In my exploration of the realm of crafting miniatures, I encountered a niche called book nooks. These little dioramas fit into boxes not much taller and about twice as wide as a hardcover book. I was smitten.

Although it goes against the grain, I decided to learn the techniques by building a kit or two using the materials and instructions provided. Mirrors, angles, lighting – all this is new to me.

My First Book Nook Kit

I thought you would enjoy a glimpse into my book nook learning journey. The first kit I ordered was called Colmar Fairy Town. The instructions take some deciphering but it’s important to trust them and assemble the parts in the order described. I wish I’d taken a photo of the raw materials to show you. At least you can see how the flowers and greenery started out.

*The kit gave me plenty of “flowers” and green sponge. I have enough left to do it all again.*

crafting of elements — *Assembling the elements was so much fun.* *The arched window frame on the pink wall (lower right) was missing from my kit so I made two flower baskets to fill the wall space instead.*

Over and over I was impressed by the engineering involved in this little kit. The precision of the laser cut pieces made them a joy to work with.

Stages

My favourite steps were the assembly of all the small elements. They fit together perfectly. To use them, though, I had to construct the framework – left wall, back, bottom and front frame. Then came the false bottom with an upward slant , mimicking perspective, and the mirror in the back on an angle. I loved the reflection of the left wall, but that view is never seen once the book nook is finished. Ever. Sigh.

*Left wall, front frame with a slot for the battery pack drawer, false bottom, mirror.* *Electrical in place (Jim to the rescue).*

*The elements installed on the left wall.* *By the way, the stonework is all paper cut out by me and glued to small blocks of wood.*

*Here you can see half of the ceiling in place, the window box, and the hanging baskets I devised to fill the bare wall.*

Modifications

I wasn’t fond of most of the prints provided so I replaced them with my own, including a different outer cover and name. I printed my new images on satin 88-lb paper but that wasn’t the best choice since I had to paint every cut edge. At this scale they appeared as white lines. 24 lb matte paper was better.

Here is a summary of the changes I made.

designed new leather texture, roof tiles and graphics for the outer shell covering; printed them on better quality paper
replaced all the cartoonish window scenes with images I found online, sized, printed and cut to match the originals
one arched window frame was missing so I improvised by creating two clay pots with flowers to hang on the blank wall
omitted the curtains since I know from experience that these almost never end up being satisfactory at such a small scale
printed and painted a 3D print lamp post
replaced several of the signs with typography that had better readability
searched for an ambigram for the cake shop sign since it can only be seen in the mirror and I didn’t like seeing the name reflected backwards

Here is the book nook with the final wall ready for installation. I almost hated to put it together since this scene is so entrancing from the side view. The terrace by the water’s edge is perfect for sipping a beverage and reading a book. I wonder if the coffee shop delivers.

The Finished Book Nook

I did this project in the slow month of January. It took countless hours, most of them enjoyable and satisfying. This was such an engaging project with so many small details that I love. The worst thing about it – the lighting is amateurish. Also. I made a bit of a hash of assembling the box.

To summarize, this was an excellent learning experience, exactly what I was hoping for. It would have taken me years to figure out how to accomplish all of this on my own. However I don’t actually recommend that you buy the Colmar Fairy Town kit. The amount of fiddly work involved might put you off miniatures forever. (My next kit, called The Eternal Bookstore is definitely worth recommending. Stay tuned for a post about that in a few weeks, I hope.)

My hands-on book nook education is far from finished but already I’m looking forward to the days when I start creating my own designs.

Grace and peace to all of you, my friends!

My Grace and Peace book nook has brought me much joy. I hope it brings a smile to you too!

You might enjoy knowing that Colmar is actually a place in Alsace, France.
The book nook designers did a good job of capturing the essence of this “fairy tale” location.

2 Comments

Cori on April 22, 2023 at 7:28 pm

I love the joy-you anagram you found…talk about attention to detail. You certainly have it. ????

Seeing your scene for a bookcase reminded me I once made a painting for a friend. It had one edge painted like a book so it could slip into a bookcase. I put their name on the binding as the author. It was a painting of a ‘little library’ they had built, stocked and installed on a post in their yard. The painting is now a ‘coffee table painting’ for their home.
Susan on April 22, 2023 at 5:03 pm

Beautiful!!! Karen-could something be brewing for a Christmas scene??? Would look exquisite!