Unusual printies site has "How To's":  a nice woman named Barbara Del Duco sent me her site. It's different than some I've seen, because it has a lot of "How To's" for assembling the printies into different things (dresses, top hats, curtains, box kites)  They have a really neat looking 1940's kitchen set. I imagined printing it out to fabric, and giving it a coat of mod podge, duplicating it to look like an old fashioned oilcloth! She's got mini directions, printies for a picnic hamper, too, but my favorite   was her printie diner menus. I've never seen them before. Check it out  http://www.printies.homestead.com

Sherise

Easter Printies at: http://www.printies.homestead.com to go direct to the Easter things, http://printies.homestead.com/index3.html and scroll to the bottom of the page. There are lots of other Printies and I am going to start working on some new ones soon.

BarbaraD

Dollhouse Decor by Nick and Esther Forder. It has dozens of patterns for rugs, samplers, screens, in needlepoint and half cross stitch. Plus many other needle craft items like crochet bedspread, woven rugs, patterns for drapery swags and valances and on and on.

MAP in Puyallup

Re-Painting Shiny Furniture:  You said you have sanded the gloss away.  Have you tried cleaning it with TSP cleaner.  Cleaning with TSP is recommended if you plan to paint paneling (which has a very high gloss).  Be sure to use rubber gloves while cleaning with the solution.

Then a coat of primer, and your paint should stick like glue.

Debbie

Gutters and Rainwater pipes:  I came across this site by chance.  I hope it is of use.   They have a great range of items. JSM Miniatures Specialists in 1/12 scale Rainwater Fittings for Doll's Houses. http://www.jsm-miniatures.com

Evelyn

Source 3/8" Cabinet grade plywood: Try this URL for a mail order wood supply; http://shop.woodcraft.com/woodcraft/assets/html/homepage.asp?URLCheck=1  Also a selection of several suppliers  in the country;    http://dmoz.org/Arts/Crafts/Woodcraft/Woodworking/Lumber/  More ?, just go to www.google.com and search for "cabinet grade plywood suppliers" or some other words describing your needs

George Hoffman

The Canadian kitchen -- that was probably very close to the rural American kitchen in many ways, though you probably would see more English influence, since we were just out of being a colony at that point in our history -- you would see variations in kitchen set up as well depending on who your ancestors were, but if you are interested in the settlers of PEI, then your best bet would be English / Scottish / Irish. If you can, find the   film "Anne of Green Gables", the CBC production with Megan Follows as Anne. I know it has been aired on American PBS channels, so you might have a bit more than a   "less than a snow ball's chance" of finding it. I know that they had Merilla's kitchen shown in a few scenes.

From what I can remember from some of the "historic towns" I have visited on my travels, a rural kitchen would have a wood cook stove, usually something pretty functional and basic, although there were pump sinks popping up in various homes at the time .   You need a pantry, which is technically your "refrigerator" to keep your various leftovers and cooking supplies (if you think about how germ phobic the world is right now, it is amazing that people lived so long without something to refrigerate their creams et al!). Think wooden furniture, nothing too elaborate. Canadians had far more British influence than what would be found in the US at the turn of the century, most definitely. You would see wood plank floors, no wallpaper on the walls. You might even get a fireplace in the odd kitchen.

That is a few things I can remember, I am sure others will have something to contribute.

Kim from Canada

The Canadian kitchen -- There is a great period village called Black Creek Pioneer Village just outside Toronto, ON.   You will find that MOST things are similar in the US and Canada during this period, but Black Creek is very particular about details.   They used to have a number of people working there who would cheerfully talk your ear off about whatever information you wanted (I was friends with the blacksmith about 10 years ago).

Try http://www.trca.on.ca/vtbc1.html  for some photos.   The National Film Board of Canada recorded the site back in the 1960s http://cmm.onf.ca/E/titleinfo/index.epl?id=14085 The NFB also had a series on social life (kitchens, spinning and weaving, etc) broken into time spans 1867-1918 is the one you want I think http://cmm.onf.ca/E/navigation/index.epl?mode=res&by=subcat&id=2320&ofs=0&sid=77dc0bb64aa2179afef614bf1da5714e&parentid=23&parentname=History+-+Canada+-+1867-1919&catid=2320&catname=Social+Life&coll=&type=cat  For a wider range of geographic areas, which includes the Maritimes, try http://www.canadianheritage.ca/externallinks/canadasdigitalcollections.htm  - -- it has a digital collection of Canadiana.  

Then, of course, there is the PEI web site which has tons of info and links to more info on LMM (Anne of Green Gables, of course, is the main theme). http://www.gov.pe.ca/lmm/index.php3

If all else fails http://www.annesociety.org/ should be able to help you - if they   can't get what you need, likely nobody but the curators of her house in Cavendish can.

A final web site to try http://www.atlanticcanada.com has links to a number of maritime provinces' web sites, where you may be able to find what you want.

Also, try Tasha Tudor - although not Canadian, she still lives in a turn of the century maritime house, still using many period items. There are many wonderful books about and by her (I believe she is still alive) and also a PBS special.

Don't forget the tea towels ;-) ... these are still a feature of Canadian kitchens.

A suggestion, consider having the lady of the house in preparations for a Ceilidh - lots of scope for fun there!   You may also want to research Maritime Kitchen parties.

*** Note from Joy Perkins *** A Ceilidh is a Scottish/Irish term for a gathering of folk (usually women folk and is normally held in the kitchen ***

Heather Gillbanks

Canadian kitchens: The question about Canadian kitchens of the turn of the century got me thinking about the differences between Canadians and Americans of that era.

Politically, Canadians were still   British subjects   and I think this would be reflected in their homes.   A picture of Queen Victoria wouldn't be out of place.   I believe the basic kitchen would be similar to an American kitchen of the time except for the products (cans, bags etc.) which would have Canadian brands.  I imagine that Five Roses Flour and Puritan Flour were around at that time.   Perhaps looking at old   cookbooks of the time would be helpful in getting to know what type of foodstuffs would be readily available.

I also think the ethnicity of the homeowners would be eflected.  In western Canada where I grew up Eastern European Catholic immigrants had small altars (like niches) built into the kitchen wall containing a religious statue or picture and small votive candles.  Often there was a little vase on the altar with some bedraggled dandelions or wildflowers that children would bring in.   Ukrainian immigrants might have icons on the wall.    Quebec kitchens would be strongly Catholic and Ontario kitchens would tend to reflect the protestant ethic and would be most likely to resemble an American kitchen. It strikes me that the place where people ate tended to reflect their ethnicity more than any other place in the house.

It seems like favorite foods are the last thing to go when people try to assimilate. I don't know if any of this is helpful but I thought I'd mention it.

Evelyn in Saskatchewan

Old time kitchens:   Living in Mt. and having   grown up without electricity until teen years, here's some scoop...   Concerning refrigeration, people had root cellars they dug in the ground, or a nearby   bank.  Things stayed cool there, and did not freeze.  In the winter, if near water, they cut ice and had ice houses where they stored it, maybe with straw around it. Sometime later they had little iceboxes in the houses that were insulated and blocks of ice were put in them...

It was a 'pack it in and pack it out deal'.  Water was packed in buckets.   There was wash stand    where the bucket was set and a dipper to put some in a pan to wash.  One could also drink out of this dipper, but the leftover water was put in the washpan, not back into the main bucket...     Teakettle were kept on the stove for hot water.  a dishpan might be set there to heat water to wash dishes..  Big oval shaped boilers were set on the stove to heat water on washday.   Some wood stoves had water reservoirs attached  to   the sides where water could be heated.   There was a slop bucket to put some waste in to be later packed out.  Of course there was a rack to hold dishtowels.  Also probably a nail to hold the hand towel from washing up.

These are a few thing that one might not think of offhand with early kitchen.    Also, a wood box for the firewood, and perhaps a coalscuttle or bucket with coal for the fire,   (maybe even cow chips if no wood or coal)..

Margie Smith