Forest Wonderland
Forest Wonderland is one of our book kits: it closes into a slipcased volume and opens into a woodland scene…
Crafting dreams since 2009 Build Your World, Piece by Piece

It closes like a book and opens like a room.
Forest Wonderland is one of our book kits: it closes into a slipcased volume and opens into a woodland scene…
Magical Fate opens out of its case into a fortune-teller's room: shelves of bottles, a table with a spread laid on…
Bagel Time folds open into a bakery: an oven at the back, trays of bread on racks, a counter across the front and…
Molly Garden opens into a walled garden: a trellis gate, beds of planting, a bench under an arch and a path…
These kits are built into a hinged case the shape and size of a hardback novel. Open the covers and the two panels become a corner — a greenhouse, a bakery, a garden gate — complete with dollhouse furniture, planting and a light. Close them and the whole scene disappears into a spine on the shelf.
The engineering is the interesting part. Everything inside has to clear the hinge, so the furniture is shallower than in a room kit and the planting leans into the corners. The build is forgiving and quick by our standards, which makes this a good second kit after a tin or a small miniature room.
Designing one is a puzzle in two halves. We draw the left panel as a wall and the right panel as a floor, then keep moving parts between them until the story reads from a single glance: the bread on the counter, the flowers in the pail, the boxes stacked by the door. Nothing can stand taller than the closed case allows, which is a discipline we have come to enjoy.
They travel well, too. If you want to build something on a kitchen table that has to be clear again by dinner, this is the format — the half-finished scene folds shut and goes back on the bookshelf between sessions. It is also the easiest of our kits to post as a gift, because the packaging is the model.
Finished, a storybook kit stands on a shelf among real books or lies open on a desk. A small world you can close is a surprisingly good thing to own in a flat with no spare surfaces.
It does. The case is hinged like a hardback and everything inside is drawn to clear the fold, so a finished model shuts flat and stands on a bookshelf spine-out. Half-built, it closes just as well, which is why it suits a kitchen table.
A little. There is less of everything — fewer parts, shallower furniture, a shorter wiring run — so most people finish one in two evenings. We usually suggest a tin first and a storybook second.
Yes, and most people do. Open, it stands by itself at roughly the footprint of a paperback lying flat; closed, it takes the shelf space of one thick book.
“((( This is a DIY kit, it does not come put together. & the parts are supposed to be small because it's a miniature kit! ))) Just recieved my kit and I'm in love with it already. Surprised to see the tree trunk on the left side is actually very hard plastic, which is great.”
“I've done quite a few kits and this is the cutest! It went together pretty easy and the instructions were fairly clear and straightforward. Some of the paper pieces are tiny! But it was worth it and just adorable. I wish there was a better way of handling the battery pack though.”
“I wish it included batteries and glue but other than that is exactly what is advertised. Also the little hinges were very hard to glue so I preferred to glue it shut together. I prefer if it included little screws. It took me several hours to build which was expected”
Quoted as written by builders on the listings for these kits.
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