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What do you DO with your dollhouses?


heidiiiii

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I had a dr appt. the other day and we were talking about my CF syndrome and how I needed to find ways to deviate the feelings of stress and pain into other things.

I told her I worked with miniatures and dhs and that it is very satisfying.

Then she asked it...What do you DO with the houses once you are done?

I was a lil taken aback. Like there was an beginning, middle, and end to the dh. I did tell her I gave one away. Then I said I had five houses I was working on. She raised her eyebrows at me but didnt say anything. LOL Good doctor, keep your thoughts to yourself..LOL

Something stopped me from saying I played with them (MED CHECK!)

But I guess what I do is play with them, re-arrange, dream, wish. You make a room the way you would like your living quarters to be or just like them.

What would you say or have you said to this question?

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I guess whenever people ask me that question I just say something like this...

I am really never done with a dh. I'm always adding new things. I just like to sit and look at my dh's sometimes. I find this very rewarding and relaxing.

All my miniature friends can relate but I guess other people must think I have flipped my lid! :thumb: :ohyeah:

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Irene, that's a great answer! I love looking at mine, I find it very soothing. I've sold a few houses, but those were built to be sold. Couldn't imagine parting with any of the ones I have now, or the ones I currently have waiting to be built. I love to rearrange my rooms, add new things, etc. My daughter is very good at explaining this to people - "Mom is NEVER done with a house" is what she usually says. Quite true, I declare a house to be done, but then I go back later and re-do something or another in it.

For me, the next question is almost always "where do you put them?" Great question - wherever I can find room! Still not sure where Delaney cottage is going once it's "finished" and off the kitchen table. Hubby plans to start building the Haunted House today and we'll have to find space for that. After Delaney Cottage, want to start on my Houseboat. The question of where gets scarier all the time!

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Yep..yep..I agree with Irene also. I have my Orchid sitting on my dresser, still not 'completely' finished. I doubt that it ever will be. I look at it every night before I go to bed and still find myself amazed that I created it. Although my Glencroft is not anywhere close to being done, I still set up furniture and the accessories I have for it. When I am happy with the temporary placements, I plug in the lights and sit back and look at it. It is just so relaxing. It also helps me get more ideas for what I want in it. Great question Heidi!!

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What do you DO with the houses once you are done?

Use them to enact dramas, thus expressing myself without throwing scenes at family holiday dinners.

That's what I'd say with advance warning. If blindsided by the question, I'd probably say I display them and continue to fiddle with them.

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I look at it every night before I go to bed and still find myself amazed that I created it. I plug in the lights and sit back and look at it. It is just so relaxing. It also helps me get more ideas for what I want in it.

That's me :ohyeah: I spend more time looking and thinking especially when I am building. Just today I had to go downstairs and visit my BH in progress before going to work while I had my first cup of coffee. The more I look at a house the more things I think of to do. Don't you agree that anybody not into minis would think you were nuts?

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I agree with you Irene, a house is never done because you may find something like a vase and say 'Hey that would be perfect here' and so on. DH and the kids understand that with me, they're just afraid of the major construction :thumb: . I love to change the furniture around and just sit and look/dream that it was my 'real' house (not that I'd want to clean something the size of the garfield in real life :ohyeah: ). The only one that doesn't understand is my MIL, she is constantly saying 'what are going to do with those?' , that is until she sees what I'm doing first hand then she is sort of proud that I made something so nice, even though she never admits it to me. :banana:

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I tell people I build dollhouses & make the stuff to go in them, and when someone continues by asking what I do with them then I tell them I play with them until someone asks to buy one.

Use them to enact dramas
As I said, I play with them.
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I enjoy my houses like others would enjoy a painting...

I get a certain satisfaction of creating...weather its the whole house or a room or maybe a well decorated hutch. a finished house...yes I know they are never really finished.....IS a work of ART and vision.

ask them what do they DO with their scrapbooks or whatever when they are finished

they ENJOY them.

nutti :ohyeah:

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Hi,

I love to look at all the houses and make changes here and there. It's like being able to have things just the way you want even if it is in miniature. It's kind of like having control of something. I guess it is an obsession and when people ask what do I "do" with them I just say I enjoy them. If I had more room I would go on building as long as I can just because it's fun. I'd like to find some discontinued houses that didn't cost so much.

Pat

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i'll never write a novel, i'll never direct a play--- these houses are my scenes and chapters, these little dolls and figures are my characters-- with every tweak and purchase my story takes a new turn...

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My answer would be that I'm never completely finished. My dollhouses and miniature scenes are each part of my collection. I'm forever re-arranging, renovating and adding to this collection.

-Susanne

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My miniatures are my art and my form of self expression. I do what anyone does with art--I display it and enjoy its beauty.

I like this answer!

I also explain that I dream and imagine and play with them - if they don't understand, it's their problem - not mine!

GREAT question, Heidi!!!

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Oooh what Bee said is spot on!

I'm not a poet or writer or painter - none of those things give me a sense of satisfaction.

But arranging miniatures DOES!

I find the houses very therapeutic - it's a small space that is easy to control and change and keep order in.

Holidays can come and go in a house without any trouble!! lol!

I love looking at a miniature house. And being able to change the way it looks inside.

I like leaving things around the house that other people might see and find clever (framed prints they might recognize, or certain minis that represent family members, etc).

It really is more than a display of furniture isn't it? It says a lot about all of us.

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Ohhh, ze goot doctor isn't very creative, eh? :ohyeah:

I'm sorry, it concerns me that someone who is supposed to HELP you has belittled your passion. Has she ever knitted, stitched, sewn, decorated, scrapbooked, painted, or any other kind of craft? Then end products is not always the goal, but rather the journey, just like life.

We are miniaturists because we love it, and we love looking at our world in miniature, especially things that were created by our own hands. What do you DO with it once it's finished? It's never finished and that's the way we like it. Even if we say it's finished, we find more to do and enjoy. It's a HOBBY.

Heidi- Show her the pic of the horrible coffee table and the toilet paper holder. Maybe she'd GET that. None of us here do. Ohhh, I'm starting to sound bitter. How did that happen? Perhaps she was trying to get you to clarify why you love this hobby so much, but for me, the answer is who cares? I'm not interested in the whys but rather the doing. The journey. (The building, the glueing, the painting, the sanding, the gazing upon, ya' know!)

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Ohhh, I'm starting to sound bitter. How did that happen?
What? not you, Tiffany! OK, is it different when guys build model boats and train layouts? They spend HOURS playing with them, too. So don't denigrate our hobby, or us, because we like to play!
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I sold two rehabs but wouldn't part with my Glencroft and I am falling in love, so far, with my Georgian. My mother and I have always loved dishes and antique furniture and we went "junking" together until she could no longer get around. I still go junking. But I can have my cake and eat it too with miniatures. Now that I have more minis experience (but very little compared to many of you) I am more selective in what I make, buy and build. They are my fantasies of finery and elegance and uniqueness that in real life I wouldnt really want, couldnt afford and wouldnt have any place to put. Perhaps I should have been an architect/house flipper/interior decorator. I play/fuss with my minis, (I noticed in my aka junk store/co-op booth that customers play with them too. I am always finding furniture and, the animals in my stable, re-arranged). best regards, Alyce

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Okay, so I know a lot of you are never "done" with a house, since there is always something new to add. I told DH last night that I am at least 10 times past the "average" build time for the Beacon Hill, and I am maybe a quarter of the way done with it!! (can someone say, "perfectionist?") So I will be glad when I am truly done building the house, and only then can I NOT be "done" with the house :ohyeah:

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I get asked all the time what do I do with my stuff. I tell them that since I am 8, I play with my houses. And my ponies and my barbies. And when I am asked where I keep them, I say since I am an adult and I it's my house, I keep them everywhere. And if they want to come and play, I'll put on the tea and if they want to harumph at my toys, I tell them - well, never mind. No one comes over anyway. Too many dogs, too loud birds. (Which is fine with me, more mini time)

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I end up doing multiple things with my dollhouses. I like to look at them and display them as art. They are very relaxing and enjoyable to look at. I rather have dollhouses all over my house to look at then figurines or other works of art. I like to change things around in them or add more decor. I like to make things for them as well. Its really a craft that never ends. There is always something to do in them. I also play with them of course...lol I move the inhabitants around and pretend they are doing things..haha It sounds like a child but thats really what I do and its very relaxing. It gives me a little escape from the usual hum drum.

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I spend a lot of time looking at them. Last weekend I was sitting in the sunroom staring at the Westville which was empty except for maybe three pieces of furniture. After about forty-five minutes Geoff came in and was like "What are you doing in here?"

"Oh, just looking..."

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I have been asked this question and my answer was I play with it. This hobby becomes so much more than "building" a dollhouse. I'm learning to create with clay and cloth and stones and lets don't forget learning how to use "power tools". I think it helps us to go back and look at things like a child would--with fresh eyes and wonderment.

What other hobby can let you take out your frustrations by hammering, taping, gluing and banging tiny brads in and then let you also show your delicate style by displaying and arranging beautiful scenes?

Its educational--you learn how to measure, convert feet into inches, and convert trash to treasures.

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What do I do with my dollhouse once it's finished??? (Finished??? is a dollhouse ever REALLY finished????) Well, I PLAY with it of course...I'm not ashamed to admit it...I am a kid at heart, and I DON'T wanna grow up...nope, not me...no way, no how....and to those that don't understand...I say pooh pooh...your just an old curmudeon and you need to go and find your inner child!!!

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ROFL!

I came Thisclose to saying I play with them, then my mind kicked in and said *this chick prescribes your meds dear..tread lightly!*

I think there was no meanness in her question at all. For me doing this, I find it is very hard to find like minded people, who love to work with minis.

How many of you have been in the craft store and you see someone else in the mini section and your heart leaps? Another one of us!

It is like being on the Serengeti and you spot a albino zebra!

The question just took me off guard. I explained that houses can take months even years to actually complete. You have to construct, shingle, side, paint, wire for electricity, trim, windows, doors, furniture choices, colors.

I like to stare at them too. You can just sit there and think I did that! Plus you can decide what is next.....

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