Miniature artisan Ulrike Leibling is a self-taught artist residing with her husband in the beautiful Thuringian Forest of Germany.

Ulrike started sculpting after she saw a tiny baby sculpt and was so inspired by the quality workmanship that she was determined to try her hand at sculpting 1/12 scale babies and toddlers. Over time, she developed her own technique defining the tiny details and using polymer clay for clothes.

"I love the creative process to make each one of my sculpts are unique in detail and character", said Ulrike.

"Find your own style. Always consider the correct anatomical relations. Only sell high quality. Do not sell waste!"

Her husband is a great assistance, taking photos, doing the editing and maintaining her website.

Polymer clay sculptor Karin Smead was inspired by the miniature world in a more Medieval fashion.

"My passion for miniatures began in the 60's when my family and I went to Chicago to see the Museum of Science and Industry and I saw Colleen Moore's Fairy Tale Castle exhibit. I stayed in that dark small room lit only by the lights in the Castle for hours, admiring every bit of it. That's when I fell in love with miniatures," she said.

"I am a self-taught sculptor. I study faces from magazines and I have some human figure drawing books for reference, too. The hardest part of making my dolls is the face and hands. It can take a few days to get the head and hands just the way they are supposed to look. The easiest part of making my dolls is dressing them, but dressing them can be hard too. It all depends on how detailed the outfit is," she said.