The world of miniatures has caught the attention of adults and kids alike.
Despite the recent rise in popularity of the pink plastic balls called Mini Brands, miniature toys have captured the hearts of many for decades. Toys like Littlest Pet Shop and Polly Pocket have been around since the ‘90s.
“Miniatures go all the way back to when I was a kid,” says Chelsea Trousdale, a freelance artist for companies like Disney and DreamWorks.
Trousdale has been working as a character designer, illustrator and graphic designer for more than 10 years. In addition to her digital art, she creates intricate mini character sculptures using felt.
“There’s a great little dollhouse store back where I grew up in Michigan,” she adds. “It’s like this old toy store where the whole upstairs is dedicated to dollhouse building and I remember going there with my mom and just look at all the little, tiny things that miniaturists have made.”
Trousdale says a miniature isn’t just a toy, but anything shrunken down from miniature bookshelves to dollhouses. “Anytime you’re making something that exists in real life, and you’re scaling it down, and you’re making it small, I would consider it a miniature craft.”
While miniature kits are sold at Target and on Amazon, families can enjoy the fun of tiny things at home with a few household supplies.
Trousdale says to use old articles of clothing or scrap fabrics to make blankets and pillows for dolls. “You can use shoeboxes to make little dioramas.”
Making miniature scenes is a great way to get kids of all ages off screens and exercise their imaginations. All you really need is paper, cardboard or even little scraps of wood to build little furniture pieces for your dollhouse.
“I think it’s a great way for parents to engage with kids because it takes [parents] back to when they were a kid,” says Trousdale.
Plus, a handmade craft can make a great gift.
If your child likes creating digitally, however, there are also ways to dream up characters for miniatures using digital creation.
“Using digital tools is a great way to ideate, that’s what I do,” Trousdale says. “I like to plan out the scenes that I make, and I use my Wacom tablet to … sketch out ideas and … digitally mockup scenes before I make them.”
Learn more about Trousdale’s creative projects to inspire your own family’s art at chelseatrousdale.com, or explore tips and tools to make your own miniatures with aimeeriver.com/making-miniatures-for-beginners and 10 Easy DIY Miniature Doll Crafts – simplekidscrafts.
