Sewing Room items: tiny grommets make great spools.

Lynn (No E) GSOLFOT, Cahokia IL

Sewing accessories:  check out http://www.btinternet.com/%7Ebertiesbazaar/jess/   then click on Printies in the left column and click on Haberdashery to find printable sewing accessories like button, ribbon, and elastic cards, needle cases.   For contemporary patterns, get on the mailing list for whatever is your local fabric shop (e.g., Hancocks, Joann's, Hobby Lobby), you'll get flyers and can clip out the ad illustrations and glue to a mini envelope (adapt stationery patterns on Jim's www.printmini.com site).  Should also be able to use ad clips as a pattern catalog cover -- glue over a section cut from the spine of an old magazine, cover with glossy clear nail polish or packing tape to get the laminated look of the real thing.   Don't forget a rack of crafts magazines/books -- find covers in book club ads   as well as in store flyers.

Items for hanging racks:  Tape measures (3 inch lengths of yellow paper, marked with black pen, folded up and tacked onto cards).   Scissors:   flattened hooks of hooks and eyes tacked onto cards -- use several sizes for shears and embroidery scissors; paint loops orange to make Fiskars.   Buttons:  seed beads glued on cards, or tiny blobs of dimensional fabric paint). Zippers:   two lengths of metallic thread glued down center of narrowest grosgrain ribbon you can find, tiny bar of metallic paint as stop on bottom and pull tab cut from bit of metallic card at top.  Quick strawberry pincushions and rust-removers:  Cut one medium and one small green star from craft felt, string on a bit of green floss and glue to medium and large pompons.  Cutting boards:  4 by 4 inch cardboard; cover both sides with graph paper (or back with decorative paper), add string ties at middle of two opposite sides, fold in fourths, tie, and stack or lean in display area.

Loretta.Sniarowski

Hagatha's Hut is all but finished.   I know that the old wise woman would have lots of little accessories.   I have a metal cauldron and the fireplace does draw.  I saw a post about using incense, so I tried it.  All my teenage sons oohed and aahed, so I got to puff out my chest, don't you love it, lol.  I wouldn't do this without supervision, but it is a cool effect.

I think I should put a table, two chairs, a rocking chair and a cupboard roughly made and hanging on the wall.   I know I should have plants hanging from the rafters, and probably onions and garlic and sausages and things like that hanging there too.  I know she should have herbs in jars and not things like eye of newt, this is a wise woman, not a witch.   She is ready for winter, just settling in for the long cold, so she should be well stocked.  Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. 

Eileen in St. Louis

Hagatha accessories:   mortar and pestle for mixing dry ingredients for her cures and potions, jugs for the liquid infusions, sacks of potatoes and turnips, maybe an old-time dresser with a chicken coop in the base for fresh eggs year-round, a rustic pine-needle and twig broom. Gardening tools and trugs or baskets for harvesting herbs.  Wash-stand and chamber pot set, candlestick and stand upstairs.  If she is literate, a volume of receipts/ formulas for her herbal medications.   A secret floorboard or loose hearthstone beneath which to hide cash payments for her treatments.

Loretta.Sniarowski

Hagatha accessories: - about your wise woman - if she's getting ready for the winter, she really needs something to do - make candles, sew, knit, sketch her botanical finds in a book, read.......

Lynn (No E)

Hagatha's Hut; She should probably have a Drop Spindle and small basket of wool to spin.   One could be made from a button or small wooden round, and a toothpick. A Chamber pot would be good, if you can find one, and perhaps a fleece if you can find some appropriate material for a scale fleece. Of course, my dh says that she needs something appropriate to read tucked under her pillow... something like 'The Tao of Pooh' (or perhaps something by Shakespeare).

Gyelle

painting Chrysnbon: Certain of the Chrysnbon sets are made with a different type of styrene than the paper packaged dish sets for four and the chamber set. The white dishes that are plain and come with wine glasses have the slippery surface as are the cake stand candlesticks.

There are a few ways to deal with this. One is to lay down a base coat colour (if you want a mottled, marbled affect in the background) and just keep dabbing until the paint dries enough to stick. Then you can paint flowers or what ever with no problem on top.

Another way is to spray a thin layer of gesso onto the pieces. Has to be the spray on kind. I guess there's something in the aerosol can that helps to melt the surface of the plastic so it can grab? This method is one of hit and miss though.

Third way is to get some ultra fine, wet/dry sandpaper and give the surface a very light sanding under water.

On my web page http://www.embraceables.com/accessories.htm , Chelsea 4 and Lilac Time 2 show the troublesome pieces painted along side the more cooperative ones.

Debi in Quesnel

Painting Chrysnbon plates: if the paint is not sticking to the plastic, it is probably too thin and watery. try a brand that is thicker. not all acrylic paints are the same consistency. after you paint with acrylic on smooth surfaces like plastic or metal, you should spray it with a coat of something clear to protect the paint. otherwise it can be rubbed off while dusting.

Judy London

Candle smoke: I have used the following method using candle smoke in decoupage classes:

(Have everything ready before starting) Brush a layer of podge (clear, non-yellowing, waterbased varnish) on to your item to be smoked. Before it dries, hold the object over a burning candle and "cut" the flame with an old knife. This produces a lovely column of smoke. Move your object to direct the smoke to where required. If you do not like the effect, quickly wipe off the podge before it dries. Once dry, it is not necessary to use fixative. If you move the object fairly quickly, you can produce a lovely "marble" effect.

***BRAINWAVE OCCURRING***!! Black & white marble floors, columns etc.... Use white cardboard, paint with podge, smoke and move item fairly rapidly (the slower the movement- the denser the smoke) cut into tiles, lay down whole or roll into tube for column!!!

Note: this method does take some practice.

Sharon in S. Africa

Tarnishing metal: I have unintentionally tarnished copper brass items with accidental exposure to acetic acid (lemon juice, vinegar, etc), if the mini utensils are truly copper it ought to work, also the brass screws.

Olegator

Turning Posts and the 'rest': I clip two clothes pins to the rim of a coffee cup. Rest the post between them, hold the post comfortably in the other hand and twirl it gently against the paint brush. I use this method to lay glued string on thin dowels to make 'carved' posts as well. The glass allows the post to spin without friction. Lay it on a proper sized bowl, across the opening - - again between clothes pins to dry without interference. This works for almost any item that needs twirling for paint, glue or embellishment.

Judie

Painting posts: I have the Bostonian doll house and added an extra large porch plus a porch for the upstairs. I wanted detailed posts also. I cut up several 1/4 inch dowel rods into about 3 inch lengths and drilled a small hole one end. I then cut the heads off of straight pins and glued one end of the straight pin into the hole in the dowel. Then I drilled small holes in the ends of the posts and put these onto the pins sticking out of the dowels(be sure to drill holes in the posts -- if you don't and just try to stick the pins in, the posts will split) This way I had something to hold onto(the dowel) while I painted the posts. I first painted the whole thing the base color and let them dry ( I used pieces of foam that you use to put flower arrangements in to stick the dowels in to let the paint dry). Then using a very small brush I painted on the trim colors. It sounds like a lot of work and it is tedious but this really did work well, and I am very pleased with the results.

Shara

Aging: You can paint the bottom of copper pans with either black acrylic paint or Patina -it several times (the black one). With wooden buckets and barrels I would stain them (if they are raw wood) then do a dirty water wash on them. The bucket could be banged up pretty well with a light weight hammer too for all the times the cow kicked it or it banged down the well! If it is pieces of wood banned together (like a barrel) you could soften each rib with an exacto and softly round the edges before staining.

Renee from New Orleans

Painting Chrysnbon plates: I have always used Testor's brand model paints on all kinds of chrysnbon stuff and it looks great. You know the kind in the model airplane aisle at the craft store in the little glass bottles. Comes in lots of colors or can be mixed.

Karyn Zabrouski

Painting Chrysnbon plates: Acrylic paint will stick to your Chrysnbon dishes if you give them a very light coating of Krylon matte finish (product # 311) spray or some other base coat. If you don't have either of those, try wiping them off really well with an alcohol prep. If that doesn't work for you, apply a very thin coat of paint as a base coat. Expect this coat to bead up a little, just let it dry thoroughly! Then, go over it with another thin coat of paint. Repeat until you have built up enough color. Use the best quality of acrylics you can afford, or you will be applying many coats to get good coverage. Ceramcoat is good and JoSonja is better. Be sure you are shaking your bottle of paint really well so that the pigment is completely mixed with the medium Cheap paint has very little pigment in it and will drive you crazy when you work on tiny pieces. When you're done painting, either spray or paint several light coats of gloss or satin finish. The key is to keep all layers very thin.

Kathy in Wisconsin

Antiquing metal: as far as the copper pot(s). Lamp black from a simple candle flame and then when cool spray with "fixative" which can be obtained at any store that sells art supplies. It is sprayed on to a pastel or charcoal sketch to preserve it. Worth a try.

DrBob...Delray Beach, FL.

Aging metals; Try putting the metal in a zip lock bag with some household ammonia. Try not to immerse the metal in the liquid ammonia. It's the fumes that do the "dirty" work. I place a small glass (shot glass) in the zip lock and fill that with the ammonia and just put the metal to be tarnished, etc., in the bag with the contained ammonia.

DrBob....Delray Beach, FL

Eggs: This tip came from an egger friend of mine. The paper thin shells of chicken eggs can be strengthened by using corn starch mixed in Elmer's glue. Just mix some corn starch in the glue and using your fingers, spread it inside the egg shell and let it dry. I can't tell you how much corn starch to mix in, but you need enough that it is not runny. You have to use very sharp scissors to cut the opening to keep the shell from cracking. She also used cuticle scissors to cut openings in finch eggs. I usually ended up crushing the very fragile finch eggs, but they are the right size to make decorated eggs for you mini scenes.

Wanda

Solar Ovens: You can find a lot of information about solar ovens on the Internet. For directions on making a simple solar oven out of a pizza box, go to: http://www.solarnow.org/pizzabx.htm

Rusty in KY

Cover up: My miniature group was due to arrive and I remembered this was a paint and paper day. With minutes to spare, I grabbed a new shower curtain liner and threw it over my nice table cloth. Pretty(clear) and safe to paint on! I'm sure the next time I see a plastic table cloth, I will buy it. This one was well received, however, and the weights kept it from slipping around.

Laurie Sisson