Twinfirs Dolls: Joy was very easy to work with. Please be sure and look at her site if you haven't yet. http://www.twinfirsdolls.co.uk/

Terri in NC

Tents: Scala has a really neat tent. If you are interested go to http://lugnet.com/ check out set # 3143 to see the tent.

Diana

Russian nesting dolls: At the Allentown PA show in May one of the dealers had them and I got two sets. The 5 nested doll set: the largest is just over one inch high, a tad large, however, the smallest is the size of a peppercorn, as Helen of York indicated.
He also had a smaller, three nested doll set which is about 3/4". They were very reasonable and exceptionally detailed, with even the smallest doll fully painted (I had to look under a magnifying glass to be sure). I paid very little for the two sets. He also has porcelain dishes and figurines and Faberge style eggs which are somewhat large but would work for 1" scale I think.

His contact information is:
Alex Telyatnikov, ABE Universal Vending, P. O. Box 654, Fogelsville PA
18051-0654.
e-mail is russiantreasure@hotmail.com
phone is 610-366-9434 and fax is 360-838-6216.
I have no financial interest in this company, just thought I would post if anyone wanted to check out the nested dolls. I think they are wonderful and if you use the last 3 of the 5 doll set, it would be perfect 1" scale.

Jo in the Poconos (of PA)

Worthing, England - New shop: I am from England. Worthing in West Sussex to be precise. I have 4 houses the latest being a 6 roomed Georgian mansion. The reason why I am writing is because I have just found this wonderful new shop here in Worthing. Its called Ginny's Attic. Its situated in South Farm Rd.Tel no:01903 522599. I found it quite by accident & of course I had to go in to have a look! They are the most friendly helpful people I have ever met & although new to miniatures have a vast stock of accessories, houses, room boxes & craft materials including wood & haberdashery.

Liz Taylor

Miniature Horses: There's a number of horse artisans on one of my Yahoo! groups: ModelArabians@yahoogroups.com You can also find artisan links on the American Model Arabian Horse Association web site at: http://www.amaha.itgo.com/

JoLynne

Petite Princess Furniture: I recently found this website for Petite Princess items: http://www.yesterdaystoys.com/petite.htm

Stacey-Marie Torres

Quarter Scale Sites: I love 1/4" scale and I know of several people thatsell 1/4" scale houses and furniture. Of course, I want all of them!! Hereare a few:
Sally's Originals
http://members.tripod.com/~SallysPage/index.htm
Pamela Scott Miniatures
http://members.aol.com/daisy21/pam/index.html
Robin Betterley's 1/4" scale kits
http://miniatureconcepts.hypermart.net/RobinQuarter.html
Suzanne and Andrew's Miniatures
http://www.andrewsmini.com/
BJ Miniatures
http://www.bjminis.com/
Quarterkits
http://www.shawneelink.net/~umbrger/Quarterkits.html

Nancy in Ohio

Quarter Scale Kits: I carry 1/4" scale furniture kits from Mustard Seed.
http://JBsDollhousesMiniatures.comJB's Doll Houses and Miniatures, Yuma, AZ

Jackie

1/4 scale dolls: First I use a softer clay (I like pro-sculpt). I then put it on something to hold it so you never have to actually touch the face or head, such as a toothpick or putting it on foil, visit http://perfect-touch.com/ or visit my website http://BitsnPiecesOnline.com I am linked to them, and invest in some of their sculpting tools. They have war gaming tools that are incredibly small. I have the size up from that. They make all their tools and are very, very nice.

Joni

African dolls: looking for African dolls, if you want doll kits to make yourself with African skin tones, I believe Dana & Gwen of www.miniatureart.com will be able to help you. They made me an Asian lady kit and two Asian girls kits. I just looked on their web site and chose the doll kits I preferred, and they were made in Oriental colored porcelain just for me! Cute as a button! And the kits are wonderful - lots of materials in case you "mess up" and easy to follow instructions.

Whui

Wax dolls: Heidi asked about wax dolls as were made in days of yore. I was reminded that I have seen large porcelain dolls (we are talking close to life-sized here) who are coated in wax. They have a thin wax coating over the porcelain. Their "skin" glows with a depth that is very life-like. I wonder if you could take a miniature porcelain doll and buff it with paste wax (available at hardware stores) and get a similar effect? You may want to tint the wax to make a rosy glow...
I did a search in Google ( http://www.google.com ) for "wax dolls" and came up with these promising sites:
http://www.sowatzka.com/dolls/wax.htm
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/3808/lmakwax.html
http://www.hattonsgallery.com/antique/wax.cfm

Anne Gerdes

Different Furniture Types: Yes, there is a difference between Hepplewhite, Chippendale and Queen Anne furniture, some of it subtle some not so subtle. However, none of these styles is Victorian - they are all from the 18th century. While they could possibly be found in a Victorian home as "antiques" they would not be a prosperous Victorian homeowner's first choice. The Victorian era runs from 1835 to 1903 and there were a LOT of styles in architecture, furniture and clothing throughout this period. There were many "revivals" of previous eras, like Gothic Revival and Renaissance Revival. Towards the end of the period there was Art Nouveau and Arts & Crafts. While HOM makes some great kits, they do not make any true Victorian kits. I would suggest you send a LSASE to Fernwood Miniatures, 12730 Finlay Road NE, Silverton, OR 97381 and ask for her free catalogue. Fern makes many Victorian pieces and her work is true reproductions of actual furniture.

Beth

1/144th Scale Kits: We have just introduced a range of 1/144th scale furniture to go with the 1/144th scale houses we have. More items will be added soon including lighting for these kits.
We're at http://www.wood-street-miniatures.co.uk

Maddie

1/144" scale furniture and kits: You were asking about furniture and house kits in 1/144" scale. Sandra Kay has been working very hard on a web site that is a wonderful resource for 1/144" scale showing most of the lines of furniture and houses that are available with examples of finished houses. http://www.sandykaye.ws/

Jean Day

144th Scale Furniture: here is a site that carries smaller scales:
http://www.oakridgehobbies.com/ Just click on Dollhouses when you get there.

Marilyn from Michigan

Thin Flexible Mirror: I'm sure that you will find something closer to you, but you can get the thin plastic mirror that you are looking for from Jojays on line, the actual page link is http://www.jojays.com/acatalog/Jojays_On_line__Page_6_85.html and they have online ordering. FLAT MIRROR SHEET (DH114) Flexible plastic sheet - 1mm thick 10 x 7.5cms, it costs one English pound & 10p. I have used it myself & IMHO it's good.

Paulette Cullarn in Christchurch, New Zealand

Thin Flexible Mirror Sheets: I'm sure that you will find something closer to you, but you can get the mirror sheets: From the catalogue of The American School of Needlework They have those sheets you can order them from their catalogue. Their toll free # 1-800-379-9627 They are called flexible Mirrors item #6324 they come in 6 "X 9" sheets. Two sheets per package.

SUSAN AT THE WHITE RABBIT'SHOUSE

Thin Mirrors: I found my thin mirror in the AUTOMOTIVE SECTION at Wal-Mart!! Easy to cut to the size I wanted, and worked quite well. Used it to display the "other side" of a dress form in the corner of my sewing room.

Scott & Susie Haugen, Venice, Florida

Special Fabrics: If you contact rwk@rt66.com she will silk screen a piece of fabric (your choice of fabric, and your design) for a very reasonable price.

Viola

Fuzzy paper. I recently received a package of 'Micro format fuzzy paper' from The Imagination Gallery. This paper can go through your printer without leaving any little 'fuzzies' to gum it up.

I used Paint Shop Pro to print out some small scale rugs on it, and it worked wonderfully. (They also have something called 'Fabric Carrier' which I thought at first was some kind of tote bag...but no, it's a paper that you can back your thin fabric with, put it through the printer, print on the fabric, and then peel off the backing. Sounds very interesting to me, and I think I'll order a package this week.) They have a lot of other papers and decal makers that might be of use to us miniaturists too. http://www.paper-paper.com/fuzzy-paper.html

Kaye in L.A.

Sites that sell minis: A couple of people asked for recommendations of sites that make and sell miniatures. May I suggest you start with Small Stuff's own link pages at http://smallstuff-digest.com? Other than the "Personal Collections" and "Online Groups" links pages, all the rest are miniatures for sale sites. That should keep you busy for a few weeks *grin* Then, hop on over to these miniature links/directory sites: http://www.miniature.net http://www.miniature.net/minilink.html http://www.myminiatures.com http://www.imaginationmall.com http://www.jayesminilinks.com And don't forget the miniature rings! http://rings.miniature.net and http://miniatures.about.com/hobbies/miniatures/library/webring/blminiartists.htm

Anne Gerdes