It Is In the Little Things

I pulled out one of my presents from last Christmas and played with that for the morning since I need to avoid knitting right now.  

I gave myself this nifty miniature book making kit last year and decided it was high time I did something with it.  

 

I knew right from the start that it wasn't going to be quite the thing I was looking for.  It is scaled more towards Barbie sized miniatures than the 1/12 scale I like to work with.  Still, the techniques are valuable and it is interesting seeing the possibilities.  Plus, there are a couple of the books that will be just right as is.  

First thing is to gather tools.  I did consider trying out my paper cutter.  In the end, I opted for plain scissors, because they are quicker to use and you can control the cut easily.  

The other obvious to me tool was something to score the fold lines with.  I used the end of a small file that I had, but you could use almost anything to get the fold lines to fold right where you want them to.

Cut out the pages into strips, fold them, add a dab of glue to glue the page sets together and then, glue the book to the inside of the cardstock cover.

Voila.  We have miniature books that are reasonably nice looking which are actually very pretty and are quite readable.  The story of Thumbelina is a short but complete version of the story that could be used for kiddies bedtimes. The art work is really quite nice and I am pleased overall.  

In my dollhouse, the World Atlas and the books on birds and butterflies are going to be well used.  The scale of them can be larger because in my home, full scale, books like that were outsized so details could be better viewed.  And so it will be in my dollhouse.

The box with this little kit comes with a kind of bonus.

The box could be used as the foundation for your miniature room if you wished.  It did include a book case punched out from cardboard for the books to be kept in and the ox itself has pretty walls and really nice floors.  It only lacks a fireplace, a rug and a cozy chair and side table to make a perfectly neat little retreat. I will hang on to the box for a bit.  Who knows if I might need them for something or other.

The kit wasn't a ten for me, but I did learn some things that will be of great value when I fill my bookcases in my miniature house.  For that, I call it money well spent.

Today, I am going to play in the kitchen.  I found some museum wax a while ago.  Museum wax is used to hold things in place but not permanently.  It is clear and will help keep the bits and pieces around the kitchen from falling off shelves every time any of the kids look into my wee house or I knock it as I go past it.  

I am also going to install the lights.  I have led lights that operate using battery power.  It is a very simple solution to the quandry of wiring which just seemed like such a monumental task to me.  I want to get the first lights up so that I can see what other fixtures I might need to really light the rooms well.  I am particularly concnerned with the kitchen.  In my mind, I want it to be a place from early in the twentieth century, like something I might have found here on the prairies.  My house will have electricity, but would only be used sparingly and always backed up with lanterns, kerosene or otherwise.  

So play today.  Why ever not.  These days between Christmas and New Years are precious.  The holiday isn't quite over.  Real life need not resume.  So I shall play and make some things happen that I never seem to make time for otherwise.