I Love Lucy room: I used to work at Universal Studios/CA where they have a whole exhibit dedicated to 'I Love Lucy' and even have the sets up.  The colors on the walls and, I believe, the fireplace is gray.  I could be wrong on the fireplace, they may have left the brick exposed.   I'm also thinking that most everything in the room might have been painted in assorted shades of gray, it showed up on black and white tv screens much better than colored furniture.  Wish I could be a bit more helpful, as I just watched a tribute to Lucille Ball last Friday on one of the ABC, and her daughter and son were filmed on the set.   You might want to try going to the Universal Studios website to see if they have any pictures of the exhibit, and if not, you may be able to get a phone number to contact guest relations.   Hope this helps!

Monique

I Love Lucy room:   I don't know about the show living room BUT Lucy's dressing room at Universal Studios was done in greens that she believed helped enhance the redness of her hair. (At least what the guide said) You may get more of her dressing room info from Universal Studio Tours which could be applied to the TV living room. On the other hand, has anybody ever done a set from an old B&W TV show IN black, white, and shades of gray? With no color? Wouldn't that be a hoot?

Mel K.

Also a bit of news for the animal lovers. Talked to Liz McInnis the other day and she will be doing her first show in years at Chicago Int this year!...and I do mean years. You can see some of her animals in my "rooms in my collection" or Artists section where I share some great pictures of what I consider to be terrific artists. I have a Borzoi(Russian wolfhound)   Sled dog, schnauzer, by precious bengals Bubba and Sissy done by her and a white kitty. These are some of my most treasured things. Especially my Bengal portrait kitties as I have lost both so they are precious memories.

Anita McNary-Haynes

Anita....Bel Air, MD

Removable walls: My husband and I design and build unusual dollhouses.   Our solution is to affix moldings in such a way as to permit tilting the wall to one side, allowing you to slide it out. If the wall is coming straight back, you can permanently affix the moldings on both sides (but don't attach wiring to the walls you plan on moving!).  If the wall is at an angle to the back, you will need to make the moldings on one side removable (or just movable).  Good luck!

Sherry Burrill

Bayberry Cottage:Working with pressed wood is fairly new to me, but so far, so good.   Have been using carpenter's yellow glue instead of Alene's tacky which I usually use.  The yellow glue holds really well.  I found that out when I realized I had glued something together incorrectly.   When separating, some of the pressed wood came apart.   Luckily, the pieces were small, and it did give me experience that may come in handy later if I do a big mistake.

A large part of the roof is glued together before setting atop the shell.   It's kind of hard lifting that heavy thing into place. Possibly, I'll even find I've done something wrong, and have to backtrack. But when in Rome, do as the Romans do, and if more and more kits will be using MDF pressed wood, it's time for me to learn how to work with the stuff.

Dolores

Cottage shops: How about a Victorian garden shop, with plants, tools, statuary and other and accessories on the ground level and garden/floral crafts (wreaths, topiary, dried herbs, jars/baskets of Marianne's potpourri, floral-themed stationery, specialty jams and honeys, themed tea accessories, etc.) upstairs?   Or a ladies' specialty shop, with shoes and clothing downstairs and a millinery, accessories, and parfumerie upstairs.

Loretta.Sniarowski

Little Debbie Scene: what if you built a box out of foamcore or matboard, then cut and taped segments of the edges around the top of several Little Debbie boxes together for a frame.  Then have the frame color-copied at a Kinko's or your local printing place so you get a solid, neat piece, spritz with clear acrylic fixative, cut out a window in the middle, back the window with acetate or glass, and glue to the box front once you have decorated the study scene?   That would allow you to change the proportions to something better suited to 1:12.  Or you could accept the size of the standard Little Debbie package, reinforce it with matboard and do the scene in 1:16 or 1:24 scale.

Loretta.Sniarowski

Little Debbie Scene: Do you have the Little Debbie box? The trick is to get it into the computer.  Disassemble the box carefully lay it on the floor and photograph it with a digital camera. Now, if you don't have one of these you will need to Photograph it and take it to Kinko's to be copied and sized. From the camera to the computer. Put it into PaintShop or similar application. Size and clean it. Print it onto craft paper for the computer...also great for greeting cards, making card games etc. Cut it out. Use small, sharp scissors. Then using your X-acto craft knife and a small ruler LIGHTLY score the places you will be folding. Fold and glue your box. Should look rather professional. It shouldn't need stuffing...unless you want to put in some small cakes!

Laurie Sisson

Little Debbie vignette:  you could try to do something similar to what I did. I needed to cover my laundry/basement Roombox. It was 9 1/2 x 13 and none of the Tide boxes were large enough. I disassembled the boxes(I used two). I soaked the cardboard for a while and the paper separated from the cardboard backing. I then applied the paper on the box and decoupaged it. Looks very good. Perhaps you could construct your Roombox the size you want for the vignette and use a similar technique.

Pearl