The World in Miniature

I find that writers, like skaters, tend to be generally creative people with other creative outlets.  One of mine is  my miniature house.

Most of it was assembled in the early 1990s when we lived in the town I used as my model for Crossovers and Between Two Worlds. Since then it has been in storage in the attic. When we remodeled the attic into an office for me, the house is one thing that stayed. 

When I was in Wales last June, my friend and hiking partner Liz painted a 2-inch by 3-inch water color of Pen-y-Fan and Corn Du where we had hiked.  I planned to hang it over my fireplace. Liz even signed the painting in letters a millimeter high! That inspired me to learn how to frame miniature pictures. I have had fun filling my house with miniaturized versions of the artwork in our real house thanks to a digital camera and the computers ability to downsize.

This winter the roof is covered with “snow.” By spring I really have to do something about shingles.

Here is Liz's painting over the fireplace. That is my husband and I on our wedding day on the wall to the left.

Here's a close-up of the picture of my grandchildren that is on the mantle, just so you can see the size.

In the master bedroom you will find my daughter's HS graduation pictures on the back wall, me as a bride on the vanity, a more recent picture of my husband and me on the nightstand, and a "needlepoint" by my mother in the foreground. The quilt squares are 1/4 inch. The fabric for the quilt and the wallpaper was a quilt I made for my daughter in high school.

The baby's room includes a miniature of one of Janet Wilson's illustrations from my book So That's What God is Like.  The original is on our living room wall. I'm not above taking free pics from the internet.  Other pictures in the room include some Arthur Rackham, Beatrix Potter and a couple favorites of Christ. I made the quilt, afghan and carpet.  (I don't expect to EVER do another of the latter.)

Thanks to the scanner I was able to miniaturize some of my grandchildren's artwork for the kitchen wall by the door. Now they sometimes bring me artwork they want scanned for the dollhouse.