1:12 Scale Scrapbook Dome: Part 1

My favorite hobby is miniatures.  When I make something that turns out great or have the pleasure of buying them, I get giddy.  But minitures can be expensive. So I often make them myself, but doing them DIY takes time.  Making them in general takes time.  So for a long time I resisted adding scrapbooking as a hobby. 
Scrapbooking isn't a cheap hobby, either.   First, is printing the pictures.  I take lots of photos - even more now that I have gone digital.  Raising two children on a budget left little room for printing but I did print the film ones over the years.  When it came to albums I didn't have the extra for those, so I was storing them in boxes.  They were all organized so nicely in order. 
But one day, my children wanted to look at them.  I let them.  Pictures are made to be shared.  But I didn't watch them very well with them not thinking they would not be so ocd about keeping them in order like I would.  So yes, they were all mixed up.  That's the day I decided I had to do something.  I had to do something to share them in a way that I was comfortable with.  That was the day I decided I couldn't resist the scrapbook hobby anymore.

This scrapbook dome is my tribute to my other hobby.  A in process project...

This dome just screamed buy me at a thrift store.  This is what it looked like before.

What I didn't realize was that the opening was smaller than the overall dome.  So I had to figure out a way to use it.  My solution was a floor that folds.

With the floor flat inside

Other things I have done so far:

I made the table using foam core for the top, fabric to cover,

wood dowels for legs.

Showing the brace detail, I cut paper strips for the brace, drilled a hole in the dowel leg and add a pin for the joint.

I purchased a cat from at a show and then repainted it to look like my Juni.

Juni

This weekend I was able to work on miniatures again (going to college so have to do homework for class first - which leaves little or no time generally for minis). 

This is what I finished.

Do you see it?  In the middle, of the real thing....
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Well here's a close up of it.

To make this miniature I used black cardboard for the backing.  Then I scanned the color sheets and printed on photo paper (wanted them to be shiny).  Used 4 mm silk black ribbon around the outside, plus some fringe cording around that.  The markers are made from price tag stems.  I painted after adding them to the sides.  The pen loops were made using the same silk ribbon, but I added a line of glue down the middle of the ribbon, then cut it in half to make a 2mm wide pen loop.  The scissors are from a hook and eye that I cut apart and the blue craft knife (with black end) in the flap was sanded wood.  The one in the middle is from the price tag loops.