Making Artificial River Run Rocks: Mix Durham Rock Putty up until it is just thick enough to handle. Roll it out into a ball about the size of a golf ball then cut it into marble size pieces (don't roll these out). Place the pieces inside a large round bottom plastic bowl with a lid on it. Before placing on the lid, add a couple tablespoons of dry putty powder to the bowl. Then shake the bowl around a bit. This should give you some boulders. Dump them out onto newspaper to dry. Repeat the process by cutting down some of the marble sizes into smaller pieces and shaking them in the powder again. You have usually half an hour to work with it. You can repeat the size cuts until you nearly have sand. When they are completely dry you can smack a few with a hammer to crack them. To vary the color a bit get powder dye, used to mix in cement for color, from a hardware store and mix in with dry powder.

Bill Hudson

Easy Outdoor Ferns: Craft stems are pipe cleaner-type materials sold in packets (sometimes hanks) in the U.S. and Australia, but maybe not everywhere. "Bump chenille" craft stems have a thick and-thin profile that, if you squint at it, resembles a string of end-to-end fern fronds. With a bit of scissoring and nipping, plus paint and wire, you can use these for quick-and-easy ferns that work well as foundation plantings on the north side of old houses, etc.

Start with a packet of green or light-colored stems. Use small thin-bladed scissors to clip the fibers from two sides of a stem, making a flat piece. Squeeze fern-green paint onto your thumb and forefinger and moosh it firmly into the fibers. This makes them clump together, resembling individual leaflets. These tend to "grow" in one direction, which should be toward the tip of the frond. Cut the painted stems apart so that each has a relatively short tip - in other words, like a fern. The opposite pointed ends will be too long but don't chop them off yet. If you have a reddish-brown felt-tip on hand, make a faint mark along the length of the stems - not vital, but a subtle improvement. Assemble fronds by wrapping wire around the lower part of one, positioning a second opposite it and wrapping around both, adding a third facing the edges of both, and so on. Splay the stem ends out horizontally for a base, clipping any excess length.

You can glue each (I like E-6000) on a scrap of card and add your choice of soil before the glue sets up.

You might also like the effect of single bumps left unshorn and upended as tall plants in your flower border. Leave unadorned (not everything is in bloom at once!) or shear the leaflets at the tip even shorter and add buds or small blossoms. You can use other pipecleaner-type materials the same way.

Potted Topiary: The potted standard topiary made from a skewer, green landscaping foam, and a styro ball is the perfect entry-way plant for many settings. But sometimes you need something less formal and tightly pruned. There are other materials you can use for a more open effect. Mostly, you need to glue something into a styrofoam ball, rather than on top of it, which means poking holes around the surface of the ball to secure the greenery. Possibilities for greenery include individual plastic leaves, short pieces of craft-stem "pine" or similar material, other craft-store greenery from garland or sprigs, or dried natural materials. As a nicer alternative to styrofoam, you can start with a pod from a sweetgum tree (liquid amber): these woody brown seed-holders are usually globular but vary quite a bit in size and shape. Zap them in a microwave, nip off curly tips, shake out the dried seeds, and use the resultant holes to glue in a trunk and greenery. The conical shapes of teazels can be used the same way, except that these come with their own trunks; just sand off the thorns. (Teazels aren't as ubiquitous as sweetgums, but sometimes show up in craft stores.) Other areas are sure to have other plants, including weeds, that'll work the same way. If you have space to grow a pot of oregano in summer, let it go to seed and then dry and paint the stalks and seed clusters, shoring up with several coats of acrylic medium. These are a great way to suggest those little pots of standard rosemary you see in decor magazines.

Mary

Little Floss Flowers: There's another flower you can make with embroidery floss that Frieda Gray doesn't mention in her book. It's goofily simple, and not the least showy. (I rather like the notion that not every blossom is a diva.) All you do is take a piece of floss - say, six inches - and tie a series of tight knots in it,maybe a half-inch or so apart. Cut apart right next to the knots; then trim the loose strands to about a quarter-inch long, for example.(Some of you may agonize over measurements; I avoid the issue by making plants!) You can stiffen the strands if you like. Paint the knots a green to match your stems, and glue on - facing up, dangling, or whatever. (There is at least one shrub - witch hazel, perhaps - that has small hanging flowers quite a bit like this.)

Mary (Oregon)

White Sand: You can buy very white sand in tropical fish stores. I'm not certain how much you need, but it is not too expensive.

Mary Kaliski

White Sand: Regarding the white sand, it would probably be easier and cheaper to check out a local pet shop, rather than paying shipping to acquire the sand you need. Look for the type used in aquariums. Just a mini thought.

Louise Riley

Loofah: A loofah is a gourd - in the squash family, and grows on a vine. It grows REAL well here in the Southwest as it loves the heat and doesn't need much water. When it is green and on the vine, it is edible. (If you are REALLY hungry!) But, when it dries, the outer shell becomes very brittle and can be crumbled off. Inside is the Loofah you get at the stores (and swap meets), and that structure is full of seeds. Shake out the seeds, and there is a loofah! It just needs to be rinsed out to be ready to use. No part of the loofah is toxic as far as I know. For those of you unfamiliar w/a loofah, it's shaped like a cucumber with an internal structure similar to a sponge. They can be used as is, or can be cut and flattened into a sheet. They are most often used in the bath as they exfoliate the skin. But, they sure have many uses in miniature when texture is needed. They can be used in landscaping, and can also be used in faux painting.

Nicole Walton Marble

Loofahs: Loofahs grow on a tropical vine similar to a gourd plant. The part that we use as a sponge is actually the fibrous interior of the fruit of the plant. It's common names are "dishcloth gourd" and "vegetable sponge." I've never heard of it being toxic, but I don't think any animals would want to eat it due to its texture. I've also seen cat scratching toys made out of loofahs.

Tere Perry

Paper Covered Wire: I use the tightest wrapped paper covered wire I've ever seen for my floral arrangements. Check it out by clicking on: http://www.smallerthanabreadbox.com

Follow the "Flower Making Tools and Supplies" link.

Helen David

24 Gauge Covered Wire: Mary Kinloch sells 24 gauge covered wire on her site. 30 and 20 gauge too. http://www.marykinloch.com

Anne Gerdes

Flower Pots: Try Hanky Panky Crafts. Ruth has quite a few in her catalog. I placed an order with her on Monday morning and had it Wednesday morning by Priority Mail from MN to PA. She also has great flower making booklets and she gives a discount if you purchase all 4 at once. Never met the lady but she's so pleasant to deal with and the service is A+ prompt.

Sylvia

Upholstered Furniture: Check out sdk miniatures. Furniture comes in 1 inch and 1/2 inch scales and sure looks comfy to me! Susan is a member of SS and her site is on the Small Stuff links page under furniture. Her potted plants are beautiful and she delivers quicker that you would think possible.

Linda

Accessories for Valentine Box: Here are a few ideas for filling your box using items around your home;  we've all started here and used these items - at least I know quite a few people who did this.

For a table in your room, use a paper cup, perhaps 3 or 5 oz;  cut to height you want it (measure your kitchen table for the height).  Then take a round piece of material that is cut to the correct length to just touch the ground, or a little above.  (From the center of the table, measure over the top and down the side, double this length and that is the diameter of your cloth.  Then find a bowl or something round that is approx. the correct size across, mark and cut out your table cloth.  Add paper doily or piece of lace for doily if you want.

For a plant, you need a pot with dirt in it.  The pot can be small or large (toothpaste cap - the old kind- or a lid off  Pam or Hair Spray.  Then fill the pot 2/3 with paper, foil or foam, (this is just to take up space), and then using dried used coffee or tea grounds, put in the dirt. For the plant, collect some twisty ties off your bread or whatever, use them for fern fronds (clip along the edges to fringe them) or if you want a larger leafed plant, use the twisty ties as the stem and lay it between two pieces of masking tape (sticky side together.  No glue needed).  Paint the masking tape green or whatever color desired, cut to shape of whatever type leaves, and "plant" your botanical.

Marjorie in CA

Stick-on labels and wedding bouquets: Among the office supplies there are usually packages of stick-on labels, and I buy oneof each size in white.  These are useful for all kinds of miniature purposes.

The round ones are good as a backing for making wedding bouquets and other floral arrangements.  I leave the labelwhite for a wedding bouquet, and sometimes paint it green or another color if I'm makingsomething else.  Leave the sticker on its backing sheet, and clip or tape thepaper to an index card so it can be held upright to see how the bouquet is looking.

Decide on the shape first - triangle, round, or s-curve. A tiny blob of clear silicone or extra-heavy Tacky in the center of the label serves as the base.   If using trailing greenery I usually insertit first, leaving it long.  If it's ivy I'm making, to avoid bulk and to make it hang more naturally I use beading wire or green thread, usually 3 or 5 strands. Add the focal flowers, then filler, inserting into the silicone blob.  When the baseis covered, tip any additional flowers with glue to insert.  Then add the ivy leaves, gluing them where needed in the bouquet and along the stems.  The last thing I do is trimming the streamers, varying the lengths.  Additional lengths can be added if necessary.

Use a second label as a backing.  If it is a gift, I write my name and the date before removing from the backing paper.   Very thin silk ribbon tied in knots at the ends looks good behind a round tussy mussy-type bouquet. Tiny lightweight angel lace or other lace cut into narrow lengths can be glued to this label if a frill is wanted to show behind the bouquet. I usually add these after the arrangement is complete, attaching the ribbons to the sticky side of the bouquet's label while I hold it upright.  I usually add the lace to the backing label,then put the backing label on to encase the lace edges and/or the tops of the ribbons.

Let the arrangement dry thoroughly before adding the backing label.   If the bouquet is to be in a doll's hand where the back can be seen, the labels can be scrunched into a cone shape while the glue is dampish, and, as someone on the list has already suggested, the pointed end of a toothpick can be inserted in the center for a handle.  If the bouquet is to be attached where it doesn't show, loops of white or green thread can be used as a hanger.

This procedure also works for swags and coffee-table type arrangementr bouquets, which you might want to s, and can also be used fo switch to different containers.  Put a bit of silicone or glue (or clay if you don't want it to be permanent) into the container, trim the label if necessary and insert with tweezers.  Add a bit of moss or soil to the top if necessary.

The same process works great for making mini gift bows, too. I have also used them to hold tiny quarter scale glasses andother objects, which are difficult to keep straight, then stuck the labels,trimmed to fit, on a shelf or in the cupboard.  If the label is painted the same color it'susually unnoticeable.  If you want it removable, put a second label on thesticky back, then attach with blue-tac or wax. 

Wanna

Mini lawn mower: The push ones that work are actually made by Cottage Industries but Dee's does distribute forthem.  I just sold my last one and they are on backorder from Cottage.  Maybe Dee's hassome in stock

Carol

Mini-mowers: If it's a riding mower you want, check at your local Southern States or True Value Hardware store. They havebanks that are 1:18 copies of their mowers. I got one several years ago - can't rememberhow much it was, but not too bad. I remember expensive stuff!

Dani

Fish: I found some realistic looking rubber fish in the sporting goods department.  The kind I bought were the tiny minnow size lures, which look like 1" scale trout.  These were fairly expensive if you were to buy several of them (around $2, I think).  I've never been to a fly fishing store but I'll bet you can buy these fish separately without all the extras and it would be cheaper.

Annie