Obelia medusa ([info]obeliamedusa) wrote in [info]little_world,
@ 2005-12-24 18:15:00
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The inside of my dollhouse is finished at last!
EDIT: I took some new pictures to replace the most blurry ones, and added a few more hobbit-eye views. ;) 

'Tis time to go on a virtual tour of Tiny Bag End!  I should warn you, there are about 30 pictures behind this cut.  But, come on, how else am I going to celebrate the (near) completion of the interior of my dollhouse?  :P

(If you came upon this post at random and have no idea what's going on, you can find out the backstory here.)

We begin by approaching from the outside, with Tiny Frodo.  Actually, all the Tiny Hobbits and Friends graciously agreed to remain outside for this little photo session; the sad truth is, they're the least realistic looking things in the place. 


You're not too good to peer in through the windows, are you?  Here is a peek at the kitchen and pantry, respectively.




Alrighty, enough skulking in the bushes.  We open the round green door and walk into... the foyer!  Here you can see what I've been working on the last few weeks.  Vertical beams, built-in shelves, and big white wrinkly lumps meant to simulate the inside of a hill.  You know, tree roots and stuff.  Things of note in this room: many action figure accessories hung on the hooks, and Gandalf's hat on the chair.  The umbrella-holding thing was given to me by my dear friend Moosefluff, who I hope doesn't mind seeing it used this way... 




Through the door in the foyer is Frodo's room.  Not much new in here, except those shelves above the fireplace, which I took care to fill with tiny books in as cluttered a way as possible.  Oh, and there's a little wooden toy horsie on wheels sitting on the floor, but you can't see it from this angle.  I thought it was cute and I wanted it.  And surely Frodo kept a few childhood toys lying around...




This is the view of the foyer from Frodo's door (that's the back of the front door we're looking at).  Another reason I had to kick out the Tiny Hobbits for this is I would surely have knocked them over, trying to get these Hobbit-eye camera angles.  The pattern on the back of the door is not metal, by the way. There are black hinges about an inch long holding up the door, but the rest of the pattern I made using the liquid "lead" stuff they sell at craft stores for stained glass projects. I bought it to make the black lines on the windows, but I figured you can use such things for more than one purpose. I did copy the pattern on the door from Peter Jackson's movies; I just love the look of Bag End in FOTR.



Glance to the right and you will see the doorway leading to the dining room.  There are a disproportionate number of dining room photos, for which I apologize.  I can't help that the dining room is especially photogenic.  *shrug*






You may notice that many of my nifty new shelves above the doorways have nothing on them.  Who'd have thought I'd run out of tiny knicknacks before I ran out of shelf space?  Oh, how sad, I guess I'll have to make and/or search for some more.  ;)  If anyone has any ideas for what a Hobbit might display on a little shelf, I'd love to hear them.  In the kitchen it's a different story, though; no trouble at all finding things to put on shelves.  And that's where we're going next:



Here be the kitchen, one of my favourite rooms, mostly because I love making tiny food. I used to make fridge magnets of tiny food when I got bored, but this is so much more satisfying. Filling all those tiny jars with spices and other likely-looking substances was also oddly satisfying. The best looking food was not made by me, however (the dinner platters, the cutting board with cheese and crackers...); those I bought from a miniatures store.



I'm very proud of my little cooking fireplace.  It's hard to see in the big pictures, but here's a good view from an older picture (before I put on the oven handles):


All the fireplaces except the one in Frodo's room started as unfinished wood or plaster, actually, because finished things are so darn expensive. But the kitchen fireplace is my pride and joy because for the longest time I couldn't figure out how to make it. Once I decided that hobbits probably wouldn't have any kind of regular stove, I tried to find a cooking fireplace to buy. I did eventually find some online, but they were both too large for the kitchen, and, being handmade, too expensive (I can't afford to spend $40 on a single item, geez!). So I got an unfinished wood fireplace, the same kind that's in the dining room, and finished it with some pieces of rubber textured to look like brick, and some little ovens of basswood that I made and fitted in there. There are four oven doors with handles, low enough to set a pan or kettle on top, and a space in the middle behind a grate, for the fire. I don't know if this is exactly how a cooking fireplace is supposed to work, but it was the best I could do, never having seen one. Oh, and may I just say, iron paint is awesome! I found that at the craft store; it actually has ground-up iron in it. I used that to make parts of the fireplace look like iron, as well as most of the light fixtures (I didn't like the look of all that shiny brass).



Now for the pantry!  I installed many a tiny shelf in here.  :P  All that tiny food I make has to go somewhere, after all.  See that bowl of corn on the left?  I love that bowl of corn.  :)  I bought it a few weeks ago too.  I wish I could make tiny food that good!  But no, I must stick to simpler things, like apples, tomatoes, carrots, and mushrooms.  And pies, of course.  We'll see some of them in the next picture.



I just had to get a better view of the shelves on the left.  0:-)  Yes, I do have many more tiny pies than are displayed here, as some of you know; I just can't stop wanting to make those cute little things, dagnabit! :P But I decided in the end that three or four pies in the pantry would have to suffice. 


On the way back out through the kitchen, we must glance briefly at the outer wall, which was very hard to photograph without a convenient doorway to poke the camera through. Anyway, there's the door to what will be the vegetable garden, and yet another view of tiny food. 


Now we're back in the dining room (hey, I gave you fair warning about the gratuitous dining room pictures...), and we're going through that doorway on the left to get to... the living room. 




Did you notice the tiny Elvish horn? :P If so, you must have been using extrasensory perception of some kind, because it's barely visible.  It's white and tucked between two vases, but I have it prominently displayed on the shelf above the fireplace, because it's so cool. :P Here's an older picture where you can actually see the wee horn:


It was made for my Tiny Hobbits by the extremely talented Elwen, who also makes beautiful dollhouse curtains and beds (check out her ebay store!).  She also very kindly made the little rug in the bathroom, which you'll see... right now!


Here we can see the tiny bottles of unknown substances, made of beads glued together.  I also made some little piles of towels out of felt to put on that lower shelf.  When I was taking these pictures, I didn't have anything to put on the bathroom shelves, so I had to come up with something to put there...



Now, from the living room...




...we shall peer into Bilbo's room, through that barely visible door on the right!



I don't know why, but I'm very fond of these shots I got by sticking my camera through doorways.  Hee!  Anyway, here's the rest of Bilbo's room.  I think I need more tiny books.  They don't have nearly enough clutter, poor bookwormish Hobbits!





Another through-the-door shot.  I've just turned the camera around so that it's in Bilbo's room, pointing out through the doorway.



Now we have toured the whole smial.  Naturally, we shall exit via the dining room.  0:-)




Thanks for stopping by!  Don't forget to get your tiny plastic cloak off the hooks on your way out.  Come back and visit anytime.  :-D



Oh, I suppose I should include a view from above with the Hill off, so you can see the layout:  




X-posted to my journal

Edit Dec. 13 2007: I've posted pictures of Tiny Bag End all decorated for Christmas.  Come see!  :)



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(747 comments) - (Post a new comment)


[info]dameelysia
2005-12-25 03:21 am UTC (link)
I've been following your creative process from the start, and I'm amazed at the final product-it's so wonderful, all those little details and all the care and hard work you put into it.

Would you mind if I plugged you with a post in [info]whimwham?

(Reply to this) (Thread)


[info]obeliamedusa
2005-12-25 05:10 am UTC (link)
Not at all, I'd be thrilled. :)

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]dameelysia, 2005-12-27 02:36 am UTC

[info]mellowmcyellow
2005-12-25 03:41 am UTC (link)
It's absolutely amazing. Great job.
Do you mind me asking how much it cost you in total?

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[info]obeliamedusa
2005-12-25 05:24 am UTC (link)
Hmm, now there's something I try not to think about too much. ;) All that wood paneling and flooring alone, unstained, cost like $150! The lights were a big expense, too. I'm not sure how much I've spent in total, since my buying of supplies has been spread out over a year and a half, but I'd estimate around eight hundred dollars, including the exterior stuff as well as interior.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]kid_lit_fan, 2006-01-19 01:59 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]obeliamedusa, 2006-03-14 08:04 pm UTC

[info]frickinmuck
2005-12-25 03:57 am UTC (link)
this is the best mini house ever. I LOVE this house. thanks for posting the work in progress as well as the finished product. so exciting to watch this thing evolve over time! WELL DONE!!

(Reply to this) (Thread)


[info]frickinmuck
2005-12-25 03:59 am UTC (link)
I just noticed you are from north van. of course someone as cool as you would be from my area! :^)

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]obeliamedusa, 2005-12-25 05:28 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]obeliamedusa, 2005-12-25 05:27 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]frickinmuck, 2005-12-25 06:36 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]obeliamedusa, 2005-12-28 12:27 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]brigittajeduf, 2008-07-16 08:29 pm UTC

[info]pinkpuppybelly
2005-12-25 04:33 am UTC (link)
A triumph, really.

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[info]obeliamedusa
2005-12-28 12:14 pm UTC (link)
thanks!

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[info]buenos_aires
2005-12-25 05:23 am UTC (link)
You were on a girls friends page who belongs to a community I belong to

And this was perhaps THE most incredible thing I have seen on livejournal, ever.

Period.

I salute you in your diligent effort and precise rendering of small details.

Its so beautiful.

-Lauren

(Reply to this) (Thread)


[info]obeliamedusa
2005-12-28 12:15 pm UTC (link)
Wow, thank you! I just can't get enough of the small details. :)

(Reply to this) (Parent)


[info]_strangegirl_
2005-12-25 05:23 am UTC (link)
Oh my gosh that is SPECTACULAR SPECTACULAR!

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[info]obeliamedusa
2005-12-28 12:15 pm UTC (link)
Thank you!

(Reply to this) (Parent)

(no subject) - [info]sandyhiwet, 2008-07-16 02:56 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]heatheryniqu, 2008-07-16 05:03 pm UTC

[info]cloudtrader
2005-12-25 05:27 am UTC (link)
That is so so so so so amazingly cool. WOW.

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[info]obeliamedusa
2005-12-28 12:15 pm UTC (link)
Thanks! :)

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[info]mmymoon
2005-12-25 06:53 am UTC (link)
Eeeeeeee! I still adore you/Bag End. Eee, the cuteness, the tiny, tiny cuteness.

And tiny food just has a siren call -- I have hordes of it and I still want MORE. I'm working on a full 1:6 pastry shop, because I just need to display rows and rows of petite pastries and tiny tarts. I love your pictures. *drools*

(Reply to this) (Thread)


[info]obeliamedusa
2005-12-28 12:16 pm UTC (link)
Oooh, a pastry shop! Now that sounds like a worthy endeavour. :D Mmm, tiny pastries...

(Reply to this) (Parent)


[info]mielikkik
2005-12-25 12:27 pm UTC (link)
Awesome. Just awesome. Can't think anything praising enough to say right now.. I adore that your Bag End. It is just amazingly beautiful!

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[info]obeliamedusa
2005-12-28 12:16 pm UTC (link)
Well thank you! :)

(Reply to this) (Parent)


[info]mthespinner
2005-12-25 03:11 pm UTC (link)
Totally brilliant-and I loved the hobbit bathing room! Would you mind if I linked this into my journal as I have some serious hobbit loving friends?

(Reply to this) (Thread)


[info]obeliamedusa
2005-12-28 12:13 pm UTC (link)
Thank you! And not at all; I love it when people bring their hobbit-loving friends. ;)

(Reply to this) (Parent)


[info]avad
2005-12-26 05:41 am UTC (link)
simply unbelievably amAZing.
congratulations on a brilliant job. there is so much wonder in this to last for ages.

(Reply to this) (Thread)


[info]obeliamedusa
2005-12-28 12:17 pm UTC (link)
Thank you so much!

(Reply to this) (Parent)

(no subject) - (Anonymous), 2006-01-17 12:53 pm UTC

[info]moon_on_ice
2005-12-26 02:05 pm UTC (link)
Oh. My. GOD! INCREDIBLE! The lighting really works well to create ambience. Getting the lighting right has always been tricky for me. When I looked at that first photo, I thought it was a real photo of someone's house, until I saw what was written with it. You have inspired me to work on my minis again!

(Reply to this) (Thread)


[info]obeliamedusa
2005-12-28 12:24 pm UTC (link)
Oh good, no one should give up on their minis! :) Lighting really does make a huge difference. I had to fiddle around a lot to get the rooms bright enough to photograph without the flash on; overly bright light makes everything look so obviously fake. I quickly discovered that in the pictures I took with flash, you could see that all those candle "flames" were really light bulbs! :-\ Figuring out what/how many lights to install wasn't too hard, but it took a lot of trial and error to capture that cozy-looking glow on the camera.

(Reply to this) (Parent)


[info]anithradia
2005-12-27 03:25 am UTC (link)
It's so pretty! Hats off to you! (Tiny hobbit hats, of course)

(Reply to this) (Thread)


[info]obeliamedusa
2005-12-28 12:25 pm UTC (link)
Tiny hobbit hats, hee! :D

(Reply to this) (Parent)


[info]princess_kierra
2005-12-28 02:31 am UTC (link)
It's beautiful. I just can't get over how realistic it looks. It really does look like Bag End.

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[info]obeliamedusa
2005-12-28 12:25 pm UTC (link)
Thank you!

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[info]elwenlj
2005-12-29 01:36 am UTC (link)
It looks so perfect. But you do realise that it will never realy be finished, don't you? You are hooked and will keep adding and adjusting for years.

And I'm glad the horn fitted in so well.

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[info]obeliamedusa
2006-01-13 01:49 am UTC (link)
Ah, but that's the beauty of it! I never want to be totally finished. ;)

(Reply to this) (Parent)


[info]lunagypsy
2006-01-05 11:45 pm UTC (link)
I have no words that are right...this is the most AMAZING, INCREDIBLE piece of work I have ever seen. It is so beautiful it brings tears to my eyes. I cannot wait to show this to my husband. This is just beyond mere words...thank you for sharing this, what a gem! I could look at this for days on end.:)

(Reply to this) (Thread)


[info]obeliamedusa
2006-01-13 02:27 am UTC (link)
Wow, thank you. That means a lot to me. :)

(Reply to this) (Parent)


[info]tidesong
2006-01-09 05:44 pm UTC (link)
Drive-by-comment:

This has to be one of the most amazing things I've ever seen! What a remarkable job, very nice.

(Reply to this) (Thread)


[info]obeliamedusa
2006-01-13 02:27 am UTC (link)
Thank you!

(Reply to this) (Parent)


[info]pushmearound
2006-01-09 07:30 pm UTC (link)
Holy cow. That is one of the coolest things I've seen in a LONG time. If you haven't already you should show this off in a community. Some community. I'm sure there's something appropriate. Good job. Sincerely.

(Reply to this) (Thread)


[info]obeliamedusa
2006-01-13 02:28 am UTC (link)
Thanks. And I would like to to show it somewhere, to someone... But I'll worry about that when it's finished. There's still the exterior, you know. :)

(Reply to this) (Parent)


[info]mybestexcuse
2006-01-10 01:34 am UTC (link)
I'm here via about 6 coms, so don't mind me.

It's AMAZING.

I'm so impressed and awed.

(Reply to this) (Thread)


[info]obeliamedusa
2006-01-13 02:29 am UTC (link)
Oh don't worry, I don't know any of these other people either. ;)

And thank you!

(Reply to this) (Parent)


[info]sanj
2006-01-10 03:31 am UTC (link)
Wow, this is AMAZING. Brilliant work!

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[info]obeliamedusa
2006-01-13 02:30 am UTC (link)
Thank you!

(Reply to this) (Parent)

Never seen anything like this
(Anonymous)
2006-01-10 03:51 am UTC (link)
Your work is amazing! Share the experience...please send this set of photos to galleries! This is beautiful art...how talented you are.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

Re: Never seen anything like this
[info]obeliamedusa
2006-01-13 02:30 am UTC (link)
Thank you so much.

(Reply to this) (Parent)


[info]scott_lynch
2006-01-10 06:55 am UTC (link)
The whole thing is a heartbreaking little piece of wonder, and I have never seen its equal.

Hope you don't mind if I strategically drop a few links to this here and there. :)

(Reply to this) (Thread)


[info]obeliamedusa
2006-01-13 02:31 am UTC (link)
Thank you so much. And sure, the more the merrier. :)

(Reply to this) (Parent)


[info]liveavatar
2006-01-10 08:22 am UTC (link)
Here via [info]scott_lynch.

Truly excellent work. I'll probably be dropping a few strategic links to this myself.

(Reply to this) (Thread)


[info]obeliamedusa
2006-01-13 02:32 am UTC (link)
Thanks! And I must say, I love your icon. That is so cool! Hee! :)

(Reply to this) (Parent)


[info]ohilya
2006-01-10 08:32 am UTC (link)
Here also via the Mighty Scott Lynch.

That is a staggering monument to fan love. It truly is. And how on earth are you lighting the candles in that house?

(Reply to this) (Thread)


[info]obeliamedusa
2006-01-13 02:38 am UTC (link)
Boy, he sure has a lot of friends! :P Welcome!

As for the candles, you can buy all sorts of little electrical supplies made especially for dollhouses. All those candles have little tiny 12V light bulbs, powered with a transformer that you plug into a wall socket. The dollhouse itself is wired with tapewire, and you attach the wires from the light fixtures to that. I have a picture of the wiring in my earlier post, if you want to see what it looks like:

http://www.livejournal.com/community/little_world/30571.html

(Reply to this) (Parent)


[info]level_head
2006-01-10 08:40 am UTC (link)
A most excellent work, with your care and love of the subject matter, and the details, shining through every doorway.

Congratulations!

===|==============/ Level Head

(Reply to this) (Thread)


[info]obeliamedusa
2006-01-13 02:38 am UTC (link)
Thank you so much! :)

(Reply to this) (Parent)

Super Freaking Amazing! - [info]cerebulon, 2007-04-21 03:22 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]hhhsss, 2007-04-21 07:16 am UTC
You must have steady hands - (Anonymous), 2007-04-21 09:26 pm UTC
Your little house is - (Anonymous), 2007-04-24 06:44 pm UTC

(747 comments) - (Post a new comment)

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