Tiny Dioramas-Big Delights!

My name is Angela Zampell and I’m a crafter and seamstress. I live in Rhode Island with my tattoo artist and painter fiancé Tom Butts along with our little rescue pups, Bridgette and Gidget. Creativity is alive and well at our house. I want to tell you about my favorite craft endeavor yet. This is the story of Hot Glue Heroes.

It all began when peering into the dark recycling bin after peeling off the labels and washing out some cat food cans while pet-sitting for a friend. The tins took on a brilliance in this new bare state and I thought to myself, there must be a new purpose for these perfectly tiny vessels. I remembered back to when I was a kid and my love for making shadow box dollhouses using simple shoeboxes. My fondest childhood memories are of dreamy days spent crafting miniature vignettes using bits and baubles from the junk drawer with my Mom. We would spend hours cutting and sewing furnishings and decor. My favorite materials were scraps of fabrics and artsy paper from my Mom’s many projects.

This early start led me on my path to becoming a professional fashion designer and costumer. I didn’t yet know how fortunate I was to have such a cool, creative mother. She saw potential in everyday objects and she fostered this ability in her children. Having a unique sense of style combined with the ability to transform ordinary things was highly valued in our family.

The cat food tins were too small to make dollhouses, but they were just right for tiny dioramas! Inspired by my own vast collection of vintage diorama ornaments from the 1940’s and 50’s, I gathered my tools and supplies and got to work creating. This is the day that Hot Glue Heroes, my line of diorama ornaments made of vintage supplies and craft materials, was born!

In order to transform the formerly ordinary cat food tin, I cover all sides, inside and out, with colorful scrapbooking paper, then seal every edge with glitter and glaze. The outer edge of the diorama is framed with coordinating novelty trims. The ornament hangs from a simple twisted mylar pipe cleaner or wired greenery. Inside, each diorama displays a micro-vignette with miniature iconic characters like Kewpie Dolls with hand painted clothing, a single vintage salt shaker animal or porcelain doll heads that I adorn with tiny beaded necklaces. The vibrant atmosphere comes to life with nostalgic bottle brush pines dripping with glitter, plastic palm trees, or cheery silk flowers - all in dollhouse scale. Everything gets a dusting of sparkles, of course, and is sealed so no glitter is lost. There’s a story being told with every tiny retro accent. My tag line is “cuteness in a can”.

I have been an avid flea market and yard sale shopper my whole life and I am always on the hunt for tiny treasures from the past. I love rescuing and repurposing vintage toys and old holiday decorations. I am lucky to have a cozy home studio that is filled from floor to ceiling with all of my favorite inspirations. It’s chock full of quirky doodads, kitschy miniatures, vintage figurines and fancy trimmings. There are bins filled with cut paper pieces and my essential tools; snips, scissors, my slide paper cutter and hot glue guns. Sometimes my studio looks like a giant snow globe with glitter swirling all around.

I am happiest when I am crafting and creating. I really enjoy spending days off making my mini magical worlds. Sunny summer days are now spent painting, cutting and glueing under a shady tent while our pups play in the yard. Fall into Winter is the selling season and it is wonderful to meet and connect with shoppers at independent makers markets and online. It’s gratifying to see their smiles after taking a closer look into my individual dioramas. Conjuring childhood memories for others is a wonderful way to connect with my customers. For the past eight years, I have been perfecting my tiny dioramas, and I have sold over one thousand ornaments. My fondest wish is for my one-of-a-kind crafts to become treasured pieces that inspire the next generation of makers.

Everything I create honors the warm memory of my Mom and our kindred imaginations. I strive to share that transcendent spark in every piece.