F.A.Q.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here I listed the most frequently asked questions sent in via contact form. Maybe they can help you too. Click on a question on the list below to go directly to the answer:
1) Where can I buy affordable miniatures? There are no miniature stores where I live.
There are two kinds of miniatures: cheap, not realistic, usually low quality; or expensive, very realistic and usually high quality and durable.
Unfortunately, anything in between is rare. That’s why most people who embrace the hobby start making their own miniatures: because they realize that if they’ll buy every item, it’ll cost them a small fortune! - That’s why I have listed several free online tutorials on the website!
At first, the miniatures we make ourselves look awful. Yes, mine too! But then we persist, we get the hang of it and things do improve.
The stores listed on pages:
- Minis Brasil > Stores: are located in Brazil and they sell online. In them you can find materials, supplies and basic tools to make your own miniatures. Usually if you work with a technique or craft you feel more comfortable with, you'll end up making better miniature versions of the real life size ones. You can make miniatures using wood, fabric, clay, crochet, paper and so on. Find your niche and go for it!
- and on Minis World > Stores: here you find international (mostly American) stores that also sell online.
There are no stores specialized in dollhouse miniatures in Brazil.
What most miniature crafters love to do is to make miniatures from common daily objects. We say that we develop a "miniature eye" for things. Look at any object and try to imagine: "what would this look like if it were 12 times bigger?" You may end up "seeing" perfume bottles, ashtrays, table lamps and so much more from jewellery findings, for example. If you take a look at the bottom of the Stores page, you can see what a miniature crafter created from erasers, wire and a pencil sharpner bought at a dollar store. Imagination is gold!
2) How should I choose miniatures for my dollhouse or roombox?
The most important thing to consider is to keep coherence in their relative sizes, everything should be proportional. If you choose a very nice stove, but then you place a pan so big that it’ll take all the space on it, it won’t look natural!
I published some tutorials about size to scale on DHB blog, where I show how to pick items so that they look natural on 1:12 scale. You can find other tips there too.
3) Where can I get the measurements (or a plan) for a perfect dollhouse (or furniture)?
On tutoriais page there are links for dollhouse plans, with measurements and assembling instructions. You can also find plans in books or magazines published specially for that purpose. On ebay you can also find some dollhouse plans for sale. On that same tutorial page, you can also find links to websites that teach how to make all sort of furniture, most very realistic. With the measures, of course.
Books and magazines on dollhouse miniatures often offer many free tutorials on how to make furniture and even dollhouses, among other items.
What is essential for a good project, if you are making one based on a real house, is to pay attention to the measurements. Always divide the real life measurement by 12 to get it in scale. This will give you a 1:12 dollhouse or piece of furniture.
If you prefer to work in other scales, divide the life size measurement by the correct factor (6 for play or Barbie scale, 24 for half scale, 48 for quarter, and so on).
4) How can I make furniture for a Barbie house from a dollhouse scale tutorial?
Most tutorials listed on DHB are in 1:12th scale. Barbie’s and Blythe's scale (or playscale) is 1:6. So, it’s quite simple, actually: All you have to do is double each measurement supplied by the tutorial!
If a piece should be cut as 3 x 4 inches in 1:12, then cut it as 6 x 8 inches and you’ll have it in 1:6. Pretty easy, right?
5) How do I convert inches to centimeters?
Usually I use Google for that.
All you have to do is type in the search field "xxx in to cm" and voilá! In this example, you should replace the "xxx" for the actual measure in inches.
Another way is to multiply the value in inches by 2.54.
The "thing" is that most tutorials give values in fractions (1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/16 and 1/32).
And this is a problem, right? Google won’t read fractions and we don’t use fractions in centimeters. Actually, no problem at all if you keep in mind that:
- 1/2 may be written as 0.5
- 1/4 may be written as 0.25
- 1/8 may be written as 0.125
- 1/16 may be written as 0.0625
- 1/32 may be written as 0.03125
So, for example:
(Height) 42 1\2 = (42 + 0,5) x 2,54 = 42,5 x 2,54 = 107,95 cm (high)
(Width) 23 1\4 = (23 + 0,25) x 2,54 = 23,25 x 2,54 = 59,06 cm (wide)
(Depth) 15 1\4 = (15 + 0,25) x 2,54 = 15,25 x 2,54 = 38,74 cm (deep)
6) Can I buy the miniatures I saw on DHB website?
DHB is basically an informative website. The mission is to divulge, inform & share. The miniatures shown were made by the artisans mentioned in the subtitles/labels/credits. Contact them directly to get more information, commission a project, get prices, etc.
You can find lists with links to the artisans' websites, blogs, Instagram, etc, on pages of DHB website. If you can't find a specific artisan link, send me a message through the contact form.
7) Do you teach classes on how to make miniatures?
For now, I (Evelyne Martin) don’t, but there are several very talented miniature artisans in Brazil and abroad who do. Here in Brazil, for example, we have Regina Passy-Yip, Regina Nachtigal, Angelo Pinheiro. It's advisable to contact them directly to get more information about classes.
Abroad there are lots of options. You can contact the organizations, they always have classes. IGMA, NAME... And there are usually workshops during the miniature shows. Check their pages. Clubs usually host workshops and classes for their members, make sure to check your area for miniature clubs. You can also find online classes nowadays, like the ones at Domestika (most are in English, but subtitles in main languages are also available). Keep an eye for seasonal promos, you can buy each course for very affordable prices. Or subscribe and have immediate access to their +1,000 classes on several topics.
Their current classes on miniatures are:
Important: this is NOT a publi. Those are clean, NON affiliate links.