A little bit of history...of how i got started in miniatures

My love for miniatures developed early. I can't say for sure exactly when my interest in miniatures started, just that as far back as I can remember, I collected little things. I guess I've always loved things that were small. Some would say that is because I am petite and maybe it is related, who knows. When I was nine, my parents gave me a Sunshine Family for Christmas. Mom wouldn't buy Barbie and a dollhouse was out of the question. So I created my own. It was made with whatever I could get my hands on, so it had a Borrower's feel to it. I also grew up with an O gauge (equivalent to 1:48 scale) train enthusiast as a father. He sometimes let me help paint some of the little people. Sometimes I wonder if my parents realize how much they shaped me into someone willing to make and do instead of just buying. In my early twenties, my then future husband, purchased for me, a dollhouse kit . As I recall, it was at my request, but still he bought it. It was in one inch to the foot scale and it took several years to build. During this building, is when I was first invited to a miniature club meeting. I was ever so pleased to meet others who had the same habit as I. Joining that club and seeing other's projects opened my eyes to a whole new world. To a new side of miniatures that I had never seen. A few years after I started with this club, I sold the dollhouse and I was told it resides in California. I was to learn and continue to learn a lot from that club, called the Mini Dreamers. The most significant thing I learned from them is that miniatures doesn't have to be just in a dollhouse. It can be a roombox or dome of any size. Or what I truly love most, a scene in an unusual container. That is where I got the name "Small Packages". The people in that club went a long way, in teaching me how to see the differences in quality work. I was greatly encouraged by them for my attempts, which helped me to do more and pushed me to learn more. I've learned how to use a multitude of materials and how important it is to use the right materials for the job when it really counts (you know, when it shows). Today, I work full-time and am a mother of two teenages, so always on the go. I am blessed with a dear husband who appreciates and occasionally helps me with miniatures. Although, I don't have much time to actively do miniatures, I am often dreaming about them. When, I do find or make time, it's like being a world away. Not just the world I'm creating, but the whole process of creating, of figuring out what or how I'm going to do whatever. I have varied motivations for doing miniatures. Mainly because I love all things that are small, but also because it really relieves stress. There is also the satisfaction I feel when I complete a project and I can say, "I did this." Often I am motivated by what others have done and occasionally it's after a club meeting that I make the time again to do miniatures when I haven't been. I now belong to several 'clubs'. Most are online. Each club online has it's one benefits but for me the biggest has been the sharing in a similar scale. My clubs: Quarter Connection Little Enough News Micro Minis Small And Smaller Adventures and a local club