Draping: When trying to get the fabric to behave in the way you want it is essential that you choose the correct type. Don't try to battle with polyester and man made fibers. Use only pure silks and fine cotton fabrics you will find that these can be pressed and moulded into shape and will give a more natural finish. Also if you need to glue it will stick much easier with only a minimum amount of glue. Hope this helps

Fran

Draping: For holding the "drape" try spraying with hair spray and while the material is still moist with the hair spray, fold and drape it to your liking.

DrBob...Delray Beach, FL

Picture Matting: Just wanted to pass along a tip on matting those little bitty pictures for your houses. If you have access to an office supply store, stop in and buy some of the white out correction tape pens. The ones that lay a flat piece of correction tape. They come in all colors and lay completely flat. I "matted" all of my art work this way and it looks fabulous.

Amanda in KC

3-D stickers....I got some and used the baby ones in a shadow box. The stickers that were really out of scale I put on the side and back walls and they look great. I am really pleased at how it turned out. They wouldn't all work in a strictly scale dollhouse or roombox but as accessories in a shadow box or something similar they work fine. And the brand name is Stickerpottomos. I found them at my local scrapbook and stamp store.

Judi

Trellis: Pop along to your local motor mech and ask them for an old air filter. They come in various sizes and voila - the outer covering is a most marvelous trellis. Most motor mechs will throw this at you for free.

Samantha Kruger

Fancy toothpick uses: I use the toothpicks for many things. I have used them for parasol handles. If you go to my picturetrail site http://www.picturetrail.com/l.b.lee and look at the colonial house, I used them for the stair spindles. If you go to ebay user name l.b.lee, I used them for the 1/4 scale kitchen set. I use them for the posts on my 1/4 scale four-poster and canopy beds. I have clipped off the carved part, painted it gold, and used it for a faux hinge (see the front door bookend in the early efforts picturetrail list). I also used the clipped carved part as a carved detail affixed to a wash stand I built. Lotsa cool stuff to made from these babies.

Linda in Leroy, OH

Fancy toothpick uses: I know of two uses for carved toothpicks:
1. (for 1/12 scale): paint the carved end gold, cut it off and glue to green wire and you have a garden hose.
2. (for 1/48 scale): fancy table legs, bedposts.

Trish in Sunnyvale, CA

Fancy toothpick uses: I made a cane--painted the carved end gold and the other end brown, cut the sharp tip to dull it a bit, and it made a rather elegant cane. ( I found my toothpicks in my grocery store.)

Gary

Fancy toothpick uses: I made Japanese hair ornaments out of the tops. Cut them off and tapered the end to a point. Painted, attached pearls, beads, or flowers. (If you need more directions let me know---I actually strung the beads and then attached them to the toothpick so the dangled) Also, may be used for the handle on a fan (not the folding kind). Or the handle on a Mardi Gras mask.

Elise in Va.

Fancy toothpick uses: I use them for Windsor chair backs, etc., and for wheel spokes. Also for making stronger butt joints. They are invisible in side the joint. Easy to line up the holes when they are to be drilled. Drbob's Ph.D. method: (PHD=Pin Here Dummy)

Ph.D. method ----TIP----( for lining up drill holes to accept dowels) If you have to line 2 (or more) holes up when drilling them for dowel insertion. Prior to drilling and to find the exact locations. Try this. It works for me. Take a straight pin and tape it to the edge of the wood to be drilled. Place the head of the straight pin over the location of the hole to be drilled. Put the two pieces of wood together (with the pin taped in place).Position the material (wood) as it is to be glued. Then give a sharp rap on the end of either piece so that the pin head will make an indentation in both opposing surfaces. Take apart and remove pin. The indentations made by the pin head are the sites for the holes, they will mate the dowel and holes exactly. I usually make a pencil mark in the indentation to make sure I see it. "old eyes" ya know.

DrBob...Delray Beach, FL

Fancy toothpick uses: I remembered that years ago at a Christmas Exchange, we each received a box of 6 wooden soldiers. The top knot of the pick was the black bushy part like the Queens Guard. The uniform is royal blue with yellow straps in an X across the chest. They were very well done by Lynn, a gal in club.

MAP in Puyallup

Pub accessories: To all those looking to make pubs, just found the following link,
http://www.dollshousepub.freeserve.co.uk

Havana Holly

Draping   fabric.   To get your fabrics to drape well, I work on foam board with a gazillion straight pins and when it is exactly the way I want it, I spray it with a thin starch - several times.   For that really elegant look and drapeability, use silk - nothing beats it for doing exactly what you want, and no need to spray anything on after.   I also make round tablecloths with ease, by inverting the cloth and table into a teacup, and arranging the folds.

Dawn-Moree in Welcome, MD

Curtain weights:   It occurs to me though that you could sew length of fine solder ( Radio Shack)   into the hem of the curtain to add weight, and allow you to easily shape (bend) the pleats as you like.

Tom & Kari

PILLOW PADDING AND MATTRESS STUFFING: Have been intending to send this tip in for some time. If you need stuffing for pillows, mattresses, chair cushions, sofas, et cetera use tampons, panty liners or sanitary pads.

1. To make bolsters for beds, chairs, lounges, sofas, et al try the following product.........tampons without the plastic or cardboard outer coverings.
2. Pads can be cut to size for the mattress interiors or into shapes [square, rectangle, triangle, et cetera] for pillows.
3. Panty liners can be used to cover metal button shapes then overlaid with fabric to match room or furniture for pillows also.
4. TIP:: Important to remove the plastic exterior and / or the pink / blue absorbent center section.---

This will save a little money if you only need stuffing for a few pillows or one mattress. Most fabric / craft stores now sell batting only in large pre-packaged bags now days.

Patricia / Redwood City, CA

Stuffing for specialty pillows: A good stuffing for the long round pillows found on lounging couches is the thing-a-ma-bobbie that the dentist sticks in your mouth between your gum and your teeth when he or she is doing work and wants the saliva (and blood?) to be soaked up (at least that's what I think they're there for, maybe it is to keep one's cheek from getting in trouble).... ANYWAY I asked my dentist for a few (UNUSED! of course!) to make some elegant pillows and he looked at me really funny until I said 'mini.' The ones my dentist uses are sturdy and I'll bet other mini-ers probably could think of other uses for these little goodies, but pillows are a great start.

Gail of Ballouville

Long Johns: I have a pair of long johns available http://community.webshots.com/album/28481783ITRXpwUpLA

Karolyn (plymouth ma)

Long Johns/Union Suits: For the person who was looking for long johns or a union suit, check out this link: http://www.miniworld.com/

Kathy in TX

Water puddles: A few days ago, I was gluing a bunch of miniatures together with Weldbond (a very strong white glue available at hardware stores).  I had dabbled spots of the glue onto a piece of scrap cardboard and from there applied it to the miniatures I was assembling, wiping the excess glue from my fingers back onto the piece of cardboard.   After the excess glue dried completely on the piece of cardboard, I noticed that it looked like drops and puddles of water -- very hard, and completely clear.   It occurred to me that this might be a good source for making shallow puddles of water, and perhaps even a fountain.  Must experiment more.

Anita Myers, Arnold, MD

1" pineapples: There is a Kousa (I think that is the spelling) dogwood, which here in Maryland is blooming now. It is a little later than the normal dogwoods. This fall it will be covered with these perfect little seed pods which are bumpy and when painted yellow and adding some leaves at the top are perfect pineapples. This hint was courtesy of "Ladybug" in one of the classesI took from her.

Evelyn Gilbert