Doors/Windows for Witch's Shop

I still have at least the rest of this week off from work. Will be starting a new job next Monday, but there are always lots of things to do still. Should do more cleaning/organizing around the house which is my main goal for today. I also have a relative in town for surgery tomorrow, so that may take up some time as well.

But I am happy to report that I reached out to Teri at Lawbre and the door and windows I ordered last month should be shipping out soon. I'm not adding any windows to the kit, but I did want some better detailing for this build than what was included. Ultimately, I decided to invest in a few Lawbre pieces. The door and small window I ordered should be fairly close fits that will need minimal adjustment to the existing cutouts. I ended up going with their standard arched panel door that I normally see used on interiors mainly because of the width. There isn't a lot of area on that front panel to expand! Below are the pieces I selected:

I felt like the additional detail of the "hood" for the small window would add more interest to the dormer, but would likely end up getting lost if I chose the "hooded" windows for the larger window below. There is the roof overhang there that I think is a strong enough element to work with already.

The other items I ordered this week are a couple of false doors from Miniature Mansions in the U.K. Lawbre's options here only seemed to come in a double door, which would be way too big for what I needed. The false doors I found elsewhere would likely feel clunky in comparison to these upgraded choices. Then I discovered Miniature Mansions! They have a lot of great trims and components and they had just what I needed for the interior false doors:

Looking forward to these pieces arriving! In the meantime, I'm going to need to make some finish decisions and start getting to work on the interior and exterior. I am less worried about historical accuracy with this project as it is more of a small "fantasy" build. This build should have a Victorian/Edwardian feel to it though. Hope to have more to share later this week!

Seattle Miniature Show 2016

The Seattle show was this weekend so I stopped by this afternoon. Last year was the first time I'd gone in decades and I went on Saturday so it was really crowded! This time, I went on Sunday and it was much less crowded. I didn't end up buying anything though. Not that there weren't some great items, I just didn't see anything that really spoke to me.

I still fondly remember going to the show probably 20+ years ago when it was at the Seattle Center in the Flag Pavilion. The show was much larger then and I think attracted a wider range of artisans. I would love to travel to some of the other shows around the country that I know are larger like the Bishop show in Chicago. Someday!

One thing I saw and really liked in the displays this year was "The Watchful Eye" by Peggy Zorn. It is a 1/2" scale wizard's home with a thatched roof. It was so detailed and really a great piece. Of course it had the "Best in Show" ribbon!

Dry Fitting for the Witch's Shop

Well, it was a busy last couple of weeks at work, but I am officially between jobs now! Got to spend a little time in my studio today and I decided to start with a dry test fit of my Larimer Shop Kit that will eventually end up as the Witch's Shop. This actually helped quite a bit to be able to get a sense of the actual dimensions of this building. 

I had also placed an order for new windows and a door from Lawbre's website, but haven't seen the charge actually go through or heard anything. I'll have to reach out and check on the status of my order. I'm really hoping I'll be able to get them, I love the additional detail those pieces have and I think they'll add the architectural interest I'm wanting for this project. At least, moreso than the included Houseworks pieces.

It was super helpful to understand how much room there is inside the building. While I like the idea of making it as realistic as possible, since this is really just a two-story front-opening roombox, I'm not going to bother with trying to include a staircase or all potential rooms. I'm intending on including some nonworking doors to allude to rooms beyond. And rather than add more windows on the sides, I think it is actually more realistic to assume that this building could end up having other structures on each side as if it is part of a larger city block.

The kit is deeper than I had thought, which is good! For a while, I was worried that I wouldn't actually have room to create a realistic bedroom upstairs. The kit does come with an exterior chimney that they show attached to the side. But in this case, I really think that the fireplace on the first floor needs to be in the center of the room. I'd like to include a fireplace in the bedroom too and then just have a chimney coming out of the center of the roof, but then I won't have room for the washstand I purchased. Will have to think on that a little bit. I can always work on getting the shell assembled and start the inside and outside wall finishes while I plan the rest.

Also, I'm wondering about including a skylight? Might be fun to do, but not a necessity. The flat roof portion isn't really that big.

Ornate fireplace and my studio space

I found this cool resin fireplace on Ebay. It's made by Falcon Miniatures and is in three pieces. Also ordered a battery-operated grate shown with the fireplace. These will go in the downstairs of the witch's shop. I think it will help set the tone for her store. I'm still thinking about what exactly her little shop will be like. What does she sell? What does she do? Who is she?

Here she is shown with her cat. I think they look pretty good together! They still need names though. 

And here's a view of my workspace. It's fairly small, about 8'x10' at most. There's a church about a mile from where I live that has this 1960s building which was formerly used as a school of some sort. They ended up renting out some of spaces to artists for a nominal fee to help cover utilities and I was lucky enough to get a space after being on the waiting list for a year or so. It has these shelves in it, I think this room was probably used for book storage? Originally the walls were kind of a turquoise blue that was really lovely, but also clearly from years and years ago. I ended up painting everything white to make the room feel larger and give me a blank slate. 

Now I'm slowly moving things in. I figure it is a great space to work on all of my various art projects, which of course includes any mini builds I actually get around to completing. I'm transitioning out of my current job and will have almost two whole weeks off at the beginning of March before I start my new job. I'm planning on spending some of that time here in my studio!

A little tiny cat!

I've been so inspired by Brae's work on her blog and really love the posts where she includes a mini animal (usually a cat) to liven things up. I've been keeping an eye open for a little cat of my own and ran across a wonderful Maine Coon made by IGMA artisan E. E. Winters. It was definitely expensive, but ultimately I think this little kitty was worth it. Is it a he or a she? What is his/her name? I'm thinking it belongs to the as yet unnamed witch for her little shop/home.

Witch's Shop

Alright, it has been almost a year since I posted last! Too long, I know. Work has been keeping me busier than I have wanted, but I'm starting to have more space again for projects. Also, I'm looking at transitioning to a different company in the near future, so that might also give me a little more time.



And of course, I still have all of my other projects that are uncompleted, yet I've already moved on to another one. I think I need something even smaller (no pun intended) to build than the houses I have planned. Last fall I was really thinking it would also be fun to make something more fantasy-based, something that is really just about pure fun and whimsy. I found this small Larimer Shop kit that seemed perfect for a small witch's shop with a bedroom upstairs.

Of course the planning is always the most fun, but I've been noodling this around in my head for months now and am still working out what it should look like. But I've also started collecting parts for this build!



I have an Edwardian witch that I commissioned from Soraya Merino! She'll be the inhabitant. And I've got a few pieces of furniture and some mini wallpapers that I'm wanting to use as well.



I've got a few more parts on order for this. Windows and a door from Lawbre. A cool fireplace by Falcon. Hopefully, I can actually start on the building for this project in the next few weeks and maybe even have something together by summer? I'm not setting any specific deadlines. But it would be great to have this at least mostly finished by Halloween!

Foundation and Miele Appliances

Well, I'm at least gluing the foundation together this morning! Hopefully I can also get an idea of the foamcore/wood pieces I will need and maybe I'll even stop to pick up some supplies on my way to work later. I do enjoy my lazy Monday mornings. Normally I close on Mondays, so I don't have to be at work until 12:30 p.m.

While glue was drying I unpacked and photographed the Miele appliances that arrived!

The oven does take a AAA battery and lights up and makes noises. The range top also lights up and makes noises. The noises are pretty loud and scratchy sounding, but I love the look of the oven light on with the door open, just like a real one.

Included with the appliances were some plastic foods. These may need a little work to make them more realistic.