Oriental Dolls: Janna Joseph has 2 oriental families which she has developed which would be worth looking at www.jannajosephdesigns.com - I'm getting a number of the molds (including her famous detective series)...but I also have her older series and she used to have a bust to use for hats that was a perfect oriental face. The other mold I can think of is one of Joy Parker's from Swallowhill Dolls. They are few and far between.

Ana

Wigs: Regarding where to find wigs for dolls how about Joy Parker's site? http://swallowhilldolls.com/hatswigs.htm

Another place for wigs is Pat Boldt's site: http://www.patboldtdolls.com/wigs.html

Nursemini

Dolls "By Terri": To the person who is looking for the artisan who operates under the name "By Terri" it is Ellen McAdams, Dolls By Terri, (208) 683-2949, Athol, Idaho http://www.dollsbyterri.evisionsite.com , e-mail ssjsook@aol.com.

Rosemary in Cleveland

Wigs: Darlene Mobley at darlene@slip.net makes wonderful wigs,(very reasonable price.) Took a class from her last Saturday and made a wonderful Regency (1880-1890) doll. Learned wigging, and dressing. A great class. Thanks Darlene. I know she does the wigs separately as I have purchased them from her.

Diane in SFBA

Stitching: A couple of useful places with tips on sewing on silk gauze are Theresa Rae Venette's site, which has loads of info, articles, kits, charts, links, etc that you may find interesting, especially a page on working on silk gauze: http://www.shakespearespeddler.com/silkgauze.html. Another nice site belongs to 'CameoRoze', or Margaret Davaz. She has a complete page on the subject: http://www.cameoroze.com/welcome/tips/silk.htm. We can tell you that sewing on 32 count silk gauze is really easy with a single strand of Anchor stranded cotton, using a size 26 needle - that's the combination Janet chose for her new bellpull kits. You may also like to know (in answer to a recent question on SS) that we now stock pieces of 32 count silk gauze in handy sizes, so it's easy to get that type, at least!

Janet Granger, Staffordshire, England

Miniature Socks: http://www.socknitters.com/PATTERNS/minisock.htm The above link is for knitting miniature socks, you gotta see these little things if you are into mini knitting. I have a feeling that with our small needles and the flower thread or something close to that, you might get a decent looking adult-sized mini sock. I for one am going to try it!

Joy in Pointe Claire

Miniature Socks: http://www.teleport.com/~noelvn/socks/2-needle_style.html These are my favourite cause I can't knit with 4 needles to save my life. But there is one pattern there for mini socks, only on two needles...and using our small needles ... well, you know the rest.

Joy in Pointe Claire

Cross Stitch: Paula Vaughan, does have her own web site http://paulav.com. It shows some beautiful work and also has a listing of all available crossstitch designs. The one that was mentioned is called Through a Mothers eyes, I have the kit and it would make a great mini scene. There is also a matching one called Through a Father's Eyes. One of the newest designs is called Granny's Attic, there is a picture on the web site - two girls playing dress up with granny looking on smiling in the mirror. If I can ever work out how to do the mirror bit I would love to do one of these scenes in a room box. There is also another cross stitch site called http://debbiepatrickdesigns.com These are all real oldAmerican Victorian and Queen Anne houses that have been replicated into cross stitch. I have just bought five of the designs with the intention of eventually having a separate room for my houses with the crossstitch pictures on the walls. A warning though when you see some of the houses - I now want a dollhouse like some of the real ones LOL Actual prints are also available from both sites so if this type of house is your thing and you don't like to do cross-stitch you can still have some beautiful pictures. I have no connection to either of these people (I wish!!) but the services are wonderful, postage minimal (as an overseas buyer) and have had many happy and lustful hours looking at them.

Yvonne - NZ

Crochet: do you have the Dover book Miniature Crochet and Knitting for Dollhouses? If you don't have a local bookstore, they have a web site now, http://www.doverpublications.com; I found it under Crafts in the needlework section. Dover has lots of very reasonable books for miniers. I don't have the patience for crochet myself, but got the book and asked my mother to make a bedspread, which is magnificent.

Loretta Sniarowski

Mini Inventory: The best database "maker" I have seen is Access by Microsoft. It comes in the MS Office Suite. It is somewhat difficult to learn. I am lucky in that my husband is familiar with the program. We used it to make a database of the people we were inviting to our wedding, and could sort by name, address, whether or not their invite was sent out, what their reply was, what they wanted for dinner, etc etc. It was great. The we could print it out. You can even make some categories "Yes/No" where the program puts a checkbox in the column. There are other fancy things you can do with it too, like making the database more like a pre-set form to add names, dates or whatever. If you have Office you may have Access (not sure if it comes with all Office suites). The program has a tutorial, I think. Give it a try (but be prepared to spend a while learning). I'm sure there are tutorials on the web also. **Alternatively, check in with http://www.download.com and do a search for a ready-made program.

Lynn in Gainesville

Edwardian Toys: You might try the book by Jim Dorset, its on my web site http://www.dollhouse-miniatures.com/ under books>miniatures The Best of The Scale Cabinetmaker Vol. 1 The Toys of Christmas.

Tom Berkner

Glass Beads: Glass beads are available from Fire Mountain Gems in an astonishing variety of colors, textures, shapes, etc. Order their catalog, as their web site is not nearly as complete. Catalog can be ordered at http://www.firemountaingems.com.

Molly/StormBorn

Glass Beads: To who ever is looking for Glass, Bone or any other type of Beads and Jewelry Findings -Shipwreck Beads, claims to be "The Worlds Largest Source" Here is the link http://www.shipwreck.com/

Brooke, Wa

The James Bay: This is an excellent kit made from cedar. The rooms are a good size so you can actually do a 'real' looking room setting. The price is reasonable especially when you convert that into US dollars. Just multiply that by .66 and you'll be pretty close to what the US cost is. This is NOT a slot and tab house. It is solid and the cedar is good quality. I would make a change in the third floor. There is kind of a wasted space area (to my mind) there with lost area under one of the eaves. I'd open that up and create a small sewing area or storage/attic area. I like the way you can look through from one room into another, giving it depth and a more realistic feel. This is a very large house! IBEC is just a very small, family run company. You can order the kit from Upstairs Downstairs in Victoria, BC. Pat and Amos, the owners of the shop, are very familiar with the kit. Not sure how many Amos has put together! They can give you all the info you need about lighting, flooring, etc. that this kit would take. Their web site is www.upstairs-downstairs.com. Personally, I can't stand the wood used in the Duracraft houses but then I don't have the patience it takes to make one of these kits look good. I admire the many on this list who have and do. I prefer the kits that have cabinet grade plywood rather than slot & tab styling. I think they are stronger. Plus I prefer the room sizes better in those houses. It's all a personal preference though.

Debi in Quesnel

IBEC Dollhouses: I have the James Bay sitting here in a box....it is my next project. I have seen it put together in real life and in my opinion, it is the MOST amazing house I have ever seen. I can't think of another house that compares to the James Bay in terms of quality. They are made from BC cedar. Sturdy as well as detailed kits. Their kits are very 3-D with stairs running through the center instead of up one side. I have already built the Cobble Hill and it is also another very nice house. It is funny because IBEC houses are better priced than the major name brand kits and they are better quality. They are more unique and also unheard of by most people who live in the U.S. because IBEC is a small, family run Canadian business. I know that often they only make a kit when someone orders one. They do not mass produce. I was talking to a store owner here in Toronto who was telling me that while she carries IBEC houses and they are far superior (in her opinion as well) to houses built by Walmer etc., many people in the U.S. afraid to take a chance with a kit they were not familiar with and had never seen built. All I can say is that you will not be disappointed at the James Bay. By the way, IBEC's web site is http://www.ibecwoodproducts.com for anyone who is interested in checking it out.

Karen in Ontario, Canada

Plastic Window Sheets: This is what I use for the "glass" for my dollhouses and furniture. Butyrate plastic sheets. They cut with scissors and work great. You can use them to make stained glass windows also. 6 9x12 pieces for about six dollars. I use the .030 thickness. They are also flexible so you can use them for "curved " glass. Micro-Mark also carries some other interesting products. Take a look. http://www.dxmarket.com/micromark/dir/24.html for the glass. Also take a look at the Plastic dip. Could this be used for doll shoes? Just dip in the feet and trim around. http://www.dxmarket.com/micromark/ for the main page.

Barbara D

Dollhouse Inventory: Last week or so, someone on this list mentioned that they had listed their minis on their Excel program. So I thought, "I can do that".

I am starting into my THIRD week. I kept all of my mini purchases in a journal type book forever. Anyhow most of it. The last few years I haven't been so good at it. Anyhow, I have transferred everything in the book and then started what you were talking about: Going from house to house, room to room, roombox to roombox and recording where each of those purchases NOW resides. Auggggghhhhhhhhhh!. One of those projects you wish you hadn't started, but I'm really excited that it's going to be so great to get it on the computer and out of the journal.

I can automatically sort the list any way I want. I have 6 columns. DATE-DESCRIPTION- SELLER-ARTIST-COST-LOCATION. If I want a printout of say everything in the Greystone B&B, I sort the Location column alphabetically, and they're all together. I've also found that one interesting move is to click on total of cost column. You DO NOT want to do that EVER. Heart attack in the making. Anyhow a big Thank You to whoever mentioned using Excel for this. I had been looking for a software program everywhere to make my inventory in. By the way, that's true with a lot of programs I've wanted. I find that somehow I can do the same thing with what's already in the computer. Have fun. And I do hope to finish this project sometime this century.

Fannye in TX

Fannye in TX

Dollhouse Inventory: When you inventory a collection of some 20 years, "what you paid" is probably of very little importance. What is important is What gives "value" to each item in your own collectors mind. For your own reminiscence and for your heirs - a useful inventory may look something like this.

Music room: Violin: purchased at Anaheim Nit Pickers' show about 1978 when Misa was taking full sized violin lessons at school. Maker unknown.

Music stand. Purchased Casey's Wee Littles about 1983 in Buena Park, CA. Paid $9.50. I liked the fretwork a lot. Made by Laura Schroeder. Hallmark/Initials on bottom of rail.

Sheet music. Photo copy reduction of original sheet music from my mother's collection (original in attic trunk with other sheet music):Side By Side" Was a favorite of my Mom & Dad, sung frequently in the car on long tips.

Victrola. Made by myself April, 1981 Signed/dated on bottom. Dimensions and drawings taken from full sized original at Antique mall in Temcula, Ca. Quarter sawn cherry wood. Player arm sculpted Fimo metalized with graphite rubbed over aluminum paint. Record cut from photograph of original 78 RPM record "Blueberry Hill" by Fats Domino. Note: I made 3 of these - other 2 sold through High Button Shoe in Fullerton, Ca. Get the idea???

For an insurance inventory, talk to your agent. "Actual value" coverage for collectables gets very tricky. Again, what you paid 15 or 20 years ago means very little.

Mel Koplin

60s Décor: First of all, are you doing a 'mainstream' 60s house or a 'hippie/trendy' 60s house? Early 60s (think 'Space Age', Jetsons, ultra-mod) or mid-to-late 60s (think macramé, earthy stuff)? I would scour your library, thrift stores, and used bookstores for decorating books or magazines from the 60s. Once you stop laughing, take notes.

1) Mainstream early 60s decor you can see probably the easiest on reruns of the 'Dick Van Dyke Show'. Think simple lines and upholstered furniture (sofas, chairs) on spindly peg legs. Color schemes would probably be in pastels with highly contrasting accent colors, like pale yellow with medium blue or chartreuse green with cherry red.
2) Space age or trendy early 60s used a lot of white with red, purple, or orange accents. Piet Mondrian was a big influence on this group, as was the film 'Clockwork Orange'. Reruns of the original Star Trek, especially scenes shot in the crew's quarters, will give you the look. One thing I like about this era is the 'breaking the space' concept; that is, often a section of a room's floor would be raised and lowered and then the whole room would be carpeted the same. Beds would be mattresses sunk or raised in these carpeted area; I've also seen an entire dining area sunk in a carpeted pit where the chairs were a step-like level and only the table was a separate piece of furniture. The tulip chair was big.
3) Hippie look: Different rooms painted different bold colors, with lots of rock posters (particularly the ones from the San Francisco artists, like Mouse); bead curtains, ethnic artifacts.
4) Late 60s 'earthy' look (bleeds over into the early 70s): orange, avocado, leaf green and mustard yellow were the big colors, furniture was heavy, floor pillows were hot, macramé and house plants were all over the place.

Molly

60s Décor: What kind of 60s look are you after? There were so many! Clean-cut Doris Day or her "cousins" English mod and Marlo Thomas's "That Girl"? If so, rent some Doris & Rock movies or That Girl videos and look at the scenery instead of the characters. Later hippie stuff? The 60s included just about every style imaginable; it's when the concept of eclectic decor really took off, so practically anything will work, preferably tied together with a garish color scheme and lots of paisley and/or daisies. The social rank of the people inhabiting your house or scene would play a part, too. Older, wealthier people would have been into traditional furniture and art (think classic English or French country) or "tasteful", modern, neutral upholstery and carpeting (think nubbly and beige), and chrome/leather furniture, chrome/glass coffee tables, accents of boldly colored ethnic or abstract art. College kids improvised with bean bags, Goodwill household goods, and Goodwill furniture painted wildly, stacked mattress seating covered in cheap Indian bedspreads, giant floor pillows, and an ever-changing art gallery of music and political posters mixed with DIY collages tacked to the walls. Blue-collar middle-class folks like my parents and neighbors decorated with sort of light, bright (lemon, turquoise) or "colonial" (milky blue, cranberry, hunter green colors in the early 60s - think Marimekko Scandinavian fabrics), and veered toward the familiar gold/avocado/burnt orange as the 70s approached; "early American" maple furniture was popular with them.
The size and placement of the TV and stereo also changed over the decade, assuming more and more prominence, and the TV got bigger and more likely to be in color by the end of the decade. Older folks sometimes had "consoles" which combined the TV, stereo, and radio in a huge piece of furniture the size of a sideboard.

Loretta.Sniarowski