Paper flooring: I score between my paper flooring, once it's glued down, then go over it with tea or coffee. It runs into the cracks and looks quite authentic.

Lynne Connolly

Easter Printies at: http://www.printies.homestead.com to go direct to the Easter things, http://printies.homestead.com/index3.html and scroll to the bottom of the page. There are lots of other Printies and I am going to start working on some new ones soon.

BarbaraD

Starting a club: Years ago I started a club by posting a sign on my show table that said something like: "If you would be interested in joining a mini club in this area, please leave your phone number with me" Then I called the people who expressed an interest, and had them meet at my house.We talked about what they wanted in a club, and explained that each person would have to take a turn teaching something. Could be something from their own imagination, or something from a project they read in a book or magazine. The teachers had their turns in alphabetical order. It was also the teacher's responsibility to call all members to remind them of the meeting and to tell them what supplies (not included in the kit the teacher provided) to bring for that project.

I remember that one lady was convinced she could not teach, but we didn't let her off the hook! After having done it for the first time, she not only found it was not difficult, but it turned out that she LOVED teaching and was an eager teacher when her turn came around again.

Our group took turns bringing a dessert and we, at first, had access to a free conference room with free coffee.

We also bought show-and-tell items we made or bought. And for those who wanted to participate, we had a grab bag of gifts donated by participating members. This was done by setting out the donated gifts and placing a paper with a number next to each one. Then matching numbers were put into a 'hat' and participants pulled out a number and found the corresponding number next to the gift to learn what they had won.

It would not be difficult to start a club..and if you don't have a show table to advertise it, you could ask a local mini or craft shop if you could put out your sign. Or you could ask a show promoter if you could put up a 'sandwich' sign at the entry of the show.

Viola

Old Store Roomboxes: There was an old cave like store on Alameda (Jerry Callison's Five and Ten) where we used to prowl when my children were small.  It dated back to a time when it was on the fringe of a cotton and farming area, and even in the 60's and early 70's a few remaining cotton fields were still intermixed with businesses and apartment complexes. 

His customers were a diverse lot; the store smelled of baby chicks, metal, old cardboard and dust, and held everything from galvanized wash tubs and blades for windmills to garden equipment and tools of all kinds.  I bought a small metal toolbox there to use for my sewing supplies that would probably survive an explosion today.

Instead of a stairway, there was an aisle that sloped rather steeply up to the dry goods section.   It was lined with row after row of every kind and size of old-fashioned crockery - from huge round jars like the ones my grandfather used to make hominy and sauerkraut, to little lidded ones for matches, as well as all sizes of pitchers and jugs.

The owner was always dabbling in politics and running for one office or another, and never seemed too interested in bringing his stock up to date.  On the upper level, I bought a box of Margaret O'Brien (remember the child star of the 40's?) dusting powder and bubble bath that had never been opened; found it at the back of a shelf between Midnight in Paris cologne and Coty face powder.   Still have it. 

Along with some current clothing, fabrics and notions, he had original sewing   patterns for suits with peplums and Joan Crawford-type shoulders.   Many of the dresses hanging nearby had the faded-at-the-shoulder look of something that's hung in the closet for too long; I swear many were carbons of dresses my mother wore when I was a little girl.

My kids were always finding interesting little trinkets there.  My daughter ran over to me in great excitement once.  "Oh, Mama," she said. "Come look at the jewels!"    There was a shallow tray of rings that glittered in the dim light - an eerie likeness of the rings that I lusted after in the Woolworth's in Oklahoma when I was her age.  We each got our birthstone that day.  They turned our fingers green, but we loved them anyway.  My son bought a bag of marbles that he played with for years; I still have them in a glass jar on the shelf next to some of their other old toys.

Wanna in El Paso

English doll kits: Someone asked the other day for an English doll kit maker. My favorite is Sue Harrington, unfortunately I can't find a web site or address for her perhaps someone out there knows if she can be contacted on the internet?

Her snail mail is: Sue Harrington, 51 Old Fort Road, Shoreham Beach, Shoreham by Sea, West Sussex BN43 5RL Tel 01273 464670. She has a catalogue and her dolls are lovely.

Col

Carol

Mini flames: I'm not sure that this is what someone really meant when they asked about mini flames but this really does work extremely well to make a candle light or even fireplace flames look realistic. You use clear silicone, put a dab of it on the tip of the bulb, and pull it up to make a flame shape.   When the bulb is lit, the entire silicone flame lights and looks real. This even works in real size on those inexpensive plastic candle thingies for your windows. I use the same method to make flames for cauldron flames, fireplaces, lit torches, anywhere I want an open flame. I think that if you embed pieces of colored tissue, it would look even more colorfully on fire. It is important to use clear silicone; it must be 100% silicone and not be the paintable kind. You can get it in discount stores as tile and tub sealer or in the automotive dept. as windshield sealer.

Cat

Transferring A Pattern: Avery makes a removable Glue Stick. It makes any piece of paper work like a Post-A-Note. I use a 6B pencil to color the back of my pattern, just as I teach children to do in basic drawing classes. This makes a graphite back that will mark easily when pressure is applied. My pattern is usually scanned to my computer and sized to the appropriate dimensions. Using the glue stick, I gently press it in place on the item I am working on. I use a red pencil to trace my pattern so I know where I have been if the phone rings and interrupts me. This is a simple, quick way to transfer a design.

Becky Holliday

Mildew  on furniture: Wad up a bunch of newspapers and put them into the cabinet and shut the door.    Leave it alone for a few days, then remove and discard the newspapers.   The newspaper absorbs odor and dampness and will leave your display cabinet smelling fresh. 

Pam Scott

Mildewed display cabinet: Pam had a good idea for solving your problem, but in addition to the newspapers, you could unwrap several bars of bath soap and place them in the cabinet along with the newspapers.  Often people who have summer cabins on lakes in the north will leave unwrapped bars of soap in their cabins in the winter. This helps prevent winter dampness leaving mildew odor in the cabin that is closed for the winter.

Mary in MS

Mildew  on furniture: The best thing for this is sunshine if you don't think that will ruin the finish.    If sunshine is not an option, leave it out in a dry area with drawers and doors open to allow air circulation.   It will take awhile but eventually the odor will go away.

Carol

Mildew  on furniture: I have a couple of ideas, for your *smelly*curio cabinet---now that it is all wiped out...Place a slice of white bread in a dish (yes, it must be white bread not the healthy wheat stuff !!) Saturate with white vinegar---close up the cabinet for 24 hours, check the odiferous cabinet, you might have to re-do this several times...If this fails, you might   repaint, shellac or varnish the interior...this should seal in the odor....

Musty odors from books and magazines can be removed by wrapping items in   newspaper and placing them in a brown paper bag, leave undisturbed for 24 hours...I usually leave them longer, change the newspaper and do it again...

Hmmm...you're wondering how I know about this...In my spare time (haha), Estate Sales, Vintage Shops & Clothing Shows are high on my list for research of clothing construction & books on clothing of by-gone eras...as a mini customer I need to know how things were created...but I also needed to know how to keep my house from smelling like mildew from my new-found treasures...Good Luck !!

Thelma

Mildew  on furniture: you might try a citrus based cleanser. You can bet that if there's a smell, there's still mildew in there somewhere. I've found that citrus based products do a wonderful job on most surfaces....and they're a dream come true for people like me with sinus that object to strong cleaners like bleach.

Sloan

Mildew  on furniture: We have a product made here in Canada called Deodoroc Perky Pucks.  They are little round things - about a dozen or so in a box.   To use them, you completely enclose the piece of furniture in plastic or some other covering so it is more or less airtight - and then place some of the pucks inside and outside the cabinet - in any drawers, etc.   Then you leave it for an extended period of time.   (There are directions pertaining to use on the package.)   The pucks absorb the odors.   When you are done you leave the pucks out to air out and then they are reusable again.  This works especially well on mildewy furniture because of the porosity of the wood. I am sure you will be able to find a similar product in the US - ask at Home Depot or some place like that.

Penny

Mildew  on furniture: A few years ago a furniture restorer told me how to get rid of mildew on some of my furniture. Mix a tiny amount of Clorox in water, wipe down, let dry, then sprinkle baking soda on it and set in the sun for a day. Don't know how long to do it for mini furniture. Maybe you could just check it every hour or so.

Connie in Georgia

Mildew  on furniture: To those who are trying to get yucky smells out of stuff, have you tried Fabreeze?

Alice Zinn- Pt. St Lucie FL

Mildew  odor: About the odor in the cabinet...a friend used to deal in used refrigerators etc and used charcoal briquettes to keep them smelling sweet and prevent mildew. If you barbecue you may already have some in the garage.  

Thelia Orloff

Removing odors.  In addition to using newspapers to absorb odor, sprinkle them with baking soda.   Change every other day for a week, and if it's still "fragrant" then spritz Fabreeze or a similar fabric deodorizer.  Leave the doors open till the Fabreeze dries and that should remove the last of the scent.   It works on more than fabric -- a tip from my friend Ann, who is gradually furnishing her life-scale Arthur-style house with period furniture, much of it  from barn auctions, extremely musty and needful of TLC.

Loretta

Removing odors: There is a trick car dealers use to get the stale odors out of used cars. They tear of sheets of dryer fabric softener and stuff them under the seats. I did the same thing in the cabinet under my bathroom sink, when someone left a wet rag under there and mildew seeped into the wood.

Carol Wagner

Acrylic paints: You can avoid the problem of acrylic paints drying out during a project by using a wet palette. Put some damp paper towels flat on the bottom of a cheap air tight container. Put puddles of the paints you want to use on the paper towels. When you are finished cover and store flat until you are ready to use them again. They stay for a couple of weeks like that. I have taken some decorative painting classes and that is the way we keep the paints from week to week until the project is finished

Pat Long Island NY