Search the Community

Hello, I've just gotten around to creating an account...I have questions I need to post about my latest project and can't find the answers- and it seems that all the serious builders are on this forum. I built a Duracraft Heritage as my first project (it was $30 at Goodwill, couldn't resist) have built a play dollhouse, am rehabbing an Artply Allison, and am currently building a RGT Greenacres.

Hello! My name is Erin Zavala, I am 44 years old, and I have loved miniatures since I was about 6 years old, maybe younger. There’s just something so magical and captivating about anything small. I currently live in Washington DC, where my husband is stationed as an active duty military member. Originally from Los Angeles, I was incredibly lucky and blessed to be able to shop at stores like Dollhouse Lady Miniatures in Arcadia, Mott’s Miniature Museum in Anaheim, Angel’s Attic in Santa Monica, Larrianne’s Small Wonders (then in Camarillo), and later, at the Carole & Barry Kaye Museum of Miniatures gift shop (both locations). When I was in Kindergarten my friend Amanda had the most amazing dollhouse - her Mom was an interior designer and had kitbashed a beautiful Farmhouse for her. It really was beautiful and filled with so many mini treasures I just wanted to sit and look at it and rearrange the pieces over and over again. This obsession with my friend’s dollhouse led to my Grandparents getting me a Holly Hobbie Homespun Honey & Spice dollhouse, and completely furnishing it from top to bottom. It was my most treasured possession. At around age 8 (in the early 1980’s) I started a nearly lifelong subscription to Nutshell News and Miniatures Showcase (which didn’t last very long, unfortunately). I started seriously saving my money for the exquisite (and often very, very expensive) miniatures I saw in NN and at the Museum and shops. I could only afford small, accessory pieces from artists like Ron Benson, Todd Kreuger, Betsy Niederer, The Doll’s Cobbler, Harry Smith, Mosaic Press, Barbara Raheb, Pete Aquisto and Victor Franco, amongst others, but the accessories … these teeny tiny daily items rendered so perfectly, so artistically simply took (and still takes) my breath away. I started trying my hand at realistic renderings of furniture and accessories when I was older, with kits, kit-bashed and my own designs from scratch. My dollhouse held a continuous rotation of every kind of miniature I could populate it with, and into my teens and twenties I continued to hunt down treasures and make things for it. Unfortunately, I couldn’t take it with me when I got married. My husband was and still is Active Duty in the Navy, and we move around too much for me to pack up the house and all of it’s tiny pieces every 2-4 years (if anyone else here is either in the military or a military spouse they will understand why military movers would absolutely destroy it, and most likely a lot of my collection would be “lost” forever), so I left it at my parents with their blessing. Well … one day my Papa went to move it, and he dropped it. It splintered into pieces beyond repair, and that was that. Thank goodness I had, over the years, brought all of my miniature furniture and accessories to “live” with us. Cataloged, wrapped up safely and stored in numbered bins, they had waited to reunite with their home, and now it was gone. I have looked for my childhood dollhouse for the last decade +. I have had yet to see one come up at auction, on eBay or Etsy or on the mini-boards; but just yesterday, through kismet, a wonderful lady found an old post of mine on here and told me she had found a kit, still in box, in her Grandmother’s attic. This part is hers to tell, but she has agreed to sell it to me!! I haven’t felt elation like this since we entered the pandemic years, and I am so insanely happy I feel as if I could split in two!!! Since this has already become an encyclopedia of giant proportions I’ll just say that today, in 2021, I collect fine artisan, up and coming artisan, eBay, Etsy, handmade, homemade (by me) and factory made pieces almost exclusively through the internet. My latest purchase was a beautiful Marcia Backstrom doll, dressed by Marcia and absolutely perfect down to the feathers in her hat. I love how kind, sharing, compassionate, empathetic, creative and passionate the miniature world is … it’s always been this safe, creative and quiet place to be when I’m feeling crazy in the world. If you’ve read this far, thank you so much! I tend to go on and on about miniatures, and I’ve never had anyone to really talk to about them! I have lurked here for forever, and was a member of the Tiny Talk and Small Talk miniature forums when our phone lines still plugged us into the internet!!! I’m attached a photo of my minis I made in my early teens (hence Mr. Pink Bear getting deconstructed and given a strong tea bath; he needed a little makeover, hahahaha). Also attached is a picture of me in the 1980’s as a child with my Holly Hobbie house. Much ❤️, everyone, and happy mini-ing!!!!

Greetings and salutations—as indicated, I live in Massachusetts, about 40 miles northwest as the crow flies from Boston. Remember the line in “Paul Revere’’s Ride” about riding to “spread the alarm/ To every Middlesex village and farm/ For the country folk to be up and to arm?” My town is one of the villages he didn’t reach, because of being captured by the British between Lexington and Concord. I came to miniatures and dollhouses by way of collecting small dolls and their assorted accessories and belongings. I have worked on a couple of roomboxes and a very small dollhouse (the Adams), but my current is my first really big house. Bought it as a shell years ago fron Real Good Toys, and then it sat until shortly before the pandemic began and all my outside activities got cancelled. In its finished form, depending upon whether you added porches or additions, it appears on Pinterest as the Hawthorne, the Woodstock, or the Altamont—generic Victorian with a tower and a big front gable. As none of the finishing accessory packs are available anymore, finishing will require some further purchases, and possibly some kit bashing. I retired from work seven years ago, and have enjoyed the free time to pursue all my interests, which include fiber arts (knitting and spindle spinning), gardening, sewing (aspiring quilter!), birding, and attending to whatever animals are sharing the house at the time, though I’m down to one cat at present. He’s deliberately ignoring me right now, because he got taken to the vet for his annual checkup today and is mad at me. And now I’m off to apply another coat of paint to The Hawthorne-Woodstock-Altamont dollhouse!

Oh my goodness, I so happy I found this forum. Super excited to get to know all these creative minds. I have zero experience building dollhouses - well as an art student 100 years ago in HS, I did create a miniature Shakespearian Scene for my English teacher. That’s it! My husband purchase this dollhouse for my at a Fleamarket. I’m planning on rehabbing it ;-) xxx-ooo

Hi, Everyone! I am new to the Greenleaf Forum. I live in Fairfield County, CT. I have loved tiny things since I was a child and from about age 9 into my teens I loved decorating my childhood dollhouse (a four-room tin house with an "addition" of 8 rooms thanks to two liquor store boxes, haha) and making mini things for it. I really didn't pack the house away until I went to college, but then for about ten years I didn't think much about miniatures. Then I found a dollhouse kit at Goodwill and put that together and decorated it sort of on a whim. Ten MORE years went by, and my mom sent me a little quarantine birthday care package that contained a miniature room kit, which I finished putting together a few weeks ago. I started poking around on Instagram looking at some of the amazing things miniaturists do, and now I am wondering why I haven't been making miniatures and building things this whole time! I think I didn't realize what a large community of people it is. It sort of felt like something I enjoyed as a kid and almost didn't realize could be a hobby for me as a "grown-up", too. So here I am! I just bought an Aster Cottage kit, and am slowly getting ready to put that together with a Christmas theme, but I'm doing lots of reading and preparing because I want it to look great :-)

Although in the near term I won't be able to contribute... It is rude to drop by without annoucing your arrival Scott, living in Phoenix, Arizona with family. Years desired to build a dollhouse for daughters, but time and life didn't allow. I hope to refocus later in life and build in On30, O gauge (Lionel) narrow gauge model railroad. Large scale, and motion. Will post in correct forum, will pass on a Dura-Craft Heritage. I looked through a lot of your posts and work. Stunning demonstration of skill, art, focus and patience!

Hello everyone! I am new to the forum and relatively new to miniatures...although I have been fascinated by them all my life. I usually bake and decorate custom cakes (photo gallery on Facebook at Karenmakescakes.) I was given a Garfield kit a few years back and made so many mistakes that I gave up and it sits incomplete in my "office". I desperately want to see it finished this year so I'm turning to the experts here to fix my mistakes and gain the momentum I've been lacking to get this project done. Looking forward to the adventure!

Hello Everyone, My name is Wendy and I have recently started building my first dollhouse, the Beacon Hill. I am making it to look "haunted". The most surprising thing I have found out about this hobby is that it takes so much time! Although I'm lucky enough to have time to work on it, LOL! Since late July, I've been spending about 5-6 hours a day, punching out, sanding, painting, gluing and researching what the heck I'm doing and how to do it! LOL! I have found the instructions for the kit to be very confusing and lacking in pictures. I have also found "typos" that actually make it even more confusing. For example, the chimney instructions regarding the "flue" and adding trim to the outside of the chimney, the first step referencing the pieces on the schematic drawing refers to six middle flue pieces and 2 flue sides but then the first direction on what to glue together refers to six flue sides. Anyway, it's things like this that make assembly more challenging. I've been greatful though to find other builders willing to share their experiences and who took the time to either make videos or take pictures with explanations. One good source I have used is "jennsminis.wordpress.com". She actually cut the Beacon Hill into two houses and is doing the chimney side house now. Laurie Heisler is also I very good resource for dollhouse tutorials. Her website is "dollhouseminiaturemadnessandtutorials.com" She and her Dad have done numerous videos showing the Beacon Hill and various other tutorials on miniatures. I look forward to sharing my progress on this house with you all and hopefully gain further knowledge from you all! Here is a pic of what I've done with the interior so far.

Hello, I've been fascinated with small things my entire life. I remember reading an article about dollhouses when I was in high school. I remember two things from the article: 1-How absolutely transfixed I was with the doll house on display and 2Hhow anyone looking at the kitchen would see the little white eggs in the basket, but they wouldn't see the yellow yolks inside. Only the creator would know the yolks existed in the eggs but it was a satisfaction worth achieving. I've always felt the same way...the details are important, even if I am the only one who knows the details are there. I'm hoping to take this obsession with little details with me as I explore the world of minis.

Hello Everyone, I have been peeking around the forum for a few weeks since my miniature obsession began. I saw Ann's post and thought it was awesome to see another person from Las Vegas. I have never personally built a dollhouse, but I bought one for my daughter a few years ago. She has built it and decorated, but not completed it yet. I bought it for her because she was enchanted with my Mother's dollhouse. I guess it runs in the blood? I am starting out with a room box to get my feet wet and have bought 'The Laurel'. I thought it would be a good starter house. I'm having a blast so far. I had a little mishap cutting the window and door for the room box. Dremels look so easy to use....I now refer to the mishap as termite damage ;) I will try to upload some photos as soon as I can resize the files. I look forward to watching and sharing with the the other Laurel builders. Carrie

Hello, I am new to the site and I have recently purchased a San Franciscan and a DuraCraft Farmhouse. I need some advice on working on them, i'm sure. Just want to say hello and get the ball rolling for now. I have been unable to upload pictures of my new houses and someone told me I have to post a while first, so I am posting.

Hi everyone! I am a miniature enthusiast who recently decided to try to build a customized dollhouse. My previous experience with miniatures consisted mostly of metal models, usually very small scale. I also made miniature houses in the past but using stone as the main material, so that was an entirely diferent building process from the traditional dollhouses. I wanted to have a wood dollhouse for a while, but I could never find a finished one to my liking and I thought maybe would be a bit too complicated to make my own. Well, I finally decided to try this year! I have choosen the lovelly half scale Fairfield for my first project, and I'm slowly building and customizing it to my taste. I'd say I'm about halfway through this process, have the first two floors almost finished, soon I'll start working on the attic area and I'll leave the outside details for last. I have learned a lot through this process, mostly about crafting with wood, which has been very fullfilling for me. I think I can say I have become a fan I am hoping to finish my Fairfield within this year, and sometime after that me and my partner would like to begin a 1:12 scale project. We haven't decided on what kit we'll be using yet, but will probably be another Greenleaf/Corona Concepts. So I'm hoping maybe I'll get ideas from other forum members who have more experience with the 1:12 kits. I feel a bit intimidated about trying larger scales, it's a bit out of my confort zone. But I hope it will be easier after I had experience with my first construction, I'm sure I have yet a lot to learn, so I thought it was about time I joined the comunity and forums I have been lurking around for a while. Thanks to a lot of tips in these forums I was able to answear most of my begginer questions, and maybe eventually I can contribute a bit too with my own experience. ~cheers Ashley

Hi! My name is Jane and I've fallen in love with miniatures. Last year I started by entering the Undersized Urbanite contest and won in the novice category. Since then I've just been making things! I love it. I'm entering the creating contest this year (deadlines keep me realistic) you can view my work at janesminicreations.com

Hi ya'll, I am Stephanie and am buying my 1st dollhouse. I am so excited. I live in beautiful Alabama. I lived in Germany for 3 yrs. and have visited many other European countries. Italy is my favorite. Wonderful friendly people and scenery to die for, not to mention all the ancient places to visit. Guess I can finally have my dream house, just in miniature. I look forward to being apart of this site to learn and get ideas from more experienced people. The galleries are unbelievable , has my mind in a whirl. The Sea hag is a work of art. I look forward to looking at all of your projects. Glad to find such a helpful site for a newbie. Stephanie

Hello everyone! I just found this forum which I think will be great considering I am quite new to miniatures and need the help. I've been interested in miniatures for almost two years, but only about four months ago I managed to procure a dollhouse in need of work. I've been steadily fixing it up and turning it into a beach house. I can't wait to get other miniaturists (who know what they're actually doing) imput on my creations.

Hi all , I am a returning member of the dollhouse world. when my daughter was about two my mother gave her a doll house kit, which I had to build and furnish. took awhile and I loved it. fast forward 30 some yrs when I was immobile from knee replacement, found pinterest, a friends mini album and was totally in love AGAIN. OH my the possibilities nowadays, the tools I did not have long time ago. I could see using my cricut, a scoring tool, the dremel tool, embossing folders and the big shot even a paper punch or too. if I could have moved, I would have jumped up and down. when I healed tho I went back to normal routines and all my other hobbys. I had sent off for a Greenleaf kit though that I got on ebay for $20. it sat around and around. Finally this winter and the bonechilling cold. I pulled it all out. redid a simple house from garage sale($5) into witches cottage, just need to thatch the roof. and that Orchid house is out and ready to assemble. going to add an extra room on the right side and may change the stairs a bit. this new/old hobby has really got my mind reeling with excitement and possibilities.

Hello, mini-makers, My name is David and I've been lurking in this forum as I began my Beacon Hill build. First let me say that the artistic and creative skills demonstrated by the members of this forum are truly impressive. I can't tell you how many times I've thought "WOW!"s while looking at the work you've posted. I am new to building minitures, but I've thought for some time about building a dollhouse for my daughter who just turned two. As I've done a bit of precision and 1:1 building with metal and wood, my original intention was to design and build something from scratch. While looking on-line for inspiration, however, I saw the Beacon Hill and quickly determined that a detailed mini like this one was best addressed through a kit. Not to mention, I wanted to have the finished product in my girl's hands within weeks as opposed to decades! I jumped in with both feet at the end of April and thanks to a great kit, great instructions and awesome advice from this forum's members, I completed the initial assembly in under two months. (Originally, I was hoping to complete it within two weeks, but obviously I was clueless.) ;0 In the near future, I will incorporate some 'personality' and other customizations into the mini with the advice of the skilled artisans of this forum. Oh - and although I originally had no intention of building more than one mini, I've already purchased the 1:144 scale Beacon Hill. Many thanks for your support! -David

Hi, I'm Paula, aka gttygrl, from Southern California. I built my first dollhouse in the early '90s--fresh out of college, out of work, and kind of depressed about it, I found solace in building a Newburg kit and furnishing it from treasures found at the miniature store in Stoneham, MA, and the miniature shows held annually at the Shriner's in Wilmington, MA. (You can see it in the background here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pcarlson/385724353/in/set-72157594172082365) My sister and I purchased a Worthington kit and built the shell, but I was losing interest by then, and we let it sit there for years unfinished. When I moved from the east coast to SoCal, I gave my Newburg to the children of a friend, that I've now long since lost contact with. I don't remember what we did with the Worthington, probably gave it to the Salvation Army. (I am now imagining kicking my past self repeatedly in the shins.) Then we entered the age of Pinterest, where adorably decorated and landscaped dollhouses pop up on my feed on a regular basis. Last summer (2012, not '13), I bought the Orchid kit from Amazon, with the intention of finishing it for donation at the company's Christmas silent auction. I sanded and painted and stained for a few weeks before I got distracted by something else, again. All the neatly labeled and bagged parts have sat on a shelf for the past year and a half, until I pulled them down last week to try again. It's definitely going up this time. I still have all the extras that I'd purchased back then--the mixture and stencil for the brick exterior, the gazillions of scrapbook paper to choose the wallpaper from, the balsa wood for the molding, the templates I'd made of every wall and window. So far this week I've wallpapered a couple of walls (pinks and greens for the first floor), used tissue paper to "stucco" the first floor ceiling, and completely changed my mind on where the kitchen should go. And I am very grateful to KathyB's White Orchid post showing how she custom-made the stairs (http://kathiebminis.blogspot.com/2009/02/white-orchid-02-oven-wall.html). Once the ceiling paint has dried, I'll be assembling the shell and will likely continue the build in the order described in the More Minis blog (http://moreminis.blogspot.com/2007/04/orchid-day-1.html#.UxeJn86VtrM). This is the dry run. I had to sand some of the tabs to make it fit. I love the stained floors, they make me happy just looking at them. I hope this isn't too long. I can get a little wordy.

Hi everybody, I am Sabrina, currently a New Yorker and a college student (studying history/english/law) on break, who was recently given the Greenleaf Beacon Hill house by her mother. I instantly fell in love with it, however it is in pretty bad shape. I am hoping to do a lot of the work, now that I have the time. I recently started working on it. It is built, and I started painting it and fixing the broken pieces on the house. Does anybody know how to replace the windows by any chance (if you can that is)? I look forward to learning from every one and hope this project is equally rewarding as it is stressful. P.S. Since I am sorta lost lol any advice is very much appreciated :throb:

Hi everyone, I just ordered my first house, a Buttercup. This isn't my total first introduction to miniatures though, I tried decorating room boxes, and made miniature food and wood flooring in the past. I look forward to many more in the future and being part of this nice community

Hi, all... total newbie over here! If there were a name for someone even less informed than a "newbie," that would be me. So, I thought I would introduce myself before I begin peppering you all with dollhouse questions elsewhere in the forums! I'm a freelance illustrator and mom living in Minnesota, and I'm planning to build the Gloucester for my daughter. I love the simple lines and symmetry of the Glaucester and the absence of "extras" -- since my daughter is still quite young, I chose a house that didn't come with any cute little fences or other pull-off-ables! I also love that the Glau can be opened and closed. I am really excited to get started! The incredible amount of expertise and enthusiasm evident in the members of this forum are really inspiring -- I can't wait to learn from you all. If I may ask -- where is the best place to pose general house-building questions that are not specific to any one dollhouse? (Or is there a general dollhouse-building faq for complete beginners?) For example, one of my questions is: when the house description tells you how many bags of shingles or siding you need, can you assume that you can choose ANY of the shingles/siding sold on the Greenleaf site? If not, how do you know which shingle/siding is recommended? Warmest wishes and thanks in advance, Aimee

Hi, my name is Brittanie. I just joined this group today, the same day I received my Willow Dollhouse Kit in the mail (this model in case you're not familiar). I haven't begun working on it yet, I intend to take my time and do things as well as I can because I've never worked on a dollhouse before. I had one that my dad built when I was little but that was long ago and it wasn't from a kit (plus I didn't help build it!)... But I'm an artist so I have a vision for it. I hope this will be a good project for me to relax and have fun with in my down time. I'm hoping to achieve an old somewhat abandoned house look, although I have no idea if that will be possible or not. I work in mixed media with my art so I do a lot of distressing and staining with paper, I'm hoping I can apply similar techniques to wood and wallpapers and such. Wish me luck! :surrender: I've always really loved dollhouses. Something about the creepy but calming image of the miniature house in a child's room has always appealed to me. I really love antique dollhouses but they're too expensive for me right now. My fascination with them has been apart of much of my art and writing! A little about myself: I'm in my 20s, living in central Virginia US (I'm originally from TX) with my boyfriend and our 3 pets (1 blue heeler, and 2 kitties). I'm a freelance artist and I'm also currently working on my first novel. I spend a lot of time online, making art, and hanging out with my bf and pets. I'm a pretty big homebody but I also love nature and going exploring. I have an aesthetic love for Victorian era, Georgian era (which is the era my dollhouse is from, architecture wise), abandoned buildings, shabby chic style, girly style, natural earthy tones, dark and gloomy things, and lots more... An example of a style I love for dollhouses, this is an antique that sold for thousands! I'll be recording my experience with my dollhouse on my blog which you can see here. :type: I admit I'll be posting there more often than here but I'm going to try to use this site to get help, inspiration, and to make friends! :yes:

Hello, I am not entirely new to the Forum but am just now introducing myself. I was introduced to dollhouses about 20 years ago when I built the Pierce. Before I could begin decorating, the house was destroyed in an accident and I was so discouraged that I didn't look at another dollhouse for decades (boy, does that make me sound old!) Anyway, I found an old Heritage dollhouse kit at a thrift store and decided to take the plunge, but I wanted to practice on something else first. So I purchased an Orchid kit from Hobby Lobby and got started. It wasn't too long before I was bitten by the dollhouse bug again. I've finished my Orchid - at least, the major work is finished! I still haven't found the right doorknob, and I need a light for the teeny tiny little bathroom, and of course I will NEVER be done with accessories. I must admit that I am very attached to my little house. While I was working on the Orchid, a very strange thing happened. I purchased a dollhouse shell on Craigslist and discovered it was a front-opening Norcross with almost all the original parts! Then I got another kit from Hobby Lobby for my birthday. Stumbled across a birdcage that was just perfect as a gazebo for the furniture I got from eBay. Discovered some wonderfully talented folks on Etsy, found some great blogs, got some room boxes, accumulated a furniture and accessory stash, went to my first miniature showcase... as you can see, I am totally hooked now! My daughter and her fiance decided that THEY wanted to build a dollhouse along with me, so I converted a spare bedroom into a dollhouse room. We've learned all about wiring, shingling (UGH), painting, etc., and I've had such fun looking at everyone's pictures in the Gallery. I'm glad to be a part of the Community, this is so much fun, and I am going to need a bigger house for all my little houses!

Hello, Hello! Greetings from Brazil! I'm Gleise and I'm a newbie in the the World of miniatures. I love dollhouses, paper model and everything miniatures. Cheers! Gleise :thumb:

Hi, I'm Anna and I am a lifelong miniature enthusiast. I've decided to FINALLY build my dream house in miniature. After looking at every kit I could find online, I decided none of them were quite right. I bought Christine-Léa Frisoni's "Le Grand Livre de la Maison Miniature" for inspiration, fell in love with the house design, and have decided to build it (with a few of my own little tweaks, of course). I've already made a cardboard mock-up of the house (changes included), which was pretty easy and only took a couple of hours, so I'm confident I can handle building the house out of wood. I'm also going to do the Spring Fling as a "practice" project, and I'm going to blog them both. I've never built my own dollhouse before (though I have done a few room boxes) and I'm really going to push myself to make it as nice as possible.