Renovating a new house

I spent the last week in Greece on vacation and came up with the idea of transforming my oldest and crappiest dollhouse into something new. I'll explain my plans more elaborately later – in this post I just wanted to show you how I've started.

So full of junk

After cleaning

Then I ripped off the wallpapers

Now I'm going to put on new wallpapers. I'll try to save money by using leftovers from other projects and getting free samples from hardware stores, but I have to be prepared to spend at least 50€ on new materials. 

Shabby chic boxes

I ordered wood scraps from Nukkekoti Väinölä and they were just perfect for making little boxes! I'm terrible at woodwork so I'm happy to buy ready-cut pieces instead of sawing my own. 

The acrylic-painted surface underwent a heavy sandpaper treatment, after which I wrote the texts with a marker (0.2 Pigma Micron) and sanded some more. Now they've suffered enough to be shabby chic!

I've developed a TV & crafts addiction… They should've never have placed that thing in my room :D

Bathroom necessities

Day: September 11

Audiobook: The Perfect Son by Freida McFadden

Making mini bath products is easier than it looks. But you're going to need a lot of translucent fimo, as well as polymer clay varnish. I started by printing out the labels for the soaps and lotions, making sure to pick ones that'll look good on clay. After modelling the containers from fimo and baking them, I glued the labels on. That done, I added a LOT of varnish. Enough to make the bottle shine, as if it was truly transparent.

For some reason, I couldn't get my camera to focus. 

If you have time, do make some toilet paper packages! Just make a lot of rolls using real toilet paper, print out the labels, and use a hot air gun to melt thin plastic over it. Remember to tape the plastic sheet together before melting it. For material, you can use cellophane bags. 

Giveaway prize

I've been an avid reader of Hurauskadun talot for years and took part in a giveaway celebrating the blog's growth. I was the only participant so there were not many options for winners (I wonder why, since there are so many readers, are people too lazy to comment?). Anyway, congrats to Raija and many thanks, please continue blogging!!

What a nice way to start a morning!

Here it is…

…a mini coffee grinder!

Some assembly required…

…to turn it into this!

Art supplies

Day: September 7

Audiobook: Never Lie by Freida McFadden

Turning the upstairs bedroom into an art studio was kind of a spur-of-a-moment decision. I've had a mini easel for years but I've never found use for it. That inspired me to paint a nautical scene onto thick cardboard found from behind a watercolor paper pad. 

Making the color palette was fun. I violently spashled paint on a piece of wood after having drilled a hole in it, and laid the whole thing down on a stool I found for cheap from Minimaailma. 

You can't play an artist without paint and brushes. The mini acrylic paints are made from Fimo, and the brush parts of the brushes are scaled down from their real-life equivalents: I used scissors to cut a bundle of hair from a paintbrush and applied a droplet of superglue on one end. Then I glued it on a wooden stick and sealed the brush with gold tape. 

 It's still very empty in here. 

Watercolor paintings

Day: September 4

Audiobook I listened to: The Inmate by Freida McFadden

Nukkekoti 3/25 had an article about Leila Finnlund's miniature watercolor paintings. How pretty her work is! Inspired by this, I chose to try my luck (I'm terrible at traditional visual arts) on painting a few landscapes and figs. I had a lot of empty frames to fill!

For a while I thought about just printing some watercolor pieces from Pinterest, but that's kind of dishonest, isn't it? Besides, the viewer will immediately see the difference between 80 gsm copy paper and professional watercolor paper, and I couldn't forgive myself for doing things the easiest way again. 

I wanted to make paintings that'll suit the atmosphere of a British country house. 

One above washing machine… 

…and another over fireplace.

It's still pretty empty upstairs. 

Let's start this blog!

I'm a high school senior, a lifelong crafting enthusiast and a sharp-worded poet. I live in Finland. This blog is dedicated to my dollhouse hobby and 1/12 scale art.

Polymer clay breakfast from Cornishware plates!

I've been decorating dollhouses since I was 11. I've always felt out of place in this community, as most miniaturists are aged 40+, but I'm a happy member of the Finnish Dollhouse Association and hoping to join a club someday. For me dollhouses have never been toys. I've enjoyed miniature versions of real life items as long as I can remember – seeing something tiny and carefully crafted always makes my imagination run wild and my artist's heart miss a beat.

Polymer clay bathroom supplies

Now as I'm older and have more resources, almost everything is possible in my own small world. At least, as much as I can fit into my room. Saving money is my utmost priority in all my hobbies, so expect to see lots of tutorials and recycling ideas here!

This blog is most of all a way to document my miniature journey (it's never too late to start taking pictures!) and share things I've learned over the years. Welcome on board!

With love,

Kata

PS. The name of the blog – pun intended!