Donna Hartline
A Touch of Texas
by Pam North
Donna Hartline’s interest in miniatures began over 50 years ago, and she had remained an off-and-on collector and miniaturist throughout the years. When her daughters were grown and gone, Hartline had packed everything away, but later her granddaughters discovered the hidden miniature treasures in her storage closet, and their excitement was contagious. Miniatures became a family hobby again.
Hartline and her husband have a construction and remodeling business for which she designs floor plans, cabinet layouts, and interiors. This background allows her to apply her real-life skills to the world of miniatures. She makes some furniture and décor items from scratch, and customizes kits and purchased pieces with added trim or hardware, and special finishes to make them unique. “My husband thinks I’m crazy, but he does help me with construction of the structures when power tools are necessary, and I’ve even caught him showing off my displays to relatives and friends. My kids and grandkids enjoy seeing what’s new each time they come, often giving me ideas.”
Her latest creation is a piece she made for the 2016 Creatin’ Contest (she won a First Time Entrant Prize). She calls it her Texas Ranch Guest House, and it came about gradually as she collected various unique items with a western theme, such as a cowhide canteen, rustic saddle, and longhorns. “The ‘light bulb’ moment came when I found the cow head that is mounted on the front gable; it’s actually a cabinet knob from a craft store,” she explained.     
Her Texas Ranch Guest House consists of four structures: the cottage kit is the living area; the barn kit is the kitchen, which connects to arched-front kits on either side for the wine room and guest bedroom. A barbecue area, and extensive landscaping with fencing, ties everything together. The roof of the cottage kit was customized to accommodate the skylights. Added porch beams were a challenge to get the spacing right for the skylights, since the interior has beams as well; planning and some trial and error were required to get the angles and spacing correct and fitted properly. Purchased furniture was customized with paint and fabric. Cabinets in the farmhouse kitchen are mostly from kits, stained and glazed with paint for a rustic barnwood look. Customized touches include: stained countertops and backsplashes; over-the-refrigerator cabinet “tin” panel; and horseshoe handles. Slatted sections on each side of the stove pull out to reveal attached shelves for spices and pantry items. The bar counter and stools were a purchased set, customized with vertical strips of wood laminated over the black metal frame, and a larger wood countertop, brackets, and rustic barn star were added. The back side of the bar features space for a built-in microwave, and shelving for baskets. The entire set is finished to resemble aged barnwood. The barn doors were installed on the inside to allow access to the kitchen from the living area. A large, over-the-sink window was added, and the end panels of the barn kit were omitted to allow the barn section to connect with the wine room and bedroom.
The guest bedroom features a king-size bed and bedding (craft components); other furniture is purchased, with paint stenciling on the wardrobe chest; most of the wall decor items are handmade. The longhorns over the bed are the focal point of the room. Shelving in the wine room features custom wine racks and trim, vintage-finished. The cabinets are kits, with rustic screen replacing the acrylic for the doors; the sink counter is made from craft materials. In the outdoor barbecue area, the backdrop and tin roof over the grill are handmade and hand-finished, as is the bar/counter.
Corrugated scrapbook pages, with two-color paint finish, glued onto roof panels, make the rustic “tin” roofs on the cottage, barn, and barbecue grill. Window boxes, shutters, porch steps, and deck were made from stripwood, painted or stained. Scrapbook paper was used on walls, ceilings, and floors. 
“My original idea for the cottage kit was a simple guest house with a bed, a chair, and small refreshment bar. Using the barn kit as a full-blown kitchen, then required a separate bedroom, so why not add a wine room and barbecue area too? What began as a one-room project became a whole complex of structures.” Hartline plans on keeping the piece and displaying it.
She is lucky to have a great workplace - a separate backyard guest house/office, as well as a completely equipped workshop, with plenty of light and space for display. She cites her Miter-Rite saw as her most valuable tool. “It’s a must for cutting precise miters for all types of trim. as well as cutting wood pieces to length.” Her greatest challenge in working in miniatures is “my clumsiness in handling and maneuvering around such tiny items without causing too much damage! Also, I sometimes get carried away, and lose track of how much time I’m spending on miniature projects.” Hartline said she has more ideas than she has time, money, and space for, but one of her next projects will be to finish a large dollhouse kit she had started over 20 years ago but didn’t complete; she plans to incorporate a “shabby chic” theme into it. She also visualizes another barn kit as a theater room, complete with hay loft, popcorn machine, candy counter, vintage signs, and an old pick-up truck with cushions in the back for seating. A New York-style loft apartment is another possibility.
“I love everything about miniatures; it’s sharing happiness and pure fun, and it provides a welcome distraction from life’s problems and stresses. I have a renewed enthusiasm for the craft since my granddaughters became interested in it, and with online sites for an endless supply of inspiration, instruction, and materials, the sky’s the limit!”

Contact Information:
Email: dhartline17@yahoo.com
Phone: (806) 385-6248
Address: 1512 FM 54, Littlefield TX  79339