The Miniature Wedding Gallery

I see that I have only posted one of my own designs of miniature wedding dresses on here but of course that is because I have been busy making them rather than blogging about them and a girl can’t do everything  dontcha know!..I am in fact building up quite a collection of miniature bridal gowns and having tremendous fun putting together a stash of silks , satins and chiffons plus lots of little lacy bits and embellishments too.

Now I am getting rather hooked by this Bridal theme I have been rather naughty and “acquired” another dolls house that was screaming out to be renovated into a Bridal Salon or rather” Charrisma Couture” as this elegant little store is destined to become!

I have a picture in my mind of exactly how it will look, with three floors to play with..the ground floor will be the main bridal display floor , a picture pretty affair of pink rose blossoms and crystal chandeliers, the second floor will be accessories I think plus a dressing room and cosy little sofa for the brides mum and entourage to gasp in admiration as the bride emerges from the dressing room in one beautiful creation after another. The top floor will be the heart of the design centre and a sewing room filled with beautiful fabrics and all the accessories for a couture dressmaker….I will keep you updated on progress but for now this is as purchased although I have already attacked it and stripped it bare ready for refurbishment

The Wedding Gallery to date…please check my Etsy shop to view and purchase “off the peg” wedding gowns.

A replica in 1/12th scale of your own wedding dress is available by commission please contact me charrismamini@gmail.com with photos for a quote

 

My First Replica Miniature Wedding Dress

I had been having fun making up my own miniature wedding dresses but now I needed to try out one of those ideas that has been buzzing around that mini mind of mine….I wanted to try making a complete replica of someones own wedding gown….I wasn’t sure if that was going to be a bit too adventurous to attempt at 1/12th scale as the only other person I have come across making replicas does them at Barbie doll size which is quite a bit bigger!

Being a great fan of Team Pugh of Shopping Without Supermarket fame and remembering that Becksie had shared some amazing photos of her wedding not long ago I asked Becksie if she would mind me testing my skills on her wedding dress and she was delighted to help me. I had her online photo album for guidance but the additional close up shots that Becksie sent over were really helpful in seeing things in closer detail….Iwhen I saw the beautiful ribbon lacing at the back of the dress I have to confess to a moments concern as to how I was going to achieve it. When I make my own designs I usually mix and match pattern pieces from Sue Johnsons lovely miniature bridal book “The Dolls House Wedding” but of course for a replica dress I would need to design all of the patterns myself. I overcame this first hurdle by using paper napkins to sew up and adapt size and fit until I was confident that I had the correct shaping before I cut into my silks and chiffons….I can tell you that this is the hardest element and takes the most amount of time….it is all a bit of a learning curve at the moment. The next hurdle was the ribbon lacing and I ended up folding 4mm ribbon in half and stitching together to give me a fine enough ribbon to lace through the little loops formed from a lace edging that saved me from having to hand make dozens of little loops!

For a first attempt I am fairly pleased with the result of this little 1/12th Replica wedding dress…I hope Becksie likes it too….we are just awaiting a decision on if becksie wants to display it in her own dollshouse or to do a separate display stand…and I want to add a replica bouquet to finish it off.

I will be taking commissions and if you would like to discuss  a miniature replica of your own wedding gown please contact me on charrismamini@gmail.com

The real thing….

Home Sweet Miniature Home

After years of promising myself my very own Dolls House I now have two projects on the go
My first purchase was a fairly cheap model as I didn’t have much in the way of funds or space so this one fitted the bill at the time and it was a good move to practice on something not quite as adventurous as my second purchase which I couldn’t resist as it was greatly reduced…it did however sit in its box for another six years until I had the space and time to build it….all good things come to he or she that waits…of course by then the assembly instructions had gone walk about and it had warped a bit so it was an interesting build of the “hit it with a hammer” style of workmanship and make it up as you go along style of construction for which Charrisma will become well known. Both are ongoing projects to keep me entertained for many years to come…Im sure my bank balance shall be none the better for the experience but we wont mention that to the grumpy old man!

This is Bouverie Bistro my first venture into the world of miniature

It is undergoing a bit of a revamp at the moment with a decision to change its exterior from cream and blue to a trendy urban chic style of Bistro in shades of grey. Christian Grey may of course be found in the hotel next door but that is a different story all together!  A cool grey frontage with gunmetal grey window surrounds and a gloss black signboard with gold lettering.

The ground floor shop is to be a Bistro/Deli affair with smart white kitchen/prep area open to the customer. Mirror tiles reflect the light and three working lights illuminate a row of wrought iron café tables. I still have to source and fill the food cabinets but the framework is all in place to start stocking my pattiserie cabinets and food counters.

Upstairs the flat will continue in the elegant grey theme with dark wood floors , a bit of a Kelly Hoppen influence going on here I think.. and some experiments with mirrors to give optical illusions of light and space. .

more of this detail to follow…I just want to give you a little taste of the “Bouverie Bistro” for now!

My real lifetime project will I think be the  “Manor House”…it doesn’t have a name as yet but it is a Georgian house being transformed into a luxury hotel, so rather a lot of bedrooms going on, of course they will all end up with luxury ensuites but the Architect and builders are still planning how that will be achieved!

I still have rather a lot of exterior fitting , window painting etc to do but with the poetic licence that can only be achieved in miniature I have moved onto the interior design projects and started on some of the rooms already…I will come back with more detail on each room as time goes on but here is a snapshot of work to date

The Dining Room, featuring a Chandelier that I have hand beaded myself and some beautiful ceiling paintings and wall panelling. The table is fully dressed.

Hand made curtains and pelmets using coordinated Tilda fabrics, lovely tiny designs just perfect for miniature work

Cheap bits of furniture revamped with gold paint and reupholstered in cream and gold brocade for a sumptious luxury boutique hotel style!

 and of course every hotel needs a Bridal Four Poster Bed and a Bridal Suite

Do keep checking back and see where I am with my “Home Sweet Miniature Home”

My first miniature wedding dress

This was my first foray into tiny couture after buying the most beautiful book by Sue Johnson, The Dolls House Wedding Book. I had purchased it with a view to having a wedding featured room in my dolls house manor but as soon as I saw the beautiful miniature wedding dresses and ballgowns designed by Sue I was completely captivated by the magic.

Now it should be noted that as a delinquent teenager I was politely requested by our sewing mistress to leave the class and take up cooking instead which I was more than happy to comply with. I never could see the point in tacking seams and following patterns and have to confess that my cooking follows the same trend….recipes are for guidance not to be faithfully adhered too.(You can follow my Cooking style at CookaholicKate if you want to) Fortunately my cooking teacher was more encouraging but I  did carry on with sewing in my own adhoc, make it up as you go along fashion, making all my daughters dresses, running up curtains and soft furnishings , the first prom dress and the final accolade five bridesmaid dresses six weeks before a wedding.

Of course you wont be surprised then that despite having a lovely book full of instructions I simply cut out all the pattern pieces , mixed them all up and did my own thing as usual. Sue uses some glue and miniature dolls for her creations but I had in mind more to produce stock for a teeny weeny Bridal Boutique and wanted to hand sew every element and produce free standing gowns. As I didn’t want any seams to show I did a silk lining to the bodice attached to a straight petticoat and followed Sue’s guide for tiered layers of netting. The bodice and waistline are edged with crystal seed beads with a drop crystal to the front of the bodice and then over sewn the entire skirt with tiny flowers and added a diamonte to the centre of each one….the weight and fullness of the netting supports the dress so that it will stand quite happily in a bridal shop window!

You can purchase this lovely little first edition from my Etsy shop CharrismaMiniature along with a range of my other designs.