Landscaping: I will be glad to help with the landscaping if you wish. One thing I would suggest is that you make what I call "Instant Gardens.". These are little plots of land that you can put flowers, bushes etc. in, then put them wherever you wish. Some should be strips too, to go next to the house. These 'gardens' are made with irregular shapes cut from balsa wood and then painted brown. Using balsa allows you to just stick a pin in where the flower (or whatever) is to go. No need for drilling holes.

Dawnsminis

Instant Gardens- How To: Even though I make individual flowers and plants for sale, I know a lot of you like to do your own thing....this will get you started:

"INSTANT GARDENS" These are just basic instructions...use your own imagination...

Say you take a piece of balsa 3" wide and at least 3/8 or 1/4" thick. Draw a random pattern (say a figure 8) then cut out with an Xacto knife. Take the knife and slope all sides, then smooth with an emery board. Paint the wood on all sides with brown paint.

Where you want to put a flower, drill a hole with a pin, a nail, an awl, whatever you have on hand. Using a tacky glue, insert flower. When flowers are all in, attach any greenery you think suitable for that flower...glue to wood, flower or wherever it will attach. If you wish to also add a bush, take two stronger stems of the bush material and insert as you did flowers.

Then add more of bush material by using tacky glue to original material to fill it out.

With the flowers and bush in place, you could add a rock or two. Now take a white glue (such as Elmer's) and a cheap paintbrush. (I usually cut the brush down a bit and then just throw out afterwards) Taking one section at a time, liberally spread the glue in and around flowers, bush or rock. Now take a piece of wax paper and fold it one way, then fold it the opposite way. (Makes a crease to later use to empty excess.) Holding garden over wax paper, use the fine dirt or mulch (found in Model RR stores for example) and sprinkle it over the glue, then tap excess off onto wax paper. Continue doing this until the entire garden has been covered, then pour excess back into package it came in.

By bending the flowers etc. one way and then the other, you can easily get to all areas. Don't forget to do the edges. Let set. If you have at least an inch of space around the dollhouse, use a straight piece of balsa about that width and then by using the same method you will have foundation plantings.

When satisfied, just glue in place.

Dawnsminis

Laundry basket: I also made a laundry basket out of the badminton bird that someone gave a tip on--- love it and even snipped out handles each side. The pieces left over can make maybe a dog dish, or a pot and rubber tip a light in the ceiling, the mesh formed into a small garden fence or strawberry basket----etc.

Marlene

Cat basket or flower pots: I found that the plastic tip that comes along with vitamin pegs for your fruit trees make an excellent cat basket if you cover it with jute twine (smallest as possible )They are oval and about an inch deep.I cut the front a little about 1/2 inch to make it look like a basket .You can do the same thing by using plastic caps from water bottle or coke and cover it in jute twine and make flower pots for the garden .A little bit of paint for the inside and VOILA you have a planter or animal basket I finished mine with a cushion inside looks great.

Gisele Nadeau

Gazing Ball: These are sometimes called a "Victorian gazing ball", though I don't know if the Victorians used them or not. They are basically a reflective globe on a pedestal meant for decoration and quiet contemplation. You are supposed to put it in a garden within viewing distance from a bench, and then just use it as a "thinking post" as grandpa used to put it.

Kim from Canada

Gazing Ball. Yes, they are supposed to scare off evil spirits. But fairies, on the other hand, are drawn to them, being the vain creatures that they are. The evil ones see their reflection, are frightened by their reflection, and leave. Fairies are drawn to the garden because they love to look at themselves. LadyBug even has Gazing Balls with fairies inside, that have become trapped. So, if you want fairies in your garden, install a Gazing Ball.

Anita Myers

Gazing Ball. We always called them "witch balls" I have a gold coloured one. It's set on a dish so you can put flowers around it. They were called witch balls because witches don't like to see their own reflection, and so, one of these in the center of a room would keep witches away!

Lynne Connolly

Gazing Ball. This was another item that my husband had come up with. We have had so many people ask us what the story is behind the gazing ball but we didn't have a clue. The only story that we had ever heard of was from a friend of mine that told us that they used to call them "Martian Balls". As a child, she believed they attracted UFO'S. Now we can tell people some of the other versions thanks to the members of SS that shared this info.

Kevin and Toni Hassevoort

Gazing Ball. In my nursery business, we called them scarecrows. Birds are supposed to see their reflection and be frightened away from your flowers or fruits.

I had a young man from Germany work for me one year and he showed me pictures of his Mother's patio with flowering plants all around and in each plant there was a small glass ball about the size of a lemon on a stick to scare away the birds. I had a sales table next to "Lady Bug" one time and she says that they are mirrors for fairies (because fairies are so vain) to see themselves. I am thinking that she told me that fairies only come out at night.

Twilla McKee

Gazing Ball. I was told that at one point they were used as traffic indicators. They would be placed at an intersection so that you could see all directions.

Sounds bogus to me but I love the story. Also, they were used in gardens to watch the clouds go by. Personally, I love them. I have a full-sized one sitting on a beautiful ornate cement pedestal in a corner in my living room.

Melissa

Gazing balls: When I was in college (mid-late 60s,) the campus neighborhood had a number of gazing balls in peoples' small front yards. A fad started for the fraternities and boys' dorms to gang up after a few pitchers of 3.2 beer at the pizza parlor and "borrow" gazing balls, the more the better, preferably stacked into pyramids in their residences' front yards. The neighbors just got used to cruising fraternity row to retrieve their lawn decor. For some reason, the balls were referred to generically as "silver balls" regardless of their actual color, which could be silver, gold, blue, green, or red. I think the police tolerated this prank because it was annoying but harmless at a time when nearby campuses like Kent State had real problems with rioting and violence.

That would make a funny scene if I were a doll person

Loretta Sniarowski

Gazing vs. Witching balls: Just had to throw in what I know here. A witch's ball (I collect these) is to hang in front of your windows or by your doors. They are beautiful large orbs of colored glass. The witches would be so enamored with the pretty witch's ball they would stop and look, and magically become trapped inside, only to be released with the morning light to fly back to their caves. They must work as I have never had any witch problems! Gazing balls were in your garden to amuse the fairies, who loved to look at themselves.

Sarah from Central Iowa

Gazing vs. Witching balls: Gazing ball -the Victorians were very superstitious and believed gazing balls would keep away evil spirits and witches-they do not like to see their reflections. But the vain little fairies would be attracted to the garden...:)

Witching balls had strands of glass in them to catch evil so it would not enter your house. They hung them in windows, similar to the Indian dream catchers....

LadyBug

Painting stripes on orchids: This morning I have been painting stripes on phalaenopsis orchids.....here is what I found.....2 cups of coffee really helps :)

To use the laser cut sheet of orchids: First I spray painted both sides of the sheet with Design Master flat white spray paint, holding the sheet with a hemastat. (I get hemastats at the flea market...they are wonderful clamps). The weight of the hemastats let me set the sheet of laser cut flowers on the edge of the table so they can dry. To paint the stripes, I used a calligraphy pen and a colored acrylic ink. FW acrylic ink....there are many brands. Dip the pen in the ink lightly and with a shaky hand draw stripes. Fortunately the stripes are only on one side of the flower!

Mary in Clearwater, FL

"Rose" Seed Projects: Beet seeds, available from your local hardware store or garden center, make wonderful mini-flowers. But, for excellent mini-roses, kale seeds are the best. With either, pour a small amount of paint into a zip-lock baggie, drop in some seeds, zip it up and shake. Spill them out onto a paper towel, separate and let dry. Don't go completely obsessive-compulsive and glue each little seed to wire and add miniscule leaves! LOL! Instead, go for a walk and find a dead, dried bunch of small vines for climbing roses or some twigs for bushes. The tips of azalea branches have the right branching shape for rose bushes. For vines, I've gotten good results using Alyssium and other unidentifiable ground covers. To add greenery, set up two containers you don't mind throwing away afterwards. Fill one with green sponge bits -- HBS sells them but you can get them at any model train hobby shop. Fill the other with white glue. Shape your vines or twigs the way you want them, dip them in the glue and then stick them into the sponge bits and swirl. Lay on wax paper and let dry. To apply the "rose" seeds, squeeze out a puddle of white glue on wax paper, roll the seeds around until they are liberally coated and then scatter them on your spongy vines or twigs.

You can make topiary ball roses using Styrofoam balls covered in green sponge and stuck on top of a nice, straight twig, "planted" in a container. Last year I found some adorable little mini-hearts shaped out of twigs and little terra cotta pots at Michael's. I pressed florist foam into the pots and stuck the ends of the hearts into their centers. The florist foam made the pots look like the "dirt" was covered with fine moss. Using tweezers, I picked up bits of green sponge, dipped them in white glue and then stuck them along parts of the heart shape and at its base until they resembled vines growing around the shape but not covering it entirely. Then I added especially tiny "rose" seeds along the vines. Fabulous effect -- mini-miniature climbing roses!

Sally Cook-Thomas

For the moss between patio tiles, I would use the landscaping foam glued there. For the sand, guess I would put glue in the spaces and top it with sand!

Rita Pierce

Liquid Illusion: I got the Liquid Illusion at Jo-Ann's in the floral department.The main use for it is for filling up clear vases and then putting flowers in them. This is first time I have done any "water" and the Liquid Illusion was so, so easy!

Here's a tip for painting tiny lines on flowers: Most lines I paint are short ones on flower petals, but it also works for tole painting where you have to do the dots and comma strokes. Fishing line taped to a toothpick or dowel works great. Different sizes make different sized dots, lines, or strokes. You don't have to wash the "brushes" either, just run your fingernail down the sides and wipe off the paint. The tip can be cut straight down or at a sharp angle with a razor. Keep the paint close to the item you're painting, cause you do need to dip often. I keep a little paint puddle next to a water puddle, so if the paint won't slide off the brush it's time to wet it. To do dots, just touch the tip to the surface. To do comma strokes, do the dot and drag in the proper direction. To do lines, hold the tip at an angle and drag (angled tip works best).

Bonnie Lavish

Material to make a pond. I used DAP Clear Caulking and GE Clear Caulking. They are both as clear as water, so I painted the surface they were on and it made the entire "water" appear the color I wanted it to be. I found that with the GE Clear Caulking I was able to "work" the surface of the caulking by dipping my finger into plain rubbing alcohol (isopropyl alcohol) and spreading or redirecting the caulking with ease. The alcohol also slows down the setting of the clear GE Caulking and allows for more working time.

Dr.Bob

Meat grinders aren't necessarily used for meat: I still use the meat grinder for colored sponges to grind it into small bits for foliage and landscape material. Natural sponges don't work.

Jean Day