{Willow: Florist and Garden Shop} : FINISHED!!!! (completely this time)

It's done, done! There was a moment there where I thought I was going to have an issue with finishing it, because I couldn't find the pieces for the "roof" and "handle", but I ended up just getting another of the paper mache boxes I made the structure from, to use the lid from it, although I actually only ended up using the rim for the handle because the lid was just too differently shaped to really work for the top, so I cut that piece  from balsa wood.  I'll probably find the original pieces tomorrow now that I've replaced them lol.

The other thing that took a little figuring out was the ceiling.  I was afraid that, especially with the curved walls, there might not be enough light to see everything well with a solid ceiling, but the store definitely needed a ceiling.  I did seriously think about putting actual LED lights in the shop, but really felt it needed to be an option that didn't need to be switched on and off if it is displayed somewhere where there's not easy access to it.  So after running through a bunch of options in my head, I ended up going with an acrylic ceiling with a white vellum over it.  It gives an opaque look to the ceiling but still lets light filter through.  Also if I want to at any point I could put some LED's under the half roof or around the inside of the top and it would still let the light through.

Sooooooooo, after the ceiling, and roof, and handle going on, and some touch up painting, and such, here are the final results....

Getting Creative With Miniature Making

Now that the interior of "Willow:Florist and Garden Shop" is done, I thought I'd do a post about some of the materials that I used to make some of the items in the shop, in a the meantime, until I get more done on "Willow" or "Gallery B" to post.

When working on dollhouses and miniatures - especially in smaller scales, like these shops - sometimes you have to get creative to get just the pieces you want.  Sometimes, it's because, while there are so many fabulous kits and pre-made items available, you just cant find *just* the right thing for your project; sometimes it's because buying the item pre-made (or even as a kit) just isn't going to work in your budget; sometimes you may not want to wait for something to be delivered; and sometimes you may just want to make something yourself.  Whatever your reason, if you keep your eyes and mind open you can find so many things that can be used in your miniatures.  For this post I will be primarily be talking about items in "Willow: Florist and Garden Shop".

One place that i always find a lot of useful items for the miniatures, is the jewelry department of the craft store.  All sorts of jewelry making supplies can be useful for miniatures.  For example, in "Willow" I used beads as planters:

Bead caps and decorative items as planters/vases:

Charms as decorative items (I especially love checking out the story locket charms for small decorative items):

and even a disassembled screw type jewelry closure turned into a distressed terra cotta pot (one of my favorite pieces from this particular shop):

The Scrapbooking section can also provide some useful items.  Now I will say that for 1:48 scale there's probably not as much to find as for say 1:12 scale, but if you think outside the box, you might find just what you need, like I did for this project.  Tiny decorative brads and "jem" stickers, with the help of some paint, made several of the garden stepping stones on the center display:

Scrapbooking papers also make great wallpapers, or in the case of this project flooring:

Potential material sources, though, go well beyond the craft store.  Stores like Walmart or Dollar Tree can also supply many useful items.  I used decorative toothpicks to make a couple of the decorative items for sale in the shop:

The tiny foam balls I used as the base for the topiary and "moss" balls, hydrangeas, and peony buds were purchased at Dollar Tree last Christmas.  They were meant to be used as faux snow filler for ornaments and such, but I have used them for so many different things for miniatures (they are great for filling pillows and such in 1:12 scale too):

The nail art section of Dollar Tree is great for tiny no-hole beads, which I used both as marbles holding the hand tools and to make grapes (the little jars they come in also make great mason jars for 1:12 scale):

I used sewing pins as dowels for the ribbon holders and to make the pencil:

And thread for the twine (slightly thicker button and craft thread) and floral wire (regular thread):

Of course, these are just a few examples of other materials that can be used to make miniatures.  If you think creatively, you will come up with a wealth of ideas for mini projects!  Have Fun!

{Willow: Florist and Garden Shop}: (Practically) Done!

Oh my gosh you guys, "Willow: Florist and Garden Shop" is SO close to being done! (I would have liked to have been able to say completely done, but I was still waiting for a few last things that I had forgotten to order to come in the mail this week and then I ended up working most of the week so couldn't quite get all the finishing details done, but didn't want to wait any longer to post it). The inside is completely done and everything glued down, all that's left is finishing up stuff on the exterior: I have to figure out what I'm doing about a ceiling, then attach the half circle top of the watering can and the handle, then touch-up paint, then finish off the edges of the slates on the front and glue down the urn with "ornamental cabbages" in it (ironically I think that, that was the first thing I made for the shop (except maybe the structure itself, but I might have actually made it before I finished the building) and it'll be the last thing I put on it).

So.... here's LOTs of pictures of the rest of what I've done since the last time I posted an update as well as the finished interior..... so consider this fair warning lol.... to the point that I may not even caption them all... HAHA.....

{so, also I decided to group them a little differently.... rather than posting them chronologically as I took them like I normally do I'm going to put the individual pictures of each item/accessory first and then then pictures of everything going in the shop as a second group}

this is kind of a special shot/view of the shop, because once the ceiling and outside of the building are done you wont be able to see down into it from the top like this, but I wanted to make sure that I got a shot of it before I did that. I think it gives a neat look at the shop from an angle that, pretty soon, will not be visible again.

Now that "Willow: Florist and Garden Shop" is (well will be) done, I'm going to focus exclusively on "Gallery B" until it is finished - mainly because I should be able to finish it up pretty quickly. I really just need to make some more art for it and put it all together. So hopefully you should be seeing those pics soon, and then it's on to the toy store (and maybe the bookstore at the same time?).  I also have a few Christmas projects I need to get done before Christmas....

BUT.....

Also in the midst of trying to get all the shops finished and Christmas stuff/present (and for that matter stuff for Halloween and Thanksgiving) done, I'm also hoping, in the next month or two, to be completely re-doing my craft room.  This all started with a perfect workbench I found at Harbor Freight, and now has developed into planning to rearrange the whole room and uncover and start using again the door that leads to my current office that has been covered by bookcases for years. (long story, but at one point the door couldn't be used, so I put bookcases in front of it, but now there's no reason for it to be covered anymore and having the two room connected would work really well now). So, we'll see how all this goes....... LOL......