Halloween in Miniature 3: No Bones About It

Illustration: Danse macabre, Hans Holbein, 1493

One of the better aspects of working in miniature is being able to make something that tickles the "funny bone." Appropriate when you're talking about miniature skeletons, right?

Long before Pirates of the Caribbean made skeletons live again, miniaturists were finding "skellies" the perfect inhabitants for that Halloween or haunted scene.

Keeping with the pirate theme, dollmaker Marsha Mees of Sassy Mini Dolls came up with her own fun twist using the miniature skeletons. Ahoy, maties!


Even better was her view of some "upper class" skellies relaxing at home.



Fun Miniature Projects



Wanna in El Paso began making fairy houses as a child and passed on her love of miniatures to her grandchildren. While her teaching career didn't leave much time to spend making things when her two oldest grandsons, now 22 and 20, were young, an Elf Feeding Deer Scene she made never failed to grab their attention.

That scene (which they still enjoy) grabbed the attention of a new set of grandkids, too. Jenna, who'll be 13 in two weeks, was 5 and her brother Joel was 6½ when they decided they wanted to make something, too. All told, Wanna now has more than 30 projects on her website that she made with her grandchildren. Great ideas if you want to do something fun with the grandkids.

"Working with my grandchildren, girls and boys, at their request, has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life," says Wanna. "They use their imagination and it's fun to brainstorm together to bring their ideas to reality. They have learned about scale, color and design; to follow directions; to use all kinds of techniques and materials; and to take care of their tools. And there's hardly been a project when I haven't learned something from them, as well."

Wanna says the projects are the perfect ways to build memories together. The grandkids even come up with their own ideas like Jenna did with her recent project, "Skeleton Beach." You can read about how she made the project here.

Twisted Fate

Last but not least, miniaturist Dale Fluty went a step further and wrote a poem to accompany his twisted tale of love gone wrong. The jilted skeleton holds a crumpled marriage license and a torn picture of her no-longer-intended in her lap. In her hand lies a small bottle of poison. Take that, Mrs. Haversham.

"She walked down the aisle, but alone there she stood. Her man was a cheater and he left her for good.
The poison she took was quick to claim life.
Forever a bride...
But never a wife! "