Bunka & sewing notions UK: Tee Pee Crafts have bunka by the meter (15p meter I think) http://www.teepeecrafts.freeserve.co.uk    and Valerie Claire has lots of shop accessories including sewing stuff. http://www.valerieclaireminiatures.co.uk

Brian

Coffee Grounds potting soil: First thing to do with coffee grounds is to get all the moisture out of it. You can do this by spreading a shallow layer of dried grounds on  a cookie sheet and baking at 250°F for about 20 minutes.    I also run some through a coffee grinder to get a finer ground and mix it up so the texture is slightly varied.  Sometimes I'll add tea grounds too for variety of texture and colour.

I put a white glue down first with a foam brush and then sprinkle the grounds over top, pressing down slightly.   After it's dry you can blow or gently brush away the excess.  Fill any bare spots with more glue and then grounds.

Debi in Quesnel

Dirt: Another great way to make dirt is taught by Pat and Noel Thomas.  They take sawdust and mix it with Elmer's glue and dirty water (a good dark water with acrylic paint - blacks, browns, what ever is handy).  When it dries the glue is clear and the dirt is rock hard and very believable!

Renee from New Orleans

Dirt for Landscaping or Plants:   I strongly recommend that you do *not* use coffee grounds to simulate dirt.  The smell is not a factor because it dissipates after a few days.

However, no matter how well you treat the grounds, eventually something unexpected will happen, including the formation of mold.  Sometimes this takes years to happen, but eventually it will.

Instead, using inert materials, you can make very realistic and permanent landscaping or potting soil with a mixture of Woodland Scenics and AMSI landscaping materials which are readily available at most hobby shops which carry model train supplies.  I use Woodland Scenics Turf and Ballast.  Try mixing Dark Brown and Buff Ballast in varying degrees of coarseness with some soil-colored Turf.   The only color Ballast you should avoid is Gray; it looks very artificial when mixed with the other colors.

Bev Gallerani

Dirt: As for the dirt questions, we use real dirt, which we sterilize and dry by baking on cookie sheets in a 350 oven for 45 min., door propped slightly open so moisture can escape. It smells bad in the process (try to do it on a day when you can have the doors open for ventilation), but it's plentiful, and easy to work with. To get rid of the lumps, stones and roots, after baking we stir it through a colander.

Pat Thomas

Dirt for Landscaping or Plants:   You can also find a dirt colored foam on the landscape websites - it looks great - you can use either the small or large foam for dirt purposes.  I've lived in some pretty buggy climates so I don't use food products for anything.  Once the vermin start chewing they don't stop.  (That's just my opinion)

Jean

Mini Dirt: If you can find a model railroad shop near you or on the internet you can buy brown scatter material (fine) quite inexpensively - it's dry, clean and odor free - and as it's basically just coloured sawdust it should not attract any "thing" to your minis. (Yeah - you could   tint your own sawdust - but life's too short) Ditto for green scatter material for grass.

My method is to paint the area brown (or green) first - just slosh on a bit of acrylic - does not have to be an artwork masterpiece - but it will make slightly bald spots a bit less noticeable.

Then take a little white glue in a paper cup (or whatever) and add just enough water to make an easily brushable consistency.   Brush the glue mixture onto the painted area - go for even coverage if you can.

Then shake a generous quantity of dirt all over the glue - all you should see is dirt - no paint or glue should show through.

Use your fingertips to very lightly press the dirt down - this will make it stick a little better.

Allow to dry for a short time - 20 mins will do. Then upend your project and knock off all the extra dirt. This can be used again and again as you actually use very little.

It may take several hours for the glue to dry completely so avoid disturbing the dirt for a while - sticking your finger in and stirring it about will give your dirt a bald spot guaranteed :-)   Spend the next week vacuuming up stray bits of fake dirt.

Lesley, Johannesburg, South Africa

Dirt: For really real looking dirt, sift potting soil to get very fine particles. Mix with   glue and fill container.

Martha Simpson

More dirt on dirt: I've added finely ground up cork to coffee grounds for a bit of variation in color then glue it to the inside of corrugated cardboard. I peeled off one side of a box and used the hills and valleys as my plant rows, spayed on adhesive and sprinkled the mixture on. This was two years ago and so far no adverse effects or coffee aroma.

Lee from Melville, NY

Dirt suggestions: Another suggestion for "dirt" in your garden is tea bags, used or unused, that means two different colors. I use tea for all my flower-pots and even out in the garden that I made. For grass I never use the "grass" that you buy in shops for train-landscaping, it’s too green and doesn’t look realistic. I use dried dill that you get in shops where they sell spices. I put white glue on the spot and "powder" the tea or the dill on top.

Eva Malmsten, Sweden