Dirt: for your "dirt" use coffee grounds. Of course, they should be used and dried. And, if you really want it to look real, grind them up once they're dry. This can be a bit tricky if you don't happen to have a bowl and mortar, but I think you could use a metal dish and a rock....same basic principle. Once ground I put them into an airtight container and spoon them out with a measuring spoon....much too fine for picking up with your fingers. I use this exclusively and have had many comments about how real my dirt looks......I think that's a good thing?

Sloan

Ice Fishing Shanty:: I think that frosted glass (shiny side up) would make excellent ice, but, as you probably want to cut a hole in it to fish thru, I think I would use Lucite. There is a frosting spray you can buy to put on it. It might be neat to have the 'ice' have space below it, so you could see the fish in the 'water'.

Aali

Fibre Optic Fireflies: I have been working on a project for my parent's 50th wedding anniversary, using fiber optics. Thanks to Alice Zinn, (hope I'm right on this, as I had a 'puter crash, and lost all saved stuff) I found fire works from Dept. 56 to use in my beach scene. My parents are taking 40 of us to Cape Cod to celebrate! I bought 2 sets of the fireworks, and made my own very large 50 in the center, using fiber optics I bought on-line. I am using a (kit-bashed) poinsettia plant from K-Mart that had fiber optics, just for the base & lights. I made my own color wheel to replace the red/green/white, yellow lights that came with it, using gold and black, to have the 50 light up then shut off. (I know this sounds complicated, but I am not an electrical engineer, and did it! LOL!) Forfireflies, I would get very small diameter fibers, and try to find a small blinking white light, preferably 2 or more small lights that blink at different times. I think that would look more natural, just like real fireflies, some blinking in one part of the yard, then the next. You need to get End Light fibres! You don't want the whole length of fibres to light up, just the tips. You can easily hide the fibres under grass, bushes, etc. (I poked holes in the back of the box my dollhouse came in, that I'm using for the scene, as I needed a very large one, to hold 40 dolls, to make the 50, and also to poke the ends of the fireworks through. I have exactly one week to finish this, and will let you know how it turns out. Just remember I'm winging this... I'm not an expert!

Cindy in MA

Flower making paper: As far as I know, any kind of dyed paper will fade. Many people say it won't but my feeling is if I am going to put in the time, I am going to hand paint the paper. Flower making is very time consuming since you are making them 1 petal at a time. When I started designing laser cut flowers, I had them cut with 2-3 petals together. For example, my orchids have the 2 side petals as one piece and the back 3 petals as one piece. I did this after I taught a class and people were having a hard time putting so many petals on straight. The best paper for flower making is Japanese silk/cotton art paper. If you need to know where to get it, e-mail me. marykinloch@att.net

Mary Kinloch

Silk Flowers: you asked about using silk flowers to make mini flowers. this is one of my favorite ways to do flowers because the colors are so wonderful. I have had very little luck punching petals and leaves but do hand cut them using a card pattern. I have found that careful examination of the full size flowers will reveal pieces that can be cut off and reassembled into minis.

Susan in OR

Creating Sand: I took a Pat and Noel Thomas class (see finished "The Garden Shed" under "My Miniatures", plus a bunch of my other miniature projects in various stages of completion on my website) and the way we did landscaping was to mix fine sawdust with lots of Elmer's Glue and a little water. Spread it out in the area you need and sprinkle with lots of sand while glue is still wet. I placed small shells, driftwood etc. into the sand while it was still wet. Make sure your base is sturdy as it has a tendency to curve a bit from the moisture. It takes a couple days to dry thoroughly. If you plan on using this technique to make dirt, they mixed their "Bug Juice" in the sawdust first to darken it (I recommend this), then mix the glue in, spread it and sprinkle with lots of fine dirt. If you would like to see a finished sample of the "sand", please check out my new website at http://www.the-china-doll.com it features my miniature porcelain dolls. Look for "George" laying in his hammock, in the last pages of the adults.

Connie Sauve

MIXING DECIDUOUS WITH CONIFERS. YES YES YES!!! Around the mountains here in Nevada, Pines are by far the mightiest trees but mountain mahogany, manzanita, scrub oak and others abound immediately adjacent. Most notably, white trunked Quaking Aspen groves are prevalent near the water. Don't forget berry bushes which can offer brilliant sparks of color in your setting. (Not to mention appropriate hiding places for fire fly tubing).

Mel K in LasVegas

Trees. I have a southern mansion (you can see it on my website) and I needed big trees since it is three stories. What I did, was go outside in the woods and look for branches to be the trunk and branches of my trees. I used that moss stuff the railroaders use for the leaves but there is no reason if you want to sit and put the leaves on one by one that you couldn't. Real tree branches give one of the most realistic looking trees. IMHO.

One problem is how to attach them. If I knew then, what I know now, I might have tried some different ways to attach them to the ground/board. I used those Styrofoam balls cut in half glued to the board and wires for the largest ones to keep them from falling over. You don't notice the wire if you use the green ones. I had used that indoor/outdoor carpet that looks like grass for the lawn and cut x's where the trees would go. Then I used sawdust stained brown for "mulch" around the base of the trees to cover the remainder of the half-Styrofoam balls. If your tree trunks are thick enough, you could also drive a nail from the bottom up of the board your house sits on. Drill a hole in the center of the tree trunk and then glue the tree and nail. You will need long nails to go up as far as possible into the tree for stability. I did that with a dowel I used for an electric poll to "bring the electric line into the house". It worked okay. I've never tried this, but you might also put Fimo on the Styrofoam balls at the bottom to make it look like gnarled roots. Hope this give you some ideas.

Grace Shaw

Leaves: As an alternative to painting and punching leaves (but still sort of labor-intensive), I've used scale-sized leaves cut from fabric ribbon found at the craft shop in the clearance bin -- got two different designs, in shades of dark and shades of light green. Don't think I'll ever run out! They seem to be regular fabric with lots of sizing or Fraycheck, so with sharp scissors they cut out without shredding and I just glue a stem wire up the back so the leaf can be shaped.

Loretta.Sniarowski

Paper: When buying paper for flower-making, always be sure to purchase only those papers that are acid-free and lignin-free. Those are your safest bet. I take one additional precaution: I use a UV-protectant spray to seal all my flowers before assembling the finished piece. It's never a good idea to have your flowers -- or anything else that goes into your miniatures scenes, for that matter -- exposed to direct sunlight. And that includes your dollhouse! Cool, dry shade is the best place to set up your dollhouse to avoid any problems related to warpage, fading, moisture, heat or dryness.

Bev

Flower Film: I am not familiar with the product being discussed for a film over wire for flower-making. But I just watched the Mindstorm video Patricia's Garden and what she's doing sounds very much like what these folks are looking for. She uses gold wire to form petals and leaves and just paints them with Sobo glue. Then she mixes a little acrylic paint with more Sobo and paints the clear, dried film formed by the glue.

Linda in Leroy

Flower Film: Just a note to the people that are interested in making the miniature flowers that are wire and a thin film. I have done this many times with great success and used the decorations on the Miniature doll dresses, as well as Floral Arrangements. I used 34 gauge Brass wire and then shaped the flower petals. As for dipping, I dipped them in Sobo white Glue, which dries clear, and placed each petal on a Styrofoam ball to dry. Once they are dry you may then paint them with Acrylic paints the color and shading that you would like.

Darlene

Victory Gardens: In the August 1990 Nutshell News Joann Swanson did a Kitchen garden, the project was very nice. I also think i remember a Victory garden in the old Miniature Showcase magazine. In NN Joann pointed out that the gardens would vary from area to area depending on what would grow where you were.

Joanne in Beavercreek Oregon

Grass Not Sticking: If this is Creative PaperClay that you are using, it does shrink slightly if you use a thin layer. A heavier layer of it will shrink more.  When it has dried you can go over the clay 'cracks' with more PaperClay to fill them. NOW: Did you paint the PaperClay a mixture of brown & green or a spray varnish before you started 'grassing' ?  Your watered-down glue is going to soak in if not.  I use Woodland Scenics milky white spray glue (ballast cement?) myself and after applying the grass to the surface, I spray (saturate) the whole thing again.  I also use the static grass, not the foam. A good mix is railroad 'dirt' and two shades of grass.   When this is dry you shake off the loose stuff and if there are bare / thin patches you spray and put more on those spots.

Mary Lou in Middleburg Hts., OH

Grass Not Sticking: I've had some experience with landscaping so this time go more slowly. Get a nice Tacky glue and only do about two inches square at a time. Don't rush this. You want it to look as nice as everything else and grass takes time to grow. First, I didn't hear you say that the paper clay was sealed or primed...it is sucking up all your glue. Get out your gesso, pour a small amount in a paper cup and add some green paint, add a dash of deep blue to this and paint it in anyplace that might have a shadow. Now, get another paper cup and this time add a little more yellow for any places that might not get enough water or be in bright sun. Now, you are ready to add a two inch patch of glue and this time try to get more of the yellow green onto the similar paint and continue s-l-o-w-l-e-e-ey. This is not a race. Now, when you are done with that you are ready to accessorize with rock groupings and tall grasses sticking up here and there and weeds and children's toys and even flowers. Grass is it's own reward, enjoy it.

Laurie Sisson

Victorian Fencing: I have a catalog I bought from the Elegant Doll House it has a few companies who sell the fencing I believe you want. Call the Elegant Doll House at (916)484-0419 the co. names I saw are The Lawbre Company, Timberbrook and Precision Products.  or go to the web site http://www.dkwp.com/elegant.htm

Kari

Trees: Just got to reading the SS that came through while I was away, and saw questions about trees....While traveling through our wide open spaces, I found some fantastic tree material in Oregon, along the road side...Sage Brush...wonderful trunks...great sizes for any tree, and the shapes are great...I'm sure some of you live in these areas of sage brush deserts and you will be pleasantly surprised as you drive along the road and see these wonderful mini trees just asking to be put into your landscape...Needless to say I brought home a couple to try and am really disappointed that I didn't bring more...

Annamarie Plemmons-Purshock

Camping Scene: Pearl, Your camping scene with a mountain as a backdrop sounds wonderful. Here in the mountains of New Mexico we have lots of lakes with such a backdrop. We also have deciduous trees mixed with pine trees. In the Fall the aspens turn a beautiful gold, and against the background of the pine forest, from a distance, it looks like a green and gold carpet.

Spencer

Ants in your pants or picnic, how to make them: I used to make ants and spiders (when you are the only boy living way out in the country with two sisters and a girl cousin a guy has to come up with some way of keeping them all tormented doesn't he?) out of the hair fine copper wire coils that were used in  old radios.   Since fine copper wire is hardly available now I am taking a bit of help from my fly tying times and using some very fine thread.

Wind several loops of thread around the flat end of a flat toothpick. Slip the thread off the toothpick and flatten it into a long ball. (you may need magnification) Make a couple of wraps a little ways back on the length of the ball to make a head (leave ends of tie long). Apply a little head cement (available at fly-tying shops) to the head and tied area. Clear fingernail polish works ok but a little slow to dry and thick. Tie a second length of thread the same way a little farther back to form the body joint.

The body joint and the head should be about the same size. The tail should be almost half the ant, long and come to a point turning downward. Go back and add another loop of thread at the same places and apply head cement to all and let dry. Once the cement is dry you can shape the legs from the ends of the loops and spread them out to look real.

Using a very fine needle thread a loop of thread through the head for feelers and stiffen all with head cement again. Let dry.

Bill Hudson, Eugene, Oregon

Silk Felt: I know it as silk paper.

The method I've used needs unspun silk and cellulose adhesive. Silk tops, noils and throwsters' waste work. In the UK you can buy them from Texere Yarns in Bradford. You can use wallpaper paste but paste without fungicide is better.

You also need some netting - old nylon lace curtains work fine, or you could use old window screens - two pieces each a little bigger than the size of the "felt" you want to make.

- Make up the paste. It needs to be slightly runny.

- Put one piece of netting flat on a waterproof work surface. Holding the mass of the silk in your left hand, pull tufts out of it with your right hand. The tufts will have fibers aligned along their length. Lay the fibers on the netting with all the fibers running in the same direction. Do a row and then start again further down, overlapping them a little like roof tiles.

- When you've covered the area you want, add another layer with the fibers at right angles to the previous layer.

- When the layers are thick enough (they go a lot thinner when the felt's finished) put the second piece of netting on top.

- Now the messy bit: spoon or scoop some paste onto the top of the netting. Rub and pat it, adding more paste, until the whole thing is saturated. Wash your hands before you stick to everything!

- Leave it to partially dry then remove both pieces of netting before they become completely stuck. That's it!

It dries stiff. Soaking it in water will release the paste. If you decide, after it's dried, that it isn't thick enough, you can just add more layers on top.

You can:

- Mould the partially-dry (but still flexible) felt over a bowl or similar object that you have covered with Clingfilm.

- Add snippets of thread, coloured silk fibers, torn scraps of paper, bits of gold leaf, skeleton leaves, flower petals and anything else you can think of to the felt - but cover them with a very thin layer of fibers to hold them.

- Take off the top layer of netting after you've worked the paste in and manipulate it with your hands, add ripples and textures.

- Make some parts very sheer and some parts heavy.

- Dye some or all of the fibers before you start.

- Paint the finished article with acrylics (but don't over-work the surface or the paste will start melting!)

- Emboss the top layer with heavy lace, stamps, kitchen implements.

- Embroider it ...

Sally Holmes, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England