Wine Cellar
I made this wine cellar vignette for my husband's birthday in March 2004. He is a winemaker, so I tried to use his own wine labels as far as possible, but also from other wineries here in the Western Cape. The basic structure was made with 6mm Supawood (MDF), the stones with paper mache egg box, and the floor with Das Terracotta Airdry Clay.
I made the table from wood strips (the turned legs were bought), and made printies of magazines, books and wine boxes.
I made the table from wood strips (the turned legs were bought), and made printies of magazines, books and wine boxes.
I made the grapes and the wine jar from Fimo.
The wine racks, barrel supports and shelves were made with Walnut, and oiled with furniture oil before being glued in place.
The wine bottles in the wine racks (back wall) are cheap green plastic bottles that I have painted black (DecoArt Ultra Gloss Black). They are a bit out of scale, but are great fillers for the shelves. I shrunk some wine labels to 10% of the original size, and glued it to the bottles.
Most of the bottles on the left hand side shelves were made by "The Glass People" in France. Bill custom made the slim black bottles for me, after I put the life-sized bottle on my scanner and sent it with measurements, to be made by him! :-) Its a replica of the bottle used for the Vin de Paille here at the winery. He also custom made a wine tasting glass, and its truly a work of art.
Most of the bottles on the left hand side shelves were made by "The Glass People" in France. Bill custom made the slim black bottles for me, after I put the life-sized bottle on my scanner and sent it with measurements, to be made by him! :-) Its a replica of the bottle used for the Vin de Paille here at the winery. He also custom made a wine tasting glass, and its truly a work of art.
I struggled a bit to get the right colour for the wine in the glass. I mixed red and blue dye into the resin, but I got all the colours between pink and blue, definately not red wine! So in the end I used the resin only in the glass, and filled the bottles with real wine. I made tiny corks and glued it into the bottles. I hope they last!
The bottles on the bottom shelf, as well as the bottle with red wine on the barrel (next to the glass), were gifts from a friend, Estelle, in London. I think she bought it from a glass blower many years ago, they are really special.
The pewter goblets and grapes in a bowl (the "trophies"!) were made by Scott Kerkoski from Colorado. He really makes wonderful silver and pewter miniatures.
The pewter goblets and grapes in a bowl (the "trophies"!) were made by Scott Kerkoski from Colorado. He really makes wonderful silver and pewter miniatures.
The wooden barrels against the right-hand wall.
I wrote a tutorial on this project for American Miniaturist Magazine. It was published in the March 2005 issue, and included instructions for the whole project.
I wrote a tutorial on this project for American Miniaturist Magazine. It was published in the March 2005 issue, and included instructions for the whole project.