Paying in Europe: Here in Canada we can have funds direct deposited in any foreign bank. You have to know of course the name of the account holder - the account NO. Bank name- address and branch No. I have had no problem in the past getting this information from business in Europe and sending funds this way. My Bank does the conversion and deposits direct into their bank. Fast - painless - easy .

Paddy

Currency Converter: Here's a link for converting currency-- http://www.oanda.com/converter/classic

Tricia

Mod Podge. when applying fabric to a box try using Modge Podge. It does a good job, adheres well and doesn't warp what you are working with. I have used fabric on two projects, applying both with this adhesive.

Katherine

Pillow stuffing: For anyone wanting to use salt as "stuffing. " I have never used this so far in mini's (but I probably will try it), and most people that live in humid areas probably already know this, but we have always added a few grains of rice to our salt shakers. On a rainy day or in a humid area, the rice absorbs the moisture from the air so that the salt does not clump together with moisture. I would think that this would work as well in mini's as it does in "real. "

Rusty

Block Glass: Home Depot carries a plastic suspended ceiling light cover panel that looks a lot like glass blocks.

Louise in MI

Wood for furniture: Have founded that balsa has an open grain and does not finish nicely. Basswood is a better option and can be stained to any colouring. Mountboard, is probably the card which is around the edge of a framed picture, it is about 1/16th" thick, have made furniture for a roombox which has worked very well. Glued it with butt joints and used Designer Tacky, in areas which do not show it is re-inforced with masking tape.

Robyn Sunderland

Casting Plaster: You could not use a rubber mold if you planned to cast it with plaster because rubber is not porous enough to absorb the moisture of the plaster. . . and the plaster would take FOREVER to dry and would probably crack or lump up. I think though that you could use a plaster mold. Just be certain that you have thoroughly coated it with a mold release before you pour the plaster into the mold. You can use a commercial mold release, or liquid dishwashing detergent or spray it with PAM or. . . . . etc.

Or. . . try this (I've never done it but don't know why it wouldn't work if you didn't need to keep the mold after one casting). Build a frame the size & shape of the outside of your model (the piece you want to copy) and press it into a smooth flat piece of regular modeling clay. You now have a frame pushed into the clay with the clay flat and smooth inside the frame. Then coat your model with oil or other mold release and carefully press it into the clay, making sure that it is in the same depth from all sides. Then carefully remove it and let the clay dry slightly (but not completely or it could shrink) and pour the plaster into that frame, over the clay. It might be best to make up a small "sample" first to see if it works.

Viola

Making molds: There is a product called Mold Builder. There are other brands also. It is a liquid latex rubber compound. You simply brush it on in layers letting each layer dry first then adding another layer. When it is dry peel it off and pour in the plaster. Let dry and remove the item. Works great. You can find this at model railroad stores and I am pretty sure Micro Mark carries it. You can also use it to cast resin and candle wax. Hmmm I am thinking maybe you could make a pond shape with air drying clay and then make a mold of it and pour in the resin and have a pond you could hold in your hand. http://www.micromark. com

Barbara D

Basic Fun Keychains; The company that makes the mini versions of all the boomer games is Basic Fun. I love their things. They also make the arcade games that folks here have talked about. Their board games tend to be a bit bigger than 1" scale, but look great in a Playscale display. I have had the Ouija board and its just great. The Mouse Trap is amazing. . . just like a full sized one. even the little guy who dives into the tub. I think Candyland and Sorry are new for this year. The arcade games are closer to 1" scale. I love the Fortune Teller and Claw game. The fooseball game almost made it into my Sixties Boys Bedroom, but I ran out of room. Basic Fun has a website: http://www.basicfun. com/

John Medeiros

Sites for catalogs, printables, projects, etc: here are a few online sources that should keep you pretty busy. . . like forever! (Some of these have catalogs for you to send for, some have their entire catalog on line. . . saves you lots of money!)

http://www.miniature.net/minilinks.html

http://www. imaginationmall. com/

Here is a pretty good site for a lot the mini printables on the net:

http://members.tripod. com/Kalron/printables. htm

and, here is a large site full of links for projects:

http://members. tripod.com/~Folkgal/links. htm

(This is only a small sampling of what is out there!) We are so lucky right now that there seems to be so much available to us miniaturists on the net.

Kaye in L. A.