Decoupage:I have never used modge podge and have made lots of things. If you can it's better to use a varnish such as estapol and a lot of coats before sanding, at least six. After that use wet and dry sandpaper dipped in water with a little washing up liquid and sand lightly in a circular motion. Dry thoroughly and apply another coat of varnish. You can do this for as many coats as it takes, more if the paper is thicker but if you are doing it in miniature, the thinner the paper the better. Water based varnish can also be used but needs more coats, gentler sanding, but doesn't yellow your paper. Hope that's helped

Julia

Estapol: Julia suggested a product called 'Estapol ' - which is an Australian product. It is a polyurethane varnish. (There is a water based version as well) I forget what the US brand names are for the same thing (& I used to use the stuff, too)

Charlene in wintry Canberra

Decoupage: I have done quite a bit of decoupage in my life, and I +think+ the problem just may be that you need a few more coats of the Modpoge. I used to wet-sand between every other coat of finish and put on as many as 20 (!) coats to get an absolutely smooth finish. But, was it smooth? You bet! Don't give up, it just takes awhile, and the thicker the paper you used for decoration, the more coats of finish will be required, which is why we usually spray the top of the print to seal it and then carefully remove several layers of paper from the back before we start. Does this make sense?

Marian in New Bern, NC

Decoupage: I did a lot of decoupaging in the 70's and basically one has to "sink the print". This means you apply several coats of varnish, letting them dry between coats. Then you take fine grade wet/dry sand paper, wet it slightly and you carefully rub it across the print portion of the design but NOT the outlying area, taking care not to rub through to the actual design. Then you add more coats of varnish and repeat the process. Eventually, the design will seemingly "sink" because you are not sanding the surrounding area and thus the edges have disappeared.How many coats you will need will depend on the varnish. Water based is thinner and will take more than oil based varnishes.

Jeanette in Wisconsin

1/8" Plywood Edges: As for those naughty Greenleaf projects and sealing the window edges, etc., I share this from Kate who used to own a local mini shop ....... quit sanding that nasty wood. You'll just make it worse. Pick off the worst of the splinters, sand a bit and then, using your finger fill in the holes with regular Elmer's glue, then sand off the excess glue. Works great.

Paula

SW Adobe: Do you want this house to look realistic, or is a southwest fantasy look ok? That's inexpensive, easy, and not as heavy as spackle. Cut your doors to the right size, fill the extra windows with wood blanks "mortared" into place with wood filler (tape inside to hold till dry, then fill from inside), smooth out, and dry. Cover the roof and anything else you don't want in adobe finish with masking tape. Sand and wipe down the walls, then apply spray faux granite finish paint in a tan or beige tone. Instead of using the recommended clear gloss acrylic top coat to fix the spray paint, use a clear matte acrylic. It looks like stucco or adobe. I use this a lot to rehab cheap kits. It's very attractive, although the walls won't have the depth of real adobe. Several brands of this paint are available; WalMart has a cheapie that works well and offers large color choice. One can will cover the exterior of a four to six-room house.

Loretta.Sniarowski

SW Adobe: I don't know just what type Spanish House you are trying to do. If it is something like the southwest adobe type house it easy to build one. Use 1 inch Styrofoam sheets and cut out the walls. Decide where you want your windows etc and then glue it. I used real sautilo tile that is available in scale for 1 inch. Paint the interior white and the outside a sandy color. This may give you some ideas.

Ruth Morey, Corpus Christi

Stucco: I have been reading about stucco and the use of spackle compound. Thought; I recall our house (real size) had stucco on the top 1/2. It was white and had a "grit" to it. Therefore; What about painting the sides of the dh with glue and sprinkle on fine sand. After it all dries, remove any loose sand, then paint white. Seems to me the effect should be the same as if you used spackle. Appears too easy, what am I missing here? If you insist on the full texture of stucco, how about very fine paper pulp then place the sand on. Much less weight.

DrBob...Delray Beach, FL.

Stucco: Another thought: How about mixing the sand right in the paint... and paint with that sandy-paint? Some stucco homes seem to have tiny bits of broken colored glass in it. If you do that, be sure to put the glass pieces into a bag and smash with a hammer while it is in the bag to protect yourself from flying glass. When the bag tears, you'd need to replace it. Or better still, just use glitter for the "glass".

viola

Stucco: I have a dollhouse that I used stucco on. It's an English Tudor. I purchase stucco especially for a dollhouse. Of course, this has been a few years ago, but it was wonderful. It was like frosting a cake. I wish I could remember the company that made it, but I can't. You could put paint in it to color it. If it wasn't gritty enough you could put sand, purchased at a paint store (used for ceilings). I just used it as is. They must still have stucco for DH's. If I recall, it wasn't very expensive. It went a long way. Otherwise, I think you could use a very thick paint they make for ceiling that you put sand in. Not the sand paint already mixed because it isn't very thick, although a few coats of that might work. My girlfriend used sand paint on her dollhouse because she was afraid to try the stucco. It's very easy though.

Knitwhit43

Stucco: My first house was the Coventry Cottage by Greenleaf......I wanted a "Tudor" look to the cottage. So I used regular drywall compound and stippled it on with a stencil brush. I just spread some on the side of the house with a spatula (yes I used an old one) then stippled it. Took a while but it looks to scale - no big peaks etc.

Vi in Hamilton, just south of the equator

Stucco: The outside stucco on our big live in house has a coat of stucco as a surface coat, then very small crushed rock or stones are thrown on it when still wet- I think pressed on in some way, and it makes for a unique finish - this was a must have when our new home was built in Alberta Canada, this is a unique finish that we did not see in our former province of Manitoba Canada.

Ron Saunders

Filling in window openings: If you remember that mini projects are only the real world on a small scale - you will answer many of your own questions. A handyman will fill the open area in a home by inserting new reinforced sheet rock. For you the same may be done with Bristol board, a piece of wood the same thickness as your wall, a cut out from foam core, etc. Cut it to fit the opening by holding an index card to the back side of the space, trace the measurements from the right side. Now cut out your pattern being sure to cut on the outside of your line. Now glue your patch in place. You may use household spackle to fill any cracks then prime and sand the wall with gesso. I gave a tip a short while ago about using crumpled tissue for wall treatments.

Becky

new doors and windows: I rebuilt my exe's dollhouse that her father made for her when she was a little girl. He just cut holes in the walls for windows and doors. We glued pieces of wood the same dimensions as each wall to the existing wall, having first marked out new windows and doors where we wanted them, and of the size that would take manufactured ones. We then cut out the new holes in both walls with a jig saw. We filled in the old holes with the same thickness of wood of the original walls and used wood filler for the gaps and sanded smooth before painting. By adding additional pieces of walls you will make them look thicker, just like the old Spanish buildings. As for the "stucco", you might want to try some lightweight spackling compound, used to repair cracks in wallboard. This is available at any paint store, hardware store or Wal-Mart. Try it on some scrap wood first to get the look you want. A one inch putty knife should work OK as an applicator. You can then paint it the color you want.

Spencer

Wallpaper Adhesive: One mistake that I made on my dollhouse was to put wallpaper up with spray adhesive. It was so easy and went on so well. Imagine my disappointment when, after a few days, all the wallpaper started falling off the walls. One good thing did come out of it, though. I realized that the wallpaper I was using in some of the rooms was way too dark to achieve the look I wanted. I got a second chance without having to scrape off the stuff I didn't like. I used bookbinder's glue the second time and it is still holding. Thanks to all the Small Stuffers for that advice. I should have listened to them the first time.

Terry T. in WV

Mortaring Brick/Stone: For years I've used plain cement for mortaring bricks and stones. Of course, it's gray and you have to buy a 50 pound bag. LOL Enough to share with all your friends for a lifetime. I still use this on occasion. BUT . . . I just took the Brook Tucker Kitchen Class. Even though I've been building for many years, I always learn something new from her. This is what she did for the grout in the plastic sheet for flooring.

Buy Lightweight Spackle (sometimes called "shrink-free spackle" at your local hardware store. It's like working with whipped cream. Mix in a little acrylic paint, color of your choice. I apply with a putty knife but I also take my fingers and press it in well. Wipe with a wet sponge til it's just left in the grout lines. When totally dry, spray with an acrylic sealer.

Ruth, Grass Valley, CA

Wallpapering: I have never applied glue to a wall. I always apply it to the paper. This is the only way I get the glue evenly spread out. If I apply the glue from the left to the right of the paper, when I attach it to the wall, I move my brayer in the opposite direction - top to bottom. Why don't you experiment with postage size squares made from the scraps cut off of your JLB paper? Final thought, did you seal the walls? I always prime the surface because the texture of the woodgrain can vary the way the glue adheres. Check the label on your glue bottle for recommendations.

Becky Holliday

Stucco: I want to stucco my new dh, a creamy white colour. Now my way is to get some powdered filler, and then mix water and powder paint to the colour I want before mixing it into the Polyfilla with a bit of pva (for stickability). This is satisfyingly messy and keeps me busy for hours! Does anyone know of an easier way of doing this without expending vast sums on new stuff? I'm thinking that this method is OK (and strangely satisfying) for big projects, but it would be nice to do it for small projects too.

Lynne Connolly

Stucco: I made up stucco with paint, a blob of white glue and some fine sand. for a finer stucco paint, talcum powder and white glue, and for a rough Mediterranean look paint layers of tissues and more paint. let dry between layers then add more.

Julia, Crafty Lady

The stucco method that has worked very well for me is -
1) latex paint a primer coat the color of choice.
2) using same latex paint, mix small amounts of paint and plaster-of-Paris to a frosting consistency.
3) use a 3/4 inch "trowel" for texturing. Keep the thickness of the mixture to a minimum. All you want is the trowel marks. (its easy to let the mixture build up to an 1/8 inch or more thickness. Keep it thin).

Prime some scrap wood and play for a while before starting the house. An old table knife, the metal or plastic lid of a coffee can or just about anything can be formed into a trowel. Suggested length would be 3/4 to 1".

Jon