Trees: Before you proceed with your tree you need to decide how big you want it to be. I will assume that it is 1/12 scale and it is a big old gnarly oak tree.

1. Find yourself a branch that is shape of the basic trunk don't worry about the smaller limbs higher up just the trunk and the major limbs.

2. Now using 16 gauge single strand bare copper wire which you can acquire at your local hardware store. Twist it together to form the upper limbs. Leave about an inch of each wire untwisted at the bottom to give you something to attach it to the trunk.

3. After twisting the upper branches use 5 minute epoxy (it's also at the hardware store) to attach each upper limb to the trunk.

4. Now comes the time consuming part, apply a thin coat of yellow carpenters glue (hardware store again) to a section (about 4 or 5 inches) starting at the bottom. Then roll out the PaperClay to about 1/4" thick or a little less depending on the size of your tree and wrap it around the trunk. This will be easy on the big trunk but harder as the limbs get smaller. After you've done 2 or 3 sections go back with a stylus or a bamboo skewer that has been rounded off somewhat and with vertical strokes score in the gnarly old rough bark. Don't try to be neat with it, the rougher the better. If you want to have a bole or limb that has been cut off simply put a glob of PaperClay on the trunk and when you have the shape you need score it like the trunk. When you reach a point where you can no longer handle it without messing up what you've done stop and let it dry until you can handle it again. Now I would be remiss if I said it was easy, it isn't but if you pay attention to detail the results are worth it.

5. When everything is dry you can paint the tree using thin washes of a gray brown acrylics.;

6. Using foam foliage build the canopy of the tree to suit your tastes.

Rik Pierce

Cattails: I wanted to share with you all my success in making cattails. I wanted some for a jardiniere in my Victorian, when cattails, peacock feathers, pampas grass & pussy willows were all the fashion, (in different containers, not all lumped together). Anyway....here's what I did. Cut some lengths of florist wire, dipped them in "raw linen" colored acrylic & set on Styrofoam to dry.

I then shaped quilter tape in a double taper effect around the top of the wire. Then painted the tape with white glue and rolled in bronze embossing powder. (Found in the rubber stamp dept.) Ta Da!!! I plan to use raffia for the leaves. They really look good, if I do say so myself.

Sharon in Watsonville CA

Flagstones: I made flagstone pavers for the patio of my dh. I used Plaster of Paris. I mixed it very thick...about to the consistency of dough. Then, I rolled it our between two sheets of waxed paper. I peeled off the top sheet of wallpaper. I let it dry just a few minutes, then flipped it over and peeled off the other sheet of waxed paper. At this point, I let it dry about 3/4 of the way, then broke it into pieces. However, if you wanted uniform pieces, you could cut it using a straight edge right after peeling of the second sheet of waxed paper. Then, let if dry completely. Color it using several coats of color wash (paint mixed with water) until you have the color you want. The benefit of using a color wash is that it is more transparent, and adds a lot of depth. Once you have the color you want, seal with 3-4 thin coats of clear sealer. Install with glue - I used tacky glue. Then, use more plaster of Paris for the grout. If the pavers are sealed properly, the excess "grout" will wipe right off the top with a damp rag. Finally, spray another 3-4 coats of clear sealer to finish. I used a matte finish sealer as I did not want the patio shiny, but you could pick the effect that you like best.

Sloan

Display of Houses: I have our doll-house, a big Architect's Choice model, sitting on a coffee table bought for it. The table is set perpendicular to the living room wall, not too far from our front door. It helps define a foyer area where there is none in our real house. The front of the dollhouse faces the "foyer" side of the living room, while the open back faces the main space in the living room. The actual room isn't terribly large. I have a love seat in it because a full size couch looks too big for it, if that gives you an idea of the size. But the dollhouse and table work out well as a divider - decorative, interesting, but still very open while defining the space. There is one slight drawback. When the kids, particularly girls, in our neighborhood come selling for school or scouts we usually end up with visitors for awhile. One night my husband answered the door just as we were about to sit down for supper. The two girls from up the street were there for the night if we'd let them stay! As our supper got colder and colder I finally suggested to them that they could come, with parental permission, to visit another time but if they didn't get going they weren't going to sell any more stuff before it got dark. The microwave did a reasonable job of reheating dinner and we have a couple of new friends who do stop by on occasion. It's our only house so I haven't needed to figure out anything else yet. However, I'm planning to buy two of Tom's wall hung houses to put on the wall over my staircase so that when you come down the stairs you'll be looking right at them. When we were trying to decide zoning for our Architect's Choice a friend suggested that we put it on pulleys and store it in the cathedral ceiling of our family room when we needed to move it out of the way. Our family room would be big enough to accommodate it easily but we have so much else going on in there that sometimes needs all the space so we decided against that option.

Lissa from Rutland, MA

Strip paper shingles: The quarter scale strip paper shingles are great, too. I painted them with my window trim color, then sponged on a cream color very lightly - aged them nicely.

Carole Pierce in TN

Enclosing Dollhouses: When Pam Throop (incredible dollhouses!!) wanted to enclose a large dollhouse, she talked to the folks at Tap Plastic, which is the local plastic store. I'm not sure how big the franchise is, but there will be other plastic places. Anyway, they cut the pieces to size, polished the edges and added screw blocks. These were clear plastic blocks in the proper places, drilled and tapped. The mating pieces were drilled and screws were inserted through the holes and screwed into the screw blocks. It was sturdy, had a top, gave a clear view of the dollhouse, and could be disassembled and stored when necessary. The blocks, because they were clear like the rest of the structure, were barely noticeable.

Jeanne, San Anselmo, CA

TV Cabinet Ideas: - how about Ariel's treasure trove of "human things" from Disney's Little Mermaid? "Look at this stuff, isn't it neat? Wouldn't you say my collection's complete.... Look at this trove, treasures untold; how many wonders can one cavern hold?

I've got gizmos and gadgets aplenty I've got whozits and whatsits galore You want thingamabobs?- I got twenty....... I remember a music box with dancing figures, and tankards, and forks... You might want to make the statue of Eric and show the whole cave before her daddy finds it, and fill handy rocky shelves with anything you have that may have "fallen off the back of a lorry"- well container ship... Actually, I've always wanted to make this roombox myself; even bought a small Ariel bath toy (for my daughter when she was about 6, she's now 16) with just this in the back of my mind....not enough days in the hour...

Donna from Devon

Pirates Plunder: First, you have to decide on a period in history. I mean, if you want a modern pirate then he should be plundering computers (laptops!) and dvd players! If he's from the 1500's say, (with swash-buckling boots and yo-ho-ho hat etc) then some of the most valuable items are things we take for granted today: velvet fabrics in rich colours, satin brocades, fine linen, Belgian lace, well honed knives, Chinese pottery, sugar, salt & pepper - in fact spices of all sorts were terribly valuable. They are what led to the discovery of North America by the Europeans after all!

Linda, Cardiff, Wales

Pirates Plunder: I have some suggestions for pirate booty! In pirate days, anything of value would have been sent by ship as the cheapest and fastest method of transport. Here's a list of possibilities: - From China, there would have been porcelain, gold, tea, tobacco, pearls and silk (!EXTREMELY valuable - people were put to death for trying to smuggle out silkworms; it is said that a Chinese woman (who I think married an Italian guy) finally succeeded in smuggling a few worms out in her hair, and thus silk production was brought to Italy, where it was jealously guarded for many more years). - From India and the middle east, spices of all kinds (so valuable in the middle ages that a housewife guarded her spices in a locked cabinet) and fabrics (cotton?). Beautiful carpets from the middle east and western Asia. Fine horses from Arabia. - From the Mediterranean region, casks of olive oil and of wine, grain, figs, dates, iron. - From the northern regions, lumber, tin, furs, beer and wool cloth (felted wool cloth was also valuable, thus the rise of the Flemish and English wool industries). - Books were also valuable - religious volumes were often bound in wood or metal covers, embellished with gold and gems. And while we're at it, any other religious items, as the Church was the greatest source of wealth of all - gold crosses, chalices, books, paintings, embroidered altar cloths, etc. - Pillaged statuary from anywhere - Asia, Egypt, Greece, Rome. - And of course, weapons and ammo from everywhere to everywhere!

Graceanne

Pirates Plunder: I think any self respecting pirate would steal lots of Jewelry (big and gaudy), gold and jewel encrusted goblets and statues, fancy paintings and even fancier silk clothing - I always picture pirates as either patch scary or peacock dandy. With ruffled shirts and great big hats with feathers a-la Captain Hook. Don't forget the casks and bottles of Rum - the favored drink of the pirate.

Suzy, Chicago, IL