Dolls House World Magazine Mar/Apr 21 Vorige editie

Elizabeth Slinn, who made the idyllic cottage that features on our front cover, has some words of wisdom as she starts on other mini projects: “I’m making a conscious effort to try and make it more about having fun and just being creative.”
As I write this, ironically, Sue is in the next room swearing, head in the ground floor of her shop as three recently-fitted hanging lights give a stop-start performance. Is there anything more frustrating than lights that work intermittently? Yes, cutting out a template on your last piece of wallpaper the wrong way round. But we’ve moved on from that disaster.
You may recall my wife began renovating a Sid Cooke shop she had discovered in her late mum’s attic as a lockdown project. At the beginning it was indeed all about the fun and being creative. But the shop has developed from a rundown store where it didn’t matter if anything went wrong to looking rather impressive, and it’s definitely a case of “less enjoyment, more stress”. There’s so many things that can now go wrong as Sue struggles to make everything perfect.
Too often as miniaturists, as Elizabeth Slinn realised, we become our own worst critics and fun flies out of the window. If you recognise the signs, it’s time to step away from the project, take a deep breath and remind yourself how much you love this hobby.
Am I going to mention that to Sue? Not a flickering chance!