Basket of Yarn: I made a basket filled with balls of yarn. Cut a plastic drinking straw into pieces each about 1/2" long. Thread a large-eyed needle with embroidery floss and wrap around and around (going through the middle of the straw) until it's covered all around (adjust as you go). It looks just like the real thing and can be made in dozens of colors!

Jan in Charlotte

Curtain rod brackets -- don't forget you can use clip-on earring findings.

Loretta.Sniarowski

Paintings & Artwork: I make my own "oil paintings" by printing pictures on glossy photo paper. Make sure ink has dried completely.  Then I spray it with "Workable Art Fixative".  It's available in art supply and craft stores [I buy it in Ben Franklin]  - it's a clear, fast-drying protection that artists use when working with charcoal, chalk and pencil drawings.  I usually spray a couple of light coats to the whole page of photo paper.

Next, I spray the back with Spray Adhesive and adhere it to a sheet of poster board or thin cardboard.  I always save those thin sheets of brown cardboard that come in packs of paper because they're the perfect thickness.

To give each picture the look and texture of an oil painting, apply a coat of Decoupage Paste [matte] to each picture.  I like to use a soft brush and "stiple" it on.  It's cloudy until it dries, but it dries to a clear coat. Then I can cut out each "painting" and put them in frames.

Some good sources for paintings are on the Internet from: http://www.art.com http://www.nga.gov/collection/collect.htm

Ricki Pitzner

Contemporary Art Gallery: An inexpensive item (actually I guess it is free!) for your mini contemporary gallery...

I go to the places that sell fine limited edition prints, a lot of time frame shops or art galleries that sell lithographs and such. The publishers of the prints put out monthly newsletters showing their artwork that is being featured. They are free. Most of these are printed on lovely heavy smooth glossy stock, and the pictures are often a great size for dollhouse scale. Sometimes if they are a bit big or have printing on the image, they can be trimmed to a nice dollhouse sized print.

I take these mini prints and place them on a slightly larger sized piece of cardstock and then wrap with saran wrap or such and stack them in a bin for browsing, just like in the full sized stores that sell posters and art. I also frame them using the super thin glass, a mat made from cardstock and mini frame molding. I have a few Western prints in my Red Feather Traders roombox and it adds just the right touch. I also have a few framed prints in my other settings.

Bonnie Gibson - Tucson, Arizona

Bottle and Jar Tips: Pony beads for cold cream jars.

Joann Swanson, I think, came up with this idea: Punch out a 1/4" round of poster board and paint it gold, silver, or color of your choice, and glue to the top of any color pony bead, adding a label to one side to complete the illusion. For a very pretty bubble bath bottle, stack 4 or 5 tri-beads, sometimes called propeller beads, with glue in between. Top with a round, gold bead for the cap.

Gail Cason

Contemporary Art Gallery: An inexpensive item (actually I guess it is free!) for your mini contemporary gallery...

I go to the places that sell fine limited edition prints, a lot of time frame shops or art galleries that sell lithographs and such. The publishers of the prints put out monthly newsletters showing their artwork that is being featured. They are free. Most of these are printed on lovely heavy smooth glossy stock, and the pictures are often a great size for dollhouse scale. Sometimes if they are a bit big or have printing on the image, they can be trimmed to a nice dollhouse sized print.

I take these mini prints and place them on a slightly larger sized piece of cardstock and then wrap with saran wrap or such and stack them in a bin for browsing, just like in the full sized stores that sell posters and art. I also frame them using the super thin glass, a mat made from cardstock and mini frame molding. I have a few Western prints in my Red Feather Traders roombox and it adds just the right touch. I also have a few framed prints in my other settings.

Bonnie Gibson - Tucson, Arizona

The Chenille mini bears can be found here. http://www.pipmin.fsnet.co.uk/teddy.html

Karolyn

Medical Supplies: If you're looking for medical equipment and supplies, I have quite a lot of it on my website http://www.spminiatures.com/doctor.htm

Carol

Coffins: Yes, we are the ones that make coffins. We have elaborate satin lined split top caskets, a red lined one for Dracula, as well as a simple pine coffin. We also have accessory pieces. You can see them on our web site http://www.stockton-miniatures.com

Mark and Sharon Stockton

Quilling: When quilling a bowl, you can only pull it the width of the paper you are using.  After a bowl is completed, I 'paint' awatered down glue completely to the outside to make sure it stays together.

Jonesy

Candles:  I've used real candles cut down.  These were popular maybe still are at one time they're very long and thin and you would stick them in a cake at all kinds of angles then they would drip wax all over the cake!!!!!!  Anyway these candles fit perfectly into candleholders. I just cut mine a bit longer than I wanted them lit one end until the wax began to drip down and I created a wick at the same time.  I use red for the holidays and white and other colors depending on the decor. The wax cascading down the candle really gives a good effect.

Connie

Art Supplies: If you are interested in very inexpensive miniature art supplies, easels, etc., you might try Martha's Metal Miniatures.  They paint up very nicely.  Their address is Martha's Metal Miniatures, 6440 McCollom Lake Rd., Wonder Lake, IL  60097, email address Oscaler@aol.com.

Carole Pierce in TN

Red handled silverware: Why not dip them in red paint? Stick them silver, eating end, into some Styrofoam and dip, set the Styrofoam onsomething, to hold it up a little higher so the paint can drip ,if it must, onto paper towel.

Billie Joy Eller

Quilled bowls: I haven't had any problem.   Just glue when you add a new strip of paper.  Let dry thoroughly and push gently.

Martha Simpson Nock

Judaica in Miniature: http://www.fay-vourite.com/ has a lovely selection of Judaica.

Ami

Sail Boat Pull Toy by Joann Swanson

You will need:

- -3/16" square basswood, for hull
- -mat board or illustration board, for base and wheels
- -paper or fine woven fabric in white, red  and tiny red and white stripes (or other pattern as desired), for  sails and flag
- -straight pin or sliver of bamboo of same size, for mast
- -white and blue and black acrylic paints
- -clear nail enamel or gloss acrylic
- -buttonhole thread and small seed bead, for handle
- -red ball point pen
- -1/8" round paper punch
- -small sharp scissors
- -tacky glue
- -various grades of sandpaper

Instructions:

1.  For the hull, cut a 3/4" length of 3/16" sq. basswood.  On the bottom edge of one side,  measure and mark a dot 1/8" in from the corner.  Draw a line from this dot to the closest upper corner.....this will separate one lower corner into a triangle.  Repeat this procedure on the other corner on this side.   Turn the piece over, so the opposite side is up and repeat the procedure for these corners. With an X-Acto knife or razor saw cut away the triangle corners as drawn....cutting straight through the piece from one side to the other. With sandpaper sharply round off cut ends and slightly round off top and bottom edges.  Finish with very fine sandpaper. Paint deck (top) white and sides and bottom blue.

2. For the mast cut a 15/16" length of pin or bamboo.  Paint black.  With a needle tool poke a 1/16" deep hole in the center of the hull's deck.  Insert 1/16" of the mast's length into the hole with a dab of glue.  Let dry.

3.  Cut two sails...one white and one patterned or of a different color. Each sail is a triangle 5/8" long on the long straight side; 5/16" wide on the bottom.  Once these two lines are drawn connect the two to form the triangle. NOTES:  If you are using fabric, before cutting paint it lightly with a coat of tacky glue and let dry.  For the patterned sail you will probably have to glue two pieces of fabric or paper together, back to back, to have the pattern showing on both sides of the sail. Run a thin line of tacky glue along the 5/8" edge of a sail and press it to the mast, 1/16" up from the bottom.  Repeat for the 2nd sail, on the opposite side of the mast.

4. For the flag cut a triangle of colored paper or prepared fabric .  To form pattern for flag draw a line 1/8" long.  Find it's center.   Mark a dot 5/16" up from the center and draw lines from the dot to each end of the 1/8" line. (this is where a picture is worth a 1000 words LOL).  Run a line of glue on the short edge of the flag and press onto mast slightly above the sails.

5.  The base is a 3/4" x 1/4" piece of mat board or illustration board with the edges sanded smooth and the corners slightly rounded off.  It is painted blue to match the outside of the boat.  Glue the boat centered on the base.

6. Wheels are four punched rounds of mat board or illustration board.  First push a red pen on to board to indent and leave a red dot.  Center 1/8" paper punch over dots and punch out four wheels. Glue wheels to long edges of base, two on each side, centered  1/8" in from front and back edges.

7. Coat boat and base and wheels smoothly with clear nail enamel or gloss acrylic.

8.. Tie a double knot in the end of a length of thread (I used yellow) and coat knot with glue.  cut of short tail.  Insert other end of thread into a seed bead, holding to knot with a dot of glue.  Aprox.. 2-14" away from bead tie another double knot in thread and seal with glue.  Cut off excess thread and glue this knot to top of base in front of boat.

9. Go play.

Joann Swanson

Art Stickers: Dover Press publishes a booklet of 16 art stickers for $1 US, which contain acid-free ink, paper, and adhesives. Dover also publishes postcards featuring Renoir and Gauguin. These booklets are also $1 US. You can obtain a Dover Stationery Catalog (58461-5)from Dover Publications, Inc., 31 East 2nd Street, Mineola, NY 11501. I don't know if there's a charge. Dover is a great resource for such things such as quilting, art, paper dolls, etc., and you can't beat their prices.

Beabe

Plates: I just finished making dinner plates for a Victorian dining room. I selected a pattern from:

http://www.1800replace.com/

My original thought was to use them until I found a nice, affordable porcelain set. But, these are keepers! I splurged on some presentation paper. It made all the difference in the world (and I thought I had been using high quality paper!). Glued the paper plates onto some thin gold concave buttons, and then I remembered somebody recommended coating with clear nail polish . . . Eureka! Worked like a charm and gave a nice faux porcelain finish.

Jude

Antiquing a Globe: I used one of the "gaudy" globes as the base. Found one of those two-hemisphere maps in a puzzle catalog that was slightly larger than the globe's hemispheres to allow overlap. Painted the globe the background color of the maps, then decoupaged them to it. Had to slit around the edges to get them to curve around the ball shape, but with a little fiddling it worked. I also removed the globe from its original stand and copied a new deco-style stand from a real-size 30's original, that I had seen at an antiques show. I suppose a talented painter could just paint over the existing map in more subdued tones, but I decoupage a lot to make up for lacking that particular talent.

Loretta Sniarowski

Wreath Project: Check Bonnie Lavish's web site for her version of a wreath project. http://home.dmv.com/~lavish/ She uses floral wire and a strip of nylon net.

Anita Myers, Arnold, MD