typeset letters: I came on board SS a few months ago talking about doing a miniature display in an old typeset drawer and incorporating actual typeset letters. I came across a seller on Ebay who has thousands of sets of typeset items for sale in all shapes and sizes, and sells grab bag miscellaneous typeset letters very inexpensively by the pound directly. He won't pick and choose specific letters, but he was kind enough to give me an assortment in the 1/2"-3/4" range. I ordered 10 lbs. and received approx. 225 letters, numbers and symbols in various sizes, fonts, upper and lower case, all within my specified sizes. If you're ever in the market for typeset letters, the email address is: homerlea@aol.com

Char in San Diego

Health Issues: Folks, I'm pulling out my old soapbox for this one. The stuff we work with like glues are the things that are killing teenagers because they sniff it. We just lock ourselves in our rooms and work ourselves sick because we are...working.

Please be aware of every bottle and jar you open. Take a minute to read it. How many hours do you sit with the nail polish open, coating things, letting them dry? Paints? What kind? Sprays...OUTSIDE and leave it there. Just give every media a quick read and take it outside or to the garage to paint and dry.

I finally got my Asthma diagnosed at age 50. No one in my family has ever had it. Remember, a miniaturist is a terrible thing to waste. You get to learn what I didn't.

Laurie Sisson

Beach foam: I used a sponge. I cut off small bits of the sponge and painted it with white acrylic. This was glued to the edge of the water. Looks good if you tear the bits of sponge as it gives a more ragged look.

DrBob...Delray Beach, FL.

Beach foam: Try whipping up some wax and using that for foam

Viola

144 scale Bridge; When I did my 1/144 scale railroad scene, I needed bridges. I used some of Jeanetta Kendall's shelf edging paper trimmed and folded and it worked fine.

I painted it to be a proper bridge color and was able to use a different one for a second bridge (wouldn't do to have two alike, donchaknow).

Dottie in Tucson

Windsocks. They are really easy, and fun, too. You'll need some colorful, fabric ribbon, about an inch wide for the 'sock' part, and then assorted colors 1/8" ribbon for the streamers and loop to hang the windsock up on a hook.

Cut the wider ribbon into pieces about 1-1/2" long. Cut your narrow, streamer ribbons about 2-1/2" long. Lay the wider ribbon pattern side down (facing away from you), then glue 6 streamer ribbons along one edge of the wide ribbon piece, about 1/8" from the edge. Let set up a bit, then run a thin ribbon of glue along one of the shorter ends of the wider ribbon. Overlap the glued edge to the other end, and press into place so the glue grabs. Then, take a short piece of your streamer ribbon, about 1" long, and glue the ends into the top edges of your 'sock' to make a hanger loop.

I've made hundreds of windsocks this way, for tote bags and such. My favorite ones were made using that 'rainbow' stripe ribbon, and coordinating streamer ribbons. Very bright and cheerful!

Laura in OKC

Deena's Tiles - I really like your idea on making the tile strips with a bead. And you know, if the bead being used happened to be one with a larger hole, you could probably thread a skewer or dowel through it and have a little "rolling pin" which would make it easier to regulate pressure and such. Thanks for sharing such a neat idea - now I've got to think of something to use it on! :)

Mary Lynne in Huntington, WV

Liquid Sculpey: Someone I knew used it. She made a rubber mold of her model, poured the liquid Sculpey in it, then baked (mold and Sculpey together) in the oven. After it was baked, the Sculpey was removed from the mold.

Viola

Liquid Sculpey: Glass Attic has a big section on Liquid Sculpey:
http://www.glassattic.com/polymer/LiquidSculpey.htm
If you haven't found this site yet, it's a tremendous encyclopedia on the subject of polymer clays.

Dona Vaughn

More on Liquid Sculpey: Talk about synchronicity, I was at an art store today (Texas Art Supply in Houston for any lurking Houstonians), and they were selling Translucent Liquid Sculpey. The brochure calls it a "bakable transfer and color medium." You can use it to make transfers from offset printed images like magazines, black and white and color photocopies and colored pencil drawings. The brochure also says you can add oil paints, but not acrylic paints, to make a bakable painting an surface medium. But the best use for miniaturists seems to be as an adhesive. It makes a strong bond when baked. "With small sculptures, brush a thin amount to the base of an arm or leg before pressing it to the body." It's supposed to have more of an odor when baking than the other Sculpey clays.

Dona Vaughn