Magical Miniatures

If you love all things magical and miniature you are in the right place.

About me and my blog

I am a mother of three and work on a market stall. In my free time I love to make magical miniatures. It all started with my gran who spent hours when I was a child teaching me how to make do. This entailed mending and fixing and making things from scratch. My dolls house consisted of cardboard boxes with windows cut out, beautifully decorated and all furniture hand made. We sat for hours making clothes and accessories for my dolls to the envy of my friends that all had the same generic stuff. So thanks gran for the inspiration. I hope you enjoy my art and my blog. Thanks for visiting.

Wednesday 23 April 2014

Seaside scene

Even though I spoke too soon about the sunshine and we only had rain today I made a seaside themed scene. I decided to do 4 scenes altogether. This one will be the third.
I used the same idea as the others with stained balsa wood covering over with silicon glue where the sand would be and a cut out of blue paper with the white flecks again.
I used real sand and crushed shells for the beach. Choosing tiny shells to decorate and reindeer moss as seaweed. 
For the fence I used match sticks and for the sandcastle I used a toothpaste tube lid covered in sand with tiny shells stuck around the sides and top.
I made a bottle from beads to look like it has washed ashore. I love the old message in a bottle thing.









1.12 scale allotment

With the sun finally out and the temperatures rising I am getting that summer feeling and want to create sunny feeling miniatures!
With this in mind I did the natural garden and loved it so much I decided to do some more. This scene is an allotment.
I used the T bag soil mix layered and built up in places on top of a piece of sanded and stained balsa wood.
Once nearly dry I added my twig tree, cabbages (that I cheated and bought from Pinocchio's. Our local doll house dealers) I also bought the flowers that I cut to size and the trowel and secateurs. The stool I already had I just painted it and then rubbed in some ash to age and dirty it up a little. As a finishing touch I added some twigs too.
As I don't have a garden just a yard I am loving the fact I can still enjoy looking at one but in miniature! 





 

Monday 21 April 2014

Nature scene

Sat in the sun on the back door step watching the children play really felt like summer today. 
I decided that while I was sat about I would make some thing. I started on a few things then found a piece of paper. Blue with white flecks in it. To me it just said water on a hot day with the clouds above reflecting within it.
So I cut a little wavy shape out and stuck it to some balsa wood I had cut to 3 1/2 cm squared, stained then coated in pva glue and water.
Next I took a t bag and emptied its leaves into a bowl and mixed in some pva glue and a little water. Covering the wood where I hadn't put the paper I squashed the mix thinly across. Once dry I built up some areas to give a more realistic finish.
Taking several different verities of dried mosses I created the grass and surrounding plants.
I used some tiny shreds of dried grass to wrap around a twig to create the log and I used dried mushrooms that are growing in a patch.
I cut a wheel from a wheel barrow and set it within the moss as though the grass is becoming overgrown and finished it off with scenic water.





    

Tuesday 1 April 2014

Scenes in a box

I decided that I liked the witch in a box idea I used for a gift and decided to do a couple more. This time I left the witches out and did a knitting box and a sewing box. I think they would make great gifts.
I started by taking a small box, folding it flat and cutting it so that when put back together a door is formed. I then covered the inside with the paper I had chosen to use before fixing the over lapping flaps to the outside of the box. Once secure I put the box back together and covered the outside with a contrasting paper.
I found that you can get books of patterned paper in all sizes for scrap booking. It works out cheap and there is a great range.
I had a pack of transfers with flowers on them so I used a couple on the doors to the boxes then added a ribbon to one and a rope to the other door to create half of the lock. I finished them off with beads. On the side of the box I stuck a bead to finish off the lock.
Inside the first box I created a sewers scene. I used a picture of a shelving unit with material and cottons on stuck to a piece of balsa wood inserted into the back of the box, I added a mannequin, sewing machine with material being sewn upon a small table and some bobbins of cotton, tape measure and scissors.
The second box has a nanna sat in her rocking chair knitting, next to her is a basket of wool and knitting needles. In the corner on the wall is a shelf with a vase of flowers.
Every thing is totally handmade in both boxes.