Dollhouse Miniature Projects

Rustic Cottage Chimney - Miniature Handicrafts

This tutorial will show how to make a very rustic accessory for a miniature scene or dollhouse - a chimney made of 'stone' which is really styrofoam, a very easy to work with material.

Use miniature handicrafts to make your own landscape or dolls house, scene or fairy garden.

I used the pink Styrofoam insulation for this, the one inch thick kind, but really almost any kind will do. 

The beauty of Styrofoam is how versatile it is. 

Not only can you shape it, but it takes paint as well, or as in the case of this chimney, glue sprinkled with sand gives it a completely realistic look.

Slicing it with a serrated knife is the easiest way to do the rough shaping, and finer work can be done with an Exacto knife. A rasp can take off the burrs, and sandpaper finishes it.

If you liked the look of more rounded stones, a small blow torch or butane lighter might give you enough melting to produce a very realistic effect.

Keep in mind that the little bits that shed off are extremely static and want to cling to everything. If this is an issue, keep a dryer sheet handy and wipe your hands on it periodically.

Cutting the shape of the chimney to make it in 'relief' or standing out from the background makes it more realistic.

The 'stones' are shaped with the end of a saw blade, or a screw will also work for this. 

When the aim is to make it look rustic, it's not necessary to have it perfect.  Leave the need for perfection behind.

A saw blade from a reciprocating saw worked well to cut out the stone shapes.

The final carved out shape is sealed with black acrylic paint, to stop the small debris from flaking off.

Each 'stone' is painted with a mix of white, silver and black to create the natural look of real stone.

Next, the whole chimney will be glued to the recycled table to make a porch vignette, complete with firewood, an apple harvest and a tiny broom.

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