Glass bottles: I just got my catalog from American Science and Surplus, and they have a slew of tiny, tiny glass bottles AND corks, like 20 for $2.00 or something like that. Website is http://www.sciplus.com

Sue Veeder in Madison,WI

Pricing Tiny Pieces:   you said you keep all your items in tiny bags, which is smart. But can you make a display of a sample of each item, perhaps glued on some sort of a board, with the price in front of each? That way people can see each item clearly, but the ones they pick up to buy will be protected!

Put out a magnifying glass or two on your table as well...for people who   want to more easily see the tiny wonderful details of your work!

Alice Zinn- Pt. St. Lucie FL

Pricing merchandise at shows: One of the most frustrating things about shopping show tables is the lack of easily seen prices on items.  I know all those tiny things can be a  pain to price, but sometimes the difference between buying something and passing it up is how easy it is to determine how much it costs.  And things that are displayed behind glass with prices hidden underneath or things with no prices at all, will get passed by.  Sometimes the dealer is really busy and getting close enough to ask the price is difficult. Sometimes I know it's going to be more than I can afford and wanting to know is just curiousity. But I appreciate dealers who take the time to mark prices clearly.  It makes shopping easier and much more pleasant.  I've never understood the psychology of hidden prices.  Although things that are more expensive seem to have them more often than things that aren't. If something is really small having a display with the ones to buy in marked packages is a good idea.

I realize it's hard to merchandise a mini table because of the size of the items.   Maybe a sample board with prices would be one way to go.

Quinn

Beware Of Super Glue: I see a lot of people posting about the use of Super glue, and I just had to post this. This was one of THE scariest things that's EVER happened to me! A lot of plastic mini kits recommend the use of super glue (cryoacrylate). In retrospect, it's funny, but at the time...

I was putting together a Chrysnbon organ. I decided to use the fine tip attachment. I was not exerting undue pressure. Nothing. The glue shot out at an angle. (Not the first time I used the tip either!) It was beyond belief...It hit me square in the eye. Instinctively...I closed my eye. And it stayed that way. Big Time. I was absolutely horrified!

Ended up in the ER, attending physician had to "pry" a hole in my eyelid big enough to insert an irrigation catheter. It took hours to loosen that crap up with saline. When he finally cut away the glue, and got my eye open, he removed my contact lens...It had melted. Melted! (hard lenses, not gas permeable mind you!) He told me it was a miracle I had the lens in when it happened, because I would've needed reconstructive corneal surgery if it hadn't hit the lens. When I look from side to side, it's still blurry sometimes, but my straight on vision is OK. PLEASE WEAR SAFETY GLASSES WHEN WORKING WITH THAT GLUE! I refuse to use it at all, now, safety glasses or not! Yeah, like I said in retrospect it's one of those quot;stories" my sisters manage to tell at the Thanksgiving dinner table: "Remember when that crazy Sherise glued her eye shut? Only Sheri!" Yeah, but not so funny if it happens. If you do use the glue, use glasses, please! A good alternative to cryoacrylate glue is Craftsman's Goop (holds better, too...I've noticed superglue loses it's integrity after a few years...) I never thought something that IDIOTIC could happen, but it did.

Sherise

MSAT MicroMinis 144th Scale List Info: Here is the link to sign up for the MSAT MicroMinis Group. There are options when you sign up if you want to receive individual mails, digest, or no mail. If you have problems, email me and I will try to help you get your mail...It is a WONDERFUL group, and 144th is super! http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MSATMicroMinis/

Steff

Pricing: Putting price tags on my work at shows always gave me heartburn. You work so hard to make a pleasing display and then when you hang or stick the price tags all you see is a sea of white spots! I now use the small jewelry tags that hang by way of a thin dark purple string. I paint the tags dark gray and use a black fine tip marker to write the price of the doll. The tags measure 5/8"x3/8", plenty big enough to and not the first thing you see.

Ellen Poitras

WAC Uniforms-Buttons and Insigna:  I found two sites that may be helpful. http://userpages.aug.com/captbarb/uniform.html and http://www.awm.lee.army.mil/index.html

Rusty in Ky

Michael’s Hutch: In order to separate a Michael's hutch, put it, weighed down, in a bowl of water for a few hours.   The glue will disintegrate.   Lay the bits to dry on a towel under weights.   I have never once had any warpage with a hutch doing this.   One can then make up the ensuing bits into any configuration wanted :O)

Helen Cottrell

Paper punches for flowers and clay shapes: A site for "craft punches" is http://www.alpineimport.com/    they have quite a few manufacturers of the punches used by scrapbookers.  They have some inexpensive punches and several great leaf and nice petal punches. Lots of other neat stuff too.

That being said, there is an internet site http://www.carolinastamp.com/holepunch.htm    that still offers all of the standard dies and the catalog is on the net.  However, they are more expensive--I think $45--and they are quite heavy so shipping to Oz would cost a major fortune.  Check out Oz sources for "ticket punches" and your better office supply stores.

Diane Foster, The Colony TX

"non-mini" web pages: JenniferKY's list of mini-related web pages got me thinking about my favorite "non-mini" pages--which of course tend to be pretty useful for minis anyway!  I thought this might be a useful reference for someone out there.

REFERENCE & INSPIRATION: http://www.google.com  My FAVORITE site.   Arguably the best search engine out there,

with an image search function as well.If you don't have a clue where to start looking, START HERE. http://www.dwr.com  Great source of inspiration for very modern furniture--really cool catalog. http://www.costumes.org/pages/costhistpage.htm   invaluable if you're doing a period doll and need to know what the appropriate clothing looks like.  Has costumes from all time periods and all across the world--not just Western clothes. http://www.foodsubs.com   Fantastic as a reference for making mini foods; has photos of all kinds of fruits, vegetables, meat cuts, etc.

MATERIALS: http://www.sciplus.com   fantastic resource for materials (wire, basswood, beads, etc.), small plastic bags, motors, pumps, lenses, etc.

OTHER: http://www.x10.com/x10ads.htm   This has nothing to do with minis, but I find nothing breaks my inspiration more than those annoying (and I think sort of creepy) X-10 camera popup ads... this will let you turn them off for 30 days so you can do mini research and shopping unharrassed.

Maybe others can contribute their favorite "non-mini" sites?  I'm always looking for more inspiration, large or small...

Celeste in Boston