Christmas door bell: I purchased a Christmas pen last year from the $2.00 shop last Christmas that plays Christmas songs and a light flashes on the top. When I purchased the pen, I knew that I would have a "brilliant " idea of how to use it in a miniature scene. Well today was the day!!!!!!!

The pen is plastic and has a coloured see through round piece on the top about 2inches diameter. Then about an inch down there is another round piece about an inch wide with a tiny button underneath.

-Carefully pull the pen apart.

-Take out the button and the music section

-Discard the pen and the big round piece on the top. They might come in handy for something else.....

- Cut the plastic above the small circle off.

- Trim the plastic piece on the bottom to just underneath where the button will be. Leave about 1/4 inch. Check

- Put the music and button back in and glue back together.

- Work out how far you want the light away from the bell.

- Bend the light carefully over.

- Drill 2 holes one for the light and one for the button.

- Glue 2 small washers on the outside of these holes to neaten.

- Use a bead finding with a piece of tooth pick placed in the hole.

- Glue music and bell on to the inside wall.

- Test the tooth pick for length (about 1/4 inch) so it will go through the wall and push the bell of the pen.

-I have hidden the music in a false cupboard and put in a stained glass door as wood would deaden the sound.

-I "jammed" the button into the cupboard then cut out a strong piece of cardboard and pushed this in to hold the button, making sure that the tiny holes where left uncovered. Then put on the door.

Karen from hot and sunny Dubai

Snow: I put the snow on my Greenleaf Santa house last night. As I can't get Model Magic, I used white bathroom silicone. I also lightly sprinkled before it dried with the Christmas confetti (cellophane with the mother of pearl effect.) It looks great. I don't know why I bothered painting the roof so carefully now.

Karen from Dubai

Towels: For your little towels for the haunted house, I would recommend the small Aida or hardanger cross stitch cloth you can see without crossing your eyes. LOL Try maybe 18 or 22 stitches per inch. I don't care for terry cloth when making mini towels cause to me it is always too bulky and the loops are out of scale. Try the knit type of flannel available in most fabric shops. You will know you have the right one when you lightly pinch the raw edge and no threads come off in your hand. Cut to an appropriate size for a towel. Stitch on the Aida or hardanger and then carefully seal the edges with Dritz Fray Check or a similar product, cut out the stitched piece and you can now either sew it to the mini towel or glue it with fabric glue. I hope this is clear cause I have made lots of towels.

Linda Gibeault

Another very "darling use for puff paints, especially the yellow, is to create little lumps of it on a piece of cardstock, and form one end into a peak, which sort of "flops" over. While it is still wet, pour yellow scenic sand over it and let dry, add tiny black painted dots for eyes ... instant marshmallow "peeps" for Easter!

Alice Zinn

Puffy bows for presents: I stumbled upon the puffy kind of bows for gifts yesterday when I was escaping from work for a while (it's too easy to start looking at mini-sites instead of working when you work on a computer all day long - - does anyone have a solution to this problem?). Cotton ridge miniatures

have them under the miniature kits section:

http://cottonridge.safeshopper.com/154/1544.htm?424

They also have a bow-maker for mass-production:

http://cottonridge.safeshopper.com/154/1547.htm?424

Asa in Fairfax, VA

puffy bows

1. take a needle and push eye first into a cork until only a short length (about 1/2 inch) is sticking out.

2. take a length of ribbon (fine organza) as narrow as you can get.

3. pierce the ribbon on the needle.

4. take the ribbon up the length of the needle and pierce again. Use a little glue to fix

5. Repeat moving around the needle until the bow is full enough.

6. You may prefer to sew to hold in place.

I don't know if this in clear but it is easy once you get the hang of it.

Roberta, DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA

Christmas Card Idea: I too wish I knew the whereabouts of the house my foster parents built for me in 1936. It was a two story, with shutters, more of a Cape Cod style. No I don't actually remember it but they took a picture of it to use for a Christmas Card, (from our house to yours). First they took a picture of me, sitting in a chair, had it developed, cut it out, then put it in the front yard of the dh. Took a picture of that and sent out the cards to friends.

MAP in Puyallup

Cobwebs: A good substitute for cobwebs--Pinch off a small piece of lint collected in your dryer and stretch it out and out.  Makes realistic cobwebs, especially if you have dried something gray in color.

Betty Martin

Cobwebs: A grey hair net will make excellent cobwebs. As for dust, I find it gathers fast enough all on its own.

Jayne Horsburgh

Witchy stuff:

1. Cosmetics -- Varicose vein highlighter, Undereye circle shadow, Chin and nose extenders.

(2) Publications --Crystal Ball Guide, Bad Housekeeping, Consumers' Guide to Oven Safety by Hansel & Gretel, 101 Recipes for Leftover Toad, Bed & Breakfasts of Transylvania, The Ultimate Haunted House Book.

(3) Can we assume your witches will have a computer to keep up with their Spooky Stuff newsgroup?

Loretta Sniarowski

Witch's Cosmetics: Just wanted to add some more witches toiletries to your list! How about, Pond Scum Cold Cream, Attic Dusting Powder & Oil of Old Age.

Betti from MS

Witches: How about tins in kitchen saying Bees Knees and Knats nose?

Donna

Witch house: "Hiss" and "Hearse" towels

Viola

Ghosts - Our mini club made really cute mini ghosts using tinfoil as the base. We wadded up tinfoil with one end rounded (for the head) and the other end flattened out to make a base. We used a 2nd piece of foil to make the arms, one long rope to go from fingertip to fingertip. We put the "arms" through the body before wadding it together. We varied the arm positions so some sort of hung down, but most of us had the arms up in the air at about waist to shoulder height. We then soaked cheesecloth in starch and draped it over the foil frame in flowing drapes, like a sheet. Like the "real" ones, we puddled some cloth at the "feet" to make it stand when it dried and the foil was removed. One member of our group even mounted a few ghosts on a board with a hole under each ghost so he could place a small bulb under each to make them glow!! It was a fun, easy project that everyone loved, and it took much less than our 2-hr meeting time.

Verna, Florida

Snow:  I made the dollhouse I bought from Joann's Fabrics into a Santa House. It not only has snow on the roof but has a snow covered base. I used Bondex Premixed Lightweight Spackling and then dusted it lightly with glitter. I also used "real" size spray snow and stood a distance away and lightly sprayed the house and scene. I think it took some of the starkness of the red away too.

Juanita in Missouri

Antiquing Silver Plastic Sleighs: Brush black or brown (or experiment with other colors--dark green would probably look great) acrylic paint into all the crevices of the sleighs, then wipe off with a rag. Leave more on to dull the finish, take more off to keep it shiny. Takes just a couple of minutes and dries fast.

Lee Menconi

Holeless Beads: They make great Christmas ornaments also. For those of you still looking for beads, go to my website http://www.ladybug-fairies.com, you will find 2 sizes and I have a new size, not yet pictured, especially for eyes! There are special mixes for bubbles, grapes, and ornaments. For the bubbles, Ace hardware has a clear caulk that comes out white but dries clear and is the best to use for BUBBLES - fill container to the top (caulk will shrink as it dries). Squash dog, bear, doll, etc. into caulk and let overflow naturally. Pour bubble mix over caulk, and muck about with a toothpick. Let dry!

Sue Thwaite

Display for tiny scene: I just saw the neatest thing at a craft mall locally - - - it wasn't mini but could be used for miniatures very easily. They had taken glass jars (i.e. mayo jars) and put a few Christmas cut outs, trees, etc. inside and then instead of the lid, used a voltive cup and candle. I instantly thought MINIATURES! What a neat way to share the hobby with friends and family in inexpensive containers that would keep the minis CLEAN too! One could even use baby food jars for 1/4" scale and pint size jars and landscape a winter scene . . . . or put a mini Christmas tree in the jar with mini wrapped presents under the tree? Or how about a table with all the Christmas cookies in the making? One could even turn the jar upside down and put the scene in the lid and after assembly, screw the jar on? The lid could be painted, covered with wallpaper, fabric, lace & ribbon . . . . . possibilities are endless!

Jo A Cohrs

Tissue Box Covers: I made several of these covers for gifts for Christmas this year, and found that Double-thick Bainbridge Board (purchased at an artist's supply store) worked very well. You can cut it with a table saw and then just lightly sand the back edges because the table saw blade tears the paper in the back of the board. Of course you can't use regular wallpaper paste, because it will warp (as with foam core) so I used Wonder Under and ironed material and wallpaper onto the board...worked like a charm!

Roz Weitzman in Toronto, CANADA

Bows: To make a bow: Cut about an 18" length of ribbon to the width you want it to be. (When I started making bows Hallmark ribbon would strip, but they changed the way they made it and we had to start cutting it. Bummer.)

Use a surface that you can get glue on and be able to peel it off. I have a block of wood that I put scotch tape on to build my bows on.

Put a dot of Tacky glue down and position the ribbon on it about one inch from one of the ends.

Put another dot of glue on top of the one under the ribbon.

Fold the ribbon forward, making a loop, and use a toothpick to press it into the glue.

The ribbon will want to loop in one direction and fight you if you try to go against it. Try not to fight it. This can cause your loops to have creases.

Put another dot of glue on top of the ribbon where you pressed into the glue with the toothpick.

Make another loop across from the first one. Repeat the above steps.

Make loops until you have a circle of them flat on the work surface. Then start making smaller ones inside this circle. Build the bow up this way.

I usually end the bow by leaving a tail with a diagonal cut in it and adding a small bead to match or contrast the bow color in the center (where all the glue is).

I like making bows with plaid ribbon, but most of this is fabric and the glue has to be almost dry between loops because it bleeds through the fabric. I'm thinking of trying to seal the ribbon with a light coat of glue or something to control this problem. But I don't want make the ribbon too stiff to work with.

I've never tried to write these directions out before. If they aren't clear, let me know and I will try to help. I've been known to take my bow making supplies with me and make them in all sorts of places. I do get some strange looks sometimes.

Quinn