Miniature books - an easy & inexpensive project

These little books are so easy, quick & inexpensive that you’ll probably end up with stacks of them all around your house after this! I like making them as table gifts at doll conventions because you can customize them with each of your tablemates’ favorite book titles!

The size & shape of the wood pieces will determine the type of book (novel, textbook, coffee-table book) and scale (12” doll, 16” doll, etc.).

Materials:

• Pre-cut wooden rectangles or squares (about $3 for a bag of 130)
• Tacky glue or hot glue gun
• White acrylic craft paint (often on sale for less than $1)
• Scraps of leather or vinyl (about $6 for a package that will make several books – or cut up an old purse!)
• Ultra fine-tip Sharpie (about $1-2)

My Play Scale Christmas Diorama

I recently purchased a GORM shelving system from IKEA. It was easy to put together and I love it! I already had BONDE bookcases from IKEA, but the interior dimensions of the shelving area made it a little hard to realistically display my dolls. With this GORM system, I'm able to have a larger space to display each "room" of my diorama.

On this level of the shelving, we enter the apartment of the play scale, or 1/6th scale, dolls. Guests enter the living room from a patio (not shown). Displayed is a silver tinsel Christmas tree from Michael's along with various miniature ornaments. Under the tree are wrapped Christmas presents from both Michael's and Walmart. From this angle we get a glimpse of what is to come.

Here we get a full view of the living room. Darius is seated in a side chair from Welcome Home by Maryann Roy. In fact, much of the furniture you see in this room is Welcome Home furniture.  The sofa, coffee table, floor lamp, room divider, and fireplace wall back drop were all created by Maryann Roy. I love her mid-century modern flair! The On Location model muse is wearing a Santa t-shirt that is actually a Jolee's Boutique scrap book embellishment.

After the living room, we pass into the dining room where the table is already set for the impending feast.  The table is from a Gloria dining room set that was refurbished by a friend to look more realistic. Seriously, does anyone out there have a pink dining table in human size? Once again, there are other pieces from Welcome Home. The gold buffet and the window seat back drop are fairly recent additions from Maryann. The chandelier is from Kikkerland. They were given out at the 2010 Barbie Convention, but I actually bought this from a room seller at the 2009 Barbie Convention. The clear is no longer available from the Kikkerland website, but you can still get the black or pink variant. And the best part? The chandelier really lights up! It's battery operated so no need for an outlet. The rugs in the two rooms are from eBay. They are woven cloth.

You can see a few more pictures on my Flickr page.

An Interview with Maryann Roy of Welcome Home

Maryann Roy's winning entry of Mattel's Mad Men competition, "Flowers for Joan."
Used by permission. See more photos on her website.

We at the Fashion Doll Review were honored when Maryann Roy of Welcome Home agreed to do an interview. Interview by Shuga-Shug.

Maryann Roy has been in business since 1996, starting initially as a vintage doll restorer before moving into her own line. Welcome Home creates visually stunning diorama items and furniture, designed for the distinguishing doll collectors' palette. You can find Maryann's work in Fashion Doll Quarterly, and she has been featured in American Miniaturist, Dolls Magazine and Haute Doll. She also had the occasion to contribute to Integrity Toys for Poppy Parker, Fashion Royalty, NuFace and others.

Be sure to visit Welcome Home's website. The latest post features its very own jingle advertisement, written and designed by Maryann. You can now also follow her on Flickr, where she posts some of her items as well.