Faux Finishes - This site is called "Faux like a pro" and tells you lots about faux finishes (full scale, but useful). However the bit I liked was a section where you can try out different colour combinations for your rooms to see what they will look like. You can select furniture colour and everything. Here is the link:

http://www.fauxlikeapro.com

Barbara B from South Africa

Weathered Copper - Soak a steel wool pad in vinegar for a few days and rub the resultant mess on the copper.

Dottie in Tucson

Gluing Siding - I didn't want to use "Quick-Grab" (which is what just about all the books & experts recommended) as I'm not a quick study and need to be able to fuss around to get things right. I ended up cutting each piece, then holding it temporarily on the side with masking tape. I used good ole Elmer's, spread verrrrrry thinly, and re-taped very firmly. I then hit the exterior with a fine water mist, which kept it from warping as the glue took hold. Laid the house on it's side, covered with waxed paper, and got some good use out of my old encyclopaedias to weigh the siding down for 24 hours. Worked like a charm!!

Sharon in Watsonville

Sanding - I was painting some baseboard (skirting) for one of my room boxes. After giving it the first coat of paint, the grain was raised - as usual - so the surface was really rough. I have always sanded after the first coat and then rubbed the painted wood surface with very fine steel wool. The surface is then smooth and I do a second coat. I remembered that I'd heard quite a long time ago that you can tear a piece off a brown paper bag, crumple it up and rub the rough wood surface to smoothness. Well, I tried it - IT WORKED!! It is a heck of a lot easier, too. I should have tried this when I first heard about it.

Paula in NJ

144th Scale Tips

I wanted to use a finish other than acrylic paint on one of the little metal miniature clocks, so (after washing in dish detergent) and drying, I used one of those gold pens to highlight the clock face. It doesn't really "color" the lead, just has a nice golden glow effect.

Also, I wanted to replace wallpaper in one of the rooms. Such a teeny area - 1 inch square. I always use YES glue (Grandmother Stover's), slightly watered down, as the paste to apply wallpaper. To remove it, I did the same thing, just smeared the same paste over it, let it set for just a little while and the paper simply peeled right off w/ long tweezers. I know there has been discussion about how to remove old wallpaper. This is the easiest way I have found yet and should work for any kind of (wall)paper.

Headboards can be made from a piece cut (very carefully) from an oriental fan, stained w/ a MinWax pen and sealed, and the bed covered w/ a bit of lace. A piece of the fan can also be glued onto the metal dresser to match the headboard. Samples from Lowe's and Home Depot can be used for flooring - I particularly like the crackle effect samples - they come in pink, dark blue, mustard and green. The dark blue/white goes really nice w/ a white "tiled" wall.

Theresa

Making Square Shingles Round: This may be an obvious question, but I have to ask, "Why not just buy fishscale (round) shingles?" Trying to cut square ones seems like a near impossible job. You could take a power grinder, reshape the grinding where to be concave, and then grind the shingles to shape. You would also need to make a support for the shingles that is the same convex shape.

Tom Berkner

Copper Patina: I have a product called "Patina It" that came to me packaged with another called "Blacken It". Blacken does just what you think it does, and "Patina It" makes copper green...that look of "ver de gris" ... or is it "verde gris"...hm. Still looks right.

Anyhoo, it's been a while, but I think I got it from MicroMark. It's very easy to use, the only real caveat is that the copper has to be very clean for it to work evenly. It's made by a company called "A-West", addy is Box 1144, Woodstock, GA, 30188. It is an eye irritant, and bad vapors etc., but it's OK if you use some common sense. Not so much of a vapor problem if you're working on a small miniature area. I've used both solutions on copper African masks that I make, and it works very well.

However, Judy Herman Appelbaum gave a great class using acrylic paints to paint on the same effect, using colors that closely resemble the greens of the copper. They can be applied in a wash to clay pots and urns, turning them into fake old copper. The application of a bit of bronze or copper paint inside helps too.

Dave Pierce

Stone Finish: The best I've ever used to make stone is spackle compound from the hardware or Wal Mart stores. First paint the dollhouse the color you want your grout. With a putty knife, smear on a section of spackle. Then with any type of rounded end object, you will simply draw out your lines which will show the grout. Then you can sponge paint as many colors as you would like to achieve the color of stone. This is good because it is very light weight as opposed to real stone. Also, it has good depth and can be any color you like.

Jinger

Copper Patina: I also do stained glass, and when I patina the soldering joins, I use different products to produce different colors. You can go to any stained glass shop to buy these patina colors. In order for them to be used properly, you will need a cleaner. Try the Flux Remover, which will make completely clean the copper. To use the cleaner effectively, brush it on the copper with a natural fiber scrub brush, rinse, dry, then apply the patina with a cotton ball. Make sure to wear gloves, as the pating is actually a chemical formula which has some form of acid in it. After you patina the copper, clean it with soap and water, followed up by a beeswax based car wax. This will give your patinaed copper a wonderful soft luster, as well as protecting it from further erosion.

Mary Barry

Copper Patina: The fastest way I know to patina copper (or brass, etc.) is to use Rub 'n Buff wax. It comes in a copper patina color and just rubs onto the metal. Looks good too!

Jacqui Marlin

Stone Finish: Depending on your outside soil, we have a lot of shale (flat rocks, that will split in layers) and I applied them with latex caulking, large tube used with a caulking gun, it comes in several colors to give you the mortar. Also could use crushed stone, sold for driveways.

Alice Prsoky

Copper Patina: To age copper without exposing yourself to an explosive situation, there are two options: dip it in sulfuric acid, i.e., battery acid, pull it out very quickly because the acid will eat the copper and rinse it off in water. Or much better, faux age it with shades of green paint applied with a sponge. I believe Michael's and other hobby suppliers carry a "Copper Patina" paint just for this purpose.

Sally Cook-Thomas

Crackling Products. I read just this week in a "real size" woodworking book that good old mucilage (the amber coloured liquid glue with the rubber slanted tip on the end that we used in schools some years back), works like the commercially prepared crackling products. I haven't tried it myself, but I suspect it might be cheaper than other products, and might be easier for some folks to locate. You just substitute it and use it the same as you would the crackle stuff.

Cheryl L.

Hanging Pictures: I want to warn people about using minihold wax for holding pictures on walls. The wax will stain the wallpaper after a period of time. Our museum received 57 roomboxes in a collection where the miniaturist put windows and doorframes in, even baseboards in with the wax. All furniture was waxed in as well as just about everything else. She never glued anything in place. The wax has "bled" into the wallpaper and stained it terribly.

I, myself, glue the stuff to the walls -- after all, when I decide where I want it, I figure it isn't coming down anyway. I tried using the moveable (earthquake) glue and it tore the wallpaper when I decided to remove the picture -- so I went ahead and glued it down. My dollhouse rotates on a turntable so things have to be firmly attached or they fall all over the place. Just my own preference. I did use the moveable glue on the furniture pieces because it really can't ruin the floors -- it will sometimes stick to the floor, but you can peel it right off. I HATE the waxy residue the minihold wax leaves on everything.

Fay in St. Louis

Hanging Pictures: I use good quality double sided carpet tape to attach mini photos, wreaths to the walls in my dollhouse. So far so good. Don't know how easily it would come off of old wallpaper as my Oakmont is still only a few year new/old.

Wilma Kinder

Hanging Pictures: I always use the stuff called "Dap Fun-Tak" to stick my pictures on the wall. It's a reusable blue gummy stuff. I've been using it for years and so far it hasn't marked the wallpaper. It is easy to remove if you decide to move your pictures. I put a small ball of the "Fun-Tak" on the 4 corners of the picture and it holds fine.

I don't like the wax stuff as it is terrible to remove and it doesn't hold if the temperature is warm.

I also use the "Fun-Tak" to hold all my mini accessories in place in my rooms. It hasn't marked the surfaces.

Paula Foerder

Hanging Pictures: My mom's general crafts club do a lot of projects decorating sweatshirts, hats, aprons, etc., and sometimes use an Aleene product called Stick It Again & Again which lets you glue things together but then peel them apart without leaving residue. Maybe that would work better than tacky wax to hang dh pictures, which are pretty lightweight. I plan to borrow some from Mom over the holidays to experiment with.

Loretta Sniarowski

Hinge Idea: For hinges in minis where the hinge does not show, use pieces cut from Postal or Fed Ex overnight envelopes. This material is Tyvek, the same stuff they use as a house wrap in the construction business. It does not tear, takes most inks and dyes. When you look at it closely you can see the random pattern of the fibers. This is not the plastic that other overnight packages come in and it's not paper. It's especially good when working with cardboards, tag board and foam core, because it's lightweight. The Tyvek material will flex over and over and over and not tear. And it folds flat between the furniture parts. If you use it on a child's refrigerator made of wood, you may want to both glue it and tack it with small nails or short pins.

Janine

Removing Adhesives: Hit the nail on the head. To remove any adhesive from any surface ( hard surface) use any thing containing oils; From peanut butter to cooking oil ( any oil will work) and rub gently. It will remove those miserable adhesives used on bar code and price stickers.

Dr. Bob

Finishing Staircase: I've used a stainable wood filler, my favorite is Master Wood Filler by Behlen. It cleans up with soap & water. I've used it in both mini and 'people-sized' wood working projects. The other part of making the staircase look good is sand, sand, sand and sand again, ending with the finest grade paper that you can find. Then use a 'tack-cloth' to remove the dust. I HATE sanding, but it seems to be essential in any woodworking project. A sanding block helps a lot, but my hand still cramps! When mixing stain and paint in the same mini project, I've found that staining and painting, then assembling seems to go best for me. I hope that this is of some help to you.

Patty in CA