Alice
I started building miniature furniture years ago, back when I was a teenager.
I enjoyed putting
together kits, but wasn't much interested in assembling the cars and airplanes
that seemed to be available. Then one day my mom found some dollhouse
furniture kits, and she purchased them for me. I built some of the pieces,
and collected a few odd items, but school and college and other hobbies took
over my life, so my miniatures were packed up in boxes for years. Once I
settled into my own home, my small collection of miniatures could be enjoyed
again. I have always wanted to build a dollhouse from scratch to display my
small collection of minis, but I had never had the space for one, and I still
lack the power tools that are necessary to undertake such a large project.
In May, 1997, I was looking through my Hobby Builders Supply catalog, and
decided to order a dollhouse kit that was being discontinued. I figured
that it would give me a chance to experiment on a 'cheap' house, before I
build the 'real' thing.
The dollhouse kit I purchased is the "Tennyson" by Greenleaf.
The one I acquired is the 'old' Tennyson. The kit has recently been reworked
to include some better architectural elements.
The kit is considered a 'budget' dollhouse kit, meaning that it is
constructed of 1/8 inch plywood. Higher priced, better quality kits are
usually constructed of 3/8 inch plywood, which is not only more durable,
but the wall thicknesses are in scale with a real house. However, since
I purchased this house as an experiment, I was not as concerned about
maintaining 'realism'.
During the summer of 1998, I built a dollhouse for my niece for her 9th
birthday.
After sucessfully assembling 2 die-cut houses, I have decided that I like
building them. I presently have 3 more die-cut houses waiting for me to start
them. :-)
I also am working on a roombox, and am starting to collect things for
a couple more.
During the process of learning about dollhouses and miniatures, I discovered
that I am starting to like dollhouse dolls.
A number of dolls have found their way into my home.
I also discovered bunka.
Back to main dollhouse page.