I recently rearranged my bookcase and found I had a little space between my fiction and nonfiction sections that needed a little something. I've always been fascinated by miniatures and tiny hidden worlds so I wanted to make my own.

Something I love about this kind of project is that you can follow my steps, but adapt them in many different ways. Be creative with the elements you include and the arrangement of things to create your own tiny world.

Supplies

Pictured above are some of my supplies for this project, but not all.

The essentials for the project:

2 sheets of 12x12 chipboard- the thickest I could find at the craft store(if I did it again, I'd buy 3 at least)
1 sheet of green filler. I found this with the fake plants. It is for adding to the bottom of your fake plants to look like grass or moss.
Air-dry clay- I have Crayola brand
Bag of moss- for flower arranging. This is real moss that comes dyed in lots of colors. I picked the closest to realistic.
LED String lights
Acrylic paint
Hot glue/glue gun
Craft glue
1/4" craft foam, I used for the stepping stones. These could have been sculpted from air dry clay, but the foam was faster
Fake flowers
Exacto knife
Scissors
Clay scultping tools
Paintbrushes (just a nice flat brush will work)

Also pictured is a miniature picnic table that I didn't end up using, but check out your craft store's miniature section for inspiration.

Step 1: Cut Pieces

I made my book nook a L shape to give the illusion that it continues around the corner. The cutout was measured to fit a common paperback, but I recommend measuring the book you will place next to it for accuracy. You could also increase the wall height to reach the top of the shelf it's on. I just didn't buy enough chip board to do that.

I cut the card stock into the following sizes:

Left side panel- 9 1/2" x 8 1/2"
Back panel- 4 1/2" x 8 1/2"
Right side panel (back)- 3"x 8 1/2"
Right side panel (small facing front)- 1 1/2" x 8 1/2"
Right side panel (front)- 5 1/2" x 8 1/2"
Bottom- it's a 9 1/2" x 4 1/2" rectangle missing a 5 1/2" x 1 1/2" rectangle from the lower right.

Next, cut the green grass shape for the ground. I just laid the bottom chipboard piece of the back of the grass, scored it with an Exacto knife and then cut with scissors.

Step 2: Assemble Chipboard

Attach the left and back sides to the bottom with hot glue.

I wanted to leave the right side open to make it easier to reach all the pieces. So, to glue them into the right shape, I taped them in place with masking tape and only hot glued the sides where they connected to each other. (see video for an example). Then remove the tape for two separate pieces, as in the second picture.

Paint both pieces black.

Mushroom Forest Book Nook - Step #2
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Step 3: Install the Grass

This material has lots of different layers. I just used a small amount of hot glue to tack it in place. Then, I cut some small scraps of chipboard and bent them into a V shape. I used these Vs to prop up parts of the grass to make a small hill.

The open sides will be covered by the right side of the box eventually.

Once the grass is in the shape you like, you may want to add a bit more hot glue anywhere it feels loose.

Step 4: Sculpt the Bridge

I made a small bride shape from craft foam and chipboard scraps to function as the armature for the stone bridge and test fit it in place. Then, I covered this in a thin layer of air-dry clay.

I used a clay sculpting tool to add brick lines.

Step 5: Sculpt Other Items

Using air-dry clay, I sculpted tree trunks and mushrooms. In hindsight, a wire armature for both would have made assembly go smoother. I might also recommend sculpting the mushrooms as one piece, not two like I did here.

I cut small rectangles from craft foam for the stepping stones. I then just used scissors to cut the corners off the rectangles to give it a more organic stone shape.

Step 6: Base Paint Clay

Once the air-dry clay pieces have fully dried (this took about 24 hours for me), paint them in a base color. I used black for the bridge, dark brown for the trees, and dark gray for the mushrooms. I wanted the mushrooms to end up with a muted color, so if bright mushrooms are your preference, I'd recommend a slightly dark version of your desired end color.

Step 7: Paint the Bridge

Because I used such a thin layer of clay on the bridge, it cracked when dry, as you can see in the first picture. But this isn't a problem! I wanted a weathered looking bridge, so it just added to that effect. I hot glueda couple of pieces back in place before adding the black base coat.

I then drybrushed a dark gray to add highlights (second picture). I put just a tiny amount of paint on my brush, brushed most of it off on a piece of paper, and then lighted brushed it on the edges of the "stone".

Repeat the process with a lighter gray, using even less paint.

Step 8: Drybrush Trees

Using the same technique as I did for the bridge I dry brushed layers of paint on the tree trunks. I added a layer of brown that was a little lighter than the base coat and then a layer of brown with a little bit of yellow ochre.

I then used a wash of a tiny bit of black paint mixed with water to add in some shadows.

Step 9: Paint the Mushrooms

I used the same technique to paint the mushrooms this time starting with a brown/yellow ochre mix and gradually adding more yellow ochre and red.

I intentionally left some of the gray showing through, but you could defintiely cover that if you wanted more vibrant mushrooms.

Step 10: Paint the Stepping Stones

The stones were so small that, to paint them, I made a loop of masking tape and stuck them to it to hold them in place.

They were painted with two coats of black as a base coat and then the same colors as the bridge.

Step 11: Begin Assembly

Hot glue your items in place. To attach trees or other items that will be on the right wall, I held the right wall in place and checked the fit for the tree, then removed and glued in place.

Step 12: Add Moss

Add in small pieces of moss wherever you like. I strategically place some to cover any imperfections and tried to replicate how moss and lichen grow on real trees. I used hot glue for large pieces and craft glue for very small pieces to keep from burning my fingers.

Step 13: Add Stepping Stones

Hot glue in stepping stones. I tried to wiggle these down into the grass a bit and then added a little moss on and around them to make them look like they have been there a while.

Be sure to check that they go around any trees attached to the right side wall.

Step 14: Add the Canopy

I picked out some of the larger, fluffier pieces of moss and hot glued them to the top of the trees.

I recommend putting a little less than you intend to have at the end of the project. This will give you space to cover the wires in the next step.

Step 15: Add Fairy Lights

I stuck in the LED lights, working in a circle around the model. In many places, I bent the wire to put more lights next to each other, as pictured. Where possible, I hid the wire behind objects. In other places, I hot glued a bit more moss on top to hide the wire.

In the third picture, you can see that I tried to add as many lights as possible around the corner so that it is bright in the back once it's all assembled.

You will need to glue on the right side during this step and carefully add lights to that side as well.

Step 16: Install

Now, simply place the finished book nook on your shelf and arrange your books around it. The light string I used was very long, so I just ran the wire behind the books and to a convenient location.

Finally, of course, take lots of beauty shots!