Dollhouse 1:12 scale miniature crystal chandelier made from a battery powered LED 15 light string.

Dollhouse 1:12 scale miniature crystal chandelier made from a battery powered LED 15 light string.

Pictures and a description of how I made this elaborate chandelier for my Gothic Victorian room box. This is the Gothic Victorian room box that I made recently. The huge crystal chandelier was a project that I started about 2 years ago, set to the side, and finally finished. This is how I made it. I started with a simple LED 15 light string with a lithium coin cell battery switch. Since I had 15 lights, I knew I needed a 2 tier chandelier with 8 lights on the lower tier and 7 on the upper. I created a metal...Read more
Just in time for Halloween: Miniature Psycho Movie House in 1:24 Scale Tutorial

Just in time for Halloween: Miniature Psycho Movie House in 1:24 Scale Tutorial

I tried to design a budget-friendly Halloween diorama for my workplace cubicle decorating contest, and came up with this tutorial for creating a replica of the house in the movie Psycho. I have always loved that house with it’s second-empire architecture, and grand cathedral window on the front. I also added a cemetery on the side with dead trees and gravestones made from polymer clay, but this tutorial is only about the house. The house in my pictures is actually 4” wider than the following instructions will create. I designed mine to fill up my cubicle space, but after I...Read more
Beach Cottage Room Box Build

Beach Cottage Room Box Build

I recently invested in a better lighting setup in a vain attempt to make myself a better photographer (similar to the expectation that buying new athletic shoes would somehow make one a better athlete). Nonetheless I bought it, and that created the desire to build a better room box for taking photographs of my miniatures. With summer drawing to a close, I find myself wanting to capture the essence of a summer beach vacation, so I can hold on to my favorite season a little longer. To that end, I created a beach cottage room box to use for displaying...Read more
How to make doll house corks for very small bottles.

How to make doll house corks for very small bottles.

Looking for fun and interesting ways to up-cycle all those wine corks you have been collecting? Sure, you could make a wreath, or a cool steampunk style bottle lamp, with the wine bottle and cork, like the ones I made. Here’s something new you may not have seen though: You can make tiny 1:12 scale corks for dollhouses and miniature scenes from full size wine corks with a few simple tools. You will need: A wine cork A hobby knife with break-off blade or a razor blade A 1/4″ or 1/8″ circle hand-held paper punch work gloves An emery board...Read more
Miniature 1:12 Scale Pink Yard Flamingos for Dollhouse or Fairy Garden

Miniature 1:12 Scale Pink Yard Flamingos for Dollhouse or Fairy Garden

I sell the miniatures I make on my Etsy site, and one of my most popular items is my miniature pink yard flamingos. I can’t keep up with the demand, so they are always selling out. They are extremely realistic looking and adorable, if I may say so myself. They are also time consuming to make. I know that I am never going to have a business that pays the bills by selling just them. OK, theoretically, I probably could make about 30 an hour, if I really push it, and do that four hours a day, leaving the rest...Read more
Miniature Yarn Shop Room Box

Miniature Yarn Shop Room Box

I really enjoy making miniature room boxes. They allow so much creativity, and present a fun challenge at times. My friend opened a new yarn shop in Neenah, and I wanted to give her something to celebrate the occasion, so I created a miniature yarn shop scene. This is what the final result looks like. I used her actual shop as the inspiration for my room box. I spent about 25 hours total on this, I would guess, over the period of several weekends. The box itself is made from basswood and foam core, so it is very lightweight, but also a...Read more
Dollhouse Tin Ceiling Tutorial – Made from Items Found at Dollar Tree

Dollhouse Tin Ceiling Tutorial – Made from Items Found at Dollar Tree

This tutorial will detail how to create a tin ceiling in your dollhouse from materials you can find at your local Dollar Tree store. I love shopping there, because everything is just $1, so it makes me feel rich😊 If you don’t have a local Dollar Tree (this store used to be called Everything’s a Dollar, but the name changed a while back), you may have a similar type dollar store, and chances are they have similar items, so check it out. One thing you may need for this project, which you can’t find at your local dollar store is...Read more
Miniature Dollhouse Potted Herb Plants in Wooden Crate Tutorial

Miniature Dollhouse Potted Herb Plants in Wooden Crate Tutorial

This tutorial will tell you how you can make a 1:12 scale miniature pair of potted rosemary and chamomile plants in a wooden crate, like the one pictured here. I apologize in advance, because my pictures are not great. I know that, and I’m trying to improve, but tiny items are difficult to photograph clearly. Please remember that this is not a tutorial on taking great pictures. It most definitely is not. Here is a list of things you will need: – Polystyrene foam microbeads – smallest you can find like around 1 mm in diameter works best (like the...Read more
1/12 Scale Dollhouse Wood Plank Flooring

1/12 Scale Dollhouse Wood Plank Flooring

I’ve been installing wood flooring in my Bellingham farmhouse kitchen. I’ve been using 3/8 ” wide craft sticks, a.k.a. popsicle sticks, which are equivalent to 4.5″ wide planks in real life. That seems about right, although I really don’t know. Our own house, which was built around 1930 has wood flooring with 2.25″ wide planks, but that seems more modern to me than this dollhouse, which is an architectural style that is at least 40 years prior to that. I started by sawing the ends of all the craft sticks off with a small Exacto miter box saw. This takes...Read more
Miniature BBQ grill in 1/12 scale

Miniature BBQ grill in 1/12 scale

Hello fellow miniature enthusiasts: This is my first official blog post. *Disclaimer: If you happen to comment, please know that I am notoriously bad at checking email or voicemail, so don’t take it personally if I take many weeks to respond. Know that I do appreciate your participation though. For several years now I’ve been planning in my mind to make a realistic Weber-style charcoal grill for my dollhouse. I can just see it sitting on the front porch with a tiny bag of charcoal briquettes next to it. It started when I got a 2″ plastic toy capsule from a vending...Read more