Sheila Lester (Craftsman Tiny House)
All the Right Touches for Coziness
by Pam North
Hobby Builders Supply’s annual Creatin’ Contests (miniatures.com) easily can become an addictive passion, as attested to by the many miniaturists who enter them, hoping to win one of the awards offered. Texas resident Sheila Lester’s determined efforts have netted her Honorable Mentions in 2016 (Nola House) and 2017 (Craftsman Tiny House), and Grand Prize in 2018 (Wicked Queen’s Retirement Cottage). Predictably she will be entering the 2019 contest. The contest kits themselves spark her creativity, reminding her of a historic period or a place to drive her imagination into the minutia of the project. “A dollhouse is a way of making my own little reality or world,” she explained. 
A recent issue of Dollhouse Miniatures covered Sheila’s Wicked Queen’s Retirement Cottage, so this issue’s focus is her Craftsman Tiny House, a clever and cozy domicile created from the Craftsman Cabin #92017 kit that formed the basis for all of the entries in the 2017 event. She explained her outlook on the project: “The name got me thinking about the Craftsman style of homes and all their architectural details, and what made them different from Prairie Style homes. I loved the idea of built-ins, changing the trim for the windows, and a front porch with the tapered columns so popular on Craftsman houses. The Craftsman houses also have gorgeous woodwork, fireplaces, shelves, and tons of custom touches, so I wanted everything to fit with that general style.”
The MDF (medium density fiberboard) of the kit, with the addition of balsa wood, basswood, and lots of glue comprised the main structure, which then was finished with clapboard siding and plaster stone.   Sheila crafted the window trim and crown molding, the bed, hall tree, pull-down ladder, and clothes rack because she couldn’t find anything ready-made that would complement the Craftsman style. The fireplace with surrounding shelves and the window seat were precisely fitted to the walls.

Polyester fur ( a surprising element) was used for grass, accented by wire/paper flowers, and coffee and glue for dirt. The fur grass was a process she found in a tutorial on Pinterest for model railroads. “This was the first build in which I did an outdoor space, attempting grass and dirt and making flowers,” she said.

Whatever Sheila couldn’t make herself she purchased, such as the stove, bathroom fixtures, island, and many of the finishing pieces, but most of the furniture she crafted from either kits or from studying pictures of Craftsman homes. She estimated that about sixty percent of the finished piece was handmade, and forty percent purchased, the latter including most of the finishing touches (art pieces and vases, and animals), all purchased from other artists and sources. In order to give proper credit, she wrote a blog post detailing where she got each piece.

She invested much time in planning, attention to detail. measuring, and dry-fitting, often taking things apart to redo. “I didn’t glue the entire house together for a long time.” she remarked, “and I actually goofed up putting the exterior finishes on before I did the wiring so I had to rout out channels, get the lights in, then cover them with tape and wood glue and texture them so they’d match the walls.”
An interesting touch were the ceramic beads used for the backsplash in the kitchen, which showed her ability to look at jewelry items with a different perspective. “My technique involved a cardboard template in the shape of the backsplash, with beads glued to it, then using drywall spackle for grout, letting it dry and then gluing it into place, cardboard and all.”
The hardest part for her was installing the electric lighting and making sure at every step that it worked. “Electric lights make me crazy with every build I do.!” she exclaimed. Her favorite aspects of the piece were the columns on the front porch and the working folding ladder, both made from scratch and requiring a lot of work and research on her part. She also enjoyed making the window-seat, bookshelves, and fireplace, which called for careful planning and fitting in the space. “The piece actually turned out very close to my original idea, maybe because that idea was fairly simple. I wanted something with a small footprint, and I’m glad I stuck with that.”

Sheila has no plans presently to sell her piece, preferring to display it in her workroom where people can see it from her living room.

In addition to her plans to complete an entry for the 2019 Creatin’ Contest, Sheila  is working on another build as an effort to relax and not obsess over the contest and deadlines this time around.

Crafting miniatures has brought satisfaction beyond the artistry itself. “I can’t emphasize enough how much help the miniaturist community online has been to me. Everyone is so kind and encouraging and supportive. It doesn’t matter that we’re all working on the same kit and technically competing with each other. I’ve never met nicer and more welcoming people.”

Contact information:
Name: Sheila J. Lester
Email: sheilalester29@gmail.com
Phone: (940) 783-1085
Address: 1510 Laurelwood Drive - Denton, TX 76209
Website: http://shenandoahandstuff.blogspot.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sheilalester29/