Smoke Filled Room: Could you use a thinned white acrylic rubbed onto the back of the glass front on the room box? I used it when wanting the corners of windows to look as though they'd never been cleaned (although I used raw umber from memory). White with a touch of grey swirled and streaked on just on the top of the glass where the smoke hangs in the room - you may have to wipe on/wipe of until you get the right effect.

Trace

Smoke Filled Room: Theaters use a very fine fabric called scrim (I have never seen it close so don't know if it would work for minis). It is pretty transparent and you could spray paint or dye areas in shades of light grey to give an irregular smoky effect. I don't think you want anything to be the same color all over.

Jacqui Marlin

Smoke Filled Room: Scrim is a great idea. It works with light. Turn on a light behind it and it disappears...great for ghosts too.

Laurie Sisson

Smoke Filled Room: The first thing that came to my mind was the tinted glass too. But then I had another idea. It's temporary though. Hide a small incense burned in the room somewhere and just before you want to show your room off, light a piece of cone incense. I prefer pleasant smells, but I'm sure there are some repugnant smells that could pass for smoke.

Mary Lou in Portage, IN

Smoke Filled Rooms: Have never tried this, but the first thought that comes to mind is the "angel hair" we used to hang on our Christmas trees. Smoke tends to hang in layers in a room -- if you stretch small gauge clear fishing line (or invisible thread) from one side of the room to the other, in a grid pattern, then pull apart the angel hair thin and wispy and drape and swirl it. Dust it with chalk beforehand to "grey" it up a bit. They DO still make angel hair, don't they – or something similar? Let us know if you try it.

Monica Graham in DE

Scale:

The 1" scale means 1 inch in mini = 1 foot in real life.

The 1/4 scale means that 1/4" = 1 foot in real life. Therefore it would be 1/4 the size of a 1" scale piece.

For example a 6 foot man would be 6 inches tall in 1" scale, 3" tall in 1/2 scale, and 1 1/2" tall in 1/4 scale.

Carol

Quarter Scale sand: I am in the middle of making a "thing" in 1/4 scale. to get sand fine enough I have used pantyhose as a sieve.

DrBob...Delray Beach, FL.

To support anything such as while paint is to dry etc. Use a carpenters rule. The 6 foot wooden folding type. While it is completely folded lay it on a flat surface and poke what ever needs upright support between any two (2) slats in the ruler.

There I was holding onto the unpainted tip of this thing I just painted and was making 360's trying to find a place to put it when I plopped it down between the slats of the folded rule.

DrBob...Delray Beach, FL.

Arts & Crafts Store: you could have wreaths, swags, dried flower arrangements, "antique" furniture, wicker baskets, "handmade" dishtowels, (trying to think what my local craft store carries), "antique" dolls . . . a great place to put all those minis you have with no intended purposes or the ones you bought because you just had to have and then it didn't look right or fit!

Marsha, Newark, CA

Storage Ideas: For years I have been using the cardboard kits available at Wal-Mart and Bradlees, etc. that, when quickly assembled, become 9 compartment shoe box holders. I use 3 together and stack them up against the wall. This gives me 27 compartments that holds 27 shoe boxes filled with different dedicated things. I label the outside of the boxes with an index card that I just remove and change when I change the contents. The only drawback is that I have had to replace them every 3 years or so as they tend to sag and lean over time, but at the price, it has been worth it. For paint tubes and glues, I have found that the white plastic coated wire 3 bin kitchen or bathroom storage wall mounted shelving works great. It keeps it off the table level as my granddaughter has reaching hands. Also that Popular Mechanics article about nailing baby jar or other jar lids up into a high mounted overhead board and screwing the contents filled jars up into it provide instant visual access to what you have. One thing I am adding is the recently posted hint about using the vinyl see thorough shoe bag holder to mount on the wall.. that was great.

Stevenie

Smell removal: White vinegar will get out any smell on your skin - onion, fish, anything. Just rub with the vinegar then wash with soap and water to get the vinegar smell off.

Susan from St. Croix

Painting metal: My DH is a moulder (he makes things out of molten metal) so I asked him what to use for painting metals. He said for brass you can use an enamel paint with a suitable primer. Just make sure the brass is absolutely clean so verdigris doesn't grow under the paint. As for aluminum, you need to use a primer called Etch Primer, any good paint store should be able to tell you the American equivalent. For the top coat it is best to use enamel.

Dee Holst

Aging copper: I always age our copper with salt and white vinegar. I use a plastic jar, pour salt in to about an inch and add vinegar. I let it set for a few days and then just use the vinegar to scrub on the copper. Don't stir it up and dip down into the salt. The scrubbing will then make it very bright and clean and if you wash it off is a good way to clean copper. Don't wash it off! After a few hours it will start to turn green, if it's not enough for me I then just paint the vinegar on--no scrubbing this time. You will see a big change the next day. Use an old brush and keep it for that. After time the solution in the jar will also turn green. I keep it for long periods of time as we use it in our workshops, also.

April

Flagstone / Fieldstone: Use a vinyl tile, not ceramic. You discard the top layer of no-wax surface and pattern. This is very thin and peels off easily, start at the corner. It is the body of the tile you want. When you buy the tile, look at it sideways, you will see the surface pattern you will end up with, and it will be white. That's why you want a tile that's "white clear through". Some are striated like stone, some have small indentations, etc. After peeling, this is the surface you will end up working with. Again to cut, just score with an Xacto knife and it pops at the seam. To make small stones, cut in long strips the width you want and use the chopper to cut equal size pieces.

Ruth

Quick and Inexpensive Gift: I bought a pair of plain unfinished bookends and decorated them. I put wallpaper on the upright (largest side) and carpet on the "floor". Then I bit the bullet and cut a coffee table in half, glueing one half to each wall. I put on the table and floor things I knew she loved, a cat, teddy bear, books etc. A couple of pictures on the walls and it was done. It took me one night to finish and it looked a million bucks.

Dee

Oilcloth:

1. Tape a sheet of wax paper or heavy foil to your work surface.

2. Tape your chosen paper [cut larger than final item it is to be] to the wax paper or foil on all 4 sides with tape about 1/4 on the surface.

3. Pour the Mod Podge into a flat container.

4. Dip a 1 - 1 1/2" foam brush in the Podge and spread a thin coat on paper in one direction only. Watch for bubbles.

5. Repeat. 4-6 coats on the sheet, drying thoroughly between applications.

6. For more drape-ability, do not Podge the back. If you are doing a floor cloth, podge 3 coats on the back.

7. Cut the paper into shape and size needed. Use podge to simulate wooden floors using paper that resembles hard wood floors.

or:

Transfer printed pictures to fabric. Photocopy desired picture. Coat the PRINTED side of the copy with a thick coat of opaque transfer medium, (Picture This, Modge Podge, etc.) Lay the COATED side down in the center of a piece of 100% cotton broadcloth. Flatten and smooth. Allow it to dry several hours. Using a wet sponge, gently rub the paper off. It is all off when the material doesn't feel gritty. Be careful not to rub too hard or the print will come off. Let dry and trim. It has a sheen and body to it like oil cloth.

Sandy in Alberta

Oil Cloth Instructions: The simple oil cloth directions are in the Miniature Collector August issue page 78 and the picture is in the June/July issue page 55.

Roz Weitzman

Gypsy Caravans: Contact: Midwest Carriage Co. PO Box 024, Mentor, Ohio 44060-0024, 1-888-281-3863 They have the wheels you are looking for plus a wonderful book entitled "Making Model Gypsy Caravans" by John Thompson.

Lucy Seiler in CT

Metric Conversions: I often go to this site for mouldings information in real sized projects around the home. If these guys can't help you with conversions of lumber available in metric (they are an aussie company) they'll know who can, I'm sure: http://www.porta.com.au.

Trace

Scale Reduction on Scanners: Remember it like this. One third times one quarter gives you one twelfth. So reduce the original by one third and then by one quarter and then you have reduced it to one twelfth scale.

Barbara B in South Africa