Sometimes life feels too big, and on these occasions I like to focus on something very small, and something completely different from stitching or mixed media art. Something that’s just for me and nothing to do with work or accomplishing anything.
You may remember the little twelfth-scale Sid Cooke shop kit I started last year.
one-twelfth-scale shop
The interior (about 10″ square) is decorated but needs furnishing in a more sensible way than this:
Sid Cooke shop interior
I’ve been having a little play with some of the tiny things.
twelfth-scale book and bunting
I made the shop counter out of scraps of wood and some recycled perspex packaging. The front comes off for access to the ‘glass’ shelf.
on the (real life) table
Some decades ago I had a past life as a miniaturist, and these days it’s quite a challenge for the ageing eyes. A challenge in a good way though. Sometimes I wonder if the tiny world gives me a sense of control that the real full-size world can’t.
Whatever it is, I find myself retreating into smallness at the moment and feeling better for it. And in any case, all work and no play, etc etc.
I hope you’re making time to connect with the little things that make you happy too.
No stitching whatsoever in this post. I’ve been a little distracted recently by this beautiful vintage Sid Cooke Georgian shop kit. This is purely for my own amusement, by the way. In a past life I made one-twelfth scale miniatures and it’s been fun to reconnect with my younger self, though I notice my eyesight isn’t quite as good as it was then.
The kit is basically a box with a hinged front, about 12″ wide, 9″ deep and 9″ tall.
Sid Cooke Georgian shop kit
The front is almost finished, apart from a bit more weathering on the stucco (paint, glue, and a little sand).
Georgian shop front
The columns and step are made from wood, sanded and painted to look like old stone.
front, detail
The shop door that comes with the kit is a little chunky to be properly in scale, but I think there’s no harm in having an extra-thick shop door. I guess that makes it more secure for the tiny owner. It’s glazed with perspex and the letterbox opens.
shop door
I’ve opted for a modern-day shop selling vintage items because I still have some tiny treasures from when I had a larger doll’s house a few years ago. I’ll probably paint some of the furniture to make it a bit more contemporary.
previous doll’s house, set in around 1900
The benefit of ‘vintage’ is that you can make pretty much anything from any era and it will all sit quite happily together.
shop sign and fascia with glazed bow window
The interior is about ready to be filled. I made a false wall for the back, with a back door and a set of recessed shelves (all made from foam core and mountboard) to stop it looking so ‘boxy’. The glazing in the back door is graph paper with a layer of tracing paper on top to make it look like frosted safety glass. The door handle is a bit of thick armature wire. I would wire lights if it were a larger house, but just for this little box I’m using a couple of LED battery lights. The coving and skirting board come as lengths that you can cut to size.
shop interior
I’ll make a shop counter to sit alongside the shelving at the back. The shelves are mostly full of shop paperwork, lever arch files, and a couple of ornaments.
recessed shelving
It’s a lot of fun. The problem is that now I’ve started it, I have to finish it to the point where I can sit the whole thing on a shelf, and then I can make the contents in stages whenever I have a spare hour or two. I only have one work surface in my (real-life) room, and while this is all spread out (along with paint, brushes, wood glue, saw, sandpaper, etc) there isn’t space to get on with anything else. That’s my excuse, anyway.
