Birch Dowels:I was buying tiny "birch dowels" and they got more and more expensive. I finally looked at them and said they really look like wooden swab sticks, but I'm not sure they even make them anymore with Q-tips, etc. I stopped by my friendly local pharmacy and asked the clerk if he had wooden swab sticks and he came out with a package of two or three dozen for 99 cents. I told him I really didn't want the cotton ends just the wooden sticks and he said then what you really want are applicator sticks and he pulled out a box for $2. 99. 72 dozen in each box. Guess what they were the tiny dowels I had been buying for 50 cents a dozen. The name seems to be a difference between $36. 00 or 2. 99. I have ordered them many times since.

Joanne T.

Gates: I had my gate in Workshop Wisdom a few years back. All the talk about bamboo reminded me. I used the bamboo sticks and quilling paper to make my gate. It makes a wonderful wrought iron gate with all the quilling paper curls and bamboo all painted--mine was black . I was making a fence of it for my Victorian doll house but as with most of my projects I still haven't finished it yet. You can see a picture of it in Dollhouse Miniatures Issue March 1998 page 73.

Penny in Oregon

Vanity project: I had decided to make a friend a little 1/4" scene, but hadn't an idea of what to do. I retreated to my library of 'zines Which I will do for ideas), and saw something I thought would be neat to do; A vanity set. I didn't copy the picture, but created my own. Turned out very sweetly!

I started out with two blocks of wood and one rectangular "woodsie" (get bags of these from craft stores comes in many different shapes). I applied paint, lace, ribbon and beads until I got a fru-fru table that I liked. As a mirror, I used a large sequin and a smaller sequin (cut in two) which I glued to the back (has a kid-drawn cloud look to it, does that make sense? small half-circle, large half-circle, small half-circle), and decorated these with lace, paint and beads. On the table top there lives a little vase of fimo roses, a brush and a small perfume bottle, the former two fimo creations, the latter made from a crystal bead and pearl bead.

I built a chair as well, out of dowelling, lace, fabric and paint. I used a cross-section of the dowel for a base, then cut a thin circle in half for the back. Glued lace around the base, glued fabric on the seat back and front, added lace and pearl bow accents. For chair feet, pearl beads.

A fern was made out of a half ball of fimo that was hollowed with a pin vis a vis inspiration from Sue Heaser, that ball was stuck onto a flattened ball of fimo and cooked. Finally I painted the whole thing terra cotta and stuffed green triangles of florist tape into the pot. These were cut into to make ferns after the paint was dry. A carpet is a lovely piece of fabric with a nice carpety pattern.

The final touch was a little fimo cat, obviously in deep thought. This was all built in a dollar store purchase, a little pre-wrapped gift box flipped upside down. I built a floor into the lid with foamcore, painted with gesso and stained with a liquid stain/acrylic brown to give it a hardwood appearance.

Kim Bulback

Peeps: Marshmallow peeps are easy to make! Make a small box out of cardstock or pretty paper. Using yellow fabric paint (the kind that comes in a squeeze bottle), create a lump the size of the birds body. On top of that create another lump for the head and pull the nozzle away at an angle, forming a tiny pointed "beak". While still wet, sprinkle with yellow scenic sand! A little practice first on a piece of paper, before you do them in the box should yield great results!

Alice Zinn

Peeps: For Easter, I also like to make the little "chick peeps". They are nothing more than a yellow 3. m and a 5. m pompom glued together. Place a dot on each side of small pompom for eyes, and add a tiny triangle of orange felt for beak.

Dolores

Peeps: I have had some success in making Peeps out of Model Magic (sorry to keep touting this material, but it's great for a lot of things!) One benefit is that you can stick all of the Peeps together in a string when wet. Then sprinkle with yellow scenic sand. After they are dry, you can break them apart if desired. This gives the realistic "white" sides.

Celeste in Boston

Easter fill batts--the stuff that looks like polyester pillow fill is great in colors for mini cotton candy. . . just roll a 1/2" piece of paper for the stem (stick) and glue a small wad of your favorite color (flavor) on it. . . a little goes a long, long way, and your little hands never get gooey and sticky!

Xmas Carol

Online Dollhouse building: For those of you who want to build your dollhouse on the computer, have fun with a game called "The Sims". In it you can build and furnish a house, pick the occupants and their personalities and run their lives. This sounds easier than it is! They need to use the bathroom, go to work, water their plants etc. to be happy! I was really enjoying it until the stress level got to be too high when neglected the baby and the house burned down! But it is fun, and a great responsibility teaching tool for kids! Just like having a "living" dollhouse!

Alice Zinn

Sponged paint finish: The most amazing thing happened today while painting my nails. I spilled some polish (Jane Darkest Hour) onto the paper under my hand. I wiped the stuff off while it was wet and the most beautiful faux sponged finish appeared on the paper.

It dried perfectly and so I tried the entire bottle of polish on standard Xerox paper. I poured the polish into a shallow dish and spread it onto the paper nice and even, working quickly. Then took a piece of plastic (like a credit card) and scraped the excess off back into the dish.

Viola!I know this sounds absolutely hokey. Believe me, if I read this it would seem too stupid to even try. But for those that wear polish, just try it on a spot of paper. It really is a stunner.

Sudie

Mod Podge. The classic use is to dab on to give art prints the look of brush strokes or to texture rug pictures to look woven. I also use it to thin acrylic paints to make them sheerer and more like a glaze, which in addition to faking pottery can simulate lacquer when rehabbing dollar store furniture.

Loretta Sniarowski