A new project for Christmas 2023...

Hello again, the last 2 years have been, to say the least, very challenging hence the reason I have not updated any of my projects. My health took a turn for the worse and I ended up this time last year having major life-saving surgery. Happily, I am much better and have started to get back to some kind of normality and back crafting again. 

Today I am sharing my latest project something I have been wanting to make for a few years and this Christmas I finally managed to do it. 

My Santa Claus house....

The structure of the house is cardboard and scratch-built. Using only a steel ruler, craft knife and glue I measured and cut the cardboard.

The windows were made from Bass wood and the front door was bought for a previous project but never used. Nothing special about the cardboard it was all just kept from any large deliveries we've had over the past couple of years. I doubled it up to ensure it was sturdy enough.

The interior walls were next and of course, I had to try Santa for size😊

Next was the roof fitting and cutting a space for the dormer windows, again no pattern  I just tried to measure what I thought was the best size, and thankfully it worked out fine. 

Next was the decor. I used papers from my craft stash that were bought for scrapbooking and card-making with a Christmas theme. On the top floor right is the bedroom and on left the bathroom

the green carpet is glittered felt

The dormer windows were made and fitted and the downstairs windows were also fitted.

The roof tiles and outside trim.

I decided to keep the colours traditional red and green with a touch of cream on the inside.

The kitchen units were all handmade with bass wood and painted with acrylics

Below you can see the Aga cooker in the corner

I made a small table from the lid of an aerosol can covered it with corrugated card and some Christmas themed fabric.

Finishing the outside front

The inside is now decorated, Mr & Mrs Claus are very happy in their cosy little cottage

Santa having a well earned snooze by the fire

I made a chair for Mrs Claus 

Upstairs their cosy bedroom and festive bathroom

The house is open at the back and sits on a lazy Susan so that I can turn it easily

The video wouldn't upload here so I have put a link to my FB page the video is the last pic on the post for the Santa House

https://www.facebook.com/veronica.mckeown.1

I hope you liked the Santa house, I still have a few things I would like to add but that can wait till Christmas and New Year are over. 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone and thank you for popping into my blog today

Veronica xx

A Dollshouse for the Dollshouse and a Cupola

Hello again it's been a while since my last post but I have been busy adding some more details to the house, mainly the roof.

 The chimneys were made from wood and the chimney pots were made from Fimo. I have also added a Cupola which I made from extra windows that I had leftover.  Georgian buildings often had Cupolas for extra ventilation but some were purely decorative. I decided to make mine decorative.

First up, the chimneys

Next the Cupola

The base is made from scrap pieces of wood and an old photo frame (the green bit)

 

The roof of the Cupola is made with mount board and painted with Acrylics. The weather vane is metal and was bought from Minimum World

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Next is my very favourite piece for the house. A doll house for the dollshouse. I made it from a kit in 1:144th scale very fiddly indeed but so worth it when you see how small the finished house is.

Let's begin with the kit

The kit comes with very good instructions and is unpainted so you can decorate it to your own taste and is best done before you assemble it

The main carcass is built and now the removable front can be assembled. 

Adding the windows, door, dormer window, and the glazing

The tiny dormer window and one of the glazed pieces are so tiny!

The chimneys are only 1 centimeter 

The front and the roof are done and you can also see the small table that the house sits on. The roof just needs slates and the outside walls of the house need bricks. All done of course with decorative papers

You can get an idea of the scale when you see it beside a small bottle of water

The outside is now complete

I still need to do the flooring probably wooden floors or maybe tiled depending on the type of rooms

The house inside the house......

The furniture for this micro house is minute and also comes in kit form but I might have a go at making some of it myself

In the 17th and 18th centuries, Doll Houses were for adults and were a symbol of wealth, they were also used to illustrate how domestic life should be played out. Dating from the 1600's the "baby house" provided a visual aid for young and often illiterate girls learning household management. While the lady of the house embroidered elaborate dresses for her peg doll self, the serving girl would learn to know her place.

I hope you enjoyed looking at my little mini house, until next time stay safe, and thank you for dropping by.

Vee xx