Clear plastic box with black bottom: Try these people. https:// www2.mailordercentral.com/brasspack/secure.asp

Kaye in Altoona

Scrapbook superstore: Found the neatest store the other day while out looking at the shopping  center. It had just opened. It's called scrapbook superstore and boy do they have tons of stuff that would be useful to us. Check out the website. http://www.scrapbooksuperstore.com/

Kathy in E. TN

Toile wallpaper: I stock Toile de Jouy wallpaper in three different colors.   You can see it on my website http://www.littlebylittle.co.uk

Karon

Fumes: I have to jump in on this one.  I know for a fact that polymer clay has harmful fumes for birds.   Birds cannot tolerate fumes of any kind.   I didn't know this until two months ago, when I lost my parrot over night.  I had stained some pieces and set them out to dry in my workroom....the same room I keep my birds in.   He died the next morning.   My vet told me that birds can't tolerate fumes and especially deadly are paint fumes, and the fumes that come off of Teflon pans that are allowed to get too hot.  That was a surprise!   He told me not to use house chemicals, paint, or moth balls in the same vicinity of my other bird.  I hope none of you ever has to go through the loss of a pet because you didn't know about this.

Carol Wagner

Fimo fumes, my youngest granddaughter is mildly asthmatic. I have learned I cannot bake my Fimo within 48 hours of her visits and always have to air my kitchen out by opening the windows for at least on hour. While the fumes are nontoxic to the healthy in a well-ventilated room, they seem to cause problems for anyone with breathing problems and are detectable by them for quite a while after baking.

Lee

144 wooden furniture: I don't want to bore you to death and know many are not interested in 144 scale but you may enjoy looking at my new 144 wooden furniture, I have just finished a fainting couch that can fit along with an end table on a penny. Also there is a neat baby crib. These are terrific as toys in any scale inc as doll furniture in 1/4 scale. Crazy? yup probably but I love doing these bitty furniture pieces!

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

Tab & Slot Houses: I too have the Tennyson and here's how I fixed those gaps and filled in the "slots".  I used "Patch N Paint", a light weight spackling that I bought at Home Depot.   It is so easy to use and can be smoothed with a wet finger.  I think it's really for spackling drywall, but I used it and it works fine on the dollhouses.   It's very inexpensive too!   After it is dry thoroughly, I then sand it lightly and then paint over it. It holds up too! 

Anita....Bel Air, MD

Alley scene. If you have the back door of a restaurant, you also need a hose bib in the wall and a nasty old hose for washing down those kitchen floor mats. How about a metal bread rack for commercial deliveries of baked goods. Every alley seems to accumulate at least one old shopping cart either with or without the life possessions of some homeless soul. Outside that door you also need an ashtray and probably a coffee cup left out there. If there is no step to sit on, a plastic or wooden crate turned up on end would do. A mop and wringer bucket? How about a downspout from the roof above? Don't forget the metal straps holding it to the wall. While you are doing a downspout, how about one of those attached-in-place roof access ladders? Can you cut a hole in the wall above your door to put a transom window or maybe even an exhaust fan? Besides the regular back door knob and lock, can you add a really heavy hasp and padlock? Does your door frame show signs of past attempts at forced entry? I do not suggest locking yourself out of your house and trying to get back in as a way of learning what forced entry evidence looks like.

To make cracked and broken hot top, prefabricate a Bristol board floor. Prime both sides then paint the topside black or dark brown. Spread your sand or whatever medium you choose and then apply a solution of 1 part white glut to 3 parts water. Apply evenly to soak in. Let dry for a while then flex the Bristol board to cause real cracks. Knock away a bit of material along the cracks. Rub some more away to create shallow spots and "glaze" these a bit with tiny finger bits of joint compound. Over spray with Gesso that has been tinted a dark gray. Glue the Bristol Board in place. Apply top washes of flat black. Rub in a bit of glossy black on those glazed spots. If one area got rubbed a bit deep, feather line some white evaporation rings around the edges. Apply gloss black enamel where water remains in the puddle and then use a very fine coat of resin or such to put water in the puddle.

Mel K.

Alley Scene: A few nasty looking stains on the walls and floors of your alley would add to the atmosphere.

Lesley, Johannesburg, South Africa

Alley Scene: Think of empty crates, spoiled vegetables fruits spilling out of them, there should be a few rats, possibly a bike propped against the wall, be sure to break a few bottles on the ground, stacks of old newspapers and be sure to have a few weeds and uncut grass growing in the cracks. What about the employee that slipped out the back door for a smoke?

Becky Holliday