"morter" between logs: The morter in use was (in them thar days) mud. Perhaps mixed with a little straw to make "daub" and "wattle". You can do about the same by either taking sawdust + Elmers glue + acrylic (watered down white) and filling the spaces or perhaps to be more realistic use some stiff thread to make the illusion of straw.

DrBob

Model theatres: There are two interesting books on this subject, one is "Theatre models in paper and card" by Robert Burgess.This is a publication of the Guild of Master Craftsmen published in 1999 in softcover, This is a marvellous book, and if I had time I would make all of the projects. (fortunately I don't) the ISBN is 1 86108 110 3. The other is one that I bought second hand. I am sure it isout of print now but you might find it in at your local library. It is "The history of the English Toy Theatre" by George Speaight published by Studio Vista , London, England, in 1946. ISBN 289 79616 4 This is more of a history of the craft and from this book I found out that the term "penny plain, twopence coloured " has its origin at the turn of the century when the pastime of making toy theatres was at it its height. People would buy sheets of pictures of music hall performers of the day to put into their dioramas and of course, they were a penny for plain sheets and twopence for coloured ones. Anyone who is interested in the history or construction of toy theatres would love this book. I hope this information is helpful to others who are fascinated by theatre models, as I am.

Doris Tie

Mini hanging: Well, if grandad is making a nice hanging place.... One of the first mini's I made was a guillotine, I didn't make a book report in the freshman year on the "Tale of Two Cities" by Charles Dickens, as I had read it 4 or 5 times, so dad got me some small dolls, (2) and I appropriately dressed one, got help from dad on the pulley arrangement and the KNIFE I made the structure of walnut, cut off the doll's head and painted nailpolish for blood. It was the hit of the year! I also had a grandfather who was hung during our Civil War, in Texas which voted to go for the south. The army discovered a subversive organization favoring the north, they got a spy inside who got the list of members, there was a trial.... my ancestor was over 70 and so arthritic he couldn't get on a horse to go to jail. 42 men were hung and two more shot later....... There is a picture of the hanging tree... lots of anger about that war on both sides, some still hanging on...... People don't want to talk about the hangings...... or other involvement of relatives in that terrible war.

Rhoda

Miter Master: The best tool I have found for cutting miters for picture frames, etc., is the Miter Master which is available from Micro-Mark. Their website is: http://www.micromark.com

Jean in FL

Hot Glue: When hot glue first started being used a lot, they told people to use it on everything. It really is best to use it on soft textures, such as fabrics and dry arrangements. Even the cold can affect it. It's really just a type of wax. If your dollhouses are completely done and it's hard to apply another type of glue, if it were me, I'd leave well enough alone but keep an eye opened for the glue breaking down. At that point I would use some other glue over it, making sure you are making contact with the wood as well as the glue. As the old saying goes, "If it works, don't fix it" or something like that. If your houses are such that you can use another glue with no problem, then I would do it. That's just my opinion.

Linda

Soldering Irons: Flat end or pointed end? The first question to ask is what size?
Depending on the type of soldering iron, a flat end (and I presume you are referring to a wedge shape) could be anything from 1 mm to 6 mm. For wiring a doll's house, I would recommend a fairly small size tip in conjunction with a power rating of 15 to 25 W. My preference would be for a 2.3 mm tip and these tend to be flat on the top and rounded below. This should be suitable for soldering wires as well as soldering to the copper strip.

Soldering irons are made by a number of manufacturers, from well known reliable companies to those dubious types supplied at very low cost from some market stalls. You do not say which manufacturer of iron or catalogue you are using, but if you let me have these details I will gladly pass on my suggestions and recommendations of types that may be suitable.

Neil

cutting tin, etc: I bought a hand-held metal cutter from Micro-Mark which does a great job of cutting thin metal. It nips out a little bit at a time and doesn't distort the edges. I used it to cut a cheap metal photo frame for a fireplace and it cut around the corners of that without flattening it out. (See House in Progress in my photos.) It is called a metal shear, item #60662 in their catalog and costs about $12.50. You can order on line at http://www.micromark.com

Chris in Minnesota

After waiting a year I finally received a telescopic lense screwed into a glasses frame. the other side is left empty, and onto this telescope I have two different lenses which clip on, one for reading and one for mini work, and the telescope is to see normally. anyone with really bad vision is able to now see close up! it is wonderful and has no name I know of, but is available through Optometrists. It was well worth the wait to see my pixie for the first time in years. (and he looks so kind). It is well worth asking your eye drs about for relatives or yourself with bad sight. It is very expensive, but you can buy lenses as you can afford them, for different sights, to see minis properly at long last.

Robbie

Closed umbrella and a purse for a 4" - 8" doll: For the umbrella, open a paper clip up and straighten it out (or use a tiny dowel rod or straight piece of wire) Cut it to the length you want. If it's a fancy parasol, you can wrap narrow silk ribbon around the shaft. Glue on a pretty bead or beads for handle. Cut out a circular piece of fabric, stick the end of the shaft through the middle, and glue to hold. Then pull the fabric up and twist it to hold it tight. Glue or take a stitch around the top to hold it in place. Gather lace all around this top edge. (Kind of hard to give directions without illustrations, but I hope you get the idea)

For a purse, take a little flat piece of wood or fiber board (maybe 3/4" X 1/2". (or 1" X 3/4" for the 8" doll) Cut out a piece of embroidered ribbon and wrap it completely around, gluing it down, with enough extra length to lap over in front. Glue a little piece of trim along the edge, and a bead for decoration. Glue narrow satin ribbon from one side bottom edge to the other, for a handle, and to cover sides.

Paulette in IN

Closed umbrella: If you take a round toothpick glue a bead on one end and on the other end a smaller bead. Cut a circle of fabric, place the smaller beaded end of the toothpick in center and gather the material up around the toothpick. Now wrap a piece of ribbon around the closed part of the umbrella and glue where necessary. Another way to make the handle of the umbrella is to roll a piece of black or brown bakeable modeling clay and then bend into a handle. These look really cute in a marker cap painted as an umbrella stand.

Kathy from Cedar Springs