Crafting and creativity on display at The Nook

Elizabeth FarrelI is holding an exhibition of her individually designed doll’s houses made from wine boxes, that display her talent at crochet as well as her creative side, at ‘The Nook’ in the Arts and Crafts shop in Casemates

“I love crafting and I have been doing different crafts for a very long time,” she told the Chronicle.

“I had some of these wine boxes which I had acquired throughout the years and I had them for storage. Then I thought, well, it would be lovely to be able to do something with them because I am really passionate about recycling, upcycling and refurbishing and so on.”

“So I decided to start with one,” she added. That very first one is now on display in the exhibition.

As a child, she made doll’s houses out of shoe boxes and her mother and a neighbour taught her how to knit and sew. Since then, crafting has been her passion.

Each one of the doll’s houses are individually designed and feature an array of reused items.

The carpets are made with sample swatches of fabric, the pictures on the walls are used stamps and some of the furniture and ornaments are also repurposed items.

“Most of them are lined with papier mâché. I sand them all down to make sure that there's no sharp edges. Then I paint them with chalk paint and then I wax them. Then I put the papier mâché and then I varnish them on top, so that it doesn't peel off,” she said.

“And then I start creating the bits and pieces with the help of Pinterest because Pinterest is what inspires me.”

It can take her a month to make one as the process takes time and a lot of time is needed for things to dry too.

She had been using Sylvanian family dolls her daughter played with when she was little, but then decided she would make her own little people. Each one has their own name and personality, she explained.

“I hope my doll’s bedrooms will appeal to both young and old. I am hoping each one of them will go to a good home to be used and enjoyed,” she said.

The exhibition is in ‘The Nook’, in the Arts and Crafts shop in Casemates until November 30. The opening hours are from 10am – 6pm Mondays to Fridays and from 10am – 2pm on Saturdays.