Rain Slicker: Barbara Schuckman, BY BARB miniatures, from NY makes a slicker and other rain gear. You can email her at : bybarb@juno.com

Alice Zinn- Pt. ST. Lucie FL

Half scale furniture: SCALE DESIGNS http://www.scaledesigns.com has furniture and kits for your house.

Fannye

Half scale furniture: Mott's and Oakridge Hobbies have a great variety of 1/2" scale furniture, both finished and in kits. http://www.minishop.com/ MOTT'S MINIATURES & DOLLHOUSE SHOP

http://www.oakridgehobbies.com/ OAKRIDGE HOBBIES

Nertha

Quarter-scale kits. A delightful source is The Quarter Source. KBMini@aol.com They do have a mail order catalogue.

Dawn Weaver

Beginners: what to start with -: if you're just starting out and don't yet feel comfortable with the tools/skills to work in wood, why not try experimenting with cardboard first? Kaye especially, even if the results aren't perfect your daughter will still find it play-worthy. If you feel too inexperienced to design your own plans, there's a book called Building Cardboard dollhouses by Jeff Millstein which has several styles and complete patterns. It's out of print but www. bn.com has several copies and probably Amazon does too. That will give you experience with the basic principles of construction that will carry through to more durable materials.

Loretta. Sniarowski

Working Fountain: couldn't you do this along the same lines as those 'tabletop' fountains that are so popular now? I know there's a book out with instructions for these available through the One Spirit book club. I think a cooler pump is used for the tabletop fountains, and I don't know if you'd need a 'thingie' to control the water volume...the pump could be hidden in the 'foundation' of your house.

Molly

Washington Dollhouse Museum: This is to those making inquiries regarding the Washington Dollhouse Museum, it is located at 5236 44th Street, NW, Washington, DC. The phone number is (202) 244-0024. The full name is actually Washington Dollhouse Toy Museum.

Lorri in Manassas, VA

MINIATURES SEARCH ENGINE http://www.myminiatures.com/

Brooke, WA

AMERICAN SCIENCE & SURPLUS: http://sciplus.com (This company also has a mail order catalog.) You would not believe all the goodies found here. They are the perfect resource for people like us who love the challenge of making something out of nothing. They sell lovely little bottles, matching corks, tiny baggies, containers perfect for storage, arts and crafts supplies such as beads and ribbon, and lots more. You never know what treasures they'll have available in each catalog.

Karen from PA

ORIENTAL TRADING COMPANY: http://www.oriental.com (This company also has a mail order catalog.) This company sells some craft supplies in bulk, sometimes by the gross. You're not going to find any highly detailed minis, but they often offer such things as charms or tiny tea sets (One had it's own cute little wicker hamper to put them in).

Karen from PA

Mini shops in Melbourne: There are 2 shops near Melbourne, neither are right in the city. You will be able to reach both by tram, one is Miniature World at 52 Glenferrie RD, Malvern, Victoria. phone (03)95761728. They are not on the internet, as far as I know. The lady who owns it is called Marrie she is very nice. The shop is large and well stocked. Second The Doll House at 524 Riversdale RD, Camberwell, Victoria. phone (03)98826866,do not know if they are on the net, This shop has been open for years, also well stocked. The mini shops are few and far between in Australia.

Gloria

Jonesy

Dollhouses for Children: There are several dollhouses available for small children. Plan toys makes some indestructible houses, dolls, and furniture out of rubber wood. They are just under 1/12 scale, so as your granddaughter ages she could gradually exchange some of the furniture or accessories for more delicate minis. This web page contains a lot of their toys: http://www.puffins.com/planindx.html#DOLLHOUSES -- and this page shows the houses: http://www.puffins.com/plntoy01.html Plan Toys just introduced a line of Georgian accessories. The Georgian dollhouse is adorable and the dolls are dressed in brocades! So cute! Also, there's a smaller set made by Small World, called FeltLand. FeltLand is approximately 1/24 scale, and features a lot of felt. I haven't played with these, but they are colorful and look strong. They are available at Yahoo Shopping; the best prices I've found are at http://shop.store.yahoo.com/purcifuls-toys/feldolwitfur.html They look like a lot of fun. I have considered buying a set just for myself. :-) They are set up as a stack of room boxes, so you can buy the whole set at once or you could just get a few rooms. I'm sure you've already heard of Fisher Price's Loving Family stuff. They are plastic and I don't like the house they come with, but I have considered taking the people and some of the accessories and putting them in a better quality house for my niece, since they are 1/12 scale.

Ghia

Dollhouses for Children: I have given this matter careful thought lately, because I have boy and girl twins who will turn 3 in July, and they are always after my minis! I don't know what kind of budget you are working with, but Dollshouse Emporium has an excellent child's dollhouse called Blossom Cottage that comes pre-painted and slots together in minutes for $123. It needs wallpapering, but the exterior is lovely! There are kid-tough furniture sets to go with it. See http://www.dollshouse.co.uk. Kids also love found object/DIY mini projects -- a match stick with a few feathers for a feather duster, toothpaste caps for wastebaskets, green tissue paper salads in acorn bowls, edible dollhouse food like Cheerios doughnuts and chocolate chip puddings. As for dolls, if she's a pink and purple tutu- and ballerina-loving 3 year old, she will adore the very inexpensive little girl porcelain dolls (under $10) at Dollshouse Emporium. My son worships them.

Madere, Silver Spring, MD

Plant Making Sites: Betty here are some site that offer how-to's on making plants: http://kuoi.asui.uidaho.edu/~nyssa/projects/gladiolus/ http://kuoi.asui.uidaho.edu/~nyssa/projects/pansies/ http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Shores/1928/projects/callalilies.html http://cottonridge.safeshopper.com/225/cat225.htm?456 http://www.dollshouseworld.com/articledhw.asp?artid=161&cat=Projects&pre=1 http://www.dollshouseworld.com/articledhw.asp?artid=1029&cat=Projects&pre=1 http://www.geocities.com/heartland/woods/5223/flowerinst.html

Peaches In Daytona Beach FL

Precut paper flowers: Diane - for paper petals try Hanky Panky Crafts at http://www.hankypankycrafts.com/

Mary in Minneapolis

Lighting Wiring

To Wire or Not: Before you decide you might like checking out Tom's web site, he makes it look easy. http://www.dollhouse-miniatures.com/toms-tips/electical.html

Kathy

Lights in a Room Box: Cir-Kit sells a vignette light. They have a web site and the light is listed on http://www.cir-kit.com/commerce/product_detail.asp?prodid=CK212 Unfortunately they forgot to include the picture. If you have Dee's catalog I think it's in there. The Cir-Kit web site is a good site in general for information on wiring and available accessories. http://www.cir-kit.com

Carol

Mini Portraits: My son is a Fine Arts photographer who has developed a technique for the miniaturization of his original black and white landscape and architectural work. This is using the rare silver gelatin process.  He is now branching out into the field of miniature portraiture for Dollhouses. Imagine seeing your family or wedding pictures reduced to the correct scale, hanging on the wall of your dollhouse living room. If you are interested contact me at laviniaclarke@hotmail.com

Lavinia

Conchos, as well as any number of western and model horse items can be purchased from Rio Rondo. I hadn’t contacted them in 4 years but they are alive and well and have a web site at www.riorondo.com/index.html It is at this site that you will also find books on customizing the model horses.

Ana