A Review of “Doll’s House Projects With Polymer Clay” (by Sue Heaser)

As  happens to many people, I hit a bit of a wall recently, regarding  polymer claying. There are only so many sets of earrings a person can  make before they end up just staring at the cat and eating Pringles. I  needed inspiration! So, as you do, I bought myself a doll’s house. My  plan was to reignite my love of polymer claying by making polymer clay things for my doll’s house.

“I’m absolutely confident that nobody has ever thought of this before!” I told myself…

So Imagine my surprise when the BPCG’s Cara Jane contacted me and asked me to review a book called “Doll’s House Projects with Polymer Clay” by Sue Heaser. Actually I was a little bit miffed that I had been beaten to the idea but I was prepared to give Sue’s book a chance anyway. I wasn’t disappointed.

Sue Heaser has been working with polymer clay for over 25 years and she founded the BPCG in 1997. She has worked extensively in miniatures and her love for them shows. She has written 17 major craft books and has been published in a variety of magazines. She  has even taken Master classes on claying in Japan! Let’s face it Sue is  an actual polymer claying Ninja.

“Doll’s House Projects with  Polymer Clay” is a completely enchanting book, filled with 1:12 scale  miniatures, perfect for the average doll’s house. In compiling the book (from the many tutorials she has written over the years), Sue steered away from including too many food related items. Instead she shared ideas such as making a tiny cuckoo clock, a garden pond, children’s toys, dressing table items and lots more. She often gives a little bit of background information on the original versions of the things being recreated, so that we know which era they belong to – which is  helpful if you want your doll’s house to be historically accurate.

The  tutorials in “Doll’s House Projects with Polymer Clay” help us to put  into practice new techniques, make different effects (wood,  tortoiseshell etc.) and Sue even teaches us to make tools, to work on our miniatures with. Some of the projects are easier than others but if you want challenges you’ll certainly find them.  I was obsessed with puppets as a youngster and I’ve often thought about  making marionettes but dismissed it as being too difficult. In this  book Sue not only shows us how to make them but they’re only just over an inch tall! That’s a real stretch for me.

“Doll’s  House Projects with Polymer Clay” follows on from “Miniature Projects  with Polymer Clay”, which was the first book in this series – I need to invest in both, I think. Many of the illustrations were drawn by Sue herself, which adds to the lovely friendly atmosphere of the book. I recommend you get a copy of this book for yourself and hey, if you  don’t own a doll’s house you can make the mini things into earrings…

Val Evans (Unruly Housewife on YouTube)