Getting Creative With Miniature Making

Now that the interior of "Willow:Florist and Garden Shop" is done, I thought I'd do a post about some of the materials that I used to make some of the items in the shop, in a the meantime, until I get more done on "Willow" or "Gallery B" to post.

When working on dollhouses and miniatures - especially in smaller scales, like these shops - sometimes you have to get creative to get just the pieces you want.  Sometimes, it's because, while there are so many fabulous kits and pre-made items available, you just cant find *just* the right thing for your project; sometimes it's because buying the item pre-made (or even as a kit) just isn't going to work in your budget; sometimes you may not want to wait for something to be delivered; and sometimes you may just want to make something yourself.  Whatever your reason, if you keep your eyes and mind open you can find so many things that can be used in your miniatures.  For this post I will be primarily be talking about items in "Willow: Florist and Garden Shop".

One place that i always find a lot of useful items for the miniatures, is the jewelry department of the craft store.  All sorts of jewelry making supplies can be useful for miniatures.  For example, in "Willow" I used beads as planters:

Bead caps and decorative items as planters/vases:

Charms as decorative items (I especially love checking out the story locket charms for small decorative items):

and even a disassembled screw type jewelry closure turned into a distressed terra cotta pot (one of my favorite pieces from this particular shop):

The Scrapbooking section can also provide some useful items.  Now I will say that for 1:48 scale there's probably not as much to find as for say 1:12 scale, but if you think outside the box, you might find just what you need, like I did for this project.  Tiny decorative brads and "jem" stickers, with the help of some paint, made several of the garden stepping stones on the center display:

Scrapbooking papers also make great wallpapers, or in the case of this project flooring:

Potential material sources, though, go well beyond the craft store.  Stores like Walmart or Dollar Tree can also supply many useful items.  I used decorative toothpicks to make a couple of the decorative items for sale in the shop:

The tiny foam balls I used as the base for the topiary and "moss" balls, hydrangeas, and peony buds were purchased at Dollar Tree last Christmas.  They were meant to be used as faux snow filler for ornaments and such, but I have used them for so many different things for miniatures (they are great for filling pillows and such in 1:12 scale too):

The nail art section of Dollar Tree is great for tiny no-hole beads, which I used both as marbles holding the hand tools and to make grapes (the little jars they come in also make great mason jars for 1:12 scale):

I used sewing pins as dowels for the ribbon holders and to make the pencil:

And thread for the twine (slightly thicker button and craft thread) and floral wire (regular thread):

Of course, these are just a few examples of other materials that can be used to make miniatures.  If you think creatively, you will come up with a wealth of ideas for mini projects!  Have Fun!