PaperClay for Bricks? Molly asked if paper clay would stick to foam board? I suggest you use modeling paste. You could work a lot faster. You can get this from a Art store. Just follow directions on the jar, and you can use a stencil or spread it on your board as thick as you want to scale and draw with a tooth pick for brick or stone etc. Then you can paint after it dries. You could use a sponge painting technique. Hope this helps you do it a little faster than making each brick or stone.

Sherri from Texas Gulf.

Spanish tiles for roof: There used to be an air-dry clay on the market ((mid 1980's)) in a terracotta color. I have rolled the clay as thin as I wanted it, then cut it into strips as wide as the tile should be, then cut the strips into the proper length for the tiles, finally I draped my "tiles" over the long side of a dowel that I had glued onto a board. They dried overnight and I removed them, so more raw clay could be added each day until I got the amount of tiles I needed.

****Note from Anne: Das brand air dry clay in terra cotta is still available. There may be others as well. ~anne ****

Ann in AZ

JPG cruncher, web sites: I'm a little late posting because I have been working on my site. I would recommend the Homestead sites. Very easy to do, free, and none of those annoying pop up ads. Also, recently they had a link to http://www.spinwave.com/dem/ which has a free downloadable program to easily "crunch" jpg files. Doing so has really speeded up my site. The pictures download much faster and I think the quality is ok but since my vision is so bad I would appreciate it if some of you would look at it and let me know what you think. Also, please let me know if you want to be added to my LINKS page.

Marie in San Jose, Ca

Dolls: Anyone else who makes or collects miniature dolls might be interested in my newsletter: check out my web site for info: http://www.daintydoll.bigstep.com

Paulette Stinson

Brushes: The brush I use to paint my dolls is 10/0 and I love it. I get them from House of Caron House of Jackie@HouseofCaron.com She sells various sizes and I've been pleased with all that I've purchased from her.

Viola

Model Magic clay: Model magic will dry out way to fast to sculpt a doll. You may want to change something about your doll later and you wont be able to do that with model magic. I leave mine unbaked for a few days, maybe even longer, so If I see something I don't like I can change it. Model magic also will crack. You'll be better off sticking with a GOOD polymer clay, you'll be much happier with the outcome.

Joni

Spiral staircases.    Since I did not catch the original post, I don't know if the question involved buying one or building one from scratch.   But in case someone was wanting to build one from scratch (the ones available for buying are very expensive), I thought I would mention that in her book, "Making Victorian Dolls' House Furniture", Patricia King gives time-consuming, but VERY easy and inexpensive basic instructions for making a spiral staircase.   I followed her instructions, adding my own embellishments (as she encourages one to do), and I am extremely pleased with the lovely result - so pleased that I am going to make several more, and have already scrounged or bought the necessary components.   So, whoever it was that asked the question, if what you wanted was to make your own, I recommend that you try Ms. King's idea.   The book is new enough that it should be readily available in any mini store or failing that, try  www.Amazon.com, www.Bibliophile.com  or www.Bookfinders.org .

Shirley in Chesapeake, Virginia

Alchemist/magician's lab -  I've finally begun to construct a laboratory for a character I've been imagining for years. She's a magician/sorceress/scientist, sometime in the 1700's in central Europe; she also experiments a bit with alchemy (so I can include lots of funky equipment). I've made loads of books and I'm including a sort of furnace thing as well as a regular fireplace; when I get a new job, I'll buy lots of flasks and chemical apparatus from Carol's site (http://www.spminiatures.com/chemistry.htm I'm building a dungeon-y looking room and I want it to be very cluttered.

Christine in NYC

Scented Candles: I had some scented candles that had been used down almost to the bottom. I loved the scent of black cherry and didn't want to waste the remains so I dug out what I could and put it in an oven proof dish. I then turned my oven on at a low temperature and let it melt slowly. I know that candle wax can be flammable so I kept a close eye on it.

Anyway, when my wax melted, I took a plastic drinking straw and cut it into four one inch pieces, sat these on a piece of waxed paper, took a length of dental floss and put some in each straw. I poured my melted candle wax into the straws and let harden. I have four little mini scented candles for my dollhouse.

I had a little more left so I took a mini bowl, cut a piece of Saran wrap and pushed it into the bowl, poured the remaining wax in and let this harden. I took it out of the bowl and peeled off the Saran wrap and I inverted this on a fancy wooden button and it became a Jello mold.

I made some little pieces of fruit and used green tissue paper for lettuce to put around the edges. I made these at no cost, using things that I had around the house.

Donna Sanders

SAFELY Melting Candle Wax: Donna, you really took a chance putting wax in the oven. Thesafe way to melt wax is to put the dish/container in a pan of water on the stove top. Never directly on the burner. The boiling water will melt the wax safely.

I have made my own miniature candles this way by using a piece of thread coated with white glue so it's stiff. Dip this in the wax then in cold water. Continue til you have the size you want. To get fancy with green wax (yes, I save all my votive residue), then take a toothpick and pick up some wax and lay a drop against the candle, working around from bottom to top. You'll have a miniature candle that looks like a Christmas tree.

Ruth