In the first part, I told you about my discovery of a set of miniature cups and saucers, the discovery of April Cottage and The Dolls House Emporium...
For some weeks I researched dolls houses on the internet like crazy. I discovered Artisans and different ways of making things by hand. I couldn't get over how little everything seemed and could only imagine everything was made by machine! Sure human hands couldn't get that much detail into one piece... I was proven wrong, by Artisans such as After Dark, Hungarian Miniatures and Small Passions, as well as many more!
My breath was taken at an instant with the work of these amazing artists. I decided to try for myself, like many other miniaturists out there, making fimo food. I discovered a website called The Polymer Clay Pit and a book on Amazon that would provide me with the basics of creating miniature food. I eagerly ordered several colours of clay and a pasta machine as well as some simple tools, such as a blade.
I eagerly waited for my new purchases to arrive and as soon as they did, I didn't know where to start! I didn't own a single miniature item, not even a plate. I started out making a few simple items from the book, including bread and cakes. Then I started to move on to Youtube turorials and I made a roast dinner setting and some donuts.
I was really proud of my creations and wanted to learn more!
In November, a dolls house fair was held at The Petwood Hotel in Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire. My Mom noticed a little yellow poster outside the primary school in our village and told me about it. Wild with excitment I begged her to take me, of course she said yes and so the date was set and I was counting down the days!!
Finally, the fair day arrived and I was up and out of bed at the crack of dawn! The fair started at around 10:00am and I wanted to be there on the dot! The weather was snowy and horrible, we slipped and slid across the car park getting to the entrance, but we finally got there.
At the entrance of the fair circle there was a lovely couple with several dolls houses on display, some decorated some left plain wood. Unfortunately I cannot remember the couples name. I fell in love with a shop and a terraced house the couple had on one of their tables. The shop was £95 and the house was £80 if I remember correctly. My mom bought them, telling me that they were my Christmas presents and I was not to have them before Christmas day!
I decided straight away that the shop would become a bakery. We bought a few decorating supplies from the lovely couple and then wandered around the fair, oooh-ing and aahh-ing at all the tiny, delightful goodies on show! We came across a stall selling handmade food. I knew instantly it was all handmade and was made from fimo! I told Mom that I wanted to practise making these vegetables, and it would be a good idea to buy some now, so that I can compare as I learn! I still haven't made those vegetable yet!
We spent lots, we smiled lots, we aahh-ed lots.
Dad was pretty good at listening and seem pretty intrigued. He couldn't believe the size of the dolls houses and thought they would be smaller! I had to explain to him the 1inch to 1foot ratio, and he understood.
The next few weeks were filled with excitement. Mom and I visited The Dolls House Emporium once again and spent a fortune on furniture and goodies to begin my dolls house collection!
Christmas morning couldn't come quick enough. I think I was as eager as my brothers and sister that year (2009). I ran downstairs like a looney and found my precious dolls house sitting at the back of the living room waiting for me. Next to them were several large boxes and as I opened them, they revealed more and more tiny pieces of furniture and accessories. My brothers and sister were amazed at the detail, as were my parents, and definately so was I! I filled my houses with the furniture as I went along and made plans for each room.
I couldn't wait to get started.
Here is a photo of my dolls houses, this was a little while after Christmas as the house, which was bought plain, is decorated in this photo.
I decorated the house to match the shop, sourcing the exact colour of the red on the shop window.
This was the first step to my new hobby, but I still had a feeling my parents didn't believe it would last!!
UNTIL - I invited my boyfriend at the time to come to the Petwood Fair with my mom and I the following year. He was amazed at the details he could find in items and loved the houses. His job was working with wood, on a much larger scale and not in dolls houses, but he showed an interest in my hobby and expressed an interest in building one himself! He got as far as making a window (which looked pretty neat!) and then we unfortunately broke up.
As a birthday surprise, my mom and then boyfriend decided to club together and bought me, what is now the Bakers Dozen (still a work in progress unfortunately.)
Here's a photo of the bakery when I recieved it:
Now, maybe this is the time to give you a break, this is a lot of reading! I'll be back shortly, with the third and final part of Where It All Began!!
Have a wonderful day
ShellbyFay
xx
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