Magic Is Something You Make

Hi there folks!

The world of miniatures, no matter how seriously we take it, is a world of fantasy.  A world we make that is filled with playfulness and magical wonder.  Whether the focus of our miniatures is on the decaying world, the elegance and grandeur of the past, or the cheerfulness of an entirely imagined world, all share the goal of making magic happen.

We love the magical, imagined worlds we create.  The popularity of our movies and books, television shows and stage plays is a testament to the fact that this magical world we make speaks to us.

Walt Disney's 'The Little Mermaid' is one example that is evocative of the magic of an under sea adventure.  A wonderfully crafted, magical, and joyful expression of beauty.  Unless you have molasses in your blood, one cannot help but connect with the playful and beautifully constructed world world 'Under the Sea'. 

Most "adults" disparage these playful excursions as childish, but I think that secretly, we all love our fantasy worlds to some extent!  

It is our hope, as we patiently cut, assemble, sand, paint and carve our way into these miniature worlds to create such magic in the hearts of those who see our work.  I am continually amazed at the magic that can be created using paper, string, wood, and fabric.   This is how I felt as I began to work on the mirrored over mantel in the last few days.  

My job was to take this over mantel made of mirror and cardboard and turn it into a believable and hopefully elegant over mantel for my miniature fireplace surround.  I've spent days working on the little pieces that make up the whole, and as usual, experienced the many ups and downs of the creative processes.  There were times I wanted to take the whole business and dump it in the trash.

I began the process of transforming our little cardboard mirror by gathering a few things to help me create the detail I wanted on the over mantel.  These were a jewelry box my daughter has in her room with some incredibly wonderful detail,  a small frame from Goodwill, and two jewelry findings. 

Here is a closeup of the jewelry findings I used to help create detail.

I loved the Art Noveau detail on this little mirror I picked up for 99 cents at Goodwill.  I made ANOTHER mold of that detail out of the Amazing Mold Putty.  

From the jewelry case, there were two additional details I made a mold from.  The first is the straight bar with curled ends you see in the above closeup of the jewelry box door.

The second detail was the lovely scrolling that was part of the trim around the clock face.  

No, these are NOT slugs.  They are the new molds that I made to use to cast my little resin pieces.

I did the same with the two jewelry findings.  The little mermaid finding, after casting, I cut into a moon shaped circle, and I used the linked jewelry finding to cast some additional details to use around the mirror. 

Isn't it an ugly Christmas Ornament?  :0) 

Lastly I used some cardboard that came with that awful Christmas ornament I used as one of the inspiration pieces for the Grand Parlor.  I cut that into a couple of additional trim pieces to use for the mirror surround. 

This is the menagerie of materials I ended up with once completed with all my prep work.  An interesting, somewhat unrelated collection of "stuff".   In and of themselves, none of them are too especially magical.  In fact, a couple of them would be considered trash by the majority of the world. 

This is when the magic started to happen. 

Here is a shot of "The Plan", as I went into the process of creating a new magical over mantel.  I apologize for the fuzzy shot. 

Remember the rough edges that were created by the 4 layers of cardboard?  I took care of those by using Spackle to create a smooth edge along the sides and top of the mirror frame. 

The first step, after preparing the surfaces was to add copper leaf to the entire mirror frame.  The process for doing this is very simple, if lengthy!  I added Adhesive Sizing (available wherever fine Metal Leafing is sold!), and left it to "cure" for about 15 minutes for EACH surface!  There are a LOT of surfaces!  :0) 

After you get over seeing a closeup of my perfectly manicured hands, and the embarrassing glimpse of skin (yes I was dressed!) you will see that this is indeed a DIFFERENT picture than the one above.   Here I am actually applying the copper leaf after allowing the sizing to cure.  Good thing television has been invented, yes?  I believe I was watching "Gotham" On Demand.  :0) 

After several hours of applying sizing and applying copper leaf, this is what I ended up with.  Sorry about the horrid photo.  I really need to take lessons on how to use my camera (or better yet, replace it!  It is on its last legs, like everything else I own!).   I really should not subject you all to such ugly photos!

At this point, I got so into what I was doing that I forgot to take photos!  So you will have to imagine the process from this point on (as they sigh in relief!  This has gotten to be quite a photo heavy post as it is!)

This was when I almost threw the whole thing into the trash.  Remember that Indian Ink concoction I came up with in an earlier post?  I had decided to age the whole thing using that.  

It was atrocious!  That was WHY I forgot to take pictures.  I went into panic mode!  I literally tore my hair out trying to reclaim the ground I had lost.  I still did want the aged look. . . remember the aesthetic I am going for is elegant grunge, so I had to maintain some of that but I was SOOO unhappy with what had happened.  Oh well, I guess that is how we learn, isn't it. 

I went through an agonizing process of playing with every part of the fireplace to return it to it's former promise of elegance and beauty.  I painted stuff white, repainted stuff green, played with ink, and took a moment to feel sorry for myself.  

After much ado, I finally came up with something that I like.  I am SURE I will be playing with this more, because it still looks too dirty for me.  But in the spirit of open and complete sharing, I am showing you what things are looking like now.  There will be some small alterations, but overall, I do think that "magic" happened!

I think mostly, I do not like the "grey" feeling that is now there.  I'll continue to play with the aging and probably pull back the aged effect to be a little less obvious and more uniform, but overall, I think we are getting there.   Thank goodness it is all paint!  You can repair just about anything that is just painted. 

I'll take a moment here to point out my "solution" to the mirror overlapping the crown molding.   I rather like it!  I built a chimney breast right up to the molding out of mount board.  The fire place and mirror now sit just in front of the molding, and it makes sense to the eye. 

You can see that the "grunge" factor is starting to emerge.  As I noted before, I do want to back that off a tad, but overall, I do like the effect.   The "floor" is removed in these shots (I cut up part of it to use for the fireplace!).  I have another (clean) sheet, which I will use on the floor when I get there.   The original sheet, as you can imagine, was getting a bit "used" looking with all the ins and outs of things going on around it!

Here is another shot that gives you the entire height of the fireplace.  I love the way the walls reflect in the mirror.  It is so enchanting!   The darkness of the jewelry findings at the top helps balance the darkness of the "carved" mantel detail below.  

Some of the more observant may have noticed that one of my decoration pieces is missing from these shots. I forgot to glue the small shell on the carved piece before taking these pictures.  That is now remedied!  :0) 

A final shot to put everything into perspective!   It is always good to stand back and look at the overall effect.  I like what is happening.  I am excited to get to the point where the kitchen rooms are begun as well, and I can attach the modules together and begin the detail work that really brings everything to life. 

Once I have completed the fireplace and added the basic materials to the chimney breast, and gotten the floor of the Grand Parlor completed, I will be moving on to the kitchen module to get it to the point that it is ready to attach as well.  We are getting closer!  

I hope you like the transformation.  I am still finding fault with it, that is part of my process I guess.  But I do know how I will work to improve it, and I am excited for the final outcome.  I am on the "right" path now, I think!  

Until next time! 

Doug S

Fireplace Mantel Mockup

Howdy folks!

Before I do anything else, I'd like to welcome two new followers! Thanks so much Elizabeth and Ilona, I look forward to getting to know you!

I wanted to share with you the next project I am working on for my Steampunk Chateau.  Its been a very, very busy couple of weeks, we've had a visitor and lots of "extra" activities recently, so I haven't been terribly focused on the miniature scene.   As a result, I've not gotten too far along on the project, but since this fireplace surround is a complex project, I thought I would go ahead and get started on posting about it. 

First, I'd like to share my inspiration fireplace surround.  You can see it above printed out with my printer that is on its last legs, and is also about out of the black ink.  :0) 

I absolutely love this Art Noveau fireplace surround, and was originally going to place this in the Entry.  But as you know, I decided to use another fireplace surround that I purchased at the Portland Miniature Show in the Entry, so this idea was still out there, and I decided that an adaptation of this was truly perfect for the Grand Parlor I am working on right now. 

As you see in the inspiration photo, there was no firebox with the surround, so I get to make up the rest!  I started by building the firebox so that I could set the depth of the fireplace surround appropriately.   

I added the front and sides to the "assembly" (its all propped together right now!).  The small dots you see in the back of the firebox are straight pins holding the wings of the firebox to the back while it dries.  I really love working with Foam Core!  It substitutes for wood in so many places, and in the finished product, you would never know! 

I also added a back to the fireplace surround that fit just behind the firebox.  It is hard to see in this picture, but that back goes about twice as high as the base.   

The inspiration fireplace has a carved medallion in the center.  I wanted to emulate that.  I created the design for one half of the medallion on one piece of mounting board.  I cut out that piece to create a template to use to ensure that both sides of the medallion matched.  I then used that (half) template to draw out the above piece, using the center line to make the two halves of the medallion the same size. 

  

I also wanted to preserve the carving around the center medallion in my version of the fireplace surround, so I also cut those from the mounting board using the same basic procedure. 

Here is where the fun begins!  My daughter donated a pair of beautiful, but broken, earrings to the cause, and I cut the bangles off of one of them with a wire cutter designed for working with jewelry.   

Here I begin to depart from the inspiration fireplace, since when I was playing with placement, I decided I preferred the jewelry bit placed as you see it in the above picture far better than the original placement of the carving in the inspiration fireplace.  It just "looks Steampunk", by which I mean it feels more like Art Noveau than the original.  :0)  My particular version of Steampunk is going to be highly influenced by the Art Noveau aesthetic... I think it lends itself well to the "unique" and "elegant" Steampunk vibe. 

 

Once I had the basic shapes of the front of the surround in place, I created three differing sizes of "mantel" out of mounting board.   Two are slightly smaller, and one larger. 

In the final version, I haven't yet decided whether the mounting board is sufficient for the application, or whether I want to cut these out of wood. It depends upon how things go with the later stages of this project. 

  

Here you see the way the three mantel pieces fit together to create a "molding".    You can also see that I departed from the inspiration fireplace by squaring off the overmantel, because I like the overall effect in my parlor room better.   

The tracing along the top represents some detail I am hoping to create along the top in the later stages of the fireplace surround build.  I'll post about that later. . .  for now, it is represented in mock up to help me visualize the final effects.  I process EVERYTHING visually, these little "crutches" are necessary for me to operate! 

Above is a shot of the fireplace surround in mock up form in it's entirety up to this point.  I will be adding a molding to the opening of the fireplace, as well as base molding.  

Now that the basic shape of the fireplace has been finalized, and representations of those shapes have been cut, I have turned to the decorative elements of the fireplace.   I found the above picture frame in a Goodwill store.  Not my idea of a beautiful frame, but it presented opportunities to me in regard to decor for my little fireplace. 

These little details will honor the look and feel of the original fireplace, while supporting beautifully the underwater vibe of the Grand Parlor.  I liked the seaweed pictured above as one element that I wanted to recreate on the fireplace. 

Time then to break out the trusty Amazing Mold Putty and the Amazing Resin to cast a version of the seaweed.   You see above that after casting, I have cut off the bottom of the new cast at the right point to allow it to fit into the final space allotted for it on the fireplace.  

I also liked the little fish elements spread all through the Goodwill frame, so also made a casting of two of those.   I don't want TOO much detail on the fireplace! 

Here are my little molds.  Rather frumpy, but hey, they work!

This finishes the basic mock up of the fireplace, other than the elements that make up the overmantel.  I'll be posting at least a couple of posts on finalizing that area.  Meanwhile, suffice it to say that there will be a "feature" just above the mantel, (again, if I can carry it off!!) and a mirror or framed picture (haven't decided for sure yet) above on the Overmantel. Take a look at the inspiration photo and see if you can guess what the "feature" will be.  If you do, you can see why I face that with some trepidation!  

I posted at this point, because I find the photo above intriguing. . . . I thought it would be a good "cliffhanger" for the next post.  : 0 )) 

Hope this finds all of you well and happy!  

Doug S

Resin Casting Triumph! [Or the Culmination of A Hard Won Battle!]

Welcome back folks!  I have such exciting news!  You will soon see the last of my resin casting trials...the battle is finally won!

I feel like I have climbed Mt. Everest...OK..maybe not quite that way...I'm not melting all over the floor due to my great exertion...but it feels GOOD to finally make this work!

Here is the product of my many travails.

 I know..it doesn't look too much different than before from this angle....

But here is an angle that can help you appreciate the change!

I love the highlights created by the resin over the Steampunk gizmos.  The polished shine of the floor is exactly what I had hoped for when I began this "little" project.

I wish you could all see this in real life...It is much more dramatic than in these pictures!  The shine is mesmerizing, the whole piece sort of glows due to the deep color in the floor, and the depth created by the resin is so incredibly dramatic.

(I showed my wife, and she told me she wanted to hang it on the wall!   My response was somewhat disappointing to her.)    :0)

 

I do have a bit of adjusting to do, because my floor ended up being a bit thicker than I intended.  It is a full 1/2 inch thick...Good thing I have some room to maneuver in my 12 inch high Entry.  

I am going to have to build up the floor for both the kitchen and the grand parlor as well, in order to level the ground floor.  I may also have an issue with my stairway...I hope I don't have to take it apart to adjust...shiver.   I planned for 1/4 inch..but my Steampunk gizmos didn't cooperate!

I will make any adjustments happily if I must however... because I am so excited about the outcome of my little resin casting drama!

And now, for the long awaited "After" photos....

That's all for now!  I just wanted to share my excitement at getting this to work!  And in spite of my many complaints...I think I would do this again someday!

On to the next challenge!

Enjoy your day!

Doug S

Grand Staircase Railing Balustrade

Morning folks!

While I have been waiting for the Entry Floor tests to complete, I have been busy!  I started work on the Grand Staircase Stair Railing balustrade.

Here are the couple of things I have been toying with using for the balusters.

It says Stair Railing to you, doesn't it? 

First, a jewelry connector I found at Hobby Lobby...and immediately thought...stair railing!!  These I know I want to use...

I also found these skeleton keys at a local fair...and thought...hmmm....I wonder....?

I have to admit, I am vacillating on the exact look I want.  I think the Skeleton Keys would add so much...but...

I have been casting and cutting off flashing for two days!  I am getting a little weary of casting resin, to say the least!

These jewelry findings have very fine details, and casting them is quite a chore...a little like watching paint dry...it goes on and on...!

I am using the same process I used for many of the elements of the Entry floor, and I LOVE this stuff.  It is so easy to use, and actually, for a project like this, goes quite quickly.

The first step is to use the Amazing Mold Putty to create several molds from the original piece.  This honestly takes about 10 minutes total!

Next, I used the Amazing Casting Resin from the same company...http://www.amazingmoldputty.com/.  I actually purchase mine through the local Hobby Lobby as well.  This product UNLIKE the Amazing Clear Resin Product I posted about yesterday, is a quick, easy to use product.  Yes, it is also a tad sticky here and there...but hey..you can't have everything!

To hasten the molding process a bit, I heat the silicone molds in the microwave for 1 minute...this helps ensure that the resin has the heat required to set properly.  I then mix the resin parts A and B, stirring for 1 minute....until the resin combination is clear.

I set the timer on the oven for only 16 minutes...that magic number is all it takes for the resin to get hard enough to remove from the mold.

When I get done, I have something like this...

You can see the flashing that comes out of the mold....Well, guess what!  I get to cut all of that off!

After cutting the flashing off of each piece, I end up with a near finished product that resembles the original. 

This is a lot of work...but considering I need a LOT of these...two per baluster rail, and that the findings themselves are exorbitantly expensive for what you are getting, this will save me a HUGE bundle...so it is off to work I go...!

I have done exactly 28 of these puppies....I need something like a hundred!  I will likely not be posting for a day or two!  I am buried in jewelry connectors!

Meanwhile, I continue to try and decide whether to go to the trouble to cast more of the keys...at the moment, it seems just a bit more than I want to do!  But I am sure cooler heads will eventually prevail!

Be back soon!

Doug S