Why I Decided to Build a Dollhouse
Why I Decided to Build a Dollhouse
I’ll be honest. I never really do anything half-assed. I’m the type of person who has to strategically figure out the best way to do something. I will measure each piece of furniture in a room and then lay it out in a floor plan app just to make sure I can rearrange it the way I have it figured out in my head.
It can be pretty annoying to some people, just ask my mom.
I use spreadsheets for everything. Like, everything.
So coming to this decision to do something fun for myself, making a dollhouse room box doesn’t come lightly. But it does come with a special reason.
You see, I have busted my ass for the past several years building a successful business in Holly McCaig Creative, LLC. I put together a plan, I sought out every educational tool I could find so I would be able to work for myself without fear or worry.
And, when I say I busted my ass, I mean that I work 7 days a week. I stress out over every little detail. But it has worked for me. I have diversified my business with multiple streams of income at hollypixels.com, hollypixelsstudio.com and almonogram.com. Soon we’ll have aspenandlark.com. I’m really proud of the work I’ve done.
I made a promise to myself that if I couldn’t put my idea into fruition and really make it work that I’d give it all up and go back to work for the man. Luckily I did it.
That being said, I recently have been reevaluating what I do. I constantly ask myself the questions of why I go out of my way to help some people that don’t seem to want the help. Or, why I put out some content that takes me nowhere. And, I realized that it’s important to really put myself first now. I want to give myself things to look forward to that don’t have anything to do with my business.
I was working on my content plans for my other business and I started strategically letting things go so I would be free on the weekends to do whatever the hell I wanted to do. Without guilt. I’m in a place where I can do that now. Three years of busting my ass to get to where I am, I now deserve to enjoy it. I am able to hire out for things I no longer want to do. I can be more picky with content, not feeling like I have to do every single thing every single day of the week.
I saw a Tik Tok video the other day from a doctor that was treating Covid patients and he mentioned the 9 things he hears from someone who is about to die or is dying from the virus, and so many were about wishing they had done something more enjoyable in life, or they didn’t wait until tomorrow to start something. And, it got me thinking that I not only needed to adjust my work schedule, I needed to do more things that were for me.
A few months ago I saw an Instagram post of a miniature dollhouse scene and my heart melted. Ever since thing I have been stalking and following IG accounts and Pinterest pages. I kept saying to myself, I really want to do one of these. I mean, how else can you design your dream home without it costing you an arm and a leg? Go miniature!
And, with the idea of changing my work schedule, seeing life for what it should be and my desire to want to make a dollhouse I decided that was it.
I will use my free time to do this. I don’t need a schedule. I don’t have to monetize it (I mean, who knows, maybe someday). I can do something on my own time, when I feel like it.
But I have to document it. Because as I said in the beginning, I don’t do anything half-assed. If you know me, you know this. You know that I can’t just make a dollhouse or a room box and be done. I have to keep a record. I have to make it pretty. I have to Instagram it. So I will allow myself to do that.
What I’m Doing Now to Make a Dollhouse Room Box
You found your way over here. I hope you’ll follow along and enjoy the process with me. 2021 can only be better if I choose to make it better and this year I will enjoy doing some things just for me.
Today, two days after Christmas I decided on this name, Aspen Miniature. It’s as play on my state of Colorado. Plus we use Aspen in a few other of the business offshoots.
I put together a little logo and I set up this website to blog and keep a gallery of my images. This site definitely needs tweaking to be something I’m proud of but we’ll get there.
My Plans for A Dollhouse Room Box
I did a little poll on my personal (private) Instagram and my friends and family voted on me doing a living room box. I decided a box was something more manageable and we’ll see if I love it or hate it along the way to continue with something else. I don’t know where this will go!
A room box, for those not sure is just what it sounds like. Rather than being an entire dollhouse I will build a room, in this case a living room, and decorate it.
I’ll be using my Glowforge Laser cutter* and my Inventables XCarve CNC Machine. And, I’m using some Christmas money to buy a 3d Resin Printer. Over the next week I will be mapping out the size and layout of the actual box. I’ll be sure to share that with you.
The perfectionist in me is nervous. But let’s do this!
I think a lot of us came to the same realization that you did during the last year. We need to find that balance in our lives and not make it all about “the grind”. In our home, we’re referring to our new hobbies as “COVID projects”. My husband is teaching himself to play the banjo and learning about distilling spirits. I took up fish keeping again after being away from the hobby for two decades. Namely exotic shrimp. I just wish they were big enough to eat!