The Wizard's Study

This has been one of those stretches of time when life intrudes on the enjoyment of a hobby. Where did the year go since my last post? By way of catching up this post will be more "show" than "tell".

The Wizard's Study is 98% complete. Sifting through stored supplies often turns up something I wasn't looking for but is "just right" for a previously "finished" project.

Foamcore Right Exterior View
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This was a "How Do I Do That?" project. I used it as an opportunity to try many new techniques. In later blogs, I'll share the many processes I learned. This box is made of Foamcore and covered with tissue wrinkled with a glue/water solution. Two major things learned were the importance of keeping things square (I didn't) and the tissue/glue technique looks better with one-ply tissue (used two-ply on this project).

Foamcore Left Exterior View

I bought a poster frame and cut the clear acrylic to make the box's front. Although I have enough left over acrylic to make another box front, I'm looking for a cheaper source of acrylic.

Center View

Left View - Lighted

Left View

You cant see much of the floor. It is made of stained craft sticks (tongue depressors).

Right View - Lighted

Right View

Most of the accessories are hand-crafted, It's the little things that make miniature rooms special.

Wall Unit

The wall unit was made from craft sticks (tongue depressors, my favorite wood source), mitered trim and braided floss to accent the base. The shelf items include: rolled scrolls, bead jar, clay candles, skull bead, aged paper books, crystal balls, and potion bottles.

Wizard's Desk

If you look closely, you can find the following hand-crafted items on the desk: clay candles, rolled and open scrolls, framed picture (my grandfather), leather bound closed and open paged books, bead jar, ink jar and writing feather, crystal balls, and of course a magic wand.For easy reference, the all important Zodiac is posted on the wall.

Open Scroll and Writing Feather

Wizard's Hat

Paged Books (Paper Binding)

Crystal Ball, Leather Bound Paged Book

Great Wizards (Google Images)

Wizard's Study is complete in time for Halloween. When I find that black cat somewhere in my stash, I'll add it to the scene. Until then, Happy Mini-ing.

This and That

It has been a while since I've had time to sit and write. I've been working on Stone Cottage and will have pictures to post soon. I thought I would share some pics of my practice collections and craft projects. First, the miniatures:

Miniature Hat Collection I

Before I began the Red Hat Project (A collection of 18 different Red Hats.), I followed a variety of on-line tutorials. There are many ways to make a miniature hat. They range from scaled down versions of real hat making procedures to shaping the had out of clay. I combined those techniques that worked best for my fingers. One day I'll add to this collection and make a Hat Shoppe. The Red Hat Project can be viewed on my "Shutterfly" photo page. Red Hat Project.

Cake Collection

Nothing to do on a rainy day - try playing with clay. So far I've only attempted cakes and french bread. These are my best practice pieces. I'll continue to add to this collection as I work on different clay techniques

The Teapots

I absolutely love making these little teapots. These three are my favorites. When I finally finish the  kitchen room box I am working on, I will display the teapot collection around the kitchen. 

Halloween "Mardi Gras Masks"

These were so much fun to make. A little lace, ribbon, some feathers a lot of glitter and hot glue.

Potting Shed 1

Garden Trellis

Took a little deviation today. Decided to do some work on my "Potting Shed". The trellis was built using skinny craft sticks. The flowers are made out of clay. The flowers were hot glued to some store bought greenery. Of course I can't use a glue gun without burning my fingers. My tip for today (can't remember where I read it) is keep a small bowl of water nearby when using a glue gun. Cool water gives instant relief to burned fingers. Happy mini-ing.