Flooring: A member of club wanted a stone floor for her kitchen. My other hobby is lapidary (stone) work and I have a 16" diamond saw I use to slice my rocks. Anyway, I took a wax 1/2 gallon milk carton and filled it with stones of the size that I wanted for the floor, then filled the carton with cement, not concrete - to much sand in concrete and wears out the sides of the blade. Let it dry for a few days then I placed it in the saw and sliced it like ham. I can cut some rocks down to 1/16" (break a few). Once cleaned of the saw's oil, I broke the stones out. Most of the stones I use are flint rocks and are harder that the cement The cement usually breaks first.

For wooden floors, I bought a 10"-100 tooth carbide tip blade from company that makes tools for pen and pencil set for $35.00. I can cut wood thinner than 1/32" with it but my flooring planks are usually 1/8" or more. Some flooring can be nailed but I glue most of them. Using glue requires a lot of attention since the board tend to lift up with glue on one side only. I have to wait for the glue to dry before adding 4 or 5 more pieces. It usually requires sanding since the planks cut on a table saw vary in thickness. I have built gazebos and a few doll houses and planked my floors using red cedar, walnut,oak or pine, the oak looks the best. I use the left over planking to shingle the roof (at 2500 shingles or more per roof) then clear-coat everything.

The biggest problem in wood flooring is finding fine grain wood. Some wood grains, like soft pine, is too course and throw the scale off. Some floors can be made using 1" wood pieces, turning each one 90 degrees to the next block. Different color wood makes a checkerboard floor.

Dan B.

Parquet Flooring: I just completed a great parquet floor that turned out wonderfully. Here are some tips on making it easy.

1. First I glued 1/8 X 1/16 bass wood strips using glue on the bottom only so there was not any seepage onto the top, onto 11 X 17 1/8" graph paper in groups of four (this will give you mini size 6" squares when complete).
2. Then stain each set of four (I used Golden Oak) and let dry.
3. Using that handy X-Acto miter box, cut each length of 4 boards into 1/2"squares (Turn the strips upside down so that the graph paper is on top and it gives you easy 1/2" marks. Put all your mini parquet into a zip lock bag for use)
4. Cut another piece of graph paper the size of your finished floor. I marked out an area for the parquet, and a plain wood strip border around the perimeter of the room.
5. Glue the 1/2" squares onto the cut graph paper starting from the middle out. Use the graph lines to line up your pieces. Push them up tight close to each other to minimize gaps.
6. I glued a border of walnut stained board around the parquet and then finished with Golden Oak outside of that.
7. Fill any gaps with putty and then run a coat of Golden Oak stain over it all.
8. Apply final finish of your choice.

It came out absolutely lovely and I am very impressed with myself. I prefer the 1/2" squares to the 1" squares. It just looks finer.

Michael

Tapestries: For the person who needs medieval tapestries, SP Miniatures has a couple of wonderful tapestries. Check them out on the new arrivals page. They are suitable for a late Medieval-early Renaissance setting. http://www.spminiatures.com/

Jeri

Pocket Doors: Someone asked about pocket doors. We had a set in a vintage house, Nathaniel Crosby House, our club made and donated to the City of Tumwater in Washington State. The doors divided the dining room from the room that had been the kitchen, but had since been used as more of a family room. The panels of the doors were not moveable. They just had the appearance of being all the way open, except for about 1/4 inch. Doubt if anyone knew they didn't really work.

MAP in Puyallup

Murals: Try a wallpaper book and look at the borders. I have a border in my real house that I used as a mural over chair rail in a Colonial house. It is 8 inches tall including a little plain border on each edge. But I cut it down formy house.

Martha Simpson

Castle rooms: I was in a castle in Germany once.  The castle had a chapel, room of mirrors, a white and gold ball room, a long....really long hallway with many artifacts such as statues, tables of various kinds, oriental artifacts brought back from the orient,   King and Queens private separate living rooms as well as a common room for the family, Queens court room, Kings court room, Royal Court Room, His and her bedrooms, small private dining room, a large dining room for guests, All kinds of guests rooms, Game room, prison (underground), kitchens (a couple of them...one for main meals and large fireplace, one with baking ovens on opposite side of fireplace kitchen), day room for ladies in waiting, bedrooms for ladies and gentlemen of the court.  Servants quarters held bedrooms, common room, kitchen.   A room that held stuffed animals acquired through different hunts (boars, bears, deer, wild cats).   There was the Throne room, the Royal Vault which held valuables such as jewels, gold, etc. And more....there was a ballroom on every floor, very different from one another.  If a trip was made to another country, usually a whole room of furnishings was brought back and a room was filled with those souvenirs.  So, you have a lot of latitude in what you could do with a castle and it rooms.

Rhonda in Hudson, Fl

The Nuremburg kitchen: The Nuremburg kitchen is finished, and by George, it is utterly wonderful. I have wanted one of these all my life, and it's so nice to have one.  Let me take you on a tour.

The floor is checker board mid blue, cream and fox red, in big (2" x 2") squares,   The walls are fox red, the ceiling cream.

On the left are two shelves with a fancy shelf end, painted turmeric yellow - the top shelf holds various jars and pots and bowls, the lower moulds and pots, bowls, glassware.   Below is a long unit, which holds the chicken coop with 2 fine fat resin hens eating from their food tray, and a cupboard.   This is painted off white and green; the top of these cabinets is faux grained wood.  On top of these cabinets are various kitchen utensils, a fine raw salmon and a bunch of beet root, a big plain cake and a big fruit plate.

To the right is a cupboard which holds a myriad of small jars and boxes, some real, but some are old shirt studs etc, which look just the thing. Facing one is the oven, painted barn red, with a hollow underneath to hold

firewood,   The oven holds a big kettle, saucepans etc   Above is a copper hood, with a shelf attached which holds mini antique floral pitchers bought at an antique fair.  To the right is a unit holding copper ladles etc.

On the right wall is an enormous dresser, painted rust red, which holds 2 white dinner services, a ham , a roast chicken, a mincer, a pair of scales etc

In the foreground is a chopping block, with cleaver and meat on it.   A slender black cat reaches up for the meat, ignoring both the full food bowl behind him and the mouse on the mouse trap by the chickens. .tsk tsk.

From the ceiling hang onions, dead pheasants, a waffle iron. In all the kitchen holds over 150 items (wow!)  I love it with a profound love.  I must have seen one as a small child and wanted one ever since, and how serene the heart when it wins its desires, and finds the desire worth the wait.

Helen from York, England

Draping Fabric:  There is a product called a "pretty pleater." Even when I am not making curtains, I use it for draping as well. The pleater itself it make of rubber with many grooves in it. You prepare your fabric with glue, or starch, (I wouldn't recommend hair spray, it'll really attract dirt, in the long run to your fabric.) You settle the fabric into the first groove, holding it still with "carding" (a credit card would work), and then press the fabric into the next groove with a second card. Proceed until all of the grooves are filled. Thoroughly dry, then release. For a looser draping, you can manipulate the fabric (pulling and drawing at either end) until you have the effect you want.

You might have a better chance at getting the soft effect you want by soaking your fabric in liquid fabric softener (more than is label recommended) rinsing and drying. Actually, Pantene works good too. The softer the fabric, the more realistic the draping. I've seen a lot of fabrics marketed as miniature, and regardless of the pattern, some fabrics just don't work. If it looks bad to your eye, outright, move on to something else.   I've found pale raw silks, and some percale types, and plain cotton, really do drape nicely.

Hanes her way  "ladies undergarments"   and lightweight undershirts type tanks, have an elasticity bound into the actual fabric of the cotton (not the waist and leg bands, but the fabric), and after repeatedly washing them, (we'll assume for the sake of common decency that they're new...LOL) they make a very convincing "hanging" drape, as in a tablecloth, or an errant piece of fabric strewn across a chair...I use plain old white glue diluted with H2O, to stiffen. It works fine, and is easy to dust when dry.

Sherise

Painting Studio: What belongs in a painting studio is paintings! The cruel fact is that any painter can paint many more painting than she or he can sell. If sales happen they paint lots and lots more. My favorite studio (SoHo vicinity Grand and Lafayette N.Y., N.Y. ) had a painting rack reaching all the way to the ten foot ceiling with a double mattress concealed six feet up with more paintings. Most of the paintings slid out of the rack so you wouldn't have to actually paint all the minis. They are visible only at the edge. Also needed are big tables, I had about five, some made of doors for students, also rolls of paper, also rolls of paintings, rolled painting side out so that they won't crack. Most artists I know have storage problems, give the poor things a big studio space. As a modern painter I worked on the wall, no easel, and I used a sheet of glass on an old oak desk as a palette. It is easier to clean. The wall had lots of nails and lots of holes for hanging the working painting. Also most artists I know had postcards of museum paintings taped up somewhere.

Marilyn Crockett

Concealed hinges: To the person wanting to source hinges that don't show:

For completely invisible hinges that are very economical: - use dressmaker pins or the slightly thicker office type pins!

I have recently purchased some furniture kits where the doorframe is constructed around the door, before adding on the top shelf base. Tiny holes are drilled at the top and bottom of the frame door together where the door is to swing, so that the wood does not split when pounding in the pin. A dressmakers pin is inserted and the excess is cut off. The rest of the kit is then constructed with the front (with door) viewed as a "whole" piece. I find these to be as sturdy as any glued on hinge; and besides, who is going to constantly open & close the doors in our precious dh's. Some purchased doors (internal & external) are also constructed in this manner, although I have noticed that on the thicker doors the hinged side has been rounded off to facilitate opening and closing.

Sharon from South Africa

Furniture plans/architectural questions: I have found this site very helpful if you have questions on any types of old buildings, furniture or what color to paint different periods, thought I'd share it. http://architecture.about.com

Joanne, Calgary Miniature Club

Flock wallpaper: I sell flocked wallpaper in two designs both in green and red through my website. http://www.littlebylittle. co. uk

Karon Storer

Storing Paints: For the person storing paint in a box, I have found that if I tighten the lids before putting them in the box then store them upside down, I can always see the colors, and pick out the one that I am looking for quickly.

Darlene

Sponged paint finish: The most amazing thing happened today while painting my nails. I spilled some polish (Jane Darkest Hour) onto the paper under my hand. I wiped the stuff off while it was wet and the most beautiful faux sponged finish appeared on the paper.

It dried perfectly and so I tried the entire bottle of polish on standard Xerox paper. I poured the polish into a shallow dish and spread it onto the paper nice and even, working quickly. Then took a piece of plastic (like a credit card) and scraped the excess off back into the dish.

Viola!I know this sounds absolutely hokey. Believe me, if I read this it would seem too stupid to even try. But for those that wear polish, just try it on a spot of paper. It really is a stunner.

Sudie

Archival thin board: Go to any frame shop or Michaels type craft store and ask for one of the following.

Bainbridge Alpha-mat

Crescent 100% Rag-mat

and some carry Truevue matboard. There are more but these are the ones that are used the most by framers. They are all acid free. You really need to ask specifically by the names I gave you. Unfortunately around here where they cater to the tourist trade, the frame shops are bad about telling you regular matboard is acid free. NO it's not. It's buffered. I've taken many a picture apart and seen the damage done by regular matboard and cardboard to artwork. It's not a pretty sight when someone has paid big bucks for a print and then had a framer either because they don't know any better which can be the case, or because they are just trying to get your money and get you out the door, use regular matboard against the print. You open it and not only has it yellowed the print paper, caused acid burns (brown spots are a telltale sign) but may even have started to break it down and make it brittle.

So now I do most my framing in miniature. I really do cut the mats (acid free) on a mat cutter, then I carefully peel the front couple of layers off. That way I have a real bevel even painting it if I want a colored bevel. I go through the exact same process in mini that I would in full size. I even paper the back and wire it. Keeps me in practice so if I move away from this area I'll still be able to get back into it.

That's why periodically I get on my soapbox about archival materials. I know what can happen. We put way too much time and work into our miniatures to have them not last for a long time.

Another thing is that matboard is very sturdy. You won't need to glue it in. If you cut it right, measure carefully here, it should slide in tight and if you want to change paper, slide it out again and change it.

Another hint with using matboard and foamcore, buy lot's of blades, biggest container of them you can afford. If it starts to drag or rag the material you're working with change it right away. Don't try to conserve where blades are concerned. Will save you lots of trouble.

Kathy in E. TN

Lights:    Chandelier in dining room would usually be central, and the table would usually be centrally placed under it. The 'chandelier' was often a large gas or oil lamp, and often 'telescopic' i.e. rise and fall, so it could be lowered over the table at mealtimes.

All 'fuel burning' lamps, oil or gas or candle, make a lot of heat and water vapor. This rises, hits the ceiling and some of the water condenses. Dust is often carried in the column, from open fires, as well as any soot the lamp might make and gradually fouls the ceiling.

A consumer or shield is a glass 'plate' hanging on a ring , near the ceiling and above the lamp. This catches the 'brunt' of the muck, and can be wiped. Also spreads out the ascending air, i.e. whole ceiling gets equally dirty and it is less obvious. Some lamps have a 'consumer or bell,' hung much nearer the chimney, these are better at spreading the flow long   before the ceiling is reached, and they don't need a hook in the ceiling.

This has given me some ideas for my real ceiling smoke marks!   Smoke marks around lights are a big problem. When my dolls house gets smoked damaged it will really look authentic.

Pauline UK

Lighthouse: for those of you looking for lighthouse ideas, here is a link to a virtual lighthouse tour!   Pigeon Point Lighthouse Virtual Tower Tour

http://www.pigeonpointlighthouse.org/vtt_intro.htm This is a really interesting virtual tour to take with the whole family.  When you get to the site you are introduced to a 19th century lighthouse   Keeper. He will be your tour guide. On each page of the tour you can  read all about the history of the lighthouse and the many  responsibilities of the Keeper. There are clear photographs of every   feature of the lighthouse -- both inside and out -- and the Keeper explains them all. You will even discover what qualifications are necessary to be a Keeper. The tour continues to the top of the tower where you can see the Fresnel Lens and learn how it was used to help sailors avoid the dangerous rocky shoreline.

Jenny Gabrenas

Lighthouse Furniture: I can tell you how I furnished my lighthouse if it will help you. Mine has 4 floors. Top floor has a Chart Table/Charts and telescope and binoculars. Next floor is Table/2 Chairs, Bookcase/books, Coffee pot/cups and charts on the walls. Next floor is Bunkbed, Hooked rug, First aid box, nautical pictures on the  wall.   Bottom floor is Row boat, hooks on wall for ropes, raingear, etc., bucket, barrels.  Mine has an attached Lighthouse Keepers room too.  In there I have a couch, table, desk, fireplace, rocking chair, another hooked rug, lamp, dog, and nautical pictures. I forgot, I have lanterns in the actual lighthouse too.

I bought those key rings that have those little battery run lanterns attached to them...took off the rings and set them around.(Got them at Wal-Mart) It looks really nice...wish I had a picture on here to show you.

Anita...BelAir, MD

Fridge Magnets: fridge magnets which have been demagnetised for mini use - - they will be flat on the back. Yes, many will be, but these are great for what we call over here Vignettes, ie scenes in those deep picture frames which are great for people with very little room (like me!) You need all the depth you can scrounge in those things, and those magnets are great for sticking in a wall to give depth.

Florida Gill from Sanderstead

Making round Japanese Lanterns: I call this the "lost clay ball process" As with everything that appears so difficult, when the solution is found you can get a rubber leg to kick yourself in the backside for the simplicity of the solution. Here is what I did. Taking into consideration the size of the lantern I wanted, I made a ball out of air dry clay. Just rolled it between my palms until I liked what I had. I let it dry to hardness. NEEDED; Facial tissue. Bathroom tissue just as good. Elmers glue (white) String or thread (depends on your scale).

PROCEDURE;

I coated the hard ball of air dry clay with wax by rubbing with a handy candle. I cut the tissue paper into a lot of ellipses.(like in Mercator map projections) Each ellipse was soaked with the Elmers glue. I placed the glue soaked ellipse onto the waxed ball and smoothed out the wrinkles. The points of the ellipse went to north and south poles of the ball. I did this for a few layers. Then placed the string/thread on the ball from pole to pole. Covered this with more ellipses. Let the entire thing dry. With a very sharp blade I cut out a small hole at the North and south poles. A true lantern would have these openings also. I discarded the cut outs. I now had a dry clay ball covered with hard tissue paper that had string/thread sandwiched in between layers of hard tissue. Now to get rid of the ball of clay. I placed the "lantern cum ball" on a firm surface and with a hammer and nail I pulverized the dry clay ball thru the holes I cut at each of the poles. Eventually the entire clay ball was removed and I was left with a firm opaque paper lantern. The structure is called a Ryokan and is a Japanese guest house circa 1800s. Made it about 3 years ago. If I can be of any further assistance do not hesitate to ask. As a retiree I have plenty of time.

DrBob...Delray Beach, FL.