handmade

I like to make things. As long as I can remember, I've liked making things.

Way back in the 1970s when I was a young woman with a toddler, I was what we now call a stay-at-home mom. (We didn't call them stay-at-home moms back then. But, that's a story for another day.) Consequently, I had lots of time to make things. I crocheted edges on sheets and pillowcases, baby blankets and tea towels. I embroidered pillow tops for the sofa and dresses for my toddler. I sewed, too, on an old Singer portable sewing machine that came from my grandmother by way of my mother. One summer my neighbor taught me how to macramé and I made plant hangers galore! Another friend lead me to the discovery of  bargello and I simply loved making pillows using some variation of the flame stitch. I think it was the rhythm of the pattern that I found to be soothing. I must admit that there's something about the texture of fabric and thread in my hands that makes me feel at peace with the world.

As a doll collector, I have long been intrigued by those who make 1/6 scale things for their dolls. I drool over the photos of the finished products on Pinterest and shop on Etsy for dolly things. Then, one day not too long ago, quite by accident, I stumbled on Simplystella's Sketchbook about 1/6 scale magazine holders. The photos on her blog were really cute, so I downloaded the PDF, printed them on index stock, cut them out and made little 1/6 scale magazine holders. I was quite proud of myself. Then, I realized I needed 1/6 magazines to put in the holders!

I searched for 1/6 scale magazines on Pinterest, but didn't particularly like the few things that I found, so I did a Google search for VOGUE and Vanity Fair covers (as I am a faithful subscriber of both publications) and I created my own little magazines!

My little magazines, pictured here, have inside pages, but they are blank and for "show" only. All the cutting, gluing and assembling seemed challenging enough without inside printed pages, so that was the path I chose for this little project. And, I didn't finish them all in one sitting either; it took a few days, working on them here and there.

Today I finished my little 1/6 scale magazines, put them in the little 1/6 scale magazine holders and took a picture! And, I must say, I think they're pretty good for a beginner!

I'm thinking I'm going to need bookshelves for my magazine holders, so, I'll be poking around in my husband's workshop looking for scrap lumber. Maybe I can get him to help me with that part of it.

I've decided that I will make more of these, and, perhaps the next batch of magazines will have inside pages.  It'll take a little more time, but it just means the fun will last longer. And, that's really the best part of "handmade," isn't it? The doing?