Hanging pictures: I found some wonderful stuff by Trevco, called Museum Putty. It was made for the Getty Museum . It is white, reusable very strong, and leaves no residue.

LadyBug

Lint: Lint from the dryer has been suggested for quilts. Another hint I read somewhere - put yellow towels in the dryer and the yellow lint makes good insulation batts for you dh ceiling.

Melinda from Sydney Down Under

Cutting a wine bottle: I remember to cut a bottle in half. Not what you want but you can run with the idea. To cut the bottle we would take a large thick piece of cotton twine, soak it in gasoline, tie it around the bottle. Light it. and after it finished burning, the bottle was plunged into cold water and the bottle cracked along the burn line.

DrBob...Delray Beach, FL

Easter Grass: Besides the usual Easter Grass, my Eckerd's Pharmacy sold a very fine grass that's called Bunny Batts Fun Fill.  Its 100% polyester and came in yellow, lilac, green and pink. The scale is great and it just pulls apart.

Gail

Tin punch in minis: To make tin punch in miniature art form, try using aluminum foil, or a cut out from a pie plate.  Use a straight pin or needle to make your punches.  This allows it to be in mini scale, and not look like you reduced the size of the project but not the holes.

Lisa Lynn

Barrels: We have 2 oak barrels in our garden to catch rain from downspouts and on both of them, the metal bands are one piece. There is no area on them where they have been attached, other than the obvious area where the circular band has been soldered together. There are 3 bands, one in the centre and the other two above and below (about 10".} They are not attached to the barrel with any hardware. The pressure of the barrel being moist and full is what keeps the bands in place. And in winter, you need to have the foresight to turn the barrels upside down so the water does not turn to ice and just literally bust the wood apart from the expansion of the ice (course we learned this the hard way one winter.)

Joy in Pointe Claire

Oriental Suppliers: Here is what is in my data base:

Imperial Pleasures http://www.imperialpleasures.com

El Rastro' elrastro@china.com

Doll House K
#102, 4-5-3 Hirao Chuo-Ku
Fukuoka, 810 Japan
092-522-6476

Billy Co. Ltd.
Ikeda, Japan
81-727-53-5420

Dollhouse World by Seiko http://www01.u- page.so-net.ne.jp/ja2/arashiro/index_e.htm

Microcosmos Company, LTD
Satoshi Yano, 900-13 Minamiohya Machida
Tokyo 194 0031 Japan

Puppenhaus Yoshino (museum) http://www.puppenhaus.co.jp

Garie's Clay Creations http://www.garieinternational.com/

TS House of Miniatures http://web.signet.com.sg/~tshouse

Grace Shaw

DVD research: This may be old news, but I have found that my DVD player is a wonderful research tool for mini projects. I used it a lot for the X-Files box and have already been renting 50s teen films for the new idea. Movies have been made about practically every historical era and many have been exhaustively researched by their design teams. Using the pause button and the zoom feature on a DVD player's remote, its possible to stop the action and really see lots of wonderful period detailing, props, foods, etc. Plus, who doesn't like to watch movies?

John in Yonkers

Egg Scenes: I used to make mini scenes in eggs, nothing as big as an ostrich egg, though! After blowing and cleaning the egg, I'd make a small hole in the center of where I wanted the cut-out. Then, I'd enlarge it SLOWLY using a pair of small, sharp cuticle scissors. It worked fine for me, but I always glued a tiny piece of trim around the hole to cover the edge. A friend of mine is an 'egger'. She has a special little ventilated room and cuts her eggs (ostrich, too) with a dental type tool. You might check out her site: http://www.arnetts.com/eggs/index.html It shows some of her work. She is a true ARTIST!

Patty in CA

STARTING A MINIATURE CLUB:

At your get-acquainted meeting,

1) Give everyone a little gift bag with perhaps a miniature greeting card saying Welcome to the Club! or something similar

2) Ask everyone to introduce themselves, tell what they know, what they want to learn, what they can teach.

3) Send around a sign-in sheet for names, addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses. Have spaces for suggested best meeting times, days; comments, questions, interests, etc.,

4) Hand out a list of the most basic tools and supplies; suggest purchasing one or two new items each month to build up a basic toolbox. Show some of your tools - X-acto knife, thin-point tweezers, pick, etc. ALWAYS PUT YOUR NAME ON TOOLS; use labels or tags.

5) Have a display of your finished projects and talk about them

6) Show different containers which could serve for displays

7) Provide a list of topics for workshops. I would suggest emphasis on different inexpensive techniques the first year, leading to a finished scene; i.e., a holiday scene or special moment in a gift bag, dome, other container, or roombox. For example:

Floors/Walls (wallpapering, wainscoting, wood stirrers or craft stick floors, "tile" from contact paper over paper and scored, etc.)

Fabric/pleater projects (skirted tables, pillows, chairs, towels, curtains, dust ruffles)

Rugs (braided, Bunka, transfers, print-outs, etc.)

Jewelry findings (lamps, perfume sets, etc.)

Paper (books, gift packages, greeting cards, calendars, etc.)

Flowers/plants (paper, Fimo, silk, naturals, found objects for pots, etc.)

Fimo, other polymer clays (food, shoes, purses, belts, etc.)

Finishing Treatments (marbling, crackling, stucco, etc.)

Kits (Chrysnbon, etc.)

Accessories (framing pictures, making baskets, painting metal minis, etc.)

Ribbon/lace/trims uses (shirring, ribbon roses; cutting lace, trims, into smaller elements; grosgrain ribbon fringe

Clothing (dresses, hats, shoes, etc.)

8) Have sample miniatures magazines, books, catalogs available for them to look through. DECIDE IN ADVANCE IF YOU WANT TO LEND THESE. If so, keep a sign-out notebook for title, name, date, when to return. IF YOU DON'T WANT TO LEND THESE OUT, explain that straightforwardly from the beginning. Include a stack of the subscription cards that are always falling out of magazines or a list of addresses/websites/phone numbers.

9) Suggest everyone go through every room in the house gathering up stuff for their I-Know-I-Will-Use-This box or basket, such as the following, and bring to the next meeting:

tools (small sharp scissors, tweezers, nail files and emery boards, etc.)

old jewelry, buttons, watches, parts of old chess sets,

index cards, matboard, posterboard, wallpaper sample books,

masking, cellophane and floral tapes

old handkerchiefs, men's silk ties, tiny print and solid fabrics in cottons, silks,

ribbons, laces, trims from old blouses, etc.

At the second meeting,

1) Have everyone show what's in their boxes/baskets and discuss what could be done with the items. If you've used something similar, show it.

2) Illustrate your storage and organizing methods for tools, supplies, collections waiting for a scene, etc.

3) Work up a schedule of topics for at least the next three meetings

4) For each workshop, the teacher should make a prototype, put together kits with supplies and tools needed (include written instructions where possible)

5) For each workshop be sure that the following are available:

individual work surface: sheet of construction paper, piece of wax paper, plastic placemat, etc.

for every two people, a plastic bag taped to table for trash

glue (Sobo or thin-bodied Tacky works great for most little projects; leave the thin-bodied out very long and it thickens quickly, anyway

glue palettes (plastic lids)

toothpicks

small squares of cut up wax paper, paper towels,

container of and spray bottle of water,

paper cups or small jars for rinsing brushes, etc.

cutting surface (self-healing mat)

IF EVERYONE IS PRETTY MUCH A BEGINNER, expect to do practically everything the first three years. IF YOUR NEW MEMBERS ARE EXPERIENCED, you still need someone dependable who can plan things and be available to teach a make-it-and-take-it on the spur of the moment when someone scheduled doesn't show up (sounds like it would be you).

As soon as the group has finished some projects to display, arrange to show them somewhere. This builds pride and enthusiasm and will also bring more members.

My recommendation is avoid business as much as possible; just have fun.

Wanna in El Paso

SHIPPING MAGAZINES: The best way to ship magazines is to double wrap them in brown grocery bags [split open flat]. Tape securely with wide postal approved clear tape. Then address the package to recipient and MARK IT "BOOK RATE". Weigh the package on a postal or food scale. Go to the US Postal Service web site. http://www.usps.gov/ Click on "Calculate Rates" on the red line at top of page. On the next page enter the From zip code, the destination zip code and the weight of package in the indicated boxes. Click Continue button. At next page click on Parcel Post. Then click on "Special Standard Mail". Click Continue at next page [ignore the questions asked unless you want any of the extras]. The next and final page will give you the amount of postage and the number of days to arrive at destination. Hope this helps you out. I shipped mini magazines package [11#] to Connecticut for under $6.00 awhile back this way.

Patricia / Redwood City, CA

Hands: I work in a flower shop- so-my hands are sometimes verrrry  rough. I recently got a tip from  Sharon Sipma - the lady who does the most incredible 'stained glass ' I have ever seen.

TIP:   Vic's Vapor Rub.  get yourself some cotton gloves-at bed time put lots of Vic's on your hands rub in well - it can sting - it does on mine because I have so many scratches etc. Put on gloves - go to bed. It works  better  than anything I have used before - including prescription stuff from DR.  Tip originally came from Sharon's Mother in Nebraska =- So from Nebraska to Vancouver, Canada - Now out to the world.

Paddy

Moving Dollhouses: Have the moving company build a wood crate around a big doll house for moving. And box smaller ones with lots of padding. Wrap any loose items inside carefully for travel. They CAN survive a move with care.

MaryJo

Moving Dollhouses: If you will go to my web pages at http://www.geocities.com/ptown55 then click on "How to Move a Doll House" you will find complete instructions for doing what is needed. Would send a reprint but the procedure is a bit lengthy for the digest.

For smaller items the procedure is similar.......

[1] Wrap individual items in bubble wrap

[2] Place in items in a well fitting box

[3] Tape box securely closed with packing tape

[4] Place this box in a slightly larger box

[5] Add foam pellets to surround and cover

[6] Tape securely closed with packing tape.

Hope this is of help to you.......and personally I would pack all the smaller items myself and not leave them to the movers. You can buy the boxes and supplies at U Haul or a Mailing Center for the small things. And if still feeling somewhat unsure of the moving company....buy extra insurance.

Patricia in Redwood City, CA

Moving Dollhouses: The best thing I ever did was build plywood crates for my houses. I just worked out the sizes on graph paper, and bought the plywood at one of the larger home improvement centers where they will cut the plywood sheets for you. The crates fit each dollhouse in such a way that the houses can't move around at all. I also made smaller crates which hold 2 roomboxes each. I have used those crates for 6 moves in the 8 years since I built them. The next best thing for roomboxes are steamer trunks. I pick them up at yard sales and flea markets. You do have to be a little more creative to fit various roomboxes inside the trunks. I pack my miniatures myself (Army movers are notorious for being careless with our things). I pack small roomboxes inside medium roomboxes inside larger roomboxes or inside the dollhouses. I fill the spaces with furniture and accessories, all wrapped up in cheap paper towels. I have only had a few things break in all those moves.

Amy in Kansas

House Too Big For Door: I am building a 1" scale model of my own house using "2x4's". It has gotten too big to get through our doorways, so we have to turn it on its side. I am only working on the first floor, so, eventually, this will be impossible, too. I started by building each wall separately and then joining all the walls together with interlocking tubes so I can remove any or all the walls. This has made is so much easier to work on any section of the house and gives me confidence that I can get it out of the dining room by Thanksgiving.

Mark

Ostrich/emu eggs: I've created some door and window holes in an Ostrich egg for a friend. The way I did it was with the Dremel tool and one of the cutting disks. It was really quite simple, but you _must_ wear a good dust mask and eye protection in case of a break in the cutting disk. The dust from the egg is very fine, and I believe may be toxic. So please be careful.

Dave Pierce

Blood:  around Halloween there is available some stuff in a tube called vampire blood.  My grandson used it to drip on his face when he was a vampire (his favorite costume).  If you cant find a kid with some extra, perhaps a costume supply place might have it.

Jacqui Marlin

Blood in a Bottle:  I would use red gallery glass (the stuff you use to make stained glass windows).  I has the slight transparency that you need.

Tom

Blood in a Bottle:  One thing that you might want to remember is, stored blood is not RED. Once air reaches blood, the blood turns darker with blackish tones. The longer it  is in contact with air, the blacker it gets. Blood, even in an airtight plastic bag such as at the blood bank has come into contact with enough air that it is dark..

Rusty