Dollhouse Miniature Harry Potter Candy Cart Trolley Update

Work has been interrupted here and there by summer activities (the kids are out of school of course) and things take me longer this time of year because of it.  So I've not gotten as far as I was hoping but I'm getting close enough I guess :)  I plan on adding an owl on the top of the cauldron stack, a couple more little things to the top of the cart, and a climbing chocolate frog to the front hanging flap of the cart and then I should be done.  I'm working on an owl right now and I hope it turns out good enough to use but only time will tell.  If it's not up to my standards its not going on.  So we'll see.  So far it looks good though so I have high hopes of being able to use it.  Always, I'll go ahead and show you how it looks so far:

You can't really see them but the Fizzing Whizbees are little chocolate bumblebees, I had nothing to go on but the commercial Honeydukes shop version of this sweet because they were never shown in the movie so that's what I made.  Anywho, I'm hoping the next update will be the finished cart with an owl on it.  I hope :)  Stay tuned!  Hugs-Tara, 19th Day Miniatures 

Dollhouse Miniature Harry Potter Potions Ingredients Cabinet with Sculpted Owl

Hey everyone, I just got done with another potion type cabinet that I wanted to show you, also to update you on a couple new projects I have started in the Honeydukes theme.

Here is my new potion ingredients cabinet:

located here:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/195863366/layaway-available-dollhouse-miniature?ref=shop_home_active_1

And here is one of my upcoming candy carts at the beginning stage of decorating:

I plan to pull out all the stops on these carts (I have two of them, only one is painted right now), to make them fuller and better than previously done before.  More magical as well :)  Keep in mind my version of Honeydukes will always be faithful to the aged and timeless movie version of Honeydukes, not the commercial muggle shop in Orlando Florida.  That shop is lovely, but it is just a regular human shop.  I will be staying true to the movie version because to me it's wackier, more fun, and more magical than the pristine human shop.  The movie version seems as though it has stood for ages, and has had little witch and wizard hands all over it for generations :)  

Please stay posted for further updates because I will be blogging them and taking suggestions as I go along and I'd like you to see what I'm doing as I make them.  Alrighty then, happy mini collecting!  And have a lovely summer everyone.

Dollhouse Miniature Harry Potter Honeydukes Sweet Shop Candy Display

Hey everyone, I finally finished my Honeydukes Candy display.  Whew, so much going on around here that it's hard to find mini time.  So I won't beat around the bush, here it is:

This is a candy display similar to the one seen in the Harry Potter movies and in Universal Studios Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park.  Now my version of Honeydukes miniatures are based more off the version seen in the movie instead of the pristine perfect universal studios version which is a lovely shop, but it's a regular commercial human shop and I feel it lacks the antique charm and weathered finishes of the movie version that looks as though it has been serving magical children for generations. I like the more aged magical version seen in the movie (for a video clip, watch here):

http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/File:Harry_Potter_and_the_Prisoner_of_Azkaban_-_Honeydukes
And so I've aged the finish to look as though children have been around it for generations. Nothing in the movie was perfect or new, in any shop or in Hogwarts either. Anyway, the cabinet is a skeleton candy display, with an additional jelly rainbow candy display for added color. The skelly pops are in their own tiered display box. Inside the cabinet are a variety of random candies and a Honeydukes price list on the door. The miniature stands just under 6 inches tall, and just under 4 inches wide because of parts sticking off the sides. 

Available in my etsy shop:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/194522798/dollhouse-miniature-harry-potter?ref=shop_home_active_1

News and upcoming miniature projects :)

Hey everyone!  How's your summer going so far?  Good I hope?

Well we're in a whirlwind of activity at the ole Hays House, still in the middle of house-wide renovations as well as decluttering and cleaning out the house of all unnecessary junk.  Don't you just hate that?  You look around and figure out that the place is a cluttery mess and you have to do a "house purge" to get everything cleaned out and reorganized.  In my case, I had 15 years of stored crap in my basement that has to go before I lose my marbles.  My workroom has been moved downstairs due to lack of space anywhere else (which is why I wasn't working on minis for so long), and as it is I'm starting to feel like the thing under the stairs in the deep recesses of the house.  Yikes.  Must. Get. Junk. Out. Now.

So that's what we're doing.  And laying kitchen tiles as the same.  And I'm trying to work on minis as well now.

I was contacted by the new editor of American Miniaturist Magazine and invited to submit work for the upcoming Halloween edition.  Right about that time, I got the blue screen of death on my computer and lost all my previous work photos until I get someone to fix it.  Ugh.  Do you ever get the feeling after a rash of bad luck that you're under some sort of curse?  I'm starting to think I've got a curse on my head :)

So anyway, I'll be making some new really good (I hope) minis for that and shooting some new photos since my oldies are currently under blue screen lock down.  I hope something ends up being good enough for publication-that would be so much fun!

I'm currently working on a low side cabinet in the Honeydukes theme which I plan on pulling out all the stops on.  It should be pretty exciting.  I've been getting some requests for more of that theme so I must do a few pieces before I get started on my spooky Halloween stuff.  Speaking of that, I just redid Sherry's (my MIL) Marie Antoinette doll, table and chairs set she made previously.  I really felt it needed to go in a different and more exciting direction and that her hand-sculpted doll would be much more fun as a Halloween type miniature instead.  So she has been re-imagined into the ghost of the Countess Bathory, the infamous blood countess from Hungary.  For the horrific story of what she did, view her wikipedia article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_B%C3%A1thory        

Oh my goodness, what a crazy woman!  So anyway, I thought it would be neat to make a miniature of her and her atrocious interests for Halloween.  Check out the bloody axe on the table top:

 To make a long story short, she was rumored to have bathed in the blood of her beautiful young victims (possibly numbering in the hundreds if the witnesses were credible) in an effort to stay young herself, as well as drinking the blood. In essence, she was a complete psychopath! Sherry did a wonderful job making her beautiful in sculpt, hair and dress while I took the pleasuring in painting her skin/eyes to look white and sparkly (ghostly) with the blackness of her soul running down her face. She is meant to look tattered, ghostly, haunting, and spooky. In her hand, a wine glass of blood from one of her victims. I decorated her table to reflect her terrible hobbies: bloody candelabra with bleeding candles, bottles and tottles of unknown nefarious purposes, a handcrafted bloody axe, Transylvanian Gazette newspaper, fortune telling orb, a bottle of vampiric blood, a book on vampire forensics, a death warrant scroll, a terrible place setting with a severed skeleton hand holding a red rose, silverware-all covered in ghostly white spiderwebs with one little spider perched on top of a red rose flower arrangement. Tatty black tablecloth covers the table top as well. 
Fit for the finest haunted house or room box in your home :)

Available here at this clickable link below:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/191440687/dollhouse-miniature-ghost-blood-countess?ref=shop_home_active_1

Please stay tuned for soon to be new Harry Potter items that I'm currently working on.

Have a good summer and have some adventures everyone!  Hugs-Tara

Dollhouse Miniature Fairy Fireplace and Witch or Wizard Cauldron

Hey all, how are you this fine day?  I hope you're doing wonderful :)

I'm back a couple new minis (the new shop downstairs is working out well and I feel I'll really be able to work again, time permitting with the reno on the house).  I have a big kitchen floor project coming up (new slate tile) so that might put me out of commission for a little while.  I saw this gorgeous tile floor on the Houzz website and just fell in love:
http://www.houzz.com/photos/7495891/Millsbrae-Kitchen-Remodel-farmhouse-kitchen-cincinnati

For anyone who might want to know where to buy it's located here at home depot (free shipping to a local store):
http://www.homedepot.com/p/MS-International-Montauk-Black-12-in-x-24-in-Gauged-Slate-Floor-and-Wall-Tile-10-sq-ft-case-SHDMONBLK1224G/202919773?N=5yc1vZash2

which shows the tile unsealed (it must be sealed with natural stone sealer to get the look in the Houzz photo).

Ok well anyway, back to the minis again :)

Here's the first, a romantic little fairy fireplace fit for the queen of fairies:

located for sale here:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/190174489/dollhouse-miniature-romance-of-the-fairy?ref=listing-1

and this is my witch or wizard cauldron/potion bottle set:

This is the cauldron of nefarious intentions for any witch or wizard of ill repute :) Clearly, something wicked this way comes! This is a larger floor model of cauldron, with bubbling green potion inside. A boney hand reaches up from the depths of the cauldron for help or harm-who knows? A blood like substances swirls around the extended hand, melted flesh and blood perhaps? Drippy candles on the sides of the cauldron, a filigree backer with ledge for holding the leather potion book with page open to "Wing of bat elixir". A detailed beaded page holder book mark holds open the correct page, it looks very wizardy with a full moon hanging off the end. 

You get with this a cool little evil-looking potion bottle as well, with a skull and cross bones on it warning the user that this potion means business! It's solid and well made. A cute little tag hangs from the side. 

Located here for sale:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/190227797/dollhouse-miniature-witch-or-wizard?ref=listing-0

Have a wonderful week everyone!  Be blessed :)

Dollhouse Miniature Witching Hour Witch Cooking Stove and Side Counter with Witchy Foods

Hello all, long time no see huh?  So sorry, I've been so very busy!  We've been working big time on our old farmhouse, and it hasn't left much time for mini making.  I'll slowly be getting back into minis as I can.  The kids are home from school right now, which also makes it tough to work.  Someone always needs Mom lol.

I started this little witch stove and side counter ages ago, and it's been done for quite some time.  I literally haven't had time to list it until now.  Here's what I did:   I took a stove and grungied it up to make it look more witchy, attached a side counter for more surface preparation area, tiled it and added the background scrolly circle panels to the back of the stove. Then came the fun part, the foods and accessories! A canister of living death draught, witchy "filled" bottles with deadly tags, a grungy clock that says "witching hour", a large kettle with bubbly green icky eyeball potion that has bubbled over the edge, a book of spells and potions with a vintage witch image on the front, a sauteing pan of buttery frog legs, a smaller kettle containing a boiling crow breast with magically pouring blue potion bottle (Hey, she is making some crow pie on the side counter after all :) an icky knife, a small old fashioned lamp, a bottle of flour, A standing recipe for crow pie with a decorative crow on top, a cutting board with a rolled out pie crust top and flour on it with a cute little toadstool rolling pin, and a half-finished crow pie which contains the called for crow breast meat, slices of boiled egg, and meaty gravy. It's so cute in person! Inside the stove on one side is the log fire, the other side has a baking roast with carrots, mushrooms, potatoes, and a bone in roast. Inside the side drawer of the counter are cooking utensils and a pot lid. A little gungy green checked towel completes the look.

The whole thing measures roughly 5 and half inches wide, just under five inches tall, and just over 2 1/2 inches deep.

Here's some rather bad photos, I didn't realize that after sitting so long it would have a bit of dust on it.  I'll of course clean it all up if anyone wants it.

I wish I had time to reshoot the photos but I honestly don't have any time for anything right now.  I can't even stay on here and chat, I have to go to town right now for more building supplies :(

Hugs everyone, I hope you have the BEST summer and may you all have nice vacations!

A few Halloween or Witchy Haunted House Miniatures and some more of Sherry's jewelry

I've put together a couple of goth/haunted house/witchy/ etc. minis in time for the Halloween season, a canopy bed and a goth curiosities cabinet as pictured below:

A little spell board and spell book sit on the bed as though set aside for a moment :)

The glare on the glass is making the magnified tarantula spider in the bottom right hand side of the cabinet not show up in the pictures.  In person it's completely clear :(  These really aren't good pictures (too early in the morning outside for good light so I'll have to reshoot them later today).

And now more reshoots of Sherry's jewelry:

Man I love my new camera!  So much better pictures :)

All jewelry available here in Sherry's store:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/HauntedMansionJewels?ref=usr_faveitems&atr_uid=7202128

Updated information at bottom-A give away commences, and two more magic Harry Potter miniatures are done!

Super super busy around here now that school's out,  but I've been trying my best to get things done around everything else.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Let me post pictures of the new minis I've made recently, both one of a kind-when they're gone...they are GONE :)

Professor Trelawney's fortune telling table:

And Professor Sprout's Herbology Cabinet with magical plants of all kinds:

Both available here:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/19thDayMiniatures?ref=si_shop

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Blog Giveaway Information~~~~~
And now for the giveaway information, which I know is very late.  Sorry about that!  I plan on making 3 individual mandrake plants like the ones on the top of this cabinet for the giveaway.  I haven't made them yet but I will.  If you'd like to join this giveaway, click on the link to my etsy store right above this message.  Leave me a message with your blog username and please make sure you have joined my friends list on this blog.  Anyone who is not a member will be disqualified.  This is open to the general public with no previous store purchase needed.  I'll post the mandrakes when I make them, and first place winner will have first choice of them.  Second place winner will get second choice, and third place winner will get the last available mandrake plant.  These will be dollhouse scale, 1/12 scale.  The mini will stand no more than 2 inches tall.  Drop in an join the giveaway in my etsy store!  Use the contact the seller button on the side of the screen.  Good luck everyone!  Hugs-Tara, 19th Day Minis

*  I think it will run for 2 weeks, so I'll be taking names in my shop until June 12th.

~~~~Please click this link and pop into my store to let me know you're joining the giveaway if you do wish to join the giveaway so I don't have to go hunting for you later should you be one of the winners!  Thank you, this will save me time and trouble later :)  If you don't do this you probably won't be entered in the drawing! I could get busy and miss someone accidentally -
http://www.etsy.com/shop/19thDayMiniatures

Dollhouse Miniature Harry Potter Dumbledore Memory Vial Cabinet completed and listed for sale

All done, my last part came in today :)  Here's the backside photos of it all done now:

Yay for crooked pictures!  My skills at photography rock :)  This is MUCH better in person, as always.

Available here for sale:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/97793472/dollhouse-miniature-harry-potter?listing_id=97793472&listing_slug=dollhouse-miniature-harry-potter

Thanks for the comments everyone!  Keep 'em coming :)  I wish I could do the same for you but I am really really busy and I just can't often find time to do much of anything.  Large house, large yard with many flower beds I tend, kids, husband, cooking and cleaning.  Whew!  I get exhausted just thinking about it all!  And yes I even do the grass mowing.  And we have a large amount of ground to cover here, almost a city block of mowing :o  Some of it has to be done on a tractor :(  You should see me when I get off that thing!  I look like a dirt monster!  And for the shower I sprint afterward :)

A very special miniature Harry Potter Memory Cabinet, nearly complete

I'm lacking one single piece that's on it's way to me in the mail right now, otherwise this would be done and listed.  I'm not sure if some of you remember that my MIL Sherry has said she wanted to create the memory bottle cabinet in Dumbledore's Study next to the Pensieve?  Together she and I plotted a way to make it successfully.  It's no small feat, the cabinet was highly elaborate.  Sherry bought some parts for it, but she's been having some health trouble and doesn't have a lot of energy right now.  So she brought the parts to me and allowed me to try making it instead.  I picked up the rest of what was needed and gave it a go.  And by some funky twist of fate, I was short one piece off the back top trim.  Grrrr.  Anyways, it's on it's way to me and hopefully will be here soon.

Let me first show you a video of a shot of the cabinet in the movie, and of course mine isn't quite that high because of miniature room space limitations.  I had to keep mine a little shorter on top.  But the design is very similar.  I did my best on a truly hard thing to recreate.  The whole thing is custom built.  And honestly it wasn't cheap to build at all!  I have over $110 in materials here in front of me, including custom miniature glass bottles from the Ukraine that were quite expensive.

Before you watch this you might want to go over on the right side of my blog and shut off the music player.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GPS8Xe8wIU&feature=player_embedded

So without further ado I'll post what pictures I have.  This cabinet is the same all the way around so you could literally pick your favorite view of it.

Of course I'll shoot better pictures when I get the last piece on. 

Thank you all for your wonderful comments all of the time!  I really love hearing from you :)

On a side note, I have to share a rather unusual recipe with you, hehe.  Here in Illinois each late spring brings the great morel mushroom hunt.  What exactly does a morel mushroom look like?  This is it:

Now you may ask why anyone would want to go looking for these things?  Because they can be cleaned, breaded and fried and the flavor is something to look forward to the entire year.  Masses of people go trekking through the woods scanning the ground in an effort to find these rare mushrooms which are once a year oddities.  It's not as easy as it sounds!  They blend into the forest floor which is covered in leaves, etc.  It can take hours to find enough to cook a batch.  Are they worth it?  Yep.  But what are they not worth to me and my husband?  The massive poison ivy rash that breaks out all over both of us when we venture into the forest.  And the hunters of these mushrooms fetch upwards of $20 a pound or more for these little things!  And yes, they do get that much for them.  Like I said, they're worth it.  Luckily my husband came home with a recipe from a friend for "fake" fried mushrooms.  So we tried it out.  We started with these

which are portobello mushroom caps from the grocery store.

We chopped them up finely like so:

and to them we added a can of cream of mushroom soup, finely crushed saltine crackers, an egg to form a rather sticky and lumpy paste that is best dished into your breading bowl with a spoon (not your hand).  You must add enough crackers to make it so that the mixture holds together to form into mushroom shapes without breaking apart.  Or you can make patties out of it.  After you drop a lump into the breading bowl, scoop up a bit of breading and pour over the top of the mushroom mixture before you touch it or you'll be a sticky mess.

Here's our bowl of ingredients before mixing:

I took another dish and put more crushed cracker crumbs and some flour, and then I formed mushroom shapes and dipped my little mushroom patties into the flour/cracker mixture.  On the stove I heated a stick of real butter in a frying pan.  In went the little mushrooms and away they fried :)  I had to make enough for an army because half my family showed up to try them out.  Three packages of large mushroom caps, one large can of cream of mushroom soup, several small packs of crackers and an egg went into mine and made a whole lot of mushrooms.  There wasn't a single one left in the end so I guess they were a hit.  And yes they were a very convincing copy of an actual fried morel mushroom :)  These look awful but they're actually very good: