Toyshop Names: Toyshop Names: Toys for Tots. Ruth Morey, Corpus Christi on Padre Island |
Mini scenes as gifts: I had the brainwave that I could use the left-over gift bag room from my elder's party in January and make a classroom scene from printables. My daughters identified the important elements of the classroom and then we set out to find them on the web. I think we found everything from just 4 sites, Jim's printables at http://www.printmini.com, Eileen's printables at http://members.home.net/eileenmorgan/printables.html, http://miniatures.About.com and a site I only just found with a huge range of stuff, Boop Mini Printables at http://www.geocities.com/boopmini40/ I used a table from the dollar store and painted it the right colours, backed a clock face of Jim's with a button of the right shape and colour, made a flag from a fabric cutout and a fancy toothpick, mitred a window frame from balsa, made coloured pencils from 1/2" nails with the heads cut off and painted, and everything else was paper. ...found a printable stone floor that looked pretty realistic behind the window frame! Boop Mini's had the critical snack food containers and bookcases, somewhere else had the ubiquitous tissue box, to which we added a real bit of tissue, Jim's TV, computer and dictionary (exactly the right one!) were perfect. We also found manila files and envelopes, graph paper, tiny word puzzles, books (including a Dr Seuss with inside pages), 12" and 36" rulers, a file box, maps and posters. Paper sample books rescued a while back from the garbage provided construction paper and even a blue rug. Finally, my daughters painted and drew miniature artwork for the classroom walls. |
Gluing Felt: If you are working with felt you can glue it with rubber cement or what I did when working with felt, not in miniatures, is to soak and saturate the felt with latex (neoprene-synthetic) and squeeze out the excess and then shape the felt and let it dry. When it is dry it can be handled like wood. Sanded, painted etc. DrBob...Delray Beach, FL. |
Gluing Felt: I am assuming that the felt you want to glue is the usual craft felt, made of polyester. The only glue I have found to use successfully on it is Fabritac...available in mini stores, craft stores and WalMarts craft dept. Alice Zinn |
Dremel Tools: Here is my recommendation for the Dremels you need. I suggest you obtain both a corded model such as the model 3962 variable speed Multipro Tool kit. This comes with a case an 72 of the accessories (bits) that will get you started. This set costs $64.00 at Lowe's' stores in this area. I also suggest the model 750 Minimite cordless. It comes with a few accessories, and charger. The accessories you get with the 3962 will fit the Minimite. This small tool is valuable when you want to work inside the dollhouse. You aren't dragging that cord in with it. It costs about $30.00. They come with a catalog so you can see the other goodies that are available. Dave Brazelton |
Freesia: A five-petal punch (about 1/4 inch) and 30 gauge wire works for freesia. Slosh a thin wash in your colors on tracing paper; let dry, punch and cup. Tie a knot in a piece of embroidery thread, fray, and dip the ends lightly in glue for your pistil; glue to wire. Use the end of the wire to punch into each flower center, pushing it up to cup around the pistil. I usually use two. To get the tubular shape, twist base of flower around wire. Paint base green or use small cupped green star punch, and use darker shade of flower color to touch edges of bloom slightly. Go to www.google.com Search, click on Images, type in freesia, and you'll see good pics. Wanna in El Paso |
Uses for sawdust: make beads using saw dust, white glue and acrylic paint for coloring. You could even press this mixture in a miniature mold rubber and let it dry. You can make interesting textured paint by mixing in saw dust. Saw dust colored various colors is wonderful as a landscaping material too. Use it just as you would ground up foam. You can color it by mixing it with watered down paint and letting it dry. Colored saw dust can look like potpourri in a small jar or bowl too. Jean |
To make things cheaply Jeanette's diminuettes site has a southwestern verandah . I am making one out of a Styrofoam (white packing foam box). a few broken tiles for a path, cactii and pots. Julia |
Silicon Packets: these do yellow, so you might want to lay some out and see what happens before you use them as ice -- just to be safe that your ice doesn't yellow. Fay in St. Louis |
Plastic thingys from pill bottles: They make great canned goods etc., I carefully cut the bottom out of one and then made a circle of paper, cut a pie wedge from it and glued it into a flat type cone....I then took a piece of thicker cardboard and cut a small circle just slightly bigger than the plastic thingy (you could use a button). Both of these I painted black and added a little"rust" to them; then glued one to the top and one to the bottom ..before I glued the cardboard circle to the bottom I pushed a tiny piece of yellow tissue up into the plastic thingy...ta..da ..a little lantern for my cigar box fishing shack. Because I have different sizes I glued three together to make a pot belly stove for that same fishing shack. One size looks to me like those crocks grandma used to make pickles etc. in. Make friends with your local pharmacist! Ruth in sunny Green Valley. painted black....they make great nursery plant and shrub cans. There are a few that can be used for kitchen canisters as they are already colored and have a finished lip, and there is one that is shaped just like a back yard planter. And of course you have the added benefit of collecting the glassy silica beads inside which can be used for all sort of things, including drying miniature wildflowers.Carol WagnerJoshua Tree Calif. |
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