traveling boxes

The green one is from last year and i've made the new ones in the same style. Different base color but with the same black plinth and interior decor. The mirror received a velvet lining, but besides that they all match.

bombé sidetable

She's finished now. All it needs is a final layer of wax and then some gentle buffing. Fortunately I have another three weeks to enjoy her cos I'm proud to tell you she'll be going abroad to her new owner. If the time permits i'll play around with it & try to make some better pictures.

Update; Here are some more pictures to be found; petitpunt And ofcourse pics in this post can be enlarged by clicking on them.

who can give me a hand?

Still working on the serpentine table. I'd come up with a design for the lower part between the legs. It will not only strengthen the legs, but it needs that to balance it all out too. At least, that's what I think. I carved the 4 supports for the middle section while on holiday (previous log). This weekend I turned the fruit bowl that will go in the middle and started carving the fruit on top.



I always knew I had I come up with a solution on how to make the 4 supports exactly fit between the legs. So while designing I figured I would make the ends of the 4 pieces surrounding the middle section circular. If the bowl in the middle would have a circular dimension vertically I could make it fit by just lowering or raising the bowl compared to the legs .



So far so good. But what kind of jig could do the job?? Keeping it all in position while fastening each support? While carving the fruit i let my head spin and all weekend I have been testing out all sorts of weird set ups. Elastic bands, sticky wax, wire... Non seem to be steady enough... or precise enough... Plus the realization I miss an extra set of hands, or two :-S



Finally this is what I've come up with; a primitive set up made out of card board. This seems to do the trick to keep all 5 parts in place while they are still loose. I will make the definite one out of wood once the fruit is done. I've got banana's and apples, gotta do some grapes as well :-P One hurdle out of the way... the fastening will be the next... brrr... who want's to give me a hand?

steady as it goes

I'm very pleased with the way this table is turning out. I cant wait to have it finished and set up a nice scene with it.

daylight bulbs vs the sun

There is lightning available that represent the whole spectrum of wavelengths that makes up for daylight. If you can get your hands on one of those, please give them a try cos they are really a great buy. Great to get you through the winter when daylight is spare. Or just when you feel the need for that little bit extra. I've used them often.



It's just recently I've found myself struggling with them. Only the intensity of daylight seems to be sufficient enough to do something miniature. Am I deteriorating... whahaha!? I guess my eyes are just no good enough anymore to cope with the strength those bulb provide, especially with carving. I've really tried but I'm preferring our sun now...



Now how lucky am I? It's this time of the year the season will make for longer and longer days! And the weather forecast for tomorrow here is sunny and 22˚C.... Yhippy. So to all living in the Netherlands; Enjoy! And to everybody, have a great weekend.

half stage

It has been a while since i logged about miniatures. Let me try to explain why.

Some of you may recognize this. When starting on a new project you sometimes know you will encounter unfamiliar issues. The fun part and real challenge (for me) is to find solutions for those problems. For instance; a joint you need to figure out or a new material you wanna use. For the most you can test things out and study the possibility's and limitations of what you wanna do or make, in advance.

So far so good, but sometimes you know you can't think things through all the way. Not knowing whether your design will succeed with the new material or if the new skills you wanna use will be satisfying. I've found there is only one way to find out; I just start... and see were it will bring me, relying on my knowledge & fantasy to figure out what ever comes my way.


This table is a good example of a project that has challenged me. The marble top i had lying around was the source for the idea to make a serpentine table. I cut 4 feet while I hadn't yet designed the curtains underneath the table top. I thought i would get inspiration while cutting the feet. Unfortunately I didn't. It has given me headaches all winter.


I have been struggling with a design for the skirting that would complement the feet, yet would follow the circumference of the marble top at the same time.

Fortunately I've lost the perfection paralysis i was suffering from and finally come up with a pleasing design. It's only half stage still but I've learned this winter I'm not as creative in solving (design) problems as I thought.

getting good at basketball

Still working on the side table... I didn't have a design for the skirting of the table, but I thought that putting on the cladding would get me going and give me some idea's... sad to say; it hasn't so far. So... no inspiration and thus not much progress. But I've done some.



The marble top isn't quite symetrical, so i had to pay attention for every curve in the wooden top to make it fit.



I intended to use vineer to clad the sides of the curves in the wooden tabletop. Unfortunatly that didn't work out so I had to come up with an other sollution.



I used little pieces of solid mahogany and filed it into shape to fit the curves of the top. So no bending desired. The advantage of this is the thickness of the wood; it gives me more then enough flesh to carve the skirting.



I have been drawing and sketching for a week now... turning the piece in my hands hoping to get into some sort of flow.... but I'm trowing the paper balls in the bin at the same speed :-) I'm increasing the distance every day and i'm still scoring!

sketching with sparrows

The feet are ready, and I took it all outside to enjoy the garden while working on the skirt underneath the marble top. In the meantime sparrows are having their hourly meeting in the trees. They seem to be having a heated discussion, ooh my, what a delicious noise! I wish I could speak sparrow now....






I want the skirting to follow the shape of the top. For that it needs sharp curves so I have to use thin maranti. To support it I've made a thick base, that is slightly smaller then the marble top. That way I can use the thick sides to clad the mahogany on.

making the most of a rainy day

Two years ago I'd bought a marble table top at a Doll's Houseshow in Arnhem. I liked it so much i figured i would make a table for it. But maybe you know how things can go...other jobs popped up, no inspiration etc... and it was stored away for a rainy day. And that day came yesterday. I figured I would put two and two together as i have a lot of stuff on my mind. And i have found carving very meditational and calming to do.




So i have started to carve a base for the top. 4 little serpentine legs with scroll feet... still in the dark about a lower shelf between the legs, but w'll see...