt in the pink fabric.

I'm normally not into the (miniature)babyrooms and pink dresses but I have 

to admit, this little girl in her pretty dress has already stolen my heart ;) 

She's also the first of my dolls, for whom I sewed an outfit and I enjoyed making this 

dress more than I anticipated, so maybe Harry, Draco and Sophie will be next ^^

Well, time to continue with the leaves and flowers, right? Or should I .... ;)

Doors for the Hogsmeade Cottage, part 4

I've finally finished the inner doors for the Hogsmeade (Scottish) cottage! :)
Not perfect by all mean, but after all the struggles they gave me, I'm more than happy with the result ^^
Once they were finished I couldn't resist putting all the walls together with lots of masking tape. Not only for fun, but also to give me a better understanding what I need to do next. It also gave me a boost for the next part.
Of course doing some home decorating was purely for my pleasure, though I hope you enjoy the photo's as well ;)

Not everything inside will eventually end up in the cottage but most of it will.

Most miniatures are made by me, some be others. Such as the Kneazle (cat) and the tree-like bookstand, made by Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo, and the books on the bed and the bookstand are by Marike's Magical Miniatures.

The furniture won't stay in the cottage, but I haven't made any for the living room :)

The stairs still need some work, so this is a good opportunity to have a good look.
Pixie is by Georgia Marfels, Parcels by Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo.

The least idea's yet for the bathroom, other then the colour, lilac/lavender :)

Apple pie cutting board and Kneazle (cat) made by Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo.

Christmas has come early!

This blog isn't about any miniatures I made, but about a parcel I got yesterday.
I'd expected it for a while and was looking forwards to finally see all the wonderful handmade miniatures I'd find inside :)

Everything inside was made by my dear friend and very talented miniaturist Kim from Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo.

I can't begin to tell you how happy I was, when I got to open each little item ;)
Photo's don't do them justice but I want to show you anyway ^^

First of all, those gorgeous Kneazles. I can't even begin to express how much I adore them. So cute, I would cuddle them all day if I wasn't afraid I'd loose them somewhere :') For those of you who don't know what a Kneazle is, it's a cat-like magical animal from the Harry Potter universe.
I think Bianca and Penny will have to make a trip to the Magical Petshop because these cuties will definately be living in the Hogsmeade cottage, whenever that will be finished (a)

The bookstand is made for little Penny. She'll love it!! It's even more wonderful than I expected, so glad I can finally see that amazing 'tree-work' for real 🙂
Some little twig branches are sticking out of the side of the bookstand, they are handy to hang a little potion bottle or some herbs.

For now let's pretend this is the front door of the cottage. Parcels delivered by owls, the Kneazles waiting for Bianca and Penny to return :)

The blackbird is so very tiny and yet realistic, I can't believe it. I needed to put on my magnifying glasses to even see it.

That cheeky Mandrake made me smile, so happy with that.

And then, last but not least, the apple baking board. I've loved it from the moment I saw it in the Etsy shop shop and it will look great in the cottage kitchen.

I am as happy as a clam at high water:)
As soon as the holiday season is over, I want to start working on the cottage for real. I feel very inspired ^^

So, I hope you've enjoyed looking at these photo's. If you want to see more of Kim's miniatures, you should definitely visit her Etsy shop.