Intermediate Work : Some Miniature Food stuff

1/24 scale bread, 1/12 scale bento boxes

November 6th 2012

I started navigating to search for miniature food stuff a long time ago.  The thing is I’d like  to learn how to use my Fimo so I can make some stuff but I just don’t have the manual control I once had.  I’m not writing it off just yet but I wanted to see if I could find some finished food and at the right price.

I searched a number of different sites and came across the problem of scale.  This house is slightly larger than half scale and not quite 1/12 scale but some things can actually fit even if they are larger scale.  The 1/24 scale is really very tiny and depending on the food I have to be able to see the objects next to a measuring tape or ruler or a penny to gauge if it’s correct or not.  Another hinderance was that I needed Japanese food.  The house is supposed to be a Japanese inn so I really needed some oriental dishes.

I found one site that makes really lovely detailed 1/24 scale food.  But it was much too small (see the loaf of bread on the table above).  So I ended up searching on Ebay.  I found two sellers out of Thailand that had very nice ceramic and food products.  One in particular had the Coke cooler which I really wanted in the foyer of the inn.  It also had the bento boxes and the dim sum bamboo steamers so I purchased from them.  I think the scale is going to look just fine and the prices are very honest.

Bento Boxes

Dim Sum

I also made purchases from another Ebay seller who also has their own site.  I got mostly fruit and veg from them and you can see those in my kitchen shelving.  They also had whole fish and some knives so I bought these from them too.  The fish were essential if I wanted to have fish plates being prepared in the kitchen.  In fact they look pretty realistic sitting on the butcher’s block.

Apples, pears and some sweets which I will use with a tea set.

The final purchase was from a food miniaturist who is pretty famous.  She makes lots of food and sells them in slices or in canes (which can be sliced by you).  They tend to be more expensive as a food solution but I was able to get hold of some sashimi packets (50pcs) some shrimp, salmon steak and smoked salmon.  I then could create my own dishes.  I eventually want these dishes to be set out in preparation for bringing them to the guest’s rooms. 

Tiny sashimi and lemon slices.

Shrimp, salmon steaks and sashimi.

I used liquid Fimo to glue the loose pieces onto the cute dishes (purchased off Ebay together with the Coke cooler) along with some sliced sashimi pieces on to the tray.  I also got some ice off the same seller and fimo’d that onto the tray.  All you have to do is heat the pieces up in the oven on its lowest setting to fix the liquid Fimo.  I think it works better than superglue or other liquid glue solutions because you have to wait so long for the glue to dry.

Fimo Liquid

Fish prep tray, sashimi and salmon plate

Set up on the table

I’m not sure if I can afford to make frequent purchases from the Angie Scarr site so I may have to attempt some Fimo food on my own (thinking about a joint of meat or something - or even a Kobe steak!) but I’m pretty far from that right now.

Intermediate Work - Purchases

April - May - June 2012

Well, I have been busy with work (life work, not dollhouse work) and have somewhat abandoned the build for a bit.  I have been learning how to make miniature paper flowers tho but I will post about my results later for that.

Over the last few months in my internet travels, I have accumulated quite a few contacts and made some purchases that can now begin to be put into the dollhouse.  So, I figured I’d attempt to show some of them here and link over to some of the shops.

On a side note, I came across an insert in Wikipedia which explained the term ryokan which I had come across previously in another post.  There, they had a detailed explanation of what it is and it matched exactly with dollhouse I am working on.  Basically, most of these ryokan are pretty nice luxury / spa hotels where you sleep on a tatami mat and eat all in the same room.  During the day, the futon is rolled up and put aside so you can pull out tables and chairs and eat or relax in the room.  The bathroom and spa are communal.  The entrance hall actually has two functions.  One it for “check in” for the guests and the other is a gathering place for the guests to sit and watch TV or read or socialize.  So, I decided to make my entrance hall this way.  It says they furnish you with kimonos for the spa and little geta sandals too.  So knowing all this, I’ve decided to make my ryokan not so run down or trashy but still a place for young people to come to and be entertained and enjoy the indoor spa !  Love to actually visit a real one.

The Spa really doesn’t have anything that I purchased in it. The stools and buckets were part of the kit as were the geta.  The changing area cabinet (with the kimonos I made) along with the scale and sink came with the kit.  The only purchases were the little laundry basket and the medicine cabinet over the sink.  I bought quite a few little objects from Doll House Emporium and they have great service and quick delivery.  The cabinet is a bit big (as DHE has mostly 1/12 scale) but I’m thinking I’m going to pull it down and weather it a bit.  Plus I want to fill it with medicine cabinet essentials.  But that’ll have to be later.  I'm also thinking of adding a little shower head to the right mostly because technically you are supposed to be clean before you enter into the spa pool.  It's not a bathtub - so I pretty much need a shower area in here.

I'm contemplating adding a shower head to the right.

Spa changing area

You can see the medicine cabinet above the sink.

View thru the spa window

The entrance hall has quite a few pieces which were part of the kit and needed construction.

Cabinet, desk, TV and the bonsai on the right.

View up thru to the first floor.

Cards for guests and little Evil Eye Charm

The large cupboard in the back, the front desk, the chairs, the TV and the screen were all part of the kit.  The clock on top of the cupboard was a DHE freebie with a purchase so I stuck it there.  The bonsai was also a special purchase from DHE.  They are issuing replicas from Queen Mary’s Dollshouse and they started with the Queen’s bedroom.  The bonsai was a 1/12 scale but I think it looks fine in the entrance.  I had to add some moss and greens to the vase as it was a bit ugly and unfinished but it looks great now.  The cards on the desk were a freebie from Japanese Miniatures off of Ebay. I bought many little kitchen items from her site all of which we can see in the kitchen.  The little black and white kitty on the desk is actually a pocket charm to ward off evil.  I found it in a shop in Florence that sells Japanese objects of all kinds.  I also found fabrics which I used to make the futon bedding and chair pillows and origami papers there too.  (I’d like to got back and buy some washi tape to use in my doll constructions - but that’s for later...)  The little paper lamp comes from Jim's printables page.

The kitchen is full of stuff that was from the kit (back and right side cupboards, wooden shelving, sink and stove) but many things I ended up making myself.

Coal and burnt ember container for cleaning

Lots of fun stuff in the kitchen. Mr Sparkle too!

The butcher’s block and knives, the ice box, the aluminum top table and stool I fashioned on my own.  The fruit and veg were purchased from Superminiatures who also had great quick service.  The bowls and bento box as well as the sushi board on the table were from Japanese Miniatures and the fish and knives came from Superminiatures.  The wok, pots and pans and wall mounted cups all came from I Love Miniatures who also gave me some free 1/20 scale Japanese 50’s style posters and calanders as their freebie.  Everyone is very nice about giving extra little things to add to the details of your project.  The mirror, coal collector (which is actually a slop bucket!), milk bottles and carrier were all purchased from DHE.  The food stuffs, boxes and cartons of juice and milk were made from the printies pages (either Jim’s or Jen’s or the Japanese Rainy pages) or I created them myself (see Mr Sparkle from The Simpsons). 

So, at this point, the ground floor is pretty much complete.  The kitchen still needs a few items to be attached and I want to make a rice paper globe for the spa ceiling light.  Plus an upcoming chapter has a paper and wood lamp which, if easy enough, I will reproduce for a few more rooms and replace the printie one I have in the entrance right now. 

Ground floor nearly complete.

The lighting is temporary still because I still need to wire the third floor and bring the wires down the back of the house to the ground level.  So, the back of the house is still a mess with missing boards and wires hanging out all over the place.  Not only that, I am still trying to figure out how to make a permanent table to put the house on.  I'd prefer it with wheels so I could move it around if I had to.  I have plans to make an outside garden area and an area right outside the kitchen where garbage and trash is left for pick up as well as an area for pickling vases. So I have plywood to install the house on, just no clear idea yet on where or how to install it.  I am trying to get my wandering mind organised and even purchased a trolley from Ikea for around E39.00 to get all the tools and paints organised.

Loaded Ikea trolley

Now if I could only do it with my mind ! I think I need a dollhouse journal so I can write down all the ideas that flash at me - I'm so afraid of forgetting!

And I’m still not done with my purchases or my own additions outside the kit.  Upcoming projects will be a rolled up futon for the music room on the 1st floor as well as loading up the table there with all the sushi and food stuff I already purchased.  And I have actually commissioned a stain glass room screen for that room which hopefully is being shipped soon.  Two flower boxes are in the works so will post once they are complete. It's all a viscious cycle in the end.  One thing leads to another idea which leads to another.  Now I know what they mean when they say you never really finish building a dollhouse.

Intermediate Work - Decorating the Bamboo Bedroom Shrine, Filling the Kitchen Shelves and Decorating the Kitchen

June 4th - 5th 2012

I decided to take a break and use some of the objects that had been arriving over the last few weeks to decorate the kitchen and the shrine in the bedroom.  I had been surfing the web and managed to find a few sites with some nice objects which, if displayed properly, would work out fine in the 1:20 dollhouse even if the objects are mostly 1:12.

I purchased some bowls and such from I Love Miniatures site and used one for the shrine (to contain water) and the rest I put in the kitchen hutch. There are two hutches to store things so one I have put the bowls and a bento box and the other I put some copper pots.  I purchased those and some measuring cups that, once hung on the wall, just look like normal pots for cooking.  I also purchased a wok and wok utensil from the same site - I just trimmed the handle on the utensil, hung a hook in the house then distressed the wok so it looked used.  My free gift from this seller was a page of kitchy 50/60's Japanese prints including a calandar.  So that went on the wall too.

Wok and fish being prepared.

 I purchased a series of fruit and veg plus some fish on a platter from the Superminiatures site.  This one was the fastest purchase to arrive.  Less than two weeks altho one or two objects had been switched out.  I am still wondering where my pears and knives are.  Oh well, they gave me other stuff by mistake so not like I was robbed or anything.  I made some wood crates from leftover wood and filled them with the veg.  The wooden shelving was then filled with the crates.  I used my “Mini-Hold” waxlike holding substance to fix everything.  Also this I found at a discount on the Love Miniatures site.  It works perfectly and since it’s not glue, you can easily remove the objects even if the stuff really does hold well.  I updated my butcher’s block by sticking a knife in it and sticking a fish ready to be filleted. 

Bamboo bedroom, just few more things to add.

I added some oranges, a “ceramic bell” (really a mortar and pestle) to ring to start the chanting, and a plant.  I’m just missing an incense dish.  I attached the lights for this room and the kitchen and I think they look very nice.  The kitchen light I printed off a lampshade and glued it to the ceiling to tone down the intensity of the light.  Very effective I must say.

I made a small kitchen table from scraps and aged it a bit.  I think I am going to have to make a few stools now to go with it.  Slowly, things will be added but I think that there are quite a few objects which look good even if the scale is not perfect.

Table and basket of apples. Just missing an ice box...

UPDATE :  Superminiatures already contacted me and they are sending my missing items! I so recommend this site!