First steps

This is one of the books I borrowed from my local library on December 27, 2007. I now have my own copy that I use all the time for ideas and practical tips. It has patterns and pictures and step-by-step instructions. The first thing I decided to make was a four-poster bed. You cannot have a better start in your miniature-making career. I didn't have any special materials or tools so I used what was at hand. I just wanted to try whether I could do it at all.

This is work in progress. The bed is made of cardboard. The fabric is an old sheet I had at home - I was too eager to wait and get something more fancy.

 

This was my first finished piece. The lace is authentic, from my husband's granny's sheet. My daugher had made the cat many years ago, and it was just right. I put the bed on a bookshelf and used a piece of hand-made paper for a carpet. 

 

I built a very simple environment around the bed. A souvenir box for a chest, ceiling lights - candlestick decorations. The miniature candlestick is a buttom, and I made the candle - rather clumsily, but this was the first attempt. The vase is a top from a hairspray bottle, and the flowers are real dry hyacinths. Portrait frames are buttons. 

I was very proud of myself. Then I went around the house and collected all rubbish that the clever dollhouse books used to make miniatures from. I had no idea that I had so much useful rubbish in my house. This was my first lesson: when you start making miniatures you see your materials everywhere. As everyone who has ever tried knows. But for me it was all new.