General question

[SonyaReiser]

I’ve been perusing topics and galleries and have noticed like on the mini swap that the newest post is years old...are miniaturists a disappearing breed?  I’m just getting started...I get so very disappointed when on Pinterest etc that people don’t really share knowledge, they tease and then send you their Etsy account. I get it but....I’m old school. My biggest problem is making that vital connection from idea to skill set. I know experience is the best master but does anyone know a great spot or site that does good tutorials? Ones that show how to best hold the tool start with basics and move up. I’m learning on my own slowly...so glad I do a lot of trash to treasure or “up cycling “ so when I screw up by trying to cut to deep I can just go back to my horde stash and get more. Admittedly I am aghast at the prices for materials.. just rambling...

[grazhina]

Most of the online dollhouse forums I've belonged to over the years have gone for various reasons, but I've noticed that a lot of new people have gotten into the hobby since they've had to stay at home. I think the reason that posts on this site have slowed down so much is because earlier in the year they closed down to update the site to make it run better. It took longer than they planned because of glitches they ran into, I guess, plus the whole covid thing probably impacted it too. Anyway, it was offline for at least a couple of months, and when we regulars started drifting back, many others just never returned, and when postings slow down, new people don't see any point in joining either. There's a lot of good info here, but now you have to do searches for it. Hmmm....I don't feel like starting a new miniature project right now, and I did just get a new laptop (my other one died without warning about a week before Xmas)

Edited December 29, 2020 by grazhina

[Qubanqtee]

Hi! there's tons of information here on what and how to - it's been a short while since the sight came back up after the major overhaul they did.  There are a ton of miniaturists and while some don't share all the info, many of them do.  Aside from this amazing forum there is also Facebook with additional groups that have many miniaturists and they share info and ideas.  

You're right that the best teacher is experience.  Materials can be costly but honestly until you jump in and do it, even a tutorial isn't going to make it perfect.  Also, You tube has many informative tutorials and you can find a smaller project you can start with and expand on as you gain confidence!

Hope you'll stick around!

[Mid-life madness]

Hi Sonya,

Miniaturists who have blogs tend to share their "How to" tutorials freely. I suggest this blog by Kris Comfort, she is inspiring.

http://1inchminisbykris.blogspot.com/

I find miniaturists to be extremely generous with their talents. Also, there are tons of books with instructions at great prices on Amazon. You just have to go looking down rabbit holes.

You tube has loads of mini tuts. https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=miniature+dollhouse+diy

Of course, you can always ask on this forum and someone can likely direct to a resource etc.

[Shareb]

Hi Sonya - I've been miniaturing now for about 7 years.  This forum is a wealth of information and I relied heavily on the amazing miniaturists on here for the first few years.    Since then I've met other amazing people via Instagram and Facebook.  It's certainly not a dying art and the group I'm friends with on IG are mostly younger people.  Some can be quite careful of sharing their information - especially if they sell their art and I completely understand that.  But as Carrie states above - there are many amazing blogs out there.  Here's a couple of really good ones for you:

Brae from Otterines Miniatures is an astounding artist.  She has fantastic tutorials on her blog: http://www.otterine.com/blog/blog1.php

Gina from More Minis - I have been using her blog lately for my latest GL house: https://moreminis.blogspot.com/

I've also noticed that as you get more and more involved in making miniatures, people tend to focus on more particular things.  Carrie (above) for example is an astounding doll artist and she has gone more and more that way over the past couple of years.  Whereas I'm finding myself less enamored with 'dollhouses' and I'm enjoying working on more alternative buildings lately.  It's still a big world, the world of miniatures.  Unfortunately where I am in NZ it's much smaller.  But forums like this and making contact with other miniaturists from around the world via IG and FB make all the difference.  Please feel free to PM me if you'd like a mini friend! 

[havanaholly]

Sonya, I got into dollhouses and minis helping the hubs build a dollhouse for the eldest granddaughter over 30 years ago.  I also discovered books for making miniatures by Patricia King and Helen Ruthberg.  I also belonged to Small Stuff until we moved to Alabama and their software couldn't handle switching my email server, etc., but I still go to their website and peruse the archives.  Our Search feature apparently only goes back for the preceding year, so an awful lot of excellent stuff may be gone.   Do notice that some of the pinned topics at the head of this sub-forum include links to tutorials and reviews of books about minis.

[SonyaReiser]

Thanks for the info! I do live 1inchminis she was one of the first tutorials I found   I’m getting ready to start a new project—a lighthouse! It’s a side display table and is kinda in between 1/12 and 1/24 but I’ll make do—this one is for me so no pressure