Friday Favorites,  hobbies

Friday Favorites: Miniatures

March 23, 2012

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted a Friday Favorites post so I thought I’d take the opportunity today.  Not only is it a way to share something I enjoy but I like the opportunity to talk about a subject more on the lighter side of things.

So what is something I would add to the column under favorites?  This may be totally off the wall but one of my absolute favorite things is…miniatures.

Miniature what, you say?

Anything miniature, is my reply.  If it’s hundreds of times smaller than the original, I’ll love it.  I’ve collected miniatures most of my life, some I stick with, others I do not.  But my absolute favorite miniature of all time is something I spent hours and hours on over the course of about ten years.

Ten years sounds more like a job, I know.  But when you find a hobby you enjoy, it’s something that can consume your spare time.  What consumed my spare time for ten years?  Well, it was a house.  Not just anyhouse, mind you, but a Victorianhouse.  And not just any Victorian house, but a miniatureVictorian house.

When I was pregnant with my first son, I decided I wanted to tackle a project.  I had always wanted to have a doll house when I was young and other than a Barbie house, which to a nine year old was actually pretty cool with three stories and an elevator, I never did get to have a real doll house.  So, as an adult and pregnant with my first baby (the sex of which I did not know at the time), I decided to buy my very own Victorian doll house.  Back in 1992 it cost me a cool $117.00.  Inflation hasn’t been too bad in the doll house business, I see, as the exact same doll house is now only $169.00 on sale.

Once I received all the pieces along with the schematics, I toiled and troubled over the house for months…gluing the pieces together, adding shingles to the roof, adding wiring for electricity throughout the house, wallpapering the walls, painting the ceilings, cutting carpet and other flooring for each room.  It was quite an experience to take on such a project. 

And then the fun really began as I purchased furniture for each room as well as other items to make the house a little home.  There’s everything and more than you can imagine available to purchase for your new miniature home.  Some items can cost you though, which is probably why I spent a decade adding furniture and other items.  Even now, the house is not quite done.  But whether it’s a miniature house or my very own real-life home, nothing ever feels quite done.  The hobby isn’t one I spend time on anymore but I still enjoy having the house, especially after all the work I put into it, and especially when I can share it with young children who visit.  I did finally decide to enter the doll house into a local fair a few years ago and I was thrilled to receive a First Place award as well as a Special Award.
The house takes up a corner and doesn’t get as much attention as it used to but it is a part of me because of what I put into it.  My firstborn and also my second turned out to be boys, so I don’t have a daughter to pass the house on to but that’s okay…I will keep it until I do have someone to pass it on to.  Until that time, it’s a reminder to me that it’s never too late to live out a childhood dream.