Portable Landscaping: You could make styrofoam bases to use around your dollhouse that could be removed.  Our club did that for a dollhouse that we did for the Women's Crisis Center.  You fit the pieces around like you want them.  Then, you landscape each individual piece as you would have done if it was permanent.  It works very well.

Mary

Landscaping too-big house: How about that blue foam insulation (or whatever it is they put on the outside of real houses).  It's 1/2" thick, very light weight and available in 4 X 8' sheets from any building supplier.   After landscaping around the house you can cut off the excess fairly easy.  I built 8 roomboxes with some leftovers I got and 8X10 picture frames @ 2 for $5 from Wal-Mart cheap cheap.   

***note: the insulating foam also comes in 1" and 2" thicknesses***

Mary Ann Miller

Rust effects etc in UK: Tanis, Have you tried Panduro Hobby for the things you want? They are a mail order company with a large catalogue (I can never get one without ordering something)They used to mainly deal with orders over 25 pounds but now they take smaller orders. Panduro Hobby Westway House, Transport Ave., Brentford, Middx. TW8 9HT Tel:0208 847 6161 e-mail: pandurohobby@compuserve.com

http://www.pandurohobby.whd.net You can sometimes buy their catalogue at large W.H. Smith branches.

Sharon from Hants

concrete flooring: In skimming the digest, I do not know if this has been mentioned. We learned to make a garage concrete floor in New Orleans last year (and this year) by using the wet gray paint and 1 ply tissue method. You paint your floor with gray acrylic paint and before it dries you lay down, flatly, one ply tissue over the wet paint. You pat it down with a brush, another tissue, or sponge so that the paint soaks up all the tissue. Once dried, the texture is fantastic and looks just like concrete....very very fine as in scale. You may also add your tire marks, oil stains, etc as you wish. Works very well.

Rhonda King

One more sheet of Wallpaper: Wallpaper is printed in batches and the colors from one batch to another can vary from just a small amount that's hardly noticeable to such an amount that the paper is a very different color altogether. Looking for and finding that one last sheet of wallpaper might therefore prove most disappointing. I always recommend buying at least 3 sheets of your chosen paper to allow for the size of the room and making mistakes. If you have a sheet left over it will always come in handy in a room box or smaller project.

Karon

Textured walls: I use a mixture of paint and personal body powder, the cheapest you can find. Mix both together to a thick gluggy consistency and spoon on then use a old telephone or bank card to trowel the mixture over the surface. It can be sanded when it is dry if needed. This also gives strength to the kit houses

Karen in Dubai U.A.E

texturing walls: I'm thinking those products will be too thick to look good in scale, and the spray stuff will have unpleasant fumes until it's dry. I would experiment first on a piece of scrap wood (outdoors) and let it dry before you decide. And please let us know -- the tips based on experience, whether bad or good, are valuable!

Possibly you will like the results from plain, smooth drywall joint compound better (it's pretty cheap and comes ready mixed). I haven't used it on a dollhouse yet, only on a real wall, but I can't think of any reason it wouldn't be just fine. The beauty of it is that it's water based and can be easily removed while wet. When it's dry it can be sanded down if you're not happy with some areas (but makes fine dust). It can be troweled on and pushed into interesting patterns with something like an old credit card (isn't that a great use for those?) or dabbed lightly with a rag or sponge to get various textures. Try it, it's fun. A real knock-down finish is hard to achieve. I watched a skilled guy repair a ceiling one time. The material is dabbed and lifted so that it leaves little peaks and then there is another pass with the trowel just skimming those peaks flat. Orange peel is named for the fruit it resembles. You might be able to get that effect by dabbing a rag or sponge, but will need to experiment.

There is also a product that is called "dollhouse stucco" I wouldn't be surprised if it's pretty much the same thing, but with a very fine texture added. This would possibly be just right for you. Here is a web page where someone has some pictures of her work in progress, including the half-timbered and stucco effect: http://www.dollhouse-by-lilofee.com/workshop.html She builds custom dollhouses in her spare time & completes several per year, while having a full time job. Her site, which she keep up to the minute, is very image and midi intensive, so if you have a slow connection, might as well play free cell while you wait!

I'm sure you won't wreck your house with the water based products. Don't ever wash any plaster-like product into the drain pipes unless you have a crush on the plumber! Have a water bucket and sponge ready because if you're like me, you'll get it on you and several other places it doesn't belong.

Rosalind in Houston, TX

1" pineapples: There is a Kousa (I think that is the spelling) dogwood, which here in Maryland is blooming now. It is a little later than the normal dogwoods. This fall it will be covered with these perfect little seed pods which are bumpy and when painted yellow and adding some leaves at the top are perfect pineapples. This hint was courtesy of "Ladybug" in one of the classesI took from her.

Evelyn Gilbert

Painting Chrysnbon: I made their pump organ and didn't like their "stain" effect. I used regular acrylic, glazed it and it has yet to peel. For that matter, I think I also used stain on top of the acrylic. They say ignorance is bliss - there may be a few others who gasp in horror (I've been known to make a few people do that), but it worked for me, and it doesn't look bad.

Louise in Toronto

Painting Chrysnbon: You definitely don't need to bother with a primer, IMHO. Testor's model paint always gives me great results, you can mix the colors and they come in flat and glossy finishes, but any craft acrylic paint works too especially if you want a lighter "wash" coat. You may however want to finish up with a sealer just so the paint doesn't chip off.

Karyn