Small brush; If you need something that is stiff and small (no smirking please) to get glues into small places, try taking a strand of steel wool and hold it with a tweezers or a hemostat and use that to transfer tiny drops of anything.

Dr. Bob

Metal Miniatures: The metal miniatures you are thinking of is: Martha's Miniatures, 6440 McCullom Lake Rd., Wonder Lake, IL. 60097. e-mail them at Oscaler@aol.com for price of catalog.

Meldrum

Metal Miniatures: For Metal Miniatures - try Sharon Granicy (Hooked on Miniatures), 1519 E. Avenue K. Lancaster, CA 93535 661-942-0820 - (h) e-mail -hkdonmini@hotmail.com

Jean Lierman

Metal Miniatures: Someone on this list asked about resource for metal miniatures and since I thought others would be interested I decided to post it to the whole list. It is: Metal Miniatures, 1000 Central Avenue, Wilmette, Illinois 60091, Phone--1-847-251-2455, I'm not sure if she sells retail, but she does give a nice discount to dealers. I'm sure your local Miniature store could contact them , if they don't carry them. There is a great variety of all sorts of things including some 1/2' and 1/4".

Jane Coffey

Dusting: For a mini-vacuum the best thing I've used is a fan shaped paint brush. I bend it slightly. It's soft and cleans corners.

Deanna

Dusting: I spray my landscaped areas with canned air. For fine or delicate items, I use a sable brush sprayed with Endust.

Becky

Take time to learn: I wish I had known to take it slower when I was a newbie. The more I know, the better I get and the slower I get, as I find if I do it slowly, I tend to do it Right. More and more frequently now e.g. at least once a week, I'm able to produce something that is Good, with no flaws, and the pleasure I get from that one thing is far greater than when I would, say , produce 5 things which that man on the galloping horse would have cheered. I realize that finally I am learning to be Me - I was brought up to do things at top speed and perfectly every time (gee, give me a break, huh?), and I missed out on decades of the sheer luxurious joy of simply creating, and creating it well.

Helen from York, England

Minis for mentally challenged:  What a nice project! Try polar fleece for blankets, curtains, etc as the edges don't have to be finished so she can make them herself.  Michaels has lots of cheap hutches, etc for a buck or 2 that she can paint, she could even try decoupage.  Don't forget childhood standbys like matchbox beds, thread spool chairs.  Try populating it with teddy bears and troll dolls instead of people.  You might consider real wallpaper instead of printies as it is more durable and can survive rough handling during cutting. Don't forget the little end tables that come with your pizza.  Popsicle sticks have lots of uses.   Try cutting pictures out of magazines for paintings and framing with fabric trim.  Tearing apart old clothes from Goodwill for laces, etc can be fun.

Gyelle

Dickens Pubs and alleyways: A while ago the DH brought in a piece of an old wooden toolbox, replete with scum and oil.  About the same time, I bought an antique bar back.  Found a half price Dickens looking doll with top hat, and voila! an idea is born.

So!   Along the way I have collected antique Scotch bottles (mini, I mean), and I had one of the Durham cash register's.   Yesterday I: Sat the toolbox up on end, what a perfect alley!  Put an old box beside  it- A pub is born!  Hung a gaslight over the balcony in the alley, wired a  Victorian streetlamp in the alley, and hung 2 gas lamps in the pub.  You  know, my things always look better in dim light, but I must remember to turn the studio lights on so I can see to work!   Anyway- some broken chairs from the box under the bed make great seats, a 10.00 antique Biedermeir table with warped top is just perfect, and I bought 3 antique beer steins, a little larger scale, but it makes for that old feel.   The guy in the hat is drinking, since he has a jacket on... a pub keeper will have to wait.

As always, though, I start to ask myself questions, and get flummoxed.   If I put "Scrooge & Marley" signs up in the alley, what is the year?  Do gaslights not work, then?  If it is, say, 1875, what kind of heat would the pub have?  A brick fireplace?   If brick, would it have food boiling over the fire?  When did dart boards come?   And, if no 'games', what else in the pub?   For that matter, can I put stacks of old newspapers in the alley?  Should I have a horse tie-up thing out front of the pub?  This is a town pub, so I suppose so.  Thoughts, anyone?

I know the answers, of course; I can do what I want.   I have a wonderful tin crank telephone, from early 20th century, so I put it in the pub.   Now the timing is all shot- oh dear.   I went to my local antique dollhouse person for a deck of cards, but sadly, they were $125.00, so that game is out.

When we talked pubs a few weeks back, mostly we were talking now- what about 100 years ago?  or 200?

Beth in Maine

The Nuremburg kitchen: The Nuremburg kitchen is finished, and by George, it is utterly wonderful. I have wanted one of these all my life, and it's so nice to have one.  Let me take you on a tour.

The floor is checker board mid blue, cream and fox red, in big (2" x 2") squares,   The walls are fox red, the ceiling cream.

On the left are two shelves with a fancy shelf end, painted turmeric yellow - the top shelf holds various jars and pots and bowls, the lower moulds and pots, bowls, glassware.   Below is a long unit, which holds the chicken coop with 2 fine fat resin hens eating from their food tray, and a cupboard.   This is painted off white and green; the top of these cabinets is faux grained wood.  On top of these cabinets are various kitchen utensils, a fine raw salmon and a bunch of beet root, a big plain cake and a big fruit plate.

To the right is a cupboard which holds a myriad of small jars and boxes, some real, but some are old shirt studs etc, which look just the thing. Facing one is the oven, painted barn red, with a hollow underneath to hold

firewood,   The oven holds a big kettle, saucepans etc   Above is a copper hood, with a shelf attached which holds mini antique floral pitchers bought at an antique fair.  To the right is a unit holding copper ladles etc.

On the right wall is an enormous dresser, painted rust red, which holds 2 white dinner services, a ham , a roast chicken, a mincer, a pair of scales etc

In the foreground is a chopping block, with cleaver and meat on it.   A slender black cat reaches up for the meat, ignoring both the full food bowl behind him and the mouse on the mouse trap by the chickens. .tsk tsk.

From the ceiling hang onions, dead pheasants, a waffle iron. In all the kitchen holds over 150 items (wow!)  I love it with a profound love.  I must have seen one as a small child and wanted one ever since, and how serene the heart when it wins its desires, and finds the desire worth the wait.

Helen from York, England

Mini's with kids: I have been asked to become a residence artist for a group of children at Virginia Park Elementary and last year we did a small recipe-card size (3"x5") cardboard box.  Even though it was only 1" deep, it was fascinating to watch the children come up with their own ideas.  I gave them 2 beads, paper, toothpicks, paint and glue.  I precut wall paper that was a copy of newsprint wallpaper insert.  They made up color crayons out of the toothpicks, one of the beads was a holder.  They made paper chairs and covered it with paint and fabric and made a bookshelf from cardstock.  When the 3 hours were up, the shocked look on their faces, told the story.   Is it time to go, ALREADY?

For some, it was an experience that defined "miniatures".   For others, it was a beginning that will have them hooked for life!  lol  This year, I want to use your experience and give them a miniature cabinet to paint and give them ideas of what to fill it with.  Maybe this is were ss'ers can let me know what might work for children.  If any of you have worked in minis with children, please pass on the hints and projects that were successful.

bon in Sunny Alberta

Mini's with kids:  My great-niece who is 8 was checking what I was doing and I am working on the Debbie Young 1/4" cottage at the end of the lane.    She said that she wished that she had something to make and I remembered that Print Master has workshops of little houses and shops to glue and put together.

I have printer paper which is index size so printed down some for her to do.   So far she has done a house, church, pizza place and pet shop and I have printed down the school, farm house, gas station and bank.    She wants more!

The nice thing about them is that they can read the instructions and do them themselves which she was so proud of doing.

Isabel-CT

Minis With Kids: American Girls mini-making book; I was recently given the American Girl Library tiny treasures book.  It is full of fun ideas of things to make and have step-by-step directions with words and pictures.  From my experience of working with children, I  would say that if you make an item together once (with you reading the directions) then she would be able to make more by following the pictures.  And some of the projects may be simple enough to do with only the pictures.

Peggy

Room by Room dollhouse They are listed at http://www.kbtoys.com   however the only ones in stock are the bathroom and kitchen.  I did a google search and found the manufacturer if you want more info. (or if others wish to see pictures).  Go to  http://www.ringsidesupplies.com/   and click on the house. This is the site for Jazwares, Inc.  "a south Florida company".  Apparently these rooms were created for the 2001 Christmas season and due to overwhelming demand are out of stock !   Are they as nice as they look in the pictures ?

Shirley in Bakersfield, CA

Eggery supplies: I am, literally almost, in tears, after viewing the site I just visited.

I went to google and typed in eggery supplies which took me to  http://www.eggscope.com  There, I found a mind boggling variety of findings and beads at what seemed to  be very reasonable prices. There was so much wonderful stuff that I went into catatonic overload mode. After I recover, l will go back, credit card in hand. WOW!

Linda in Leroy, OH

Odors: I read somewhere years ago that white vinegar helps get rid of odors. I put it in a plastic cup in my workshop.  When it evaporates, I just keep adding more.  It does make a difference.

Anita...Bel Air, MD

Use watercolour and gouache for mini detailed and decorative painting - one can get great effects; my friend Penny who worked at Pendon in Oxfordshire for over 20 years taught me about the watercolour, and Ruth Pollock about the gouache Use huge ceramic floor tiles for Fimo work - one to sculpt on, the other to bake on. Angie Scarr sort of taught me this - I noticed she used them thus in her videos. Makes Fimo work so much easier

Helen from York England

I heard of someone whose dollhouse house number was the year the house was built. That way it can serve as a reminder of its age when it is passed through the generations

Viola

Moving a Dollhouse: When I last moved, I had a three story house to move. It was already on a plywood base, so my DH went out and got a huge carton from a washer or dryer which fit over the house and rested on the plywood. I wrapped all the hanging light fixtures with toilet paper. The house was carried carefully from house to truck, then from truck to new house. Came through just fine

Beth in a Miniature Manor

Sewing Room items: At the end of a guitar string - bear with me, I'm going somewhere on this - is a tiny little round "spool" of metal. Usually gold coloured, sometimes, silver. When thread is wrapped around it, looks just like the real thing.

Vi in Hamilton