Child imagination play brought back to life

At 40 years old, with an (almost) 10-year-old son I had found myself without purpose, without joy and without a creative outlet. I had tried countless activities, crafts and soul searching but they all left me feeling defeated. To simply summarize my efforts, they all just were not the right fit. It was discouraging, as I had always seen my siblings (all three of them) with talents and hobbies, my mother with a passion and gift for drawing and painting, and my father who is the handiest man I know, tinkering, fixing, and always thinking outside the box.

Browsing social media became my hobby. Scrolling through pages on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter I’d see other women with talent and hobbies. We all know social media can be toxic (and not authentic), yet I still scrolled and scrolled trying to find inspiration and new things to try. Then one day, approximately 6 months ago, everything changed. I came across an advertisement on Facebook of someone selling an old, broken, and rundown vintage dollhouse. Wooden pieces missing, paint chipped, no flooring (except the pennies installed with cement on the deck...I'll never understand the thought process behind that), and no decorations or furniture, yet I still saw a twinkle of life and potential.

I had such joy as a young girl playing with dolls and had always dreamed of having my own dollhouse (I structured them out of books. It goes without saying, that it was less than ideal). The imagination play that comes with a dollhouse is endless. So, I thought maybe I could bring new life to this dollhouse and bring the joy and imagination to a new little girl. And bonus, maybe I could save it from being brought to the garbage dump? I was a little nervous, having thought I had zero creative and artistic ability and not ever having tackled a project like this. But hey, YOLO, right? So, I messaged the seller and arranged pick up.

Bringing the dollhouse new life required a lot of work. Cutting carpets, cutting blankets, cutting wooden sticks/dowels/shingles, painting, and cutting and crafting decorations and furniture. Scissors, hot glue, and paintbrushes were always close by. All were very tedious tasks and required frequent trips for supplies. The local dollar store became my frequent go-to which kept the project with minimal costs, yet still providing me with the tools and supplies to make the dollhouse a piece of art! Working within such small areas and with such small pieces required a lot of patience, and a steady hand with precision cuts and strokes.

I found myself staying awake at night, but not with the typical stress or anxiety. I was awake brainstorming with an edge of excitement and anticipation for when I would have time to craft and create it further. How will I cut fabric to make pillows and blankets? What will I use to craft furniture? The options were endless, the ideas were always flowing, and the anticipation for the next crafting day fuelled me.

After 2 months, one semi-messy (okay, really messy) crafting room and a smile on my face, the dollhouse has new life and is ready to bring joy and imagination to a new child (or, adult. I don't judge). But, best of all, it brought me joy, happiness, and the awareness to a talent I never knew I had. I’m shy and reserved and often quite critical of myself, but as I shared my 'before and after' pictures of the house I find myself (bashfully) accepting their positive remarks. It has given me an edge of confidence with their comments to pursue this further. Suggestions have been to renovate more vintage houses, establish a following on social media, create pieces of furniture for sale.

It all motivates me and I'd love to take the next steps to expand. What motivates me the most is bringing imagination play back to children. Children (these days) are entertained with electronics. Television, ipads, phones, video games, electronics...electronic zombies being moulded into what media places before them. Creative play is so so so important and it is a vital part of childhood and child development.

Bringing vintage dollhouses back to life not only keeps them from arriving in a landfill, but it also brings creativity to a child. (Bonus, they aren't giant pink and plastic eyesores in a child bedroom or playroom). Gaining support financially to obtain the right tools and supplies and assistance with skills to build a following would bring this passion to life!