Brrr! This has been a cold December for many of us out there in the miniature world. I am sitting here in front of you in my PJs, slippers, and sweatshirt. I am thinking about this year that is slowly disappearing. I have to say that I have had a pretty good year. My back surgery has been a major success, one year anniversary of not smoking anymore, and I am starting to get my dollhouse building itch back. I have some plans that I will reveal in January. My wish for you all in 2011 is that we all have good health, lots of wealth, loving family, steadfast friends, and some great miniature projects in the works!
 

I would love to introduce you to our last Member of the Month for 2010, Krista (Skittiescat). Krista grew up on a farm in a 125 year old farmhouse in a very rural area near Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, She is the oldest of four siblings. She is 33 years old, and has been married ten years. They have two young boys, ages three years and eight months. In 2000, Krista graduated with her B.A. from the University of Toronto in Cultural Anthropology. When she was in University, she worked part time at the campus bookstore. After graduation, she worked for the University of Toronto Press as an Administrative Assistant, then as Editorial Assistant for Canadian Scholars` Press. Later on she trained to become a dog groomer and spent over a year managing her own pet grooming business. She realized that was not for her. She went back to college to earn her post-graduate diploma in Cultural Management from Humber College. She was employed by one of her co-op placement positions with the cultural department of the City of Toronto. She worked with both the Arts services and Museum Management divisions before she switched gears again and became the Program Coordinator for the Alzheimer Society of Ontario. She found out she was expecting her oldest son while working at this position. Krista and her husband decided to relocate to Ottawa and she became a stay at home Mom. This is her favorite job by far.

Dollhouses have always been a part of Krista` life. Her first was a tin "Marx" house from Sears that her Gram bought for Krista`s mother. It was a bit worse for wear but Krista did not care. She thought it was wonderful. When she was young, her babysitter gave Krista`s family a beautiful wood dollhouse that she now knows was an Arthur. Her first dollhouse that was hers alone was a Tennyson kit that her parents gave her for Christmas shortly before she left for University. She peeked in the box many times but was too intimidated to try anything as radical as building it. She moved that box for years as she went from student housing to student housing. She started assembling it in her third year. She got as far as the shell. The window in the sunroom where it was kept was left open and the house was rained on. Black mold started to spread on it. Krista did not know how to save it so the poor Tenny ended up on the curb. One of the neighbors salvaged it and Krista hopes it went to a good home.

Krista loves to build dollhouses for stress relief. It is kind of a creative meditation for her. She falls asleep at night dreaming about the different decorating schemes she wants to try. Although she loves the satisfaction of building and making things on her own, she would love to spend money on artisan furniture and miniature pieces.  Krista seems to be like many of us when it comes to working on a dollhouse. Some parts of the house are a breeze, others are not. She says it all depends upon the house. Krista finds that with some kits, the siding, shingles and trim seem to float on in a dream. Then with others she feels like she is wrestling a beast to get it finished. She thinks her absolute favorite moment is when she gets the basic shell assembled. Then she can really get a feel for its character. The only thing she thinks that she can truly say she dislikes is primer. A necessary evil but she always hates it. She dreads it and wishes she could skip it but she learned her lesson with her first Tennyson.

In 2006, Krista`s wonderful husband sent her to the Tom Bishop show. She was able to go on the Thorn room tour and visit Kupjack studios. She made a small inlay breakfast tray in a class with the late Barry Hipwell and she built a half scale shop in a The Guys From Texas class. She is grateful for the experience and she would love to go back some day and do the whole thing again.

I asked Krista what her miniature plans were for 2011. Oh my goodness, she has some plans! She says that her plan is to actually finish a house. Right now she has too many houses and projects sitting around, waiting to be finished. If I had that many projects to finish, I would crawl up in a ball next to my miniature storage cabinet and hide. Krista is much stronger then I. She says her biggest problem is that she loves the process so much that she almost hates to finish. She is going to try to overcome that this year. Krista says that some day she would love to learn miniature glass blowing so she can create exquisite stemware, vases, and lamps.

Krista`s favorite dollhouse is her Glencroft. She learned so much on that house and had lots of fun building it. The confidence she gained on that build opened up the entire miniature world to her. She can look at it and see how much she accomplished. It has the ability to let her feel a bit better about whatever real life stuff may be getting her down. It is a small reminder of what patience, persistence, and joy can achieve. She chose her Gloucester out of all her houses as the one she would keep if she could only keep one. It is so versatile. She has decorated it over and over in different time periods and styles. It suits each one perfectly.

I asked Krista if she had any advice to all the novice miniaturists out there. Be patient with yourself, the kit, and the process. Do a little at a time and try not to think of the whole big picture. Have fun with the part you are working on at that moment. Try your best to make your dollhouse unique to you.

You can enjoy all of Krista`s photos in her gallery here.

For participating in the Member of the Month, Krista will receive a $25 gift certificate to the Greenleaf Store.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all my miniature friends and readers!