Gayle says her love of miniatures started in her childhood. She always loved tiny stuff and she still owns some of her treasures to this day. After Jim`s grandmother died, they inherited some long loved family heirlooms. One of these was a small blue wooden dollhouse with a hinged top made from a patent medicine box that survived over one hundred years of multiple moves. Several years ago Gayle was helping her Mom clean out her attic and she found a treasure. It was her old tin dollhouse with furniture included. That day seemed to set Gayle on her path to miniatures as an adult. She purchased her first house with a 50% coupon intended for art supplies. Instead she became the proud owner of a RGT Quick-build Colonial. There has been no stopping her since then.

Gayle loves to build her dollhouses. It gives her a chance to make changes. She does not do much collecting but she does enjoy finding certain miniatures like desks, sewing items, and dinnerware. She realizes that most of her dollhouses do not have occupants. Gayle says she is the one that lives in each of these treasures. Gayle`s favorite part of the building process is the flooring. She calls that step the “frosting” stage. It signifies that the house is almost finished, warms up the inside, and always gives the house personality. I asked her what she hated about building a dollhouse. This was her answer,” Priming...spackle...shingles! Yucky!” I agree with you Gayle!
 
When Gayle purchased her first kit she almost opened it in the parking lot of the store. That is how excited she was about her first build. She does not always start out with a clear picture in her mind of how she wants a house to look. She works through the kinks of inspiration as they come. Her RGT Lincoln is not talking and the Beacon Hill has a personality disorder right now. She is like many of us who will do almost anything to work on miniatures. She started the Glencroft when she was home with influenza. She was able to sit mindlessly on the floor punching out pieces, gluing, and sneezing.  She wanted it to look like a house from a Robert Louis Stevenson novel. Very 1700s Scotland like.

This is the house she would keep above all others. She loves the designs of the window seats, cozy fireplaces, and the winding staircase. The house has some older furniture she has collected so everything has that “lived in” look. Gayle says she would move right in if she could shrink. Gayle`s absolute favorite miniature are tiny delicate crocheted doilies she bought from an artisan in Canada. She does not crochet anymore herself but she knows exactly how hard they were to make.  On top of all her other creative talents there are a couple things that she would love to learn. She wants to learn how to weave wicker furniture. She also wants to make and paint her own dinnerware.

Gayle says there is a small cottage near the neighborhood where she grew up that has always been a dream of hers to own. It is way out of their price range so she took a picture of it and she plans to create it in miniature. She would also love to make a miniature display for their local Children`s hospital. She wants to give back to the place where she spent a lot of time because of her youngest son.  Gayle`s plans for the end of this year and the start of the new year is to finish the Lincoln and start her Beacon Hill. She would also love to create a better workshop space in their house where she could organize tools and have a cat-free zone. She also has a quarter scale Kummerow brownstone to finish. Phew! That is a lot of stuff for only one month left in 2008. Get hopping Gayle!

I asked Gayle if she had any advice for all those miniaturists that are just starting out on the path to discovery. She said to start with a house that you love and do not be afraid to make changes. Ask questions...there are absolutely no dumb questions. If you see something on the GL forum that you like, ask a member how they did it. The GL forum is full of generous cheerleaders who give such wonderful advice. Above all else, keep your sense of humor!

You can see all of Gayle`s luscious eye candy and all her gorgeous furbabies by checking out her gallery here.

For participating this month, Gayle will receive a $25 gift certificate to the Greenleaf Store.

I want to wish everyone Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Yule, Happy Kwaanza, Merry St. Lucia, Happy Boxing Day, and Happy New Year! Be happy and safe!