Where to Buy 3/8" Plywood: As you probably have found out, 3/8" hardwood plywood is difficult to find. I sell it, but the freight from NH to CA would be slightly high! If you have an old time lumber yard (not one of the chain building centers), they should be able to order it for you. Be ready for a shock, 3/8" A-2 birch is running around $60 retail in the Northeast.

Tom Berkner

My Fairy Hollow hollow log house... soon to become a troll house! It is a real hollowed log. I had a chain saw sculptor fellow do it. Bought the log from him too.

He cut away about 1/3 of it lengthwise, and then hollowed it to about 1" to 1-1/2" thick. He cut off about 10" or so off the length that I didn't need and shaped that piece into a cone (like sharpening a pencil.) Then he partially hollowed that too. Once re-attached and covered with moss, that became the house's roof, and upper floor ceiling.

He also cut away about 2" round from the other end. That was re-attached to become the main floor. I cut the windows and door, added the floors, etc. Photos here: http://gerdesdesign.com/hollow.htm

Anne Gerdes

Glass block windows: I read the response from Carol to Pat about the glass blocks. She mentioned grids for light fixtures and I instinctively looked up at the fluorescent fixtures in my office. Voila! The fixtures are those 2'x4' jobs common everywhere. The covering panels look just like those glass blocks turned on the diagonal! I know they sell those replacement panels at Lowe's and I bet they sell them at Home Depot and hundreds of other hardware stores. You might see if they would work for your purposes.

Sonia

Paper Clay - As for the pros and cons of Creative Paper Clay and Model Magic I couldn't say since I've never used the Model Magic but on the other hand I've used about 20 cases of Paper Clay so I'm probably biased a bit in favour of the Paper Clay. In my somewhat humble opinion, Paper Clay is just about the perfect medium for making rocks, brick and plaster. The only drawback to it is the shrinkage problem but since it's easy to fix you learn to live with it.
It's primary attributes are:

1. Very light weight ( about the same as balsa wood when it's dry)

2. Ease of change or correction- if you have to redo something you can't tell where the changes are after you finish.

3. It takes paint great. I use acrylics.

Rik Pierce

Glass Bricks: Some years ago I needed a glass block window. Went to a home improvement store and bought a sheet of plastic grid that is used for light fixtures. It was white, about 1/4 of an inch thick and the spaces were about 1/2 inch square. Cut the size I needed and sealed one side with tape. Mixed some clear resin, poured a little in and after it hardened filled it up. Looked real. The grid is handy for other minis too.

Carol

Asphalt Roof: I did an "asphalt" type roof one time without shingles. It was a mansard roof. Just painted it black, and while the paint was still wet, sprinkled it with salt since I didn't have any sand, then put another coat of black paint over it. It was very effective.

S. Cox

Roofing: A good material for roofing (I'm sure others have used it also) is the corrugated cardboard that light bulbs come in. It makes a delightful "tin" roof if you spray paint it silver! You can even antique it by sponging lightly, using rust colored paint. And you can cut it easily to fit practically anywhere!

Roofing

Shutters - You can really hang your shutters in either direction. Originally, they were hung so that when they were closed, the slats pointed down, to keep rain and light out of the rooms. When they were open, then, the slats would point up. Very few people actually have - or use - working shutters anymore, so they are hung with the slats pointing down so rainwater doesn't get behind them and make a mess.

Attaching Cabinets to Walls: Have you tried using the tiny nails available for dollhouses - the kind that are used to make connections in the tape wiring? They come in several lengths. Or, use sequin pins and cut them off to the right length. I would suggest that you use wood glue, with a bit of any kind of instant glue to hold them in place while the wood glue dries. Also, you might try double-sided tape to keep them in place while the wood dries and it can just stay there.

Charlean