Recycling and upcycling

I haven't been good at blogging in the recent months; I have hardly blogged at all, and one reason is that I have been very busy making miniatures! In the past, I used to make stuff to be used in various projects: furniture and accessories for dollhouses and room boxes, fruit and vegetables for a market stall, bread for the bakery, messy stuff for the messy kitchen, books for the library, and so on. I have seldom, if ever, made anything for the sake of making it, without having any special project in mind. Partly this was because I started attending a miniature club where you could do a larger project or just do whatever you wanted inspired by what other people were doing. I wanted to try various materials and techniques, to learn new skills. It was also liberating to be able to finish something at one go. 

In this post, I will share some things I have made recently, mostly my own design and mostly made from rubbish. I have already shared many of these small projects in various groups, but here they are all in the same place, in no particular order. 

I will start with something that has received much praise and that I am really proud of because I have never seen anything like this. 

I had been saving these boxes from interdental brushes for years, knowing that one day I would come up with something ingenious, and that day eventually arrived. As we all know, painting plastic is a h-ll of a job, but thanks to chalk paint it has become easier and neater. When I paint with chalk paint I use a hair dryer which not only makes the paint dry quicker but also makes it dry smooth. The keyboard is a printie, and I also printed out a nice screen saver, covering it with transparent plastic, recycled of course. The laptop can be opened and closed, and there is also a printie on the bottom. I made five laptops with different screens. 

Another project that I am quite pleased with is rusty objects: buckets, milk canisters, tubs and such. 

For canisters, I use eyedrop dispensers. I made a few in zink look, but I wanted to practice making things rusty, and miniature friends seem to be more enthusiastic abiout them, possibly because they need more effort and patience. The lids are metal buttons. The rectangular tubs are butter containers you get at hotels, the round one, if I am not mistaken, clotted cream, and the bath tub is cut from a shampoo bottle. The handles are paper clips. To create the rusty effect, I first paint with ochre chalk paint, then rub with various shades of chalk pastels. 

Kitchen scales was a challenge: I saw one on the web and thought: I can make it! A small wooden cube, four tiny beads for legs, metal eyelet, metal button frame and a face printed from the web. The most difficult thing was to resize the face to fit exactly on the cube. 

This was another challenge I saw on the web, but I used a full-size cat gym as a model. It was great fun to make, but you should have heard all the swearing when the bits kept falling apart.

 

For Easter, I made Easter decorations, making eggs from polymer clay and using bottle caps for plates and some other rubbish for wreaths. 

A ridiculously easy project is pencils and crayons made from toothpicks. 

Another easy one was bars of chocolate cut from a catalogue page I had been saving for years. I photocopied the images on a black background and wrapped around pieces of cardboard. 

I believe I have shared rugs made with embroidery thread before. Somebody gave me a band the true purpose of which is unclear to me, but it has a perfect width for rugs, and I am amused by inventing interesting designs. 

 

Round mats can be made with twine. 

Golf pegs can be used for many things, for instance, pretty decorative lamps with thimbles for shades. I bought a dozen or so thimbles some time ago in a charity shop. 

Roll-up curtains are easy to make with a square of fabric, skewers, thread and beads. 

Venetian blinds are cut from bamboo place mats and glued onto craft sticks. 

A stool made from that famous pizza holder, with a seat made from floor protection pad - the kind you glue onto table and chair legs. 

The plates are cut from egg cartons, painted and decorated with decoupage - I used paper napkins with floral patterns. 

Last but not least, a few things I have upcycled. You can - or could once, before they raised prices - buy inexpensive miniatures at the Danish chain shops Tiger. They are good quality, but far too new and shiny. I like things to look natural and well used. Compare the before and after picture. 

 

I also painted shiny metal pots and pans set from Tiger to resemble the traditional Swedish enamel kitchenware Kockums. Authentic Kockums miniatures cost a fortune, but I am pleased with my imitation. 

I will stop for now, but I have more to show, including a range of plants and flowers so come back soon. I promise it won't be another year! 

Messy kitchen, part 2

The second part of my messy kitchen project was focused on details. The joy of a project like this is thinking of all small things that add to the authenticity, as well as tell a story. This scene tells a sad story, but it cannot be helped.

To begin with, I removed all objects from the box and added mold in the corners and dirt on the floor.

I made this really disgusting green mold by applying a thin layer of glue and rubbing in green oasis foam. I think the result is very convincing. Dirt is simply diluted brown paint.

Next, I put back the units, the fridge, the table and the cupboard and started playing with small objects. I put them in and removed and moved them around. Some items I initially was sure would be there proved superfluous, for various reasons. Some were slightly wrong scale, and you could see it. Some just didn't feel right. Also while I wanted chaos I didn't want to overload the scene too much.

When I thought I had found the right place, I fixed the item with a glue dot - it can be removed if needed. 

After a couple of intensive hours, here is what it looks like.

Of course, you cannot see all details in this picture, so let's have a closer look, clockwise from left bottom corner.

 

There is a garbage bin, a shopping basket, a dustpan and a pair of rubber boots. More or less tidy. Maybe not used too often. The bin is a shampoo bottle cap; the rest are commercial items that came in different lots. I have painted the basket.

A flattened package of cereal. It was already flattened when it arrived in a lot, and for once I didn't have to mend it. An empty bottle of juice - eye-drop container with a label cut from a catalogue. Quite a few objects here come from my retro kitchen, now demolished. The towel rack is made from a cooking-oil bottle cap, and the towel is a bit of a full-scale towel.

I showed the arrangement on the cooker, corner unit and sink in the previous post, and I haven't added much. The kitchen towel rack is commercial, and the brush - doesn't this pink colour speak volumes about its owner? - is from a larger lot. It is a perfect finishing touch on the hob.

The clock on the wall is made from a spice-jar lid, and the clock face is cut out from a catalogue. 

I have added a few things on the table, including a shoe and a roll of toilet paper, neither belonging there. Another shoe has somehow got into a fruit bowl on the floor, and there are bottles everywhere. Only a few bottles are authentic, with real labels. They are in the foreground, to catch attention. The rest are eye-drop containers, painted green. There is also a food magazine on the floor - an ironic or even sarcastic detail.

On the fridge, an ice tray - almost all ice has melted. A bottle and a can of coke. And you cannot see that the fridge door has been mended, can you?

On the chair, there is another whisky bottle, a fake bottle and a cap - whose cap? In the foreground, another shoe, another bottle (nice wine, can this person appreciate it? Maybe someone gave it to them), another crushed package, an old cassette player, a crumpled newspaper - and a fire extinguisher! At least if there is a fire, maybe it can be stopped.

The cupboard is relatively tidy, with plates and cups and groceries, but there is another empty bottle and a tooth brush. And what is a champagne bottle doing there?

There are of course many further details I can add. A full ashtray. A withered plant. A half-eaten bread roll. But I will stop for a while. A project is never finished.

One final thing I made was a LED-strip over the cooker. It is not essential, but can be nice for display.

I am pleased with the final look.

Messy kitchen

It has been a while since I did any upcycling projects. I had planned to upcycle this kitchen for a long time.

It is good quality, but a dime a dozen, and my idea was to paint it with chalk paint, maybe distressing a bit. But as I started painting I suddenly felt I wanted to use it in a scene. Working on the book nook has made me eager to create more living environments. Some comments that I have received pointed out that the book nook very clearly told a story. I don't think any of my projects tell a story, not even the largest dollhouse. They are static, frozen in a moment. I want them all to tell a story, or many stories, but I haven't got there yet. I want there to be broken tea cups, spilled milk, dirty clothes, opened books. Tokens of presence.

This is why I decided to use the kitchen set in a scene of a messy kitchen. I haven't yet decided how messy, but I'd like to create an impression that someone has just left it in haste, and maybe this person hasn't been very tidy to begin with. The time will be vague 1960s-70s as I have many objects from those days.

I had already painted the kitchen units when I got the idea, and there wasn't much I had to change.

Obviously, the oven had to be black inside, and the front white. I painted the knobs and taps that were far too shiny. I added a drain in the sink (jewellery finding). I distressed a bit, not too much yet, it will depend on how the project develops.

I had saved a good cardboard box, exactly the same size as wine boxes that I had used before for room boxes and that are impossible to get these days. I made the first tentative layout.

I wanted a door in the back because a door always creates a sense of extra space. This door has been used in several earlier projects - I am sure this is not the last time. I can make a door of cardboard, but I happened to find it as I was looking for something else, so I can just as well use it.

The lovely fridge needs a door so I will have to figure out how to make it.

The cupboard is not quite in the same style, but it will work if I don't find anything better.

I think I have mentioned repeatedly in my posting that when I work on a project I like to put in as many details as possible from start, even if I then need to take them out again. It gives me a better sense of what I am doing. So after I had painted the walls and ceiling and attached suitable floors, I put in the furniture and dozens of objects that may or may not be part of the final scene, but play a role in the process. For instance, one of the chairs got knocked over unintentionally, but I saw immediately that it would be precisely like that in the final scene.

I mended the fridge to my best ability with what I had at home. One day when I can go to craft shops again I can make a better door, but it will be in the background so will work for now - or so I hope.

I haven't yet decided how messy my messy person will be, for instance, will they leave the fridge door open, but in any case there must be at least some stuff there. I will also add fridge magnets and such.

Next I "dressed" the sink.

This is something I would never, ever have in my kitchen, but that's the point of miniature-making, isn't it - creating something you would never have in real life. I didn't want to use my nice vintage plates in this project, and they wouldn't even be fully visible. Instead, I made plates from egg cartons, gluing them together at random and adding some disgusting food remnants. The knives and forks are cheap ones from Tiger, but they were far too new and shiny, as pointed out by someone with whom I shared this step, so I aged them a bit. Soap bottle came with a lot. From the cabinet, a garbage bag is falling out. But I am most proud of my mold. I had never seen a mold tutorial so I asked one of my miniatures groups. I got plenty of suggestions, but as often happens, others' advice can push you toward an original solution. Lint from tumble-dryer! I want patent on it.

I am quite pleased with this assembly. It looks truly disgusting to me.

Next, I did the corner cabinet. I didn't bother putting stuff into it since it won't be visible at all. But the counter must be crammed and untidy. 

The objects are a mix of commercial, mostly from large ebay lots, and handmade or upcycled by me. For instance, I added labels to wooden playscale bottles. To make spilled milk I used Tipp-Ex. Few people today will even know what it is. In the Stone Age before computers, it was used to paint over typos in typewritten manuscripts. It dries fast and is perfect for mock liquids, but it is the first time I used it. I recently got a bottle from a friend who had apparently saved it for the past thirty years - thanks a lot! The baking trays come from an eye-shadow box, and I put some unidentifiable food there. The rotten fruit is some dried berries I had in my grocery stall project. 

The next step was the hob. I had a little pan with eggs and black pudding that I used as it was. I put some couscous in a pot and covered with mold since I now knew how to make it. There is also some general dirt and coffee stains.

Setting the table was exciting. Here I wanted spilled coffee, and to make it I used grey chalk paint mixed with brown acrylic. For the right effect, I filled the cup, then tipped it so the liquid ran out in a natural way. What was left of the coffee, I poured into other cups, then almost emptied them to leave a bit at the bottom. I made some stain rings as well - in real life, they make me want to yell. For cereal, I used a few fennel seeds and covered them with Tipp-Ex. I had made all the bread from Fimo at a workshop some time ago. The whisky bottle completes the image of the person who lives here.

I will stop here for the time being and consider further details. I don't think this scene tells the whole story yet.

To be continued.

Small makeovers

One of the perks of being retired is that you have plenty of time. In the past few weeks I have been going to flea markets here and there - in a big city, there is always a flea market somewhere over the weekend. Some of my visits have been more successful than others, but last week I had incredible luck, interestingly, at two different stalls, and one seller clearly knew what they were selling while the other was just happy to get rid of stuff.

With the first seller, it was a bundle, and not everything was of interest (I don't need the horse and the cow), while with the second I picked exactly what I wanted. And I wanted plastic stuff to upcycle.

Stupidly, I didn't take a picture after I had sorted the treasure into categories, but you can see that there are many shoes. I once made a shoe shop for a friend, and with this pile of shoes I might make another one. Another large pile is combs and brushes and hair dryers, which begs for a beauty parlor. Sports, portable phones, food, kitchen utensils. Some things I found a place for at once, like the garbage bin that went into the garage of my Triang, the only dollhouse I have in my present accommodation. It's not period correct, but nothing is at the moment, while it really looks nice there. Some things fit in the Triang kitchen.

But otherwise I just had this enormous number of small items. I needed to start somewhere, and I picked some, more or less at random.

Mind, there is nothing wrong with them if you are a child and play with your dolls, and some collectors might be happy to include them in their projects as they are. But my challenge is to make them more interesting. 

Here is what I have done with them.

I would never be seen with a handbag like that if you paid me, but I have a friend who would love it. The jewellery box, I just painted over slightly, to make it look less plastic, and the notebook almost looks as if it were leather. The comb and mirror don't look exactly like ivory, but still better than before. Some items I need to explain. For instance, I wanted to make the coffee pot look like a traditional Kockums piece.

I studied the web carefully and found helpful images. I mixed chalk paint with hobby paint to produce the right colours. I had some paint left, and I had an extra lid, so I made a matching canister. I am not sure Kockums made canisters, but it doesn't really matter. I used eye-drop container.

I am particularly proud of the scissors, because they look exactly like my 1:1 scissors.

Similarly, I used my full-scale binoculars and iron to paint the miniature versions.

Side by side like this, you get a very good sense of scale.

I find this upcycling utterly fascinating. I do like making things from rubbish, but there is a very special joy in making ugly things more attractive and unique.

Finally, I dealt with the "silver" coffee set in which both coffee pot and sugar bowl lacked lids.

I once made a lid for a real antique tea pot (scroll down in the post to find it), so this was child's play.

Now the father in the Triang house can have his coffee, even though it is totally wrong scale and style.

Milk canister

I have made milk containers and canisters before, mostly using hotel-size shampoo bottles or eye-drop dispensers, like this one:

 

This time I wanted to do it a bit differently. I still used a plastic eye-drop bottle - I have endless supplies of these.

 

Don't throw away the cap - they make perfect lamp shades. But cut off the nozzle.

 

Acrylic paint doesn't work on plastic so I used enamel. It's messy, it smells and takes ages to dry. I use florist foam to let painted items dry on a stick.

 

For handles, I used heavy staples that come with wine crates. Or shall I say, used to come, as wine merchants don't give away or sell their wine crates any more. But I have a stash of these staples; they come handy for various things. It is easy to make holes in a plastic bottle.

 

Since my canister will be permanently sealed, I didn't bother cutting the staples to measure, they are simply inside the bottle.

For lid I used one of the many metal caps I once got from a miniaturist friend - I think they are for making fabric-covered buttons.

This was a quick project, apart from drying time.