Mini Flowers: Someone on SS said they "could not" get the fimo to roll thin enough for the mini flowers. You can get the polyclay pretty thin if you use a pasta machine. You can also (or so I have heard) sandwich the clay between two sheets of wax wrap and then put it through the pasta machine - the clay will then be thinner still. And when you take the clay out of the machine, you can reduce it even more by stretching it gently. With light colored clays, the clay will be nearly translucent - particularly if you are looking at it with the light behind the item. I imagine the same would hold true for cold porcelain ?? I use Cernit by the way.

Lesley, South Africa

Fimo vs. Cold Porcelain: I've worked extensively with both, along with sugar paste - being a "reformed" sugar artist turned miniaturist - I much prefer fimo over cold porcelain - Gary the Yank - the cold porcelain that you buy is MILES apart from the homemade stuff (not to mention the smell of the homemade stuff - if you want a little piece, email me privately and I'll send you some so you can see the difference) - but it dries out WAY too fast, doesn't stick to itself, and is far more brittle than cooked fimo or sculpey - making your flower petals easier to break - I am able to get my rose petals more than paper thin - and you can get more translucency by adding Art Translucent clay or CFC-06 (another brand of transparent clay) - I usually "leach" my clay before I use it - making it VERY firm so I can make tiny, tiny petals.

Sue in NC

Hat Forms: It probably is cheapest if you have a friend who smokes cigars to ask them if they have one, but next to that, you can buy one in a smoke shop and give away or throw away the cigar. I think they are probably about $1.35 for the cheapest one. They are usually glass or metal, however. I suggest the glass ones, which are heavy duty, and not likely to break easily. The metal ones dent. OR you could buy a Pyrex test tube. There are some other things, like plastic toothbrush holders for travel, but they have a more cylindrical shape than the cigar tubes. You can even use large beads, but they are harder to work with, unless you can manage to drill a hole and glue a dowel. And, there is no reason why you can't use a dowel, because some hats have a flat crown. Some people even use styrofoam balls on a stick...easy to insert the stick, etc, but styrofoam dents and also is not as easy to work with as the glass. Finally, some hats need NO form, but can be made from straw, for example, by coiling it into shape.

Rose

Hat forms: I have a hat crown form which was given to me by a friend when I joined my first miniature club, and it still works after 18 years.

It consists of a plastic coin tube, located where you find coin- and stamp-collecting stuff, with a chair glide stuck into the top. The glide, intended to poke into chair legs to keep them from scratching the floor) looks like half a solid white plastic ball with a big straight pin thingy sticking out. The ball shape works for a rounded crown; the other end of the tube is for a flat-topped crown. She kept a corsage pin stored in the tube, and used it to push ribbon into glue to form ruching (easy-peasy way) and for various other purposes.

She also used a macramé board (don't know if they're still around) as a pinning board for hat-making She had various brim patterns on the board, covered with clear Contact paper, as well as another of those ball pins stuck into it to use for molding crowns and forming brims with straw ribbon.

I liked the idea so much I made one for myself, using a piece of ceiling tile to which I had pinned quarter-inch graph paper and brim patterns and covered with Contact paper. Still okay after all these years, although the edges are a mite frizzled.

Wanna in El Paso

Hat forms: The best thing I found was the plastic tubes that they put fresh cut flowers in to help keep them fresh. I picked up a package of 100 from one of the local floral wholesale supply stores for about $7. Included were the rubber lids. I cut up some thin plywood into 2 x 2 inch squares and used small washers and screws to attach the plastic lids to the wood and then put the tubes into the lids. Just put some plastic wrap on the tubes and they work wonderfully!!!!! Oh - I used the 5/8 inch size.

Shara Lewis

Freezer Wrap: I often use Freezer Wrap when cutting out fabric for my tiny doll clothes. Once I have worked out the pattern and size on graph or tracing paper, I transfer the outline to Freezer Wrap. I use a slightly warm iron to press the waxy side of the freezer wrap to my fabric. Then I cut the fabric around the freezer wrap. (No need for straight pins to hold the pattern to the fabric, so no pinholes in the fabric.) The freezer wrap then peels off easily. I feel sure all the miniature doll artisans are aware of this use for freezer wrap.

Nancy Faye Roach - Port St. Lucie, FL

Freezer paper: It's not waxed at all, it's got a thin layer of plastic on one side, which when you iron it (shiny side down) onto the fabric, temporarily adheres the fabric to the melted plastic. If you've ever dripped candle wax on your grandma's tablecloth, you know wax and fabric don't mix too happily. I use freezer paper when I'm going to be tracing a punch needle pattern on floppy fabric, like for the chenille spreads. It keeps the fabric nice and stable while I draw on it.

Bonni in NH

Making 'crumpled clothes: I'm new to miniatures and wondering about making clothing that is strewn across a bed or hanging on a peg. Do you make the object as it would appear in real life and then 'crumple' it up and glue it in the position you want. Are there instructions for making clothing like a 'nightie' to throw across a bed or a robe. etc.

Diane in Hollywood, Fl

French knot rugs: There was a nice pattern and notes in an earlier Nutshell News about 5 years ago of a cat lying down with a border of flowers and a vine. Very nice indeed.

Trace a line drawing onto calico, put into a circular frame to hold the work firm and then stitch and stitch...your French knots until the whole surface is covered!!!! It will take time!!! I borrowed books from the library of rag rugs which gives some good ideas.

The Beatrix Potter books give some nice animals to try. A pattern from a tile catalogue can be used...make the rug 2ins x 3ins max. otherwise it will take forever, and use only say 5 or 6 colour of dmc One thread at a time.

Judith from wet Carterton, New Zealand

French knot rugs: I unfortunately do not have any patterns to offer, as I just draw on a piece of muslin with colored pencils and start knotting. I Usually looking at big people size rug to obtain the pattern. I would be happy to do custom orders if anyone was interested, (e-mail me privately tnt2075@prodigy.net ) just keep in mind they take a few weeks to complete.

For finishing I use an iron on embroidery backing after I fold in the edges, this also makes for a nice non-slip backing, so we have no doll accidents. There is nothing worse then a doll tripping and falling on one of my rugs. lol

Tasha in MN

French knot rugs: what I used in my rugs.... In the turtle rug I actually used silk embroidery ribbon, 4mm size. I wrapped the 4mm twice around the needle, if using larger 7mm size of the ribbon wrap only once. (the latter is tough for me as I get wrap happy) For the peapod rug I used DMC floss and generally I use two strands and wrap it twice. It all depends on the size of the "pile" you want. If you want to do something smaller like seat cushion I use one strand of floss. I find ribbon faster to work with but more spendy, it took about 16 cards of it for Mr. Turtle. You can't really tell the difference but the dolls tell me the silk is softer on their bare feet. (hehe) http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view? username=ministitchery

Tasha

Castle Contents:: in a castle I'd want a still-room where herbal medicines (and poisons if the owner were evil!) were created and stored, an armory, a highly secure treasury with the family jewels and chests of gold, and a solar (fancy parlor with that newfangled glass in the windows) where the lady and her attendants could relax with needlework and practice their musical skills.

Loretta

Castle Contents: I would think a castle would include an "armament" room.  A place where Armour and arms were stored and/or repaired.   Also, there would be a room near "mi-lady's" bedchamber where she would gather with her maids and they would work on various projects.   And, of course, there would be the larder where foodstuffs were kept.

Jean

Castle Contents: How about a Strong Room -- where priceless jewels, precious metals, and rare treasures are stored?   What fun to recreate that!

Anita Myers, Arnold, MD

Castle rooms: I was in a castle in Germany once.  The castle had a chapel, room of mirrors, a white and gold ball room, a long....really long hallway with many artifacts such as statues, tables of various kinds, oriental artifacts brought back from the orient,   King and Queens private separate living rooms as well as a common room for the family, Queens court room, Kings court room, Royal Court Room, His and her bedrooms, small private dining room, a large dining room for guests, All kinds of guests rooms, Game room, prison (underground), kitchens (a couple of them...one for main meals and large fireplace, one with baking ovens on opposite side of fireplace kitchen), day room for ladies in waiting, bedrooms for ladies and gentlemen of the court.  Servants quarters held bedrooms, common room, kitchen.   A room that held stuffed animals acquired through different hunts (boars, bears, deer, wild cats).   There was the Throne room, the Royal Vault which held valuables such as jewels, gold, etc. And more....there was a ballroom on every floor, very different from one another.  If a trip was made to another country, usually a whole room of furnishings was brought back and a room was filled with those souvenirs.  So, you have a lot of latitude in what you could do with a castle and it rooms.

Rhonda in Hudson, Fl

Beauty Salon Ideas:   Those great little colored building blocks for toddlers (glued together-seat, back-arms) would make a great looking "dryer" chair with a plastic champagne cork on a wire stuck in the back and bent over the chair for the DRYER itself - with an inverted squeeze top lid as the pedestal for the chair-all painted to match.  Bunka glued around the edges will give it a look of piping!  For curlers, cut different size and color straws.  For a "hot roller" box, use the smoked gray plastic cover than come on men's razors as a top and bottom - Glue a little piece of wood in the bottom and stick in tiny craft pins to hold the rollers in place-glue a string on the bottom and wrap two small pieces of wire on the other end with a small piece of electric tape to simulate a plug.   Use beads to make all sorts of fancy bottles & baubles to set on your shelves - use Velcro on a piece of painted toothpick to simulate a brush or order the vanity set from Chrysnbon (Item # CHR 2210)with combs, brushes, picture frames & more that you can paint to match.

Lauriel of Belara Beach Original Miniatures

Child's room box: what is your granddaughter interested in? If she loves school, you might do a classroom scene. If she likes dolls and is a little "motherly" type, do a nursery scene or a mother reading to children, either sitting on a couch or at bedside. If she's a young shopper, create some kind of store. If she likes outdoors, do a picnic or camping scene. If she's into fairy tales, do a fairy forest.

Right now my 7-yr old granddaughter is into the little collectible shoes and purses on the market. (She's after my collection, so I've started her one of her own) If I were doing her a room box, it would be a miniature hat and shoe shop. There are endless possibilities.

Paulette in IN

Hobby Lobby tip: their weekly ads and coupons are posted on their web site. It's a good idea to check what's on sale before you make a run -- last year around the holidays their dollhouse stuff was 50% off every other week! Last week I was in the vicinity and stopped in. Rummaged through the clearance bins, which were reduced another 50%, and got a lot of mini-makings for very, very little: fancy filigree cupids and garlands to gussy up a plain brass bed, gaudy beads for canisters in Mary's tropical condo kitchen, a leaping dolphin ceramic bead which became a Lladro for the curio, Engelbreit-style preprinted woodsies which will be just the thing to disguise the cracked gingerbread on Peggy's Arthur. But of course I'm still looking for what I went in for - royal blue pompoms and felt to make Cookie Monster slippers

Loretta.Sniarowski

Miniature Jigsaws: We read with interest the information on the origins of jigsaws. If anyone is interested, although we haven't featured them on our website, we make jigsaws suitable for a dolls house. Made from wood with a scene of your choice, it could be a family member or perhaps a photograph of the house itself. Usually 1.5 inches by 1 inch our puzzles are in 9 or 12 pieces. While we make just the jigsaw, we also make a box with a lid, to hold the puzzle ready for the table top. We can be contacted through our website. http://www.woodencraft.co.uk/West Sussex Woodencraft

Peter and Annie

Soda Shops: Came across a wonderful site for anyone working on '50's style soda shops, ice cream parlors, etc. This company sells all kinds of vintage vending machines, signage and soda fountain accessories. Be sure to take a look if this is a project you have on the drawing board.Just so you know, I have no connection to this company. http://www.vintagevending.com

Suzy, Chicago, IL