Painting without brush marks:  Try a fan brush.   Varnish (unless it's really a thick coat...) isn't "given" to making profound brush strokes. It has a viscosity that settles out when it begins to dry, eliminating the brush strokes.) Acrylic can leave the brush strokes if you're using the wrong brush. A fan brush should solve your problem. Choose the finest grade you can afford, you'll be glad, they last a long time. Outside of 00 and 000 brushes, for all large coverage areas I use a fan brush. Stay with the acrylic...just try a different brush.

Sherise

Wallpaper/Fabric on Exterior: I have an Arthur that gave me such a fit when I got ready to shingle it (you know how easily the tab & slot houses get "out of square") that I wallpapered the roof with a pattern of climbing roses and cut out climbing roses to glue onto the sides so they looked like they climbed up and then just ran amok on the roof. I then painted it with three or four coats of modge podge to give it a bit of "body" (and overcome the "wallpapered" look), and was very satisfied with the results. I don't know why you couldn't do the same thing with the whole house, and imagine on a small house like the sweetheart it would give a wonderful "fantasy finish". I have a fat square from Joann's that is a pond scene (non-repeated) that I can envision being used for just such a purpose, and of course there are some pretty interesting full-sized wallpaper borders out there that feature scenics. We were in SC recently and I saw another small house in a shop that had been painted a very dark green all over and then had one-stroke roses and other flowers painted all over it -- it was really striking, and made the little house quite an impressive "residence." I think I'd give your idea a try -- and if worse comes to worse and you don't like the effect you can always pull off the paper or fabric. Build On!

Dayle in MD

Wallpaper from USA: http://www.itsybitsymini.com/ I have bought from this lady and she will post to the UK. She stocks papers I haven't seen over here. She makes bedding sets, bedspreads etc to match the paper or you can buy the matching fabric.

I have wasted a lot of time recently visiting websites or eBay pages mentioned on this list only to find that they will only ship to the USA. Perhaps people could mention this when they post details of their items for sale?

Frances in Southport, UK

Newspaper wallpaper: Joe Hermes P.O. Box 4023 El Monte, CA 91734 Catalog $3.

He has the newspaper wallpaper and many others too. Also has 1/4 paper that looks like wood floors. As far as I know has no e-mail or WEB page. Nice man with nice wife.

Bobbie in Los Angeles

Wallpaper that looks like newspaper: J. Hermes makes it. We have it. Earth and Tree Miniatures http://www.dollhouse-miniatures.com

Tom and Kari

Farmhouse fireplace - these were often made from the big rocks taken out of the fields while plowing so I would say - use real stones! I've tried this and love the results but the finished piece is heavy so I wouldn't place it on a second floor - lol! We made a simple wood fireplace, glued on real rocks from the driveway, let them dry then filled in the seams with dry Waller’s mud. When that dried, we gray washed it to look like cement (acrylic gray & water to thin) and glued a wooden mantel on the top. When gluing on the rocks, you'll want to be sure they are flush with the top (so the mantel sits level) and the back (so it sits against your wall). We left the inside of the hearth plain wood and painted it black, placed some sticks for logs on the bottom then used a painted square of window screen as the fireplace screen.

Lauriel of Belara Beach Original Miniatures

Farmhouse fireplace: I think a fieldstone fireplace would look appropriate. I have been collecting pebbles around the yard for one of these and plan to adhere them with lightweight joint compound. Does this sound feasible or is there a better method?

Maria

Fieldstone: I did the fieldstone look on Hagatha's Hut, and I used tissue paper and latex paint the color of the base. I put an inch square torn single ply piece of tissue on top of an irregular blob of the paint, then used a stiff brush to work the rest of the tissue onto the blob, using more paint as necessary to make the tissue adhere in a fieldstone like shape. Leave mortar space between your 'stones' already painted the right color by the latex base. When finished, paint the 'stones' gray and stipple with black, moss green and dirt brown. Worked for me, and was very inexpensive, although, labor intensive. I used regular latex interior house paint picked up from the local Home Depot for the base color. I bought a quart, but this is the second dh I have used it on and I still have lots left.

Eileen in St Louis

San Franciscan Turret: I'm making a Duracraft San Francisco kit. The girl's room is the whole third floor. When I got to making the turret, I didn't cut it the inside walls. Instead I added another wall piece to the middle inside wall section of the turret, and used some of the scrap wood to make an entrance way. The piece I used was around where you punch out the upper most window which is shaped in a oval. So it is a private little room, most of which can only been seen from looking in the windows. Alex, the girl who lives in this room, was annoyed with her aunt for wall papering the room with flowered paper and painting it pink. In return she painted the turret inside walls with vines and flowers. the ceiling is a piece of sky patterned computer printing paper.

Inside the turret, under the roof, at the top it is painting black with star stickers stuck on. You can see inside the turret by opening one of the roofing flaps. That's where the Borrowers live. I was rather pleased with myself for thinking that. The Borrowers also live in the attic.

Laura Bentley

Paper Flooring: To keep paper 'flooring' from bleeding through when glued down to the floor, I simply spray EACH side of the paper with two or three LIGHT coats of clear sealer. (BOTH sides MUST be sealed), allowing each coat to dry for about 20-30 minutes between coats. Hold the can of spray sealer at least 12-18 inches from the paper as you spray, especially the first spray. The key with this method is to keep the coats very light and do two or three coats instead of one heavy coat. You can choose any finish you like, from matte to high gloss. It takes a little time, waiting for the sealer to dry completely, but I've found that this method works every time, without fail, even with the thin scrapbook paper. If you want a high shine, use a clear sealer with a high gloss. Sometimes, the high gloss sealer is enough in itself to provide the shine you want. But once the paper is properly sealed, you can then glue it down and paint whatever 'finish' medium you want on it, without worrying about colors or print soaking through. I've also found that this method works on wood that I don't want warped by the use of water-based glues and paints. I hope this works for you, if you haven't already found another method you like better.

Shirley in Chesapeake, Virginia

Wallpaper in America: Itsy Bitsy Minis sells some nice prints, and they have matching fabric too. They do ship internationally too. I just checked. http://www.itsybitsymini.com/index.htm

Kassy, Bristol, CT

How to add wonderful scale wood "graining" to cheap wood (like the kind of wood left over form dollhouse kits). This works great for furniture.

1. Paint the wood with a very light yellow (I used Cream Coat's Cornsilk yellow), try for at lest two coats.

2. Let dry completely for a day.

3. Pour on a few drops of any color wood stain, take a large, flat brush and lightly run down it (in the way you want the "grain" to go), when your done before it dries you can add wood knots and all sorts of wood swirls by VERY lightly using the same flat brush. I would suggest to study some real good wood and reproduce the wood swirls. It's easier than you think, just try if you mess up you can quickly go over the whole thing with the brush and try again.

4. Let dry and seal with a high-gloss sealer. Or leave unsealed for a more rustic touch.

I hope your project turns out wonderful! I had great success with this, it was very easy!

Anna Hart

Floor Boards: We can get a hardwood board edging here that is wonderful for hardwood flooring - and very cheap too. If you buy a faced board from somewhere like Home Depot, the cut edges will look like the chipboard that the board is made of. The edges can be disguised by gluing or ironing on a precut wood strip - like veneer, but already cut into widths about 1 inch wide. Some stores may do this for you - but it is available by the roll here.

I buy the 1 inch strip, and cut it into two or three strips lengthwise depending on how wide I want my boards to be. I always buy the pre-glued variety, as the little dried glue droplets help stabilize the board and stop the veneer from splitting or cracking. If you cut short lengths at a time it cuts quite easily - I use scissors. Then I take a sheet of thick cardstock the size I want the floor to be, and lay strips of double sided tape all over - especially around the edges. Then lay the boards in whatever pattern you like - you could easily cut small rectangles and lay as a parquet floor if that took your fancy.

When the floor is complete, I iron it for extra stability, then put it under a flat weight to cool. Then, you need to sand and sand and sand until the floor is smooth - a bit of wood filler might be needed if there are any cracks between the boards. Finally polish or varnish as desired.The results can be beautiful, cheap - and real hardwood.

Lesley, South Africa

Stair Rods:  I used brass rods that I bought quite inexpensively at the local hobby/model shop. They come in pieces about 12 inches long, and are fairly easy to cut with wire cutters. They come in various thicknesses. I don't remember what gauge I bought--just the one that "looked right." Micromark also carry them http://www.micromark.com   but you have to buy a pack of them. The hobby shop sold them individually so you just buy what you need.

Elizabeth

Stair Rods: When my Mom did her dollhouse, she bought a long piece of tapestry ribbon that was about 2 1/2" wide and glued it down her stairs. She did have to cut it in places to fit, as the stairway curved some, making some of the steps wider on one side than the other. Then she cut small brass rods and glued a gold bead on each end, for the stair rods.

Paulette in IN

Stair Rods: I've added two new pages to my website, one showing how to make stair rods and their holders, and another showing how to install the runner on your staircase. If you can't find a suitable ribbon for your staircase, I also welcome custom orders for runners especially designed for the width of your staircase (no, they're not standard!!) and style of your house. Weevings Miniature Handwovens http://weevings.com

Bonni in NH

Suede Paint: Someone posted a question the other day asking what a possible mini-use for suede paint might be...How about for flocked wallpaper? You could use a stencil pattern - just a thought : )

Lyn

Wallpaper:  here is a site with lots of printable wallpaper.  http://www.geocities.com/boopmini40/

Marian

Bricks: I rolled paper clay out thin (about 1/8" thick) and used the sawed off part of a disposable bristle brush that Rik provided at the class, and pounced it over the clay surface to give it a used and porous look. You can even gouge it a little here and there for a really used look. Then I used the little wooden thingy that Rik provided at the class to divide the clay into brick pieces. Of course you don't know what little wooden thingy I'm talking about. It's a thin wedge of wood with tapered edges. You can use the edge of a putty knife too. I was just too lazy to go out in the shop and look for it, LOL.

Now paper clay shrinks so I divided mine into rectangles,1/2" by 1", and they shrunk up okay for my immediate use. One day I will most likely experiment around until I get the right size raw, to shrink down to the right size dry. The trick is to divide the bricks first and let the clay dry, because as it dries, it separates at the cut edges.

I forgot one thing: it sticks so roll it out on a piece of glass, marble, or granite so that you can ease it up with a putty knife when its dry. The neatest thing is when it dries it shrinks like I said, and the bricks almost break themselves apart. Now that it is all dry you can apply you paints and washes, and Voila, you have some pretty nice bricks. I bet someone else has a better idea, but this worked for me.

Carol Wagner, Joshua Tree

Bricks: You could try using a thin slab of styrofoam (NOT the kind that has little "balls" in it) by scoring across it with a pencil, and then alternating vertical lines to look like bricks. Now paint across in a brick color. The scored section can be painted grey or left white.

Viola