Nipples, and rubber stuff: I've made nipples and condoms and even a sad looking rubber glove from liquid latex rubber. It's totally wonderful stuff. You can get it from MicroMark. I think a jar is around $10.00 and lasts forever. It's white when wet, and dries to the yellow that's the color of a nipple. It can also be tinted with a very small amount of acrylic paint, although it might lose some stretchablilty. You can brush it on or dip things in it. To make a balloon or condom, just dip a wire in the rubber. When it's dry, baby powder it and roll it off. To make the nipple, you can use a smoothed wire or rod inserted into a tube. Most craft stores sell the rods and tubes in the model section. Buy a tube that fits snugly over the rod. You can use the rubber to make flexible molds, too. I've even baked polymer clay in rubber molds, but I'm not sure how long they'll last if I keep it up.

Bonnie Lavish

Pacifiers: A thought on baby pacifiers - Those round porcupine balls with the rubber spokes all around could be used. Cut off the very tip, dip the square or cut end into glue to give it a larger shape, punch out a 1/4" circle from plastic, punch a hole in it and bend a staple into a tiny circle, push through the punched plastic circle into the enlarged end. If you can't find the correct color of the balls, this could be painted to look like a nipple. I haven't done this, but it sounds possible? The staple could be painted to give it a thicker appearance.

Carol (jody)

Statues & Figures: My tip is obvious to those of you who have been doing this for a while, but thought some newbies would appreciate this.  I found some fabulous figures for my house at the Dungeons & Dragons Dept. of my local hobby store.  They're lead and hold paint well.  I used primer then used acrylic to paint them, then 2 coats of water-based varnish to give them a porcelain look.  I found a couple of Medieval women, a Cavalier playing a lute, St. George & Dragon, etc.  They're very fiddly to paint, but that's half the fun, right?

Susan

Metal Minis: Someone wanted to know where to buy metal pewter minis:  I like dealing with a company who gives very good, quick service:  Reynolds Metal Miniatures, 1000 Central Ave., Wilmette, IL 60091  Phone:  (847)251-2455.  I have no connection with this company but love their stuff.

Marjorie in CA

Paintings & Artwork: I make my own "oil paintings" by printing pictures on glossy photo paper. Make sure ink has dried completely.  Then I spray it with "Workable Art Fixative".  It's available in art supply and craft stores [I buy it in Ben Franklin]  - it's a clear, fast-drying protection that artists use when working with charcoal, chalk and pencil drawings.  I usually spray a couple of light coats to the whole page of photo paper.

Next, I spray the back with Spray Adhesive and adhere it to a sheet of poster board or thin cardboard.  I always save those thin sheets of brown cardboard that come in packs of paper because they're the perfect thickness.

To give each picture the look and texture of an oil painting, apply a coat of Decoupage Paste [matte] to each picture.  I like to use a soft brush and "stiple" it on.  It's cloudy until it dries, but it dries to a clear coat. Then I can cut out each "painting" and put them in frames.

Some good sources for paintings are on the Internet from: http://www.art.com http://www.nga.gov/collection/collect.htm

Ricki Pitzner

Mini Clothespins: Dean of Rainbow Design makes the most awesome, old-fashioned wooden clothespins I've ever seen!  They are definitely worth every penny!

Laura

Towels: I make great Turkish towels out of baby sleepers.  The loop is much smaller and only one side, so they're less bulky.  I buy mine at thrift shops, and now have a lifetime supply of towels for my dollhouses, in lovely soft colors.  If you're doing period, I'm not quite sure when terrycloth was invented, but I remember reading that it was when a weaving machine at a factory somewhere went haywire and began pulling up the threads in the cloth.  Someone thought the fabric which resulted should be used for something, and Voila! Turkish toweling came to be.

Sharon Begley

Fly Paper: When you get the fly paper up, how about tying black thread (maybe button thread - you'd have to try different weights) into a double knot for the fly's body and clip the threads about an eighth of an inch long for the wings? You can glue them to the fly paper.

Dani

Creating oil stains on garage floors:   Remember to make them look realistic position them properly.  Cars leak oil from their engine or differential usually this makes the stain under the front or back quarter of the car not the middle. Often if you have a car that leaks oil you will find a larger puddle under one end and a smaller puddle under the other - either because both the engine and the differencial leak (and the diff leaks less) or - more likely - you usually park nose first in the garage but occasionally reverse in.

Sandra Monk