Calling all Weird and Wonderful Magickal Brainstormers!

[moonberry]

I have Merlin (and his Griffin) and an un-allocated Willow Kit in my arsenal.

The Willow seems WAY too plain for all the magickal mayhem associated with a legendary wizard.

So I am appealing to your wildest imaginings for help!

I have in mind a tower somewhere in the structure: wacky, challenging the laws of physics and definitely very wizardly.

There needs to be a huge, dramatic and dangerous balcony without railings where he can gaze into the depths of whatever canyon will be wandering past that day

Griffin needs a built-in nesting space, landing platform included :velho:

I want to build an infinite library somehow

A potions laboratory and a magical instruments room

A round table for when disputing parties pop by for some advice

There will be a housekeeper to look after his basic needs and her working portion of the house will be relatively normal (I hope!) .

No ideas will be too wacky, trust me!

And if you feel there is a kit better suited to bashing than the Willow, let me know :queen:

[Caseymini]

Lene, it looks to me like you are pretty much on top of the whole thing. I mentioned rug tubes for towers the other day. I don't know what sizes they come in, but if you could talk a rug store out of one, they make great towers. Any house can be built on to and jazzed up. Just go for it! I can't wait to see what you come up with!

[havanaholly]

Casey took the words out of my mouth. A rug tube is generally long enough to get more that one tower out of (see where I'm going?) You can order some of our Don's spiral stair kits and build your balcony and dragon eyrie off the sides. You could build your library inside another tower, to the top, and use the top floors for the potions lab(in case Merlin blows off the roof) and magical instruments. If you make the towers tall enough you could build a swinging rope & plank bridge between them. You could possibly bash one or more fireplaces into secret entrances to the towers (thinking "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade", where he & his dad are tied back to back and find the fireplace swivels into a secret Nazi war room). You could make the rest of the house perfectly normal for the housekeeper, although the diningroom could have the round table for him to use for arbitration cases.

[Deb]

You could also use mirrors to create the infinity look which is just a totally cool effect. I love all your ideas, especially the dangerous balcony because wizards who have dragon friends aren't afraid of falling. It is handy to keep a fire extinguisher close by the dragon's quarters tho because, well, accidents happen.

If your wizard will have a work room, the floor could have a circle of some sort drawn in white to resemble salt.........a pentacle would be best but a plain circle will still give the illusion of a spell casting space. Sigals drawn into the floor and on the walls give a great magical look and you can use planetary symbols, zodiac signs or runes that are simple to draw or paint and look mysterious and magickal without actually invoking anything. Stained glass windows can also have sigals in them and are easy to print out on transparency sheets so you can make almost any kind of stained glass window your wizard desires.

Failed experiments and spells would be a fun addition to the house too.........like a closet or one of the smaller rooms stacked up with things that just didn't work out quite right. You could let your imagination run wild creating minis for something like that.

I like the Willow for a Wizard's house, especially if you add a tower. The chimneys are nice places to incubate dragon's eggs. This is going to be an exciting build Lene!

[LouMorgan]

My favourite magical circle is the sigillum dei aemeth, the original is in the British Museum and was used by Elizabeth the 1st's astrologer John Dee. For a dollshouse you could print on good paper and matt varnish to the floor.

http://smg.photobucket.com/user/star_traveler/media/2009%20Nov%2021%20Enochian%20Vision%20Class/Figure20TheSigillumDeiAemethpage55n.jpg.html

http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/online_tours/britain/enlightenment_religion/dr_dees_magic.aspx

[Polymermini2]

This infinite dungeon corridor is a little large, but how cool is this?

http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/16a2/?srp=1

[KariW]

In doing Hagrids house, I needed something round. So I made it out of a hat box. You could always stack some.

[KariW]

Also, Home Depot has cardboard tubes meant for cement pouring. They aren't expensive and you can get one as big as you need. They ship them too. I'll get the link for you. I was going to do Dumbledores office in one, but I ran out of space in my sons room. Lol it's perfect for your project. That way you can design around it.

Ok. Found it, but not computer savvy enough to attach a link. Lol looks like this one needs to be picked up, but at least if you have the name, you can google till you find one near you. They are common in construction, so it should be an easy local find.

[Debra from Olde Cape Cod]

Actually, that arch is only 9.5 inches high which would probably be about right for something like that. You could age the stone more to match what you're doing. And it's a cool thing!

[havanaholly]

Kari, Lene lives in Dubai, so I'm not sure how convenient Home Depot is to her. On the other hand some of the local rug merchants might be willing to part with an old rug tube.

[rackey]

Lene, two things came to mind when I was reading your post. The first was that you really have this project thought out. Now that you have the blueprints laid out in your mind, your imagination will figure out the rest.

My second thought was that you should really consult Kari, who I see has already answered you. You too seem to have like-minded characters to provide homes for.

As long as you continue to enjoy this project, it will turn out great no matter which house you decide to use. Good luck and have fun.

[LouMorgan]

My sister lives in Dubai, she says post is a nightmare over there. Severalthings I posted to her never arrived at all.

[moonberry]

You can order some of our Don's spiral stair kits and build your balcony and dragon eyrie off the sides.

Don has some amazing things on his website! If I use a cardboard tube, most of the stairs will be hidden and that would be a shame, as they are so elegant.

You could also use mirrors to create the infinity look which is just a totally cool effect. I love all your ideas, especially the dangerous balcony because wizards who have dragon friends aren't afraid of falling. It is handy to keep a fire extinguisher close by the dragon's quarters tho because, well, accidents happen.

If your wizard will have a work room, the floor could have a circle of some sort drawn in white to resemble salt.........a pentacle would be best but a plain circle will still give the illusion of a spell casting space. Sigals drawn into the floor and on the walls give a great magical look and you can use planetary symbols, zodiac signs or runes that are simple to draw or paint and look mysterious and magickal without actually invoking anything. Stained glass windows can also have sigals in them and are easy to print out on transparency sheets so you can make almost any kind of stained glass window your wizard desires.

Failed experiments and spells would be a fun addition to the house too.........like a closet or one of the smaller rooms stacked up with things that just didn't work out quite right. You could let your imagination run wild creating minis for something like that.

I like the Willow for a Wizard's house, especially if you add a tower. The chimneys are nice places to incubate dragon's eggs. This is going to be an exciting build Lene!

Whew - so many cool ideas *taking notes fast and furiously*........ I'll have to build in some real occult protection spells so that my dollhouse doesn't inadvertently open a door to another dimension and cause chaos (Terry Pratchett style.... heeheeheehee).

My favourite magical circle is the sigillum dei aemeth, the original is in the British Museum and was used by Elizabeth the 1st's astrologer John Dee. For a dollshouse you could print on good paper and matt varnish to the floor.

http://smg.photobucket.com/user/star_traveler/media/2009%20Nov%2021%20Enochian%20Vision%20Class/Figure20TheSigillumDeiAemethpage55n.jpg.html

http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/online_tours/britain/enlightenment_religion/dr_dees_magic.aspx

This is amazing - thank you! I also have a book, http://www.amazon.com/Astrology-Astronomy-CD-ROM-Dover-Electronic/dp/0486997340/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1402064208&sr=8-1&keywords=astrology+and+astronomy+dover and I plan on using quite a lot of the images in charts, books, scrolls, etc.

This infinite dungeon corridor is a little large, but how cool is this?

http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/16a2/?srp=1

I'll have to either buy this or find the correct angles to glue the mirrors to make my own...... what a STUPENDOUSLY AWESOME thing!!!!!

In doing Hagrids house, I needed something round. So I made it out of a hat box. You could always stack some.

While the carpet tube idea might work, I like the bigger circumference of the hatboxes to make bigger rooms. Which I conveniently have in my store room already (2 sets with 3 step-down sizes nestled inside). Just need to reinforce them to not buckle when I put furniture and stuff in there. Maybe add wooden floors underneath as a base and just use the walls with a bit of papier mache stone work on the outside to reinforce it. I do have some very thin plastic mesh (about 3 inch width) on a roll for fibreglass projects - that could work. How to connect them to the Willow - now that is the next challenge!

My sister lives in Dubai, she says post is a nightmare over there. Severalthings I posted to her never arrived at all.

Louisa, tell her to get an Aramex Shop & Ship account. She'll get a postal address in NY state (as well as in the UK, China, India, South Africa - great for global shopping!). They courier things to Dubai in 3-4 days (reasonable rates). I think the camels eat the mail. I once got my mom's Christmas card in June - aah well, the Dubai postal services do try, you know? I sometimes get personal mail sent to the US address too (like art swaps and stuff). Is your sister a dollhouse fan too?

[Dalesq]

Lene, I was thinking some type of Portcullis affixed to the front with tower turrets for your wizard or gryphon to cast or land.

Hahaha, on opening another dimension, yes do be careful please

I love that infinity corridor!

[Dalesq]

Something like this

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gate_House,_Bowood_Golf_and_Country_Club_-_geograph.org.uk_-_21363.jpg

[Caseymini]

Lene, in the Mini Time Machine mini museum, there is a fairy castle. It has a round room that is one of my favorite minis.

The room is a place where they teach baby dragons to fly. There is an instructor inthe center that turns round and round. He is holding a leash of sorts and a baby dragon is on the other end and flys in a circle around the room. Magical. The secret is a mechanism under the center of the floor that spins the instructor. In turn, the "leash" is a piece of very strong wire, bent so that it looks like it is loose and sags a bit in the middle. That holds up the baby dragon and he looks, for all the world, like he's flying... Now all you need is a motor, some wire, a baby dragon and an instructor...

[moonberry]

Casey, I wish I could see that! I do have my dragon keeper with his 5 dragons that also need a space. I might put them next to Merlin's fortress.

I measured my hat boxes. Biggest is about 13 and a half inches across and 9 inches tall. Middle one is 8 inches tall and about 12 inches across. Smallest box is only 7 inches high, so I'm not keen on using that one. So I have two of each size.

Would 4 stacked hatboxes be too much? I'm thinking of making outside stairs curving up the sides (without railings - take that, acrophobia sufferers!)

I could stack wide/narrow/wide/narrow to add more quirkyness to the build.

If I use thin plywood in between each box as a solid floor, do I need to add more reinforcement on the sides to help carry the weight? Maybe a few wooden columns disguised with clay stone work?

[Deb]

Actually, that arch is only 9.5 inches high which would probably be about right for something like that. You could age the stone more to match what you're doing. And it's a cool thing!

I was just thinking the same thing. For a large castle setting, a nine foot arch wouldn't be out of place at all. I'm loving it already! Think Geek is one of my favorite places to hang out and I've found several cool minis there (like the mini Stonehenge and the full mini office cubicle set).

I think the camels eat the mail.

<chuckling> My husband would agree with you. When he was in Kuwait he woke up one morning to a camel's head stuck thru the flap of his tent and the camel leisurely browsing thru his supply of MREs. It left him with a very low opinion of camels in general.

The secret is a mechanism under the center of the floor that spins the instructor. In turn, the "leash" is a piece of very strong wire, bent so that it looks like it is loose and sags a bit in the middle. That holds up the baby dragon and he looks, for all the world, like he's flying... Now all you need is a motor, some wire, a baby dragon and an instructor...

Oooooh! I know! As Halloween gets closer, start looking for some of the motion activated toys/decor that abound that time of year. I have several that use that same type of mechanism to make witches or bats or santa's reindeer fly around the top of houses and such. Most of them are affordable enough to be sacrificed for the greater good of a dollhouse by carefully cutting them open and removing the mechanism. You could still put the toy back together for show even if it doesn't animate anymore so it's not a total loss. The instructor might be a little harder to find. I haven't seen "dragon instructor" on a resume in a long time. Perhaps a fireman...............

[Caseymini]

The dragon instructor in question was one of a kind, done especially for the castle. A fireman sounds like a good idea. Maybe one that was holding a hose could be adapted.

[havanaholly]

If you can find the right height hatboxes you can stack them and cut away a section of the side of each (possibly hinge it to close for display) and stack them however high you want your tower to go. That way when it's open to play with you see Don's stairs, which will also show through the windows. I think a top tower room with a dozen round stained glass windows evenly spaced, each one featuring a different Zodiac sumbol, would be nifty.

[Deb]

When I did the 1:12 lighthouse for a friend (who uses it as a bookcase for his books about lighthouses), I did all three floors with paperclay to look like stonework and each one was a different moon phase....Maiden, Mother, and Crone. I did it to reflect the importance of the moon and tides as an outside-the-box nautical theme, but at the time I thought how cool it would be to do that for a wizard or witch's house. Stone floors are awesome with magickal things because of the earth element and with paperclay, you could do all kinds of designs to suit your wizard's needs. Aw, I just had a cute thought. You could do stone floors in the dragon's area and press the baby dragon's feet into the wet clay just like having a toddler put their handprints in the fresh patio cement.

[KariW]

Check with your local construction supply store for those tubes. It may be more structurally sound than stacking that many hat boxes. I didn't end up using it, but I believe it is reinforced too.

[Caseymini]

I just went back and looked at the infinity mirror website... As I read it, the 9 1/2" is the over all height of the structure.. That would make the door itself 7" or less. There are three steps leading up to it. Lene, get your mirrors out and start checking angles! It looks like you may have to build your own. I love the idea though.

[Caseymini]

I had to add this. I just went and put "building an infinity mirror" in msn. There were a lot of instructions. The first one was this. http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-An-Infinity-Mirror/ We don't need no wizards to build one. It looks pretty simple. At least this is a start!

[Caseymini]

You guys are always getting me into trouble with distractions. I went and put "infinity mirror" into You Tube search.. I still havent gotten to the end... It keeps telling me to "load more". I guess I am going to have to go back and look some more. What fun!!! LOL