Alice in Wonderland - Finished

Yes, I am calling it finished even though my husband asked "Where's Alice?" for the tea party scene. I was ready to be done. Certainly if I ever feel like making an Alice doll I have room for her.



I've blogged about the various parts and you can view them here:
Part 1 - Inspiration - ideas, containers, sketches
Part 2 -  Planning - more about which container and how I decided what might go where - using foam core
Part 3 - Beginning to Build - moving forward with foam core walls and floors, making the rabbit hole
Part 4 - Painting the Roses Red - how I made roses
Part 5 - Card people - how I made the card people for my Alice in Wonderland project
Part 6 - Landscaping - how I landscaped this project
Part 7 - Rabbit's House - how I made part of a simple little house
Part 8 - The figures - how I made and painted the various figures
Part 9 - The court - Making the throne room and more on the card people and Mr. Rabbit
Also contains the finishing of the very top with the rabbit hole
Part 10 - Tea Party - how I finished up this section

Now for the finished pics

More photos here
Or view a mini movie of the project  on Facebook page (public viewing)
or on youtube

Alice in Wonderland Tea Party - AIW part 10

The last section in my AIW project is the Tea Party

I started by making a table with a rectangle of wood and toothpicks cut to length. I add laser cut lace around the top for a tablecloth of sorts.

For more details on my figures check out my previous post on them.
The chairs I used were an intentional assortment. The three wooden chairs in the back were from several different makers. The two in the front I got from Alpha Stamps and silver one to the right were charms that I modified. I think it came from the local hobby chain. The two brass ones - removed the ring and the silver one needed the legs cut down. I used a rotatory tool for the rings and my wire cutters for the legs.
The wing chair is 3d printed by Pretty Small Things. I got two. I painted this one plain black. I debated about adding an Alice doll but for now she has just left.

The food items were a combo of swaps from various makers and some items I made myself for previous swaps (tarts, pastries, and cherry topped cake).

The teacups, saucers and the white teapot to the left are all plastic that are made by Debbie Young but offered by a number of other dealers.
The silver teapot is a charm I got from Alpha Stamps. I painted it silver.
The silver trays are square sequins.
The utensils are from some laser cut sheets that I purchased at a show.

The completed scene
The dormouse is taking a nap in a chair.

The last thing I needed to do to finish this completely was the base and the trim.
I painted the base red first, and played with writing. After not being happy with that I painted it black, but left the red on the inside.
I topyed with the idea of adding various icons of tea things, the card suites and hats, etc; but settled on the card suites doing two on the black base and then two on the red trim at the bottom of the project itself.

The trim here and then also below the tea party area was using wood veneer that is adhesive backed. The upper trim was cut prior to applying. I painted both after applying. That's a lesson - paint before applying as it would be easier. Typically I don't simply because I don't know what colors I want yet.
To adhere the adhesive backing I used my household iron for the base. But that was really too large so I pulled out an old curling iron to do the smaller trim in the middle.
Another lesson for future was that I had cut the foam base and applied the trim to it later. The base wasn't perfectly round so the trim left a gap of the green landscaping. I applied a little glue and was able to fill the gaps nicely.

Complete finished photos coming up shortly...

Alice in Wonderland - part 9 the court

When I decided to make this project there were certain scenes that I wanted to do. But then I also had other space so I can't really say why the courtroom is one I decided on. Maybe it was the card people I made initially that helped me decide.
Back when I did the tree for the tea party scene I also finished up the wallpapering for the court section. I envisioned this stately court with a dais and paneling on the walls... but then I went to my stash; I didn't find what I was looking for. What did happen was just a nice brown paneled room - wood wallpaper and floor plus a shiny ceiling. I am pleased with this section despite the grandiose ideas I had to start with. That is normal for me to dream and then scale back once I realize I don't have the space, materials or whatever it takes to make the dream happen.

This week I have finally gotten back in there and made progress.
Top
First, I finished up the top.  I just went with a hedge of sorts. But before I glued it down, I decided to make the rabbit hole smaller.

The hole was just too big and it bothered me, so I added paper inside and painted it. Then I added more paper (after the above photo) to make it even smaller and more ragged. Once painted brown under and green on top, while the paper was still wet with glue, I poked the new hole. I added glue and filled the area with greenery.

This hole actually goes down into the ground some and I am pleased iwth it now.
Also note the light down below - to the right.

Mr. Rabbit looks quite dapper, but almost too small. Yet, I remind myself, that he would be smaller than her.

Back to the court

I already had the two guards made so next was to make the queen. 

I really wanted her to be over the top and I think I did with her. The king on the other hand was more robust instead. One touch I added for the king was the wig. It was in my notes so I added it.
I discussed how I made them previously. The king has a bead to enhance his girth. All the card people are enhanced with bits of ribbon, shiny paper, trim, beads, sequins and glitter. It was fun to pull out different parts of my stash to play with.
I also got creative to cover the heads on the K and J because they are two headed. Just looked funny to have that head upside down. The Q it was hidden in her skirt, but for the K I used a half of a sequin. For J I used a whole heart sequin and added the sash over it.

I was also trying to make him look guilty for stealing those tarts by folded him over a bit.

The table with the tart tray is a gold painted bird bath using a paint pen. It covered the best although getting into a few spots was tricky.  I used a heart shape sequin for a tray. The tarts are some things I made years back for a swap and I went crazy making extra for once.

I also added glitter to the rabbit's clothes to enhance him. 

This one shows the full court and how it is with the rest of the project on that side.
I still need to add edging and then lastly I will be finishing up the tea party.

Alice in Wonderland Part 8 - some figures

Several weeks ago I purchased some charms from Alpha Stamps to use in my Alice in Wonderland project.
To do this, I first cut away the bails (loops) and I used files and my Dremel to reshape where I cut. I should have used it to reshape Alice, but I left her as is except for fixing her hair.
Next I base coated each charm in white. The two bigger rabbits, I painted them very similar. Each color required two coats over the base coat.
Here is the first rabbit in place to finish off Mr. Rabbit house section

I also got started with the figures for the Tea Party
the March Hare started out in a broken egg shell like this one

the Mad Hatter was a Christmas figure

After some carving with the Dremel and some paint

I realize they both need bowties and maybe some other touch ups, but this is a great start.
I also need a dormouse and I may have just the thing in my stash, now where is that box....

Alice in Wonderland Part 7 - Rabbit's house - project in progress

I was trying to come up with scenes to do in my project that fit certain areas. This particular scene wasn't pictured in the book but I felt it was a good fit for what I wanted.
I decided it would just be a part of the house and from the outside.
Months ago (over a year if truth be told) I cut the brick sheet for the door frame and that is where I left it. Ok, I left it because I was trying to make it too simple. Simple to the point it wasn't really working.
This week I was able to get back to this project and I tackled the house. The first thing I did is decide that the house was only going to be half an inch depth. (That's just two foot in real life.)

Next I selected some roofing. In my stash was this piece and I decided it would fit. Only later did I realize it was too short for my preferences. This after I painted this piece. More on that later.

The problem that I couldn't get past previously (mostly because I wasn't feeling up to it) was that the brick is one piece but the foam core is two pieces. With no center section, which is not the best way to be designing even a part of a house. But working with it this week, I decided I could live with it and I did. However it would have been better to have cut a single piece of foam-core.
Next was to cut pieces to support the side so I could adhere it to the wall. Then also cut a piece of brick for the side. Believe it or not I pieced the side one. The pieces fit so well together (must been I was in the groove **pun intended **).

Next I painted the brick - well the grooves/grout. This is done by painting the piece and then wiping away on the face. I found this worked best if I let it dry some more rather then while fresh. But don't let the base color dry solid.
I had to repaint some portions of course to get the amount remaining right. This is one of those try it and see how it works. I have done it many times but always a bit of trial and error to it. If it really looks bad can always start over by soaking it. I have done that too.

At this point is when I also painted the roof piece I cut first. Only to realize I had to cut another. Then that was still too short and cut a third. I wasn't allowing enough at the top at first as I wanted it to fit up to the point the next level met the wall. Then not enough overhang in the front the second cutting. Thankfully I had extra in my stash.
To paint the roof what I found worked best was to start with a medium grey all over, then using a dark grey and a lighter plus a medium green to get these on my brush and sort of swipe at it. The idea was that I wanted it to show the grain of wood where it had aged.

When I changed to cut another roof, I also was using a different sheet. I actually liked this style (although it is very similar) more.
Next I painted the door and frame. I decided that the window might be seen through, so I painted the wall inside and added a faux table. That was just in case could see in the window.

Next was the side wall. I cut a piece of brick like I was going to have another side of the house showing but then I had the problem of what to do with the roof. My solution was to consider something else and that was to peruse my stash and I found the fencing. I'm telling you that sometimes these things just jump out at me and say "hey use me".
With the fencing I figured I wanted some trees or something behind and so my answer was to hand-paint the trees and shrubs. I talked about more how I did that in my previous post here.
The grass and pathway were also discussed in that post.

The trim around the top was quilling paper that I painted. The base was painted below the brick and then I used the landscaping to hide it rather than make it look super good.
The step is a piece of foam-core board cut the size and painted.

For now this portion is done. But I am thinking on whether or not to add rabbit on his way to his house.

Card People - Alice in Wonderland project part 5

In part 4 I shared the first card people I made.  I googled images of cards and found a set of fronts that I liked.  Then did same for the backs.

I used MS Word to insert the images.  Then I re-sized them so that the cards were about an inch long.  In hindsight, I might have gone a bit smaller, but rather than waste the ink, I used what I printed.  I did print them on two pages as I did not care to deal with the alignment of two sided printing.  This also made it very easy to deal with the wire arms and legs and allowing them to be sandwiched in between.

Once willing to have stick like 'people', it is easy to just have wires for their arms and legs. It is an easy step to the feet being circles and hands non-existent or even circles as well. The head is another decision altogether.  I have done clay heads before and considered that, but paper heads would fit in with the paper bodies.  

One clever thing I think Lewis Carroll did is the use of the suites.  Spades are the gardeners, Clubs for the guards, Diamonds for the courtiers and then the Hearts are royalty.

My problem came back to heads.  The face cards have a face; the number cards do not. My ultimate decision was to use the face on face cards and add heads to the number cards.  I used the faces from the spades and clubs for the number card heads.  This worked out because I wasn't using all 52 cards, as in these are just extra.  Plus there are two faces per card. I found it interesting that the faces were different not just by J, Q, K but also by suite.

Here is how they are made:
1. 3 inch wire (26 guage black colored copper wire) for each side.  Plus 1/2 inch wire for head.
2. Made a circle for a foot and then bend for an ankle. Bend at the shoulder.
3. I applied glue to the back, laid on the arm/leg wires and a head wire. Then laid on the front and press together.

I should have took this pic without the glue, every time I look at it, I think that the glue is going to dry out.

4. I removed the head wire.  Wasn't trying to glue it in place just yet, but did want the space for it.
5. Used one of the faces cut from a face card,glue to wire and add a covering.  For some this was ribbon, some was bead with the face glued on.
6. Glued the head in place - trimming wire as needed.
Optional - to make the diamond cards have more depth, I added a roll of paper inside before I did step 2 and 3.  The wires for the legs then had to go through the roll.  Also I skipped the head wire since I wasn't adding one.  Some of the trims for the diamond cards was added before the two cards were glued together.

The Gardeners (spades) got paint brushes and buckets
-These were made by cutting a strip of paper, rolling it up and gluing it together.  Then I glued the roll to paper.  After it had a chance to dry, I cut around the roll.  I painted the outside grey and added red inside.  Then I added a handle.  The handle is also paper.  I cut a very very thin strip from the edge. 

The Soldiers (clubs) got clubs
These were made from black paper I punched - 6 circles glued to a wire that I added circles to both ends.
Arms then were bent to hold the clubs in place.

I also added a belt to one of the soldiers I am sharing today.  I made a couple others with more trim added.  Will show them later on.

The Courtiers (diamonds) got fancied up with various trims. Notice they do not have heads added.  

The card people were so much fun to make, especially when I got to play around with adding trims and such.  

The Hearts aren't done yet.  Figured I could share that later.  

Painting Roses Red - Alice in Wonderland project part 4

Reading through the story again - I had picked out several different scenes that I wanted to try to do.  The painting the roses red, just strikes me as so ludicrous that it must be done. Well, plus I figured it would be reasonable easy for me to do with materials on hand and my skills.  If it involves making figures or too many details, well it just might never get done. Because I won't, not be cause I can't.

A large rose tree stood near the entrance of the garden the roses growing on it were white but there were three gardeners at it busily painting them red.  Alice thought this a very curious thing and she went nearer to watch them and just as she came up to them she heard one of them say, "Look out now Five. Don't go splashing paint over me like that". "I couldn't help it", said Five in a sulky tone. "Seven jogged my elbow."On which Seven looked up and said, "That's right Five. Always lay the blame on others!"

Then there is this illustration to go with it.

In my mind, I want a ladder, so that is what I am doing.  Also my tree is going to be more of a tall vine.
The illustrator took artistic license as shall I.  They are more like people with cards on their bodies than how it is described in the text.

In my stash, I had some etched brass leaves.  I have collected several of these over the years.  One or two even a kit to make a rose vine, but without the flower petals.  

This what this product looks like.  I have turned over a branch so can see that one side is plain and the other is etched with veins.
I love living in the South.  I do not care for the harsh winter found in other parts of the USA so I lovingly deal with the consequences of hot humid summers.  But it does hinder me using spray paint. The mfgr recommends to spray paint as a base coat at least, but I don't even bother with spray paint in the summer due to high humidity.  Too much effort to wait until it isn't.  I just doesn't fit with when I want to mini.  So that meant multiple layers of acrylic paint.  Thin coats of course were used and sometimes seemed I didn't coat it at all but I just kept doing it until the brass was covered.

On left can see the painted with two colors of green and a brown.  The lighter green doesn't really show here it is under the leaves.  I don't know why but I can't get away from painting stems and branches brown.  I even mix in grey or black to try to get more grey.  I checked my own rose bush - a miniature one, which has green stems.  Just couldn't do it - leaving the stems green.  So they are mixed up brown.  
On the right can see the flowers I made.  Maybe they are roses?  I used two punched 5 point petals per each.  Wet them on a paper towel, layer two together with the petals offset, then used my tiny end of the double-ball stylus to shape them pressing them into some fun foam.  I actually prefer a faux leather pad most times when shaping flowers but the fun foam maybe holds them in place longer.  Negative with the fun foam is that it does remember the holes where the faux leather doesn't most of the time.

After creating the above post but not publishing it, I did some more work on the roses.  They are all together as a rose tree as described in the text.  Can't see it in this pic, but I have attached the metal to a real wood stem to make it a tree. It is brown and matches perfectly. It was meant to be. The stem also gives me a sturdy support to stick into the foam base versus the flimsy brass.  

I have also put together 3 cards for the gardeners.  I will still need to add heads.  The cards I am using, I found a set of faces and backs as images online.  I printed them on separate pages so that I can glue the wires in between.  The plus was that I also didn't have to line up for the double sided printing. However one issue I have is that the Jack, Queen and King have faces, the lower cards do not.  So these need heads.  Which actually might make sense of why the Queen would call, "Off with their heads!" so often.  Maybe she was jealous they had them.  LOL
Next I will be painting the roses red.  Hmmm, the title of this is 'painting roses red' but I am going to make you wait for pics.  Is that mean?
Maybe I will update this post - or add another.... Off to make paint brushes and buckets for these gardeners.

Beginning to build - Alice in Wonderland project - part 3

I cut my foam core pieces the way I had planned to this point.  I decided to use the two matt board pieces for the rabbit hole.

This is the test fitting - taping in place to see if ready to glue - or do I need to trim anything.

Here you can see I have used the toilet paper tube.

I am using two.  Both are cut open in the side.  There is one that is the inner part where the cupboard is and the other is the outside.  I folded it at the sides to fill in - cover the gap between the matt board and the tube.
I have also added back the foam core cut out with a hole in it at the top.  I plan to have greenery making the hole smaller. Note it isn't glued in yet - I will do that after I paint the tube.

I have added the flooring and I have my wallpaper cut, but not in yet.  I am adding some extra paper that I wrinkled and slit to connect the tube to the walls.  I want this taper into the walls.
I have also painted the tube.  I plan to cover it with something maybe some 'dirt'.

Covered with gift tissue paper.  I used thin white glue.  I put out a puddle of glue and use a brush to brush it on the paper and on the tube.  I allow the tissue to wrinkle as I lay it on to the tube.  I tear it at the bottom where the other paper is tapered to the walls.

More planning for my Alice in Wonderland project

I admit it - I am a dreamer.  I love designing things.  Planning a mini project is a lot of fun to me.  But I get it, many do not enjoy this so kits are a good thing.  
However if you want to continue with me on my journey to my Alice in Wonderland project keep reading.BTW, nothing wrong with getting a kit and kit bashing it - simply to modify it to fit your dream.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I was considering a dome that a friend had recently given me. The size of this dome is just slightly smaller than a common size found at the local hobby chains 8 x 12 inches.  This one is 7 x 8 approximately.  I made some paper boxes to see if this was going to work for what I had in mind and for what I was willing to put into effort-wise with this project.  Quite frankly, I love tons of details and love lots of figures but I knew I would get bogged down so I was trying to work around not doing all of that.

I tried the paper boxes and soon decided I needed something sturdier to work with.  Since I was working on an another altered box type project and those weren't all glued in place, I used those to let me see.  I soon figured out the 7x8 dome was more than I wanted to deal with.

Here is the second choice dome - also plastic from a thrift store given to me.  This one is apx 8 x 5.  Here's where I tell you the benefit of letting people know what it is to look for. This second one came to me via my mom who loves to thrift shop as much as me, but goes far more often.
At this point in my designing I am just getting a feel for size and spacing.  Also determining if I want to use boxes or not.  Boxes being squarish and I am putting into a round dome.

This is a different view as I consider the boxes.

Next I source some foam core board and matt board for actual cutting.  I save nearly all scraps so I start with those first.  I have decided against the boxes.  They chop up the space too much.  Not sure if I will still be able to include the illustrations or not.  

This one I have cut two half circles.  Oh how I love blue tape.  I really don't remember what I did before that - guess it was pins or masking tape.

My plan is a long section (can't see it here) - the matt board on the left that is the rabbit hole. I am going to add some curve to that with toilet paper roll cardboard but also have the room below so it will taper to that room.
The tall space you can see on the left was going to have the white rose tree, but have decided it doesn't need two floors/layers.  
To the right in this pic on the second floor/layer can see some paper inserted as a wall.  This is just me testing placement of a wall.

This is more a top down view.  Can see that the top is now a 3/4 circle.  It is actually slightly smaller than the 5 inches across.  This will allow to see more below - less of a house look. 
The matt board section is the rabbit hole.  I will have to cover it so it is indeed a hole and not the 1/4 of a circle.  This top section will just be landscaped mostly.

At this point I will be cutting another 3/4 circle and adding support walls that will also section. There will be three sections on the bottom.  Half will be the white roses tree plus procession of cards and the rabbit hole room and white rabbit's house will be in the other two sections.
The middle section will also have three areas: the rabbit hole 1/4, the tea table 1/3, and the court session 1/3.  This means my walls will not overlap on the non-rabbit hole section from bottom to middle.  

I am planning to make all the walls from foam core.  I would use gator board if I had it but I don't.  I am not buying any as I figure I can deal with the warping that may occur as I normally have to do.  I am trying to use up items in my stash rather than purchase anything.