Okay guys, I have made four book nooks at this point. I've learned a lot, but I still have so much to go. For my next book nook, I wanted to make it really great. It was something that seemed advanced for me. I hadn't done a lot of the things that would be required for this one, so it was going to stretch my skills. The book nook theme? Haunted Hallway.
The biggest thing with this book nook is that I did a LOT more research about diorama making. I went down some deep rabbit holes. Do I know way more about D&D and wargaming than I ever thought I'd know? Yes. Was all the hours of terrain building, miniature making, and XPS foam cutting I watched worth it? Also yes. So not only did I learn a lot of ways to make my book nooks better, I could also probably be a DM if I wanted (just kidding...).
Anywho, there were a few Youtubers that stood out to me and make some pretty incredible things. If you are interested, here they are:
Nerdforge - https://www.youtube.com/@Nerdforge
Black Magic Craft - https://www.youtube.com/@BlackMagicCraftOfficial
Tabletop Minions - https://www.youtube.com/@tabletopminions
Creative Cuts - https://www.youtube.com/@creativecuts7803
Random Making Encounters - https://www.youtube.com/@RandomMakingEncounters
After all my research, and a lengthy shopping list of crafty supplies, I felt more confident I could make this Haunted Hallway something, if not awesome, at least really great.
Inspiration
As far as inspiration for this one, the first one was simple: the changing of the seasons. The air is beginning to turn crisper, the days shorter, and spooky season is on its way. I wanted to make a haunted mansion or spooky themed book nook for a while now, but I knew it was something above my skill set when I was first starting out. Now that I feel more confident, however, I'm willing to give it a try. My second inspiration was this scene from the book I Spy, Spooky Night:
Can you find all the hidden objects?
Of course, my haunted hallway (really its a foyer, but the alliteration isn't there with "haunted foyer" now is it?) was not going to have all the "extra" things that they needed for the spying portion of the book. But I liked the gloomy, shadowy, spooky vibe it had going on.
Making a Model
I had made a prototype for my first book nook, and I think that had a lot to do with it's success. So for this one, I wanted to make a prototype first. Mostly because I would be adding interior walls, a staircase, and other elements in it. I need to get my measurements correct, so I took some extra foamboard that was lying around from my previous project and made a model:
Three photos of my foamboard model
Peep my husband in the background of the last picture :D Contrary to a lot of crafters, I do not have a dedicated space in our home for a studio or a desk (...yet). I usually take over the dining table when I have a few spare hours to work on it, and then clear it off and stuff it in a corner out of the way until I have time to work on it again. I have plans for making a portable work bench, but that's a post for another day...
The model itself, however, came out pretty good. I'll be using 1:12 scale dollhouse items for this nook, such as the staircase and door. Speaking of staircase, when I put it in I realized my prototype was about an inch bigger than I needed it to be, so I'm really glad I made the model first.
You can see the extra inch of space beside the stairs
I also planned to have the door cracked open to show a fireplace inside the interior room, similar to the I Spy photo. Once I got a 1:12 scale fireplace, though, I realized it was way too huge for the space I had. Even cutting it would not have worked, so I have to figure something else out for that room.
Not a great fit for the fireplace, even with cutting
That is where I am, now. I have my model figured out, so I am ready to start making the outside walls of the actual book nook. But first, a trip to my local craft store to get some items off of my new list...
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