Widows Walk Flat Roofing: I would do it the same as my parents' roof. It is tarred wiyh small gravel attached. To get the same look as that, paint sand paper, then you can sponge paint different colors for the variety of rocks used or just do straight black/grey.

Lisa Lynn

Metallic Creams: If you wish to change a metal color, such as a frame for pictures, you can purchase buffing wax creams from craft stores. They are used to give different finishes to wood items, and are used mostly on picture frames. Just wipe the cream on the piece, and you have an entirely new look. I moved into a 1930's house, which had a huge yellow plastic medicine cabinet. I primed it with gesso, painted it black, then rubbed in silver cream. It looks spectacular! Just like an old, tarnished silver frame. These cream waxes come in all shades of gold, silver, black, white, copper and bronze - great item.

Mary Barry

Bronzing Powders: If you wanted a sparkly look, such as gold flecks in Formica, use bronzing powders. I apply a coat of paint or varnish to item, and then blow some of the powder onto the wet finish. Be very careful not to inhale the powders though! You could also mix the powder into the polyurethane, which makes a transparent metallic surface that almost looks like the metal is floating on the surface.

Mary Barry

Sand paint: I use a sand paint on my Southwest roomboxes. I make it from a very fine grain sand that I get from a hillside here in Taos, NM. I add it to a very good quality wate- based paint and stir it in well. I test the "look" of the paint by brushing some on a piece of scrap in a circular motion and continue adding sand as needed. The paint should be stirred every so often to keep the sand in suspension. I sell this paint in 1/2-pint cans in a Navajo White and Desert Sand. Two coats usually do the job. Normal beach sand is usually too course to look "in scale" for miniatures, so I would suggest getting some mortar sand from a concrete company near you, if possible. I think that if you smear the outside with glue and then spread sand on it, the paint might not stick on the dried glue.

http://TaosSunMiniatures.com

Spencer Stall

Shingling Angles: Don't know if you all are aware of this but we do something when we weave a valley when shingling a gable, etc. We cut a group of shingles diagonally, works best with rectangular as you can use both sides, and start from the inside. It makes the weave line up perfect and you can judge when you get close to the end whether you need to adjust a shingle or two towards the edge of the roof. We find this saves quite a bit of time. Hope someone finds this helpful, I know we like to do it this way.

Rick & Bonnie

Shingles: Water-based products and dollhouse shingles don't mix. To apply shingles, use a glue like QuickGrab. To stain shingles, use an oil-based stain. Fun tip: get a large freezer bag, pour in a couple of ounces of stain, toss in handfuls of shingles, zip-lock the top of the bag and shake until the shingles are evenly coated. Sprinkle the shingles out of the bag onto several thicknesses of newsprint and let dry.

Sally Cook-Thomas

Shingles: How To's/Hints: Cutting and staining: Some years ago I found a pair of hand-held shrubbery shears at my Home Depot, for about $5.95. They are the tool I have used to cut shingles. Mark your shingle with a dark pencil line, and use a quick or fast cutting motion. Once you have got the first perfect one, mark it as your pattern, on both sides so you don't glue it on the roof by mistake (can you tell I have done that before?)

I use any stain from the local home improvement store or hardware store to stain shingles. How to stain shingles: Start with an empty plastic gallon milk jug. Cut off the top portion with the handle. Poor in all of your stain. Now put in a handful of shingles and stir, remove and lay out on newspaper to dry. The drying takes about 24 to 48 hours, and then you are ready to start your shingle installation. You can also dunk a few shingles in the stain can prior, and let them set in the stain for 15 to 20 seconds to test the color. I do this 4 to 5 times, with different lengths of time. The longer they are in the stain, the darker the shingle will become. Be sure to write down the time you used in your test, let the shingle dry and choose the color you prefer.

Andy

Dying shingles: The best method to dye shingles depends on the effect you are looking for. If you just want colored (or darkened) shingles, then dying them in a container (plastic bag, milk jug, etc) is the best way to go. If you are trying to make an 'aged' roof, then you need to dye them after they are on the roof. For an aged look, use subtle variations in shade, and you need streaks. Streaks must go for several rows, not just one shingle, and color variations are over areas, not each shingle, which is the reason for doing it on the roof. Things that cause the variations and streaks are chimneys, vent pipes, TV antennas (don't see many on dollhouses), exposed nails, areas that are under the overhanging trees, different exposures (north vs. south), valley and hips, little piles of debris caught in the valley.

I don't like the oil-based stains, because they are messy, hard to clean up after, and slow drying. The water-based stains solve these problems, but often cause the thin wood to warp. Alcohol-based stains/dyes overcome all these problems (water clean-up only). If you obtain a dye that is not premixed, you can start out with a lighter color, covering the entire roof, then add more pigment, and overcoat some areas, add more pigment and repeat. You can add still more pigment and brush on streaks as appropriate (or as you like).

Tom Berkner

Applying and staining shingles: On my log house, I glued the wood shingles down with carpenters glue. After it dried for a few days decided to stain them as the color matched the logs too closely. At Michaels I purchased a color stain in regency red made by "Anitas." I used a small 1/2" brush and carefully started at top of ridge of the roof. Had no problem with runs and love how it turned out. Doing it this way the shingles didn't warp from wetness as they were tightly glued down.

Alice Prosky

Coffee Stirs Flooring: I saw Viola's post about using wooden coffee stirs for plank flooring. It works great. Here's how I got mine.

When I wanted some wooden stirs to do the flooring I went into Starbucks coffee and asked if they would sell me a box. The woman said that she was sorry but unfortunately she wasn't able to sell them - but she could "give" me some. So, she stuffed a little bag full!

Paula Foerder

Brick Embossed Paper: It can be ordered from Miniature Corner in Jeannette, Pennsylvania. I think it is made by the Noch company. It comes in two sizes.,

Dottie

Free Wood: I have found a great supply of "free" beech wood. I wanted something for my porch floor that would like 1x12 planking lumber, and discovered that painter's stir sticks work just great for that. My porch is beautifully warped looking as each stick was not "perfect" to the next, but it's the look I want. I have also used them to make shelves and other small items. They take paint beautifully and as long as the back can't be seen, the advertising printed on one side doesn't matter. Maybe your local paint store doesn't have printing on them, if so, so much the better. The best things in life sometimes ARE free!

Sharon Begley

Frost on the roof: Jeanette was wondering how to get a frosty look on Santa's workshop roof. We recently did a Victorian English street scene with Christmas carolers under a lamp, facing into a house front with a cozy living room. We wondered how to get that cold icy look too and came up with Epsom Salts. Just spread tacky glue on the roof and sprinkle liberally with the salts. The excess can be gently removed and saved for another time. It has worked well so far but wondering how it will react when we get the humid weather we generally have at this time of the year.

Cecile

Wallpaper: I have used prepasted as instructed (wet paper). Very successful for about 4 years and still looking good. I have used wallpaper that needs to be pasted also. I put the paste on the walls directly. Be sure you have the paper cut and ready to apply. I had better control of the paste this way and it didn't get all over the finished ceiling and floor. I applied this with my fingers and in the tight corners I used a scrap of thin wood to smear it around. Just put a thin even coat---no lumps. Plus the paper was easier to handle when it was not full of paste. I used the wallpaper paste sold by mini shops.

Elise

For a cobblestone roadway I glued down hundreds of split peas, rounded side up, then painted a dark gray and dry brushed with a mixture of black and brown. Sprinkled with Epsom Salts which fall into the crevices, it looks great.

Cecile

Wallpaper: Joe Hermes puts out a sheet of tiles in red or blue embossed on paper that feel three-dimensional. It is about $5 per sheet, but works very well.

Dottie

Wallpaper: I always paste the wall not the paper. The paper remains relatively dry, and thus doesn't stretch. Use a plastic card like a credit card and use it to smooth the paper when it on the wall and remove air-bubbles. I often put a separate sheet of paper between the wallpaper and the 'credit card' to protect the surface of the wallpaper.

Tracey

Snow:  I have made snow in mini scenes in several ways.
1. Baking soda poured over a thick coat of tacky glue, with some ultrafine white glitter added for sparkle.
2. Spackle painted white.
3. Above with Sno-Tex added on top.
4. Plastic snow sold by gift shops that carry Dept. 56 collectible villages.
All give a realistic snow effect.

Beth

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

Night Skies & Stars: My friend Winnie made fireworks by making pinholes in the box, and threading fiber optic strands through the holes. She melted the tip of each fiber to make it bulkier so it shows up better, then attaching groups of fibers to different-colored blinking lights (I'm not sure how she did this part). Wonderful effect, would work for stars, too.

Fabric might be a little difficult, as it tends to let a lot of light through. Maybe if you started with a very heavy, dark blue silk, and burned the holes into it with a heated needle. Or paint some fabric with acrylics (to block the light), maybe shading from pale green to deep blue (like Maxfield Parish's skies), then make the holes...?

Lee Menconi