More Steampunk Pieces

First real piece of furniture; this is the book truck. It will eventually get a handle on the long, left side once I find my copper wire again! This is made in mirror image from instructions in Dolls House & Miniature Scene of March 2015. For some reason, I keep thinking the sales desk will be at the left, and the shelving to the right of that; the long end of this unit seemed the right one for the tall handle. That will be made from copper wire bent into a handle shape, and held to the shelving with sockets made from belt rivets or card circles - whichever makes the sturdier handle fixings.

I also began to make more books; card covers over matboard cores. We have finally, with help from the wonderful people at The Camp, been able to print some book covers to fit. I calculated that to fill 2 tall, narrow bookshelves I will need a meter (over 3 linear ft) of tiny books, aaagh! That means it is unlikely I will have all them done by the time Camp MiniHaHa rolls around. The wheels on the truck are the female parts of large (13mm) black snap fasteners, glued onto copper wire axles, so the truck can roll. Not that this is important, once a vignette is finished, I find I don't mess around with it too much any more.

And this is the hot plate for the water kettle - can't function without tea in my alternate universe. The vial on the top was purchased ready-made, I need to add a handle and a spout. (If I could cut glass, I would make it shorter, too.) The gas burner is a very large, black,  male snap fastener, sunk into the wooden top and base, and held by a steel pin. Scraps of wood were used to make this burner unit, along with black and buttermilk paint and glossy varnish for the "enamel" top. Paper, acetate sheet, beads, and other jewelry findings made the dial, knob and handle. Just like with the radio, the handle is needed to kick-start the hot plate in the event of a power failure. (Think early automobiles!) I do think I may need to add some strictly decorative elements, as it doesn't really look all that Victorian-influenced right now!

I have more tiny books to assemble....