When Hobbies Collide: Giving New Life to the Past

 

I recently discovered a new hobby, born of a love for my nieces and the need to revamp some old dollhouse toys. I've been refurbishing dollhouse furniture that's been in my family for generations, and in the process, I've found a way to combine my love of family history with my creative pursuits.

Art has always been a significant part of our family's heritage, with various members exceling in different mediums. My great grandmother was a painter; more than one grandfather sculpted metal and other materials; various aunts and uncles have skills with pencil and charcoal; photographers abound on all the branches; and we even have a few skilled miniaturists (I like to count myself as the newest among the latter).

Some of my fondest memories as a child are of my grandma Billie and grandpa Lee teaching me art principles, such as perspective and dimension. Those moments are now etched into the pieces that have survived them, and I cherish them still years later. Looking at photos of their art or holding my grandfather's metal roadrunner is like stepping into a warm embrace of the past, and it's as if they're with me again.

I've been using photos of family paintings to create miniature replicas on "canvas" for my nieces to display in their dollhouses or as part of their current toys. Some linen paper, a little balsa wood, drop or two of glue, and voila! Although the originals may have found new homes, we can still share the beauty of those pieces with the youngest generations, perhaps inspiring them to explore their own creativity. It's not just their names they share with their ancestors, after all. 

Another project I'm working on is creating a tiny sketchbook using images of actual sketches by my uncle, one of which adorns our family art wall. Art has a unique way of touching us, and sometimes the creations of those we love add an extra layer of significance.

Through these projects, my nieces may never get to meet their great-great-grandma, but they can still appreciate the legacy she left behind and find their place in it. In this way, my hobbies have collided in the most wonderful way, allowing me to breathe new life into the past and share it with those who matter most. By sharing these pieces with them, I hope to inspire a new generation of artists and history lovers, and to keep the memories of our family's past alive for generations to come.

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If you're interested in making a similar project, here's a quick overview of how I made these tiny art pieces!

Materials:

-Linen Card Stock (textured paper)

-Balsa Wood Dowels

-Elmer's Glue

-Small Vices 

Instructions:

I selected a number of photos of the pieces I wanted to replicate, and put them into Word, although you can use just about any editing program. I specifically chose Word for this project because I could use the simple ruler tool and see how images fit onto a standard 8.5x11 piece of paper for printing. 

In Word, select "Insert" on the top menu, and click "Pictures". Find the first image you're looking for, and add it.

Once the image is in Word, I recommend cropping first, then shrinking it to the size you want. This allows you to see the image better for cropping. The photos I used weren't all just direct photos of the art pieces, so I had to crop out a person or two, as well as background junk that wouldn't be part of the final image. Cropping can be done under the Picture Tools>Picture Format menu. 

Once you've cropped the image to just the art itself (I recommend without any frame that may be there), you can click and drag the dots at the corner of the image to make it smaller. Using the ruler tool on the top and side, you can see when the image is about where you want it. For 1:12 scale for dollhouses, 2 or 3 inches is a good size for small/medium pieces, and up to about 4 or 5 inches for larger pieces. It's ultimately up to you, but for mine, I used the 2-3 in range, for context. 

When you have multiple images you want to print, make sure you leave at least an inch between them on all sides, so you have blank "canvas" for your piece edges. You might not need that much, ultimately, but better safe than sorry. 

Print your Word doc in color on the Linen Card Stock/textured paper. 

Cut out the images with white around the image itself - much like on a real canvas, the art piece is on the front, and there's extra canvas wrapped around the frame, and the extra paper will act as that canvas for your piece. 

Card stock is thicker, so it shouldn't show glue as much as regular printer paper. I was a bit of a glue monster on the first few I put together, so don't be like me! A little glue goes a long way, and you can use a brush or small piece of paper to evenly spread it if there's too much. 

I used a lightboard to guide me as I measured, cut, and glued down the "frame" pieces. Balsa wood is thin and easy to cut with an Exacto or other sharp blade, and while I used 45 degree angles, you can cut the pieces however you like. The lightboard (or a phone or tablet screen as a backlight) can show you where the edge of the art is from the rest of the paper, guiding you to build the frame. 

Glue the pieces down on the inside edge of the piece, on the back side. 

Once all four side of the frame are down and set, cut the paper at a 45 degree angle away from the frame at each corner. This will allow you to more easily wrap and glue the sides, similar to how a larger canvas is done. 

Begin with two sides opposite to each other - glue along the wood and then crease/fold the paper over it. I used a couple different vices to hold the paper in place, and oddly, my jewelry vice was actually the more helpful in keeping the paper in place while the glue dried. Thicker paper has greater resistance at folds.

Once those are set, trim the paper above where the wood is, and repeat on the other two sides. After setting, trim the corners, and voila! Tiny canvas! 

If you try this for yourself, I would love to see how it turns out! Leave a comment below or shoot me an email with your tiny artwork. Happy creating!