Vegas Wedding Chapel in a bag: My husband and I privately renewed our vows in downtown Vegas last Thanksgiving. I can tell you it was a real hoot! We plan to do it again next year for #10!There are millions of chapels; some are extremely elegant and tasteful; some are hilariously gaudy. We were at The Plaza. The chapel was nice; mostly white furnishings w/green carpet and a gazebo/garden-like theme. About 4 chairs on each side - we had no guests; a white baby grand piano (we paid the musician $40.00 to play our chosen songs - from a list of about 1000 tunes --- later, after he left, the photographer posed us for pictures at the piano, which we discovered as a PLAYER piano ... no pun intended). Lots of silk calla lilies, roses and orange blossoms in huge baskets; mirrors, big stained glass windows, doves, both living and dead, Elvis waiting in the wings for an additional $250 - no, we didn't use him; nosegays in various sizes and prices - they had EVERYTHING!!! Cakes, knives, glasses, tons of photographs we ended up buying in addition to the package we thought we had purchased ... limos, gowns to rent, coordinator. We only wanted a simple, quiet private ceremony, just the two of us. Our $90 special ended up costing us well over $400 w/n 20 minutes. Fortunately, I had "hit" that a.m. (lol). We have pictures, which are even funnier, because I wore jeans and DH wore a camel haired jacket, chewing gum throughout the video.
I think you can have a ball w/this project - because it was so funny it was unreal. For all it's comic relief, we plan to do it again next year - but go all out; maybe with a few Elvis AND Liberace!

Connie Sauve

TV scene: This is in regards to an old posting about gutting out an old TV and putting a scene in it. I was looking through some old mini mags and came across some room
boxes of I Love Lucy, All in the Family (by our own Pearl, I believe), Gilligan's Island, The Waltons and MASH. They were featured in Dollhouse Miniatures Oct 98, pg. 46-54. You might get some ideas from them. I thought it would be great to have a four sided roombox that spins (this idea may have been posted) and a different TV show is in each. Maybe a popular show from four different decades, or else four shows from the era of the TV shell itself. A little slit could be made under the glass opening, and the base of the round display could stick out a bit (like those table top displays that you can manually spin) so the scene could be turned to view each room like "changing the channel".
As I was looking at the I Love Lucy roombox, the actual show wasn't in color,
but all the recreations are. I got to thinking, would it be possible to recreate a B/W TV show, complete with figures, all in black, white and greys? Just as it's seen on TV. The figures might look a little ghoulish with grey skin, but it would be interesting to see the results. Has anyone tried something like this?

Connie Sauve

Sticky Stuff: Re: the mini hold wax stuff. I used to use that all the time. Two problems with it for me, though. In Arizona, if your A/C is inadequate, things tend to fall off. Wax doesn't do all that well in heat. I learned the hard way that other things work better. I have also used rubber cement and it can damage porous items as well. For delicate items I prefer using a cut off straight pin as a nail, and I am experimenting with "Movable Miniatures Glue". We shall see how it does over many years.

Bonnie Gibson - Tucson, Arizona

Sticky Stuff: Now here is a list of items being used for those other newbies who did not know the answer.
HOW TO KEEP THINGS IN PLACE IN YOUR DOLLHOUSE
1. Mini-hold
2. Blue-tac
3. Moveable Miniature Glue
4. Museum Wax
5. Grip Wax
6. Fimo
7. Sticky Tack
8. Quake Wax
9. Understickum
10. Fun Tack
11. Floral Tape
With a Great big thank you to Bonnie Gibson who posted an example of using one of the waxes in a hot climate and on a porous material and showing us how it leaves stains. I hope that others appreciate this info as much as I do.

Sharon in Oceanside, ACa.

Aleene's TackIt, which is a dry-tack adhesive. You paint on a thin coat and let it dry for several hours, and it dries tacky. I use it on the end of a dowel to hold tiny things in place for painting and gluing, and I stick the other end of the dowel into a bowl filled with sand or rice to hold it while paint or glue dries. I have also used it to hold accessories in place, and I've never known it to mar or discolor any of the materials I've used it with. If you use it to hold accessories in your dh, you might want to de-tack it just a bit first because the original tack is a little strong - for example, if you paint it on the bottom of a flower vase that's a little top-heavy, when the TackIt is dry, touch it a few times with a fingertip - -- you'll note that the really strong tack becomes less strong. This is important if you're using it on something really fragile that could possibly just fall apart as you try to unstick it.

Vicki Horiuchi

gluing technique: >>I have a question for some of you experts who make fine mini-furniture. I just read a tip in SSD that you wipe the excess glue that squeezes out of a joint after it is clamped using a damp rag. Years ago I took a millwork class and was taught that you should always wait until glue dries, then scrape it off because wiping it pushes it into the wood and prevents the stain or other finish from penetrating properly. My question - which is the correct way to clean up the glue? <<

Jacqui in Hilo, Goddess of Chaos

Glue seepage: > How do you keep the glue bumps away when you connect 2 pieces of wood using wood glue?? Give me some ideas on what you do!"
- -From watching The New Yankee Workshop on PBS and classes with Brooke Tucker.......Best Solution......Keep a damp rag on work bench. Glue up your pieces.. Press together ....Clamp. Wipe off excess glue immediately with damp rag.

Patricia / Redwood City, CA

Glue Seepage: - I have received two personal answers so far that I haven't yet seen in SSD - both are from long time woodworkers who say they would always let the glue dry and then carefully scrape it off. Also, if there is only just enough glue for the joint it won't seep and the problem will not occur. This is what I was taught and makes more sense.

Jacqui in Hilo

Carving Tools: That's something I like to do with miniatures, so I thought I'd come out of my semi-lurking and respond. Yes, a Dremel tool is a terrific help in working with miniatures - especially roughing out the basic shapes. If you use some of the tinier cutters, you can do some delicate carving. In those instances, I've found it easier to put the Dremel tool into a small vise which allows me to hold the wood with both hands (much better control for preventing the bit from moving out of control and ruining your carving).
Also, MicroMark has a set of carving knives that are quite nice. I've used the heck out of mine for my ornate furniture carving. Another tool I use a lot is my jeweler's saw. I've found it's easier to sometimes cut out the rough shapes with the jeweler's saw and then to glue these appliqués onto the piece I'm making. Another trick is to take an X-Acto knife blade and grind it down to a very small sized blade with your Dremel tool. This gives you a very delicate knife point you can work in and around pieces.
Small drill bits and/or an awl are also helpful for creating starting points from which you can move your Dremel tool. Also, when you want to do pierced carvings, you can drill the hole with your mini drill, thread your jeweler's saw blade through the hole and cut it out.

George Held

Tools: On the subject on mini power tools, have a look at http://www.minicraftusa.com Minicraft make some super tools for the miniaturist, we use quite a few on our horses. (take a look at the detail we get to on http://www.woodencraft.co.uk) Their prices are fair which makes the decision easier! If you want the 'Rolls Royce' (or 'Cadillac') of miniature power tools, take a look at Proxxon mini tools, http://www.proxxon.com/ they are the 'bee's knees' Does that expression travel the pond?

Pete and Annie Cook