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Do you do this too?


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I literally scour the Internet for ideas, researching techniques. I feel like I'm not wasting time because I am researching. But I can sit for hours looking. And I will sit in front of my house just staring at the space to get inspiration or ideas. 

My husband looks at me like I'm crazy. Friends say "what have you been doing". I don't want to tell them because they don't get it. 

I sometimes feel like I am doing nothing but I really am doing something. It just takes me a long time to narrow down what I want to do. I have Pinterest boards for each idea, sketches I draw, scrapbooks with magazine photo clippings, etc.

Please tell me I'm not the only one

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Most definitely not!  Everything I see now, I wonder how it could be done in miniature.

I even have my 4 year old granddaughter asking if I want to use something for miniatures before she throws it out! LOL!!

I have a saying stenciled in my craft room: 

" Art is the only way to run away without leaving home" 

Jo

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For me the sitting and looking at the scene/house/miniature in question is just a way to communicate with it, to see that I am on the right track and also why at Times it takes years and years to get the while thingtogether. Take for an exempel the lighthouse, I started with that build in 2011 I think and we are nedring in on completion, and in doingso there have been many moments of "hmm" and "what if" and then to sit back for a while gathering thoughts and ideas on how to achieve just the mood/Item/techniques etc etc. So no, you are most definitley not alone ;)

Hugs

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@Anna @Mimajo yeah, I've always taken a step back to look at my work in progress, whether it was designing clothing, or painting some artwork. But since getting back into miniatures.......Wow, what a time suck. I feel like I'm researching all the time. 

This whole "electrifying a dollhouse" thing is driving me crazy. Just when I think I'm going to go with copper tape, someone tells me how easy it is with the round wire. Arghhhhhh! I'm so confused and feel like this is holding me up.

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I have about 50 websites with campaign furniture in my favorites I look at them almost daily looking for hints on how they are constructed, ow I could translate that into miniature, etc. Plus I search and search for period Victorian era photo's of the furniture and accessories in use to use in my designs

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You are not alone. I think that is the best part because in the researching you might see something that the house is wanting or needing and has told you about in the hours of communicating with it. When you see it you know that is what the house was trying to communicate.

Michelle, as for the wiring, go with what you feel comfortable with. I have been using the little LED light strings that I got for $1.00 at my local Family Dollar around Christmas. I think the Dollar Tree had them as well. I have a kit I got for electrifying, but after looking at it, I wasn't ready for working with it. So, I continue to use the light strings. Someday I will feel confident enough to use the kit, but for now the strings are good. Also, what does the house want for lights? Maybe that is part of the issue.

Jo, That is such a true statement. That also applies to reading, but I love it for our hobby and I hope you'll allow us other miniaturists to use it.

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All the above, yep - me too.  

But also, think about it, isn't that part of the process?  I mean, if I popped up there toot sweet and slammed out a house as fast as all that, think how many we'd have?  I'd have to buy Another house to store my houses.  I can only give away so many.

You need to take your time, isn't there a saying about rushing, or - opening your Christmas presents too fast, etc.

And - I do this for enjoyment, no money made, so, it extends the money too, by me planning and knowing, I avoid costly mistakes.

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one more thing - my husband is having surgery today, long day, too much time to think

 

so - one more thing, with my first house, it took several years, and one day, I found this ammo box, I saw it as an Adobe room box, knew exactly how I wanted to look, exactly.   So, I took a break from the huge project to work on a small project.  I found the feeling of success from that one project spurred me on, and I realized that each step is a success.

example - I'm making a bakery for my daughter, and I knew how I wanted the bathroom to look, so I did that first, and did a little celebration when I finished it, took pictures, showed it off.  Then I installed the stairs, the way I wanted, and so on and so forth.  I have a little list in my head of the steps, and as I finish one step, I feel like I've accomplished something. I had small chunks of time this week, due to the surgery, so my goal was to refinish and set up my garage sale found kitchen cabinets, and I was able to, in that time.  

that first house, all I could see was the big picture, and I was so overwhelmed that I didn't enjoy it as much as I should have

 

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Thanks for this thread!! 

I needed to hear others speak on this topic. I've felt so lost and disconnected from my hobbies, passions and from my own self.

This past year+ (from h---) with all our ongoing health issues and crisises has reduced my crafting to very, very, very small fits and starts.

So most of my time is spent looking, thinking, sketching, wishing, and dreaming. Trolling blogs, albums, watching a zillion tutorials, ordering supplies that have never been opened, yeah, that's my last year and a half. 

My hubs had surgery a couple weeks ago and has another bigtime surgery coming up in a couple weeks and then, fingers crossed, our life will settle down again and my muse will return with tools in hand. 

Until then, I'm continuing my "research". Love that term - so much more class. 

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The White Rose took me two years to build, and I continue to fuss with it and all of my houses. Sometimes I spend a LOT of time staring at the house at different phases of the build, sometimes it goes together really quickly. I spend time every day researching and/or browsing ideas. My hubby calls it "inspiration shopping" and I gleefully partake in the activity whenever I've got a few minutes that aren't taken up with actual mini work or RL.

I've stopped pushing myself to build faster. Some go fast, some slow. They get the time they need.

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44 minutes ago, Selkie said:

Thanks for this thread!! 

I needed to hear others speak on this topic. I've felt so lost and disconnected from my hobbies, passions and from my own self.

This past year+ (from h---) with all our ongoing health issues and crisises has reduced my crafting to very, very, very small fits and starts.

So most of my time is spent looking, thinking, sketching, wishing, and dreaming. Trolling blogs, albums, watching a zillion tutorials, ordering supplies that have never been opened, yeah, that's my last year and a half. 

My hubs had surgery a couple weeks ago and has another bigtime surgery coming up in a couple weeks and then, fingers crossed, our life will settle down again and my muse will return with tools in hand. 

Until then, I'm continuing my "research". Love that term - so much more class. 

@Selkie, love sent your way too. Everything has a way of moving exactly the way it is supposed too. Just think of it this way,Mohan you are ready to get busy, think of all the supplies you'll have on hand.

And to your husband, wishes sent his way.

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Oh, this thread is perfect timing for me. I needed the validation! I was just thinking yesterday morning as I looked at our present mini-mini project that the planning takes longer than the execution. I thought, "Why am I putting myself through this voluntary, consuming, visualizing, time eating experience?" No answer, except somehow it satisfies me.

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I always wonder about the great old artists - they never just stepped up to a blank canvas with no idea what they were doing, they though, and sketched, etc.

the research and such, those are all part of the creative process    

Selkie - I love your work, and its so hard, when stuff is crazy, sort of fuzzes up your brain!  The research is a lite distraction for me today, I think it must be the same for you

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Good luck to everybody having surgery! Healing vibes to everyone who has not been feeling 100% their best/healthiest.

I am like all of you too. When people say "artists make many pieces to practice and become better", I prefer to work slowly, do my research and produce quality over quantity. If a technique bothers me, I will try a little bit of it on a sample piece, then commit to the big installation.  Same applies to my dollhouses. Just because I'm still a newbie in terms of number of finished dollhouses (1), it doesn't mean I'm clueless about the process. I have half a Magnolia, a quarter of a lighthouse (they form one unit, Eternity Point), my Lily is still in shell form, the little shopping mall is busy gathering creative thoughts about what it wants to be - and now that I've started the Big Mall as well, the pace is starting to pick up again.

My thoughts were trailing out into the universe about shops, shop shelves, commercial builds etc and all of a sudden I am finding everything I need around every corner! While it is gratifying to the extreme, my poor credit card is gasping for breath and feeling quite ill. :eek:

For example, I've been collecting empty food boxes with the intention of scanning/reducing them for my shops. And just last week I discovered the perfect copy shop near my house that can do it for me for a very reasonable price, as my scanner is way too small for most of the boxes.

At Daiso (the Japanese Dollar Store) I bumped into a whole lot of shop shelves, 1:12 scale, so I grabbed as many as I could. They also had bigger shelf units (but without the shelves, just the boxed frame section) - voila, saves me a lot of time and effort to build from scratch.

Now my brain is busy planning shop layouts, space for the dozen little 1:12 shopping trolleys that are cluttering up my workroom. The big mall finally has parking spaces sorted and now I'm brainstorming mall layouts, light fittings, marble floors, etc.

I have so many boards on Pinterest for miniatures, I can sit for hours just looking through everything. And the funny thing is, as time goes by, some of the ideas jump to a different house than the house I Pinned it for in the first place! Like my Willow is going to change from being Merlin's house to being a law office for Darth Vader and his extended family. 

Our brains really are little creative crockpots that take time to stew everything into the perfect meal. Too many choices can be so overwhelming, that I find it is an awesome relief to finally make a choice and start the next round of creative brainstorming.

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I used to NOT do this. I didn't research things or gather ideas - I just sort of collected based on nostalgia from childhood - which is fine, but it doesn't grow the skills at all. And my dollhouses showed it. Then I started absorbing ideas old and new, looking at real life houses and figuring out how to miniaturize things and my houses came to life with much better detail. Now even people who think hobbies are silly marvel at some of the details in my houses (if they are lucky enough to be allowed to see any of them).

All that research ALWAYS pays off. It never fails you.

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5 minutes ago, smjsome said:

Lene - my daughter is going to be near a Daiso in a few weeks, what do those shelves look like?

Hi Sharon.

Here are the shelves. They come in two varieties: one unstained and one stained a light brown. The bottom shelf is an inch and a half deep, the middle shelf is an inch deep. It will be very easy to add more horizontal shelves if you want to display smaller products. The top section would look cool with hanging pegs, for example. Hope she finds some for you!

IMG_6241.JPG

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My eldest son has temporarily moved back home and he has never experienced the "dollhouse stare" before. He walked by me in my trance and asked if everything is ok? I responded, "I'm just waiting for the next inspiration".  His response was, "Just wanted to make sure you are still with us and didn't have a stroke or something".

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49 minutes ago, Sable said:

My eldest son has temporarily moved back home and he has never experienced the "dollhouse stare" before. He walked by me in my trance and asked if everything is ok? I responded, "I'm just waiting for the next inspiration".  His response was, "Just wanted to make sure you are still with us and didn't have a stroke or something".

@Sable ahahahahaha ha, you had me laugh out loud on this one. That is funny. 

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51 minutes ago, Sable said:

My eldest son has temporarily moved back home and he has never experienced the "dollhouse stare" before. He walked by me in my trance and asked if everything is ok? I responded, "I'm just waiting for the next inspiration".  His response was, "Just wanted to make sure you are still with us and didn't have a stroke or something".

Heeheehee... reminds me of Granny Weatherwax from Terry Pratchett's Discworld books. Whenever she left her body to travel in the animal bodies, she would leave a card on her chest saying "I aten't dead" just to warn off potential mourners :rofl:

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What's funny, is when it spreads - I'm staring, my daughter asks, what you looking at, and I start to describe the problem, then she stares, soon, my son in law is thinking and pointing out solutions, and my husband is telling, him, "yes! And if we ...."

soon, I'm surrounded by staring talking people, all leaned over a tiny small world.

 

dr came out, finally says about 1/2 an hour more! Yay.  He is a cop, and tore his rotator cuff completely - they've been trying to fix it for a while.

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