Last year, I became enamored with doll houses. I found one at a charity shop and brought it home to play with. And by play, I mean I redecorated it! I painted it, laid new flooring, removed the stairway, and added wallpaper. When I finished, I gave it to a coworker for her grandchild.
The same coworker and I had several conversations about dollhouses, and then she introduced me to Maileg mice! I became obsessed! Please visit their site to open a world of imagination and play!
I asked for a Maileg mice family for Christmas. My husband gave me the mother and father, and my children gave me the son and daughter. I had a whole family but no house.
I found an old cabinet while on my weekly visit to the local St. Vincent de Paul shop. I stood and looked at it for a good while, imagining a family of mice discovering it, moving in, and making a lovely home for themselves.
The first thing I did to the cabinet was give it a couple coats of paint. The dark finish wasn’t quite right for the room this cabinet would go in.
Next, I began to imagine how a mouse might furnish its home. Would it have rugs, wall coverings, or furniture? And if so, what would these items be made of?
Perhaps the flooring would be made from a game board, and the walls would be covered in craft paper “wallpaper.”
Perhaps the mice used pages from a found book or scraps of torn decorative paper to cover their walls.
Maileg mice come in cigar boxes or matchbox beds, perfect for my “found object” mouse house decor.
I purchased a lot of cigar boxes from an online shopping site and fashioned additional furniture from them. I cut foam to the size of each box, then cut small scraps from an old quilt and finished the edges.
The thought of a little mouse family snuggled up together, reading, brought me joy. I just needed a fireplace to cozy things up even further.
I fashioned one out of Scrabble tiles and parts of the Scrabble game box. Tiny wooden discs look like logs in the fire; a toilet paper chimney with a cigar box label.
Additional seating was made from small cans, foam, and scraps of the old quilt.
An antique sewing machine attachment box and a compact mirror make up the sink and vanity, while a gravy boat becomes the bathtub!
The bookshelf was made from an insert from one of the cigar boxes. The tiny books and plants were purchased online. I opted to weave tiny, mouse-size rugs.
I purchased several of these tiny picture frames and filled them with images found online.
The cabinet's doors provided additional “living” space.
I purchased clear acrylic shelves, attached them to the cabinet doors, and placed additional cigar box furniture to create “bedrooms” for the boy and girl mice.
I finished the interior space with battery-operated puck lights.
With creative juices flowing, I pushed the limits by creating an “outside” camping area. This teepee tent was made with chopsticks, twine, and a piece of canvas. The fire pit was made from a canning jar lid, some rocks, and a few small pieces of wood mulch.
Allow yourself to be inspired by others’ work. Then, wonder how you might change, expand, or play around with the idea.
Wonder, Explore, Imagine, Create, and Inspire
All photos by Paulette Rodriguez
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