Carpet bag: use tapestry ribbon trim (2" wide) to make a carpetbag.

Judy London

Inexpensive luggage: An inexpensive way to make a suitcase would be to take a block of wood the size you want (or glue several pieces of wood together to get the right dimensions) and paint it brown. If you can find a fabric that looks like a proper covering, use that. You can buy thin leather strips of suede at needlework shops which you could wrap around for old-style luggage or to run it around the edges for a different look. If you use fabric or fine leather, run the fabric around the edges with an overlap that covers the wide sides a little bit. Glue with Tacky glue. Then cut a piece of the same covering the exact width of the sides. Start at the top of the suitcase, run the fabric covering all around to the other side. That way you will have a nice finished edge because of the prior over-lapped fabric so the wood base does not show. You can make a handle with the same suede strips by looping it (upside down "U") and driving a fine brass pin head (sequin pins??) on either end of the handle. If you can't find small enough pins or brads, you could make a dot with a gold pen or use the tiny dots from the centers that are found in packages of gold sequins.

Jeanette in Wisconsin

Suitcase: Buy an old leather or soft vinyl purse at a thrift store, cut up and cover a small block of wood for a closed suitcase, use tiny findings for the clasps.

Connie in Georgia

Wine bottles: I bought some of those cheap, cheesy looking wine bottles - 3 red, 3 green....really awful looking. But I brought them home, painted them glossy black, painted the top gold....printed out some French wine labels from a French site (can't remember what it is but will email when I can locate it) and glued them on.....they look like REAL wine bottles.....you'd never know they were 6 for $2.

Vi in Hamilton

Metal Rulers: I made a tiny 1:12   6" ruler for a workshop scene and a yard stick would be made the same way.   I cut a piece of aluminum shim (thin Al. sheet) and cut the length and the width that I wanted. I have a paper cutter which makes it easy to do straight cuts and the shim can be cut quite easily.   scissors work too.   I then made sure it was flat by turning it over and rubbing it so it no longer had a curl.   Using India Ink and a fine "crow quill" pen I made the marks on it.   If you have a good hand and eye you can even do numbers    India Ink is fairly permanent and probably a coating of acrylic over it should be enough to seal it in.   (I didn't bother with that).   I also made a miniature back saw and saber saw with the aluminum shim or sheeting.

JacquiM in Hilo

Tricycles: If you are looking for a high quality, in scale, mini tricycle - the best I have seen by far are some of the Hallmark "spring" series ornament tricycles. They have a Hopalong Cassidy trike that is just perfect!!    Only thing, these are not current items, so you will have to search ebay to find them.   Look in the Hallmark series ornament section, and search for "spring tricycle" and that should pull up some results if any are currently listed.

Bonnie Gibson

Sheet Music Copyright: It is my understanding that copyright law allows the sheet music purchaser to make one "working copy" for personal use during practice and performance. This allows a musician to a copy to mark up according to the needs of a particular director, while keeping the main copy clean for the future.  It also allows one to make a copy that will stay open and flat on a music stand, which bound music most certainly does not. For mini-ing, I think it would not violate the composer's and publisher's copyrights to provide your personal mini musician with a single "working copy" of a piece of music which you yourself have purchased.

Chrissy

Mini quilting: Dover publications- http://www.doverpublications.com has a book by Janet Wickell called 'Easy to Make Dollhouse Quilts'. It includes quilting basics as well as a number of patterns. Mine was $3.95.

Martha Simpson

Mini quilting: Try going to http://www.geocities.com/miniaturequilters/index.html This is the home page for a group who have a list on yahoo, they have archives and links to get you started.

Jacquie Hall

Mini quilting: there is a magazine called "Miniature Quilts" or "Miniature Quilting." Not all of the patterns are as small as dollhouse size, but some are. They offer a range of levels of expertise.   I've bought it in Joann's Fabrics, but they also have a website. http://www.quilttownusa.com/Chitra/mq.htm

Rosemary in Cleveland

Mini quilting: I use the book Easy to Make Dollhouse Quilts by Janet Wickell ISBN 0-486-40291-6 published by Dover. The book contains full instructions for foundation piecing, which basically means sewing tiny bits of fabric face down to a foundation (usually stitch and tear Vilene). Once sewn down, you fold them back to reveal the right side, then sew another bit face down on top of that, fold the second piece over, sew the third face down, fold it back, etc. Recently I have tried doing this on the machine - I found it easier to do the whole thing by hand - but that's just me. Makes a good project for in front of the TV.

I would offer two bits of warning - always use bigger bits than you really need, it makes them easier to handle -AND- either pin or tack down the bit you are going to sew. This slight interruption in the sewing process means you will really focus on what you are doing, and you will make far fewer mistakes. And if you knew the world of pain and agony behind that 'fewer mistakes' comment. It took me a while to grasp the principle of foundation piecing – hopefully you'll grab it faster. But once you get the idea, you'll be away.

There is also a magazine, bi- monthly, named 'Miniature Quilts' published by Kalmbach. These are not intended for dollhouses but can be shrunk down on a scanner and used for minis - great magazine, bursting with ideas. Enjoy!

Helen from York, England

Mini-quilt seams laying flat: I'm a maxi and a mini quilter too! The secret is--tada--a 99 cent can of Niagara Spray Starch! I kid you not. Lightly spray the wrong side of your quilt top, and press with a hot iron. Don't rub the iron from side to side, but lift and press. This helps avoid distortion. You might think starch would leave it stiff, but it doesn't. It flattens and evens out the tiny blocks. You might want to trim seams if they are too bulky, but be careful there. good luck!

Julie

Dragons for a Dollhouse: Felicity Price has some excellent dragon needlepoint designs in her book "Needlepoint 1/12 Scale". She has coordinated rugs, pictures, cushions, etc, all with dragons. Not all the designs in the book are dragons. It is an excellent book for anyone who likes miniature needlepoint, as it has many different design schemes/themes, such as teddy bears, nautical, Chinese, flowers, etc., and each has several coordinated items to carry out the theme.

As for other dragons for your house, I would try Chinese gift shops, or even museum-type shops, where you might find a really small one made of jade. Or, look for earrings or charm bracelet charms that are dragons. Do a search for "dragon" on all of ebay, and who knows what you might find.

Jonathan in Israel

Flower Instructions: Some of you have asked for tips on making flowers. Here is a start - I'll post more in the next few days. First, whatever paper you use - typing, tracing, tissue, etc. - I prefer to paint the petals before shaping - wet paper has a tendency to return to it's original flat state. Next, you will need either a ball stylus or a round toothpick to shape/cup the petals. The point on the toothpick needs to be sanded off to a nice smooth rounded end. This will keep the paper from tearing. Some people prefer to use a pad of several paper towels to lay the petals on for shaping - you can also use a mouse pad. I prefer to use the palm of my hand or the pad of my fingertip. One thing that will help you is to have a nursery catalog or gardening book/magazine so you can examine the flower's petal shape. You will also be able to see the colors/varieties of each flower.

Most of the time I use wire with a little "pip" on the end - I cut the wire into 1-1/2" to 2" pieces and dip the very tip (maybe 1/16") into a mixture of yellow paint and glue. Depending on the flower you are making, you might need to redip after dry to get a bigger pip. If you are making flowers that have "fluffy" looking centers, you can use finely ground foam or sand in the appropriate color. Try a few of each and see which ones you like.

Today, I will start with Irises - you can use a teardrop-shaped punch or 'some' heart-shaped punches - does the heart shape look like it can be cut down the center to make 2 nice teardrop shapes? Take each teardrop and start pressing with the stylus or toothpick in the center of the fat part to make it cup nicely - practice with a few - sometimes it works better to press gently just inside the edges first. The kind of drag the tool toward the pointed end of the teardrop to make it curl a little. Does it look like an iris petal yet? If so, move on to make 5 more. Once you have 6 petals, dip the pointed end in tacky glue and then just the tiniest touch of super glue. Attach to the end of the prepared stem with the "fat" part up. Repeat with 2 more petals, spacing evenly around the stem. Now attach the other 3 petals in between the "up" petals, only point the "fat" part down. After this dries, you can add color to the edges with a marker or with paint (lightly now). You can also add the "beards" (the fuzzy part at the base of the "dangly" petals) by touching on a little glue and then dipping in finely ground foam in appropriate color (most iris have yellow beards but there are some with white, orange, etc. - check your catalog/book). Leaves are kind of a light to medium green and are shaped much like a sword blade - long, skinny, tapering to a point.

Sonia

Brass Stair Rods: I've been meaning to add the directions for making the rods to my web site. I do give out printed instructions along with any stair runners I sell. For the rods, I recommend using 1/16" K&S brass rod, available at some hardware stores, many art supply stores and most model train/hobby supply stores, for about 30¢ for a 12" piece. Cut the rod to a length about 1/4" longer than the width of your stair runner. Then buy a spool of 28 ga. brass wire, about a dollar (US). When you unhook the wire from the spool, it will uncoil itself for a dozen turns or so. Gently pull those up above the spool, and holding the loops together, cut at 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock, this will give you 24 or so lengths of wire cut to about 1-1/2". Use one of your brass rods to form the screw eyes to hold the rods in place. Fold the cut wire into a U, then cross the arms of the U snugly around the rod and hold the cut ends in one hand, while turning the rod with the other. After you've twisted 1/2" beyond the rod, trim off the V of the two ends, and you have a nice little screw eye.

You'll need to drill a small hole in the stair tread, right alongside the edge of your runner, near the riser, on each side. The screw eye will actually "screw" down into the hole if you've got the right drill bit, or a drop of super glue holds the screw eye in place, with just the eye sitting above the stair tread. Make a casing at the top end of your runner (sew or glue under about a 1/4" with Designer Tacky so it doesn't bleed through). Slide a brass rod into the casing, then into the screw eyes on the top step. Work your way down the staircase, putting the rods on top of the runner, then through the eyes. At the bottom, it's your call as to whether the runner ends at the floor, or just under the bottom tread's lip (real houses have either). Mark where the bottom casing should be, then trim to the proper length, make a casing and slide the last rod in. Note that you'll need one more rod than you have stair steps.

I've found that in miniature it's not really necessary to put the end caps on the rods. At that scale, it's neat enough to have the rods, no one seems to miss the fancy ends. To make fabric fuzzy or napped, you can also use sandpaper. Glue 120 grit sandpaper to a wood block (a small 2" square chunk will do), then use it to 'rough up' whatever fabric you find for your runner. (I put it on my thigh to sand, dangerous in shorts weather!) If you can't find a ribbon you like, iron on the thinnest iron-on interfacing you can find (it comes in black, too, for dark colored runners) to a piece of uncut corduroy or other fabric and then trim to the width you want. The interfacing will control raveling on the edges. If you can, cut the runner with a rotary cutter, (a quilter's tool, like a pizza cutter) to get the edges perfectly straight. Sandpaper is how I get the Hudson Bay blankets to look like wool, even though they're rayon (don't tell!) http://weevings.com/Hudson_Bay_white.jpg

Bonni in NH

Wheels: CherryTree has a wide assortment of wheels in all sizes.
http://www.cherrytree-online.com/

jo

Balloons: Plastic balloons can be purchased very reasonably at miniature, party and craft supply stores. But you also can make you own. Use a bead or plastic egg, insert some white thread covered floral wire as a string. Cover it with a real balloon, tie it off with string. There is also a miniaturist, Fay..her email is fay@fay-vourite.com who makes lovely blown glass balloons!

Alice Zinn- Pt. St. Lucie FL

Slicing Polymer Clay Canes: My experience would indicate that in most cases "limited" reheating will definitely assist in this process. The general rule would be the thicker the cane/stick, the more helpful reheating will be. I use a coffee warming tile (from Salvation Army store) to accomplish this. DO NOT use a coffee cup warmer as this it MUCH TO HOT and can result in burning the cane/stick, or even a possible fire. Another Rule: the lighter the color of the cane/stick, the more careful one must be on the reheating temperature, i.e., white or GlowInTheDark canes/sticks will display discoloration more readily. Other methods such as dropping in HOT water, hair dryers, etc., can be used, but I find them much less convenient. If the cane/stick gets too warm/hot, it will also become too "mushy/soft" to cut and may result in pattern separation, or shape distortion, just let it cool slightly.

A NEW, sharp, Single edge razor blade is always a good plan also. It's the smallest $ part of the whole deal. The VERY SHARP, very thin Tissue Separator blades are also good, but require a great deal more CAUTION in using. NEVER use X-Acto knives to slice canes, as the blades tips are subject to snapping, and flying into ones eyes, face, etc. I personally use a modified version of "The Chopper". It has a portion of the "arm", between the two blade holding screws, has been removed to permit slicing thicker sticks/canes. For a more detailed description of cutting/slicing canes/sticks you can review my web page on the subject: http://lincsminiworld.bizland.com/HOWtoUSE.chtml

One final note: limited reheating of the sliced pieces will usually eliminate the not uncommon "slicing marks" on the surface of the slices, and it should also refresh the color.

Linc Leedy

Dying Leather: Ladies' kid gloves are the thinnest leather I know of, although there's sure to be a SSer with more knowledge in this area than me. I do know that leather dyes are available through Tandy and many of the larger craft suppliers. I plan on using old kid gloves for the upholstery on my mini-furniture--damaged (i.e., fingers worn, torn seams) ones are cheaper at the antique stores than wearable ones.

Molly

Shops in Europe: http://www.arnhem-poppenhuisstad.com/Taal/engeland/startapi.htm#API

This URL goes to International Information page in English of Arnhem Poppenhuisstad, the Arnhem fair. Click "shops" and you get a map, click on a country and you'll find shops. Have a great trip to Europe!

Marcella