Monday, April 30, 2018

Old Farmouse Room Box, part 3

I managed to make a typical old pully-lamp over the table!
At the tackle shop I found some lead weights, used a miniature castor, a bowl from my Shapeways shop (sanded, primed and glossy spray) and a 12v bulb light from Nallardris.



The curtains are done as well. These tablecloth weights come in very handy: I first sew the top to fit in a rod and then soak the cloth with water/white glue mixture and let it dry with the weights to get natural pleats. I first tried with the pleater but it looked much too formal for this room...
With this method I didn't have to make hems on the side or the bottom - just cutting the curtain to the right width and length without fringing!
The little crucifix is so great! Got it via Etsy from Maria Josรจ

So, this is where I am today...

And then the spinning wheel, of course. 
I had one 3D printed but still had to add some parts myself because it could not print it.


To me it looks pretty good - but I will check out the German mini craft scene when I go to the fair in Rheda next month.  Just in case there is wooden one...


Next is the chest which I have painted by someone - just sent it to her. There is a limit to what I am good at - and painting flowers definitely crosses that line ๐Ÿ˜‰

Happy mini building!
Marion

Sunday, April 8, 2018

Old Farmhouse Roombox, part 2

There is something I meant to ask you, my mini friends: How do you handle all the various media? Facebook, Instagram, Blog?

The basic question is, of course, why are we publishing things?
  • In the first place, everybody needs a bit of recognition.
  • 2ndly, one can share experiences and be inspired by others.
  • And then there is the interaction with others because building minis is not exactly someting you do in a team... ๐Ÿ˜
 I thought I will make life easier and cancel one of these channels, but it seems that
  • Miniature groups and personal friends can only be reached via FB... 
  • Instagram is a 'must' because many people changed from FB to this
  • And a blog is the place where one can get a bit more detailed than just showing pix
Good and valid reasons to keep going in all the media channels. But maybe you have a clever system as to what info goes where? If so - please share!

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Ok, back to minis!

My room box is coming along. 
The ceramic oven was trial and error process. After talking to Tiny Ceramics, I realized that they did not have corner pieces, only flat tiles. I then made a model with paper covering. It looked nice - but definitely not real enough.

So, I turned to foamed PVC - not quite sure how I could get the glazed look though.
Samples, samples, samples...
In the end, it was simple: I spray painted it with acrylic, then dry brushed the gaps with brown acrylic and allowed a 'used' look by not cleaning it all off the tiles, and finished it with clear gloss.

Chairs: 
The back rest had to be laser cut. But I don't have a local library like Kristine, where this could be done and I only wanted to ask Carol as a last resort. After many phone calls I finally found someone locally who does small jobs like this one ๐Ÿ˜„
The slanted legs would be an issue - I knew that! So, I had my son do a bit of a cheat and he designed the bottom part so that I could 3d print them ;-). Now I just have to finish the paint job - but I first want to make the table as well.

The master piece of this room box is definitely this walnut cupboard!
Plotting the lock shields did not work - the machine could not handle these 1cm pieces. I was very disappointed. But as I walked out of the hobby shop, I spotted some interesting and very cheap scissors! Another 'yeah'!!! 
key production...

So, this is where I am at now.
I don't like that piece of furniture I made on the left under the window - it doesn't look 'farmy' enough and competes with the cupboard. An old-fashioned chest would probably look better....
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You might have noticed that I had a few new things designed in 3D. Reason for this was not really that I needed them but my son stayed with me for two weeks after his knee operation and was terribly bored and sorry for himself! I grabbed this situation and made him do CAD work for board/lodging, coffee service and the occasional warm meal ๐Ÿ˜€๐Ÿ˜€๐Ÿ˜€ But I think he quite enjoyed it as well, especially designing the beer crate...
Printed in 'Frosted Ultra' and then colored with permanent felt pen the bottles remain translucent



Now, I wish you all a great week ahead, sunshine, spring feeling and all!
My bike is already in action again ๐Ÿ˜Š
Marion