Prop Alert! Cute Miniature Lanterns

One of the best places I have found to source realistic miniature props is in the Christmas ornament section of any store. That is the first place I head these days when I am out shopping. Actually I start looking in July when the craft stores start stocking their holiday items. I like to look for things that can be used as is without any alteration as well as items that can be updated to suit another purpose in a miniature scene.

This year I found these adorable red glitter lanterns at WalMart.  I will say that these are what I consider low-quality in the realm of ornaments. They are made of cardboard, glitter and thin plastic sheeting for the "glass".  However, they are cheap, $1.97 each so they suit my budget and are detailed enough to make an appearance in a diorama scene.  The greenery on top of the lantern came with it, but the candy canes did not. Just a little extra touch I added when setting up this diorama.

The lanterns are quite large so while they are great as oversized props for the 1:6 scale crowd such as Barbie, Monster High and Fashion Royalty, they would be perfectly suitable for the larger dolls-American Girl, Tyler Wentworth, Gene, Dollfie and similar 16-18 inch range. Multi-purpose props are the best! 

Without further adieu, a quick front porch diorama dressed for the holidays.

  

Here's how I made this scene:

Shingle siding: printie (found image on Google & printed multiple copies & taped together)

Porch floor boards: printie (found image on Google & printed multiple copies & taped together.

Door: Barbie dollhouse door. (no idea which house but it has a B logo on the top half). It came in a bag from the thrift store without a door handle just a long hole where one should be. This is what the detail looks like.

Door Knob: I printed the face plate from Google & sized it to cover the hole. Then I used a round knob from a jewelry box. It has a nail sticking out of the back so I just cut out a piece of foam core for it to stick into. The foam core is the size of the door plus the surrounding trim. I then glued the trim to the foam core. The door is stuck in place with the knob. (so I can use it again).

The trim & threshold are also made of foam core covered in scrapbook paper. Isn't that crackle look divine?

The hole I had to cover (from the back)

Merry Christmas Sign: Printie from Google. (you can see I didn't even bother with adding trim to the top of the door for this scene!)

Mini Pine Trees: loot from the thrift shop

That's it. Easy peasy.

Thanks for stopping by!!! What are your favorite sources for mini accessories other then traditional miniature retailers?

Have YOU played today?

Stephanie