Planning process

[jdforsten21]

In regards to planning a project, how In depth does everyone plan before starting? I’m in the process of planning my first project but am terrified that I will not think of something and then have to rip things out (such as planning for lighting). What would be some recommendated items you plan in advance before starting!? Thanks! 

[Mid-life madness]

I think it depends on your personality....I have an idea of what I want to achieve, sometimes I am able make my ideas come to life, other times my dream dies..(.Just kidding) Things don't always go as planned and I just go forward and chalk it up to a lesson learned. I have seen other members here who collect their ideas in notebooks or on Pinterest. There are general sequences that experts recommend....https://earthntree.com/miniatures/index.php?main_page=page&id=3

Planning the lighting is probably the most important thing IMO. Just remember, everything is fixable and there are nice battery operated lights if you need to add extras! I recommend buying extra molding and wallpaper too.....

[Anna]

Often when I see a kit it sorts of shows  me how it wants to become, ie it gives me a picture to follow along wit. i then often use a sketch pad to not down the ideas, scribbles and collects colour schemes in that book, right. Of I have one for the Emerson Row that I have which with some tweaking is telling me its story and I am Now slowly either finding bits and pieces for it, or collecting the materials I need to make something g etc. In doing so I make a sort of mini book, with one page for each room where I add the colours or fabrics etc that I am going to use in each room, that makes it so much easier when at a show or in Any shop one finds mini goodies to see that it Will work colourwise. So I amortera of a planning freak allowing myself years ifneed to find and collect the things I need while working on another project in the meantime. 

[Elsbeth]

Oh you just have to jump in and learn for the next project.

Hindsight 20/20 moment:  I now think I should have done a few smaller projects for practice before doing larger projects. I have learned so much. Even when I plan things go differently, but with practice I picked up some great tools and glue and projects now get better and easier with more practice. And nicer looking. I don't have a natural talent for this stuff - I have to work at it. I am only just able to wallpaper - had awful attempts before. Now I have a utility knife I like, glue I feel good about, etc. Had to figure all that out by simply using those things. Good luck!

[Keifer]

I am new to this but I have found that whether its a kit or a scratch build like mine.  The process is much like a chess game in that you need to think 2-3 steps ahead.  I often play the “if game” where I say “ok if I finish this and then get this installed...whats next.  Its saved me a few times. 

[Elsbeth]

Yes! What Keifer said! While I wait for glue to dry, or if I am unable to work on the build - I read instructions, make lists of what is next and what I will need...that is a big help. 

I like the idea of approaching it like chess game!

[WestPaces]

I don't remember where I read 'dollhouse making is 20% making and 80% thinking'. That is how I work as I see the thinking/planning as part of the fun. I look at pictures, tutorials, read posts until I'm ready to attack the making. There are so many possibilities in miniatures, the mind boggles! At least some amount of planning, thinking ahead and envisioning can save you money in the long run. For example: am I going to put coving/baseboards everywhere? I didn't think of this and just ordered some... I had to order baseboard twice more and therefore paid 3 times shipping: I bought 3 small bottles of tacky glue before I finally bought a large bottle - things you use a lot (glue, sandpaper, masking tape, etc.) are better bought in one go to save money. I bought 3 packs of assorted paintbrushes and really only use 3 or 4 of them - a lot. I didn't think I could handle the difficulty of wiring a whole house but now I regret that decision (I might buy some battery lights). So, planning, in my opinion, is good but if you plan TOO much you might just get overwhelmed and disheartened so there comes a time when you just have to jump right in. I would say it is a good idea to do a sort of mood board to get an overall theme for colors and style to avoid buying every lovely thing you see; I have 3 sofas for one house! because I keep seeing ones I like better  I have also painted the front door 3 times - 3 coats of paint each time  . I suppose it all depends on how YOU work, some plan down to the last detail and others just jump in both feet first, do what you feel is right for you and have fun!!

[havanaholly]

The house kit tells me what it wants; if it doesn't keep reminding me, it either doesn't get what it wants or it gets something totally unexpected.  I'll read or see something and there's the house's little voice in my ear saying either, "Make me that" or "Not in 1000 years".

[WestPaces]

... Also, I tend to practice techniques and do mock ups before I try something new...

[Anna]

for the Sherlock house (the Emerson row) i started with some pictures from the i terror and then I doodle  i usually Bring atleast one of the sketch pada along with me wherever and sketch and ponder what might be needed to t item in particular.

[NellBell]

Well I’m a planner who then leaps 

I decide a style I want to make then I look for what seems like forever to find the kit. Once I decide on it then I leap and kinda wing it. 

I keep an open mind and when I’m dry fitting I let it speak to me. (That statement I pilfered from Holly). I am also kinda new and have found I love this hobby so much. 

[Sable]

I tend to copy real life. I see something I like and try to mimick it the best I can. Once I fell in love with a pool house, printed a photo of it out, brought it down to scale and mimicked most of the details. Like WestPaces said 20% build but in my case 80% starring. 

[KathieB]

5 hours ago, Sable said:

I tend to copy real life. I see something I like and try to mimick it the best I can. Once I fell in love with a pool house, printed a photo of it out, brought it down to scale and mimicked most of the details. Like WestPaces said 20% build but in my case 80% starring. 

Like Sable, I tend to lean toward "if I can see it or imagine it, I will figure out how to duplicate it" -- using smoke and mirrors where needed  

[MLPMagic13]

This has been an interesting read! I have wondered what other people's process is. For me, I have creative ADD and when I think of one idea, its like 2-5 ideas come up and start waving at me. So is a process to whittle through and figure out what I want to do. Letting things sit and stew is good I have found, because I have a stack of disasters I have avoided with just giving it time to set. I like to look at reference pictures, but never save them. Also, don't be afraid to make mistakes or if things don't work out like you were planning, because you might like something else better. I'm not the most organized person with the planning stages, I fill in the details as I go along, but somehow I am able to manage things just fine anyway.  

[WyckedWood]

I like to keep a notebook with sketches and ideas and make lists.  For some people it helps them to have a muse as a sort of partner during the build. This could be a doll or a gnome or an animal that will reside in the house. They watch over the building process and give you inspiration and encouragement to finish their house so they can move in  

[CreatureCrafter]

I spend a lot of time looking for inspiration and I use Pinterest to keep all the images together. I have a dolls house board and then that has separate sections for each room. It makes it easy to find something I liked the look of as a reference say if I think 'oh today I want to build a bed' i have a bedroom folder on pinterest I can refer to. I sort of build as I go along and make changes as and when I need to. It develops over time, I just keep an open mind and have the overall 'feel' or theme I am working on in the back of my mind. 

[Ute]

I just got my first kit and am also nervous. I started to collect pictures and ideas and keep them in a folder. 

[abloom]

I daydream a lot about a house I want to make, and then I go on google to look for pictures, usually of real houses or elements like crumbling brick or peeling paint (I like old places) and I save the images I like on my phone, where I have an album for each house I'm dreaming about. I also keep notes on my iphone notepad, with ideas I want to try. As for specific construction plans, I'm pretty relaxed and tend to dive in with whatever I feel like working on. (On a first house, I would not depart far from the instructions, though! And keep the materials organized as you work so you don't lose track of which little pieces are which!) Otherwise, the one caution I always have in mind is, what will I not be able to do once I complete this step. If you want to wire the house, think that through before you glue anything together or start decorating. You can add wiring later, but you'll be cursing yourself for not doing it when it would have been so much easier. The same for interior painting, wallpapering, trim, stairways, fireplaces, shelves, etc. I dry-fit a lot to see how the house will look, but before I glue, I want to do everything possible to the interior while I can get at it - before it's permanently glued into tiny, dark little compartments. Don't worry too much, though. Mistakes happen, and they can be fixed. Have fun! :)

[WestPaces]

10 hours ago, KathieB said:

Like Sable, I tend to lean toward "if I can see it or imagine it, I will figure out how to duplicate it" -- using smoke and mirrors where needed  

Me too! I zone in on something I'd like for my 'little' house and my mind starts roving for 'things' that could make it happen

 

[WestPaces]

9 hours ago, MLPMagic13 said:

This has been an interesting read! I have wondered what other people's process is. For me, I have creative ADD and when I think of one idea, its like 2-5 ideas come up and start waving at me. So is a process to whittle through and figure out what I want to do. Letting things sit and stew is good I have found, because I have a stack of disasters I have avoided with just giving it time to set. I like to look at reference pictures, but never save them. Also, don't be afraid to make mistakes or if things don't work out like you were planning, because you might like something else better. I'm not the most organized person with the planning stages, I fill in the details as I go along, but somehow I am able to manage things just fine anyway.  

2

I can relate! People around me think I just up and make things happen on the spur of the moment but there has been a lot of planning (well, my definition of it), dreaming, forethought and ...stewing before I get to it. Once the making starts it happening though it goes pretty fast until I hit a snag then the stewing begins again. As you say, disasters are avoided and sometimes something better evolves from the process  "I have creative ADD and when I think of one idea, its like 2-5 ideas come up and start waving at me." I LOVE that - so true.

[WestPaces]

1 hour ago, abloom said:

...crumbling brick or peeling paint (I like old places) 

 

Me too!!

[Dalesq]

Like several others have already said, I too tend to prefer realism, at least as a starting point. I look for real life images that spark my interest and then embellish them with some fantasy, but I like to create houses that are based on something in real life.

I keep separate photo journals, written lists, and background stories for each build idea on my iPad. I’ve also got several Pinterest boards that are organized by subject (I.e.  windows and doors, etc) and I go through them periodically for inspiration.

I start a new photo journal when inspiration strikes and will come back to it and add to it as ideas come to me, even if I’m working on something else. Also, I try to be flexible, because I may think I know what the house wants, but once I begin building end up going off in a completely different direction from where I thought I’d go.

When I first started building minis I thought I’d run out of ideas after one or two houses. But nope, I’ve got at least a half dozen ideas in the formation stage and sometimes I have a tough time deciding which to do next.  

So just have fun! As KathieB says, “It’s the journey, not the destination.”

[jdforsten21]

This has been so informative for me! Thank you! I sat myself down and started sketching my ideas for my Christmas room box. Very quickly I have realized that creating miniatures is a long term project. I am so surprised how now that I’m in this mind set I see something in a store or online and i immediately start thinking I could make that it would go great in my dollhouse (which is in 4 million pieces). I think I may be addicted! Im just going to enjoy the process and let my projects guide me! 

[havanaholly]

Jodi, check online and at your local library for books by Patricia King for making dollhouse miniatures and furniture.  She will alter the way you look at objects around you, and drive you bananas in thrift stores.