Now a model maker and a creator of miniatures herself, her miniature wooden houses are shared on her Instagram account and sold online. “The first miniature I made was when I was around 10 years old,” she says. “I made it with toothpicks and it was a little house with small furniture. I remember that in order to open and close the door, I used a piece of cloth. I still keep it with much affection.”

Based in Spain, she incorporates in her work various types of wood, which include softwood like balsa or hardwood like linden, to which she adds detail in clay. The finished product is then painted using acrylic paint.

“One thing that I enjoy very much is making miniature versions of people’s houses,” she says. “It is very exciting for them and I have a good time.” She adds that she especially enjoys making small furniture, and adding details like plants, carpets, paintings, and televisions. “When you put them together they are like a small town,” she says.

“For me, the most difficult thing is to make very small objects without losing too many details,” she added. Step into her small (and quite delightful!) town:

The post Marina Paredes Creates Miniature Wooden Houses appeared first on PlayJunkie.

“My work had become too big!” she explains on her personal website. “I was making massive design decisions for clients, yet I wasn’t feeling that same big joy I was helping them to create.”

Within days of this realization, a dear friend gifted her distressed and abandoned childhood dollhouse. “I decided to renovate this gifted dollhouse as a design piece for my office and I GOT LOST IN CREATIVITY,” recalled DomestiKate. “I had fallen out of practice of actually MAKING. THIS is what I had been missing.”

The work itself, as it turned out was just as inspiring and joyous as the finished products. “For me, joy comes from the craft,” she writes. “I like having paint under my fingernails and had forgotten how awesome it feels to stare at piles of assorted materials that are just waiting for me to morph them into something new, something different.”

Indeed, working in a 1:12 scale proves to be quite the challenge. But Kate is well prepared to take it – head-on! Take a look at some of her miniature works of art:

The post DomestiKate Revives the Art of Miniature Making appeared first on PlayJunkie.

But it’s her miniature food items that really caught our attention. “My interest in miniatures really stems from my love of fake food and the realization that minis could be a relatively easy way to reproduce all kinds of food,” admitted Growden in an interview with Daily Mini. Indeed, her food looks good enough to eat (or, more likely, devour completely).

According to Growden, she began experimenting with miniature making after coming across videos on YouTube of a girl making miniature pastries, fast food, and candy. “I was working at an art supply store, so I just bought the supplies I needed there and went home to try making some mini food myself,” she recalled. It quickly took off from there.

“I generally draw inspiration for miniatures from whatever I wish I had in real life but, for whatever reason, don’t,” she says. “That may be a particular food, a vintage stove, or some antique painting I can’t afford. At least I can have a miniature version.”

Here are some of our favorite pieces by her:

The post Step Inside Rachel Growden’s Miniature Kitchen appeared first on PlayJunkie.

Drew Leshko

Drew Leshko’s miniatures serve as a critique about the ways in which society constantly disposes of its past. His carefully made sculptures recreate the architecture of his neighborhood at a 1:12 scale. Combined, they form a sort of three-dimensional archive of buildings that are in transitional periods. These recreations include things like dumpsters and pallets. A somber reflection about the cost of modern-day living.

Joshua Smith

Much like Leshko, Joshua Smith also focuses his work on the overlooked aspects of urban environments, creating miniatures in 1:20 scale of what he calls “urban decay”. Based in Norwood, South Australia, Smith recreates anything from grime and rust to discarded cigarettes and graffiti. “The interest stems from building model kits when I was a kid and I have always been fascinated with miniature scenes from model railroads,” he explained in an interview with The Daily Miniature.

Susete Saraiva

But sometimes, a grimy environment is simply the backdrop of a work of fiction. Such is the inspiration for Susete Saraiva’s horror movie miniatures. Recreating movie settings from iconic horror films like It and Psycho, her miniatures are just as unsettling as they are remarkable. “I love the idea of taking some of my favorite homes and bringing them to life in miniature form to display,” said Saraiva in an interview with The Daily Mini. “They are also my most challenging pieces, which in the end gives me the most satisfaction when finally complete.”

The post These Artists Recreate Our World in Miniature Scale appeared first on PlayJunkie.

“I’ve been collecting 7″ figures for years, and with that I began doing toy photography for fun,” she recalled in an interview with The Daily Mini, talking about her growing interest in miniatures. “That hobby slowly led me to the idea of creating miniature props and scale backgrounds/dioramas for more realistic photos. From that point on, I found that my love for miniatures was growing daily and this inspired me to take my ideas down a few scales.”

Her interest in the horror genre, however, sparked much earlier on. “My love with horror definitely began around the age of 5, when I snuck into the living room while The Exorcist was on TV,” she says. “My fascination overpowered the fear I felt at the time which slowly turned into an obsession: the thrill of being frightened.”

Her favorite creations are her horror houses. “I love the idea of taking some of my favorite homes and bringing them to life in miniature form to display. They are also my most challenging pieces, which in the end gives me the most satisfaction when finally complete.”

Take a look at some of her horrifying creations in the gallery below.

The post Susete Saraiva Makes Miniature Haunted Houses appeared first on PlayJunkie.

Based in Istanbul, Turkey, Caglayan set up her miniature kitchen in a scale of 1:12. The first mini-dish she’s ever made was eggplant, but she admits the result was somewhat disappointing. “It was not cooked properly, the oven was constantly going off and it did not look like what I wanted,” said Caglayan in an interview with The Daily Mini. “But I kept trying!”

Her hard work paid off, with tens of thousands of followers on both her Instagram and YouTube pages. “I love watching miniature cooking videos,” she says. “When I saw that no one from my country had made such videos, I wanted to be the first to do it and I achieved this goal.”

“Mini yemek (or minyatur yemek) means mini food,” she explains her moniker. “Turkish food is magnificent and it’s so much more than just kebab! There are lots of materials and cooking techniques. I think I also get to introduce Turkish cuisine to the world in a fun way.”

Follow her social media pages for more!

The post Mini Yemek’s Miniature Kitchen Takes the Cake appeared first on PlayJunkie.

“I’ve always been interested in documentary studies in art, capturing moments in time regardless of media,” said the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-based artist in an interview with The Daily Mini. “My project with the buildings in my neighborhood is just that, a documentary project or archiving project.”

Working from observation and photographs, Leshko painstakingly recreates building facades from his neighborhood at a 1:12 scale. The minute detail of his work includes city detritus such as dumpsters and pallets. Accumulations of typically overlooked details and minutiae like acid rain deposits and rust become beautiful adornments. “There is something inside of me that pushes me to take on these works, but I can’t identify what that is,” he admits.

“I studied fine art in college and feel that I developed some strong composition and design skills, but honestly the way I work isn’t taught in schools,” says Leshko. His work has been exhibited internationally and is included in the permanent collection of the Urban Nation Museum (Berlin) and the Dean Collection (NYC) amongst others.

Follow him on Instagram for more.

The post Drew Leshko’s Miniature Sculptures are Utterly Mind-Boggling appeared first on PlayJunkie.

“These miniatures are models/toys and should not be eaten or given to children aged 12 and below just in case they swallow it since they do look like real sweets,” reads her website. “These models are strictly for adult collectors only.”

But though her models are aimed at adults, these adults are surely children at heart. Michaux’s brand, Littlest Sweet Shop, sells anything from ice cream cones to peeled oranges. And watching the videos of the effort that goes into each piece is equally as delighting as the finished products themselves.

“I love making miniature food since it is a challenge to make it look like the real thing,” said Michaux in an interview with The Daily Mini. “I enjoy the challenge and thinking up ways to model something more precisely.” Each piece is professionally made using PVC based clay models made from polymer clay from Germany, the US, and Japan.

“When I was a child I loved playing with plasticine,” recalled the artist. “I would try to sculpt everything and it was so much fun. I learned about polymer clay only 5 years ago and got back into sculpting. There were so many cute pictures of miniature food online so I wanted to make some for myself since I collected miniatures.”

Check out some of her delightful miniature sweets in the gallery below.

The post Enter Nadia Michaux’s Littlest Sweet Shop appeared first on PlayJunkie.

Formerly a self-taught stencil artist, Smith refocused his career to establishing Espionage Gallery, an Art Gallery based in Adelaide, South Australia showcasing both emerging and well established local, interstate, and international artists. In 2015, after the closure of Espionage Gallery, he refocused back on his own career this time as a self-taught miniaturist. His miniature works primarily focus on the often overlooked aspects of the urban environment such as grime, rust, decay to discarded cigarettes and graffiti perfectly recreated in 1:20 scale miniatures.

But his fascination with miniatures began much, much earlier. “I have been fascinated with miniatures and modelmaking ever since I was little and can remember making miniature things out of cardboard boxes ever since I was very young,” said Smith in an interview with The Daily Miniature. “The interest stems from building model kits when I was a kid and I have always been fascinated with miniature scenes from model railroads,” he added.

His favorite thing about creating miniatures? The actual challenge. “I like making things which look realistic and I like to play with perspective,” he says. “It’s funny when I take photos of my miniatures… people think that it is something that is actual real life scale but then when I take a photo of something in real life, they are wondering if it is miniature! I like messing around with that and it is something that I really enjoy doing.”

Take a closer look.

The post Joshua Smith Creates Miniature Urban Environments appeared first on PlayJunkie.

This project sees Voltz building three houses but not in a way you would usually see them built. Instead, this talented artist builds them around bonsai trees and other plants, creating real miniature masterpieces. So far he created several variations of treehouses including watchtowers and windmills.

Check out Voltz’s impressive creations below.

The post Man Builds Impressive Miniature Tree Houses around Houseplants appeared first on PlayJunkie.

Now a model maker and a creator of miniatures herself, her miniature wooden houses are shared on her Instagram account and sold online. “The first miniature I made was when I was around 10 years old,” she says. “I made it with toothpicks and it was a little house with small furniture. I remember that in order to open and close the door, I used a piece of cloth. I still keep it with much affection.”

Based in Spain, she incorporates in her work various types of wood, which include softwood like balsa or hardwood like linden, to which she adds detail in clay. The finished product is then painted using acrylic paint.

“One thing that I enjoy very much is making miniature versions of people’s houses,” she says. “It is very exciting for them and I have a good time.” She adds that she especially enjoys making small furniture, and adding details like plants, carpets, paintings, and televisions. “When you put them together they are like a small town,” she says.

“For me, the most difficult thing is to make very small objects without losing too many details,” she added. Step into her small (and quite delightful!) town:

The post Marina Paredes Creates Miniature Wooden Houses appeared first on PlayJunkie.

“My work had become too big!” she explains on her personal website. “I was making massive design decisions for clients, yet I wasn’t feeling that same big joy I was helping them to create.”

Within days of this realization, a dear friend gifted her distressed and abandoned childhood dollhouse. “I decided to renovate this gifted dollhouse as a design piece for my office and I GOT LOST IN CREATIVITY,” recalled DomestiKate. “I had fallen out of practice of actually MAKING. THIS is what I had been missing.”

The work itself, as it turned out was just as inspiring and joyous as the finished products. “For me, joy comes from the craft,” she writes. “I like having paint under my fingernails and had forgotten how awesome it feels to stare at piles of assorted materials that are just waiting for me to morph them into something new, something different.”

Indeed, working in a 1:12 scale proves to be quite the challenge. But Kate is well prepared to take it – head-on! Take a look at some of her miniature works of art:

The post DomestiKate Revives the Art of Miniature Making appeared first on PlayJunkie.

But it’s her miniature food items that really caught our attention. “My interest in miniatures really stems from my love of fake food and the realization that minis could be a relatively easy way to reproduce all kinds of food,” admitted Growden in an interview with Daily Mini. Indeed, her food looks good enough to eat (or, more likely, devour completely).

According to Growden, she began experimenting with miniature making after coming across videos on YouTube of a girl making miniature pastries, fast food, and candy. “I was working at an art supply store, so I just bought the supplies I needed there and went home to try making some mini food myself,” she recalled. It quickly took off from there.

“I generally draw inspiration for miniatures from whatever I wish I had in real life but, for whatever reason, don’t,” she says. “That may be a particular food, a vintage stove, or some antique painting I can’t afford. At least I can have a miniature version.”

Here are some of our favorite pieces by her:

The post Step Inside Rachel Growden’s Miniature Kitchen appeared first on PlayJunkie.

Drew Leshko

Drew Leshko’s miniatures serve as a critique about the ways in which society constantly disposes of its past. His carefully made sculptures recreate the architecture of his neighborhood at a 1:12 scale. Combined, they form a sort of three-dimensional archive of buildings that are in transitional periods. These recreations include things like dumpsters and pallets. A somber reflection about the cost of modern-day living.

Joshua Smith

Much like Leshko, Joshua Smith also focuses his work on the overlooked aspects of urban environments, creating miniatures in 1:20 scale of what he calls “urban decay”. Based in Norwood, South Australia, Smith recreates anything from grime and rust to discarded cigarettes and graffiti. “The interest stems from building model kits when I was a kid and I have always been fascinated with miniature scenes from model railroads,” he explained in an interview with The Daily Miniature.

Susete Saraiva

But sometimes, a grimy environment is simply the backdrop of a work of fiction. Such is the inspiration for Susete Saraiva’s horror movie miniatures. Recreating movie settings from iconic horror films like It and Psycho, her miniatures are just as unsettling as they are remarkable. “I love the idea of taking some of my favorite homes and bringing them to life in miniature form to display,” said Saraiva in an interview with The Daily Mini. “They are also my most challenging pieces, which in the end gives me the most satisfaction when finally complete.”

The post These Artists Recreate Our World in Miniature Scale appeared first on PlayJunkie.

“I’ve been collecting 7″ figures for years, and with that I began doing toy photography for fun,” she recalled in an interview with The Daily Mini, talking about her growing interest in miniatures. “That hobby slowly led me to the idea of creating miniature props and scale backgrounds/dioramas for more realistic photos. From that point on, I found that my love for miniatures was growing daily and this inspired me to take my ideas down a few scales.”

Her interest in the horror genre, however, sparked much earlier on. “My love with horror definitely began around the age of 5, when I snuck into the living room while The Exorcist was on TV,” she says. “My fascination overpowered the fear I felt at the time which slowly turned into an obsession: the thrill of being frightened.”

Her favorite creations are her horror houses. “I love the idea of taking some of my favorite homes and bringing them to life in miniature form to display. They are also my most challenging pieces, which in the end gives me the most satisfaction when finally complete.”

Take a look at some of her horrifying creations in the gallery below.

The post Susete Saraiva Makes Miniature Haunted Houses appeared first on PlayJunkie.

Based in Istanbul, Turkey, Caglayan set up her miniature kitchen in a scale of 1:12. The first mini-dish she’s ever made was eggplant, but she admits the result was somewhat disappointing. “It was not cooked properly, the oven was constantly going off and it did not look like what I wanted,” said Caglayan in an interview with The Daily Mini. “But I kept trying!”

Her hard work paid off, with tens of thousands of followers on both her Instagram and YouTube pages. “I love watching miniature cooking videos,” she says. “When I saw that no one from my country had made such videos, I wanted to be the first to do it and I achieved this goal.”

“Mini yemek (or minyatur yemek) means mini food,” she explains her moniker. “Turkish food is magnificent and it’s so much more than just kebab! There are lots of materials and cooking techniques. I think I also get to introduce Turkish cuisine to the world in a fun way.”

Follow her social media pages for more!

The post Mini Yemek’s Miniature Kitchen Takes the Cake appeared first on PlayJunkie.

“I’ve always been interested in documentary studies in art, capturing moments in time regardless of media,” said the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-based artist in an interview with The Daily Mini. “My project with the buildings in my neighborhood is just that, a documentary project or archiving project.”

Working from observation and photographs, Leshko painstakingly recreates building facades from his neighborhood at a 1:12 scale. The minute detail of his work includes city detritus such as dumpsters and pallets. Accumulations of typically overlooked details and minutiae like acid rain deposits and rust become beautiful adornments. “There is something inside of me that pushes me to take on these works, but I can’t identify what that is,” he admits.

“I studied fine art in college and feel that I developed some strong composition and design skills, but honestly the way I work isn’t taught in schools,” says Leshko. His work has been exhibited internationally and is included in the permanent collection of the Urban Nation Museum (Berlin) and the Dean Collection (NYC) amongst others.

Follow him on Instagram for more.

The post Drew Leshko’s Miniature Sculptures are Utterly Mind-Boggling appeared first on PlayJunkie.

“These miniatures are models/toys and should not be eaten or given to children aged 12 and below just in case they swallow it since they do look like real sweets,” reads her website. “These models are strictly for adult collectors only.”

But though her models are aimed at adults, these adults are surely children at heart. Michaux’s brand, Littlest Sweet Shop, sells anything from ice cream cones to peeled oranges. And watching the videos of the effort that goes into each piece is equally as delighting as the finished products themselves.

“I love making miniature food since it is a challenge to make it look like the real thing,” said Michaux in an interview with The Daily Mini. “I enjoy the challenge and thinking up ways to model something more precisely.” Each piece is professionally made using PVC based clay models made from polymer clay from Germany, the US, and Japan.

“When I was a child I loved playing with plasticine,” recalled the artist. “I would try to sculpt everything and it was so much fun. I learned about polymer clay only 5 years ago and got back into sculpting. There were so many cute pictures of miniature food online so I wanted to make some for myself since I collected miniatures.”

Check out some of her delightful miniature sweets in the gallery below.

The post Enter Nadia Michaux’s Littlest Sweet Shop appeared first on PlayJunkie.

Formerly a self-taught stencil artist, Smith refocused his career to establishing Espionage Gallery, an Art Gallery based in Adelaide, South Australia showcasing both emerging and well established local, interstate, and international artists. In 2015, after the closure of Espionage Gallery, he refocused back on his own career this time as a self-taught miniaturist. His miniature works primarily focus on the often overlooked aspects of the urban environment such as grime, rust, decay to discarded cigarettes and graffiti perfectly recreated in 1:20 scale miniatures.

But his fascination with miniatures began much, much earlier. “I have been fascinated with miniatures and modelmaking ever since I was little and can remember making miniature things out of cardboard boxes ever since I was very young,” said Smith in an interview with The Daily Miniature. “The interest stems from building model kits when I was a kid and I have always been fascinated with miniature scenes from model railroads,” he added.

His favorite thing about creating miniatures? The actual challenge. “I like making things which look realistic and I like to play with perspective,” he says. “It’s funny when I take photos of my miniatures… people think that it is something that is actual real life scale but then when I take a photo of something in real life, they are wondering if it is miniature! I like messing around with that and it is something that I really enjoy doing.”

Take a closer look.

The post Joshua Smith Creates Miniature Urban Environments appeared first on PlayJunkie.

This project sees Voltz building three houses but not in a way you would usually see them built. Instead, this talented artist builds them around bonsai trees and other plants, creating real miniature masterpieces. So far he created several variations of treehouses including watchtowers and windmills.

Check out Voltz’s impressive creations below.

The post Man Builds Impressive Miniature Tree Houses around Houseplants appeared first on PlayJunkie.