the Naturalist's Curiosity Cabinet...

I created my curiosity cabinet in the new and adorable Millinery Cabinet 1:12 Scale because I really loved the cabinet, but I'm not really into making hats ;)

I think it worked out nicely using the Cabinet of Curiosities collage sheet I designed just for this project...

 The collage sheet has Riker Mount drawers to put together so that you can fill in the cubbies with drawers if you want (although you will need two collage sheets to make enough drawers to fill all 16 of the cubbies). I used Small Antique Brass Suitcase Handles on the drawers, for handles, and it was pretty easy to do. I took photos as I added the handles so I could show you just how I did it...

 I cut out and scored my drawers, but didn't fold or glue them. I then cut a long thin strip of cardstock to reinforce the area where the handle would be mounted.

 I glued a small piece of the strip to the back of each drawer.

 It took 8 sets of the Small Antique Brass Suitcase Handles to cover all 16 drawers. I used a pair of flat nose jewelry pliers to carefully bend the loop part, on the ends of the handles, so they were less curved. They should look like the bottom handle in the above photo.

 Then I measured a drawer to find the center...

laid a handle in position...

then poked holes with a pointy tool.

 Next I laid a handle over the holes and inserted a headpin through each hole. The headpins I used were just some cheep bronze ones I had in my stash with large enough heads.

 Using my pliers I bent the wires on the back of the drawer as close as I could to the drawer without creasing the paper.

 I twisted the two wires together to keep them in place. You could glue or tape them down, with masking tape, if you didn't want to twist them together.

 Here's what the handle should look like when you finish.

After you fold and glue your drawer together, you may need to use a marker to cover the score marks on the edges of your drawers. The Distress Marker - Hickory Smoke is a perfect match.

Here's a bird's eye view of my cabinet so you can see some of the curiosities I used. The bones in the Mini Red Shadowbox are from a real mouse skeleton! I love the tiny mushrooms growing in a mossy pot under a glass dome.You could make your own curiosity cabinet as creepy or as scientific as you'd like, as it's all just a matter of what you like to collect.

Here's a view with my hand to show scale... 

Yes, that is a giraffe skull on the bottom left side. It's from an educational toy set made by Safari Ltd, I aged it with a bit of acrylic paint. I've also used tiny seashells, a miniature handmade bird nest and that wonderful owl statue made by Reutter Porzellan. If you'd like to know more about the other things I've used to create my cabinet you can view my supply list here.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope I have inspired you to go make you own miniature curiosity cabinet!