My dolls and my miniatures

eMBee Art in Making by Margo in The Netherlands

[margo-embee]

Doing some more light testing in one of the rooms in my castle tower dollhouse: the blacksmith' fire.

Details are important!

After adding a variety of colour to the flames, better then the solid orange they were. More realistic when lit with the LED strip. Used some alcohol markers on the Re-Ment flames, also tried some colour on the LED strip itself.

The last two photo's: the actual test, LED strip lights the faux flames from below. I very much like how it looks!

Work in progress: this is a small part of making my dream castle tower in 1/12 scale.

[margo-embee]

Watching Game of Thrones again and at the same time gaining some inspiration for my castle tower dollhouse.

(my view from the sofa).

[margo-embee]

And suddenly, without realising it, I have a Holly Hobbie collection 🩵

Recently got this new Ruby Red Holly Hobbie doll, since then I've been searching around my house for all things Holly Hobbie 🩵

Growing up in 1970s, I had this very large Holly Hobbie cloth doll (similar to the small one in the photo's). I thought she was beautiful, but she never was a favourite toy. Seeing Holly Hobbie in the original artwork, I had always known that her hair and shoes are not the same. That's why I'm so pleased with the Ruby Red version, where everything matches.

One vinyl doll, manufacturer Ruby Red in 2026; one smal cloth doll from 1970s by Knickerbocker, found in a thrift store; two sizes 1970s dresses, manufacturer Knickerbocker, also found in a thrift store; one small vinyl doll + gazebo playset from 1970s, manufacturer unknown, from my childhood. Played with this gazebo so very much growing up. I really love the art style. As a child I looked at these pictures so many times, loved them then and love them now🩵

The gazebo closed. Photograped from all angles. Holly Hobbie and friends. It's all so cosy 🩵

And with all the flaps down: a swing, a hammock, a vegetable garden, a picnic, a stone path and picking apples.

I remember some miniatures with the playset, which are missing unfortunately. There was a tiny filled picnic basket.

The tiny vinyl doll which came with this playset, is missing her shoes and desperately needs some new elastic in her bloomers. I think she and the Ruby Red doll have similar cute faces. I'm really glad that the eyes on the Ruby Red doll don't look like the spider legs eyes on the small vinyl doll.

I love my Holly Hobbie collection and I'd like to do something with the dresses. Don't know what??? Any ideas???

[margo-embee]

Found some perfect miniatures for my 1/12 scale castle tower dollhouse.

Bought two Playmobil sets.

I love these miniatures, because most of them are perfect for using in 1/12 scale projects. Saves me a lot of time! I just have to weather and paint them, in stead of sculpting and crafting everything from scratch.

The Playmobil dolls are not to scale and I'll probably use them in other future projects.

[margo-embee]

A few years after making the design, I'm finally able to install these faux wood support beams in my castle tower dollhouse.

I was inspired by these 15th-century support beams I saw in a book "The formation of Europe - Care for mind and body".

Making them a little fancier naturally. Sculpted with paperclay on cardboard and painted with acrylics.

I'm using B-7000 glue plus a mortise and tenon joint for security.

More photo's, enjoying the view. Love it.

Leaving it to dry overnight, to later fill in the gaps with paperclay.

Work in progress: project FernField Castle, building my dream castle tower in 1/12 scale.

[margo-embee]

Diorama project: The Secret Garden 💚

Me designing a garden for Mary Lennox, I think she's finished?

With this special corner in my living room in mind, it makes me happy and proud to see different art pieces together: mural, cabinet, elf house and diorama, all made by me 💚

It was a perfect sunny day, perfect for a photoshoot.

My 3 copies of The Secret Garden. I used some pages from the small book to decorate this thrift store find doll; book and doll became one.

Some people might think that my Mary was sitting in her garden way to long?

💚

For me she is perfect.

💚

My choice to use this much faux moss is because I wanted to test how I like it and maybe wanted to use in other projects?

Doll: China doll, thrift store, decoration and outfit by me. Turtle and bunnies: Schleich.

For this diorama I also used: a piece of wood, egg carton, acrylic paints, faux plants and moss; again all materials used from my collection of craft materials.

[margo-embee]

Seeing a project of mine from 2021. Love it, enjoying this diorama every day still.

[margo-embee]

Did some test lighting today.

In the cellar of my castle tower dollhouse.

Temporary setup: testing the cellar for the first time in its future place.

This is the atmosphere I'm looking for. Perfect!

(Often when making miniatures I skip the lighting, because designing and installing is boring ánd difficult. For this dollhouse I set myself a goal: this castle is going to live in my livingroom permanently; therefore lights are very important. Goal: I'm going to make the castle tower into een light object).

Today seeing the stone steps for the first time in place makes me so happy, I love it!!

I crafted this dollhouse in 3 main components, for practical reasons only, otherwise the whole thing would be to heavy to work on or to move. The base is like the mountain on which the castle tower is built. I made this with sturdy wood and bricks.

The second part: the armoury and great hall. And the third part: the top floor plus battlements and roof.

Made some faux moss and greenery. This is one of my favourites, love creating faux greenery. I'm happy I was allowed to do a small part today; the rest of the moss and plants and trees? will be installed later in the process, because they're to delicate.

This was a very productive day, the next thing I did was drilling some holes in my dollhouse. Very scary. Also very necessary for installing the LED strips.

These holes will light the smithy in the armoury; designed later in the build. I'll have to do some repairs to the with paperclay sculpted stonework.

As I said, a very productive day.

[margo-embee]

Found this 1960s Barbie cook book ❤️ It's in my language (Netherlands).

Translation: Baking and cooking with Barbie.

Translation: Peanut butter adventures!!

Translation: Barbie calls her desserts "Happy Endings"!

Translation: Breakfast to wake you up!

I love these kind of vintage illustrations ❤️❤️❤️

One Barbie photo on the cover.

I purchased this book in a lot: my reproduction Poodle Parade Barbie (to get her, I bought this lot); a vintage Ken from, I guess the 1970s and two Barbie books.

It's a pocket book, unfortunately in rough shape.

[margo-embee]

New doll 🩵 Quick photoshoot on my sofa, trying out her poses.

Full set Holly Hobbie from Ruby Red.

She's so cute 🩵 I love her.

Holly Hobbie was a huge part of my childhood in the 1970s, with cloth dolls, playsets, books and more. The one thing I still have is the gazebo playset, including a small vinyl doll.

This doll and her outfit are perfect, hreat quality. For once, I don't have to sew anything! And she came with these cute brown boots.

Her body is vinyl and is stringed with elastic. Very interesting new to me. Lovely to pose.

[margo-embee]

Work-in-progress:

Working on my castle tower dollhouse again, doing the last bits before installing the first LED strip. Before I can do that, I'll have to finish the cellar plus the smithy workshop in the armoury (both will light up).

That's a fun challenge with such a large project: figuring out the order in which to craft all of the components.

Today I've been constructing and sculpting the smithy with cardboard and homemade paperclay.

Starting point: part of the Re-Ment witchy miniatures. I love sculpting brickwork, a few hours of relaxation.

Brought two of the dolls for hight and scale comparison while crafting the smithy. The blacksmith, and because she is the smallest 1/12 scale doll, I also brought in the knight for comparison (Hobby Base dolls dressed by me).

Temporarily placed some other miniatures inside the armoury, to see if it all fits and is to my liking.

I'll have to paint the smithy in grey because, otherwise the cabinet and the smithy workshop will look to much the same. I have a visual and maximalistic way of designing, I like to see all kinds of shapes, structures, textures and colours together (not to matchy-matchy).

For the smithy I purchased the Playmobil blacksmith miniatures with perfect tools, plus an anvil, which will save me a little time, not to have to make these myself.

Installing the cellar window gate by sculpting the surrounding stones (will be colour matched in a later stage, when the clay has dried).

This is how I left my workspace for the night :-)

Thanks for watching this very long post.

[margo-embee]

I made Blanche a purse.

With some leftover granny squares.

My mother crochets a lot and when she cleans up her craft space, she collects the leftovers for me.

This time there were a larger and a smaller granny squares perfectly fitting together; I sewed a lining with a piece of green linen and added wooden beads for closure.

Size and colour fits Blanche's outfit 💚

Blanche is a Smartdoll Marvel with elf ears, pear body in tea skintone. Outfit design and made by me.

I still have to finish her outfit, making elastic in her waistband, sewing on buttons; and I'd like to crochet her a pair of barefoot sandals; and perhaps she needs an embroidered mushroom hat

❓🍄❓🍄❓🍄❓

[margo-embee]

Skeleton key for scale.

Today I made a tiny tiny door in my 1/12 scale dollhouse cellar.

A secret door, crafted with cardboard and paints. Also grunched up walls and floor some more.

The small faux forged fence I crafted yesterday, today painted in forged iron colour: black, with a little bit of rust (PVA glue + cinnamon = faux rust).

Or did I go overboard with the rust? Although it doesn't look that realistic, I like the look.

These smaller projects are part of my large project: making a 1/12 scale castle tower dollhouse.

[margo-embee]

Making a faux forged closure for my miniature cellar. I love the shadow in this first photo 🤎 This is actually the spot where it eventually will sit.

Crafted with small coffee stirring sticks, paper, clay, beads, metal wire, glue and paints.

Last I did today: gesso the whole piece. That's so much fun, to see your creation in one colour.

Seeing it in place, in my castle tower dollhouse.

Planning for tomorrow: black paint and maybe a little faux rust here and there?

Love to craft with all these tiny put togethers, and make some beautiful miniatures.

[margo-embee]

Update castle tower dollhouse: I'm making an extra room in the basement of the tower.

Creating a cellar with cardboard. After sculpting the walls, I'm making some terra-cotta floor tiles.

Cardboard cut to size, sanded, glued and coloured with soft pastels on white gesso.

I love how it's coming together.

Trying out some miniature set ups.

This 1/12 scale cellar will be part of my large castle tower dollhouse.

I love seeing all these different textures side by side; all of them sculpted with paperclay.

It's a work in progress 😅

At this moment, for the planning of adding the LED strips, it's important to have this cellar finished first.

[margo-embee]

Today I've been working with my favourite craft material: left over packaging.

I'm building a cellar in my castle tower dollhouse.

For which I made a cosy, temporary craft corner in my livingroom 🧡

Sculpting the details in paperclay.

I've always dreamed of small stone steps leading to this mysterious cellar.

Adding another vaulted ceiling in my castle tower dollhouse; a few hours after making the cellar, I decided to alter the right side of the ceiling. I made a barrel vault. Tomorrow next sculpting session.

[margo-embee]

Barbie won first prize at The Poodle Parade...

...and the only thing missing is...

her poodle.

Lucky I have this cute little vintage poodle.

Poodle Parade Barbie, isn't she stunning?

I found her a few days ago, so happy with her. I've always loved poodles and I love the colour green (more so the colour combination green-pink). This Barbie I've never seen before, which makes it very special, I think.

Plus this vintage head sculpt, I love her so much. Those eyes 🤎 First in my collection.

Barbie Poodle Parade 1996, reproduction of 1966.

[margo-embee]

The struggle is real.

Seven 1/12 scale miniature face-ups. I'm doing it the way known to me; I have 40 years of experience in painting on flat surfaces. On doll's faces is tricky for me, on 1/12 scale doll's faces ....... just feels impossible. I'm using watercolour pencils, acrylic paints and watercolour paints.

Trusting the proces. At the moment, after 3 painting sessions, I'm reasonably happy with five of the seven faces. Trusting the proces.

Work in progress! Trying to capture their characters on the size of a finger nail.

These seven dolls are the inhabitants of my castle tower dollhouse. Dolls: Hobby Base; medieval outfits: by me.