7 Nov 2012

Fast and Easy Mini Books How-to

 Isn´t it really weird that when you finally feel like you are doing fine and things are well... something bad happens and everything gets effed up again? Thinking about it, it´s not totally unexpected things, but you still get caught by surprise, I mean, you could expect older folks to have health troubles, and you can´t expect 15+ years old pets to live forever...

Anyway, no one cares about whining, right? I´ve been making mini books again and today I´ll show you how to make a very simple opening dollhouse book with decorative corset binding. Actually, if you add a jewellery eyelet and use extra layer of varnish for protection, you can use it as a charm or necklace.



The nicest thing about this is that you can use whatever scraps of card and paper you find around the house. I won´t give you any dimensions, just go with whatever you feel like a good size. Anything from 15x20mm to 35x40mm works just fine.
You´re going to need: a piece of card or just heavier paper for the covers, strip of light weight paper for the pages inside, paints/stickers/scrapbook paper to decorate the covers, piece of embroidery thread, bigger sewing needle and any kind of white glue.
Start by cutting two covers of the same size, use the needle to poke holes through one side of both pieces. You need odd number of holes - this is important. Be careful! Blood stains don´t look nice on the book covers, unless you´re making umm... vampire´s diary. Cut a long strip of lightweight paper a bit narrower than the covers and fold it like accordeon. You can glue the insides of the "pages" together, but it works just as fine if you don´t.



First, prepare the covers. Draw, write, paint, cover them in paper or cloth, anything - just dont forget to poke the holes through again if you used a second layer of anything. Next, bind the book. Using this diagram will help you avoid any unsightly horizontal threads in this pretty corset-like binding:


The dashed lines of course go along the inner sides of the covers. Tie the lose ends at the bottom of the book together. I added a tiny piece of amethyst on the violet book dor decoration. Don´t forget to glue two pieces of thread or ribbon the the inner covers so you can tie the book closed. The finished cover:




Now you just need to glue the finished accordion paper strip inside the covers. Check if it lies flat when opened. There you go, you just made a mini book!

If you´d rather avoid the hassle, these (and other) books are/will be available in my shop, together with more wee witchy stuff. Have a sweet day!

30 Oct 2012

Miniature Witch Hat Tutorial

It´s not just that it´s Halloween time now, it´s that so many people (me included) simply love witchy miniatures!

Here´s a little how-to for a wee witch hat. It´s very simple, a kid can do that without much trouble. This and some thread/glue is all it takes:


Work with felt or any low-fraying fabric, slightly heavier fabrics are better in this case. Fine leather works well, too.

First, a simple pattern. You won´t need any seams allowance if you´re going to sew so cut straight on the lines. If you´d rather glue the thing together, cut a little extra on the triangular bit.




Now, start working on the top bit. Stitch or glue the straight lines together. If you wanted to decorate the top bit, it´s better to do it before sewing/gluing - like the patch on the black hat in my last picture or any embroidery.
 Next, stitch or glue the top to the brim part. Voila - you have a tiny witchy hat! You can either leave it plain (well, I consider stitches in contrasting colour an embellishment!) or add anything your heart desires: feathers, roses, lace, tulle, ribbons, spiders, anything... stuffed crow maybe?


If you´d like any of these, check my Etsy shop, they´ll be there for sale soon. Have a sweet day!




26 Oct 2012

Hello!

Hello everyone!

Welcome to Wee Little Delights, a blog about dollhouse scale miniatures. I´ve been meaning to start this ages ago - but somehow never did. There´s always so many things on my mind - so many ideas for new stuff, and also so many unfinished projects lying around waiting for some love... I´m sure most of you know what I´m talking about ;)

I´m Lucie Min, miniature artist from the heart of Europe, and I´d like to share my love for miniatures, my tips and methods and my work with you through this blog. My journey into the mini world started with tabletop battle miniatures and gaming terrain, but it´s hard (atleast for me and my poor eyesight!) to create details in this tiny scale so after a few years I moved on to dollhouses. I work mainly in 1:12 scale, with the occassional trip to 1:24.
Other than miniatures, I love my cat, fantasy books, cooking, baking, and singing in the shower :)

I create one-of-a-kind miniatures and I especially love all things fantasy, witchy and dark, and miniature lingerie!
You can find some of my work on Etsy:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/weelittledelights
Check out my newest creations - 1/12 miniature drinking horns:


Thank you for taking a peek here! Have a sweet day!