Holding teeny things, I spread a very thin coat of Aleene's TackIt dry tack adhesive on the end of a short piece of dowel. After it dries, it stays tacky and will hold a lot of unruly bits in place while you paint, etc. The first time you use it, you might want to de-tack it slightly because the tack can be a bit intense -- I do this by just touching the adhesive a couple times with my finger. TackIt is also a good adhesive for holding things in place in your dh -- you can unstuck and re stick it 6 or 8 times, and I've never known it to leave any residue on surfaces.

Vicki Horiuchi

Babywipes: Even if you don't do fimo, one should really keep these things on the workbench anyway -- they really take the paint and glue off one's hands really nicely.:)

Kim From Canada

Glue Metal to Metal: The new Patio & Garden Outdoor Glue by Aleene's works very well.

Becky Holliday

.0075 Butyrate: I have used the plastic report covers available at office supply stores as a source of thin clear plastic. It may not be butyrate, but it is clear and easily cut.

Dave

Odd-shaped windows. I've rehabbed flea mkt. houses missing their original kit windows, and it's not impossible to turn out something that looks fine. Use clear plastic (salad bar carry-out boxes, clear plastic file folders, report covers) for the panes, cut muntins from plastic berry baskets for a Tudor look, or cut coffee stirrers for modern or colonial, and use scrap strip wood for the framing. Once the wood and muntins are painted (before attaching to the window) and glued in place, the components blend together and look pretty good. The windows won't be working, opening windows, so just tell yourself the residents have central air!

Loretta.Sniarowski

Connie's Miniature Inventory Form: Connie gave me permission to convert her form to an Adobe pdf file and you can download it from here:
http://smallstuff-digest.com/gallery.htm

Thanks again, Connie!

Anne Gerdes

Connie's Miniature Inventory Form: Connie gave me permission to convert her form to an Adobe pdf file and you can download it from here:
http://smallstuff-digest.com/gallery.htm

Thanks again, Connie!

Anne Gerdes

Organizing Part 2: by Connie Sauve
Here are a couple more ideas for organizing: I make dolls, so I have a lot of fabrics, laces, trims, thread, beads etc. which all get put into zip bags.

1. Fabrics I put into pleated sandwich zip bags from the grocery store.

2. Silk ribbon spools I put in 3 x 5 zip bags.

3. Laces and trims I wrap around a 2 1/2" x 3 1/2" matboard (cut from scraps from the framing dept.) and put into 3 x 4 zip bags.

4. Thread and small wire spools I put into a 2 x 3 zip bag. Hint: you never have to open the zip bag if you leave a tail of the thread/wire out of the top of the bag, just snap it closed around the tail and pull out what is needed. Another hint: Put the "catch" on the spool for the thread/wire on the bottom of the bag or else the thread will get caught on it at every revolution.

5. Beads, tiny brasses, buttons, etc. I use a 2 x 2 zip bag.

I organize everything in clear plastic shoe boxes. I have a lot of fabric, so it gets broke down into a lot of categories - Silk dark solids, silk light solids, silk stripes, silk florals, taffeta. I do the same for my cottons, velvets and wools. Each category gets their own box, labeled on the end. The plastic bags are important because when you are searching through the boxes the fabrics/thread/laces stay perfectly clean.

I also have a small binder which I put small (1" x 1") swatches of all my fabrics in, again broken down into fabric categories, and where I bought the fabric from. Then when I go fabric shopping I take my binder with and I won't duplicate buying the same fabrics.

The silk ribbon I have in 4 boxes: 7mm, 2mm, and two boxes for 4mm dividing the numbers (there are a lot of colors for 4mm). Again labeled on the end.

The threads, laces (a white laces box and an ecru laces box) and trims are all separate. I have plastic boxes for my zip bags, feathers, Bunka/cording, straw, etc.

Beads and tiny items are in a small flat plastic box with dividers, available at craft stores in the cross-stitch dept.

Quick tip: Tape a plastic measuring tape (fabric stores) to the front of your desk using double-sided tape. Then you never have to search for a ruler to measure again.

Connie Sauve

Organizing Part 3: by Connie Sauve
Now, let's get started on your organizing! The hardest part to organizing is getting started. It can be overwhelming. Most people make the mistake of starting, getting overwhelmed by not knowing what to start with and finally giving up. The whole key to getting organized is to make lists - very detailed lists, by breaking down the tasks into small manageable jobs. It's a great feeling (for some of us) to be able to cross off a task when finished and slowly step by step you'll be done in no time!

Here's a list of steps to get you started:

1. Decide how your going to break down your collection (i.e. by project, by room, by similar artisan, etc.) and write up the list of your = projects for use later. This will give you an idea of how many inventory forms you will need to copy and also how many tabs you will need to buy.

2. Get your notebook set up. Obtain a 3-ring binder and as many tabs as you will need ( I have about 48 - I heard that WOW from the peanut gallery!). Use the tabs that can be customized with those little paper inserts. Label the tabs with your project names.

3. Get inventory sheets copied and titled with the appropriate project.Another good tip is to take a picture of each room or project and mount it to the tabbed dividers in your binder.

4. Start by either gathering all your minis and taking them one at a time and writing down all the information you know about each item. Or for finished projects, go project by project, room by room (in a dollhouse) and write down each item in the room. Again write down all the information you know about each item. Either look up receipts or go by memory and guess all the information listed on the inventory form. You can either write it directly onto the form (pencil only) or on scratch paper first and transfer the information to the form when completed. I have mine listed in chronological order for each project, by date when I purchased them. Easy to keep up since I started this when I first started mini collecting in 1979 ( I was in high school - do the math).

Take your time. Your probably not going to get this done in a day or even a week unless you don't have many minis (is that possible?). Set goals for yourself, like "today (or this week) I'm going to record the items in my dollhouse's living room."

When doing your inventory it's a perfect time to go through and get rid of unwanted items. Make sure you also write down your closetful of unfinished kits too. You could even start a list of your unfinished kits (I'll bet you'll be surprised at how many you have), then when you need = a new project to work on you'll know what you have available. I keep all my kits in a box so they're all in one place.

Happy Organizing!

Quick tip: (Not mini related but it's been such a great help). I seem to be always taping shows on TV. I number (in pen) my tapes on the paper label on each tape. If it's a 6 hour tape I number the label 1-6, one for each hour. If it's an 8 hour tape I number those 1-8, one for each hour. Then when I tape something, I write the name (in pencil only) of the show under the "hour" where it's been taped. Example: 1. Friends / Will and Grace (1/2 hour shows) 2. and 3. Casablanca 4. Antique Roadshow, etc. Then you know about how much time you need to rewind or forward to find a certain show.

Connie Sauve

Organizing minis: I have developed a system similar to Connie's with a three ring binder with tab dividers. Each project has its own section and I have developed four forms to use. Since it is a binder, I can use as many of each form as needed for each project, small and large, electrified or not. All pages have a line at the top to identify the project.

1. First page is for "Notes." It has lines to note date project started and ended, then is basically a page of blank lines for notes. This is where the project can be fleshed out.
2. second page is for "Components". It has two columns of lines to use to list components needed to complete the project. "Let's see, I'm making a Mother's Day dome, so I'll need a dome, table, chair, tablecloth, flowers, vase, etc." This is a kind of shopping list, too. Handy, because I get confused at shows and shops and forget what I need for what!
3. Third page is for "Inventory". Here is where I list date acquired, description, dealer (or artist), and price.
4. Lastly, I have a "Wiring" page. The first half has lines for notes, the bottom half is blank for a diagram.
Now, I have only just developed this system, so I haven't really test-driven it yet! I used to use a recipe box with different colored cards for accessories, structures, furniture, etc. That works well, too, and I'll probably use that for 'homeless' items that won't be a part of the project book. Now, all this is well and good, but will I use it...?

Lynette in WNC