craftylady

Make a mini house replica for someone special. What I mean by mini is to make a model of a friend’s house as a gift for the holidays. Wouldn’t it be a conversation piece to have someone make a miniature version of your home?

I was thinking along the lines of yesterday’s post that dollhouses and miniatures are very popular right now.

A lot of doll and dollhouse collectors are also miniature collectors.

I have read about people who make replicas of historic towns and homes but not about making a miniature of someone’s actual home.

Think about making a dollhouse or miniature version of a friend’s home as a Christmas gift. It’s fun to show people photographs of your home but to be able to see it in a model form!

There are architects that can make a model of buildings but it is very expensive to hire someone to do that.

Look through dollhouse books and learn to scale down the actual house to the miniature.Most books recommend the 1/2 to 1/4 inch scale.That is, every foot equals 1/2 inch for the miniature house.

Get leftover wallpaper if they have it and match the paint colors in each room.Balsa wood is thin and easy to cut. Miniature houses require miniature tools. If you get a pre-made dollhouse kit,you can study how it was made and maybe use some of the parts to help you build your house.

Another time saver is the hot glue gun. These are sold in almost every hobby store and the Internet. Many crafts people have them. I still have mine in a box,somewhere.

You need to glue because hammering tiny nails is time-consuming and almost impossible! A little joke.

Another time-saving tip is to paint and wallpaper the interior walls first before assembling them.  Once they are glued and in place,it will be very difficult to paint and wallpaper .Believe me;your hand will not fit.

Tiny shingles can be bought or you can make them.

It all depends on your skill level and time.

Enjoy the process .You have about three and a half weeks to finish. If you don’t finish,then take a photograph and show them what they are going to get.

Enjoy the YouTube showing how a house is made in over a minute LOL!