Still Harry Pottering, today I made a copy of Advanced Potion Making.  There are covers you can find by googling 'Advanced Potion Making' covers, and I just resized it to miniature size!

I bound the book with sewing thread, and I tried to dye it with a teabag.  The teabag was twice-used before I got to it, so it didn't really work for aging the paper.  All I got was a sopping wet chunk of book.  I brought it upstairs and ran it over with a thin amount of brown watercolor, and I think that worked great.  The brown soaks in just the right amount if the paper is already wet.

I apologize for the pic quality.  It's with my phone.  Also, that foot is the Doctor's foot, clever beast, him.

Here's the inside:

For the inside, I just basically made scribbles that looked like words and drew alchemical symbols every few pages.  I also crossed things out and added arrows.  After all, it is annotated by the Half-Blood Prince.

Happy arting!

Today I made a Sorting Hat!  I'm on a severe Harry Potter kick right now, rereading the books and remembering how badly I want to be a wizard.  I'm taking that out on my dollhouse.

I made it out of real leather, from a pair of pants I got at a thrift store for the precise purpose of snipping and stitching.  And let me tell you: sewing through leather is so not worth it.  I should've used that polyester that I have that looks like leather, but that frays.  And now my fingers hurt.  Count yourself lucky that you don't live with me, because then you'd have to listen to me whine about how much my hands hurt and how I'm bleeding and stuff.

So what I did is I made a sort of donut shape out of one bit of leather, and a conical shape with another, two strips, and basically the rest is self-explanatory.  Except I gathered bits of the cone with in-out stitching to give it that rumpled look.

I think it still needs some roughing up, but I think this is a good start!  Happy arting!

Don't think I'm making excuses, but I rather smartly injured my thumbnail, thus making art difficult.  I don't know how animals do without them.

I decided to use the thick foil from gelt to try to make silverware today!  For those who don't know, gelt is that chocolate money you use when you play dreidel. I don't like how the fork turned out, but I'll try again when I have a fully functioning thumb.  However... the spoons, I think, are stellar, and the knife isn't halfway bad!

There's a penny on the tiny table for scale.  All in all, pretty fun!

Sorry for the bad photo!  Happy arting!

For the budget-conscious among us, now is the golden age in miniatures: after Christmas ornament sales.

The librarian at the school I volunteer at hooked me up!   

Here's a clearer view.  I just yanked off the hanging bits, and it's the perfect furniture.  Also: there's a camel.

Yesterday I spent all day babysitting!  I showed a couple of my kiddos how to sew with felt, and in the process, I made a little Batman stuffed critter.  Fun fact: I sleep with a big stuffed Batman.  Because I'm an adult.  And all adults sleep with stuffed Batmen.  If you didn't know that, you must not be a real adult.    Sorry no one told you.

I used black thread to add the details onto the Batsignal on his chest.  I cut it out of felt, but it was fuzzy around the edges, and some  black thread just sharpened the details.  I made the trunk and legs in one piece, the arms separately, the head separately, and the cape.

Happy arting!

Here's a free decoration that you can get.  Seashells.

Nature already makes them in scale!  Tiny seashells look just like bigger seashells, just tinier!  Same with tiny snail shells.

My collection right now is kind of pitiful, but think about how neat they'll look all in a basket.  And with more of them.

My sister gave me the best Christmas present ever.  She made me a couchy bench and a small table out of sticks she found on campus, and hot glue.  I love them so much!  I decided to give it a bit of extra flair with fabric scraps that she also gave me.

I really love the rustic look they give the house, and the fabric colors are perfect with that wood.  I'm so thrilled, and so, so, so proud of my sister for being awesome!  Happy arting!