Author: Jill Fraser

My next project is a row boat for Ratty and Mole to use to go on a picnic. In twelfth scale. Some research on the internet brought up model makers making larger model boats, clever wood workers who had made fancy jigs like upturned boats to build their hulls around, and it all looked a… Continue reading Nothing like messing around in a row boat

A recent addition to my Beacon Hill House was an aviary. A lot of colorful birds were intended for this space. This project used up quite a few of my talents. First the back wall was created using egg cartons cut to block sizes, glued to a stout piece of card and then painted black.… Continue reading A 12th scale aviary in the making.

Book ends give the miniaturist huge scope in showing off special little pieces. Our club is starting a series of them with the end point being a book end display in a local bookshop. The workshop convener is a very experienced miniaturist, Rio Cox from the Greytown Miniature Makers and Lower Hutt Miniature Club. Rio’s… Continue reading Miniature Book ends. An obsession in the making.

It started with a model Bentley my husband brought me for last Christmas. Then I was inspired by Robyn and Dennis Tapp (paper crafters) and their truck, below. So I download a SVG file for a truck and made my little green model 1:12 scale truck. That was fun. Then a chance came up to… Continue reading Making a 1:12th scale truck.

Our latest club project was about gardens and of course every garden should have a scarecrow. The scarecrow workshop was taken by myself and it was great fun. The basic project came from a Miniaturist’s magazine and all we did was tweak it a little. The workshop covered off the making of the scarecrow, making… Continue reading The month for scarecrows

I wanted a stylish car to sit outside my 1930’s dollhouse. I searched high and low for a 12th scale car kit. These are thin on the ground. My husband finally tracked down my Bentley Boomer on the internet in a shop in Auckland, New Zealand. See link to Airfix site below. I think they… Continue reading A 12th car scale kit – a Bentley Boomer

Cracking Easter – Mama’s away, time to play. It is always hard for someone who has been doing miniatures for so long to think of something new to do for a miniature Easter. So I cleverly put together two or three little projects to do, hidden in this Cracking Easter scene. These are in the… Continue reading A Steam Punk Cracking Easter

Being a cardboard Queen, I made the frame of this miniature park bench out of strips of cardboard, glued together and painted. The slats were made of thin pieces of wood from a discount store. A bit of black paint and some glue and there you have it. But I had the bug – more… Continue reading Park your bottom on a miniature chair

A lot of garden projects have been coming up at my club and in my magazine as it is Summer in our neck of the woods. So I turned my attention to parks. And follies. Follies were popular with the Victorians. False ruins or grottos in one’s large gardens gave the guests something to wonder… Continue reading Victorians loved a folly!

I wanted to create a Medieval Christmas scene in my 24th scale Tudor Hall. I needed lights. I had been putting it off I have to confess. But, I set aside a time and put the Hall on my workbench, collected up my LED lights and wiring and made a start. First I had to… Continue reading A Medieval Christmas

In the first two days of the long anticipated NZAME Miniature Convention were well attended and busy. That all changed with coverage on the evening new by TVNZ showing mini houses, talking to key people and showing the owl making workshop. The next two days were extraordinarily busy. Crowd control was established on the front… Continue reading Successful Miniature Convention in Christchurch, NZ.

Medieval Murder Mystery: Poor Henry, foolhardy drunk Henry, braved the haunted room for a dare, only to be found in the morning, in his locked room, rather dead. The background to the story. The year is 1150 AD An old tower had been converted into two shops, one a bakery.  Above one of the shops… Continue reading Medieval Murder Mystery solved

What makes us choose these Miniature Challenges? On a recent trip to Hamilton New Zealand, a seven hour drive from my home, I caught up with the Waikato Miniature Club. These ladies are not afraid of miniature challenges. Sheryl Ransfield has a double garage full of finished projects and she makes a point of finishing… Continue reading Miniature Challenges

Tudor magic is happening in my studio. I’m time travelling with a lot of help from my Cricut Maker I have made several stools and tables to put into my 24th scale Inn and it is starting to look more real. The beauty of the Cricut is that it can cut out multiple pieces all… Continue reading Tudor magic & the Cricut Maker

This is a chance to solve an ancient Medieval murder. The background: The year is 1150 ADAn old tower had been converted into two shops, one a bakery. Above one of the shops was a bedroom for the owner. However, for 20 years no-one had slept in that room save a few brave folks.This room… Continue reading A Medieval Murder to solve.

Roger and I got to leave our country! First time in 3 years. What a liberation. We went to the Melbourne Miniature Fair. We took three years of issues of Miniature Time Traveller that hadn’t been on Aussie shores. Along with other stuff we had six pieces of luggage in total. The V A M… Continue reading Melbourne Miniature Fair 2022

Thinking of warm clothes on the ski field led to these cute knitted tights for my 12th scale lady. Then one thing led to another and two little hats came into being. All knitted in 2 ply wool and No.21 needles. The patterns for these three Winter woollies are available on the Free Projects page… Continue reading Winter Woollies- 12th scale knitting

Making a Tudor Inn was not enough! Now for the furniture. Oh heck. So for those who downloaded the instructions for the basic Tudor bed this one has been embellished very easily. I made four uprights using skewers cut to size and twisted string around them. Once painted they look very much like turned posts.… Continue reading Tudor Four Poster.