One of my son’s all time favourite movie’s is Leon - The Professional. So with a family decision having been made to institute ‘thriftmas’ rules this past Christmas, (we decided that the bulk of our gifts from now on should be made or purchased through kijiji or other market places, antique or thrift shops etc. in an effort to reduce our consumer footprint) I knew I had to give this a shot.
On the old site, the incredible @Knickertwist posted this - https://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=433566.0 amazing project. I knew I wanted it to be bigger than a matchbox as I wanted him to be able to display it in his room. His walls are fairly lacking in art or decor.
I purchased an old wooden box with a padded insert on the top, which I cut out, and got to work. The bricks were made from egg carton which I glued down and painted.
I’m the worst at remembering to take pictures in progress sooooo . . . yeah . . moving along to the finished result lol
I used a miniature doll house table from the dollar store which I cut down and in half for the chest against the wall. Air dry clay for the plant pot and milk carton. A miniature from Michaels was painted for the Madonna. The glass of milk came from a little plastic piece I altered and painted the interior with a glue and paint mixture. The ‘wall paper’ on the window wall was made with textured scrap book paper which I stained with tea. (I should have taken better pics of this ) Here’s a picture of the leftover paper I used.
I painted the walls with layers and variations in colour to give that ‘old chippy, too many coats in an old building look’. I think there’s more I could have done but since it will almost always be viewed from a window closed perspective I decided against making things too busy.
In the end, my son seemed very happy with it and it sits beside his monitor where he can see it as he plays his online games. I think that means it was a success.
Thanks @Knickertwist for the inspiration to create this project! You’re the best!
Oh my gosh, I absolutely thought knicker had posted this throw back herself until I opened up the topic for a better look. You did amazing! What an excellent miniature scene, I just love it.
It’s the first time I tried the egg carton - brick method and it worked out very well! The carton gives a nice old textured look so you’re half way there to start!
Thanks, it was a great Christmas gift exchange where everyone kept saying “I can’t believe you found that or made that for me!” I think everyone really felt like people went out of their way to make it a special Christmas and we saved money and were more planet friendly while we were at it!
So cool! I Love Leon as well, even called my own son up after it (because nobody else liked the other three names I had in mind).
I saw the matchbox room back in the day and always loved the thought of making something similar myself and seeing your larger one really makes me want to watch the movie again.
I think you put it together really well, I love the brick work! Great job with the whole thing
This is wonderful! I think there are just the right amount of details going on. I am unfamiliar with this movie, but am going to look it up! I also love your family’s “thriftmas” idea!
The only thing you have to be aware of is using the ‘right’ side of the carton to face outwards. Egg cartons are made from pressed paper pulp, so one side often has a light weave or pattern effect pressed into. The opposite side makes perfect brick texture though!
) Here’s a picture of the leftover paper I used.
