Making a (quick) mini suitcase: If you have a small leather or vinyl-covered jewelry case (the kind the jewelry comes in when you buy it, with a little slit to hold the ring or a little notch to hold the necklace) they make great suitcases. They are usually about 2"x3" and about 1 1/2" thick, with hinges on one side so that they open. Just turn them so that the hinge side is on the bottom. Then add a little handle made from an industrial staple or a strip of leather, a few old-fashioned stickers saying "London" or "Madrid" if you want, and you have a suitcase. I'd like to take credit for this idea, but I actually read it in an old Nutshell News/Dollhouse Miniatures issue, in the "Workshop wisdom" section.

Celeste in Boston

Carpet bag: use tapestry ribbon trim (2" wide) to make a carpetbag.

Judy London

Inexpensive luggage: An inexpensive way to make a suitcase would be to take a block of wood the size you want (or glue several pieces of wood together to get the right dimensions) and paint it brown. If you can find a fabric that looks like a proper covering, use that. You can buy thin leather strips of suede at needlework shops which you could wrap around for old-style luggage or to run it around the edges for a different look. If you use fabric or fine leather, run the fabric around the edges with an overlap that covers the wide sides a little bit. Glue with Tacky glue. Then cut a piece of the same covering the exact width of the sides. Start at the top of the suitcase, run the fabric covering all around to the other side. That way you will have a nice finished edge because of the prior over-lapped fabric so the wood base does not show. You can make a handle with the same suede strips by looping it (upside down "U") and driving a fine brass pin head (sequin pins??) on either end of the handle. If you can't find small enough pins or brads, you could make a dot with a gold pen or use the tiny dots from the centers that are found in packages of gold sequins.

Jeanette in Wisconsin

Suitcase: Buy an old leather or soft vinyl purse at a thrift store, cut up and cover a small block of wood for a closed suitcase, use tiny findings for the clasps.

Connie in Georgia

Wine bottles: I bought some of those cheap, cheesy looking wine bottles - 3 red, 3 green....really awful looking. But I brought them home, painted them glossy black, painted the top gold....printed out some French wine labels from a French site (can't remember what it is but will email when I can locate it) and glued them on.....they look like REAL wine bottles.....you'd never know they were 6 for $2.

Vi in Hamilton

Sculpting Kitties: Shape the body first, then bake it for about 5 minutes or so, until it becomes hard enough to handle without squishing. Then add the head and other parts, either baking in between or all at once, whichever works best for you.

Pam

Sculpting Cats: Cats are truly one of the hardest animals to sculpt! I use Super Sculpey to make mine. Their faces are especially difficult! You need to think in triangles. Looking at a picture of a cats face, and draw triangles from the point of the ears to the nose. When you see this shape it will help you with your proportions. Do that with other parts of the face as well. As far as the body goes, try to get a picture of a cat's skeleton. They re 'constructed' quite differently from many other animals. When you see how their legs meet the rest of the skeleton, you will understand!

Alice Zinn

Thatching: This is my favorite reference site for thatched roof styles. http://members.tripod.co.uk/thatcher/Photo.htm It takes a while loading but it's worth it.

Sally Cook-Thomas

Changing prices: Whoever said "would you like to see the same local dealers at every show, or would you rather see new dealers who have to come from further away?" said it best. If I were selling things at shows, and I had to go somewhere that entailed travel expenses, hotel expenses, food...etc, etc. etc. I would have to raise my prices to reflect those expenses or take a loss. And why would I want to do that? It would be cheaper and a whole lot easier just not to go to those shows! The purpose of having a business, any business, is to make a profit, period. Otherwise, why bother? (In fact, the IRS feels the same way...if you have a business, and declare a loss, or even a break even for three years...or four, I forget...they say you don't have a business, but a hobby.)

Makers of miniatures do tend to burn out in our hobby, and it may be that pricing is a big issue in this. If your prices are too low, and you are spending hours and hours doing whatever it is you do, you start thinking that you could go to work at a factory and make more money than you are... If they are too high, you have a very difficult time selling anything. And, shows are a part of expenses...the further away, the bigger the expense.

My husband and I were at a craft fair a year or so ago, and overheard one dealer, (and I forget what he was making...some kind of custom wooden wine thing...) telling the dealer next to him that someone had come up to his booth and requested that he half his prices and give him a deal because he wanted a bunch for a wedding. The dealer was laughing about it. "Why should I do that?" he was asking..."why should I do all that work for nothing, just because this guy wants a bargain?" And I agree, it's silly to price your work so that you are making...or not...the cost of materials.

As a collector and a maker of miniatures, of course I'd love to see bargain prices! Anyone would! I'm not completely crazy, after all. But, I also know how many hours have gone into research and development of everything we see at the shows, and how many hours it took to make those things, so I have to go by my own personal budget. (Which is whatever I feel I can get away with when dealing with my husband!) So, I guess it all boils down to personal preferences. As a maker of miniatures, do you want to spend hours and hours on things and then basically give them away? (i.e. a hobby), or do you want to try, at least, to be a good business person, and actually make a profit...which, by the way, encourages you to keep going.

Also, as a buyer, that too is a matter of personal preference. If I can't afford something, I don't buy it...(well, mostly, anyway.) but I certainly don't stand in front of someone’s table and make nasty remarks about their high prices!

Kaye in L.A.

Changing prices: Before anyone bites my head off, I wanted to say that I didn't mean to imply that anyone selling for just the cost of their materials is silly! It's totally up to you what you charge...really. Pricing has got to be the hardest issue that we miniature makers have to face. Often times, what we make is unique, how do you compare, say, a piece of furniture, perhaps made in China or Mexico, with a handcrafted, one of a kind piece? It's very difficult. What I did mean to say, was if a miniature maker wants to have a business, and expects to make a profit at it, they have got to include all expenses incurred doing that business in their pricing. So, I sincerely hope that I didn't insult or offend anyone, because I really didn't mean to!

Kaye in L.A.