Here We Go! New Project Down the Rabbit Hole.......

When I first started this wonderful hobby I spent a lot of time in Blogland reading and learning from the many artisans and home miniaturists that posted about their wonderful creations. One day I came across a truly inspirational setting by the miniaturist Susan Wener of the Mad Hatter's Tea Party. 

I decided that one day I would attempt my own tea party and for a number of years I have been collecting the relevant characters by Jain Squires both from fairs and with a little help from my friends.

Well at last the time has come......

 It will be a room box scene to go in my newly vacated bedroom, my youngest son has recently left home, that I have been de-cluttering and re-dressing for the last couple of weeks. Big clearing out and lots of bags to the local charity shop!! 

I like the projects I have in the house to match the room they will be placed in so the exterior of this room box will be soft greys and creamy chalk paints with an Alice quote or two, maybe.....

 This is quite a large room box, as usual my plans seem to grow and grow, that I had made by a very helpful man at Dolls House Concepts. I sent my measurements to Ted and he made exactly the size I asked for at a very reasonable price. The really cool thing about their range of room/display boxes is the fact that they have a perspex ceiling which means that the project can be seen from above as well as from the front. The perspex roof will also allow for much more light to enter the box, especially at the back. 

The back and side edges will hold all the flowers and bushes that I intend to make myself from the huge number of kits I seem to have collected. I love the planning stage and spend a lot of time thinking things through to try and avoid problems as the work progresses. In order to create the flowerbeds I will need a good layer of 'soil' because the stems will need to be planted so I have drawn a shape for a floating floor/lawn. 

 All projects start with an undercoat for me. This seems to give a good base surface and prevents warping. I have also primed all the wooden trims and mouldings I will also be adding to the exterior.

 I use a very cheap all purpose paint from B&Q so it can be used over and over again.

The floating lawn has been built with a variety of wood off cuts and then primed. Once I have finished messing about with the exterior walls I will cover this with a grass sheet purchased from a model railway supplier. 

Having raised the floor level I have had to add an extra piece of wood to the front to hide the gap. 

Now I need to plan the mouldings for the case of the room box and then start mitring, definitely not one of my favourite jobs especially where cornices are involved.