LITTLE SPHERES Try deodorant balls from roll on deodorants, if you want a lot try the manufacturers they might send you some for a small price.

Jay from Rugby England

AQARIUM TUBING - GLASSES: Cut small lengths of tubing. Press one end on a hot iron for a moment. This curls the plastic over for a believable rim... with a bit of imagination and some quick finger work you can make pitchers and such as well. The tubing comes in soft and rigid.. different sizes and diameters. The rigid is thin wall. Good for lamps, glasses, posts, etc. Can be painted if you spray with Acrylic sealer first. Neat stuff,

Judie

Display: I made an interesting little 3/4 scale towel rack, a box of "baby gifts" consisting of a pair of booties and a little crocheted bonnet, and a little flower girl dress with matching drawstring purse. The dress was an adaptation of a christening dress (left the arms off and made the waist smaller and skirt shorter), and the purse was what happens when you crochet a baby booty and it looks so much more like a purse that you add some straps and some bead decorations on the front. I took one of those little rowboats that I found in the dollar store, and used it as a small hanging display, have the little dress, a knitted play suit and a small sweater hung up in there at the moment. Also made a few pinwheels to tempt the smaller of the tourists in my shop. Maybe I will also package some flip-flop sandals as well, seeing that I have a boat in my shop it is a good bet that my cabin may be near a lake? Probably will need sunglasses as well, hmmm...

Kim Bulback

Finch Eggs: People who do eggery tell me there is a product they coat eggs with to strengthen them before they work on them - seems like it's the stuff you use to decoupage with (gesso?) or maybe a coating of watered down white glue. But I want to assure her, her finch eggs will make fabulous miniature things. I have one made into a jewelry box. It was cut in half and a tiny hinge put on, then it was glued onto a stand (made from filigree jewelry finding) and decorated like a Faberge' egg. It's a treasure. I have another idea for the finch eggs- I've seen an egg with what appears to be a baby doll hatching out of it, a Victorian decoration, or possibly a candy box. I've been meaning to make one for years and never got around to it yet. Maybe someone out there has done that already?

Paulette in Indiana

Finch Eggs: Before I did miniature houses I did eggshells of all sizes. I used nail polish mostly to color and "set" the shell of small birds like finches. 20 something years later they are still intact. It worked on the ones I cut out with cuticle scissors as well as the ones I kept whole and allowed to dry up. I learned from breeders that if the birds are healthy, the eggshell is also stronger than in the wild.

Karen

Cute Toys: I discovered the instructions for making 5 cute little toys on Alison Fleming's site Pipistrelle Miniatures 2001: http://www.pipmin.fsnet.co.uk/projectspg.html They're fairly simple to make and use items which most of us already have lying around. You might want to take a peek.

Karen from PA

Lead and Pewter FACTS:

As one of the first people to respond to Kris' question regarding sanding her new lead miniatures prior to painting, I have watched with great interest the many posts regarding lead, and recently pewter. This issue is too important for me not to post one more time. The following information is fact, based on research of accepted scientific material.

1. Lead *CAN* be absorbed through the skin. While pure, metallic lead and its inorganic compounds are absorbed in only negligible amounts, the organic compounds of lead are *readily* absorbed through intact skin.
2. Exposure to lead through inhalation and ingestion (for instance, breathing the fine dust created when sanding an object made of lead, or eating something or touching the mouth while the hands have that lead dust on them) are considered the two most dangerous forms of exposure. Its a lot easier to get a dangerous dose this way.
3. Pewter rarely contains lead - but it *can*. A worldwide standard exists for pewter that requires it be at least 90% tin. Unfortunately, that's where the standard ends. The other 10% can be any metal. Most manufacturers of pewter today recognize the lead hazard, and few use the metal in their products. Most pewter is composed of about 90 to 97% tin, with the remainder being copper, antimony, and/or bismuth.
4. There are many other metal alloys in common use for making the miniatures we all love. Micro-Mark, for example, offers several different low temperature casting alloys, some of which contain lead, and some of which don't.

These are not my opinions, or personal experiences, or anecdotes. These are the scientific and medical facts. Again, I'm not trying to be an alarmist. You can work with lead safely if you have the need. Always wear gloves and a high quality respirator (and I'm not talking about one of those cheap paper dust masks). Minimize dust as much as possible, for example by shaving the flash off with a craft knife instead of sanding or filing. Thoroughly clean the work area immediately and dispose of any waste material safely. Wash your hands well (Yes, even though you were wearing gloves). And no matter how well you heed these guidelines, never, ever let anyone, especially a child, "play" with these items. They should be considered in the same "adults only" category as any other hazardous item, and treated with appropriate care.

So, now that you know, you can ask your dealer what metal is used to make the items they are selling. If they don't know, assume that there *might* be some lead in the item. Try to avoid lead if you can. Better yet, let SSers lead the effort to educate dealers to only sell lead free metal miniatures. Let's face it. Minis and kids just go too naturally together. Its too easy to have a tragic accident, as related by some of our fellows SSers recently.

Dave

lead tester kit: When I was making porcelain dolls and ordering supplies from a ceramic company I bought a lead tester kit. It was just a liquid that would change color when placed on the object if it had lead in the glaze or contained lead. I wanted to use it on old dishes to see if they might leach out lead when acidic foods were put in them. I also had bought a number of old china paints and wanted to know which ones contained lead. Might be useful if you have some mini items you are not sure about and are planning to give them to a young child. http://www.flash.net/~shriver/hazkits.htm has an inexpensive lead tester kit.

Jean Day

Lead Web Sites:
http://www.acnem.org/journal/15-2_december_1996/skin_absorption_of_lead.htm

http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/c1-98112.html

http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/hwtr/demodebris/pages2/leadsummary.html

http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/eh/lead/homes/downwall.html

http://www.osha-slc.gov/SLTC/lead/

http://www.aafp.org/afp/980215ap/stauding.html

http://www.info.gov.hk/dh/useful/ltod/fs_lead.htm

In summary, avoid the use of lead, and if you must handle or work on older lead items, be sure to practice safe housekeeping/hand washing etc. Especially avoid grinding or mechanical sanding! We don't want people to become paranoid, but at the same time not become complacent, just educated as to the dangers and taking extra precautions.

Randall

Projects: While I had some time on my hands(no digests to read),I created a new page on my website. This page has several projects with How-tos. I have a tree, carpetbags, fishing creel and a wreath so far. If you're interested in taking a peek the addy is: http://minipearls.homestead.com/Weewilliewinkies.html  Click on PROJECTS. This is the first time I've done this sort of thing. I would appreciate feedback  regarding the directions. I hope that they a clear enough to be understood.

Pearl Jordan

Cute site: I found a very cute site by the author Jan Brett. It is full of too full scale printables ( which you probably can scale down) and a sweet tiny gingerbread house. There are activities for the kids too and lots more. Have a look at the cute masks. I am sure this site will inspire some of you.   http://www.janbrett.com

Marianne

Alchemist/magician's lab -  I've finally begun to construct a laboratory for a character I've been imagining for years. She's a magician/sorceress/scientist, sometime in the 1700's in central Europe; she also experiments a bit with alchemy (so I can include lots of funky equipment). I've made loads of books and I'm including a sort of furnace thing as well as a regular fireplace; when I get a new job, I'll buy lots of flasks and chemical apparatus from Carol's site (http://www.spminiatures.com/chemistry.htm I'm building a dungeon-y looking room and I want it to be very cluttered.

Christine in NYC

Scented Candles: I had some scented candles that had been used down almost to the bottom. I loved the scent of black cherry and didn't want to waste the remains so I dug out what I could and put it in an oven proof dish. I then turned my oven on at a low temperature and let it melt slowly. I know that candle wax can be flammable so I kept a close eye on it.

Anyway, when my wax melted, I took a plastic drinking straw and cut it into four one inch pieces, sat these on a piece of waxed paper, took a length of dental floss and put some in each straw. I poured my melted candle wax into the straws and let harden. I have four little mini scented candles for my dollhouse.

I had a little more left so I took a mini bowl, cut a piece of Saran wrap and pushed it into the bowl, poured the remaining wax in and let this harden. I took it out of the bowl and peeled off the Saran wrap and I inverted this on a fancy wooden button and it became a Jello mold.

I made some little pieces of fruit and used green tissue paper for lettuce to put around the edges. I made these at no cost, using things that I had around the house.

Donna Sanders

SAFELY Melting Candle Wax: Donna, you really took a chance putting wax in the oven. Thesafe way to melt wax is to put the dish/container in a pan of water on the stove top. Never directly on the burner. The boiling water will melt the wax safely.

I have made my own miniature candles this way by using a piece of thread coated with white glue so it's stiff. Dip this in the wax then in cold water. Continue til you have the size you want. To get fancy with green wax (yes, I save all my votive residue), then take a toothpick and pick up some wax and lay a drop against the candle, working around from bottom to top. You'll have a miniature candle that looks like a Christmas tree.

Ruth

Silk Hats: Here's how I make them:   I iron stiff fusible Pellon to the silk.   Cut out the shape wanted.   Then I rub tacky glue (making sure I don't use too much glue) onto the Pellon side of that piece.. I even rub the glued side onto wax paper to remove any excess glue.   Then I lay it, glued side down, to another piece of silk and iron the pieces together.   Next-- cut the second piece of silk to match the shape of the first one and glue bunka or other trim over the raw edges.  

For a really stiff brim, you can glue the silk pieces to card stock.   Then roll a dowel or pen over the pieces to help break down the cardstock fibers so you can shape the brim.

Viola

CPU Fans: [However, I did see the rack of CPU ceiling fans. They had 2-inch,1-1/2-inch, and 1-inch sizes. I bought one of the 2-inch size for $14.97. It says it is 12V. Now I have to figure out how to wire it into my contemporary Florida-style dollhouse without setting fire to it.....]

Keep in mind that most (probably all) of these fans run only on DC (direct current). Cir-Kit (and other dollhouse electrical suppliers) provide transformers that are AC (alternating current). You will need to provide a separate transformer, or use a diode bridge to convert the AC to DC.

Tom Kari

Battery Lamps: look in the sporting goods section at WalMart or in Home Depot/Lowes for keychains with 1:12 scale Coleman lanterns with replaceable batteries. I've used them as is in camping scenes and also repainted the base and added a printable lampshade from Jim's http://www.printmini.com site to "civilize" them for indoor rooms. Works fine if you don't mind them all having the same style base!

Loretta

WOOD TURNINGS: Off the top of my head, they could be used to make plant stands/candle stands, candle sticks, hall trees, porch rails and stair banisters as well as porch posts. If you could drill them lengthwise, floor and table lamps; split them lengthwise and the fancy woods would make moldings to apply to cheap furniture or picture frames to gussy them up, or to miter and apply to walls to frame out wood paneling effects.

Loretta Sniarowski

Weebles: The way that Weebles work is to have a lot of weight in their base. I have preschoolers make them as a science-based toy by taking those ubiquitous two-part hollow plastic Easter eggs and putting a lump of play-doh in the base (the wide end). They then draw faces on with marker pens. If you can find a tiny hollow egg shape then you could do the same. Alternatively, a solid shape that you could hollow out the base of and put weight in might work.

Wendy in Clinton, NJ

Glass Slippers: You are not going to have any luck drilling plastic because it will frost on you.   The heel could be cut from an acrylic rod that framers use to keep photos   separated from the glass.  I would go with the heavier clear plastic from a cheap travel case...cut the toe  to instep piece then overlap with the heel piece. Glue the shoe together using clear silicone. Decorate with rhinestones. I was going to suggest coating the shoe but I don't think you will need to. The shoe will be very wearable and the heavy plastic is not unlike leather for working when you use the silicone.

Laurie Sisson