Fawkes the Phoenix in miniature

Tackling the star of the show Fawkes the Phoenix. My first attempt is nice, but not exactly what I'm looking for. The first step is to make a wire armature with copper wire. The feet and legs took me a long time to get right. Then I added more wire to form the body. Looks a little like a lizard or dinosaur!

Wool felting seemed like the way to go. Maybe the feathers can be stuck in the felt with a little glue.

the legs and feet are wrapped with some thin wool and a little glue on the wire helps.

Wings were made separately with a felting needle and wool, then attached to the body.

The feathers I had on hand were very fluffy. The ends of the feathers didn't really stick in the felt. Glue and patience helps. A little bit of yellow feather was used as well. The beak is felted and I don't like the look of it.

Not bad for a first attempt. On to the www for some more help. I joined a group on facebook called trash to treasure for miniatures and a lovely lady gave me advice as she made some birds with clay and feathers which I thought looked much better and quite realistic. So here is my 2nd attempt:

Still using copper wire, an armature  is made.

Polymer clay is wrapped around the wire. The colour doesn't really matter, it will be painted and feathers will be glued on it after it is baked and cooled.

the little wing buds on the back just isn't enough. 

View from the back.

Hope you enjoyed and this gives you inspiration! Stay tuned for the completed project photos in the future.
In the interest of making an authentic bird, I decided to first cover my Phoenix in fluffy feathers with MIGHTY GEMIT Embellishing Adhesive. Then cut them close to the body.

Adding tail feathers. They look so pretty and lie just like they grew there naturally.

Then apply regular feathers to the "down" This does waste a lot of the original feather. Thank goodness for the dollar store!

On the ends of the feathers it is a little white, so acrylic paint is used on them. Although a marker could have worked.

Adding the feathers to the head. Was hoping they would droop down but they didn't.

So I hope you enjoyed my 2nd attempt at making a miniature Fawkes the Phoenix.

Of course, it wasn't JUST right, so here is the finished 3rd attempt. For this one, I used only the tips of the feathers. This made it more sleaker and natural. This did take more feathers, though.

On the bird stand he does look a little big, but I think it will work.

Will have to put some weight on the bottom of the stand so it won't fall over!

Have a great day!

Clay mandrakes from Harry Potter

Thinking one day I will make a Harry Potter greenhouse, making some mandrakes would be great.
Pulling a clay pot from my stash for scale, I bent some copper wire.



Adding the clay was fiddly but making the face was satisfying. The body is not too well defined, as it will be covered with dried tea leaves mixed with glue for soil. Later I will cut some leaves from an artificial plant to glue on the top.



Also I think glueing some twine to the feet and hands will suffice for roots.



Maybe watered down paint to add some detail will add to the mandrakes. They are not really clean creatures/plants!



More research has to be done to make a tentacula plant, but I already have a mimbula plant. Stay tuned for more pictures of the complete mandrakes.

Small home made dollhouse 1920s style

Living in a small house, but wanting a dollhouse of my own, I came up with the idea of designing and making my own dollhouse that will sit on top of my bookshelf. With the help of my Dad, I got the wood at Home Depot and my Dad cut the wood for me. The worst part is gluing and nailing the wood together. How do carpenters get those nails in straight? Anyway, here is the bare bones of it.



Here is my photo bomber again, either checking out my work, or trying to get attention!



Here is my first interior choice, a tile floor. This type of flooring with different coloured tile would have only been in poshier homes in the 1920s,  but since I've had this self adhesive tile for a couple of years, and it's not smart to go buy something plainer when I have a perfectly good kitchen floor already. We'll just assume the owner of this house was doing well financially when the house was being built. Oh, and I should have put the tiles in diagonally.



Starting the attic turned out to be a lot of fun. The popsicle sticks are stained, and the curved ends are cut off. Then, just laying and gluing them at staggered intervals.





Also in my stash is a piece of wood in a v shape that will be at the apex of the roof , and after it's stained, will make it look so much better than leaving it bare.



The third floor will be the 2 bedrooms. They both have polka dot wallpaper which is period accurate.
Happily, I had some edging already in my stash and once I figured out how to cut the edges, it went smoothly.The ceiling and wall edges look so much better. The hardwood floor should be a bit darker, but all my stain is too dark, so I just varnished them lightly and will just have to be happy with it, Besides, the lighter coloured walls look good with it.





The second floor will house the living room and bathroom. The light blue and white is quite delicate, but I like it. It's a good thing that I've been scrapbooking for years, and just had to look at my paper collection to find some great "wallpaper". The bathroom is yellow/amber and I quite like it.

The first floor will have the dining room and kitchen. The wallpaper for the dining room is a little weird, but close enough to 1920s style. I just don't know what to do with the floor yet. Decision making is the hardest part in making dollhouses. I don't know how interior designers do it all day, making those decisions!



here is an update of what I've done.



The roof is a nice grey shingle that was glued with weldbond, because I don't like hot glue. Hope it holds up.



Here's the rooms with the top molding glued in. 3rd floor.



2nd floor.



1st floor. The dining room is sporting a darker hardwood floor. Once the wall kitchen tiles are installed, the baseboards will be glued in.



Since my family is Dutch, putting in a dutch tile for the kitchen is a no-brainer! Using my silhouette cameo software, I made a pdf file of these cute blue windmill tiles above plain white tiles. After printing them I am trying to Mod Podge them to make them look more like tiles. The copy paper has wrinkled a little, but maybe it will still work out, otherwise back to the drawing board!



Let's start dressing this dollhouse! One of my fav pieces is this sink from Aliexpress.com When placed in the kitchen, it does cover up my windmill tile, but I could always change the tile, and place a row along the top.






This stove is just a stand in for now, it is a little old for the 20's, although it well could be in kitchens at the time. Some people hang onto their appliances until they need a new one, and then they upgrade.



This lovely kitchen hutch holds the blue delft china.


Here it is in place. The kitchen may get a small table so I can put a baking or cooking scene on it.



Here is a beautiful Hutch for the dining room.



Possible furniture for the dining room. I also have a white plain dining set. Will have to do some more research to see which is more appropriate.



White ice box for the kitchen.





Bathroom ceramic set looks nice in the room, but has to be washed. Also, a mirror has to be added.



I found this hamper online that reminds me of my grandmother's hamper (hers was brown)





Sitting room has a sewing machine.



The piano is gorgeous.



Fancy chair and comfy chair don't really look good together, they will be replaced when I find something more suitable. The corner shelf I've had since I was a little girl.



The fireplace was found at Value Village and batteries can be inserted so the fireplace glows! Beside it is a wood holder like my grandparents. Next spring I will go out and trim some tiny birch twigs to replace the dark wood.



This beautiful dresser with mirror I got online.



Bed with a bedspread from a child's dollhouse bed.


This writing desk is just a placeholder until I get a nice bedside table and lamp.



Bedspread on this bed is a crocheted doily that my Grandmother made.



The rug is a gorgeous handmade rug I got at a miniaturists retreat silent auction. It is one of my most prized pieces.





This piece is a little too big for this room, and a little too fancy, but I will hopefully get a bedside table and lamp for this room.


The attic is still pretty bare, but I can easily fill it with broken furniture and toys. Maybe a trunk with vintage dresses?



Well this is what I have so far. Stuff to do yet: Pictures and mirrors on the walls,
                                                                           Add toys and books
                                                                           Bathroom curtain installation
                                                                           Clothes in dressers
                                                                            Researching 1920' s accessories for the home