Bible Size: I have one of the big soft padded leather coffee table Bibles and it measures 12 x 9-1/2 x 3-3/4. If you want to try making it for the experience, which you say, and I'm sure that you already know this, I find that it is easier to learn to do things larger (I can actually see what I'm doing size) and then use the knowledge to miniaturize.

Rusty in Ky

Roses instructions: O.K. everybody, had enough time to practice the irises? Now, let's try roses - - these are really easy. If you look at live roses or photos in catalogs/magazines, you'll see that there are probably hundreds of varieties - the trick is identifying which variety you made when you finish one! LOL Just kidding!

Anyways, You can use a variety of punches for roses - I usually use a simple 1/4" round punch. I have also used an oval punch, a teardrop, and a short, fat heart punch. The different punches give slightly different effects - all very effective, though. Start with whatever punches you have available. Same goes with paper choices - tissue, typing, tracing, crepe - all are useful. One thing I forgot in the iris instructions, When your flowers are dry, I highly recommend sealing them with a good acrylic sealer - I stick the stems in a Styrofoam plate and spray light coats - I usually do 2 very light coats. I store my flowers stuck in a block of foam in a container with a lid - this keeps dust, cat hair, chewing dog teeth, etc. away from my hard work! When you are gluing, always use the tiniest bit of tacky glue and then just the barest hint of super glue (super glue not required, it just gives you a little faster "grab") - you don't want to glue yourself to the flower or have glue oozing out the top of the flower.

Take a petal and apply glue to the bottom half (oval can be used either way, point of teardrop is bottom, same with heart; of course, any half of the circle can be the bottom - unless you are using crepe paper, then just make sure the grain is vertical). Wrap petal around wire stem with upper half of petal past the tip of the end of the wire and roll tightly between your fingers - this should cover the wire.

Take another petal, dip bottom half in glue and wrap around first petal, just SLIGHTLY looser. Add more petals, applying glue to the bottom 1/3 of the petal. 3-5 petals usually will give you a nice bud.

For really full roses, it may take 20 or more petals. For these, I usually only apply glue to the bottom edge of the last several petals. Also, you want to "work around" the rose - applying petals overlapping on one edge and going around the center. As you add more petals, try to keep the bottom edges even and allow the top edges to flair out from the center.

Once the flower is dry, if you want it open a little more, you can take a small, wet paintbrush and dampening the petals, kind of "tease" the upper edges away from the center. This is easier if you start with the outer petals and work toward the center. You can use the paintbrush to gently curl down the edges, too.

If you want to make the "open" type roses, prepare your stem by gluing a tiny 1/16" circle to the tip of the stem. When this is dry, apply glue to the top of the circle and dip into flocking, finely shredded foam, sand, whatever looks like the center of the roses you are trying to make (you can even use fine thread to make short little tassel-like centers). Then you can glue the petals under the edge of the circle - these roses usually don't have quite as many petals as the fancy roses - they look more like double poppies or something similar.

Accurate rose leaves requires tiny teardrop punches with one leaf glued to the end of the stem and 4-6 leaves glued in opposite pairings down the stem. Good imitations can be made with tiny oak leaf punches.

Sonia

Blossoms: My word, so many of you have written, I'm feeling like a "bloomin' idjut"! Your questions are so varied I decided to write a small article on the use and manufacture of blossoms.

My blossoms are made of Styrofoam. It is broken into chunks and ground with a food processor. The machine will not be serviceable for any other task after this process. Shop for one at a Garage Sale. Be sure your foam is true Styrofoam not compressed foam pellets. Do not have lotion on your hands. Be sure there is no grease residue in the food processor. Styrofoam is very absorbent. Chemicals, grease or oil will radically change the ability to absorb paint.

I then dye with custom mixed latex paint. Dilute the paint 50/50 with water. There is no neat way to accomplish this task. Be prepared to get rather dirty. However, latex paint washes off of your hands with ease. I prefer latex because it has no shine, can be mixed to match the exact color of a petal and does not alter the composition of the foam. The wet foam is spread on large sheets of cardboard to dry. It must be turned once a day for up to a week. The cardboard serves as a blotter, absorbing moisture and assisting the drying process. When dry the colored foam it is ground again. This same technique may be used to make several shades of green for the foliage on trees or hedges.

TIP: use a small quantity of the paint you have applied to the walls or trim of your miniature room to make matching blossoms.

TIP: remember to change the hue of your color while in the liquid state by adding white. It always improves realism to have at least three shades of the same color.

The blossoms I packaged are a course texture. Because the color is absorbed throughout the material, you may roll it to produce a finer grain. Place the package of blossoms into a zip-lock sandwich bag. Remove all air. Roll with a rolling pin until the desired texture is created. You may combine colors such as dark blue and light blue without creating a "muddy" mixture.

I prefer a mixture of 50/50 white glue and water applied with a spray bottle to attach the blossoms irregardless of the manufacturer. When satisfied with the coverage, add an additional 1 or 2 coats as a sealer. Spray adhesives have a tendency to alter the color of landscaping materials. They also create a tacky surface that grabs and holds dirt and lint. For blossoms of Styrofoam, they will melt the foam. By applying a seal coat, your landscaping may be cleaned with canned air or a sable brush sprayed with Endust.

Yes, I have combined my blossoms with such products as Woodland Scenic blossoms with very interesting results.

TIP: recondition the old or faded shrub or plant with a new coat of blossoms. If the greenery is too badly faded, dye with floral spray paint of your chosen color. This is a translucent color that is even applied to fresh flowers. When satisfied with the base, add new blossoms.

TIP: fine grade blossoms, such as those by Woodland Scenic make realistic stamens in such flowers as a Calla Lily. Simply dip the white bristle from a hairbrush into glue, blot the excess and then dip into your blossoms. I personally prefer flocking for stamens.

Becky Holliday

Scenic Water: First, I'm aware that the company did not print directions, although there have been magazine articles about it and their successes. As a former teacher, I know the importance of this and have printed up project sheets to get people started. I'm working on more detailed instructions and trying to get some accuracy on melting. Also the company is repacking and labeling and since I will see the owner next week I will pass on your concerns. This product is relatively in its infancy and that is why I posted the contest in order to get new ideas on its use.

However, don't throw out the baby with the bath water (pun intended). Get the water in a pan NEAR boiling. Place the jar open surrounded by the hot water. As the Scenic Water melts, pour off the amount you need. You don't need to melt all of it unless you are pouring a bath or lake.

Since I'm in the shop when I do my projects, I use a microwave with the jar open. The 100 ml takes about 15 seconds on high to melt enough Scenic Water for most projects. If you need more melted, pour off the melted SW into a container and melt more. You have time before it sets up. The microwave is not recommended bec you can heat it too high and ruin the chemistry, but I experimented and found it easy. Also, you must adhere to the short times, but it works and take your particular wattage in mind when setting times. When you have less to melt, shorten the time.

The Scenic Milk bec of its size takes only 7 seconds at first. Shorten this as you use it.

Your jar has the correct amount but the jars are too big. I also noticed this. BTW I've saved the jars to mix colors and make bubbles. The yellowish color only appears at significant depths. I used it in water falls, shallow ponds, and dish tubs and the water was very clear.

For baths it is recommended you use the suds created with the Scenic milk or
laundry soap mixed with the SW. Or use the bubbles you can make by shaking or blowing into a separate amount of SW.

I have no fear that once you try the stuff and are successful you will realize that you're going to have fun with it. In fact it is addicting. http://www.scenicwater.com

Deanna

Leather Books:
1. Get hold of a phone book [people in Australia if Australia post don't get rid of all of theirs they throw them down the tip at the end of each year race in and grab them before they do]
2. tear off a few pages with glue intact
3. if you wish place little strips of crochet thread across binding to represent ridging glue in place
4. take a strip of leather or fabric and glue down the entire length of page or as fabric allows
5. cut out books to desired size great for when you need to make a lot in one go

Carol Downunder

Lamp Shades: Just go to Jim Collins site and click on printables then listed under furniture you will find various lamp shades that you may print out.
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Meadows/1832/

Marilyn from Michigan

Lamp Shades: Material/technique chosen depends if the lamp will be lit or not. If not lit, a lot of "found art" items make useful lampshades. In 1/12th size, a toothpaste cap makes an interesting "smaller" fluted shade for bedside night table etc. Other plastic screw caps for household cleaners and such make larger shades and many have appropriate tapers (smaller at top than bottom) I know there are some lampshade "printies" out there also.

For lighted fixtures, translucence in interesting tones becomes important and a bit of framework to give shadow lines is also helpful in achieving realism. For the most simple shades, roll a slightly conical shape using velum, tracing or parchment paper, interesting colored stationary papers, etc. If you try to glue just at one "meeting edge" the glue line will be ugly when the light shows through. Rather, make the cone oversize and trim so the paper is two layers thick but with the two edges precisely aligned. This will assure you only get one "splice line" and evenly modified translucence all the way around. Dope the whole thing with clear model airplane dope and clip to dry using alligator clips above and below the portion you will keep. If you work your roll so it wants to go tighter than finished on the outside and looser on the inside, the edges should draw together tightly. WARNING: If you are like me, you will mess up many attempts before getting the feel for it all. As you practice, you will begin to experiment with techniques to get fancy with the paper and to cover the paper form with gathered fabrics, etc. When you are getting really good at it, contact me for illustrated techniques to make "concave" silk shades and such.

Carefully form a bit of thin brass wire into a pair of circles the interior size of the lampshade top and bottom. If you are skilled at soldering, use steel wool and paint thinner to remove the protective coating from the brass while it is still straight and easy to clean. If you will "glue" your frame, leave the coating on. When the paper form is fully dried, carefully drop your rings into it and position them with a small probe to be perfectly parallel with each other, perpendicular to the center line of the shade.

Cut two straight pieces of wire to precisely fit from small "upper" ring to larger "lower" ring. Position opposite each other with tweezers and a probe. Align one of these directly over the "paper splice" line. Spray additional coats of clear dope to bond these in place and allow to dry. If you can avoid its getting onto the paper, you may choose to add tiny drops of gap filing super glue where the straight and ring pieces come together and where the rings close on themselves.

When dope is FULLY (!!!!!) cured, clip most of the excess paper from top and bottom using iris or cuticle scissors. Finish with very fine sand paper so edges are within 1/32" of the rings. Set the shade bottom side up. Make and install two straight pieces of brass wire across the inside of the top rings so that they are approximately 1/32" apart. These will be the "span" upon which your shade will hang over the bulb. Obviously, you will need to create a "harp" to reach up from the lamp body, around the bulb, and support the shade.

You may choose to "finish" even the simplest shade in any number of ways. A very fine hem of paper, embroidery floss, marking pen color, or some such would be minimal. Fringe or crystal pendants would probably go on more ornate examples. During some periods, it was fashionable to have painted or decal illustrations and designs on some shades. This may be a simple geometric pattern along the hems or a decal such as those intended for fingernails or miniature tiles right smack in the middle of two or three faces.

Useful tools are:
-A wire roller, ring sizer, and flush-cut wire cutters (frame)
-iris or cuticle scissors and a very fine emery board (trimming edges)
-spray booth (cardboard box) to paint and let dry - Use ventilated area
-small size alligator clips (clamp paper and suspend shades while paint dries)
-dental probe and tweezers (positioning frame parts)
-sewing needle with half of eye ground away and handle added at point end (used to precisely apply super glue)
-penlight flashlight with bulb extended beyond the end (home made) used to check shadow lines and papers.

Mel Koplin

Lamp Shades: I carry Lamp Shade Kits by Tec Innovations. Go to their web site, http://misc.home.mindspring.com/page8.htm , to see their products. I carry #348, 347 & 328 all of the time. I can order any of the others.

Eileen Vernon

Lamp Shades: back when Dollhouse Miniatures was still Nutshell News, Joann Swanson had a project with dozens of lampshades. If you contact DM's web site, you may be able to get a copy of the article, as I'm sure the issue is out of print by now. Also, check your local library. Helen Ruthberg's and Joan McElroy's books (out of print, alas) also have patterns and instructions for shades and may be available there.

Loretta Sniarowski

Flocking: flocking is my middle name! Perhaps I can help. I never use the adhesive that comes with the flocking as it does NOT as you've seen put on a thick enough coat. Paint the critter the color or colors of the flocking you will be outing on it. Then drill a hole in the bottom of the piece you want to coat and put the flocking in a plastic sandwich baggie. Put a toothpick in the hole on your critter. I use regular Tacky glue (not thin, not designer Tacky) and spread on a layer that has some depth and is as even as possible with a toothpick or brush and lower it into the flocking in the bag. Gently twirl your critter. As you take it out of the bag, tap the toothpick as you would to get ashes off a cigarette to remove excess flocking. This should give you a thicker, but even coating. Let dry and blow additional excess flocking away.

Alice Zinn