Chrysnbon Kits: I've used a number of their pieces and have done the following to eliminate that "plastic" look. On the wood stove, spray with flat black paint after it's constructed (before adding the silver trim). On the white nursery furniture, spray with flat white. On the bathroom white pieces, spray with a white satin enamel. On the wood grain pieces, such as the medicine chest, sewing cabinet and toilet seat, I've used a wide tip permanent brown felt marker. It makes the grain stand out and really looks like wood. Haven't tried it on a chair (trying to get around all those little dowels?) or larger pieces.

Ruth

Chrysnbon kits- I buy these to use in "quicky" or inexpensive projects, because dollar for dollar they are the best looking and most affordable minis you can find. I use the individual pieces in a lot of vignette settings.

I often kit bash with them to make them different and I tend to paint them instead of using their stains. One TIP: use the liquid "plastic weld" type cement instead of the the glue that comes in tubes. You assemble the joint, and just touch with a bit of the liquid which will spread by itself. It melts and fuses the plastic without the messy strings and globs you get with the tube type cement.

Bonnie Gibson

Trunks: Yesterday my friend and I tried making the metal trunks that Katherine Furqueron told us about some digests ago. They are really neat. I used the army trunk pattern from Jim's printables and hung the printout on the window so I could trace the pattern onto the brown paper. (My son came along just as I was finishing and asked why l hadn't taped the brown paper to the printout - save me trying to hold it in the right place all the time - DUH).

We found you really need to hold the paper onto the flame, but keep it moving so you don't get any holes burnt in it. Helen got quite a few, but I suggested to her that she paint them black and put nail polish over the paint and I think it will look quite good!! I got one hole.

Diana in New Zealand

Chrysnbon: I made the Chrysnbon organ last spring, and I was amazed that it did not look plastic when it was finished. I just followed the directions (took me a few tries to get the "tissue thing") and used the "stain" that was included in the kit. I did spray it with two coats of acrylic matte sealer when it was finished. That really made the difference.

Lauren Rein

Hutches: Often it is the knobs that make these little inexpensive hutches look heavy and cheap. They come off pretty easily. Sometimes snapping them off leaves a hole in the hutch. Here is a use for the Dremel - just grind, or sand, them off. I have replaced them with a bead that has a hole. I cut off a "common pin" to the correct length, put it through the hole, and nailed the bead on with that. Or make little colored knobs from Fimo and crazy glue them on. Replacing the knobs makes a big difference. The ones I used had a piece across the top that was big enough to put a decal on. If you plan on decals, they look best if put on a white or very light colored hutch. Water slip decal paper is now available to put through a computer printer.

There are no shelves in the hutches I have but putting in shelves is pretty easy. If you are lighting it to see the treasures inside, put in clear plastic shelves or your light will not show all the way to the bottom shelves. Especially for someone just starting out in the mini world, they can be made to look pretty cute for not very much investment. For me, there was a lot less stress experimenting on them than on a piece that cost a whole lot more.

Terry from the land of Disney

PAINT/Stain: I needed to stain a half inch scale chair. Is it worth setting off the Asthma? I had just finished a miniature stained glass project for the Beach House and picked up the bottle to read the directions. Water soluble and can be used on wood! No smell, and the tiny wood grain shows through. If there is a build up while applying, run a damp brush over it to even it out. Looks just great! Now I've got to find more wood to stain - the mocha was perfect but the green could be dynamite!

Laurie Sisson

Stain is stain. The green glass stain on wood is yummy. It too shows the wood grain, even when tiny. I used it on a maple cutout of a frog as an ornament for my other in-law, and the maple wood grain shows through.

Laurie Sisson

Look on my web site under "Toms Tips" for advice on wiring, shingling, siding, what order to do things, etc. http://www.dollhouse-miniatures.com

Tom Berkner

Lighting Option: I saw a sales circular today for Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse, and they are advertising a 36" cable light for $14.97.  It was pictured as lighting the way down an outdoor staircase, and was is described as flexible, elegant illumination for any indirect lighting use.  I wonder if this can be adaptable to mini use.  I was thinking of running it around a roombox or inside of a dollhouse.  Has anyone seen these?  Apparently, you can plug up to 150 feet of this stuff into a 110 volt household outlet, so one length of 36 inches must be very low voltage and fairly cool to the touch.

Anita Myers

Painting Windows: Many of the Housework's windows have removable panes to make it easier to paint them. If you look at the window, there will be a slot in the top and you can slide the 'glass' out through that slot, paint the window, then replace the pane. Some of the doors have the same type of slot. The mullions on the French doors are also removable so they can be painted separately from the rest of the door.

Dottie in Tucson

Decoupage liquid:  I use the decoupage liquid as a glue and over the top of the fabric or paper as a sealer. The surface I am "gluing" to will have a coat of paint or primer on it so the decoupage liquid doesn't soak in & disappear. This liquid comes in Gloss or Matte,so you can get shiny or dull finishes on paper. It doesn't matter on fabric, as far as my experience goes.

Ann in AZ

Microbrushes: are available at Nancy's Notions. They are great people to deal with. They mostly carry stuff for the seamstress, quilter, etc., but they also have some craft type things. They have a paper catalog that you may obtain also. I have ordered things from them several times. She is in Beaver Dam, WI. http://www.nancysnotions.com/ Another company you might like to try is Clotilde's. http://www.clotilde.com She carries all sorts of sewing and craft items. I think she is out of Florida. Two others you might like are Home-Sew and Newark Dressmaker's Supply. They are both out of Eastern Pennsylvania. Home-Sew has an online catalog and Newark has a paper catalog, but you can order online out of the paper catalog. http://www.homesew.com/ http://www.newarkdress.com/

Marcie

Microbrushes: can be purchased from the MicroMark Catalog p. 70 of Winter 2000 catalog(1-800-225- 1066) Web address: http://www.micromark.com

Priscilla

Heat Gun: I use mine to dry paint (low setting and careful) and to remove old paint (dries it and loosens it from the wood - again, very careful!).  I can't really visualize it for bending Plexiglas - a better way is to make a hot wire on a board (protect the wood) with two thin pieces of wood on each side.  This gives you a straight line of heat and the plexi is heated and bent along this 'path'.

Jacqui in Hilo, HI

Aging fabric, plastics and woods with files: I don't know how many of you use files in making miniatures. I use them  for almost all phases that require finishing. Wood, plastic, metals etc.  I even use them on fabrics to age them. This brings me to my hint.

Many things clog up files and many people toss the file when it seems to be useless. I find mine plugs up with solder or lead when I am working those metals. Also I find them plugging up when I am finishing the edge of wood or a piece that has been glued.  Many times super glue or epoxy get into the teeth of the file or even rust.

There are brushes called file cards that are available to clean files. These are  flat wire brushes with very short bristles on them. Supposedly they take out the dirt and stuff. I find these don't always work.

Here is my hint. Use a short length, about two inches, of 1/4' brass rod. Chuck it into the handle for and X Acto saw. File the end to a flat wedge shape.  Not a cone.  Now hold on flat side so most of the point and one side is in contact with the file teeth, sideways. Push the brass back and forth across the file, with the length of the file teeth until the file makes a bunch of little ridges in the brass. You will notice as these ridges form they ride in the teeth grooves and cleans all the trash out.  It even works to remove  heavy rust from the file. In the end you have a clean sharp file again. I have used this method to save some really bad looking files I got at a Flea market with box of other tools.

Bill Hudson, Eugene, Oregon

Wallpaper Glue: Yes paste (actually a bookbinders glue) is wonderful for wallpaper. Spread it on the back of you wallpaper, using an old credit card (do NOT thin it first, adding water defeats the NON-stretching qualities of the glue) just thick enough to make it look shiny. Then put the paper on the wall and smooth it out using another (or at least clean the same one first) card.

Instead of the credit card, we buy the auto body filler spreaders from the local auto parts store.

Tom Berkner

Yes Glue: Yes and "Grandma Stovers" are the same thing. It is what Brooke uses and I have had best luck with it by thinning it to the consistence of thick honey. Be sure when you brush it on your paper (I use one of those .68 throw away brushes about 1" wide but don't throw it away LOL) just brush up and down. The paper stretches when wet and if you go in all directions you will likely have ripples. This has been my experience and my good teacher teaches this. After paper is applied I use a brayer to smooth it down but also an old CC works.

I have even used Yes (Grandma Stovers) on places where my real wallpaper border stubbornly refused to stick..worked great! LOL When I use regular prepasted wallpaper I usually make a very thin mix of this and use it to wet the wallpaper then wait a couple minutes before putting it in. Has done a good job for me. I use more "real" wallpaper and parts thereof then "miniature" wallpaper.

Personal preference. If you look at the rooms I have done I think only 3 had miniature paper in them.

Ceilings I have found great textured paper at Home Depot...usually they will give you a large enough "sample" to do a ceiling...Have used textured art papers from art store and part of a roll of early 1900 paper we found in an old rental we bought. It is absolutely perfect! (Though have to handle with care until glue's in). Bet you all wanted to hear this.. LOL Anyhow this is my 2 cents worth!

Carpeting is from my "collection" of upholstery fabrics. Whenever I find a wonderful piece I buy a chunk and I think a textured or pattern carpet helps keep a room interesting. You can even combine them by cutting the center out of a square and inserting another piece in the "hole" trim in between with Bunka and around the outside with fringe or bunka and you have a wonderful "new" look

Anita McNary-Haynes

Shingle-glue/tape wire paint: I used Liquid Nails for my cedar shingles.  It comes in a tube and you just apply it to the roof, and then sort of put the bottom of the shingles in it.   I did also stain all my shingles before putting themon.  I put some stain in a plastic container, put as many shingles as I could in the stain, let them sit for the allotted time, and them strained the paint into another container.   Put shingles in the second container and wiped off the first batch and did that until all that I needed were done.    The roof is on my website below on my Little house on the prairie post office. Traci, I also stuccoed over the roof and the tape wire in the post office and the electricity still works! So paint should be no problem!

Isabel Allen

Cleaning up: I just used a pair of latex surgical gloves while staining a 1/2-inch scale bookcase.  I wish I had thought of this a year ago!  No stained fingers, easy clean up...(just throw the gloves away - they are very cheap) and I could apply the stain with a cloth rather than a brush. For those of you in Oz they are made by Ansell and are called Conform (natural latex disposable gloves)... I got them at Franklins near the regular rubber gloves.  I could feel what I was doing and still kept my fingers clean... it is so simple I can't believe I never thought of it before.

Charlene

Dollhouse Preparation: I too have a Duracraft and was advised to put a primer coat on every piece even before construction. I did that with a name brand white flat paint and then some sanding on the inside. It has worked beautifully. The only thing you need to watch for is glue that may have dripped and dried before you saw it. This happened in a small area on my house and it took some elbow grease to sand it off. I will be more careful next time.

Barb in PA