Wood Finishes: For staining, I use Minwax exclusively. It is the most penetrating stain on the market, according to my husband who restores antiques. For a finish I use Deft spray. About three or four thin coats, sanding lightly in between with 600 grit sandpaper. (You can also find 1500 grit at an auto supply store). It gives what I would call "a hand-rubbed oil" finish. I spray whenever possible as it gets into the nooks and crannys better than brushing. Deft also gives a beautiful finish to walnut, cherry, etc., that doesn't need staining. Really brings out the beauty of the wood.

Ruth, Grass Valley, CA

House of Miniature kits: These are great kits Ellie. Just follow their instructions about finishing and you'll be very pleased with the results. I ordered their finishing kit and it's been a wonderful thing to have. Goes a long way. The things they recommend with the kits is very fine sandpaper and also a very fine steel wool. Those are easy to find in any shop that sells paint etc. The one thing I find that is invaluable in making sure things are square is Lego blocks. I use these all the time when making, sanding and putting together my wicker furniture.

Debi in Quesnel

Potato Chips: One of my "Hint a Minute" tips on my video "Tips and Techniques for the Miniaturist" is potato chips. Take clean seeds from a bell pepper and spread them out on a paper plate. Let them dry for about a week and they will turn beige and curl a little, voila. . . potato chips. For smaller scales, use salad peppers (pepperoncini) or any smaller pepper.

Ruth, Grass Valley, CA

Potato Chips: I was cooking dinner the other night, and happened to use a pinch of dried red pepper flakes...also noticed that the white pepper flakes are intact, and looked just like potato chips! So, if you happen to have a jar in your spice cabinet, take a close look at it. (Rather than go to the trouble of drying pepper seeds, or even buying seeds at the nursery...next time you are in your local market look at the jars of spices...plus, you will have some left over to actually use in your food.)

Kaye in L.A.

French Fries: For French fries take a piece of thin cow hide leather 1/32 to 1/16 " thick and cut 1/2" & 1/4" wide. Then cut very thin 1/32" to1/16"strips (so they are square). After the strips are cut they curl a little and look just like French fries with the texture to go with them.

Brooke

French Fries: My granddaughter loaned me an adorable little book called "Tiny Treasures" - it's an American Girl book. Has some really cute & very simple projects in it. Simple because it is written for young girls to make. But I have made several things & they are all cute as can be. I have not made the French fries but this is how the book says to do it: cut square sided toothpicks into pieces. Aim fries into a towel or shoe box to keep them from flying. Cut a tiny square from a napkin & lay the French fries on it. For ketchup, pour a drop of Elmer's glue onto wax paper. Let dry. Paint the glue red. Let dry & peel off lay beside the fries. Can't get much easier. And it looks really good in the picture.

Carbomax

Crafty Collectibles Kits: I have done a lot of the Crafty Collectibles and also the Rocking Horse that you got on eBay. They were very easy to do, and fun. However, they look bigger than 1/12 to me. They are great for a child's dh, to play with, or even for a room box, but I have never used them anywhere. My favorite one was the bench with two tiny teddies sitting on it. I had a ball making the teddies and I have kept them handy for a Teddy Bear cottage or something similar. But I don't think I would use them in my dh......a little too bulky and out of scale. IMHO

Judi, Centralia, WA

Special tools for kits? I read the question recently about special tools for making furniture kits. This is long so be warned! I made quite a few of these kits when I was 15 and 16 years old...and I didn't have any special tools at all! Here's what I used (as I remember):

Very fine sandpaper Extremely fine steel wool (I think it's size 000) toothpicks (for spreading glue) Wood glue Krylon clear sealant in a spray can wood stain newspaper needle-nosed pliers Drill with small bit? (can't quite remember)

I used the newspaper to cover up the table so my mom wouldn't kill me. Then I laid out all the pieces. I lightly sanded all of the wooden parts and wiped away the dust with a slightly damp rag. *Slightly* damp! You don't want to warp anything. Then I stained the pieces with a wipe-on stain, but not the ends of the pieces where the grain was exposed. If you do this they will stain darker than the rest of the piece. You don't need to stain the sides of pieces that will be in the interior. Like the insides of drawers, or the underside of a dresser top, etc. You an if you want to but I never did. When all the parts were dry I did my first coating of sealer. I sprayed Krylon lightly on the pieces, including the un-stained ends. When dry, you'll notice that the pieces feel rougher than before, because the sealer makes the grain "stand up". So I lightly sanded again, not enough to remove color but enough to smooth the wood. Then stain the pieces with the second coat and do the ends this time. When dry, seal them again. They'll get rough but not as bad as before. To smooth them this time, use the steel wool. The wood will feel very good now. I don't think that I sealed them again after the steel wool. Now it's time to put the thing together. I put the hardware on the drawers and things first. I believe that I had to drill the holes. I marked and drilled them after the staining was done so that the holes wouldn't be clogged up with stain, etc. Use the pliers to bend the hardware pins so that they stay in the drawer. You'll see what I mean when you get the kits. Careful not to mar your finish with the pliers. Then I used very small amounts of wood glue to assemble the pieces. This was easy for me because I had NOT stained the sides that required gluing together. As I have learned, wood glue is not as strong if you are trying to glue wood that has been pained or stained. Use the toothpick so that you don't use too much glue. If it gushes out the sides it will sometimes leave a visible mark on the wood even if you try to wipe it off. I did just a few pieces at a time. I just held the pieces to together for a minute or two and then carefully set them down to dry. I used text books to make my cabinet legs straight by bracing the piece with the book so the leg couldn't fall over before it dried. I had a great time putting my furniture together!

Lynn in Gainesville

Bed Size: I looked at some canopy beds on the HBS site and the Motts Minis site--the average dimensions seem to be something like 7" high x 7" long x 4-5" wide. Remember, these are outside dimensions.

Molly

Countertops: When I built Greystone B&B, I was determined to use the same gray granite on the countertops that I have in my bathrooms. Of course I didn't think of this in time to save the scraps from them. So..........I went to the Formica place and asked what was the smallest piece he would sell me (since there were no scraps in the scrap pile of the right thing) He said he could sell me a 2x4 piece. Well, since he was talking feet and I was talking inches, I left. My husband asked me how much he wanted and I told him twenty-two dollars. He asked if I would pay that much for a 2x8 inches (what I needed) if I had found it at a show!!! Well, of course I went back and got the darn piece. So I will have granite floors in the next shop I build and lots of other granite stuff. My point being........these Formica places have a scrap bin with lots and lots of scraps if you can find the color you need. A previous project I had used 1/16" basswood, painted and spattered with a toothbrush to make the countertops. I have also used the Evergreen white plastic sheets (6x12) in the tile pattern. You can get them at some mini shops and most train shops. I have used these for countertops, back splash, flooring, tub surround, shower linings, etc. They can be painted or left plain.

Fannye