How it's Made: French 18th Century Fireplace

This tutorial will show you how to make an 18th century French style fireplace. You will need:

one standard length of 3mm thick bass wood (bass wood is available in most craft stores);
one standard length of .75mm card;
Small brass embellishments/jewellery findings of your choice;
Wood glue or PVA craft glue;
Standard craft blade & assorted small carving blades;
fine sandpaper;
Acrylic paint in several shades of the same colour (for marbling).

Fireplace

**Note: the measurements given below are for 1:24 scale. If you would like to make the fireplace in 1:12, double the measurements (including the wood thicknesses).

1. You must first cut the base shape of your fireplace from 3mm bass wood as shown above. This basic shape measures 50mm x 50mm (1.9 inches).

2. Next you must sand the interior edges of the fireplace as shown above. Take this opportunity to increase the definition of the little detail in the middle.

3. The next stage is the embellish the fireplace. I did this with .75mm thick card strips, tiny wood strips and some little brass shells I bought from a jewellry supplier.

4. As shown above left you must then cut the mantle shelf. I did this from 3mm basswood. I chose to bevel the edge it using a very sharp blade. If this is too fiddly for you, you can also make it from two layers of wood. This will achieve the same layered affect.

5. Glue the fireplace in place as shown above right.

6. Choose the colour you want the fireplace to be, and paint it. You can marble it if you like as shown above. If you are unsure of how to do this there are many tutorials and videos online showing you how.

And you're finished!