Dish rack: to make a dish rack I would use wire of the appropriate gauge and form the top, then the wire dish holder brackets making a jig to bend each one the same. Look at a full scale one and copy the lines. Best if you can solder it all together, then use tool handle coating over the whole thing. You can buy the coating in spray or dip/brush on at a hardware store. It comes in various colors.

Jacqui

Bow Maker: Noticed in a post that someone inquired about bow makers? I know this response is late, but GJ's sells a wonderful bowmaker. We made it out of the helping hands tool the Micro Mark sells so it is sturdy and you can pull against it to make even the tiniest bows. The helping hands tool comes with it as an added bonus (because we didn't want to throw them all away. :-) ) Check out our web site for details. http://www.minitrees.com

Jean Lierman

New Miniature Store Announcement: Dollhouse Miniatures at the Antique Emporium The Biggest Little Miniature Store in Reno has just opened up in Reno/Sparks Nevada. 834 Victorian Ave Sparks, NV 89431 775-331-2288. I would like to invite all miniaturist to stop by and visit our latest "baby" while enjoying the Biggest Little City. The store is owned by Jean Johnson of Creations by Casady and Deb Laue of Dragonfly and is a "small" part of larger Antique and Craft mall in Sparks Nevada. We are located in a beautiful little area called Victorian Square across from the Nugget Hotel and Casino. The Streets are lined with Antique Shops and the area takes you back to a quieter time of window shopping and shop browsing.

Deb (the Dragonlady)

Marieangela's shop in Minano: This gal is one classy lady. Her web site is as follows: COSEDIUNALTROMONDO Dolls House and Miniatures http://i.am/cosediunaltromondo La prima CHAT LINE Italiana dedicata alle Case di Bambola

Jack Wallace

ready cut paper leaves: Great news for those of you who want to make flowers, but don't want to invest in all the punches, and can't see cutting billions (well, hundreds, but it will *seem* like billions, won't it?) of leaves or petals by hand! I just got a wonderful brochure from my friend Gerry Warner, of Warner's Miniatures with laser cut leaves and petals! You get the special Japanese paper, full instructions and the required wire, at a really decent price. She's got Columbines, Delphiniums, a great Fern, Hollyhocks, Foxgloves and a Phalaenopsis Orchid. Supplies like wire, extra paper and tweezers are also available. Okay, so you didn't get flowers for Mother's Day, you show them, make your own! You can contact Warner's Miniatures at warnersminiatures@erols.com. They don't have a website yet, but we may put a small addition on to http://weevings.com so you can see these, and the great wooden toys Marsh, the other half of Warner's does. Stay tuned!

Bonni in NH

Croquet sets: Gulliver's Emporium makes a wonderful croquet set. I love mine. http://www.ewol.com/~per/gulliver/

Anne Gerdes

Museum mini offerings: Please forgive me. I made a mistake re museum mini offerings. It is not Boston Fine Arts but rather Winterthur that has nice minis. They have added a Chippendale secretary and a pipe organ to their minis. They are online at http://www.winterthurgifts.com.

Linda in Leroy, OH

Buying BOOKS online: another way to search is to use an engine like Addall, which is MUCH better than some, and will give you some idea of how many copies of the book you want are online and the wide range of prices. It includes ABE and Half.com and Powell's, among others. Rare Used and Out of Print Book Search http://www.addall.com/Used/

Rose

Dolls: My two new dollhouse dolls arrived today, and I just had to write and say how wonderful they are! The dolls were poured, painted, and wigged by Phyllis Hill at http://www.home.earthlink.net/~minimade/page2.html and dressed in the most incredibly lovely outfits by SS's own Hazel Dowd at http://www.hazel-dowds-littlepeople.co.uk/ I really don't think I have ever seen two dolls as lovely as these -- if you would like to see them, go to http://www.geocities.com/madereo/

Madere, Silver Spring

Cuts/Scratches: Here's a tip for anyone working with sharp objects (or who has un-declawed cats, lol!): I always keep a bottle of hydrogen peroxide close by. If you get a cut, minor burn--or cat scratch--*immediately* dowse the area with hydrogen peroxide. It will clean the wound and has antibiotic properties. Afterwards you can dress the wound with the antibiotic cream of your choice, if you choose (and when you change the dressing, hydrogen peroxide will tell you if it's infected or not--if it foams, the wound's infected). If you do embroidery or handsewing, it'll also take blood spots out of white fabrics (keep it away from colored fabrics, though). Handy stuff, and it's cheaper than dirt.

Molly/StormBorn