Miss Havisham's Furniture #2

After being inspired with making the ladies bureau (still not glued together - awaiting bits to put inside), I decided to make a grandfather clock. It's finished - nothing opens up - but the pendulum swings (erratically - but still, it swings!). I did go over-board with the ageing ... but in fairness, it was the lacquer finish that bought out the darker colour and made it bleed somewhat. I do like the result though :)

I actually made plans on paper for the clock, which was lucky as I promised I'd make one for a dear friend too.  Second time around, it was easier to make, as I'd made the mistakes and errors with the first :)

The clocks are slightly shorter than bought 1:12th scale grandfather clocks - but the ceilings in my dolls house are actually quite low, I think - so perhaps a little shorter will be better for me.

Here's the clocks together:

Firstly, the bought one... then the one I have made for a friend, and lastly my own that I have made.

The one I made for a friend is under-coated and sanded, with all the bits she needs to finish off the clock in a little baggy. It's been left like this so she can paint it in the style she chooses - I can't wait to see what she does with it :) I think I'll print off a few faces for the clock - something a bit more suited to her decor. If needed, the hole where the face is can be left open, and a working watch-face inserted (it is a 1" circle).

Ornaments

Okay, so this is basically a cheat - because dolls house ornaments are so expensive!

I have four beautiful solid silver ornaments - two on wooden plinths and two free-standing ones...

Excuse the 'dodgy' photographs - I WILL get batteries in my 'proper' camera soon!

First, the mounted ornaments - a chinese dragon and a horse... with the glue still wet *lol*

 And then a little hare and a puma (at least, I think it's a puma!)

 And these little ornaments were made using a very inexpensive charm bracelet, and the 'plinths' were made with a lolly stick. I love a bargain! :)

Miss Havisham's Furniture

Although I haven't started to decorate the new house yet, I have decided on the theme for 3 rooms - one will be the study from "The Woman In Black", another will be a scene from "A Christmas Carol" with (hopefully) the ghost of Jacob Marley... and the one I am currently making furniture for is a Miss Havisham room  from "Great Expectations".

I took a few lessons and inspiration from Kris at 1" Minis and have almost finished a ladies bureau - I haven't glued the front on yet, because I want to fill it up a bit more, and I also want to 'age' the drawer knobs too.

It was actually more difficult than I imagined it would be to make the piece look less 'shabby-chic' and have a more decayed look - but I think I have done quite alright for a beginner :)

Orchid Dolls House - Project

 I used spare shingles to make a teeny bird house

Orchid Dolls House... Project

The Orchid Dolls house... in the making :)

 Drawing the lines on the roof to line up the shingles was such a pain!

 Decorating was easy - everything purple :)

 The shingles weren't painted - they were washed with a watered down ink solution :)

Purple Orchid Cottage

Some of the items I made for the purple dolls house - a bread bin and spice rack, and paper flowers - pansies and snowdrops :)

How Long...? An Update...

It has been so long since I updated here - life took over, other hobbies took more time, and miniatures just slipped by the wayside.

A few weeks ago, I sold all my clay-making bits and pieces, sure that I would never make another miniature in my life... and then asked Hubby to buy me a dolls house for Christmas! This new house is ready-made - though I shall be redecorating :) It is 1/12th scale with 6 rooms - I'll take photos at a later date with news and projects I'm working on.

A quick update then...

I'm not sure how far back I need to go, so I'll start with my little cat Bella. She went missing after we had her for a year and has never been found. I missed her so much and had to get another cat - Miss Violet. Unfortunately, Miss Violet (or 'Baby', as she was called) was ran over a year after we bought her, and died in my arms... I was devastated. SO... I got another cat to help me heal my broken heart. Enter Kitty-Belle .. a persian/bengal cross who looks like a tabby. I was so worried when she got to be a year old - but she broke the 'year curse of the cats', and she's still with me now - along with her baby, Coco (we call her 'CocoBean')... a tortoiseshell with quite a bit of fluff :)

Poor Lily - my jack russel terrier was put to sleep because she had mammarial cancer. I swore I would never have another dog again... and that lasted five days. Off I went to London and bought a yorkie who we named Barkley McScruffles. 

Now, anyone who has read this blog may notice a very strange coincidence here...

My 'Forever Christmas' 1/24th scale house has two pets inside... a grey tabby and a little yorkie (I named 'Pookie'). I didn't even realise until a couple of months ago, that the pets I had bought for the miniature house (many years before), are the same as my 'real-life' pets... and it really wasn't planned.

Just over a year ago, my father passed away very unexpectedly, and to be quite honest, I am still not 'over it'. I spiralled into depression and was diagnosed with 'extreme delayed grief' with symptoms similar to mild PTSD. I gave up all crafting and hobbies except for making 'reborn babies'... a hobby that still takes a little of my time, and one which I shall be doing a lot of after this coming Christmas.

I have two grandchildren - and two more on the way :) My second daughter is expecting non-identical twin girls in April 2016 - a bit of good news there :)

I did finish the purple cottage - I'll find some photographs and post them soon. Unfortunately, the beautiful little house just took up too much room, so I had to sell it... and have regretted that ever since. Still, we live and learn.

That's all the updates for now...  I guess you can clearly see that my life revolves around my family and pets! I'll try and update as my new project moves forward... 

Another 'Adventure Into Miniature'!