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January 29, 2020


I own a Silhouette Cameo, and for years I've been wondering if it was possible to make dollhouse furniture with it.   It seemed it would be easy enough for 1:48 scale, but could it do something as tiny as 1:144? After successfully making some really tiny cuts for a Christmas ornament, I decided to test it.


First and foremost to determine is scale.  Even tiny differences in size can make a really big visual difference in a dollhouse.  I didn't feel the sofa should be significantly bigger than the bathtub, so I had to nix using the back right sofa in the house.  I made the back left one out of wood, but made the poor decision of attempting to add texture when I painted, and it just looks nasty.  I did like the size, though, so I based my paper design around it.

Then it was nothing but hours of nudging nodes around.  Fortunately it cuts fast, and takes up almost no paper!  Here are my prototypes:



The first one was too small, and while I was assembling it, I came up with a much more efficient design idea.  The second one was the results of the design, which I was pleased with, but needed to alter some areas so they would fit together properly.  The third one I positioned improperly on the page when cutting out - oops.  And #4 is where I decide that yes, this will definitely work.

I used cardstock from the giant multicolor pack from The Paper Studio.  Its weight isn't labeled, naturally, but three layers makes for a very sturdy piece of furniture.  You can also take a nail file to it and rough up the edges enough to hide the fact that it's layered.

The Cameo had a hard time with precision cuts at this scale, but it did much better when I slowed the speed down to 1.  I also have to be MUCH more careful in lining up the pieces when I glue them together!  I was more concerned here with the length/width of the arm.  I am overall very pleased with the results, and looking forward to designing more!



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