Now that Christmas is over, packages were delivered and gifts were opened, I can finally tell you about the project that I had been working on in October and November. I try to make a handcrafted Christmas gift for someone in my family or for one of my friends every year, and this year it was my nieces’ turn. Sadly, visiting family and painting something nice together was not an option in December 2020, but I still wanted to give them a personal gift that I made.
I decided to build them miniature dollhouses and spent quite some time online to find the right kits: “In a Happy Corner” and “Roam Around In Winter”. They are both complete DIY kits with everything you need (except for the glue and the batteries) and they are built in palm-sized tin boxes – so they are safe to be sent by post too.
What’s in the boxes? Mostly pre-cut wooden and plastic parts, some metal bits, textile and cardboard pieces plus some flocking materials. The assembly instructions are short, logical and easy to follow: half of the booklet is basically the paper components and I had spent long hours with cutting them out. The components fit neatly, no adjustments were needed, but it seemed wise to test fit them before glueing them to their final positions. The kits are cleverly designed, and they really give the sense of depth even in this tiny space.
The overall quality is good, there were no broken or faulty components, but there are three things that could have been done better:
- There were grammatically incorrect sentences in the inner lid of In a Happy Corner.
- The switch of the LED lights (yes, the kits have working lights!) were very basic and unstylish. It would be nice to have a cover on them that matches the theme of the kits.
- The plastic piece that was supposed to be used as pine branches was very cheap looking and was not convincing at all, so I decided not to use it.
I have no experience with textile and haven’t worked so much with paper since primary school, but I did enjoy building these dollhouses. I even went the extra mile and wrote personalised messages in the small books on the inside of the lid. It had taken me four weekends to finish one – so that’s what I had spent my free time with in October and November – but when I saw how much my nieces liked them, I knew it was well worth it.
On one hand, this project was slightly different than the minis I usually work on, but on the other hand, regardless of the different materials and the unusual theme, these can be considered tiny dioramas. I have never thought about building a dollhouse before, but I realised that some of them are real pieces of art and their supplies seem to be surprisingly versatile, so there is a lot to be learnt from such projects.
Will this become a new rabbit hole for me? I don’t think so, but one day I might try to build a more serious dollhouse, or maybe a similar size diorama with 12-15mm and 6mm minis. We’ll see…