Laughing with Di

Jonathan Swift’s, Gulliver, had his adventure when he discovered the Lilliputians. Here’s my adventure dabbling in the DIY world of miniatures.

Let’s have a laugh. A snicker? A chuckle?

Favorite stores in Santa Clarita to find “little” treasures are Hobby Lobby, Michaels, Barn & Charm and Maison on Main. My first miniature project was a garden flower shed.

Since patience is not one of my virtues, I was instantly challenged when I realized that English was maybe a “third” language for the person who wrote the instructions for this kit. Here’s a typical directive, “insert the bulges into the sockets with much patience” (with what?). I read about “tips of fabric”, “tips of glue”, and warnings like, “put remains back in bags in case of missing.”

Challenge #2 was dealing with millimeters. I was bending wires into “U” shapes, at a width of 5mm; know how small that is? I used tweezers, small scissors, needle-nose pliers, a 2.5mm screwdriver, toothpicks, a magnifying glass and lots of glue! I fashioned doors, shelves, crates, cabinets, a broom, flower seed bags, buckets, shovels, a water pipe, a faucet, a small rake, (oh my). Then came the plants and flowers. I cut paper samples contained in bag #6 (but really found in bag #4), frayed them, fanned, bent and glued them into vases of all shapes and milli-sizes.

Challenge #3 was waiting for glue to dry (kind of like watching water boil). I set up a book to read while holding and waiting (impatient people multi-task), asking myself, “Why am I doing this?”

The finale entailed gluing transparent sheets with black paper edges, forming the faux glass house, necessitating my own instruction changes (in English). I attached paraphernalia as required, inside and outside (with much patience) and my flower shed was finished and really cute.

Not learning a lesson, I have started on my second miniature kit – a bookstore! What?