Presenting The Winners
and Honorable Mentions
of Our 14th Annual Creatin' Contest!
There are years when the winners jump out at the judges, and years when we are confronted
with a dozen projects that are almost equally outstanding. This year, we brought
in everyone for opinions: Ernie, Blanche, the customer service reps, our receptionist...
we were tempted to run out on the street and enlist the aid of total strangers!
Finally, we had to get really picky, sleep on it overnight, then come back at it
again before we were comfortable with our choices.
The judges would like to add some words of advice to next year's contestants: the
photographs you send matter a lot. Keep in mind that your photos are our only view
of your project. Please don't send blurry or dark images, and we need pictures that
show the whole project in one shot, in addition to close ups. We also need to see
the kit underneath your creative embellishments. Sometimes projects are astounding,
but for all we know you built the whole thing out of balsa wood and only used a
couple of parts from the kit. We expect you to "bash" the kit, but don't completely
disguise it. All that said, we want to thank each and every one of you who participated
and commend you on your hard work. Now, sit back and be inspired!
14th Annual Creatin' Contest
Grand Prize: $1000 Gift Certificate
"African Queen Safari"
Nannette Norris, McKinney, TX
Nanette was drawing a blank on what to do with the Houseboat
until her husband suggested the name "African Queen."
That's all she needed to focus on creating 80%
of the furnishings - including the crew!
She has been doing miniatures for four years and
did only Victorian projects before
creating this, her very first, contest entry.
Beginner's luck, you might say. We say it's the total and wonderous attention to
detail, the craftsmanship, the completeness and the fact it made us all chuckle
with delight.
First Place: $500 Gift Certificate
"The Shining Moon"
Garry Rutherford, Lincoln, ME
Garry created this moonshiner's summer home and out-fitted it in astounding detail.
The outhouse is on wheels so it can be moved between the boat and the winter home.
Pa is busy making moonshine, Ma is doing laundry and the visiting daughter is taking
a bath on the upper deck.
Garry built almost everything from scratch. He has been doing miniatures for 27
years and specializes in weathering techniques.
Second Place: $300 Gift Certificate
"Fireboat"
Stephen Bailey, Marietta, PA
Stephen started by making the hull from aluminum flashing. He heated wood strips
to shape the box and used almost 200 brass screws on the project.
The decking dark walnut that he sliced from a board, glued down and then added brass
nails for detail. The pilothouse was made from scraps, and the wheel was handmade
from walnut.
Stephen is a retired fire fighter and still an active volunteer in emergency services,
so he knows exactly what this kind of boat should look like!
Third Place: $200 Gift Certificate
"Crabby Annie's"
Anne Costello, Merry Point, VA
Anne lives on the Northern Neck of Virginia, so it didn't take her long to imagine
an old houseboat pulled onto a sandy shore and transformed into an "Eat In-Take
Out" restaurant. The restaurant has a complete kitchen, take out window and a nautically
decorated dining room seating up to 16 people.
The upper deck has two picnic tables with umbrellas and two benches. With the exception
of the stove, refrigerator, boat cabinet and the two benches, all of the furniture
is handmade, much of it from scraps of wood from the houseboat kit.
Anne has been a miniaturist, off and more recently on, for 30 years. She has built
dollhouses for her grandchildren and regularly contributes projects to church and
craft group raffles.
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