Clay Pipes: I know that eucalyptus are pretty ubiquitous in most countries so...  If you get the little gumnuts from the Sydney Blue Gum then they are exactly the shape and the correct scale (1-12) to make those clay pipes that seem to turn up in every era from Elizabethan to the Georgian. Just scrape out the insides, drill a hole, carve a little curved stem and voila....a clay pipe.

Moira Lynch Windsor (near Sydney) Australia

BACKGAMMON COUNTER IDEAS:

[1] Garden stepping-stone pavers.

[2] Occasional Table tops Glue to base of decapitated chess piece, recycled drawer knob, or three-legged pizza prop painted"chrome"r"brass"; leave top as is, faux marble, decoupage, or paint if you're artistic).

[3] Make a wire carrier rack and it's a pizza stone. (Be sure to paint on lots of gungy burnt cheese and filling, unless it's for a brand-new shower or housewarming gift.)

Loretta

Button Ideas:: For Judie and anyone else who wants more "minis made from buttons" ideas I have quite a few. I collect antique buttons and whenever I buy collections there are always lots of old, but not especially collectible buttons in the boxes I get. When the New York State Button Society had an exhibition award in 1991 for creatively mounted buttons, I decided to use those "lesser" buttons to make miniatures and enter the competition. I made an antique shop with 52 different miniatures, all made of buttons. Here are ten ideas: A button in the form of a baby's face became a doll when given a pipecleaner body, a dress and a bonnet. A plastic clock face button was fitted with a fimo case to look like a Victorian china clock. A lucky find was a hollow clear blown glass button which I turned upside down and made into a snow globe by adding a tiny Fimo snowman inside and placing it on a painted metal nut base. A deep "cut glass" clear button made a perfect fruit bowl when filled with Fimo fruit. A double sided filigree button became a letter rack when pried apart and mounted on a flat button base. I added stamped letters to the rack. A plastic eagle on a globe button became the finial of a coat rack when glued to a pick-up-stick set in a flat button base all painted "brass". The tiniest pearl buttons with self shanks became the heads of walking sticks. Glued together, a domed brass button and a concave one became a old fashioned bed warmer when a painted pick-up-stick handle was added. Oval buttons standing on end became perfume bottles with the addition of a crimp bead on top and atomizer made from a bit of black thread leading to squeeze bulb made of texturized black Fimo. ( These bottles were made to stand on end with the use of E6000 glue. Nine years later, they are still standing on end.) Fancy crocheted and beaded round buttons became purses when they were turned on end and had thread handles and bottom tassels added. These purses hang from the coat rack. I named this little "shop" Button Box Antiques. It is contained in a 9" by 12" frame just 2 1/4" deep.

I hope this gets you started on looking at those buttons and thinking "mini". Just a word of caution though, before you cut the shanks off any buttons, check with a collector of old buttons to make sure you are not ruining the value of a really expensive antique button. If you have any doubt, you can email me and I'll let you know if you have a rare button. In general, most plastic buttons are cheap enough to use, as are most plain pearl, wood, metal and glass buttons. If the buttons have figural subjects or if they have writing on the back or hallmarks front or back, please check them out before you use them.

Darlene Focazio

Button Ideas: Another great use for the shaped decorative buttons found in fabric stores and Wal-Mart's fabric department is: bookends! Available in so many themes, from buttons shaped like bottles (for a babies room) to those shaped like sailboats (for that nautical shop).Buttons make great ashtrays and candy dishes as well. They are an excellent "springboard" for you imagination!

Alice Zinn

Curtain rods: I made curtain rods by buying narrow brass tubing at the hardware store and cutting it to size, then hung them with small brass cup hooks. First, I opened the "eye" of the hook a little bit with needle nose pliers. If you want to get fancy, you can cover the ends of the rods with beads, either in brass or in a color to match your curtains.

Rosemary in Cleveland

Clothes pins: Grandt Line has some really small clothespins, I got some with my 1/4 scale Grandmothers garden shed scene. But I think they are to large for that scale and more like - well wait I will run up and measure them. They are 1/8 long and very delicate looking, they are really neat.

Kathleen in Colorado

Quarter Scale Hammock: I suspect trying to scale down to 1/4 scale in macrame wouldn't do much but drive you insane. Perhaps you could look at the fabric store for various lace trims; the cotton, coarser types might have sections you could snip out and fray check to keep from raveling for a 1/4 inch scale hammock, then gather the ends, fasten to thread loops and hang from tree trunks or whatever.

Loretta Sniarowski

Making Mountie Hats: I have not done Mountie hats, but have done the 1920's cloche hats which have a crown just as high. I use a thimble as a base - of course you need to go through your thimbles to find the best shape.

You need to use *wool* felt. I have never found the man-made fabric felts to do anything other than frustrate me. Wool felt will stretch properly. You shape the crown over the thimble - hmmmmm.... put something on top of the thimble first so the crown does not have a flat top. Sculpey (fired)??? Tie it tightly around the bottom of the thimble, or wherever the flare will start. Then work the brim flat.

I put a few drops of white tacky glue in my warm water to do the shaping but not enough to make a sheen on the finished felt.

Joy Parker

Hat tip: I don't make hats, but I know someone who'll make any hat at...the drop of a hat. I always like to learn a new 'how to' even if I'll never use it. To shape a hat, she wets her material, whatever it is, with runny wallpaper paste, like thin cream or thick milk. It never stains the fabrics, and when it dries, it dries nice and stiff - like a hat should be.

Helen from York, England

LAMPSHADES: The shade's shape determines if ribbon will work. If it's a drum (same width top & bottom), ribbon is ok. If it's tapered (narrower at top), the ribbon will bunch and look lumpy unless you make a gathered or pleated shade. To fit the taper, the fabric must be on the bias so it has some give to it. If that's the case, make a pattern. Remove the existing shade from the lamp and set it on its side on a piece of paper. Roll the shade in a circle along its narrower end while you trace the edge onto the paper with pencil. Repeat, this time tracing the wider end. Result is a circle inside a circle wreath shape. Cut out, slit from line to line and wrap over the shade to fit. Leave a small overlap and trim away the extra paper. Then pin this C-shaped pattern to your fabric, cut out, and glue to shade. Even easier, use a compass -- measure the small circle and draw it on paper with the compass, then measure the length of the shade and draw another circle that size, cut out wreath shape etc. A bias-cut shade will look best in solid color or allover print; stripes end up wandering off track and don't look right. For trim, now that the craft stores have their holiday ribbons and trims out, look for tiny self-stick silver, gold, and other metallic braids if you don't want fringe.

Loretta Sniarowski

Quick and Inexpensive Gift: I bought a pair of plain unfinished bookends and decorated them. I put wallpaper on the upright (largest side) and carpet on the "floor". Then I bit the bullet and cut a coffee table in half, glueing one half to each wall. I put on the table and floor things I knew she loved, a cat, teddy bear, books etc. A couple of pictures on the walls and it was done. It took me one night to finish and it looked a million bucks.

Dee

Oilcloth:

1. Tape a sheet of wax paper or heavy foil to your work surface.

2. Tape your chosen paper [cut larger than final item it is to be] to the wax paper or foil on all 4 sides with tape about 1/4 on the surface.

3. Pour the Mod Podge into a flat container.

4. Dip a 1 - 1 1/2" foam brush in the Podge and spread a thin coat on paper in one direction only. Watch for bubbles.

5. Repeat. 4-6 coats on the sheet, drying thoroughly between applications.

6. For more drape-ability, do not Podge the back. If you are doing a floor cloth, podge 3 coats on the back.

7. Cut the paper into shape and size needed. Use podge to simulate wooden floors using paper that resembles hard wood floors.

or:

Transfer printed pictures to fabric. Photocopy desired picture. Coat the PRINTED side of the copy with a thick coat of opaque transfer medium, (Picture This, Modge Podge, etc.) Lay the COATED side down in the center of a piece of 100% cotton broadcloth. Flatten and smooth. Allow it to dry several hours. Using a wet sponge, gently rub the paper off. It is all off when the material doesn't feel gritty. Be careful not to rub too hard or the print will come off. Let dry and trim. It has a sheen and body to it like oil cloth.

Sandy in Alberta

Oil Cloth Instructions: The simple oil cloth directions are in the Miniature Collector August issue page 78 and the picture is in the June/July issue page 55.

Roz Weitzman

Gypsy Caravans: Contact: Midwest Carriage Co. PO Box 024, Mentor, Ohio 44060-0024, 1-888-281-3863 They have the wheels you are looking for plus a wonderful book entitled "Making Model Gypsy Caravans" by John Thompson.

Lucy Seiler in CT

More witch ideas: A few years ago Skycrest Ceramics sold small orange jars (you could make your own) with the following decal: Eye of Newt (I filled it overflowing with the tiniest eyes I could find, the kind used on teddy bears, etc.), Hair of Werewolf (I filled with pieces of steel wool) and Spider Legs (I filled with pieces of bent wire).

Ruth

Witch ideas: How about: a broom closet, a sign that says "has anyone seen my vanishing cream", Witch Hazel (an actual rubbing ointment), Love Potion #9, gargoyle and moth-wash, and coffin syrup.

Maria in MD

Witch ideas: how about Death Boy Soap, Skunk #5, Brute, Dirt Plus Shampoo, Wrong Guard Deodorant and Rage Hair Spray.

Shirley

Altoids tins: Judee Williamson often uses the Altoids boxes (small metal lidded box) for gifts. She lines the inside w/ fabric or paper and puts a display of some kind - depending on the recipient - inside. She recently made some masks and put them inside the boxes. Looked VERY nice - - and it makes a fine present. Might be a good club project!

Nicole

Altoids tins. Wonder if they could be covered with leather and a tiny handle attached, and there ya go.........a suitcase! They in come in two sizes occasionally at Wal-Mart here. The regular size which is about the same size as those old Sucrets tins and a half size one that is only around once in awhile. Look for them near the registers.

Linda Gibeault

Filling in Filigrees: I've just finishing solidifying the roof of an open-work plastic gazebo by lining the inside with masking tape, glue, and a couple of coats of gesso, and then poking lightweight spackle, thinned with acrylic medium, onto it from the topside.

This reminded me of those lattice-work cake columns. You can change these to solid Whatever by lining them with wedges of card. Same thing for other plastic filigree items from the cake-decorating aisle (e.g., baby-crib to fancy terra cotta planter), or jewelry findings.

Mary (Oregon)