In the summer of 2023, I discovered a local miniature shop called Freedom Miniatures with Shelley Acker. I'm not interested in making dollhouses, but I'm curious about vignettes of storytelling through a 1:12 scale realism approach.
We tend to lean over or ask for ideas or techniques to achieve our desired look as a group. My goal for my miniatures isn't clean-looking lines but realistic approaches and something with which you feel a sense of connection.
Forever A Work In Progress
The first attempt was a renovation in progress. My first bedroom had rotting insulation exposed, and I was moving to different houses, thinking we would renovate to improve it and living in a constant renovation concept.
Old Man's Grunge Greenhouse
My second attempt was the old greenhouse in the backyard. I tend to leave my tools and not clean up after myself. I'm having a Coke as I work. The greenhouse is old by growing the most vibrant flowers. The old guy who uses this greenhouse doesn't care about what the public thinks, as it's his sacred space.
SEE THE GREENHOUSE PROCESS IN PHOTOS
Outdoor Baby Shower Party
My third attempt was the perpetual baby shower. The spa that I visit, the women are in constant flux of having babies. I was inspired to make this as a joke but it was so sweet.
Hairspray Bougie Little Laundromat
My fourth attempt is the Bougie Little Laundromat, inspired by the movie Hairspray, in which Mrs. Turnblad goes from doing laundry at home to running a cute little laundromat and becomes the coolest woman in town.
I was waiting on supplies to make a laundry room in a jug. So I settled on making this with supplies from Michaels.
SEE BOUGIE LAUNDROMAT PROCESS IN PHOTOS
Laundry Room Inside A Detergent Jug
My fifth attempt was to make an everyday laundry room inside an Ivory Laundry Detergent Jug. I wanted my room to reveal the look of a spouse who never does laundry or uses too much detergent and also the room to be a catch-all of the crap people or myself tend to throw in. Every time I have had a cat, the litter goes in the laundry room, and I am forever stepping on it.
SEE LAUNDRY ROOM IN A JUG PROCESS IN PHOTOS
Miniature Gnome Homes
Miniature Gnome scenes. I made two of them. Both are coloured differently using miniatures, flowers and pots based exclusively on Michaels. Completed in March 2024.
SEE GNOMES HAPPY PLACE PROCESS IN PHOTOS
Coven Eleven Witch's Convenience Store
Coven Eleven was the biggest project to date.
SEE COVEN ELEVEN PROCESS IN PHOTOS
This is my first two-storey miniature focused on a convenience store for witches, from funeral services to potions and spell books. From the fortune teller's attic to moon bathing on the deck. Windsock is on top, so the witches know the direction of the wind when they fly in and shop.
Rolife Christmas Miniature Bakery
Completed in November 2024, I bought a kit at a local Rolife Bakery shop. My goal was to make the kit appear in the Christmas Season by adding miniature Christmas decor I already had. I omitted a few things from the kit, such as a shopping basket and floor signage, to make room for it. You can see the full photo album here.
This was my first time making a miniature from a kit. The instructions were concise and more accessible to read than Ikea's instructions, at least for me.
I got a little cranky about the paper as in past miniatures. When glue is applied, the paper wrinkles and looks like hell. The glue and paper provided in the kit are excellent, and none of that happened. I was so relieved.
The pieces go together pretty easily, and with a little dab of glue here and there, it holds its shape wonderfully.
The lighting took me a bit of time, but I did the lighting properly for the first time as the instructions were that good. I feel more confident in myself with doing lighting in the future.
A great deal of time was spent putting things together but once everything is assembled, the staging up of the items inside the model are effortless.
I had miniature Christmas decor on hand to add snow with Bernat Pipsqueak yarn and small little Christmas odd ball things in my collection.
Leave a comment below if you want to challenge me with an idea.
Have you completed this project. Show me!