It all starts out so innocently. You decide that you want to own a dollhouse, or gift a dollhouse to a special person, so you start looking around at dollhouses and discover that you have the choice of buying a pre-built house or making one yourself. For many people, the first reaction to that choice is “Oh, I could never build a house myself, so I’ll just look at pre-built houses”... and somewhere in the back of your mind, a small voice whispers, “You can build it yourself.” As you continue looking at pre-built houses and discover that the price range is higher and the houses may not have all the customized features you’re looking for, that little voice in the back of your mind becomes stronger until you find yourself saying, “I can build it myself!”

Miniatures are everywhere if we just develop the habit of looking at things with a mini-eye. As we wander thru day to day life, how often do we see something and think, “Wow, I could turn that into a miniature table... or lamp... or sink... " Sometimes, we just stash them back with the knowledge that inspiration will strike us when we least expect it and we’ll find a use for that clever little whatever-it-is. Family and friends become a bit concerned about our boxes full of little things that we’ve rescued from the trash. Some of them even refuse to go out for a cup of coffee with us because they know we’ll be filling our pockets with coffee stirring sticks or little tubs of jelly. At the fast food places, they know we’re going to the condiment counter because we want the paper cups, not because we care for catsup on our fries. Those little potential minis are everywhere and with a careful eye we can find mini treasures no matter where we go.

As miniaturists, we love sharing the little world we create and live in, and we’re especially eager to share it with those we love. The past two decades have seen a decline in the popularity of our hobby and sometimes we wonder what the future will hold for miniatures. Will there be a next generation to whom we can pass on our legacy? Will they share the same passion we have? How do we encourage the love of miniatures in our children?

When you begin removing house pieces from the wood sheet, put all the pieces for individual windows into envelopes or zip lock baggies and label each one with the window name or number. When you’re ready to install the windows, you won’t have to search for each little piece. The same practice works well for staircases and window boxes.