Etsy shop now open!

I’ve opened an Etsy shop with some of my food and fruit/veg crates. Do take a look!

Tiny things by Julie 

A winter wonderland

A rather nice bottle of Malbec led me to this little project. The wine cork was cut in half and a snowy scene created over a few hours. This scale is incredibly fiddly but very satisfying. 

Everything was made from scratch: the snowman was made from Fimo, the rocks were made from model railway slate, And the trees were ends of pipe cleaners. 

Now I need a plan for the other half of the cork…

A Christmas forest

 Christmas trees are so magical. I saw a picture once of a mantelpiece covered in miniature Christmas trees of all shapes, types and sizes. My blossoming collection isn’t quite as grand but it’s growing. 

This year I decided to make some of my own. A little tutorial by Martha Stuart guided the way. Mine aren’t as intricate as hers, and they are half the size. But I think they are equally as charming. 

Decorating a miniature Christmas tree

It’s been far too long! A hankering for all things miniature has led me back. And I’m starting off by decorating this beautiful little tree from eBay for £5.99. It’s even nicer in reality.

I’ve already some baubles which I used to string across the doll house mantelpiece. Today I’m unpicking those, removing the short gold loops and replacing with a more natural green thread. Next are Christmas crackers and candles.

This tree isn’t for my doll house, I have a few small trees that I display every Christmas, each year adding one more tree.

Flower making

I picked up a mixed bag of plastic and fabric flowers for about 50p at York fair, knowing they would come in useful at some point.

Added to the punch-out flower shapes, I've managed to create some pretty displays for my mansion.

 

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A new range for the kitchen

I needed a new range for the kitchen, something that would suit the date of the house, which is Edwardian, early 1900s.

Range prices go from under £10 to over £100. The cheaper ones aren't realistic in the least, and the others are out of my price range.

So, I decided to build one myself! I drew up the plans and, with cardboard, mountboard and cocktail sticks, began to create. The pictures below show the steps I took. I'm pleased with it but I do think it would look better in a chimney breast. I may add to it further in time.

Making the range ...

Making the range ...

 

 

 

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Changing rooms

The basement level of the mansion house has four rooms: a kitchen, a hallway, a bedroom and a sitting room. The latter two rooms are for the butler and the housekeeper. I didn't like the sitting room, it needed a chimney breast and the wallpaper was a little dull. So this weekend I've given it a makeover - I'm very pleased with the result. The pictures are below. The bedroom is next!

Before....

After.....

 

 

The steps to getting there....

 

 

 

 

 

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