The Magical Menagerie is on Fire!!!

It has been full steam ahead with the interior of the Menagerie mostly due to the wonderful lady who runs the online shop Dolls House Wallpaper. I bought this Brodnax print a while ago at Miniatura but as usual severely underestimated the amount needed for the whole house and inside door panel.

I spent an evening tracking down the same paper and eventually discovered this fabulous site which is full of Brodnax prints.

The ground floor went in beautifully despite my concern about the windows. They are a very curvy shape and I always seem to get in a bit of a tizz with windows but at last I seem to have got it right!

The key for me seems to be in painting the inner sills and ledges of the windows with a complimentary colour. Then you don't have to worry about the wallpaper fitting absolutely perfectly. I made a template of the windows and then cut out the shape with a very sharp craft knife.

  It took a bit of time and a lot of care but these are definitely my best attempt.

 The upstairs is going to be a Dragon Wizard's room. In my post-Voldemort Diagon Alley dragons have become very popular, small dragons that is.....think of fiery micro pigs!!!

So I want the wallpaper to look a bit singed.

 I tried matches....too powerful lost a few practice off cuts, joss sticks....not powerful enough and ended up using a disposible lighter to burn and dis-colour the paper.

Then I matched up my burnt wallpaper and where the holes are I smeared Art Mache as if the wall  exposed.

 I then had to wait overnight for the Art Mache to dry as I wanted to to distress it to look as if it had been burnt.

 I tend to approach paints with a great deal of caution. I am always concerned that if I make a huge mistake I won't be able to rectify it. So I usually start off much too drab and add layer upon layer....

 So one layer of my dirty water mix followed by smudges of black and brown pastel dust that I smoothed on with my finger.

 I then dabbed on a tiny bit of glue and which I sprinkled with red and black glitter. I wanted it to look fiery, as if the walls were touched by a dragon.

 Lastly another coat of my dirty water mix to finish off the edges. 

Oh and I emphasised the burnt patches with the pastel shavings.

 I was a bit concerned that having messed around so much with the wallpaper it would disintegrate once I tried to hang it but Brodnax paper is great quality and it went up nicely.

I know that a lot will be covered by 'stuff' eventually but I wanted to try and create the atmosphere of a room with a tale to tell.!