1/4" sources: I have more 1/4" sources on my website listed below, so please ,check them out and many have kits. Isabel Allen's webpage http://pages.prodigy.net/isabelal

Isabel-CT

Popcorn Can room: I imagine that many readers will send this same information to the person who wants to know how to prepare the metal "walls" in her popcorn tin. If so, it won't hurt my feelings if you don't print it. Miniaturists have found that they can put scenes in or on just about anything. I see metal boxes and cans used often. Most don't seem to use the actual container for the walls so I'm not telling you how to paint the tin. Instead, I'm suggesting that you just use the popcorn tin to "house" your project instead of trying to paint and decorate the inside of a can. When I do something like that, I make a "box" with walls and a floor out of foam-core or some other thin, lightweight material which, when finished, will slide down into the can! That way I can make flat walls instead of rounded walls. Of course you can use more than 4 walls and if you use enough, it will be rounded. That makes it much easier to paint or wallpaper.

This way, you could even cut out a door or a window on a wall leaving a little bit of room behind it for yet another scene. Some people (who are way more clever than I am, put lights and trees branches, etc. in these little nooks and crannies.)

I put in a "foundation" of little chunks of cardboard, foam or balsa wood to set the box down on, so that the floor is level with the bottom of the section I have cut out to view the scene and when the whole thing is finished I lower it down onto the foundation. Then all I have to do is make sure the cut edges of the tin are trimmed and voila!, I have a room in a can. This is the same thing you would do if you wanted to put a scene into a gift bag or anything else where the actual sides of the "box" would be hard to work with.

Mary Lou in Florida

1/8" Plywood Edges: As for those naughty Greenleaf projects and sealing the window edges, etc., I share this from Kate who used to own a local mini shop ....... quit sanding that nasty wood. You'll just make it worse. Pick off the worst of the splinters, sand a bit and then, using your finger fill in the holes with regular Elmer's glue, then sand off the excess glue. Works great.

Paula

49ers: I live in the bay area and the Niners changed their colors to a goldish brown and maroon, used to be red. Try their site at: http://www.sf49ers.com/ Just to name a few things you could put in there, because there could be a lot: "signed" football, mini football trading cards, banners, make wallpaper and border from their colors as well as rugs, mini 49er posters, stuff to take to a tailgate party, tickets, big screen TV, if you are watching it at home, jerseys. You could do a lot. A tailgate box, someone watching it at home, and office with memorabilia (sp!). This is just a start.

Kendra

Toy Store Names: Small Wonders, Little Things for Little People, Play World, Toy Cottage (was a real store in Phoenix back in the 60s--long since out of business)

Molly/StormBorn

Pirates: have you used a search engine like Google or Dogpile to look for information on "pirates" or "pirate movies"? When this thread was last active, I checked them out and found a lot of fun stuff but didn't mark it since who knows about the accuracy. Like modern tacky women, those wenches probably dressed in extreme versions of what proper ladies wore -- just that bit more decollete, gaudier, clashing colors, a little too much jewelry from their beaux' booty, a little too much ankle for propriety, etc. Like the difference between Belle Watling and Melanie Wilkes in Gone with the Wind, but a century or two earlier...And apparently, according to the sites I browsed, wenches who joined the crews and went pirating themselves like Anne Bonny and Mary Read sailed in drag, dressed as boys, but gussied up in feminine finery ashore, much like Maureen O'Hara as "Mistress Spitfire" in Against All Flags. The tavern wenches in all the pirate movies (Errol Flynn/Burt Lancaster fan, so I've seen most) wear outfits similar to the cantina chicas in westerns -- full ruffly skirts, off-the-shoulder peasant blouses, big hoop earrings, often a tightly laced basque over the blouse or a colorful bandana in the hair, usually barefoot but with an ankle bracelet (always the sign of a naughty lady?).

Loretta.Sniarowski

SW Adobe: I've got some burning questions- someone gave me a very simply built dollhouse that was hand made. The door and window openings are not cut straight, nor are they sizes I could ever buy frames or doors for. I've been wanting to do a Spanish style Adobe/California hacienda and thought this would be a good way of working around the problem of the door and window openings. Any suggestions on what I should use for the adobe? I was thinking wall joint compound-but I'm afraid it might make the whole structure too heavy and I don't think it was built well enough to stand the weight (it's just nailed together with finishing nails). Someone suggested paper clay. It's very expensive and I'd have to use a lot-the house is two story and has six rooms-so this isn't an option. Also, what should I use for the windows? I'd like something rustic-like using twigs to look like log frames, but I'm not sure how I would affix window panes etc-plus, I don't think this is very historically accurate. Another funny thing-the interior door ways are only three inches high! Yet, some of the windows are three inches wide by four and half inches tall! One room (that I hope to make the kitchen) has five windows and a door (three inches tall) in the middle of the interior wall-leaving me no wall space for a stove, etc.! I know my trusty Dremel will work just fine converting those doors to the right height-but how do I take away windows? Somehow, I just can't give up this poor little house, but do you think it's more trouble than it's worth? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. I've been saving the house for about three years in the garage-and my husband always eyes it whenever we talk about reducing our load.

Monika

SW Adobe: You're very, very close! In the Southwest (and Sonora) wood is scarce and cactus ribs were often used instead. Pale gray twigs could be used for window frames and tacked together for shutters. Window glass was expensive and a Spanish or Territorial style home would probably not have had anything in the windows. I expect fellow Arizonan Bonnie Gibson will be able to give you lots of tips for your house.

Molly/StormBorn

SW Adobe: it is true that your trusty Dremel will help you make the doors the size you need them to be. You can also take pieces of wood the right size to glue into some of the extra windows in the kitchen before you stucco the exterior. The joint compound works very well as stucco, too. If you want a little rougher finish, add some sand to the joint compound or glue some on after you have stuccoed. A little care should give you a wonderful dollhouse in the style you are looking for.

Dottie in Tucson

SW Adobe: Do you want this house to look realistic, or is a southwest fantasy look ok? That's inexpensive, easy, and not as heavy as spackle. Cut your doors to the right size, fill the extra windows with wood blanks "mortared" into place with wood filler (tape inside to hold till dry, then fill from inside), smooth out, and dry. Cover the roof and anything else you don't want in adobe finish with masking tape. Sand and wipe down the walls, then apply spray faux granite finish paint in a tan or beige tone. Instead of using the recommended clear gloss acrylic top coat to fix the spray paint, use a clear matte acrylic. It looks like stucco or adobe. I use this a lot to rehab cheap kits. It's very attractive, although the walls won't have the depth of real adobe. Several brands of this paint are available; WalMart has a cheapie that works well and offers large color choice. One can will cover the exterior of a four to six-room house.

Loretta.Sniarowski