Small scale, big dreams: Sask. woman 3D prints mini masterpieces

Dena Akre is the kind of person who knows how to build a home.

She’s meticulous in every detail, from selecting the right fixtures to handpicking furniture that complements the style of each room. She has an eye for creating spaces that feel both functional and beautiful.

But here’s a catch — while she might sound like a skilled architect or interior designer, the homes she builds are a little smaller than the ones you’re used to. In fact, you’d have to be about five inches tall to live in one of them.

Akre only creates a few custom dollhouses each year, dedicating extra time and care to ensure her miniature worlds feel deeply personal. (Dainty Little Dollhouse/Submitted)

Akre is the creative mind behind Dainty Little Dollhouse, a business dedicated to crafting stunning, lifelike miniatures.

Each dollhouse she creates is a masterpiece, with intricate details like fridges that actually open, complete with tiny shelves and drawers, and miniature Nintendo consoles that come with a game cartridge that you can insert, just like the real thing.

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It all started in 2020.

“With COVID everything was shut down, and I needed something to do in the evenings,” she recalled.

“At first it was just a lot of what everyone else was doing, sourdough making, twiddling thumbs, whatever, right? I had an old dollhouse that my grandpa made me in my basement, so I brought it up and I just started basically playing around with it, seeing what I could create out of everyday things.”

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Even with her 3D printers, Akre still uses everyday materials to create items for her dollhouses. Look closely at the lamps in this photo, and you’ll see that the shades are made from plastic medicine cups and bits of ribbon. (Dainty Little Dollhouse/Submitted)

Akre’s creativity took off in full force as she began transforming ordinary objects into stunning miniatures.

Popsicle sticks became tiny wooden furniture, plastic medicine cups and bits of fabric were turned into intricate lampshades, and a napkin ring was re-imagined as the perfect base for a dining room table. No item — however simple — was too ordinary to become something magical.

“If you are into miniatures, you look at the world a different way,” Akre said with a laugh. “My mom always laughs at me when she goes shopping with me, because she’ll be like, ‘I never would have even thought of using that in a doll house!'”

But crafting everything by hand was a slow process for Akre.

“It was very tedious, time consuming, and I couldn’t keep up,” she lamented.

It was her husband who suggested a game-changing idea: a 3D printer.

A 3D printer makes objects layer by layer. You start with a digital design, and the printer heats up a material, usually plastic, and squirts it out through a nozzle to form any object you desire. (Brittany Caffet/650 CKOM)

“I said, ‘What the heck is that?’ I’d never even heard of these things!” she recalled.

For Christmas in 2021 she received her first 3D printer, a gift that sparked a creative revolution in her work.

A 3D printer is a machine that makes objects layer by layer. You start with a digital design, and the printer heats up a material, usually plastic, and squirts it out through a nozzle. It builds up one thin layer at a time until the desired object is fully formed.

Akre received her first 3D printer as a Christmas gift in 2021. She now has six, each working tirelessly to bring her tiny creations to life. (Brittany Caffet/650 CKOM)

The machine can easily create intricate and detailed designs — like the tiny, complex items you might find in a dollhouse — that would be difficult, if not impossible, to create with traditional tools.

The learning curve was steep, but Akre said she dove in, determined to figure it out.

“I tell people it’s no different than learning any other hobby. If you were to sit down and learn how to crochet, it’s going to take you a while to figure it out, right? It’s the same with printers.”

With patience and practice, Akre mastered the process, and the 3D printer soon became an essential tool in her creative arsenal.

“And then that’s when my business really took off. Because then it’s like the sky’s the limit, right?”

Akre said it typically takes one and a half to two hours to print an item on her 3D printers. (Brittany Caffet/650 CKOM)

Today, Akre’s basement workshop is home to six 3D printers, each working tirelessly, often 24 hours a day, to bring her tiny creations to life. Every piece can take anywhere from an hour and a half to two hours to print.

The machines allow her to craft the perfect dollhouse accessories with speed and precision, and they’ve expanded her creative possibilities beyond what she could have imagined when she first started.

Akre said her top sellers are typically items that provide a sense of nostalgia, like this miniature Nintendo NES. (Brittany Caffet/650 CKOM)

And it turns out, the miniatures appeal to a much broader audience than Akre ever expected.

“You would think people are buying the stuff for their kids. They are not. They are closet mini lovers,” she laughed.

“Take this turtle sandbox. I can pretty much guarantee you that 90 per cent of people that buy this are adults, and they tell me what they do with it. They are computer workers, usually, and they put it underneath their computer screen, and when they’re on an annoying Zoom conference calls without their video… they use this as their zen garden.”

Akre said the people who purchase her tiny turtle sandboxes are often adults who use the miniature as a little zen garden. (Brittany Caffet/650 CKOM)

She’s not just selling tiny furniture; she’s offering a little miniature slice of joy to people in all walks of life, often reflecting their personal interests.

“I’ve had construction workers buy the Snap-On tool chest things. And I’ve had plumbers buy toilets.” she said with a smile. “The plumber put the toilet in his truck. He just thought it was so neat. And then he came back the next market and bought the bathtub, and he said he’s going to put pens in it on his desk.”

Akre said miniatures don’t only appeal to kids. Even grown men have purchased tiny items like this small tool chest. (Brittany Caffet/650 CKOM)

Akre’s custom dollhouses are where her true artistry shines, with each one thoughtfully crafted to capture the style and interests of the recipient.

She only creates a few per year, dedicating extra time and care to ensure each miniature world feels deeply personal.

Akre said her view of the world has changed since becoming immersed in dollhouse decoration. She now sees everyday objects through a different lens, like these napkin rings that she repurposed into table bases. (Dainty Little Dollhouse/Submitted)

“I send a big questionnaire to whoever is purchasing it, and it’s a questionnaire based on the recipient. ‘What’s your favourite food, what’s your favourite animal, what’s your favourite book?’ Those sorts of questions,” Akre explained.

“I want them to be heirloom pieces. I don’t want them to be just something that just sits on a shelf and gets forgotten about. I want them to be passed down, generation to generation.”

Her passion for miniatures is about more than just creating. It’s about play, too.

“Dollhouses are meant to be played with. I say to my husband all the time, ‘I’m going downstairs to play.’ Because that’s what it is to me. I’m not working. It’s my playtime.”

While her 3D printers have sped up Akre’s production, she still spends plenty of hands-on time with each item she creates, gluing tiny pieces together and ensuring they have printed exactly as she imagined. (Brittany Caffet/650 CKOM)

Dena Akre is building more than tiny houses.

She’s creating magical little worlds filled with nostalgia, wonder, and endless possibility, and reminding us all that we’re never too old to play.

Any items that Akre can’t 3D print for her custom dollhouses are sourced online or made from repurposed or recycled materials. (Dainty Little Dollhouse/Submitted)