Textured walls: I use a mixture of paint and personal body powder, the cheapest you can find. Mix both together to a thick gluggy consistency and spoon on then use a old telephone or bank card to trowel the mixture over the surface. It can be sanded when it is dry if needed. This also gives strength to the kit houses

Karen in Dubai U.A.E

texturing walls: I'm thinking those products will be too thick to look good in scale, and the spray stuff will have unpleasant fumes until it's dry. I would experiment first on a piece of scrap wood (outdoors) and let it dry before you decide. And please let us know -- the tips based on experience, whether bad or good, are valuable!

Possibly you will like the results from plain, smooth drywall joint compound better (it's pretty cheap and comes ready mixed). I haven't used it on a dollhouse yet, only on a real wall, but I can't think of any reason it wouldn't be just fine. The beauty of it is that it's water based and can be easily removed while wet. When it's dry it can be sanded down if you're not happy with some areas (but makes fine dust). It can be troweled on and pushed into interesting patterns with something like an old credit card (isn't that a great use for those?) or dabbed lightly with a rag or sponge to get various textures. Try it, it's fun. A real knock-down finish is hard to achieve. I watched a skilled guy repair a ceiling one time. The material is dabbed and lifted so that it leaves little peaks and then there is another pass with the trowel just skimming those peaks flat. Orange peel is named for the fruit it resembles. You might be able to get that effect by dabbing a rag or sponge, but will need to experiment.

There is also a product that is called "dollhouse stucco" I wouldn't be surprised if it's pretty much the same thing, but with a very fine texture added. This would possibly be just right for you. Here is a web page where someone has some pictures of her work in progress, including the half-timbered and stucco effect: http://www.dollhouse-by-lilofee.com/workshop.html She builds custom dollhouses in her spare time & completes several per year, while having a full time job. Her site, which she keep up to the minute, is very image and midi intensive, so if you have a slow connection, might as well play free cell while you wait!

I'm sure you won't wreck your house with the water based products. Don't ever wash any plaster-like product into the drain pipes unless you have a crush on the plumber! Have a water bucket and sponge ready because if you're like me, you'll get it on you and several other places it doesn't belong.

Rosalind in Houston, TX

Making a chimney smoke: I just read the question asking how does one make a chimney smoke so I phoned a friend Donna Murphy to get the details correct. If you look at her web site http://www.interlog.com/~murphys/logxmas.html you may see the most FANTASTIC log house which Donna bought as finished structure but totally completed and decorated the interior. She has added many details and in these pictures it is Christmas time, although she changes everything around for other holidays such as Easter, Halloween etc. Every time I go to visit her I have to go and drool over this log house as it is to die for! Anyway as you can see the house has a beautiful chimney which serves the rooms on both sides of it. Donna bought a smoker unit from a train store (meant for locomotives) and wired it into the electrical system so that it can be turned on or off. It sits inside the chimney just down from the opening. You can buy the stuff to make smoke for it, which is expensive, but the man at the train store finally told her to use baby oil! She puts a few drops inside the unit and it smokes beautifully plus it is inexpensive. If you want help on this I'm sure Donna could clarify things.

Cheryl in Brampton, ON

Chimney smoke: In answer to you question on making a chimney smoke there is a smoke generator that you can purchase mostly at train or model shops that are made for trains. I have one in my gypsy wagon on http://www.picturetrail.com/cbazteca it is very easy to install and you put drops of oil (smoke oil) on the inside and it smokes works great.

Donna from Texas

Moss for side of Pond:   I assume you want to add moss to the side of your pond. The quickest way is to grind USED floral Oasis. I grate it on my cheese grater. It must be floral Oasis to tolerate the liquid. I paint diluted white glue on the surface, sprinkle oasis on the glue and  allow to dry. The resin will absorbed and move up the oasis, changing the color and making some of it appear wet. I also sprinkle some of this around the edge of my pond before I pour the water. When I apply this to rocks or other surfaces above the water line, I antique the item I have mossed with dirty paint water then seal it with a matt varnish.Becky Holliday

Working fountains: You can safely run distilled water mixed with a drop or two of Clorox (to one quart of water) bleach through the plumbing.  More bleach could cause damage. This will keep the water mildew free for quite a while. but you will have to change the water now and then. There is a product used for the popular desktop fountains that could also be used in place of water.  Maybe someone on the list has a desktop fountain and uses this?

You can also use a mixture of water and a bit of distilled WHITE vinegar.  Never use water that is not distilled.

Tracey A Meeker

Magnetic paint: There is such a product put out by Kling. I bought mine at Michaels, but have not tried it yet. It says it is a light gray 100% acrylic latex primer,   may be topped coated with any color latex or enamel paint. Kling Magnetic Paint is a 100% magnetic receptive coating. (Magnets stick like magic). Soooo, looks like it would not magnetize the "dollhouse" but make the walls accept the magnets.   I haven't tried it yet but it looked like a product that might come in handy. Maybe someone else can help further.

Diane in SFBA

Warping Foamcore: Foamcore has a nasty habit of warping. I always use plywood for the floor to prevent warping. On the other hand, if just the paperclay is curling up and not the foamcore, then you probably didn't spread the layer of yellow glue evenly on the foamcore.

Rik Pierce

Warping Foamcore: Foamcore has a nasty habit of warping. I always use plywood for the floor to prevent warping. On the other hand, if just the paperclay is curling up and not the foamcore, then you probably didn't spread the layer of yellow glue evenly on the foamcore.

Rik Pierce

Warping Foamcore: So this is what I've learned. 1/4" thick foamcore can't be used with paperclay. But paperclay, as Rik has proved, does make great stone and brick and rock. Still, Harry Potter's classroom needed a floor so I made a new floor using the technique Joanne Swanson used in her wizard's classroom how-to in Dollhouse Miniatures. She said to use 1/2" foamcore but I had none, so I used the 1/4" and worked fast. I scribed the rock outlines on the floor as Joanne directed and painted a grey basecoat with bottle acrylics. These dry fast so within 10 minutes I turned the foamcore face down on wax paper, rubbed water over the back with my hands, added more wax paper and weighted it all with some very heavy horse reference books overnight. Did this again for another basecoat the next day. After that I was able to add shading with paint for more realism but the foamcore stayed flat.

I think the Paperclay just had too much moisture over a long period of time for this technique to work.

Denise Pritchett

Stucco on Foamcore: Terri said she wants to stucco the outside of her foamcore roombox and is worried about warping. Just a thought--and I confess I have never used foamcore--if you draw the dimensions of your outside wall on a piece of paper, cover this with clingfilm and make your kleenex stucco wall right on the clingfilm and let it dry flat, you can then peel off your wall and glue it to your box with much less moisture coming into contact with the foamcore, which seems to be the root of the problem. It should work, but you might want to experiment on scraps first.

Donna from Devon

Stone Floor: Go to a home improvement store i.e.; Home Depot or Lowes, and get a 12" square vinyl tile with a stone texture. They come in various shades of gray and tan. With a ball point pen, lay out the stones in a pattern you like, then using a x-acto knife cut through the top layer of vinyl about 1/32" on both sides of the layout line. This will give you two parallel cuts about 1/16" apart. Then peel up the 1/16" strip and you will find you have a gray line that looks just like the mortar between the stones. It takes a little practice but you end up with a stone floor that is smooth and flat and looks great. Another added plus is that the tiles are adhesive backed so you just peel off the backing paper and stick it in place. If your floor is larger than 12" square then match patterns on the edges of adjoining tiles and you can make a floor as large as you need.

Rik Pierce

Foam core: I have discovered that if you spray foam core with a clear acrylic spray, one or two good coats, and let dry thoroughly, you will not have any warping. It has worked wonderfully for me.

Shirley Medlock

Foam core: I've used foamcore without any warpage problems because I generally spray it on both sides with fake granite paint for a stucco effect. When assembling foamcore, I always strengthen the glue bond by simply sticking straight pins through the joins. The textured paint finish "disappears" the pinheads on the finished building.

Loretta Sniarowski

Foam core: I had a miniature shop years ago and built several structures from foamcore. I was inspired by a fellow named Garth Close who was the owner at that time of Handley House Miniatures in Texas. He had a booklet/plans for several very nice and very sizey houses built from foamcore, so I tried it. This was some twenty years ago--and the structures I built are still very sound. I can't recall all I did while constructing them, but I know they are painted inside and stuccoed outside in one case--and I don't recall any warpage problem. Mind you, this is 1/2 inch thick, not 1/4 inch. I know I used contact cement to glue them up. I would think that some of the glues today would work as well. I may have painted them after they were assembled. Can't recall for sure but believe I did.

My point is: don't give up on 1/2 inch foamcore. I don't know that I would use it for a large complex house, but it certainly works well for room boxes and wall hanging pieces and small houses. In the shop, we did do a few with foamcore as the basic room and then enclosed by a larger plywood box. It is easier to wire that way. You can always slip it out for maintenance.

Phyl in Kentucky

1/24th Components: you can find 1/24 scale windows and doors and other architectural components at Grandt Line Products at http://www.mria.org/companies/grandt.html They are in Concord, CA at 1040 B Shary Ct., 94518. Their phone number is 925-671-0143.

- Grandt Line also has such things in 1/4" scale and HO scale.

Barb Jones, Cupertino CA

Street of shops: I've made five of them (did two of the larger shops) They are: soda parlor, garden shop, gourmet shop, candy store and baby shop. I used all kinds of different gingerbreads and colors to set each one apart. They all have brass coach lamps, address numbers, copper bay roofs. I'm in the process now of changing the inside lighting so that each one has it's own transformer. The plexi top is being exchanged for an 1/8th inch wood top. I used ceiling beams to hold the chandeliers in each shop. If I were to do them again, I would definitely make the back hinged and have a solid top. That way you can get in them easier. Oh well, live and learn. I love mine all stretched out on a wall shelf with gray brick sidewalk to unite them. They are all FULL and I mean full. I collected for them for quite awhile.

Roberta in Wisconsin

English Dolls Houses: I bought a Classical dolls house from The Dolls House Emporium in the UK, and have been very pleased with it. They also carry The Manor House and Montgomery Hall, the houses you mentioned in your post. The house went together very easily and I'm pleased with the quality. It was super easy to electrify the house,(my first try at lighting) and I love looking at the lights shining through the windows.. The shipping on the dolls house was free; they offer free shipping on all orders over $60. I've been pleasantly surprised at how many miniature businesses in other countries offer free or reasonable shipping costs. This makes it just too tempting to shop online! They also offer a free catalogue, and have a different sale each month.

Their website address is http://www.dollshouse.com

Katie in California

Scents: I have two recipes for gel air freshener. They are just put in a container after mixing. If you want to control the scents then you put them in containers with tight lids or corks. Each recipe makes about a cup of air freshener so you might want to cut down the recipe. I haven't made them in miniature amounts, but I do make them for use in my house.

Recipe #1

2 cups of distilled water

essential oil/fragrance of your choice

4 packages of Knox gelatin

food coloring (optional)

1 tablespoon of alum

Heat 1 cup of water almost to a boil, stir in the alum with a whisk until dissolved. Add the gelatin and stir until dissolved. Remove from heat and add second cup of water. Add fragrance to your taste. A few drops of essential oil will create a very light fragrance and of course more drops will make the fragrance stronger. Immediately put the mixture into the container of your choice as it will set up very quickly. The alum is to prevent mold from forming. I get my essential oils from the health food store.

Recipe #2 (this one doesn't mold, but you don't get to play with the scents or their strengths)

1 cup concentrated liquid potpourri

2 envelopes Knox unflavored gelatin

Heat the potpourri almost to a boil and remove from heat. Stir in the gelatin until dissolved. Again, immediately put in a container. I found a variety of scents for the liquid potpourri at Wal-Mart that are quite inexpensive and smell quite nice.

Both of these recipes will slowly dissolve over time if left uncovered. They don't melt into a puddle, but evaporate. I don't know how long a mini amount would last uncovered, but a four-ounce jar left uncovered lasts a number of months.

Oh, my mother gave me these recipes a while ago. I don't know exactly where she got them as she mailed them to me typed up and said they came from a lady friend at her church. She said all the ladies were making them and were going to sell them at the church bazaar. I don't believe they are copyrighted material, just one of those things ladies pass around to each other.

Lee Ann, Hopewell, NJ

Minis in Switzerland : the PUPPENHAUSMUSEUM IN BASEL.  THE ADDRESS IS STEINENVORSTADT 1, CH-4051 BALE and the phone is 41=0-61-225-95.  It has wheelchair access and I am not sure when its official summer hours start but it has everything you need---museum, shop and cafe mostly 1:12 scale.

There is also a FRANZY'S PARADIS DE POUPEES AND TEDDIES that has

miniatures as well as dolls, teddies and a club and restoration clinique (leave that to the Swiss, wouldn't you). The address I have is Rue de Lausanne 39 CH-1700 Fribourg and the phone is 41-026-322-47-65.  I also have an e mail on this one:  franzys@teddies.ch

Again, in Europe, especially with small businesses and artisan types and glorious lunch hours,  call ahead or she'll waste time/energy.

Ok, now you will have to forgive me if I mention some non-mini shopping in Switzerland (some of us have husbands and friends whom we have to lure on expeditions)---and there is one stop that is really worth the side trip---besides it only 3.1 miles from the Italian border and right near Como, Italy (I said I don't know my French geography, no one asked me about Italy and Lake Como is one of the most beautiful places in the whole world!).  The name of the outlet mall is FOX TOWN and it is great---much better than the American equivalents because you can find Ferragamos, cashmeres, jewelry, watches, etc. etc.

Sara in Paris