While I'm working on furniture kits here and there, I've been deciding what larger project to do next.
I am leaning toward starting the half-scale country cabin kit I got awhile ago - the Alisha Country house kit from Laser Dollhouse Designs. I have an idea of turning it into a more contemporary house, kind of black and white, which would be very different for me. But... I will put touches of color. I can't help it! Eventually, as I have to do some planning first since I want to change some things around in the house and it'll probably be the winter project.
I'll also start setting up the small Halloween display in the real house. Will be nice to have something up and lit. In the meantime while I work (yes, still!) on decorating and filling the Van Buren dollhouse for Halloween, I thought of doing something smaller as an in-between project.
I had another photo box sitting around, (this one is 5 1/2" h, 8 1/2" w, 3" d) that is smaller than the one I used for the Tiki Bar. I buy these things at Goodwill and set them aside until an idea hits. So.... once I saw my friend Gigi's teensy abandoned room, part of the Robin Betterley 2023 calendar club kit project, I realized the photo box would be perfect!
Here's the club kit:
Here's Gigi's teensy abandoned room which is sooo cute!
I like doing haunted houses and that, but I also like the messy, abandoned look which I haven't done yet. Believe it or not, it's really hard to totally mess something up, especially after you put a lot of work into making it!!
So that is the plan here: a fully abandoned half-scale room. I like the idea of building up the floor, too, to have the ground showing underneath as above.
Some supplies to start:
First, I painted the whole box gray and will add some black over it for aging. I cut a false wall out of mat board and cut window holes in it. I have a couple Grandt Line plastic windows I've had awhile that work well since I'll be wrecking everything. I got them cheap so I won't feel bad messing them up. I put some LED lights behind the wall to light it up, dimly, of course! I also put a magazine landscape on the back wall behind the windows. I put wood sticks behind the wall to provide some space behind the windows.
Here's the wall so far (not glued in and paper not glued yet): Yes those are lights behind the windows. I had a two-light string and battery set on hand. (Evan Designs has all kinds of different sets.) I have to wallpaper the wall, and add some moss around the window and on that tree branch. I'll put the floor in after the wall is done and the paper in.
The wallpaper (scrapbook paper) is cut in strips like real life, then dirtied, torn, pried up, and whatever else. I'll put up dingy ripped curtain remnants too. Might add some falling plaster and have visible brick patches, too. So far, so good!
Accessories will vary as I see what looks right. I have a plastic Victorian couch that will be perfect to break and wreck. I cut part of that bookmark and dirtied it up. (Gasp!) It'll work here. The other part can be a small rug in another room.
It's been pretty fun working on this! Believe it or not, it's actually harder to make something messy. It's hard to decide to wreck kits or furniture on purpose and decorating-wise you don't want to go too far. Or is there really such a thing as too far in an abandoned room? We shall see!
I know, not a lot to show yet, but I think it's turning out pretty good so far. Sometimes a small project is a nice change, though it often can take as much time as a larger one, right?
Making a list for myself of things I could add in:
* Mice, gotta have mice! Or rats... either way.
* Spider webbing cobwebs * Broken lamp and end table
* Old picture frames and pictures * Forgotten toys?
* A discarded suitcase or crate? * Broken chair?
* A stack of old books and magazines, some with pages torn out.
Other suggestions are welcome. I'll share more pix as I get things done.
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* For fun: Get free mini Halloween cross-stitch patterns (black cat, pumpkin, bat, etc.) I use 22 count cloth for smaller results.
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