How small can you go?

My first work in miniature scale. A needle felted Finnish Fairy Village.

In October 2020 I decided to test my skills and see how small I could make things. I had an exchange student back in the 90s that I essentially consider to be my daughter. She loves Thomas Kincaid paintings and being from Finland gnomes and fairies are a thing!

I decided to attempt to make a little fairy village for her. It started out with a mushroom. I embellished it with a swing. I decided that the mushroom would be a sauna, because almost every Finn has a proper sauna. This led me to make a little cottage house that took on a very Thomas Kincaid like personality. Projects often take on a life of their own I’ve come to learn.

Needle Felted mushroom (sauna) with a beaded swing for the fairies.

Note the tiny blue bird on the roof. It is about the size of a pinky fingernail or a half inch!

I  created a little scenery for the cottage and sauna. I also included a small lake made of resin because any Finn that has been in a sauna long enough definitely wants to go jump in a cool lake. I added a wood pile & bear, some flowers, a lashed tripod for the cooking kettle, and a tiny little bird on top of the cottage. The bird was definitely the smallest piece! It was about a quarter of an inch. The door to the cottage will open and close. It can be lit from the inside with an LED light.

Tripod for kettle and a 1” rabbit

I shipped the piece off to Finland for her to enjoy. She was thrilled when it arrived just in time for the holidays!