I've not written anything about dollhouses and miniatures yet cause I've not been involved with them at all basically since I moved into the condo three years ago. But up until then they had been pretty much my main passion since probably around 1992 or 1993. Built dollhouses, collected miniatures, went to miniature shows, the whole thing. Subscribed to the magazines, joined clubs, even went to conventions. It's a wonderful passion because anything you like to do in "real life" you can learn to do in miniature - cross stitch, needlepoint, quilting and interior decorating in my case.
Anyway, enough history. During those years, I collected a lot of stuff and it now sits in plastic boxes in my closet. One bit of stuff was a little stove I bought at a miniature show. It's in 1//2" scale (smaller than the normal dollhouse scale of 1 inch = 1 foot). It's a Roper style stove that started life as a refrigerator magnet but the woman I bought it from turned it into a delightful miniature.
I built a half inch scale house but it didn't work in the kitchen in that house so it has been waiting patiently for a home and I found one!
I was at Big Lots looking for cheap picture frames and there was a shadow box type frame that spoke to me. It basically said "I think I would work pretty well for a little kitchen scene with that little stove you have" and I thought "I think you may be right." So I bought it.
That was right before Thanksgiving and once I got back home I decided to figure out what to do with it. Decided first of all that it had to be deeper so that's what I'm working on right now - extending the depth with sheets of balsa wood.
So, not too much to report yet. I'll need to get busy and start choosing what wallpaper and flooring I want to use and also make a "dropped" ceiling so I can have some hidden lighting. After I get those things done, it will just be a matter of getting everything arranged and there I'll be with a new mini!
5 comments:
Good for you for finding a way to get your mini groove on... It may take a little more work without a dedicated workshop, but I say don't let that stop you. (I'm always packing, unpacking, and repacking all my camera gear when I decide I need to shoot something suddenly around the house... sure, not as much to pack/unpack as your mini equipment, but still...)
I'm glad to hear you're back at it, even if only for a little while. Hobbies are good things. Especially in the winter!
Is the kitchen in the picture your 1/2" scale kitchen? I don't remember ever seeing it but it's really charming. And the Roper stove is sufficiently charming in itself that I imagine your new room will be a delight. Why didn't I do miniatures instead of whole darn houses?!?
Yep, the pictured kitchen is in my little half scale house where I built a "from scratch" edition on to the kit house so I could have a kitchen AND a dining room. I'm working on lighting the new scene now and have had to scrap my original plan and try something else... And tee hee about doing mini houses instead of whole houses although I'm sometimes astounded by the amount of money I used to spend on this hobby!
Love your half scale kitchen - I had to check and see if it was RL or mini, and that's always the test of a good mini to me. This mini addiction never really leaves us, does it? And don't ever add up how much you spend on it - that is definitely not the path to peace of mind. But yes, hobbies are truly enriching for our lives. Will we see some of you lovely stitching in your projects?
Post a Comment