A new hobby capturing the imagination of many is creating miniature doll houses.
Local artist and craft enthusiast Morag McKenzie said she normally tackled a jigsaw puzzle during the Christmas holidays.
But this year she decided to take on the creation of a minuscule masterpiece instead.
Many online stores offered a variety of tiny structures, so she chose a small home at a scale model size of about 1:100.
The kit came with everything needed to create the tiny marvel, including laser-cut wood pieces, LED lights, tiny beads to represent vases or lamp shades, wire to craft into chandeliers or chairs, fabric for curtains and linen, and even tiny wallpaper.
Detailed instructions including pictures offered a step-by-step guide to creating these Lilliputian wonders.
The kit included tools such as tweezers, but to help finesse the creation, Ms McKenzie supplemented this with additional tools, including precision tweezers, craft scalpels, scissors, a cutting board and a chopstick to help with winding wire.
Although the pieces came pre-coloured, she used additional paint to create a more finished look.
"Because they come laser-cut, the edges are white, so I had to paint all the edges.
"There were a few other bits and pieces that I painted just so they looked nice."
Ms McKenzie said despite the minuscule scale, she found the process of creating these tiny worlds therapeutic.
She also enjoyed the diminutive size of 1:100 because it could fit into a bookshelf or a desk corner without taking up space.
For those starting out with crafting, Ms McKenzie recommended beginning with a larger scale, such as 1:50.
"I think if it was your first-ever attempt at something and you weren’t that dexterous, you might get frustrated."
She also advised people to take their time, and not to feel they had to rush the process.
"You are not going to do this in a weekend.
"I think if you are just only going to give yourself an hour or two at night, just allow a month at least."
Ms McKenzie said her progress making the miniature home could be followed through videos she posted on her Instagram account @vintage-purls.
There were many different miniature kits people could try, with different styles of houses, as well as magical or sorcery-themed rooms.
Another popular option were "book nooks", designed to slide in between books on a bookshelf.
While there were many ready-made options to consider, Ms McKenzie was also thinking about creating her own miniature room from scratch, possibly using an archive photo of a shop as inspiration.
"I quite like the historical research, plus, you are recreating something.
"It is quite fun."
