TIME TO SAY GOODBYE

Hi everyone

after thinking about it for a long time, I decided to no longer continue my blog for different reasons, one of them being that so few people seem to show interest in my miniatures

I wanna thank my few followers for being here

I intended to continue my Pinterest Boards, but in the end I decided to delete those too, since the problem is the same ... not enough people showing interest and it has just become too frustrating

I will keep my dollhouses and simply continue to work on those from time to time, but other than that, I'm giving up making miniatures after 25 years

It might seem sad to some of you. But sometimes I wonder if it hadn't been better for me to just keep my mini world to myself. In the beginning, it was hard because I felt kind of lonely, living in a place where nobody knew anything about this wonderful hobby.

But I guess it would have been much better for me if I kept to myself, which unfortunately I didn't do and all this only led to frustration and to the point where I don't wanna share anything anymore.

I also quit making tutorials and writing features about me dollhouses and other projects for A.M. Magazine.

Anyway, take care of yourselves and be happy

😢😢😢

Bye

Have fun making minis

D.

TUTORIAL published in A.M. Magazine : how to make a miniature gift basket and bath bottles

Hello again

Here's another tutorial I made for AMERCIAN MINIATURE MAGAZINE

published in May issue

It's about how to make a cute miniature gift basket and of course

the second part is about how to make the bath bottles to fill it with

Have fun

See ya

👀 👀 👀

TUTORIAL published in A.M. Magazine : how to make miniature frames

Hi everyone

😃

As usual, I try to think about those of you who, for whatever reason, don't have access to dollhouse miniature magazines and that's the reason why I wanna share my tutorials published in AMERICAN MINIATURIST MAGAZINE here on my blog

💝💝💝

Today, we're gonna make frames .... this is an fairly easy project, very suitable for beginners too and these frames can be used for all kinds of pictures and/or mirrors you wanna hang in your dollhouses 

So let's go

Have fun and send me pictures of your projects, 

I'll be proud to publish them here on my blog 

(only if you allow me to do so of course, I'd never publish someone else's 

work without their consent, don't worry)

AWARD

Hi

My blog has been selected by Feedspot panelist as one of the Top 40 Dollhouse Blogs on the we

WOW, I'm so very honored .... I made it from n° 100 to n° 15

Thanks Anuj Agarwal

https://blog.feedspot.com/ dollhouse_blogs/

This is the most comprehensive list of Top 40 Dollhouse Blogs on the internet 

😍😀😊💓💓💓

How to make dollhouse miniature jam jars

Hi everyone

I recently posted this on FB and it seemed that my little jam jars are quite a success

I wanna thank you all for your kind words and I hope you enjoy the little labels I sent you

This is not really a tutorial, but just a quick explanation on how I made these little jam jars

First, here's the link to where I found these tiny glass bottles, 

which come in various sizes and shapes by the way.

https://www.amazon.com/11x18x6mm-Bottles-Stoppers-Message-Weddings/dp/B00MTI4RVO/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1522845847&sr=8-7&keywords=mini+glass+jars+with+cork&dpID=51h85DONAhL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

Should you not live in the US, they are widely available at Amazon UK, Germany, France etc.

And this is the resin I'm always using

https://www.amazon.com/Pebeo-Gedeo-Crystal-Resin-300/dp/B00RPSGLJY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1522845933&sr=8-1&keywords=gedeo+crystal+resin

As I already mentioned in my post on FB, I found the images on Pinterest, seemed to be free for print and personal use and I love to share

I just croped and adjusted the different images to the correct size and added a border so I could use them as labels for my jam jars

There should not be any copyright issues, but they should nevertheless be for personal use only 

Remember to print on simple photocopy/printing paper, but cover the labels with some crystal clear tape before cutting out, it protects the colour from fading over time and it makes them easier to handle

The resin is colored with chalk pastel (needs a lot of stirring, but the end result is very good) and I use a seringue to fill the jars, since they are very tiny

Remember to let the resin harden over night

To finish the top, I did not use the kork lid, just cut out circles from some fabric (the circles should at least be twice as big as the diameter from the jar) and glued them on, finishing up with a little string.

Have fun and please send me pictures of your jars 

Oh ..... almost forgot ..... email me at dmzminiatures@gmail.com or contact me via FB if you want the labels

https://www.facebook.com/dany.zens

See ya soon

👀 👀 👀

D.

TUTORIAL : how to make 1:12th scale miniature bowls for your dollhouse projects

Hello

Today I'm gonna show you how to make your own little bowls for your dollhouse projects.

These can be used in many different ways and are fairly easy to make

To get started, here's a list of all the materials you'll need

* For the molds, try to find some chocolates that match the kind of bowl you want to make

(the one’s I used are from the brand TOFFIFEE)

* Quail egg containers work just fine too

* Craft Plaster 

* Water

* Disposable Plastic Cup 

* Wooden Stirrer

* Plastic tea spoon

* Disposable Rubber Gloves

* Old newspaper or kitchen paper towels to protect your work table

* Paintbrush

* Measuring Cup (optional)

* Different Acrylic paints of your choice

* Dotting tool

* Acrylic water based clear glossy varnish

* Beads, Pearls or Rhinestones for decoration purposes 

* Small Water Decals (Nailart decals are the correct size)

OPTIONAL : for an easier demolding, I’m using a special sort of vaseline from Gédéo, available at Amazon

STEP 1

Put on your disposable rubber gloves. Mix your plaster with water according to the manufacturer’s instructions on the package.

I also add some white acrylic paint, because the plaster always looks kind of grey, 

but that’s optional of course.

The mixture should not be too runny, but still easy to stir 

STEP 2

Protect your work table with an old newspaper or some kitchen paper towels

If you wanna make sure your bowls come out of the mold easily, now would be a good time to apply some of the “easy demolding vaseline” from Gedeo. Apply with a paint brush, one coat to the inside if the mold where the plaster will be poured in and one coat to the downside of the second mold, the one that’s going to be pressed on top

Use an old tablespoon (or a plastic one, whatever you have) and fill the mixture into your molds, making sure they’re only half full (a bit less than half full would even be better)

Take a second mold and press it on top of the 1st one, pushing it slowly all the way down.
Don’t worry about the plaster coming out on the sides, that’s perfectly normal.

SET ASIDE AND LET DRY OVER NIGHT !!

STEP 3

Now comes the moment of truth : demolding your bowls !!

Don’t worry, some will definitely break, that’s ok …. just be gentle while doing this, remember not to push too hard, because the plaster isn’t very thick and easily breakable.

It might seem like a bit of a fiddly job the 1st time, so keep calm :-)

The upper borders of your bowls will look like this, which is perfectly normal (this is a picture I made when I 1st made these bowls, after some practice, it'll get better and the borders will be much more straight when they come out of the mold)

STEP 4

Take a piece of fine sandpaper, place it on your worktable and sand off the rough edges until your upper border looks smooth and straight

Again, don’t push too hard while holding the bowls and moving them over the sandpaper

As you can see, once the borders are sanded, they look neat and straight

STEP 5

Now comes the fun part : get out your colors and start painting (Inside and outside of course

As you can see I painted mine in all sorts of different colors, which is fun and that way, you can use them in many different miniature scenes

For decoration, I’m using a dotting tool to add eithers dots and/or fine lines, since I find this easier than doing it with a painbrush, but you may wanna try both methods and see which one’s the best for you

Once the paint has dried (I’m usually applying 2 coats) you can add more details to your bowls using mini pearls, rhinestones or whatever you have in your stash

Another way to decorate them is with water decals, Nail Art decals are great because the have the right 

size.

STEP 6

Once you’re done with painting and decoarting, add a coat of clear glossy varnish (preferably water based) and let dry

And you’re done …. have fun putting your new bowls in your dollshouse scenes.

Just for fun, here are a few more photos of some bowls I made, maybe to get you in the mood or simply give you some ideas

HAVE FUN making your own

See ya

👀👀👀

D.

TUTORIAL : how to make a miniature 1:12th scale bread box

Hi everyone

I'm currently working on a new project, which is a little miniature B&B (Bed & Breakfast)

I made lots of stuff already for my future guests 😄, including a little bread box

The one I made for my B&B is still 1:12th scale of course, but maybe slightly bigger than a "normal" bread box you'd have in your kitchen, so you can always make it a tiny bit smaller of course

It's quite an easy project and I wanted to share it with you

So let's go for it

First here's the list of materials you'll need

Mat Board 1,5 mm thick

Sanding paper or nail file

X-acto Knife

Metal ruler

Pencil

All-purpose glue (or wood glue)

Brown cardboard

Acrylic paint of your choice

Paintbrushes

Letter noodles (actually edible)

Wood Stain

Distress Ink pad (optional)

Disposable rubber gloves

Acrylic water based clear varnish

***************************************************

STEP 1

Take a few pieces of mat board and cut out the main parts for your bread box. You can of course change the dimensions given here, depending on the size you want your box to be.

Cut 1 for the base : 3,5 x 2,5 cm ( 1 3/8” x 63/64”)

Cut 2 for the long sides : 3,5 x 1,5 cm (1 3/8” x 19/32”)

Cut 2 for the short sides : 2,5 1,7 cm (63/64” x 43/64”)

STEP 2

Glue the longer side pieces on top of the base and let the glue set a few minutes

TIP : If you’re using any kind of wood glue with mat board, it sets a little quicker than an all-purpose glue

Now glue on the shorter side pieces and let it set         

          

STEP 3

Shape all the sides by rounding them with a nail file. 

Of course, you can use standard sanding paper to do this, but I find it easier to work on such small pieces with an old nail file, because you get a better grip. 

Also try to keep in mind that mat board isn’t as hard as wood, so don’t push too hard while sanding

STEP 4

Place your box on a piece of mat board and cut out the lid, which should be about 

2 mm bigger than the box itself. 

Round off the edges of your lid by sanding them

STEP 5

From the brown cardboard, cut a small strip about 0,5 x 2,5 cm (13,64’ x 63/64”) for the handle.

Bend the piece over the end of a pencil or your X-acto knife to give it a round shape. 

Now check if your handle has the correct size by putting it on the lid, but do not glue yet !!

STEP 6

Protect your hands and nails by putting on a pair of disposable rubber gloves. 

Give your box and lid one layer of wood stain. 

Let dry completely.

STEP 7

Using the color of your choice, paint the box and lid with one or two layers of acrylic paint.

Let dry completely. Once the paint has dried, lightly sand both pieces.

TIP : Never try and sand a piece of painted mat board if the paint hasn’t dried completely, because you will only damage it, so you’ll be needing a bit of patience here :-)

STEP 8

After sanding some of the paint off, the wood stain applied underneath should start to show, 

which gives your box a bit of a vintage shabby look

Use a small distress ink pad to go over the borders of the box and the lid (optional)

STEP 9

Glue the handle to the top of your lid

STEP 10

Protect your piece by giving it at least one layer of water based acrylic clear varnish.

Let dry completely

STEP 11

From your mini letter noodles, choose the one’s you’ll need for your box. Use acrylic paint of your choice and paint the letters. Don’t worry, they will not melt or get soft, this just happens when they get contact with boiling water :-) Let the paint dry

TIP : If you don't have letters noodles or if you simply don't like that, you can always make your own decals. Using your computer, you can make all sorts of texts, words, etc. in any font type you like. Downsize your text to 1:12th scale to fit your box and print on self adhesive transparent paper. It works, I tried. Just need to add a coat of clear acrylic varnish on top.

STEP 12

Using your tweezers, glue the letters to the top of your lid, either above or below your handle.

STEP 13

Fill your box with some bread and you’re done.

Have fun with this cute little project

If you don't feel comfortable using mat board, feel free to use obeche woor or any other thin wood you have on hand.

See ya

👀👀👀

D.