Shadowbox - Miniature Summer House in Mykonos

My family and I have always wanted to visit the Greek Isles, but a planned trip was aborted due to the global lockdown in 2020. I couldn't shake that off my mind, so I did the next best thing & made a miniature model, in the form of a shadowbox that I could hang up a wall. The project got me reading up references to make my reproduction at least a bit authentic. Maybe someday, I can take this with me to the real thing. Everything was made from scratch, except the 3 wall lamps beside the doors.

Supplies

I sourced everything I used from the art/crafts section of department stores as well as hobby shops. For base colors, I use cheap acrylic craft paint, which are good for primer & dry brushing highlights. For detailed color work, I used acrylic colors from hobby shops since they have a more concentrated pigment, and are also great for diluting to use as a thin wash, all techniques I will explain later. I also used colored pencils to add shade or tints as needed.

For sticking parts, I used white glue, complemented with CA superglue. A box cutter to make large cuts and an X-Acto knife for detail work. There's also wire cutters, jewelry pliers & various sized brushes.

For materials, I used a project foam board, the 1/2 inch for the main structure & 1/4 for slabs. I used egg cartons to make the stone work, floral wire to make the tree, dried grape stalks and dried plant roots for the tree branches, and air dry clay to bulk up the tree trunk. I used a discarded kitchen sponge to make the pink flowers, dried roots, natural fibers & dried oregano to make the vine foliage. Discarded paper towel core was used for the roof shingles.

I did use a Cricut Maker 3 to cut the grilles, doors and windows, but with practice even hand-cut parts would still look decent in this scale.

I always use best practices for safety. Goggles, a carbon-filtered mask and gloves when working with the glue accelerator and spraying the acrylic sealer.

Step 1: Base Structure & Box Frame

I’m not much into drafting, so I drew the plans in Affinity Designer. Since this is a 1/32 scale model, I divide the actual human dimensions by 32 & used centimeters so it's easier to compute decimally. I also bought a 1/32 scale figure as a visual guide. I then print the actual-sized plans & use it to trace & cut from the foam board. I peel off the paper backing then joined the cut pieces with white glue to make the base structure & fit it in the 9x7 inches box frame. I then coat with Modge Podge sealer as primer. After that it’s weathering the 'walls' with a light gray dry brush, then blending to soften with colored pencil.

Step 2: Stone & Brick Work

I made my stonework from an egg carton. I've tried other materials, but nothing beats the texture and ease of cutting. I cut the tiles making sure it's on scale. I apply Modge Podge to seal it and prevent it from disintegrating from the wet paint and washes.

I then apply spackling compound & level them with a spatula, kneading the excess compound from the stone tiles & into the recesses. After drying, I started my palette of 3 earth colors & paint the stones, leaving a few unpainted gray tiles. I then 'age' the colors by applying a thin wash of acrylic white.

Then it's on to the 3 brick slabs, 1 by the front door and 1 each in the two windows. Each slab is half of the 1/4 foamboard thicknes. Then I scored the individual ‘bricks’ into the slabs using a micro stylus. I then dry-brushed acrylic terra cotta color to the raised surface, careful not to color into the white recesses. I then painted brown on alternate bricks, and lastly applied a thin wash of white color to dull & age them. The part of the slab that faces front was also detailed.

Step 3: Roof

For the first row of roof shingles, I used plastic tubing that I first sliced then cut in half. Then I superglued them into a styrene strip to hold them in place before going to the roof edge. The first row would guide the cardboard shingles that come after it. The rest of the shingles were cut from discarded paper towel core that I would then cut into the strips into a shape of a tapered cylinder & bend them by pressing them on a pen body then dipping them into a puddle of thick glue before assembling them on the roof.

I would again brush Modge Podge for paint protection, wait to dry, then apply terracotta color. Then I enhanced the shadows & definition by first using a diluted dark brown wash, focusing on the recesses. After that I would randomly apply a light gray wash to portions of the roof, and maybe a bit of green to hint of damp mossy recesses. After that, a diluted white & beige wash would add a patina to the whole thing.

Step 4: Architectural Elements

I made the doors, windows & grilles from styrene sheets cut in Cricut Maker. I then painted them, and made sure I also painted the other side, because I'm using acrylic mirrors & they would reveal any unpainted area in the reflection. The design of the window and terrace grilles were based on Greek ionic columns & they were repeated in the table legs and shelf brackets,

I made the big lamp by the tree and the overhead lamp by the front door from a small syringe, some jewelry part, mini grommet, and other found objects. The other lamps beside the door are dollhouse lamps from a hobby store. The dollhouse lamp came with a bulb, but I cut individual bulbs from a cheap string light for my scratch-made ones. I cut a fancy lamp base from styrene, and finally I run the wires to the back of the frame.

Step 5: Vegetation

I made the tree from twisted floral wire, starting with a bunch of wire, then separated them as they branched out and upward. I also spread out the bottom to serve as the root base. I then added air dry clay and formed the tree to 'frame' the house. After that, I coated it with rubber latex to add bulk and even out the wire twisting. After it dried, I added dabs of sculpting paste to introduce the bark texture. I then colored the tree, using the same technique I use for the roof, making sure each application was dried before the next. First the beige as wood color base, then a dark brown wash that defined the recesses and the tree bark. Then I use dry brush to brush on the raised surfaces this time.

TIP for a successful dry-brush technique: wipe the brush from any excess water, then dip into undiluted paint, and dab it into a paper towel until it's almost dry. When you brush it on the area, you should only see hints of color that builds up as you brush it. If the brush is not dry enough, paint would seep into the dark recesses. In summary, I use a dark diluted color wash to fill in the recesses & define the SHADOWS, and I used dry brush to pick up the HIGHLIGHTS. If I ruined some of the shadows with my highlights, I bring it out again by applying another dark wash.

Now that I have the colored tree trunk, I secure it to the ground, and glue portions of it to the box frame & roof using CA glue. Now I add more detailed branches, using dried stalks from grapes or dried roots from plants that I cleaned beforehand. It also helps to dip your dried plants in glycerine to preserve & make them pliable to work on. I attached the branches using superglue, but because it's not as instant as it should, I use a glue accelerator. So I dip one part in a small puddle of glue, then put a drop of glue accelerator to the other part. Contact should only be a few seconds. Since the added branches are darker than the tree trunk, I color to match it before adding the foliage.

TIP: I find that a puddle of glue in a small saucer & toothpick are the best way to apply superglue dots on detail work.

Now it's on to foliage & flowers. For the foliage, I painted the branch tips with green first so the brown doesn't show up through the leaves. Then I applied undiluted white glue for the foliage that's sitting on the branches. I add clumps of foliage one at a time. Once I’m done with the main foliage, I turn to the foliage that's hanging under the branches, and for this I use superglue and accelerator. I also added growth shoots near the tree roots. For the tree roots, I added detail with air dry clay. Then I painted everything to match, and added dark brown clay as ground material to the root base.

TIP: if you want to make your own foliage, just use poly filling for pillows & dip them in various green shades. Then tighten them into close clumps before spraying with acrylic sealer.

Now for the flowers, I used discarded kitchen sponge that I cut into fine bits before adding in an undiluted acrylic pink color. I also added an acrylic retarder to avoid drying it out quickly and letting the pigment seep into the sponge bits. I made another batch of a lighter pink color for the top flowers. After it's completely dry, I attach then in the same way I applied the foliage.

After I was happy with the tree, I sprayed it carefully with an acrylic spray sealer to set the foliage and flowers in place. I wait to dry then add another coat.

Step 6: Final Details

I fashioned the plant pots from found objects & plastic tubing, then painted them a terra cotta color. For the potted plants, I took from my dried plant collection, colored them as needed, added dark brown clay for potting soil, then colored powdered bits for flowers, then I sprayed them with a sealer.

For the table, the top & legs were cut from styrene sheet, and the pattern was a Greek-inspired design printed on photo paper. The chair was made from styrene as well, and the cushion from foam board that was scribed with texture, faithfully capturing the essence of a Greek Taverna chair.

As a final touch, I added light weathering & rust staining, from the house down to the architectural elements. Then I cleaned up the foliage parts that were fuzzy & sprayed acrylic sealer to set everything, but covering the mirrored doors & windows. Because that added a slight shine on everything, I randomly painted matte sealer to bring back the natural finish of the surfaces.