Fall leaves: I made fake mini Fall leaves by painting both sides of white tissue paper different colors of browns, oranges, golds, and reds, (I used water colors) and then cut leaves out of that. Looked pretty realistic. You could probably punch several layers at a time, using the tissue paper.

Paulette in IN

Tick Tack boxes make perfect windows. You cut them with the dremel wheel.......then if you put the white opening and turn it upside down (as a base) make grass and fish and rocks put on base....cover with the clear cover and you have a sweet aquarium!! Maybe fill it with water (or scenic water?)

Heather from Florida

Recycling Project: Had to replace a refrigerator bulb this weekend, and the bubble pack inspired a new DIY recycled materials project. Cut around the bulb shape, leaving about a quarter-inch margin on the flat part of the bubble pack. Then cut across the stem near the round section. Paint a neutral beige or pale gray with matte acrylic. Glue to a piece of card painted the same color. Trim away card to the quarter-inch margin and straight across the opening. Voila, a modern igloo-style doghouse in 1:12 scale!

Loretta.Sniarowski

Shelf in kitchen: What about making a duplicate scene of your own kitchen, right there in the kitchen. Or, if your kitchen gets hectic, why not make a scene from someplace you'd much rather be, like Tahiti, for instance.

Stacey T.

Baby food jars uses: This is an idea i've heard about but have never had the jars to try it:
You can make an organizer for small objects with the baby food jars. Get a piece of wood (maybe 1-2" thick and 4 inches wide, and however long you want. Put the lids face up on the piece of wood in a row. (by face up, I mean with the "inside" up.) Drive a nail through the lid into the piece of wood so that the lid is attached. (The sharp nail point should be buried in the wood.) Screw the jars into the lids. Then nail or screw the whole board under a shelf in your workroom so that the jars are hanging down underneath the shelf. You can unscrew the jars, put small objects (beads, etc) in them, and screw them back onto the lid. They're out of the way, you can see what's inside since the jars are clear, and you're using space that would otherwise have been wasted.

Celeste in Boston

To whip wax: just melt it in a double boiler and when it is melted, whip it with an electric mixer til it is frothy. Only remember to keep the mixer vertically in the bowl! My sister and I tried doing this in fifth grade (many years ago) and didn't realize that we had to keep the mixer straight- hot wax on the handknit sweater our grandmother had made us.

We hide it, but to our mother's great credit, when she found it (as mothers always do), she didn't get mad and washed it. To wash the mixer, if the wax is dry, just run it under hot, hot water (maybe that's why our sinks always clog), or boil it and skim off the wax when it hardens on the water. Good luck.

Laura

whipped wax: " How do you "whip up some wax"? How do you attach it to the scene?"

You can whip it with a popsicle stick until it bubbles or gets foamy. I've never used it as foam on water, but I think that if you put some resin (water) where you want it (a thin layer... then before it completely dries... add the whipped foam, pulling its edges into the water, so you don't have a straight line of foam.. it should waver a bit (look at a picture to get an idea of what it would look like). When dry, add more resin where the foam meets the water. You may have to now pull the resin's edges into the foam to blend the two together.

I think you'd need to practice this before you put it into your project. As I said, I haven't actually done that, but that's what you could try if you didn't get any tried-and-true ideas from the list.

Here is something I DID try: I wanted to have a witch in a bubble bath, reading a Glamour magazine and looking at herself in the mirror (the mirror cracked by the way)... But I had nothing at home to fill the tub with, so I tried something that did work for me. I poured clear nail polish into the tub. Then melted and whipped chunks from a white candle and poured it into the tub. I added a few clear beads for bubbles. When dry, I poured on more clear nail polish so the wax would be shiny and wet looking.

By the way... if you melt wax, put the wax into a clean tin can (pinch a "spout" at the top of the can so wax can be poured after it melts). Put that can into a pan of water onto the stove's burner, and melt it that way (double-boiler style). Do not put the wax's container directly onto the heat as it could cause a fire. The wax tends to sputter a bit as it melts, so it's important to stay with it.

Viola

Ice cream and waffle cones: I make the cones from Sculpey or Fimo. I use a glob of acrylic paint for the ice cream, and when dry, I cover the paint with clear nail polish.

Viola

Great Movie: I found the perfect Movie for miniaturists it is called Secrets in the Attic and it is based on the Novel The Dollhouse Murders. Anyway there is a smashingly lovely house in this movie, and the furniture is exquisite....I just thought I would share incase there is anyone like me out there, I am also Movie crazy.........My second favorite hobby.

Kathy in Cedar Springs Ontario

Victorian House Style: I bought 'Victorian House Style' to help me with my dollshouse. I have found it very useful, although obviously I cannot compare it with the others on your list. It has six chapters:
1 The Plan and the Facade
2 Hallways, Stairs, Landings and Bedrooms
3 Living Rooms
4 Kitchens and Bathrooms
5 Interior Details
6 The Victorian Garden
Since it is obviously designed to help people renovating big size Victorian houses, it has colour photos as examples on every second double page. The pages in between have Victorian-style B/W drawing; many seem to be from catalogues. The text is easy to read and although the focus is heavily on England it also mentions the US and Australia. I hope this is of some help.

Maryam Al Musafri