Purple Gift Bag: Several things come to mind:
Mardi Gras Scene colors are purple, gold and green
Barney the dinosaur (I don't care what you say, I like him!)
A Wine shop
A Wine and cheese cafe
A conservatory room with a grape leaves and vines theme
Something 'Royal'...like a jewelry store with fancy jewelry

Alice Zinn- Pt. St. Lucie FL

Bird Cage: Head to your nearest Thrift Shop. Quite often they have birdcages for next to nothing. Take it home, give it a good scrub with a brush, let dry Thoroughly, spray with a metal prime coat, than spray with Krylon black matt. It will be fine and a lot less $$$$'s. Might even find an almost new one like I did. Turned it into an enclosed bird sanctuary. With "no Cats allowed" sign on the outside. Guess what! The cat family are all in attendance, with Mom & kids resting in the sun, which dad checks out Peter the Parrot. (who's cage door is open) naughty cat. My particular birdcage had an aqua tray that when turned upside down looked like castle roof. I sprayed it with 3 coats of Karolyn's Fabulous Finishes - Make it Stone. Looks like stucco and is a wonderful product. Have used it on several roomboxes both for stucco and foundations. I love the stuff. So fast, and durable. There is an acrylic top coat that gives it a good sealer, so is super easy to keep dust free, and clean. Have fun! Birdcages make great containers for our mini's.

Diane in SFBA

Deco statue: Wanted a nice "naked lady" Deco statue for the mantel. Well, Michaels had pewter pendants of a classical babe reclining on a crescent moon. Took one home, snipped off the hanging loop, sprayed it silver, then painted the face and limbs ivory, the drapery gold, and antiqued them to make her tiny features stand out. Smashed a grommet as a stabilizing backing, glued them together, then glued that to an old faceted button, and voila, a faux Chiparus statue for my Deco home.

Loretta.Sniarowski

Formica samples: I used one in a tiny check pattern for a 1/4 scale kitchen counter for a cigar box (padded pencil box) our club members each made a few years back. The piece was difficult to cut. I used a fine tooth hack saw, and it really chipped a lot of the design off. I also tried scoring and breaking pieces off over the sharp edge of a table. That worked too, but I cant remember if I scored the Formica or the back, and if I put it face down or up when I broke it off. BIG help I am. LOL I remember thinking what a lot of work it was just to get such a tiny piece.

MAP in Puyallup

Gel Pens: Store your gel pens lying down. If they don't work right from the beginning, examine them closely! I had a problem with some new ones and the had been packaged with a tiny, almost invisible plastic cap on the tips!

Alice Zinn

Dryer sheets: If you are referring to the foam dryer sheets they work great under your upholstery for padding, also if you are dressing a bed gives softness to a box type mattress. Also works great for pillow stuffing, chair pad stuffing, how about using one to make a quilted photo album.

Diane in SFBA

1930's house: Check for the book *The 'Remember When' Dollhouse* in your library. It has just what you are looking for. This is a fantastic book.

Martha

Needlework Books: I went to the library today and checked out two great books-Miniature Needlepoint Carpets by Janet Granger and Miniature Embroidery for the Victorian Dolls' House by Pamela Warner. I'm not sure why the second title has embroidery or Victorian in it because there's tons of great patterns in there for cross stitch and needlepoint as well. It also has rugs, pillows, chair covers, screens....you name it.

Tricia

silk gauze: I saw silk gauze in 40, 48 and 56 count and some others too. They also have something called polysil canvas which is one-half the price of the silk but with silk construction. It is 30 count They have a web site and mail order. The URL is http://stitchers-paradise.com Type in silk gauze in the search area. I'm not in any way affiliated with this business other than being a satisfied customer.

Joannie in Paradise

Kaleidoscope House Modern dh furniture: In a recent issue someone mentioned a new dh the (Kaleidoscope House). I contacted the company www.bozart.com and Larry Mangel gave me the following sites, where the furniture and house can be purchased. http://www.momastore.org/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eTS/Store/

(Museum of Modern Art) type kaleidoscope in the search area and it will bring up all of the products. http://www.quincyshop.com

http://www.niftycool.com

http://www.chiasso.com

The furniture is very modern and reasonably priced. I have no connection with the company, but I think the furniture is really great looking

Phyllis