Dear Miniature Enthusiast,

We have a very special issue of the Gazette this month; one that we hope will reach out to miniaturists who have a daily struggle with physical and/or emotional challenges that impact their ability to do the thing they love best - build dollhouses. This is a topic close to the hearts of the Gazette family since we've met thousands of miniaturists over the years who deal with serious illnesses and we've seen the courage and determination of people who have overcome monumental obstacles so they can continue to pursue their miniature passion. In fact, most of us will tell you that if it weren't for our miniatures and the friends we've made within this community, we'd have lost hope a long time ago.

So in this issue, we're going to take a look at what we've learned about how to creatively get around the physical roadblocks that we face and then we'll spend some time learning how we balance our life needs with our need to create, because the one thing we know for certain is that there is a therapeutic and healing power in building dollhouses and making miniatures. Most important of all is learning how to hold onto the part of ourselves that resides in a small world where life is under control. Sometimes the greatest hope can be hidden within the smallest things.

We'd also like to take just a moment to wish all our friends in the USA a very happy 4th of July! You'll find a special article in this issue with some delightful patriotic eye candy and even Aunt Bea shared her favorite dollhouse in honor of our country's birthday.

In dollhouse news this month, the fun continues with our 2012 Spring Flingers. We're about halfway thru the contest building time and the teasers are getting more and more interesting! Some of our members are posting pictures of tiny portions of their entry and the rest of us try to guess what it is. That's just a portion of the good time we're having so if you haven't dropped in to chit chat with us about this year's Spring Fling, please feel free to visit us soon.

Until next time,

Deb Roberts
Editor in Chief

Overcoming Physical Challenges Through Miniatures

by Deb Roberts

This article has been rattling around in the back of my head for quite some time now, yet for some reason I've been reluctant to give it voice. Perhaps I've shied away from the topic because it doesn't seem like a positive subject for a miniature newsletter but the more I think about it, the more appropriate it seems to be. It's not just the fact that it's a subject close to our hearts since the three of us who make up the Gazette staff face some physical challenges which have resulted in some creative solutions to our mini-making. There's much more to it than that. If you've read the current thread for the 2012 Spring Fling on the Greenleaf forum, you'll have already seen a generous helping of fortitude and positive thinking when it comes to overcoming a physical challenge in order to continue making miniatures. Therefore, we'd like to share some of the things we've learned about how to overcome physical challenges and keep on building!

Happy 4th of July!

By Deb Roberts

Here at Greenleaf we're famous for our exceptional love of dollhouses, cats, and holidays. One of our favorite holidays has to be July 4th! When we think of our forefathers leading the revolution that gave us our freedom, independence and liberty it makes our hearts swell with pride.

Full story...

Ask Aunt Bea

By Beatrice Annabelle Minimaker

Q. I'd like to get my young granddaughter involved in miniatures. She spends two weeks of vacation time with me every summer and since she's 10 this year, I thought it would be the perfect time for us to build our first dollhouse together. Which kit would you recommend for a young novice who only has two weeks?

Full story...

Member of the Month - Meet ChapChap73 (Sarah)!

By Heidi Cleveland

I would love to introduce you to one of our nicest members of the forum, ChapChap73 aka Sarah. Sarah has been a member of the Greenleaf forums since December 18, 2010. She does lovely work and I wanted to learn more about her.

Read more about Sarah...