Greenleaf Dollhouse Kits
IN THIS ISSUE
  • Visiting Mini Friends for the Holidays
  • Holiday Centerpiece
  • Making an Evergreen Holiday Tree
  • A New Generation of Miniaturist!
  • Member of the Month - Meet Steve
  • Havana Holly's Quick Tips!
  • The Critter Corner!
  • QUICK PICKS
  • Product Pick of the Month - The World’s Best Christmas Gift!
  • Featured House - Kathy’s Christmas Beacon Hill
  • The Official Gazette Archive
  • HOT FORUM TOPICS
  • Blog of the Month - Heidi’s Beaded Christmas Tree
  • Eye Candy of the Month - Minijunkie’s Christmas Room
  • Extra Treat - Christmas at Irene’s Garfield

  • The Dollhouse Universe
    The Greenleaf Miniature Community
    The Greenleaf Company Store
    Welcome to the Greenleaf Gazette!
    Have a Merry "Little" Christmas!
    November 2008

    Member of the Month - Meet Steve from PA
    By Heidi Cleveland

    Meet Steve!

    I would like to introduce you to November`s Member of the Month, Steve (in PA). Steve has been a member of the Greenleaf forums since October 10, 2006. He always has advice and a kind word when someone needs it. His work with dollhouses and miniatures makes many of us aspire to his greatness.

    Many of you might not know this but Steve helped out in a miniature way with Hurricanes Gustav and Ike relief.  Pictures of his rendition of the Greenleaf Bus dollhouse kit were used online by the great people at miniatures.com to donate a portion of your Greenleaf Bus Kit purchase to the American Red Cross. You can see that slideshow here.

    Steve - Member or the Month

    Steve was also the second place winner of the HBS 2007 Creatin` Contest.

    Steve - Member or the Month

    You can check out his amazing houseboat entry here.  So you can see why I gush!  He is a great guy and a talented miniaturist in my book. Steve is a mini celebrity to all of us on the Greenleaf forum.

     Steve lives with his better half Madeline in the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch country in the small town of Marietta, PA.  He is the father of four, grandfather to six, and great grandfather to one. He is retired now from his career at a major flooring company but that does not mean he is not busy. Steve has been involved in volunteer services for the past thirty five years. The last twenty of those years he has been the emergency management coordinator for his town. Steve is still very active in all phases of emergency services and still responds to calls.

    Steve - Member or the Month

    Steve is very interested in local history. He serves on the executive boards of two local preservation groups. He owns several thousand photos and often gives presentations on local history. He is also writing a book about it! All of this and he is a cancer survivor to boot. You are my hero, Steve!

    It was Madeline that got Steve into dollhouses and miniatures. When they were first starting out, she told him that she used to build dollhouses. One day at a craft store she showed him some kits. He gave her one for Christmas that year. As he was watching her build it he made the remark that he could build that same house from scratch. She replied, “Show me.”  His first project was an outhouse. His only problem was figuring out what materials to use and how to scale it down. Steve has out spaced his house with his creations. On the dollhouse scorecard to date is Madeline: two houses, Steve: 10 houses. Eventually Steve would like to make his passion a business.

    Steve is considered a builder in the hobby of dollhouses. He does have some kits but most of his creations are built from scratch. He starts with a rough hand drawing and starts from there. He says that he usually changes the design a dozen times before he is done. Steve likes to figure out how to use different materials in his building. Every day he is always looking at things and thinking “What can I use this for?” Steve, like many of us, does not have the patience you need when building a dollhouse. He hates waiting for paint and glue to dry. He usually has several projects going at the same time.

    Steve says that his favorite dollhouse is the always the one he just finished at the time he is asked. After some thought, he chose his Magic Shoppe.

    Steve - Member or the Month

    Steve - Member or the Month

    He said it was a learning experience for him. It was a marriage of different shapes and materials. He looked at it like an experiment of what would work and what would not. Looks like it worked! Steve could never pick just one house to keep above all the rest. He has memories of things that were going on while he was building each one of them. I asked Steve what his plans were for the rest of 2008. He says that he is working on the Adams for this year`s HBS contest. Looking at his past pieces, everyone thinks that he will be doing a fire/rescue theme. You are all wrong. He is doing something completely different and new. That is all he has to say on that subject for now. Hehehe 

    Steve would like to learn how to work with clay to make dolls and small miniatures. He hears lots of people say that they could never use the power tools that he uses. He says that he could never learn to make polymer clay items like they do.

    Steve`s advice to new miniaturists is not to worry what others think of your efforts. You should build it to suit you and enjoy your experience. Do not make it a task. Have fun with it. Steve used to look at what others built and think that he could never make anything like that. After he made his first piece, he was very happy with it and felt it was as good as some of the museum quality items that he has seen. He learns something new with every piece that he makes.  Steve`s bottom line is to just have fun!

    You can enjoy looking at Steve`s other dollhouses by going to his gallery.
    Steve also has a website. It is www.sneekysnake.com

    For his participation, Steve will receive a $25 gift certificate to the Greenleaf Store.

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