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Build a Rusty Roof for your Dollhouse
By Heidi Cleveland
I think the month of May is one of the best months to live in my neck of the woods. Warm weather is slowly approaching. Flowers are blooming, grass is growing, birds are singing, and wildlife is emerging. It is not too hot or not too cold. Just right. It is like the baby bear in the story of Goldilocks. May is also crunch time for the Spring Fling contest. By the time this article enters your inbox, everyone should have submitted their entry photos. The wait for the winners is the worst! Good Luck everyone!
This month I wanted you all to meet our own Dr. Doolittle in the Greenleaf forums. I would like to introduce you to Deana (Chesterfieldzoo). Deana has been a member of the Greenleaf Forum since October 7, 2006. She is a talented miniaturist, a diehard animal lover, and a great problem solver.
Deana is native to Michigan. She is married and is the mother of two grown daughters. Deana splits her time between being the bookkeeper of her husbands shop and doing rescue work with animals. Deana loves animals and she has several types in residence in her home. She has a family of dogs, cats, birds, parrots, tortoise, and turtles.
Deana is a gardener. I knew there was a reason I liked her. Her yard and beds are drool worthy in my book. She has found a way to add her love of flora and her love of miniatures together. Every spring, she puts together a fairy village in her yard. She can enjoy both at the same time in the warmer weather.
Deana says that miniatures have always been a big part of her life. For as long as she can remember, she`s had tiny items. Her first official dollhouse was a cardboard Barbie house to go along with her fascination with all things Barbie. She still has a love of Barbie to this day. When her girls were young, Deana scratch built a Barbie scale house for them. She put it together with scraps of wood, carpet remnants, and left over floor tiles. Deana feels that the real dollhouse bug bit her when she found a couple dollhouses out on the curb on trash day. The first one was a large plastic dollhouse with working sound. The second house was a wooden dollhouse in rough shape. Deana found as many pieces as she could for it and it became a haunted house. She recently discovered that this house was actually a Greenleaf Washington. Great curb find!
Deana was off and running headlong into being a full fledged miniaturist after that. She purchased several house kits and stored them away until her daughters became adults. Miniature items were collected for the future. One day the mini bug bit her again and it has been a building free for all ever since.
She enjoys all aspects of building dollhouses. Exterior decorating is her favorite part of it. She will often decorate the outside of a house then leave the inside for someone else to do when it is gifted away. She rather dislikes wallpapering so she would rather have the new owner complete that task.
One of her miniature dreams was to own a Queen Anne. She snapped back to reality about it because of it`s size. She has opted to have many small and medium size dollhouses with many different decorating styles. The Greenleaf White Orchid (Mermaid House) is her favorite. She has to admit her cloud house and one of her haunted houses are tying for second place. Deana has so many favorites in her collection, that she hopes she never has to choose just one.
Deana`s goal is to share this hobby with as many people as possible, even if it is one Orchid at a time. She would love to learn to paperclay as it has so many uses.
I asked her what bit of advice she would give to a glassy eyed beginner of our wonderful hobby. She tells anyone interested in miniatures that there are no mistakes in building. Mistakes are only opportunities for a rehab in the future. Do not be afraid to try something you have never done before. Power tools are your friend and just have fun!
You can browse Deana`s gallery here and visit her website!
For participating as Member of the Month, Deana will receive a $25 gift certificate to the Greenleaf Store.
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