When I was growing up, we moved frequently because of my father's job, and my dolls only had rooms in shoeboxes or an occasional shelf or an upturned apple box. (Anyone remember those?) I always envied girls who had dollhouses, and I suppose that little-girl dream was still with me when my daughter was small.
"Dawn" dolls were popular at that time, and she got one. She came to me one day and said, "Mama, my Dawn doll needs a bed," and I found a little cardboard box (I think it may have held blank checks) and we covered it with fabric and made pillows. Next her doll needed a sofa, then a chair and table which I contrived; she accumulated more Dawn dolls, which were close to twelfth scale, from her aunts and grandmothers, and one thing led to another and then she said she wanted a sorority house so they could all live together.
For her Christmas present, my husband secretly built a long box that would fit on a bookshelf in her room and divided it into rooms where all her dolls resided. We had such fun making things and looking for things in those days before miniatures were widely available, raiding Granny's button box and MeMaw's jewelry box and searching through things in thrift stores. I will never forget our excitement when we discovered a glass case filled with Chrsynbon items in a local toy store.
Eventually, she tired of her little dolls and their sorority house and it was passed on to a cousin and disappeared over the years.
In the 1980's when I discovered miniatures, one of the first things I did was to buy a kit, which became Miss Minnie's House, and then came my McKinley wallhanger, great for those with limited space, both of which I enjoyed immensely. Susan Sirkis had a series in Nutshell News from September through October, 1984, on building and decorating The McKinley. I can hardly recall a time in my life when I was happier or had more fun following her through that process as I worked on my house, as well. I still think that her techniques are some of the best for creating fixtures and appliances when regular purchased ones won't work. Because that house is not as deep as most dollhouse rooms, I made all my cabinets, sink and stove from her instructions.
She decorated the house for the seasons, as well, and that's what I did, too, for many years, which was fun for me and for those who visited our house.
Over time, however, even though I still love those two houses, I have discovered I am not really a dollhouse person, despite my childhood dreams. I am primarily a storyteller, and now I only enjoy making whatever small setting is required to tell a story. Plus, I don't have a lot of room, either.
But here are the dollhouses which have resided with me since 1984.
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One of these days I will finish this delightful half scale house... |
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