Walnut Cottage

A walnut cottage in a summer landscape. The "hostas" in the center foreground were made from HO scale kits left over from the 1/4" scale flower arrangements I made for the Toy and Dollhouse Museum of Kansas City. I'm a huge fan of hostas, which grow very well here in Michigan, and have many varieties in my yard.

The inside.  There's a fireplace on the left wall, and a shelf holding books and accessories above the door.

Another Way to Make Plates

I also occasionally use .005 white sheet styrene (available at hobby stores) for plates. It can easily be painted any color you like with acrylic craft paints.

Nuremberg Kitchen

As sometimes happens, I've been so focused on working that i neglected to stop and take pictures.  Here's one of the things I just finished:

Toy kitchens have been made at least as long as dollhouses. Many were made in Germany, hence the name "Nuremberg Kitchen."  This one is an 18th Century version.  I love making these, because it gives me a chance to make lots of little detail parts. The hutch and settle are my own castings; the table and chair are scratch built. The accessories are mostly modified cast metal.  I make the plates by coating paper with about 3 coats of acrylic gloss medium, punching them out with a 1/8" hole punch, and making an indentation in the center with a very small nail set to give them some dimension.  For more elegant settings, I often paint the rims gold.