My Haunted Gothic Mansion: Here it is, on picturetrail. http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=6&uid=482716&

Sherise

Irish Pub: Have finished Dura Craft's Ashley in white stucco with green trim outside, white stucco with pecan stain and green marble tile floor inside. I want to turn it into an Irish pub. So...what makes a pub Irish? I don't believe the real pubs have shamrocks and leprechauns plastered everywhere. Suppose I could put a tape under the floor playing "Wild Colonial Boy", but would appreciate any hints.
This was my first dollhouse in years. I did a screenprinted "Annie" mansion in the mid 1980's and that's been it. The SS posts have been truly educational. The only problem I had was with the roof, but I found that if I attached the two back corners, let that dry, attached one front corner, let that dry, then attached the fourth corner - bingo! The whole roof just seemed to come together and settle into place. Then I helped a friend do her Ashley (she's turning it into a winter shelter from a scene in some Mercedes Lackey book) and we had the basic structure up in two evenings. She's "rocking" the bottom floor outside with pea gravel and "logging" the upper exterior with twigs. While working on the "innards" of my Irish pub I've started the Corona Aster. I must say, I love these little houses because they have so much character.

Ava from Colorado/Kansas

Irish pub: Having been in many an Irish pub - first I'll ask if you want an authentic pub or a tourist pub....ha ha....there is a difference, believe you me. Many Irish pubs have "snugs" - like booths with doors on them. A bell to signal the waiter - see the web site of the Crown bar in Belfast. Men's rooms (if you're going into that much detail) have a "trough" rather than separate urinals (this according to my DH - never been in one myself....men's room, that is) Usually a big fireplace- huge bars which are the focal point of the place even in relatively small pubs- lots of small mosaic type tile, on the floors, on the walls. Bar towels (Guinness, Harp to lay on the bar to catch the drippings from a newly poured pint. Many pubs I've been in still have the gas light fixtures - the Crown actually uses gas lighting. Stained glass windows also - many of the local pubs are quite small actually. In the evenings there are fiddlers, bodhran players, and penny whistle players and singers. Chairs and tables are usually a mish-mash - not all lovely sets of tables and chairs but an accumulation over the years. Oh yeah, and sticky floors (ha ha). Could dig out a few photos if you're interested???

Vi in rainy Hamilton

Irish pubs: Having spent some time in several pubs in Ireland, I can tell you that no two are alike in their appearance . but a lot of them have a bar that juts out into the room, a fireplace, some "snugs" or booths as we in America call them. If they have tables, the tables have little stools round with hand holes cut in the top so you can pick them up and carry them around. The decor usually has a lot of dark oak paneling or dark wainscoting. There are racing (horse) posters, boxing posters, and of course a Guiness sign or two. Hope this helps you. One thing, in all the pubs I was in, I never saw one pool table.

Bill in Kansas

Glass house: The name of the terrarium pattern was " The Crystal Palace" and I decided to go with that theme. In the back I plan a 'mountain' with a "Crystal" waterfalls. The water will pool into an area about 5" across and ? deep before winding into another wing where it continues past a "Crystal" cave. The third wing will have a tree that will hold the home of a few tiny (less than 1")"Crystal" fairies. I want to fill it with greenery, birds and butterflies and a couple of small wild animals.

I have made a base from the foam inside an old life jacket, about 2" deep with 1/8" mahogany wood on top of that. These will be cut out so there will be somewhere to collect the "water". I plan on making a wire armature for both the cave and the mountain. I would also like to put a light inside of each of them. I have a container of unpolished amethyst and am planning on somehow embedding the 'jewels' into the front of the waterfall and on the inside of the cave entry.

I am going to somehow hollow out the inside of a piece of wood (maybe birch?) and add some floors and windows and a door, maybe even a tiny balcony. There will be 3 floors - the bottom floor as a kitchen/storage area - the second story is the common area and the top floor would be the sleeping area.

Just inside the front doors, on the floor is a panel that when lifted, allows access to the transformer for the lights in the mountain, cave and inside the treehouse.

Kelly, Barrie Ontario

Flower shop - ideas for a name (and contents please!) This is for my mother's 79th birthday gift and I'd like to try to play on her name or initials without it sounding too forced or trite (if you know what I mean!).

Her name is Helen Anderson Alexander Freeman (nee Rankine) born in Edinburgh and worked as a nurse, doctor's wife, mum, nurse and still helps out at the terminal unit at the local hospital! One thing that won't go in the shop is any arrangement with red and white flowers combined. Superstition from the war when it was supposed to be unlucky to give anyone a red / white bunch of flowers as it looked too close to bloody bandages!!

Your ideas for an elegant name for the shop would be appreciated! (Well she's an elegant lady - a trait NOT passed on to this member of the next generation!)

Help also for some innovative ideas for the contents. The shop is a modern English one with shop downstairs and the workroom for doing arrangements, wedding bouquets etc. upstairs. There's a flat roof outside the upstairs windows and above the shop windows which I've paved and intend putting some bushes etc. in big planters on it. (They can be watered through the open sash windows!)

It's actually a wall mountable half house with long, narrow rooms so not too much floor space! I've added false doors at opposite ends to the ground and first floor to make it look as though there's a staircase behind.

Ideas for contents so far:

Shop
1) 'Grass' mounted shelves in the window with arrangements in baskets, vases and odd containers
2) Tall vine like plant growing around the ceiling of the window space
3) Stepped shelves with 'grass' for the containers holding flowers (anyone in UK got some (about 9 needed) empty little plastic paint pots (1.5" high) that they could let me have?) Perfect size and look great when painted with Humbrol green enamel but I've run out of empty pots and being another hoarder (sorry - collector!) don't really want to throw away the paint in any of the part used ones! (Well - which colour would I choose to throw away? I might need just that one for a bit of shading on a flower!!)
4) Some vases for sale on wall mounted shelves
5) Wrapping paper (with the name printed on) and cellotape dispenser
6) Mini gift cards (I'm going to design and make these and will offer one or other of the 'printables' sites as I've not yet found any!!)
7) Posters of types of arrangements on the back of the door (will offer as printables as above.
8) Till, phone, order pad and so on
9) Scissors
10) Pot plants
11) Broom

Upstairs
1) Finished arrangements
2) Work in progress
3) Buckets with selection of flowers and greenery
4) More greenery scattered over the floor (creative types are messy workers!!!)
5) Wedding box with bouquets and button holes
6) Wall mounted dispenser with paper, cellophane, assorted ribbons
7) Finished ribbon rosettes
8) Sink
9) Table
10) Scissors
11) Kettle, mugs etc.
12) Mop and bucket, broom, dustpan and brush
13) CD player (to help the creativity!)
14) Half eaten sandwich

Jane in Warwickshire, UK

Flower shop - ideas for a name: I've been making some 144 scale flower shops, one is a matchbox is on my site at the moment and the other is going to be a tiny wooden one which I have managed to light as well (very fiddly in such a small scale) I called this one 'Blooming Marvellous', it has to be some kind of stupid pun really, you should have heard some of my punning boyfriend's suggestions, not many are printable!
Another idea was Budding Genuis, or Flower Power. Anyway my URL is http://www.tinyminds.freeuk.comand the florist is on the matchbox shops page. There are also plenty of pics of various flowers which might give you some more inspiration.

Jenny in Brighton, UK

Retirement Home:. At the NAME Nat'l. House Party in Cincinnati a few years ago, the Cinn. club had created a Retirement Village for miniaturists. It took up a huge space and I believe club members made up one or more one room apartments which ran around the perimeter of the display. Inside of the complex was a lovely courtyard with all sorts of things including a gazebo. There was an archway entrance. Each room was open to the outside of the display for viewing and the inner walls lead to this huge courtyard. Each room was big enough to allow space for a living room, kitchen and bedroom.

One even had a craft room with long tables and chairs all around. No two were alike & it was the most clever idea. I would be happy to move right in - however, I would have to get rid of a lot of supplies, etc. to do so. The name of the village was clever too & might have been Mini Acres - but perhaps some Ohioan on the list can be more specific. I have photos and although I have seen some wonderful huge mini displays - - this is really my favorite.

Jeanette in Wisconsin

RUSTING EQUIPMENT: Wherever there is rust, some metal has been removed to make the rust leaving little pits. There is a product called naval jelly in the USA which chemically reduces the iron oxide (rust). This will remove the rust and leave a black deposit in the pits. Probably not very useful. Other than that careful treatment with sand paper or synthetic steel wool is all you can do.

I use paste wax on the machined surfaces of all my equipment. Helps protect against rust and also lubricates. If you are storing where there might be condensation, coat machined surfaces with oil. If you are storing for an extended period of time coat with grease. Sorry, there is no easy solution.

Pete Boorum

Pattern Material: I often made patterns for my old dolls by cutting them first and fitting using paper toweling. It is cloth like so can be fitted quite easily yet is strong enough to really use for a pattern. Have done this with mini dolls, antique as well as modern, in all sizes.

Anita McNary-Haynes