Beacon Hill: The house is actually still the original 3 story Beacon Hill, but is also a "basement" so to speak or a separate roombox section built into the base of the table on which it sits. I did this after realizing I wasn't going to have enough room to do all of the things I wanted to with the house, which included a larger kitchen and dining room. I had my dad build the roomboxes into the base of the table, and the electricity is actually run off of a bridge connection between the main house and the basement.

While researching this addition, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that basement kitchens were very common in Victorian times because cooking in a basement kept the smells and odors from wafting onto and attaching to the heavy draperies and wall fabrics of the time. It seemed an easy bridge to place a larger dining room right next to the kitchen.

The table on which the main house sits is landscaped for each season. I have a collection of fall, winter, and spring/summer trees and plants to complete the landscape. The house resides in Colorado in my mind (loosely based on the Maxwell House in Georgetown, CO), hence the changing of the aspens with the seasons and lots of snow in the winter. It's a lot of work to change with the seasons, but the visual eye candy when done is well worth the time and effort each season!

Kathy in TX

Wonderful miniature kits for young children: Just wanted to share a real "find" with all of you. I have been looking for a way to really share my love of miniatures with my five year old daughter but most kits are very delicate and difficult for her to attempt without a lot of frustration. Then, today at Marshall's I found a wonderful dollhouse kit and coordinating furniture set kits by a company called Shure Products.

http://www.shureproducts.com

They have an absolutely beautiful (albeit juvenile) dollhouse made of laminated wood. Each kit comes with all of the materials to make mini foods, books, beaded lamps, a door mat...lots of fun mini projects designed especially for the 5-7 year old. I am so excited about her reaction to this present on Christmas morning. I'm even more excited about this chance to share a wonderful hobby with my little girl. If you do look for this dollhouse, you have to search the toy stores they list on their site for Smart Family dollhouse...or you could be lucky like me and find it for a great price in the toy section at Marshalls. I know I sound like a toy rep...it is just that I am so thrilled with this fun kit! My "real" dollhouse will have to be put on hold while I play with my daughter.

Paige

Finishing RGT Lighthouse Kit: I would recommend painting before putting the lighthouse together. My lighthouse was put together because I requested a hinged door to totally enclose it. It came out great. But it was very difficult to paint. The person who put it together for me also glued the beacon housing together. I ended up ordering another from RGT because I found it was impossible to paint without getting paint on the plexiglass provided for the windows. I think the kit actually recommends you glue it together first so you don't get paint down the window grooves. Well, IMHO you want to paint down the groove, not a lot but just enough to cover the bare wood. Otherwise, you see unfinished wood in the grooves which to me was very unattractive.

Emily Court

tree stump house .... Use an upside down KY Fried Chicken bucket as the framework, with a hole cut into it to display the scene. Cover it in caulk, draw lines through it with a fork or something to simulate bark, then stain, wash, etc. Oh, LOL, ask the chicken folks for a fresh bucket, don't try the one the chicken came in.

Paula

Folding Rooms: My son used to have Hot wheels cars and as birthday or Christmas gifts he would get a play station of sorts to use for the cars. He had several. They folded up into a small box when not in use. Build your room boxes with the walls hinged so they fold when not being displayed and played with. Dedicate one over head compartment as a display area and make the box so it fits in the compartment opening. When you are in one place for a while unfold the box and place it in the cabinet for display. You can make and collect minis to fit the room box as time allows.

Bill Hudson

Attaching Plexiglass: I use channel moldings mounted around the bottom and sides of each room. Attach one channel molding the size of the top of the room to the piece of plexiglass and then you have a handle to slide the plastic in and out of the moldings.

Roz Weitzman

Gift bag Vignette: Gift bags come in all sizes and can be found at many stores including Walgreen's in their wrapping paper and ribbon section. A square opening is cut into the front and slightly above the bottom of the bag and pieces of picture matting material is cut to make a support for the sides, back, bottom and lower front below the opening you have cut. Some people cut another piece to fit over those pieces as a "ceiling" and then add tissue paper in peaks. I made one where that top piece of matting was like a frame - and then had clear Plexiglas on that so light came in from the top. I suppose you could glue the tissue to all the sides and thus eliminate the need for the piece that fits over the sides. I have done two bags in 1/4 scale with front yards using some railroading materials - one Spring and one Winter with wreaths, garlands and snow: I also did a 1/2 inch one which had a picture of a house exterior on the bag and made a small sitting room in it. Usually another piece of clear plastic is slipped down the front of the opening. MiniGraphics came out with a kit in several styles, which had matching wallpaper for the inside. Those are in one-inch scale and I did a library vignette, which holds a desk, chair and floor globe, which turned out very nicely. The bags had rows of books as a design and the wallpaper was in scale home library shelves. The summer scene was in a floral bag, so instead of cutting a square, I followed the outline of the flowers on the bag when I cut the opening.

Jeanette

Teddy Bears Picnic: I bought two different small teddy bears - Hallmark and a bazillion other folks have them too - about 3 inches tall).

I took one of those little fake trees you see at the dollar store and just cut it WAY down to fit into this 6 inch tall container. I cut a piece of thick foamcore to fit into the bottom of the terrarium - hexagonal, of course. I rasped off the edges to make sort of a slope to the front. I glued Spanish moss all over it and when it was dry – I spritzed it with some wonderful floral type green spray spritzey subtle paint.:) I had taken the little wooden circle base off the tree so it's trunk was just the center wire. I made a hole thru the foamcore and glued it in solidly - at the back. This way, you could pull out the whole darn finished scene and clean the inside occasionally. When I make these little terrarium (cheap) vignettes, I always leave a way to get the scene out so it can be cleaned.

I made a picnic cloth out of tiny red gingham and also lined a small basket with the same material. I had some plastic earrings in the form of cheeseburgers and some others that were Frito bags (yes, these were earrings:) I got some of those little wooden pop bottles and stained them brown and put a coat of nail polish for coke bottles. I believe I also bought one of those teeny little fimo turtles at the craft store and put that in there. The poor bears were impaled so they could sit down on the blanket and partake of their picnic.

W. Marie in Edmonds, WA

Teddy Bear's Picnic: Years ago I made one up for one of my Nieces who really loved Teddy Bears. I bought a small basket with a lift off lid (looked sort of like a picnic basket. On the bottom of the basket I had a gingham tablecloth spread with all kinds of Fimo picnic foods. I had bought a pattern booklet for making small bears out of felt and I made the Mama, Papa, little girl and boy. I dressed the bears and sat them around the bottom of the basket.

On my Niece's birthday I handed her the basket. She was really amazed and thrilled when she lifted the lid. If I were to make it again, I think I'd add a music box mechanism that plays the song.

Paula in NJ

Plexiglas - I think there are probably lots of tips in the archives on making covers for dollhouses. When smoothing edges, use wet/dry sandpaper, progressing finer all the time and you can finish with hand rubbing the edges with toothpaste if you want it to be really spiffy. There are also lots of commercial polishes available. You can cut or drill Plexiglas, but you may have to experiment with drills, blades and speeds of operation for best results. If you cut too fast or too slow the stupid stuff melts and traps your blade.

Bonnie GIbson

Attaching Plexiglas: Look for a "U" shaped (probably more squared off) piece of metal in a hobby section or at a small hardware store. Take a piece of Plexiglas to make sure it fits in the channel. You glue the metal strip along the top and bottom edge of the area to be covered, then you put screws every 8 inches to support the weight of the Plexiglas.

A friend just showed me this method on the back of her wall hung dollhouse. Looks great.

Laurie Sisson

Attaching Plexiglas: We use Plexiglas and to attach it, we use Velcro... the self stick kind. This is a must, the "self stick type" or it wont hold up long. We use it on dollhouses, room boxes etc. You can cut it slimmer to edge just the edge of a room.

Billie Jo Eller

Christmas 1" Scale Room Boxes and Gift Bag Kits: http://www.arainbowsend.com/

Kaye Meldrum

Micro mini dollhouse Copper Roof: I sit here in absolute amazement at how neat these Micro-mini dollhouses from laser tech are. I bought the Row Houses and have currently "remodeled" them for appropriate city living. When working with these little monsters I wanted to put copper and tin roofs on them. Guess what, the metal in the craft stores its too thick for these little houses. So there I was at a local drive-through and noticed that the chicken sandwiches were wrapped in paper backed "copper foil" I got several sheets of this and their tinfoil and went home....to make it with the "Seams" take your embossing tools and run it down the foil against a straight edge. It really looks like seamed copper roofing, and the paper makes it easy to glue to the roofs.

Sudie Parker

Quarter-inch kits: I have a quarter-inch village that I made with the Greenleaf kits. I left the back or side open on all the buildings and furnished them.

Dani

Cutting Ostrich Eggs: I cut my "nautical" ostrich egg using a diamond bit in my dremel tool. The bit looks sort of like a disc mounted perpendicular to the shaft. You can buy them at jewelry supply stores and some hobby shops, and also there are many places online selling them. WEAR A DUST MASK when working on your egg. Unlike many other diamond bit applications, this cutting is best done dry and will create dust that is definitely not good for your lungs. You can cut very intricate designs with these bits, the ostrich egg is very strong and will take lots of cutting without breaking. There are other diamond bits that can be used for carving and shaping your egg as well.

Bonnie Gibson - Tucson, Arizona

Pictures for outside window scenes - Use old calendar pictures for the background in room boxes. I save any pictures from old calendars that might be appropriate for outdoor scenes which could be seen through doors or windows.

Anita Myers in Arnold, MD

Old Veneer: I had some ragged sheets of old veneer kicking around and just put it on the outside of a mountain cabin I'm making. Wonderful aged plank siding! Score planks with black ballpoint pen, Poke the tip of the pen where you want nail holes, add a few "joints" by making a wiggly line across 'planks', then add nails in appropriate places. Outstanding results.

Source: Possibly old furniture stores, junk stores, Landfills (if you can get there). Ask junk shops to peel it and save for you, or just old veneer furniture left in the yard in the rain. Old veneer is much thicker than the new stuff. Strange to have walnut siding on a miniature cabin, but it's pretty nice looking.

Judie - Daytona Beach, FL

DH Construction Tips: 1. Begin with a kit from a good company; I didn't know enough to do that, and I paid for it because mine had lousy wood which split and warped. Pay a little more up front (Real Good Toys is the one I kept hearing about as the best).

2. Then, sand everything and then seal everything. Then your wood will take paint well.

3. PAINT BEFORE YOU GLUE. Use Elmer's Carpenter's or Woodmaker's Glue and masking tape to hold things together.

4, Then paint in thin coats, sanding in between. Use the small craft bottles of acrylic paint for all the decorative parts and plain satin finish latex house paint. PAINT BOTH SIDES AT THE SAME SITTING; it cuts down on warping.

Elizabeth in Ann Arbor

Constructing Dollhouses: One thing to remember if you're using a kit which is tab and slot, is not to prime or paint the tabs. Sometimes even without something on them the tabs don't fit the slots, with paint or primer they might become too big. Glue will hold the pieces together much better if it's wood upon wood.

Marilyn in Illinois