Verstraete Miniatures: Half Scale Room in a Wood Candy Box

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chocolate

THE MINIATURE CANDY BOX ROOM

By Christine A. Verstraete

Being a chocoholic, I was thrilled when a friend gave me a wonderful box of Belgian chocolates one Christmas. But even if the box had been empty, I would've been no less happy. The chocolate was great, but as all miniaturists know, the best part of the gift was the box!

The half-inch scale (1/2"=1 foot) room was inspired from the pretty purple and green floral fabric which I thought had a 1930s-40s look. The back wall is papered in a small fern print; side walls are papered in a light lilac moire topped with a leaf design cut from a life-sized watercolor print. The trim and windows are painted with Ceramcoat Cream and Leaf Green.

Two landscapes were glued to the back fake wall (made from foam core) to show through the windows. The center art was coated with Modge Podge to give it a silky finish. The frame was inset into the wall. The photos on the fireplace mantel are vintage family photos. All furniture was made from the Half-inch Furniture Kit by d. Anne Ruff. The bookcase kit and plants are from SDK Miniatures. The fireplace was constructed from three blocks of wood, with a portion of an art deco-style greeting card cut out for a fireplace insert and brick paper cut from a photo of a dollhouse exterior.

The fun of half-scale miniatures is that you can get a lot of detail in an item smaller than your hand! It's a "fun" size to work with! I used Bunka to outline the couch and pillows. A sequin made a perfect dessert dish. The trays are cut from metallic board. The teapot set is painted pewter.

I thought the colors in the framed picture matched perfectly and I wanted a larger "painting" for a more dramatic effect. Bookcase, cone flower and violet plant kits from SDK Miniatures. The lamps are handmade from beads, tubing and cloth-covered paper shades edged with Bunka.

HOW TO TIP - Make Realistic Rugs From Paper:

Cut out an in-scale picture of a rug from a magazine or catalog. Coat front with Modge Podge Satin.
When dry, turn over and seal back with Gesso. Let dry.
Coat back with thinned Tacky Glue and attach to paper towel. Trim to fit.
Glue ribbon to back on each end for fringe and pull ends to fray. I also use pulled, fringed cross-stitch fabric for edges.

Graphics: Country Colors