Shop Recommendation: Someone asked about good places to shop on line or mail order. http://www.countrystoreminiatures.com I can highly recommend. I am fortunate enough to be close enough to shop in person but I am sure they would be as professional by mail. They are very knowledgeable and helpful. they have a huge stock- the only bigger stock I have see was a Tom and Kari's. They will special order anything you need and their prices are very reasonable. When I sort of *finished* my 15 room Victorian I had the entire staff and spouses to a house warming party to show them what they had helped to create.

Susan in OR

Shop Recommendation: Just wanted to add another GOOD online purchasing experience - I just bought something from Minikitz.com http://minikitz.com and I am very happy with the whole experience. Great prices on lace & tulle & such, and I got a couple of adorable kits I can't wait to put together (some Victorian lady's undies and some fancy ball/masquerade type masks. Not only that, but when my order arrived (very promptly, I thought), I was surprised to find a note included apologizing for the delay, and saying that I wasn't being charged shipping! Now that's good service!

Grace

Shop Recommendation: The shop in Pride's Crossing, MA, called Cottage and Castle and is owned by a gal named Lynne Warren. It is in a gorgeous area right near the ocean! We had a hard time finding it so I suggest you call for directions. 600 Hale Street 978-922-9864

Alice Zinn

Shop Recommendation: I thought I would lead you all here: http://www.manorhouseminis.com She has an AMAZING selection of stuff, great pricing, fast delivery, and she is so nice it's ridiculous. I'm not affiliated with them, and only just met her through a sale on eBay, but I am hooked.

Sarah in Iowa

Lighting and Photography: I'd recommend you get a book on lighting for studio photography. From what little I've learned from classes, the amount of light reaching the object drops off very quickly as you move the light source away from the object. A logarithmic scale, I believe. So with weaker lights, you'll probably need them much closer than your stronger ones. You might not be able to get enough light and still handle the heat problem. You could try a fan, or shooting for a while and letting your little "set" cool down from time to time. I could try to look up formulas, but there's only so far you can get with calculations anyway. Having a light meter, so you can measure the amount of light getting to the object and the f-stop you'll need to use to get a good exposure can make things faster. But if you are using a digital camera for your pictures, you can just keep trying until you get what you want. It's going to be different if the object's darker or lighter, etc. People doing product photography do end up creating a whole theater of lights and reflectors around the object, and shooting their camera through some space in between. If you're finding the stuff gets in the way, set up the camera first (on a tripod or stand), and then arrange the lights and reflectors to get the best light on the object. So experimentation is probably what you'll have to keep doing. To make things more efficient, you might try shooting objects of close to the same size and lightness/darkness, to minimize the amount of adjustments you have to do for each individual object.

Trish in Sunnyvale, CA

Photography: I realize many people won't agree with this, but I had the best luck photographing miniatures by using a plain neutral background and taking them outside on a bright day but IN THE SHADE. This produces almost no shadows. I used lightweight poster board and curved it gently so one piece formed both the floor and wall with no sharp corner. This is the system I used for my brochures in B/W and later in color. Even with professional lighting equipment, indoor shots never worked for me. By using a light colored background, the photo background was 'blank' making it easy for print shop to get just the miniature with no background. Later when I changed to color and printed on computer, the 'blank' background was easy to eliminate on the computer.

Dean Jenson

Cutting out Sculpey with Kemper: I always make sure my cookie dough is really stuck to the surface. That way when you press the cutter (not the plunger) the cookies stay where they belong - on your tile. The plunger is good for getting the clay out if it gets stuck but as a cookie cutter I like to use the metal part (like making real cookies)and make it do the work. Then lift the scraps with a razor blade and you are left with perfect cookies. problem 2 of canes becoming oval when you cut it. Bake them first for a few minutes. If they don't cut evenly pop them back in the oven to warm up and continue cutting.

Gail

Cutting out Sculpey with Kemper: If you dip the cutter in a little talcum powder before a cut, it should allow the shape to pop out with a shake. Another way to do it is to just cut out the shapes without hitting the plunger, and pull up the excess clay around them (a little trickier).

Kim from Canada

Milliput link: I've found a link you might be interested in regarding Milliput. http://www.milliput.com/home.htm

Nursemini

Milliput: the Micromark catalog has Milliput, but if you don't need the finest grade you can probably find a suitable substitute at any hardware -- it's epoxy putty, usually found in the plumbing section. Comes in a plastic tube, in the form of a cylinder of putty with a white center and green "rind." You mix the two together until it's white again and then sculpt away. A very small slice will make a surprising amount in miniature scale. I ordered some Micromark Milliput because I'm a big Andrea Barham fan and many of her projects call for this ingredient, but have found that the hardware epoxy putty works just as well, without the shipping charges.

Loretta Sniarowski