Hutches: If you take one of those little inexpensive hutches you are bashing and drill a quarter inch hole in it, one of the light bulb, cord and plug units sold by Houseworks (#2215, "Screw-Base Bulbs" - two to a package) fits the hole exactly. You take off the plug, put it through the hole, and replace the plug. A little touch of glue (not sensitive to heat) will hold it in there - actually, it will stay in without it. I've drilled the hole in the top, and in the back of them. The model of hutch I work with has a design piece mounted on the top which hides the cord coming out of the top; the doors have no "glass" in them at all. I put "stained glass" in the hutches I make - the light behind the glass makes a lighted hutch with stained glass doors. I've seen some very pretty ones done with tiny print fabric or lace mounted in the cabinet doors, gathered on wooden toothpicks and glued to the inside.

Terry

Broken Leg on furniture: The way I repaired a new piece right out of the box was to take a needle, push it into the center of the leg, cut off leaving 1/4", being careful as cut piece may fly, add glue and push leg back into where it broke off. Hope this works the same for you.

Alice P.

Broken Leg on Furniture: I use Superglue gel, not the plain Superglue but the gel. I get it in Wal-mart and it's very reasonably priced.

Carol

Broken Leg on Furniture: I always peg a leg by inserting a small dressmaker's pin, then cutting it off with my wire cutters, or on larger pieces I use a thin toothpick. This provides additional strength in a joint that has been damaged. I use the smallest amount of glue I can apply (usually with the tip of a pin). Be sure to wipe away any glue that oozes out of the repair. I brace the repaired leg by taping with stencil tape to allow it to dry. Stencil tape or painter's tape will not damage surfaces or finishes and removes without a deposit of sticky stuff. I have never had a leg separate again after applying it this way.

Becky

House of Miniatures Furniture Kits: I have a catalog here from the Dollhouse Factory that has about 75 kits listed. It also identifies them as X-Acto. Catalog is $5.50 (it's very fat) - 157 Main St. Lebanon NJ 08833 (908) 236-6404.

Peter Bugg

Metal Stove and Refrigerator: For all of you that are interested in stoves and refrigerators check out the following URL: http://www.kandjminmet.com Karen Fuller's things are wonderful. Both the refrigerator and stove are lighted and are amazingly perfect.

Ann Hendricks

Metal Stove and Refrigerator: We carry both the stove and fridge that several of you have asked about recently. We are out of them this close to Christmas but if you are still interested e-mail me for prices, etc. http://www.memrees.com, memrees@bellsouth.net, memrees@webtv.net

Joan

Modern Kitchen Set: I bought this kitchen set on e-bay but found out the guy also has a web site. He carries this modern kitchen -white wash oak, 11 pieces, upper and lower cabinets, and stove, sink and refrigerator. Very nice set. On his web site he has it listed for $85 - retails for $165. If you would like to see it click here http://www.dollhouseminis.com Cassidy's Collectibles, Doll House Furniture, Accessories, Die Cast Models, Country Minis, Sports Memorabilia. It's on page two of the kitchen listing.

Cindy from Mi

Hinges: The hinges that I made are in 1/12 scale which does not alter the method of fabrication.

  The tools and materials I used are;

  Needle nose pliers,

  Dremel moto tool with a cut off disc,

  Small sharp scissors

  Straight pins (as in sewing)

  Ruler; obviously (steel)

      The material I made the hinges from is sheet brass; only because I happen to have some of it. The hinges can be made of any thin material. The thickness of my sheet brass is a bit less than 1/32" or 1.0mm.   The hinge that I made is a Barrel hinge. one side of the hinge has a single barrel and the other side of the hinge has 2 barrels. The single barrel fits between the barrels of the side that has 2 barrels. A cut off straight pin is used as the "pin" for the hinge. It is passed thru all three barrels and cut off to fit the distance from the top of the topmost barrel to the bottom of the bottom barrel. The head of the pin is left on so it   (the "pin") will not fall thru the barrels.

HOW TO MAKE THE HINGE.

Remember I made this in 1/12 scale so adjust accordingly; The completed hinge started out as two (2) individual pieces of brass sheet measuring 1/4" by 1/2" for each piece.

  Find the center of the pieces on the 1/2" side or 1/4" in from each end. Lay a straight pin along this center line and fold the piece of brass over the pin. do this for each piece of brass, 2 pins, 2 pieces of brass. You now have 2 folded pieces of brass with a straight pin held at the fold.

      Use any tool (blade of a screw driver) to firmly press the brass down for the length of the fold so the pin is secured. Now pull the pin out of each piece of folded brass. This leaves you with 2 pieces of folded over brass measuring 1/4" on a side.

      Take the two embryo hinges (;-)) and place them back to back so the barrels are facing in opposite directions. Like two number 9's back to back.

       With the needle nosed pliers or any holding/clamping device without any ridges on its jaws (hard to find) clamp the back to back pieces of brass just at the point where the barrel and the flat(plate) meet. Holding the 2 hinge pieces in this way, place two lines on each barrel so that the 2 barrels are divided into equal 3rds.

      Then use the Dremel cutoff wheel to go completely thru the long barrel cutting it into three (3) equal sections. After this cut has be made you can release the clamping devise and now come the magic.

       On one of the hinge halves just remove the middle section. The section that has cuts on either side. On the other hinge piece remove only the two outer most sections. NOW put the pieces back together by fitting the remaining sections into the areas that were occupied by the removed sections of the mating half of the hinge barrel. Slip the straight pin into the tubular axis of the meshed barrels and lo and behold a hinge.

       I will admit it is a simple plate hinge but from this point on you can make any type of pinned hinge you desire.

DrBob...Delray Beach, FL

Hinges: You need to find Pete and Pam Boorum's website (which I can't find the address for right now).  There business name is Smaller than Life (I'm pretty sure).  Anyway, I took their class at the NAME National convention in Charlotte last year and it was called "Hinges without Hassle" and was great!   They have a very specific method for applying hinges and it works and I actually did it.  And they have two nifty little tools that you use in the process (both of which are very reasonably priced) and they make all the difference in the world.  One is a very tiny drill bit held in a little collet that you use to drill starter holes for the nails.  The other is a slant-ended pair of tweezers with a slot in one end for picking up and holding the nails while you guide them into the holes. http://www.nh.ultranet.com/~smallife

Mary Lynne in Huntington, WV

Hinges: In light of my previous posting here is my method for putting in hinges.  When I took the Ralph Partelow piano workshop, he had us glue the hinges on because the nails split the fine cherry, mahogany or walnut wood.  Hinges don't really look right with the hinge plate but no nail. So, when I got home, I used a TINY drill bit in my mini hand drill (you have to be careful not to push because it is no more than a hair) and pre-drilled a starter hole for the nail. Then I inserted the nail (with a touch of glue to secure it) with a pair of needlenose pliers.  The glued on hinge plate was held in place and did not move around as I worked and the predrilled hole lets me insert the nail without undo force resulting in split wood.

Ana

Finishing furniture kits: during the week-end I projected and assembled one night stand in Italian style. On January 28 it's programmed the first ADMI workshop in Verona (the city of Romeo and Juliet) and I will teach how to assemble and finish a furniture piece. As during the workshop we will not have enough time for staining the wood, I made the night stand using walnut sheet. I tried also a quick finish, to avoid the long shellac finish, also I don't like my night stand in a gloss finish.

After assembling and gluing the stand, I applied a coat of wood sealer. After one night I sanded with steel wood and I applied one coat using "Floquil" flat finish. It's very difficult to find Floquil paint in Italy, normally I buy in Switzerland, but for you living in US this is not a problem. After the paint was dried, I polished with a soft wool cloth and applied the final finishing using liquid wax. Floquil flat finish is a wax based paint and the final  looking is very nice.

Pierluigi

Bashing Michael’s Hutches: I took top and bottom legs and frills off, left doors on, filed (using new Dremel) the protruding areas on the sides, glued three of them together, flush in a row and have them in the back of my store.  They are painted purple, yellow and blue.  One day soon I'll get them on my web page.  I'm very please at how they turned out.

Kathy Henry

Altoids boxes:  Altoids boxes were used as tabletops in 50s style kitchens.

     BTW, the "Wireless" Winter Clearance catalogue has a lot of 50s goodies in it, including radios, kitchen items, and a whole bunch of vintage candies. They are on-line at www.WirelessToo.com

Dani, in Bradshaw, MD

Feather Bed: I wanted a feather bed for my country house so I just measured the bed, made a pocket out of muslin and stuff it with a huge amount of white feathers that I picked up @ Wal-Mart. I found the best way was to strip the feathers into a bowl until you have the amount you want and then start stuffing. Of course, if you have allergies (which my DH does) or cats ( I have two, the pesky beasts!!)  then it might be a problem but mine came out great!!

Beth in TX

Decorative Metal Beds: I very highly recommend Alan Hamer for your bed. He's absolutely awesome. He makes "combination" beds of brass *and* wrought iron. The iron is a detailed grape vine effect that wraps around the bedposts. Beautiful!

Dave Pierce

Loom Plans: For loom plans, try http://www.halfwaytree.com/looms/loom2.html

Bonni Backe

Rustic furniture: Check out this site by Bev Michie for rustic furniture. Her work is amazing. She specializes in rustic. bmichie@yeoldouthouse.com

Debi

1930's Kitchen Sink: If you are thinking of the old enamelled Cast iron sinks they are easy to make and are really believable.

First build a shallow box the size of the sink from 1/16" or 1/8" basswood. On the top edge of the box (sink) glue 3/32" x 1/16" edging flat down all around the top edge. The edge should hang over the outside of the box. Round off the last strip to form a half round top.

As it is now the bottom of the box and the sides form a sharp angles where they meet. These corners need to be filled and rounded off. This is done by smoothing in some spackle in the corners and bottom joints. When the spackle is dried sand smooth to form rounded side and bottom corners. Seal the wood surfaces with a sealer and let dry well. I prefer black or charcoal, flat auto primer. Sand smooth and respray and sand until a nice base is built up. Use 400 followed by 600 wet or dry paper and use it wet after the wood is covered well. Then start spraying with flat white enamel or primer. Do not spray too heavy. Let dry well and then sand between each coat until it builds up a nice smooth finish.

Now you can go over it with a couple of coats of semi gloss or gloss enamel, depending on the finish you want. The reason flat is used first is that it sands easier. Gloss or semi gloss does not sand well.

To make the sink drain glue in a brass # 2-56 washer (found at model rail road store) Or a new shoe lace eye found at leather store. The sink can now be aged if you wish. Sand the bottom with fine paper until the flat paint shows through. Do the same on spots where you would expect normal wear.

If you are careful you can use a sharp knife blade to chip away some of the paint to show the black primer just as the old sinks looked when the enamel was chipped.

You can make a very weak (as weak as possible) wash of sienna and umber acrylic paint to coat the inside with. Apply and wipe away immediately. Add more coats as needed. This, if done correctly, will give a rust look around the drain and some of the scratches.

Bill Hudson

Bakery Display Unit: I found a site with plans for a store display http://pages.ivillage.com/misc/carlyn98/

nursemini