Excellent Example of a Spooky Victorian Feast

The scale in this dollhouse room is so perfect and the details are so rich it took me awhile to realize that it was all in miniature! I had thought I was looking at an actual room! The papered panels on the wall, the shabby chic peeling white paint, the candles' soft golden glow, so perfect... The fading grace of this 'once glorious' home is reflected in the doll, a lovely aged dowager. Is she a ghost or the final living resident of the mansion? You decide.

Details that help the realism: peeling faded paper panels, a layer of 'dust', the mice holes chewed into the baseboards of the room, faded and distressed wood, a pale murky blue wall color, brown stains and 'water damage' in the corners. If I was to make something similiar, the dust would be the hardest part. Use chalk dust and matte spray it? Or wood dust? I'll have to experiment with a few different techniques.

Unfortunately, I saved this picture some time ago and I do not know who the artist is.

UPDATE !

I did not originally know who made the room above and am very grateful to Debbie Wright for her help! She identified this as "the Miss Haversham Room Box" by miniature artist Vic Newey. To see more of his work go to http://www.vicnewey.co.uk/vicnewey_002.htm

Debbie actually owns a Street Scene made by Vic Newey to resemble Diagon Alley. To see Debbie's collection go to http://debbiestinytreasures.blogspot.com/

Gothic Rose Antiques and Haunted Dollhouses

DARK ROSE ANTIQUES !!!
This website featuring a variety of spooky antiques is just a treasure trove of ideas for anyone trying to decorate their miniature haunted house or castle!
http://www.gothicroseantiques.com/index.html

I first came across a lovely add for Gothic Rose Antiques in "Gothic Beauty" magazine... I went to the site, which is lovingly maintained, and drooled over the candalabras, vintage books, Victorian furniture, and creepy little decour gems. There are owls in cages, quirky taxadermy examples, dracula manniquins, period funerary art and fashion, and just anything a dark little heart might desire... I was incredibly inspired to stuff tiny magical cabinents with potions, make steampunk magical books, and miniature candalabras dripping wax!

I've always loved spooky dollhouses, although I admit that I'm usually too chicken to get all the way through a Halloween fun house. I like the mystery and magic of anything ancient and hidden. A little haunted house should have loads of interesting items on the surface but also many secrets stuffed in drawers, closets, and under beds...

Here are a few of my spooky miniatures inspired by my many visits to Gothic Rose Antiques. First is the 1:12 scale "Haunted Victorian Mirror", perfect for any Halloween collection or Victorian Sceance scene. It is one of a kind, made from plastic, metal, miliput clay (an epoxy clay), and cardstock. All was painted flat black then dry brushed, inked, and matte sprayed. The next piece is a 1:12 scale spooky "Steampunk Grandfather Clock". Made from a basic wood kit with several alterations, including vintage clock gears, bats, handpainted webbing, and fiber texturing. I try to make my spooky line of miniatures look worn, ancient, magical, and textured.

More Egyptian Miniatures!

Several one of a kind miniature sets came out of my visit to the San Antonio Museum of Art, where I was totally inspired by the ancient Egyptian collection. I spent 2 frenzied days of mini-making... After a few bottles of glue and completely trashing my upstairs family room, I had 5 distinct sets of Egyptian Miniatures:

- The Egyptologist's Desk

- A set of Egyptian History Books

- An Egyptian Gift Shop

- A 'Vintage' Portfolio of the discovery of King Tut's Tomb

- The Egyptian Antiquities Museum Set

All have been put in my Etsy Shop, Cauldron Craft Miniatures - except the Gift Shop because one of my 7 naughty cats nibbled off the peacock feathers...grrr! I will fix that.

Description of the 'Vintage Portfolio Set'

It has 17 separate pieces featuring the discovery of King Tut’s tomb. The famed boy pharaoh was found in 1921 by Howard Carter and a team of important English backers. The discovery of the 3000 year old king and his untouched treasures made world headlines. The portfolio is made of vintage leather, acrylic dry brush, ink, and various graphics. Details include buckled straps, postage, and images from the Cairo Museum. Items can be slipped in on either side. It measures 1 ½” x 1 ¼”. Also included: A photo of Mr. Carter within a vintage gold tone frame, 2 hieroglyph parchments, an ‘ancient’ Egyptian calendar, 2 vintage maps of the Nile Valley, 4 period newspaper clippings, and 6 photos of the actual dig site, participants, and treasures. All printings are acid free on archival quality parchment or photo paper and then matte sprayed. Graphics are very clear and detailed.

Dollhouse Miniatures inspired by Ancient Egypt

Last weekend, I went with my significant other - the Ralphmeister- to the San Antonio Museum of Art. We spent nearly 3 hours wandering around and I very carefully chose which objects to take pictures of having only one memory card. Although many things from various eras and styles caught my eye, I was most transfixed by the 2 Egyptian Antiquities rooms. Ralph practically had to drag me out of there...

http://www.samuseum.org/main/

As soon as I walked in I was met by a giant black granite statue of the Lion Goddess Sekhmet, always one of my favorite representations of the divine feminine. The wooden coffins, opulescent glass cosmetic bottles, tomb carvings, and tiny figurines of Bastet were all lovely. However, I was really tickled by their collection of Egyptian miniatures! Apparently, ancient Egyptians loved miniature representations of not only their gods, but also representing themselves in daily life - probably some sort of insurance that they would continue in the afterlife. Little hippos, fishermen, farmers, and alligators. This seemed to continue on into the Ptolemy (Greek) and Roman eras as well. I loved the little Roman period clay alligator!

Welcome to Cauldron Craft Miniatures! I'm Grimdeva, a mixed media and miniature artisan out of San Antonio, Texas. I create one of a kind FANTASY & SPOOKY dollhouse miniatures in 1:12 scale. You can find my work on Etsy:

http://cauldroncraftminis.etsy.com/

Thank you so much for taking a peek in my cauldron!!!