Finding and Making Miniatures

• Ready-Made Miniatures
• Printable miniature projects
• How to instructions to make your own miniatures

Sources for Ready-Made Minis

• Local dollhouse or miniature shops
  
  These are a dying breed, but if you can find a miniature store near you, visit it! This is a great place to see the wide variety of mini furniture and accessories available, plus, shop owners are often happy to help you find exactly what you need. Most can order from a national catalog--Dee's Delights--and get the time in a matter of days.

• Hobby and craft shops
  
  See if your local hobby shop (usually smaller, independent shops) has a dollhouse section and check that out.

• eBay
  
  eBay has a thriving dollhouse miniatures section. You can find a lot of great, handcrafted items here. Just be careful when buying sets of furniture--some of these are mass-produced and are not worth what you'll pay on eBay.

• Hobby Builder Supply
  
  Located at www.miniatures.com, Hobby Builder Supply (HBS) is a good starting point for internet/mail order miniatures. They are owned by Houseworks, a manufacturer of dollhouse components. Their prices are quite low, though buying from HBS is a bit like buying through Amazon.com instead of your local independent bookstore--if social consciousness is important to you, check locally for the same items before buying.

• Online Artisans
  
  There are a lot of online miniature artists who have web pages and do mail order. I am constantly surprised at the beautiful work these people do.

• Miniature shows
  
  Check out the Worldwide Miniature Show Calendar and the Dollhouse Miniatures Magazine Calendar to find shows in your area.

Sources for Printable Projects

Several cool people on the web offer miniature projects that just involve print out a web page on a color printer, and then assembling the finished item. What could be better? These accessories add a lot of realism to a scene. Here are some to get you stareted:

• Jim's Printable Minis (Jim is a god!)
• Dollhouse Projects
• Printable Patterns
• Tiny Talk Project page
• Printables

How to Projects

Many talented people are willing to share their know-how with other crafters. One of the best sources in the Small Stuff Miniature Digest. Check out their extensive online archive of tips.