Archive Date:  1-3-2008

Everyone loves to create minis. Remember when you first started your dollhouse, or took The 'plunge' so to speak, when you fell in love with dollhouses or miniatures? For me as a child, making the leap from buying to creating was no small struggle, as I grew up in a very crafty family of women who were not afraid of all sorts of craftwork to relieve the boredom. Whether it was knitting, crocheting, needlepoint, cross stitch, quilting, or canning the leftover watermelon rinds, I learned the fine art of creating something good out of nothing at a young age. And I also learned to carry it over into my miniature hobby.  

All Things Mini currently has a 'Make' that somewhat has me stumped. Don't get me wrong; I love makes; makes are the stuff that starts our creative juices flowing. Just the materials have me 'stumped' - ok, forgive the pun here, but I'm working with wood. I'm what I refer to as a 'backwards' miniaturist - I can make clay look like wood, I can paint faux wood, but cutting three times and measuring once is my forte on wood. Surprising?  Not really. We all have those projects that stump us and say ... 'Oh dear.' And wood is one of my 'oh dear' moments!

Not sure what the All Things Mini 'Make' is? The 'Make' was carried over from that wacky club called GSOLFOT (Green Sock On Left Foot on Tuesday Club) who are secret masochists at heart. We jump in on a regular basis into 'Makes' created by our leader, The Oz aka Noni, without knowing what we will be making, or even when it is due! It's fun, not always easy, but gets our feet and fingers wet, (or sometimes cut, depending on how well you wield your Exacto knife!)  I have entered many makes, and for the first time, the All Things Mini make has me hesitating to extend myself more!

Sound depressing?  No, not at all. I think we all come to the time in our miniature hobby when stretching our wings to new challenges is daunting. Sometimes we need to remember that the hobby is meant to be fun, not a test to see whether or not it is perfect, but enjoy the moment when we achieve that unexpected perfection at a miniature challenge. And I have the perfect example.

I love paper clay. I would probably never go anywhere without it, which I proved on a vacation, happily slapping away and sculpting at paper clay in a KOA campground one summer when camping in our RV while my hubby Chris slept in the chair underneath the canopy. Recently one of our All Things Mini members inspired me to try my hands at creating a doll. A doll, how fun you say. Many people have never seen my dolls. I like creating little people, love little people in my houses, but little people created by myself always, most always, end up ugly. Long pokey noses, weird bodies, strange elfin like ears, or heads created to look like pumpkins. I start out with normal, flesh colored clay, but it turns into weird little people, not beautiful, lovely, perfectly dressed little people.  

Well on to my discussion on my little people. And the member who inspired me to try. All of you know Ninithecat, also known as Sherr. Sherr creates dolls out of fimo & paper clay that speak to you, and take your breath away. I thought, wow, a doll created out of paper clay. Secretly, I have always longed to create dolls and think I could probably create perfect little people if they were created out of paper and leather like my books.  But thanks to the inspiration and loads of encouragement from the other ATM members, I tried my hands once again at creating a doll, and wow ... Was I surprised!

For I did not have an ugly little person as usual creep out of the clay, but a lovely little lady with a beautiful smile. Remarkable! It started me thinking of other mini challenges which until now, I had avoided, such as the sewing of doll clothes. This is very strange, as the first thing I used to create as a child of the age of ten or eleven were doll clothes, hand sewn, embroidered, with lace and were removable. Hours I would sit sewing doll clothes from scraps. Some of my favorite dollhouse dolls had whole wardrobes, which I have found saved and treasured all these years later in boxes.

So now my perfect little lady sits on a jar on the kitchen table. Yes, her hands are too large, but I am basking for the moment in the unexpected joy of a perfect miniature challenge. Here I was expecting an ugly stepsister to step out of the clay, and I created a Cinderella. Though I know my husband and daughter think I am perfectly nuts, my little paper clay lady is quite opinionated on what her costume or dress should look like. So am holding my breath as I rise to the next challenge of sewing her miniature costume to her specifications in miniature perfection. So I am almost, not quite, but almost, ready to ... SEW.