Note To Readers

In case you are arriving here from a link, we want to let you know that we have moved to a new blog+website, and changed our work name from A Pagan Dollhouse to Ashe Dolls. At this moment, our shop is closed, but we are considering re-opening it soon, so if you want to stay updated, please click on the link below and add yourself as a follower. Thanks!

TO VISIT THE NEW BLOG, CLICK HERE.

We’re Moving!

This blog is moving to a new location on Blogger, so please update your links! We have been thinking about this for a while; most miniature bloggers are using this platform, and it has some advantages that WordPress doesn’t have that are very useful. I have used Blogger before, and I know for sure that the service is nowhere as good as the one I’ve had with WordPress for years but oh well, we are doing what we think it’s best for our readers and for our business. So, without further ado, please visit us at:
A PAGAN DOLLHOUSE

A New Project: La Venta Roombox

Our first dolls house, the one that started our love for 1:12 scale miniatures, is being built using a discarded victorian mansion we were given from another miniaturist, who had to leave it unfinished due to lack of space. Though this is a fascinating and definitely challenging task, we’ve been wanting to start building pieces from scratch, to learn more about the designing process, and also because the house is a long term project and sometimes you need a little something else to work on when inspiration runs dry.

A Venta is the Canarian version on your farmside shop. A very small place, with just enough space for fresh produce from the farm, and usually a small table to stop by and have a quick refreshment of local wine and a bit of goat cheese. We have used this kind of space as an inspiration, because we are not historic reconstructionists, so there will be some beauty-for-its-own-sake; but the colours, the construction style and many references will be true to our own environment and the spaces we grew with.

On the pics below you can see how the process is coming along. We will keep updating this process with new posts as the project grows, and with the hope of inspiring you to create one too! As you can see, the construction is almost entirely made with fine arts cardboard, a type of cardboard I have always used for painting with acrylics that is 3 mm. thick and very sturdy. I’m sorry but I don’t know the english name for this! After designing it, we copied all patterns and measures and I’m very happy I did, because I already know I will make this project again.

Walls were painted and aged, burnt orange outside and white inside, and the floor was completely handpainted, tile by tile, imitating the floor from our own studio.



Windows and doors are also reproductions of our own, since our house is about a century old. The inner side has two doors as one is for the storage room, an extension we will add after the roombox in finished, but that had to be added from the start (oh the joys of planning from zero!). On that second pic you can also see the little hinges, made grom glued beads, and the door knobs, made from brass beads and filigrees. Both doors and windows will be fixed in place, to avoid them from eating space from an already small piece.


The first window was made and added, after some struggle I have to say, and that is all for now! Hopefully today I will finish the second window and glue the pieces together – after three days working with it, I can’t wait to see how it looks.

More New Listings

A Starving Artist’s Lunch


As a self-employed artist since my late teens, I have had this same lunch many times myself! Starting with a destash miniature set of plates and cups that I purchased, I was inspired to make some really humble food, food that a Canarian family would eat any day, since tin plates like these ones were very popular here 50 years ago and they are still in use today. This set would be perfect in the kitchen of your cottage, on an artist’s studio, on a cabin, or anywhere where you want to add a rustic scene.

This set contains:
- One red metal plate with one fried egg and fried potatoes;
- One red metal bowl with vegetables & chicken soup;
- One bread, cut in two parts;
- One napkin – the thread ring can be cut to iron the napkin and re-shape it at your desire, as it is hemmed on all sides; it can be used as a placemat too.
- One red metal cup of black coffee sprinkled with cinnamon;
- A pewter fork, knife and spoon.

Table is NOT included. All items are loose so you can arrange them as you please. This listing is for one set, but there is another one available. In case you want to purchase the two sets together, please let me know so I can update the quantity of the listing. Cup, plates and cutlery are commercial pieces – the rest is completely handmade.

Gone Wildharvesting


A handwoven, unique basket made with handpainted jute string and hand-dyed lace, filled with witchy treasures! Wildharvesting is a passion for us, so I’m sure that there will be more of these baskets in the future! This is a One Of A Kind piece containing:
- Two roses, for love spells;
- Three marigolds, for healing;
- Three purple poppies, for enchanting;
- Three branches of sage, for making incense;
- Moss, to fill magickal poppets;
- Three eggs and five plums, because a Witch has to eat .

All items are fixed in place. Table is NOT included. Size: 4 cms long / 2,5 wide / height 3 cms – 1,5 inches long / 1 inch wide / height 1,2 inches.

Herbal Magick Book


Gorgeous herbal book with 16 botanical prints of herbs related to herbal healing and magick. The book is wrapped in fabric, with gold paint ornamentation, aged and distressed to mimic a heirloom volume. Each book comes with an aged thread marker, and can be opened for display on any page. Perfect for your witchy house! The list of herbs on the book, starting on page 1, are: Aconitum, Ginger, Mistletoe, Amanita Muscaria (not a herb I know, but it had to be added!), Worwmwood, Rowan, Sage, Belladona, Cannabis, Rue, Rosemary, Cinnamon, Jimsomweed, Mandrake, Snapdragon and Fennel.

Table is NOT included. The listing is for ONE book – but, If you want more than one book, there are three available with the same cover, and more can be made at request since this is our own design. Size: 2,5 cms tall / 2 cms wide / spine 0,4 cms – 1 inch tall/ 0,7 inches wide/ spine 0,1 inches.

Arepas With Avocado Sauce


An arepa is a typical dish on most Latin American countries, but they are really popular here due to the strong inmmigration to Venezuela that Canarians had to go through after the civil war. My grandparents and their three sons lived in Venezuela several years during the sixties, so this is another dish that is eaten regularly in my family.

An arepa is a corn dough bun that is fried or baked in the oven (these are fried), and then cut in half and filled with many different ingredients depending on each country’s customs. This set has two arepas filled with goat cheese, two with chicken and avocado sauce (called “reinas pepeadas”, crowned queens) and two filled with shredded meat in cummin sauce (called “carne mechada”), which are the three more popular types of arepas here in the islands. The six arepas are presented on a metal tray, and a dish of extra avocado sauce goes on the side to make them even more yummy. An exotic touch to any kitchen arrangement, for your restaurant, or simply to treat your dollhouse with some Latin food love! Table is NOT included. All items are loose so you can arrange them as you please; the spoon is glued to the plate of sauce.
Size:
Tray is 4,5 cms long/ 2,5 cms wide; plate is 1,5 cms wide.
Tray is 1,7 inches long/ 1 inch wide; plate is 0,5 inches wide.

You can find all these items at Gypsy Minis.

New Items Listed!

Set of three acrylic perfume bottles in original boxes designed by us in Photoshop using Tudor-era illustrations – there are only three sets available as the bottles are vintage and it was the last set the supplier had. The bottles have been painted, varnished and labelled, and the boxes have been aged outside and inside for a lovely vintage look and sprayed with UV fixative to protect the design. Each set contains a bottle+box of rose cologne, rosemary cologne and violet cologne.
Size:
Bottles – 1,6 cms / 0,65 inches tall.
Boxes – 2 cms tall x 1 cm wide / 0,8 inches tall x 0,4 inches wide.

Set of three EMPTY boxes, same as above, to decorate your perfume shop, your dollhouse’s bathroom/boudoir/bedroom, etc. The boxes are glued and cannot be opened, but since the design is ours, we can make them open at your request.
Size:2 cms tall x 1 cm wide / 0,8 inches tall x 0,4 inches wide.

Reproduction paintings on aged brass frames and of course protected by several coats of UV fixative and even more coats of what we call “glass varnish”, which gives a resin-like finish really suitable for this type of miniatures. These can also be made at request with your choice of paintings, as long as you provide us with a good resolution image. Soon we will have more frame shapes available.
Size Including Frame: 5,5 x 4,5 cms / 2,2 x 1,8 inches.

Custom Work: Witchy Planter

A lovely customer from the US purchased one of our planters and asked if we could fill it with her fave witchy plants. She specifically asked for mandrake, henbane and sage, so after agreeing on a price we started working on it. Today it will be flying to her!

For every plant, a specfic painted paper was created, to mimic the natural colour of each plant as much as possible. Paper for the flowers was also made, imitating watercolour paint. There is so much detail that the camera doesn’t capture, like yellow and brown spots on many leaves, and the white dotting that happens to sage leaves.


Being an avid gardener of witchy plants myself, this has been one of the most enjoyable works I have done in a while, despite the fact that we cut over 200 leaves by hand. Here’s a sage leaf on Fernando’s finger, so you get an idea of how tiny they are!

And here’s Lola, helping me show the scale of the planter and the herbs.

I always try to make more than one of each item we make, so you can expect more of these plants to be available individually as soon as the pots I’ve ordered have arrived, which hopefully will happen in a couple of weeks. And, if you want any kind of custom work, please contact us!

Lola Is Finished

Hand-dyed and handsewn trousers with red ornamental stitching on sides, lower end and back pockets. Cotton blouse, braided belt and matching headband. Her shoes are painted and ornamented with silver bead spacers. She also wears matching earrings and ring, made with 1 mm rhinestones. I love her!


Right now I’m working on our first custom order – making witchy plants to fill one of our planters – but there’s a new batch of listings coming very soon: plants, a gorgeous kitchen cupboard and a few more surprises. Stay tuned by subscribing on the right column!