New book: Miniaturemøbler i skandinavisk stil

From one book to another =) I love books, miniature books like the one I bought from Birgit, and books about miniatures =)
I have been looking for a Danish book about miniature furniture for quite awhile now, first I thought it was a bit too expensive and I was saving up for it, and then, they stopped selling it at one place after another. I have been "watching" it on adlibris for several month, maybe over a year. But it's sold out at the publisher. But with help from Birgitta I manage to find and buy the last one at WilliamDam Denmark. More expensive than I first thought.. but now I finally got it =)
There are great pictures of lovely furniture. And templates and step to step on all the furniture, a great book! I'm so happy to have it!

Miniaturemøbler i skandinavisk stil - Susanne Botfeldt

 I recently discovered that I like "allmoge möbler". I would love an "allmoge" corner cupboard (Life size). But I have no room for it, and they cost a lot, so I thought I could make one in miniature, but looking at the instructions in this book I thought it was a bit too hard for me. I have to try something easier first, maybe I'll be able to make a cupboard in a few years.. But then I have to become a great painter until then too ;) (Maybe I'll just save up some money and buy one, like Anne Collins lovely cupboards: http://annesminiatyrer.blogspot.se/2013/10/hornskap-vaggskap-och-kistor.html and http://annesminiatyrer.blogspot.se/2012/10/utdragssangarsoffor-och-skap.html
Until then I remembered a cupboard lying in my "fix or repaint-box" And I started sanding it and paint it. But in this heat I don't feel like doing anything else than relaxing in the sun.. I have been sewing a bit on a rya/ loop pile carpet, fun, but it took much more time than I thought it would =) I'll show pictures later =)
Take care
Hannah

Buy or make

I have always been cheap!! But I have always spent a little too much money.. Sounds weird, but you can do both ;) I use to shop a LOT!! But mostly cheap stuff, but a lot, which make it less cheap in the end.. And if/when I see something I like, I think, can I make that myself?! And when it comes to miniature I often want to try. Because I'm cheap, not because it feels like a fun thing to try.. often just because I want it, and I want it cheap..
But lately I started thinking, what if I stop buying lots of cheap stuff and save up for one really good thing instead =) And if someone else made something great, I can buy it, unless I feel like I really would love to try to make it myself. There is nothing bad in buying things I like, instead of trying myself.. I cant be brilliant at everything (hey, I can't be brilliant at anything.. ;) ) I always think it would be nice to have a scene entirely made by me, but I always ends up buying a few things anyway.. Better to buy really nice things than really cheap things.. And I start to think it can be a really good thing to mix both common bought things, ooak bought things from others and things I made my self in one scene!
So, I looked and looked.. That book Birgit did could look wonderful in my Fantasy project... and then I thought, well I have to buy it =)
Brigit bougt a frog from me, so it felt nice to buy something of hers too, like a swap almost ;) (But I cant make it a habbit, to buy from all that buys from me... But I started selling hoping I would earn some money so that I could buy more materials and miniatures =) So maybe thats exactly what I should do, shop when someone has bought something of mine =) )

So here is my latest purchase, Birgits wonderful book!! =) Bought in her Etsy shop: https://www.etsy.com/se-en/shop/BiWuBear

 It's truly amazing, even better looking "in person" =) There are so many details!

The pages looks great, and there are different pictures inside.

And I even got a lot of extras!! =) These are all wonderful things. A wool-person like me got to love the sheep =)

And the dragon is wonderful, I see that I photographed it from behind..But the front is even better =)
The mushrooms are wonderful too! 

And that candle is so funny and cute, and it glows in the dark!

After unpacking all these lovely things, I felt like getting somewhere with the Fantasy project, I finally glued the "forest" in place. And I want to show you the wall I made. I had one idea first, couldn't make it, so I just went were my fingers got me =) And this is the result. I wanted a whimsical wall, and I like making stones and bricks from egg carton, so I wanted to use that here.

I have to add a doorknob, but I got a lovely decoration on the door, one of the extras from Birgit =) (First I thought of having the dragon on the door, but since it has a nice back too, I didn't want to glue it to a door like that.. so I took the unicorn =) )

I went a little crazy with the colours =) I was sitting beside my daughter painting with water colours, we had a great and fun time!
First this wall was yellow, but then I tried some green, and then blue and purple and brown and then I wanted it more grey/white, and this is what I ended up with. I have to say I like it =)

I'm going to start working on a roof soon, I have an idea, I hope it will be doable. Then I have to decide the colour of the inner walls. I think it will be more blue! =) I think my witch likes blue, so she will be happy here. (She might be under the influence of my daughter, that loves blue, and only paint with blue colours) ;)
I don't know what and how I will make the ground on the outside part, the floor on the inside is easier..

Have a nice summer and take care! Finally the heat has come to me, so I have to go out on the new balcony now to enjoy it while I can =)

Hannah

Fantasy dolls

From a 1:6 scale Blythe to a 1:12 scale doll =)
I have been wanting to start working on a wizard for my Fantasy project for years now, but never got to it. But finally, I took out the doll clay, a present from some years ago, still unopened... and remember I have to wait for my daughter to go to sleep, I can't concentrate with her hanging over my shoulders... so back in the drawer again....
But then I went looking in another small drawer, that said, old doll parts.. Here I throw doll parts that I haven't made a body for, yet, or parts I don't really like.. well, that's almost every doll I try to make... (except one, that I gave away)
I found this weird looking head. I have redone it at least one time, but I was still unhappy with it, but I thought it might work as a crazy looking wizard. So I started choosing hair. Wool, seemed best for this one, and then I see, it's not a wizard, its a witch!! Well.. I wanted a wizard, not a crazy looking one, a nice one.. but I ended up with a crazy looking witch.. I suppose that can happen when you try to work with magic, when you are a novice, like me..

I hope I will finish this crazy witch. Her eyes.... and eyebrows... and her whole face... Not like I want it, but hey, who am I to judge a poor old lady...
I have to help her get some clothes.
And I would love to have a beautiful fairy. But I realize I'm not a great doll-maker, and started looking at ebay, wow!! wonderful faries.. but high prices, off course, when they look like real people... so I'm back to me making one again.. let's see how that turns out. Maybe I'll get a wizard next time ;)

This is my witch so far. She needs a skirt too. And I just made her some feet =)
And I opened that doll clay and tried making a young woman, I got a body, but then I just couldn't get a head to match it. I tried three times and every time I ended up with a male.. Why is females harder to make? And I did try to make a baby, but guess what, I ended up making a man, with a moustache...

That's when I gave up a bit and ordered a sculpey mold on ebay. I would love to get it now, but I have to wait a couple of weeks =(
Maybe I should try to finish the dolls I started until then =) I don't dare to show them to you, yet.. Maybe later =)

Take care

Hannah

My Blythe

I started writing this post back in May, but I never finished, but now when my friend Anna bought herself a Blythe I thought it was time to show off mine =) Even with her head on the side...
You know I had a birthday in the beginning of May and when I got the opportunity to buy a Blythe doll from a woman in a Facebook group I took the chance in a heartbeat.. Maybe a little too quickly.. But I thought it would make a perfect birthday gift for myself =)

The woman I bought it from bought it from Japan, were they said it was a second quality doll. Her eyes had a hard time staying up. I unscrewed the head and my husband and I saw that there was missing a spring. And the eye mechanism doesn't work like a charm... You have to really pull hard and at a different direction than it should. She is also missing the ring to the pull string.  And her body most be a copie, it's not marked Takara, and it has a screw on top... But the head is marked Takara, but it might be parts in it that's not.

I started to google Blythe dolls and quickly found out there are lots of "factory dolls" out there...  http://www.222am.org/avoiding-fake-blythe-dolls-ebay-list-known-counterfeit-blythe-dolls/
This most be one of these. I was a bit disappointed, I had no idea such things existed. Especially since it's missing parts and have a stiff unbendable body.  But I did get it to a better price and I knew there was something wrong with the eyes.
Like I said my friend Anna bought a Blythe herself a few days ago, and she gave me a link and now I was very close to buying another one, at Aliexpress they are really cheep, but they are most certainly factory dolls too, but they look like they have all parts and a better body, and when you know before you buy that they can be "fake" you wont (at least I think so) get disappointed with the doll when it arrives. So I might want another one ;) I think I'm getting hooked already.... But I have to remember we have no space for them and I have a LOT (too many) Barbie dolls already. But I am a doll lover =)


I had a great friend, she was even a member of my family, she loved Blythe dolls. But she died, and never get to own one herself. Every time I see a Blythe doll I think of her. And when I saw this one, I knew I had to have it =) It's not like she looks just like her, but still there is something about her that really makes me think of her. I think its the hair, maybe the lips too. So this doll will be my memory of a fantastic person who died way too early!!
I would have loved it if the doll had all parts, but I hope to fix her and I really like her anyway =) So over all it was a great deal that I'm happy I made.

You want to see my doll? =) Well she is still unscrewed, but here you go:

Pink eyelids

 I like these blue eyes the best =)

Purple eyes

Green eyes

At last, yellow eyes

I hope to work on her soon and attach the head again =) But right now I'm busy with my Fantasy roombox =) Hope to show more of that soon.

I also found this mini Blythe boxes to print yourself, so now my dollhouse has a Blythe doll in a box =) 

Take care
Hannah