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December 1998

Happy Holidays! Let's make this a quarter inch christmas, shall we? This is a box I did after being inspired by a valentine's box in "Nutshell News" aka "Dollhouse Miniatures", circa February 1997. These are some of the things I did to make it a Christmas project. Of course, perhaps you don't want to make a christian scene -- use the same techniques to make a Chanukah scene, or whatever else catches your fancy!

This is the finished piece. Wish you could see what it looks like in real life, as the photo doesn't do it justice. My scanned image was way worse than this photo, believe it or not! A tour around the room: the little white blob by the fireplace is actually a small white persian kitten. I made her from a single small white pom-pom that I shaped with scissors (I have fiskars scissors (that you hold like in the palm of your hands and squeeze), not conventional scissors. Face and ears were painted. Behind the white kitten is the fireplace, complete with a yule log in a grate. The hearth sports two small stockings, and three cards (not really visible in the photo). Cards were just folded pieces of christmas paper. Above that lives the candy decorated wreath. To the left you can see my sword fern in a terracotta pot. To the right is my leather love seat, complete with burgandy pillows and a teddy. In front of that, a little coffee table, doily and candle in a candle holder. You can't see it well in the photo, but there is a "metal" holdy bit (technical term) that curls off the holder. It is nothing more than a curled snippet of a sequin. Coffee table is wood and bead. On the far right is the tree, decorated with candy, beads and floss. Underneath the tree are wrapped presents (I used real sized paper, creatively cut and glued over some little sawings of wood, floss for ribbon). A small penguin toy is under the tree, again hard to see, but he is there! He is two pompoms glued, painted and bowed. Inspired? Well then get to creating!

• Step 1: Find a box. Go to your local craft store and pick up an appropriately sized paper mache box. There are some neat ones, from little hearts, octagons, books, etc. I chose a square box with a lid.

• Step 2: Prepare the box. If you chose a box with a lid, cut out a window. You can be boring like I was and make a square. If you want to get a little more fancy, center a small cookie cutter on the lid, trace around it, and carefully cut out the shape.

  Next, seal the box (and lid) with your favorite waterproofing agent (spray sealer, gesso, etc.). Allow to dry.

  Either paint the box with a scene (might help if you draw the scene lightly onto the box, christmas paper may give you some inspiration), decoupage the box with bits of fabric or paper or wrap the box (and lid) as I did with acid free craft paper. I used a lovely tartan design in red/green/white. I also saw great snowmen, candy cane, snowflake designs as well -- look around for something that goes with your theme.

• Step 3: Prepare the inside. Wallpaper the inside of your box. Don't worry if you can't find "1/4 inch dollhouse wallpaper" -- I was able to use a small striped print that was meant for a large real sized project because the look was right. You could also easily use a cotton print fabric as well.

  Next, cut a piece of foamcore to fit the bottom of your box. Depending on how big your window is, you might have to double the foamcore up. This is not the only way to do it, of course -- you could build a stage with cardboard if foamcore is unobtainable. I then glued flocked paper to the foamcore to simulate carpet. You can simulate wood floors with a scribe and some fancy painting. Simulate small floor rugs with pieces of fabric or tiny crocheted rugs. Hint, if you make a long chain of crochet, glue it into a circle, it makes a quite believable braided rug.

• Step 4:The Fireplace. This step is of course optional, but I find a christmas scene without a fireplace a little bland so I included one. I made a corner fireplace out of a little square piece of foam core. It was gessoed, scribed to look like brick, painted brick color and fitted into one of the corners on an angle. I had cut out a square previously to give the fireplace some depth, and used black construction paper glued across the back to simulate the back of the fireplace chimney. The hearth was just a continuation of this paper, but I could have built up a little stone hearth quite easily out of paper egg cartons and a little paint. The mantle was a scrap piece of moulding cut to size.

• Step 5: Interior decoration. I glued a small picture to a plastic window to simulate a winter scene beyond the box, then glued that to the back of the box. The plastic window was one that I picked up from a hobby store, meant for a railway building of some sort. You can make your own with bits of thin moulding or even paper strips. To top off the window, I used a small piece of lace that was cut down. My loveseat was two cheap plastic chairs glued together, covered with bits of thin leather until they looked like a love seat. Pillows were just small pieces of leather glued for thickness. I made a decorated tree as well -- I found some very small brush type trees at the craft store, but you could also spray paint an old cut down bottle washer to the appropriate shade of green. For decorations I used candy that I received in a candy swap years ago. You could make your own by getting pre-made canes from the craft store and rolling them down to reduce them, or make your own from bits of fimo. Beads can be used to simulate christmas balls. A tree skirt was merely a piece of lace wrapped around the tree's base. Stockings on the mantle were pieces of fabric sealed then cut into stocking shapes, trimmed with a bit of lace. Wreath was a piece of pipe cleaner painted to make it rigid, decorated with bits of candy and a embroidery floss bow. Candles/presents/etc were made from small bits of fimo. You could also include a small plant--a bead with some snipped green florist tape glued in artistically. Flowers are as easy as little bits of colored railway foam, or you can make your own with a little imagination, foam and clever painting.

• Finally: USE YOUR IMAGINATION!! Don't just follow what I did and call it a day. Throw in your own ideas, brainstorm, invent! Stretch your mind and see where it takes you! You would be surprised what sort of wonderful things are possible if you take a moment to daydream:)!

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