Making a Magical World in a Shelf (a Shelforama!) 

"Leaf me alone!" That pun was *golden!*

I have no idea who this girl is and why this came up on my recommendations while I was doing yoga but I feel like I want to always emotionally support this lovely, precious human and tell her to never stop doing this thing or whatever it is that makes her shine this brightly.

Martina’s house must look so awesome by now with all the different displays and dioramas and paintings everywhere

I just imagine your home being a tiny museum of tiny cool things.

Thank you for bringing some joy back into my life. I was a diorama builder back in my youth. I would have been ecstatic to have all the wonderous tools you have to help you bring life to your creative imagination. I had stopped enjoying my creative hobbies similar to yours about 20 years ago. Over a year ago, I was finally was able to buy a 3d printer and began to feel those exciting feelings again. I've been fighting depression and chronic pain for some time now. And a few days ago I found your videos starting with the shelforama episode. I couldn't help but smile at the joy you had working on your projects. I was never as talented as you are with various skills, but I made it work for the time. I am picking up my tools again, I am looking at projects again. And I am so grateful to have found you on RU-vid sharing your projects and lighting the fire under my ass to experience that same fun once again. Thank you.

I was going to comment at the end of the video but those hiccups cracked me up so much I have to tell you right now 🤣 🤣 🤣 So funny!

Oh no, the one thing stopping me from adopting this hobby was the lack of storage space. This is BEAUTIFUL. I’m doomed.

Making such a diorama should be on everyones bucket list!

This woman takes Mixed Media to a whole new level, it’s amazing.

I like how your sponsor is square space, while you create a square space :p Really enjoy this video. So much creative inspirations here

Martina over here is literally playing GOD by the end she's going to have a homebrew multiverse with all of these dioramas and we'll all part of the Champaign while she's DM-ing

My cure for hiccups: A lot of people breathe in and hold their breath. This generally doesn't work. Try breathing OUT and holding your breath for as long as you can - there's a point when you start to panic a little but this passes, try to stay with it and your hiccups will be gone. What this does is... when you breathe in and hold your breath, your body knows it's fine because you have air in your lungs, but when you breathe out and get past that brief panic stage, your body literally freaks out because there is no air and that's kind of important, so it forgets anything not important - like hiccups - and focuses on survival. Works every single time for me. Obviously start breathing again or you'll pass out! Your shelforama is AWESOME. I LOVE it. QUESTION: What do you do to stop the wires/plastic surround getting damaged in the oven, or is it not hot enough to melt the plastic?

I'm going to be honest. I don't think there has been a single thing you've made I didn't like. Thank you for re-inspiring me to go out and make things my own way. Keep it up!

Ideas for more Shelf’o’ramas - Mermaid grotto - Lava Falls - Dragon caverns - Wizards workshop (maybe with a glowing spell circle in the middle?) - A Pharaohs tomb - Ancient jungle ruin

Martina, I am absolutely sure you are told this all of the time, but I feel that I must say it anyway. You are absolutely positively an amazing artist! Whether it be painting, leather crafting, bookbinding, or woodworking your art is stunning. I just happened upon your and Hansi's channel the other day and I love watching you create all of the amazing things that you do. I find myself mesmerized by watching your creations come to life. I also like the way that you explain the technical side of the art project that you are working on in the videos. You make it easily understandable and I always feel that I know exactly what you are talking about even though I am not an artist. I'm a huge fan, thank you for what you do and keep the videos coming. You and Hansi stay safe out there and again, AMAZING!!

Another tip for vegetation, especially leaves: leaves. From actual trees, dried in the oven. Finely chop/cut/shred to whichever size you want. Or if you dont have any trees with leaves or dont feel like going outside: dried herbs! They come in different shapes and sizes and will work great! Both of these methods work great as is, but can also be dyed with paints if needed. Just use some wire/balls of hair/dust to make the «skeleton» of a bush/branch or even a tree and the leaves/herbs can be used to make that as well. So if you can’t afford «fancy grass», don’t have access to it where you live or feel your money is better spent elsewhere: there are plenty of good options!

You should try monster clay or plastilines, they never dry, can be put in a freezer to become rock hard or melt with hot air. Then you can sculpt et cast them to make silicon molds. The clay can be use again and again ! So maybe you won’t need to buy a lot of polymer clay which is expensive and can’t be reused :D

I would like to suggest a cave based shelforama where the backing is of something like vanta black so it looks like it is deeper than the shelf and your abilities are far better than mine. Awesome job on this elven cliff shelforama because it is beautiful.

Your house and the studio must be such a joy to walk around in, seeing all of the cool stuff it's decorated with and being able to be like " I made that!"

I love how she enjoys her work. Obviously amazing talent. 👍

Back of the sketch book: *exists* Martina: free real estate

This actually reminds me of either Rivendell or Lothlorien because of the Elvish architecture and waterfalls!! It looks awesomely gorgeous!!

Making a 30 x 30cm diorama... buys enough xps to make 50 of them... totally something i would do

Whenever I'm feeling down or tired, I watch your videos. They literally energize me💜💜

i just gotta say that you're pretty frickin brilliant with all of these projects you do. you think so quickly on the fly to find new ways of creating. it's super inspirational!

I can endlessly look at three things... how the water flows, how the fire burns, and how Martina makes her masterpieces!

After seeing it on the wall I had a thought . You could paint a distant mountain scene and put it on the back the dimensional aesthetic would be amazing.

I think that it would be cool if you created a “His Dark Materials” themed diorama.

Only if it were possible to add dim blue leds behind the waterfall, it would look even more magical. That water itself is a masterpiece! New follower!!!

"That elegant elf vibe"!! You just nailed my whole dream aesthetic. 😍

The braces came off! How great is that feeling!

Your willingness to leave in the hiccups, and edit in your feelings about them is why you are one of the best youtube channels on the platform. :)

Blows my mind what you can create with such basic building materials.

You are so inspiring and fun to watch! Thanks for doing you so well 😍.

I was half way through the video and realized Martina didn't have braces anymore. Congratulations! Your teeth look fantastic!

"Leaf me alone " Nobody: Me:were is uncle Iroh

So cool! I want one.

WOW it's incredible 😻😻😻 Love the lights 💓

"you can also cut this by hand" *shows a circle* me who's been unable to draw a circle ever: (◎д◎')

Bob Ross who prints art with his magical paintbrush mean while Martina who prints the art out in reality with her magical hands of glory

The struggle with hiccups is real! Brilliant job. Every time we think you can’t possibly create something cooler... you do! Loved how all the lighting turned out💀❤️

this makes me want to make a couple of versions of these with Portal rooms in them. omg.

Man I love these diorama videos, they really get my brain buzzing. Your castle diorama inspired me to make my own and this one does too, hopefully some day soon I'll actually start it!

I just love her shovel it's amazing to use it as a microphone I love it!

Another low budget thing I've done for tiny diorama stuff! If you get the lint that is on the lint catcher in your dryer and use a little bit of glue to stick it to a surface, you can cover it in acrylic paint and it makes pretty convincing dirt texture! It's a little finnicky to maneuver but it's effective and quite obviously cheap!

Me : I'm not going to start anymore projects, I have too many already... *starts video* Ooohhhhhh.......Pretty!!!!! *runs to craft horde for shelves*

I kept staring at you and staring like what the heck is missing, and I realized your braces are off! Your smile looks wonderful!

What a brilliant idea! I’ve been trying to find a place for my Christmas village but not something that takes a huge table. This year, they will be in a shelforama!

I'm going to try making one, but I'm going to paint mountains in the background on the wall behind it. This is beautiful!

I've got those shelfs and I wanted to do a diorama for my nendroieds for years, now I have ideas after watching this

So... Could this alternatively be called a Shelfie? :D

Pretty much perfection as per usual. My only beef is that we get massively spoiled and will take miracles for granted and that the impossible will just take some time. I would have loved to be able to create things like you do, but sadly i turn into a ten thumbed spastic when i try, so that is unlikely. Sad because i would have loved to see how the river would have looked if you put some soft, roaming LEDs behind it, making a magical river. Both the hiccups and the "leaf me alone" pun had me in stitches and from the comments i gather i am not the only one. Never change and please continue to be creative. :D

I came across your channel by you appearing on my feed. The first thing I saw you do were the Harry Potter books. AND NOW I HOOKED. Your work is absolutely incredible. Your hard work, determination and patience really pays off in every aspect of your work. You have truly inspired me to start my crafting once again. Thank you so very much for sharing. X

I thought the hiccups part was the best but then, "Leaf me alone" came! 🤣🤣🤣 Stunning work, as always, though. A different realm again. 🖤🖤🖤

I'm sorry but I'm laughing tears right now because of the hiccups :'D

I actually got the same shelves (in white) laying around and I didn't know what to do with them.. might do a little shelforama myself 😂😍

Another masterpiece. That is the type of art piece I would love to have, to adorn my boring walls. You have outdone yourself, once again. Thank you again for sharing your artistic genius with us.

This is absolutely stunning. BTW if you don't want to waste the gold leaf you can always use the extra by cutting it up and putting it in your resin.

You can also glue cotton sheets or pulled cotton balls at the bottom of the falls and it'll give the splash and mist effect

That's really beautiful and I'm in love with the fact that it's in a shelf, that's actually smart because you have a masterpiece and you don't have to worry where to put it or move it every time just to get rid of dust, brilliant

I have a feeling that I probably gonna be obsessed with the shelforama for the next few weeks😍😍

You, my dear, aren't an artist. You're a visionary and what lovely work you do. It's a privilege for you to share what you do and how. Thank you.

Outstanding! I wanna make one now 😃

As usual your creative imagination is limitless! this is an awesome idea. I live in a place where storage space is very limited so wall hanging is an amazing idea! And yeah, people should leaf you alone! It's your wallet after all!!

That water really does look so cool!! Also, it's amazing that you built something this good looking with mostly basic materials :0

Only realized now that her left pinky is missing, not a bad thing though. Amazing work as always!

I have been following you for years now, I have only now noticed your left hand. ITS ADORABLE !!!!

I was skeptical about the moulded epoxy waterfall sections but I was impressed with how they turned out. It looks amazing

How she creates these portals that so simply teleport you to other worlds get me every time!

Now I need Rivendell like this on my wall.

Thumbs up earned for the hiccup segment alone. They are annoying to you, but they are also youtube gold!! Thanks for not deleting from the episode. :)

you should have way more subscribers for the amount of effort you put into your videos! truly amazing

This is such a great example of what you can do with computers and programs and laser printers and other tech, but I'd love to see you do something all by hand.

I want this so badly for my wall 🤩. I'm so going to have to make something like this.

Martina if you could get very small it would be a good photo shoot for you with your armor.☺ Very elven, very magical, very cool!👏🏻👏🏻💜💜🙌🏻🤩 p.s. as a child for hiccups they gave me lemon and sugar 🍋😆

1:16 OMG I HATE THIS TOO I got goosebumps. I thought I was the only person who has transient tic to this sound

I've only watched a couple of your videos, but I'm going back for all of them! You're so imaginative, such an inspiration. Cool things you make, lady. Resin waterfalls are pretty easy. If you want to be able to repeat the shapes, then yes, you will need a mold. Not many of us have a vacuum press, but silicone mold kits are pretty readily available. Or, if you can't afford that, you can do a one-time mold with aluminum foil. Easily shaped and easy to remove from resin (especially if you use a mold release like silicone spray, WD-40, or even petroleum jelly). If you want to sculpt, you can always use plasticine or some other clay that won't air dry and is reusable. That way, you get EXACTLY what you want. The only tiny bit of constructive criticism on the waterfalls is that they're flat. Yes, you added dimension to the texture, but no waves or odd spraying pieces that would make it totally believable. I mean, waterfalls don't go over straight edges. They go over rocks and hills and valleys in the bed that will make them puff out or sink in ... and are almost never flat. Just a suggestion to think about in the future. I mean, would you paint a flat waterfall with a straight edge anywhere? I'm guessing not. To that, these turned out great and look amazing in the diorama. Laser cutter ... wish I could afford one. I have all kinds of cardboard, so I'm just going to hand cut mine. Not quite so perfect, but 100% hands-on. Note from an ER nurse about hiccups. The problem is a glitch in the vagal nerve that causes your diaphragm to fire off like this to cause a hiccup. There are several cures, holding your breath can help sometimes. For a case of intractable hiccups that lasts days (or weeks, yikes), it takes medication. However, if you get a cup of water, bend over so that you're upside down, and try to drink the water while upside down, that usually helps. Why? First of all, laughing at the absurdity will disrupt the signal to the vagal nerve and stop the hiccups. But that may mean that you have to be in the presence of someone else for that to happen. Secondly, it's the combination of the pressure on the diaphragm from bending over coupled with the muscle contractions that are needed for swallowing that disrupt the signal to the vagal nerve. A third common cause is that you have a bubble in your stomach that is triggering the vagal nerve. That means you just need to burp. Release the bubble, and the hiccups stop. If you just wiggle like a child at your stomach, this could dislodge the bubble so you can burp, and the hiccups stop. All of this is honestly valid. "Leaf me alone" ...😅 Calm down people. Gold leaf these days, if bought in a craft shop, isn't expensive. And even if it was worth something, there are many worse ways to use it ... like Goldschlager. It's put into liquor that's only meant to get you drunk. It's not expensive. There's also edible gold leaf that's put on everything from wedding cakes to steak. So, calm down. She can gather and use the excess. I use Fimo rarely, and I had no idea there was a translucent variety! very cool

hey, you could catch the scraps of the gold leaf by putting an old stocking over the vacuum. then you could use them if you wanted to put gold flecks into epoxy for example.

Omg I live for these vids! 🥰 It's amazing what you are able to create ✨

The hiccups 😹😹😹 but the finished product is AMAZING!!!!! 🙀😻

An idea: a shelforama with a 3d glass painting for the background 🤩

I would like that it has a landscape behind, not only the wall but it's beautiful anyway

That's wonderful!!!! As an idea: make the part of waterfall attached to the frame like a bunch of small different shape beads, blue, black, transparent and silver

everytime you make a new project, it's just blow my mind, all of them look incredible!! :)

Totally getting Lord of the Rings vib here and I love it, you guys are so inspiring❤❤

Easy and quick way to get rid of the hiccups that's been working for me for years....take a deep breath and hold it for as long as you can, let the breath out and then immediately chug back water or whatever drink you have and then repeat 2 or 3 times. I usually only have to do it twice back to back.

Martina, I have recently discovered your channel and I have binge watched most of your videos. You were litterally the channel I was looking for! Keep up the great content. I just cant believe you aren't more popular yet!

You did a great job on this 😁. You could turn this into an actual fountain by just placing a planter underneath. I've made several, in my different homes. Whatever's on the bottom, must be very water tight. It holds the pump, & from there the tube will go up to the hanging part. Anything at all really, with plants. I say that cuz I've always covered the tube & cord with moss & vines. I like those half round, wire plant baskets best. I remove the coconut fiber & use moss. To keep moss from turning brown, you must spray it with "MASTERS" Floral & Fabric paint, in BASIL. That wire basket allows you to pop the tube out wherever you want... & If your bottom vessel is large & transparent, it's beautiful to see fish in there 😋! Keep having fun ok!

It looks so good as the camera just pans accross the front of it, with all the lights and otherworldly, slightly creepy vibe x

I’m just here for the bad pun, then I’ll leaf.

1. Im in love with this shelforama! 2. The hickup parte just made my day ;D

I feel your pain so much! Hickups are out of hell xD But I laughed so fricking hard about that, sorryyyyy

The water was great. I like the whole thing but love the water. Awesome

"Yes, I'm very clever"......and Humble as well! I love your work.

You can breathe your hickups away: Evers time you feel it coming, take a slow breath against it. Changed my life.

I just subscribed for two reasons. One... this is the second video I have seen and the art in both videos is amazing... and two, that leaf pun was amazing and hilariously unexpected. 😂 Edit: all the puns make my heart happy 😂🤣

When Martina gets so stressed about hiccups I just want to hug her xD our poor girl! Do not worry, we love you with and without hiccups

You have a wonderful imagination, and I love your work.

This is a beautiful idea! I might use that in a LEGO project in the future some day. If I can design something small, that is... If I may give you a tip on soldering: get some liquid flux in a syringe. Add a little droplet to for instance a solder pad or a wire, add some solder to the iron and just touch the iron onto the fluxed pad or wire. The solder will flow smoothly and the connection will be solid.

Just a thought, instead of having the wall paint show through in the empty spaces, why not add a painting backing? That way it would look like the diorama continues on and give more of the third dimension. I love the idea though. I always wondered what people did with large dioramas they made (storage or display).