Gluing Wooden Furniture: I've been reading the posts on gluing furniture and it finally occurred to me that, when a carpenter making full size furniture glues something together, he does so under pressure, either by clamping things together or by using small nails or screws (which stay in place) to hold the pieces together while the glue sets. It's the glue that keeps the piece together and steady. I use yellow carpenter's glue or one of the tacky glues.

I use the green painter's tape to 'clamp' my minis when waiting for the glue to dry as it doesn't leave a residue on the raw wood. I don't have a power drill yet, so can't easily add a tiny pin to help hold. The clamping is what makes it stay together anyway. That, and removing excess glue. You don't want to use so much glue that the glue is sticking to glue, not the wood. Clamping with the tape forces excess glue out of the join. I also clean up with water, and a little sandpaper after if necessary. I'm bad because I stain my pieces after assembly as I always worry about warping the miniature wood. Qtips or wet toothpicks or a wet old brush are good for washing glue off places your fingers won't go. I push the bits together, clean up, dry with a Kleenex, then tape and clean up again if necessary. The hardest part is, as usual, not fiddling with the thing until it's dry.

Heather in Toronto

Hide-a-bed in cabinet: After a friend asked me how to do the frame for a hide-a-bed I tried to write out in picture and words instructions on how to make the frame. I used one of Michaels unpainted cabinets.
I don't know if there are others that have instructions but thought I would share this page with you.
Hide-a-bed instructions
http://fp3.antelecom.net/frog/mini_hide_bed.html
Ignore the paint on the cabinet I am trying the Crackle effect....LOL

Sclarise

Horsehair mattress - I don't think human hair would make it coarse enough....what about excelsior, that straw like packing stuff and shredding it a bit, it would tend to make it lumpier, the effect you wish to achieve, I think.

Molly Cromwell

Hot tub: I think an above-ground hot tub would be straightforward and inexpensive to make. Get a solid colored porcelain bowl in the appropriate size - tiny dog dish works well as it has the sides slanted outward - or consider a small condiment bowl - in the solid color of your choice, then cut a bunch of thin strip wood to the appropriate length and glue vertically to the outside of the bowl. Most hot tubs of this style seem to be made of unfinished cedar, so that shouldn't be to hard to find....just split into strips and sand a bit for scale... Or you can always use the trusty Starbuck's coffee stirrers (much stronger than the ones you buy in bulk at Sam's Club/Costco) but these will require a bit of stain or color. If you want a bench seat inside, make of the same wood, rather like a stair, with strips for the bench and strips for the support. Stairs leading up to the tub (if necessary) could be made of the same wood. Then stick a few snaps painted appropriately on the sides as water jets...(the little round notions used for sewing) and a tiny painted flat washer for the drain...don't forget the water inlet valve by the drain

Whui

Hot Tub: I didn't see the original post about hot tubs, but here is how I made my 'Mississippi River' hot tub. I used stained mini fencing material ( 1/4' pieces cut from a larger piece) and glued it around a wooden circle (4") gluing them up each side. I had a round bottle inside to keep the shape and used rubber bands around it until it dried. I then put brown bathroom caulking (from a small tube) on the inside to seal it. Since I filled it with 'water' I didn't put in the seats as they would not have been visible as I made the top frothy. I used the banding plastic that holds wires together to band the outside. Didn't like the way it looked so bought a roll of quarter inch copper and molded it over the plastic band. I used the drink straws from the cardboard drink cartons for the pipes on the outside. They have the pleated bend in them. Since our hot tub was done in PVC pipe they were white - so no painting on the straws. Drilled tiny indentations in the wood outside to glue them to and drilled holes completely through a cologne cap that looked like the filter system that was on our real one. Made a ladder from the same material as the sides for the steps. In the setting I made 'Tiki' torches from toothpaste caps and drink stirrers. I filled the caps with the brown caulking stuck the stirrers and some greenery down in it and let it harden. I painted the whole assembly brown. Stuck a piece of tan wool yarn into the stirrer at the top, arranged some flat wheat straw (1 1/2" long) around the outside of the top of the stirrer leaving it just enough above the top of stirrer to conceal it. Wrapped string around it at the bottom. The string started on the stirrer and went up onto the straw about 3/4". Wrapped 2 thin copper wires at even intervals on the rest of the straw I shaped the tip of the yarn to a ragged point and colored it with a black marker. It stuck up above the straw about a quarter of an inch. I was rather pleased with the results.

Carol Shea

Furniture Kits: Kallisti asked about the differences in available furniture kits. House of Miniatures kits and Shenandoah kits are produced by Houseworks and both lines are available through HBS & www.miniatures.com as well as through local miniature shops and show dealers. Almost every piece of these kits is made by the same company in Thailand. The only difference between them is their original designers and the quality of the instructions that come with them. I have been slowly, but surely, re-doing the instructions for all of these kits and it's on an as-needed-phase-in basis so it's hit or miss, depending on which kit you order, as to whether you get the new instructions or not. As I have reviewed these instruction sheets, I have to say the Shenandoah Kitchen and Outdoor Collections have had the worst. The Chippendale, Colonial and Federal Collections have needed few revisions and were pretty darn good to start with; I just improved some of the line drawings and re-formatted them. But, the quality of the individual pieces, no matter what Collection or kit, is excellent! Outstanding, really! I'm not being paid to say these things; this is based on experience.

Sally Cook-Thomas

Different Furniture Types: Yes, there is a difference between Hepplewhite, Chippendale and Queen Anne furniture, some of it subtle some not so subtle. However, none of these styles is Victorian - they are all from the 18th century. While they could possibly be found in a Victorian home as "antiques" they would not be a prosperous Victorian homeowner's first choice. The Victorian era runs from 1835 to 1903 and there were a LOT of styles in architecture, furniture and clothing throughout this period. There were many "revivals" of previous eras, like Gothic Revival and Renaissance Revival. Towards the end of the period there was Art Nouveau and Arts & Crafts. While HOM makes some great kits, they do not make any true Victorian kits. I would suggest you send a LSASE to Fernwood Miniatures, 12730 Finlay Road NE, Silverton, OR 97381 and ask for her free catalogue. Fern makes many Victorian pieces and her work is true reproductions of actual furniture.

Beth

Period furniture: I did some research some time ago and found the following to be the correct periods for the different movements:
Hepplewhite....lots of inlaid wood d-1786
Queen Anne 1702-1713
Victorian 1837-1901
Arts and Crafts 1890-1930
Tudor 1491-1547
Elizabethan period 1558-1602
Renaissance 1420-1600
Most of these periods are during the reign of the families (Tudor, Hepplewhite, Elizabethan) while others are for the sovereign herself (Queen Anne, Victoria). Arts and Crafts and Renaissance are named for the period in which the design(s) were in the making/creating. While some Victorian furniture was made after Queen Victoria's death, it is considered post Victorian. As some of the periods ran at the same time there was much influence from one to another. That is why the subtle difference between some designers furniture. Hope this helps.

Rhonda in Fl

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

Building Furniture: I read your comments regarding a beginner's problems with using tools for making miniature furniture. I have been designing miniatures for many years and these have been regularly published in the British magazine "Dolls House and Miniature Scene". I have recently set up my web site, http://www.smallfurniture.co.uk , and this shows some of the end products. Of possible interest to you may be a few pages on which I have detailed some jigs, techniques and simple hand tools. These pages should be updated over the coming months. Have a look and let me know what you think and suggest specific things that I could include to help you. One of the problems with having been keen on miniatures for a number of years and general woodwork for even longer is that the use of equipment has become normal and it takes a little thought to realize that beginners need a helping hand. Keep trying - practice makes perfect - and you should soon be able to tackle even greater projects.

Neil Helsby

Furniture plans for DIY; Plans? why? the models are all over your house. The first one I ever made was a wooden kitchen chair in 1" scale. I used the wooden chair at the kitchen table as my no cost model. Then I graduated to my own armoire. All I ever used was a folding carpenters rule to get actual size and then reduced it. Only problem I ran into was the projects affected my driving because I was always thinking of how to accomplish this or that instead of thinking about the road.

DrBob

Computer Desk: You asked about a computer desk. I make one that I also sell as a kit. Here is the link: http://www.miniature.net/sdkminiatures/compdesk.htm

Susan

Wing Back Chairs: I made wing back chairs using the instructions in How to Build Miniature Furniture and Room Settings by Judy Beals.

Chris W. in humid Minnesota

Artisan chairs: PHYL in Kentucky asked about artisans who make chairs. My personal favorite is Colin Bird in England, although I don't know about French country, but these are wonderful works of art. Worth a look even if, like me, you are just looking.
http://www.colinbird.co.uk/index.shtml

Barbara B in South Africa

Tea Shop Furniture: I have painted $1 furniture and decorated it with paint or decoupage and it no longer looks quite so cheap. I used clear lacquer to seal and it handles well. I think if you use fancy cocktail toothpicks for the table legs and a heavy cardstock for the tabletops, with linens they ought to do for a tearoom. You could use a similar technique for the chairs, I recall a local sandwich shop (no longer in business:-() that covered the seats and backs of the chairs with print fabric to match the tablecloths. It was very effective because I noticed that none of the tables or chairs would have matched each other otherwise!

Olegator

Tea Shop Furniture: Smuckers jar lids are already gingham patterned; if you use them as your tiny tabletops, you could even set one up as if that table were in the middle of being bused and the new cloth hadn't been laid down yet!

Loretta.Sniarowski

Tea Shop Furniture: I'm wondering if using "fancy, finished" legs glued on a not-so-special table top, all covered w/ a tablecloth and topper would be a way to get small round or sq. tables for the tea room room-box? It seems I could make them all matching in size and finish that way and not spend my grocery money. Any hints for making these?" I think this would be not only a solution, but authentic! I've certainly made IRL tables for myself this way. LOL I wouldn't even worry about consistency. The quaint tea shops I've been to had all different tables, chairs, settings, etc. and it was just charming.

Chrissy the Hyphenated from Upstate NY