(Denise Morales)

A Room for a Little Girl

by Pam North

Starting in her early elementary school years, Denise Morales favored her tiniest Little Kiddles dolls as her playthings. Her passion for collecting small things grew through the years, but it wasn’t until after she had completed graduate school commitments in her early twenties that she was able to pursue her hobby with fewer distractions. Her first completed miniature project was a green beaded Christmas tree enclosed within a glass dome, assembled from a kit purchased from a Michael’s craft store in the 1980s. Her hobby now has evolved into focusing on creating room boxes with various themes, and encompasses her making the miniature accessories to fill them. “I consider my room boxes as multi-media collages, and see them as three- dimensional paintings using miniatures.” she explained.
Denise is a home school mother of four children, with her two oldest now attending college. She also works one day a week in her private practice as a social worker offering individual and family counseling. Despite a busy schedule, she manages to fit in her miniatures.
Denise’s most recent piece is a room box that  is a 1:24 scale little girl’s room, charmingly rendered with a vintage ambience. Denise explained how she came up with the idea: “Back in 2011, one of the Houston area miniature clubs to which I belonged decided to create a half-inch scale child’s bedroom using a photo of a girl’s room decorated by interior designer Candace Olson. A fellow club member, the late Shirley Blair, had purchased a laser machine, and she skillfully made furniture kits that replicated nearly exactly in half-inch scale the pieces of furniture seen in the photograph. Because I wished to use the room as an inspiration rather than trying to make an identical copy of it, I chose pinks and green tones instead of the creams and peachy-pinks that the designer had used. In further customizing the scene, I also added and rearranged some of  the furniture in the room, and omitted other pieces. Many of the miniatures I made myself. The tiniest dolls in the box are made with carved toothpicks and tiny splinters of wood for the arms and legs. The  three yarn dolls, made with flesh-colored embroidery floss, are sitting on the tiny chairs around the circular table. Artisan pieces include the little animal wood cut-outs by Karen Markland.” The window alcove includes an antique drop center dresser with mirror. A tiny purse hanging from the dresser drawer is made with pink crepe paper. “I used Bonnie Lavish 1:24 scale flower kits to make the rose and flower garland over the armoire, and an SDK lily of the valley flower kit.. The shelf is decorated with plastic lambs, and a pull-toy horse is made from a metal charm. Little girl images were downloaded from the New York Public Library digital gallery; and the table setting includes a tea service made with plastic tubing that I had singed with a Bic lighter to form the shape. Cups and saucers were made with tiny brads and wire.” 
Denise doesn’t plan on selling the piece, viewing her creation of miniatures exclusively as her hobby. She has made 20 room boxes since 2008, and so far has parted with only one - a 1:24 scale Christmas living room scene which was a gift for her mother. “I have made boxes for each one of my four children, and they will take them when they make their own homes.”
Combining home life and miniature life for her  is always a delicate balance. “Sometimes it can be very difficult and frustrating for me to have my trance-like state in the perfectly controlled miniature world interrupted to tend to the needs of the family, but that needs to be done. I am grateful that my husband and children support my passion for creating small things, even it means my occasionally staying up into the wee hours of the night so that some inspirational idea can be realized. My mother is my biggest fan as she shows unceasing enthusiasm, interest, and encouragement.”
Her workplace has evolved from the initial use of her dining room as her school room gradually giving way through the years to accommodate her as her craft room for miniatures. Inspiration for her comes from looking at beautiful photos of romantic-style homes and shops in magazines and particularly on Pinterest. One tool she cites as her most valuable is scissors: “I find it very important to use different kinds of sharp scissors for cutting fabric, paper, and wire,” she explained. She finds that the biggest difficulty involved with working in miniature is not having enough storage space. “Despite all the stuff that I have accumulated so far through the years, I always find still more tools and supplies to experiment with and collect! With each box that I complete, I challenge myself by using new products in different ways, or trying new techniques. I try to take lots of classes both in person and online, as well as buying and making lots of kits.” She belongs to two miniature groups in the Houston area, one that meets weekly and another monthly. “These essential meetings are ‘cannot miss’ events on my monthly calendar,” she said.
Denise already has new ideas for future projects, and is currently working on a doll shop and a room box of a laundry/crafting space. “Possibly a peddler’s shop will be next, but that concept can be subject to change as some other inspirational idea may take hold to sway the course. I have seven ‘next’ boxes filled with things already collected for scenes that have yet to be realized.” 

Contact Information:
Name: Denise Morales
Telephone: (281) 655-9087
Address: 5811 Pinelake Crossing Dr. - Spring, TX  77379
Website: www.roomboxesbydenise.com
Email: denisemoralescsc@yahoo.com