Small Screw Eyes: I make my own screw eyes for mounting stair rods (those brass rods that hold my stair runners on the staircase) by twisting 26 gauge brass wire around a 1/16" brass rod. The wire comes on spools like sewing thread, and when you release it from the slot on the end, it unwinds and spirals off. I pull up 20 or so 'spirals' and cut the rounds at 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock, which automatically gives me pieces that are about 1" long. I fold them over the rod, and then start turning the rod, with the cut ends sticking out, so I can get a grip on them. Once they're twisted, just trim off the splayed ends, and you've got a tiny screw eye, really cheap, and pretty fast, especially if you're riding in a car, or watching TV. And if you get the twist just right, they'll screw into a hole, too. 28 gauge wire works also, it depends on how 'beefy' a screw eye you want.

Bonni Backe

I would recommend one large piece of plexIiglass rather than many small ones for the open side. I use BlueTac to hold things down with no adverse effects after many years.

Jeanette

Anne Gerdes

Conversions: You might try: www.allmath.com It has all kinds of conversions including metric.

Jill Zimmerman

Polaroid has come out with a new camera called the i-zone. It is an instant pocket camera and sells for around $23.00. The great thing about this camera is that the instant pictures are miniature! This is the easiest way I have ever found to add my friends/family to my miniature collection with only adding a frame. The only down side is that you will not be able to cut/shape the picture to anything other than its original rectangular shape due to chemicals in the instant processing.

Suzy

Plastic Tubing: You can get the plastic tubing from most plastics stores or from medical supply stores. If you only need a couple the plastic tip off a new paint brush is the perfect size for those candy tubes.

Deb

Tubing: You can buy several different tube sizes in a store that sells things for an aquarium. I also buy my tubing for my water fountain there.

Elizabeth

Glass Display Domes: I've seen glass domes with walnut bases in a variety of sizes at the Williamsburg Pottery. The cost was almost half of retail. Items are always changing, but I have seen them on numerous occasions. I believe I found them in the china dept., but I won't swear to it.

Eileen Vernon

***GOURDS***

First off, let me recommend a great book on gourds- our library has it and maybe yours does as well- they also sell it online at Amazon and places like that. The book is Gourd Craft by Summit and Widess. It is one of the most comprehensive and best books I have seen on a craft- I don't often buy books, but this is one I got.

Step 1 is scraping the gourds before you start to decorate. Gourds are naturally covered with a waxy epidermis that must be removed, and paint won't stick unless you take that waxy epidermis off. Just wrap them in a wet towel, put in a plastic bag overnight and the stuff will scrape off easily. I use and old paring knife (not serrated.) When I'm done, I also scrub them a bit with a green scotch brite kitchen scrubber.

Draw your design of where you want to cut with pencil. If you use marker, it will bleed through any paint you put over it. When I am cutting intricate shapes, I use a Dremel tool with a mini saw blade shaped steel cutter. (This can be dangerous if you aren't careful!) For simpler cuts and the easiest way, you can use a hand held jig saw. Drill a hole to start and then cut, holding the gourd as steady as you are able. You can prop it on a wadded up towel or something to hold it in place. If at all possible, try to avoid cutting the gourd with an X-Acto knife - the gourds are very woody and hard and it will be difficult to cut them this way, in fact you may cut yourself instead.

Then you need to clean the inside. I use a variety of tools to scrape the inside clean. Ceramic tools that look like a big loop on a handle and have a cutting edge work good and are inexpensive. You can also use a grapefruit spoon or whatever.... I finish with a steel wire brush chucked into my drill. *WEAR a dust mask!* The dust can be irritating and may contain mold that you might be allergic to. I like to paint the inside of the cleaned gourd with spray paint, but that is just personal preference. I paint the outside of mine with acrylics. I usually do a lot of sponge painting. I tried spray paints, but they don't hold up outside as well as the acrylics. Spray them with polyurethane or clear enamel when you are done. Some people prefer to use leather dyes or shoe polish to get a more natural finish instead of painting them.

Bonnie Gibson - Tucson, Arizona

Metal Miniatures: We have found or actually my friends found out and clued me in! The easiest way to paint metal miniatures is to put them on double sided tape and spray paint them. You can then put a wash of any paint over them to get the desired look that you want.

Isabel Allen

Hot Coals: I thought I would throw in my suggestion on the candy wrappers - the ones that come out for Halloween in the Hershey's minis are great for hot coals in a fire. Of course you have to eat the candy first - then make little balls out of the orange & red wrappers. Put a few of them in a campfire or fireplace, mixed with aquarium charcoal pieces, and they look like a glowing fire.

Mary Ann

1/12th Scale Cars: To the many people that wrote to me requesting info on 1/12th scale cars. Most of you asked for a listing of available cars. These are the ones that I am aware of:

Monogram 1967 Corvette Coupe
Monogram 1969 Camaro Z-28
Monogram 1957 Chevy 2 door Coupe
Monogram 1937 Cord
Austin Mini Cooper
1958 Chevrolet Corvette (diecast)
19641/2 Mustang Conv. (diecast)
1964 Pontiac GTO Conv. (diecast)
1993 Dodge Viper (diecast)
A few European Sports cars-Exotic (plastic kits)
1932 Ford 3 window Coupe Hot rod (resin cast)
1940 Willys Coupe,Hot Rod (resin cast)
Fiat dragster -hard to find(plastic kit)

If any of these interest you, please contact me. Thanks for all the inquiries.

Lloyd Cooper

Seashell-inspired fantasy pieces were popular in the 1880s, called "Grotto Style" There's a wonderful book called "Fantasy Furniture" by Bruce M. Newman (Rizzoli International Publications, Inc., ISBN 84-78-1119-0) that includes pictures of all kinds of fabulous furniture, including Grotto; Black Forest--with woodland scenes featuring branches and bears; Horn Antler--crafted of real animal by-products; and Belle Époque--fantastic samples of Art Nouveau furnishings.

Lee

Cats in doll houses: I have had my kitties trying to move in my doll house to. I got clear plastic from Wal-Mart ( in the fabric Dept.) cut it to the size of the opening and use upholstery tacks to hold the top part and Velcro to hold the sides. When ever my darling's try to get inside, I squall a loud "NO" AND CLAP MY HANDS. They get the message. With the Velcro on the sides I have easy access to the inside when I need it.

Pat Thompson

Painting Styrofoam: You can spray paint Styrofoam if you use Design Master. This was created for florists. It is used to dye real flowers, dried and artificial flowers, baskets, raffia, and Styrofoam. I have also used it on balsa, basswood and other items. It is available in translucent or opaque colors. There is a wonderful whitewash that is a favorite of mine. If you can not find it in your local hobby shop, ask your neighborhood florist to get the color you want the next time he/she makes an order from their wholesale house.

TIP: Cover a Styrofoam brick with one or more layers of saran wrap and insert toothpicks loaded with your newest creations and spray away.

HINT: Don't forget, because the floral industry is working with products that are live and fragile, design tools used by them are usually user friendly and therefore can be used for other art and craft forms.

Becky

Small plastic boxes: For those of you that might be looking for small plastic boxes of different shapes try going to the following site: http://www.emsdiasum.com/ems/default.html This is the site for Electron Microscopy Sciences and they have many different kind of plastic boxes and more stuff than can be listed here. I would suggest that you go to the on-line catalog and get to the index using their alphabetical lists and look for boxes. Their things are great. They also have myriad small tools. Interesting site.

Ann Hendricks

Tile roofs: I used corrugated cardboard with pleasing results.

Dr Bob

Tips for Storing Wood: Since I live on 5 acres in the country, we do a lot of irrigating. PVC Pipe is a white rigid plastic pipe that comes in 12 foot lengths and assorted diameters. It can be found at any hardware store or Home Depot. I use the 1-1/2 inch diameter. Cut it in 18 inch sections, stand them on end and glue the sides together with PVC Cement to form a square cluster. I then wrap one strip of duct tape around the bunch to make it a secure unit.

Like this: OOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOO

I set this unit on a piece of plywood on wheels and it rolls under my workbench. By looking down at the end cuts you can see what is stripwood and what are the various shapes of moldings. As I use it and it becomes too short for the 18 inch pipe, put those scraps in 3 different boxes: 1 is stripwood, 1 is moldings and the other is both that have been painted or stained and left from a project. It’s amazing what you can build from these scrap boxes.

Ruth

Storage for wood strip/moulding: For those who don't have ready access to PVC pipes I came up with a slightly less permanent version over the holidays. Having been inspired to clean up my workspace by all the mention on SS, I had a look around for something to keep as yet unused baseboards and mouldings upright and out of the way. There in the recycling pile were all those empty Christmas wrap and paper towel rolls along with quite a few Pringles "tins". I crammed them into an empty detergent box and used packing tape to hold everything together against the still attached upright lid. I now have different height tubes to hold anything long and thin and it tucks away in a small corner.

Dawn T / Toronto, On

stripwood storage: Ruths' idea of using PVC pipe for storing stripwood is a great one. I have done the same sort of set up, the only difference is that on the outside of of the bundle of tubes, I put some of varying heights - i.e. one 12" long, one 8" long, etc. and this is where my shorter stuff goes. Also, instead of PVC, I used some old mailing tubes that were different diameters and had the advantage of caps on the end. I have a rectangular shaped plastic container that came free with cat food that I put all my sheet wood in. It is about 4" wide so it holds the 3" sheets that are commonly sold. I put the wood in divided by type of wood, and by thicknesses. They stand on end so I can see what I have pretty easily. I keep the box pretty full, so I've never had a problem with warpage.

I also keep an old bucket near my saws to throw scraps into- sometimes I am able to salvage something out of it, but most often it is unusable and makes a great campfire at some point. It is hard sometimes to decide when you should save or pitch scraps- I tend to use almost everything, but if it is all just thrown into a box you aren't too likely to ever find it when you need it anyway.

Bonnie Gibson - Tucson, Arizona