Turntable: In response to your conversation about the Zero Clearance Turntable, you can contact the owner Ed Given at ZCTABLE@aol.com or 1-800-523-4142. His web site is http://www.netresultz.com/miniatures. He is located in Melbourne, FL. I recently picked up the 42 in. lg x 24 in. deep (medium) turntable from him. I have not set it up yet, but the quality of the product appears to be excellent. I am anxious to try it out. He also has a 36 in. lg x 20 in. deep (small) and a 48 in. lg. by 30 in. deep (large).

Sandy

Gift Bag Scenes: I have come across directions for making a gift bag room box. Go to the http://www.MyMiniatures.com web page, choose the 'Projects' category. The site is called 'DIY's by Roz'. I believe it's on the second page.

Linda Kelley

Beach house: Our mini club had a project and we all made beach houses and they are fun. Most houses were built up on 1"dows - about 9 to support--about 2" high. The cottages had a main floor that we all divided differently to have sitting, kitchen, dining and tiny bath area. The loft above can be simple just for sleeping. There was a porch with beach type chairs and under the house we had sand, surf boards, inner tubes etc. Hope this helps.

Ruth Morey

Beach Scene: I made a mini beach scene in an old fish aquarium. I placed blue sky railroad background paper on the back wall and left the rest of the sides clear....filled the bottom with sand (pulling some of the sand up the bottom of the back wall for effect) and voila! Everyone who sees it loves it. Ron's in Orlando has figures for the beach scene and they are comical........as well as inexpensive. You can probably find them elsewhere as I have seen them in many other places (even in a store in Dublin, Ireland.)

Betty

Alice's Zignettes: (room boxes created inside picture frames, based on literature) I added these photos to my photo album, so you can see what I'm talking about. Many of the frames were purchased as is, some I "doctored".

-To make glass block windows in the Sam Spade, Detective scene, I used a flat piece of glass that I bought at Michael's. It was made to hold a small pillar candle and is scored in small squares.

- In "In the Yellow Brick Road" I started with a plain flat frame, and added pieces of sculpey and wood carvings to suit the motif. I made the shapes and then baked them on the frame so they would be flat, then took them off and glued them back on after painting them.

- Did the frame for "Huck and Jim " basically the same way, except used netting on it and soaked it in Stiffy. Although you can't see it in the photo, I used resin for the river, and scanned the background picture from a book on rivers, painting the side walls to blend into the photo.

- In "Hercule Poirot" the raindrops outside the window were made by dripping clear nail polish on the glass (also works on acetate). The box was extended as the scene was wider than the frame I wanted to use.

- The "Alice in Wonderland" frame was purchased as is.

- In "A Study in Sherlock" I lined the velveteen of the draperies with heavy duty aluminum foil to create the folds and enable the fabric to "puddle" in a natural looking way onto the floor.

- I made the boxes out of 1/2" foam core, and each is lit with a bulb on a wire that are used for ceramic Christmas village houses. The outside of each box is covered with fabric that coordinates with the theme of the scene inside.

Alice Zinn

Painting Natural Materials: I agree with the advice to paint or seal natural materials. I purchased sheet moss from the craft store to cover the roof of Mossy Manor, and, later on, my hollow log house http://gerdesdesign.com/my_dollhouses.htm. This had been harvested and treated, and was bug-free. But over time it will lose its green and turn brown. After sealing it with hairspray, I painted it with "Basil" green florist spray paint -- the kind craft stores like Michaels carry -- it is much finer than regular spray paint. I felt the "Moss" color wasn't quite right and the Basil looked more natural. I didn't saturate it -- I left some natural showing so it would brown a little here and there (underneath, not in patches on the surface).

Now, several years later, it looks great and very natural.

Anne Gerdes

Circus: Place all your circus items in front of a painted backdrop of a red and white stripped circus tent entrance (use foam core to paint your scene or paste your picture). You may even embellish the painting or picture by using real stripped material as flaps on either side of the entrance perhaps with small "pegs" (pieces of toothpicks) attached to string to hold the flaps open. You could also use real material as flags along the painted flag poles that are always at the top of the tent

Marilyn of Michigan

Snow:  I made the dollhouse I bought from Joann's Fabrics into a Santa House. It not only has snow on the roof but has a snow covered base. I used Bondex Premixed Lightweight Spackling and then dusted it lightly with glitter. I also used "real" size spray snow and stood a distance away and lightly sprayed the house and scene. I think it took some of the starkness of the red away too.

Juanita in Missouri

Pringles: A few weeks back I was reading some post and someone was eating Pringles. Then someone inquired about Cutting an opening in a tin can. This reminded me of the days I had all my friends save me Pringles cans and the small Kraft Cheese spread jars for my mini candles. They're really wonderful little candles to use as gifts or to warm up your house on holidays etc. My daughters still have the ones I made for them as children. They are now 22 & 30. Their kids are now enjoying them. One scene was "The night before Christmas" In the center is a fireplace hung with stockings, a candle on the mantle with a little mouse stirring. To the side of the fireplace is a decorated Christmas tree with packages underneath, A rocking horse, teddy bear etc. that Santa just left. I placed a small oval rug in front of the fireplace where a new little puppy lay sleeping. The other candle was of an outdoor scene. I took a greeting card and cut snow covered trees for the background and glued them in layering them dimensionally. I made a mountain with a little train circling around it, a cabin in the front with a fenced pasture with a grazing deer close by. Turned out great. I've also made some really super Easter scenes as well. When the candle is lit it gives a soft glow reflecting off the silver can lining. What it boils down to is a lit roombox in a can. Everyone I have ever made one for has just loved them.

So SAVE those Pringles cans!.

I never had any trouble with an over heated candle. The kraft cheese jar fits inside the canning lid and doesn't touch the container at all. Of course I never let one burn for an extremly long time and as with any candle should not be left unattended. I also never let it burn with a real long wick and made sure that there was plenty of candle (never let it totally burn down).

Brooke

Nursery Vignette: I make a lot of my vignettes in gift bags. Purchase a gift bag that has a baby scene on it - generally the bag should be about 10" high and 8" wide. You'll need mount board or foam core for the two side walls, back wall and ceiling - I prefer mount board as it has a "pre-pasted" side and all you need to do is removed the protective covering and mount your wallpaper or fabric. You'll need a piece of Styrofoam for the floor and then cover it with carpet, tile or whatever type of floor you want. Of course you'll need to cut out an opening! I put French doors in the opening or just acrylic and trim the edge where I cut with braid, wood trim or ribbon. You can light the bag as well. BHS sells a battery operated lighting kit. The bag doesn't hold much so you can keep the furniture to a minimum. In my nursery scene I have a bassinette and a cabinet for displaying baby type items, box of pampers, lamp, blanket, teddy bears, etc etc. If you'd like to see a picture of the wedding scene I did in a bag you can take a look at it at:
http://members.aol.com/muscka/ebay/

Marsha

Nursery Room Box: I have made little vignettes inside the gift bags you can find at the dollar store. I use only half of the bag for the vignette, place a music box inside that you wind up (key pokes through to the outside of bag), add a little gift inside that either the mom or baby or both can use (such as a baby spoon, thermometer, gift certificate, etc),and fill with tissue paper. The music box plays the Brahms lullaby, or "It's a Small World". These are very well received and quite inexpensive to make (you can get the press type music makers for a dollar or two).

Rhonda J King

Dollhouses: I prefer Real Good Toys, Walmer, or Celerity. They are all designed with 3/8" cabinet grade plywood. My personal rating on them is very high because of ease of assembly and finishing. Dura-craft is good, but unless they have changed their design in the last several years, you have to build the walls yourself and overall assembly can be very time consuming. Greenleaf houses are very pretty when finished, and the architectural detail is wonderful but since they are made with 1/8" plywood Luan (in which the materials used to make the Luan I have heard can be toxic) they can be very, very messy, and are tab-and-slot assembly. I am sure others will give more information as well and these were just my personal favorites.

Melissa Pernell

Doll house in a bottle (doable) IDEA: The bottles that sit atop water coolers are fairly large and can accommodate a 1" scale cabin/room box or go to smaller scale for a full doll house. You will have to be innovative as to tool making (as I was) so you can get your doll house through the neck of the bottle, piece by piece. It is a fantastic concept and will blow anyones mind that sees the finished job. If you put a cork in the opening of the bottle the doll house will remain dust free and safe from all manner of harm from small critters. Just imagine an electrified room box or doll house in a bottle. WHAT A CHALLENGE!!!!

Bob

Storing lumber: I'll try to describe the storage for the stripwood and trim wood holder that I made. It's all foam board 3/16" thick. This is going to store the wood horizontally. Start with a piece of Foamboard 20" deep and as long as you want. (Mine is about 24") Next step is to cut up Foamboard into 20" strips. Most of them will be 3" wide. Stand them on edge on the bottom sheet about 2" to 4" apart (depending on what you are storing in them. Clapboard and 3" wood takes wider) You may want smaller compartments, I keep a LOT of wood on hand.

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That's what it looks like now. I put those strips down with hot glue. Lay another sheet of 20 x 24 on top of the uprights. I stick straight pins through the sheet at each upright all the way from front to back to make it sturdy. Then continue on for as high as you wish. Most stripwood is 24" long, so that leaves 4" sticking out so you can see what you have and it's easier to grasp and pull out. If you are not going to put this construction against a wall, put a back on it so the wood has a stop. I put the wider compartments on the bottom and use the 2" wide compartments across the top, I have about 4 or 5 layers of these. Looks like this when finished.

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This storage could be used vertically, but I like it horizontal.

Fannye

Displaying Dollhouses: I use a turntable under my log cabin. Seems to work great. The cabin is just placed centered on it but not attached in any way. This site http://www.oldworlddollhouses.com/
actually will make tables to put dollhouses on.

Broken Teapot: I'm not sure if you were speaking of a full-sized teapot or a mini teapot. If it's a full-sized one, I wouldn't trust the handle to be repaired as I would be afraid of it breaking while their was a full pot of hot water (tea) in it...but that's just my opinion. However, if it was a favourite, why not turn it on it's side and use it to house a miniature scene in it?...just like people do with teacups.

If it's a mini teapot, you could do the same thing. Turn it on it's side and create a super mini scene in it. Or you could have a kitten which has upset the teapot and broken it, using small bit of plastic as the handle which could have been on it, using resins for spilled tea, if you wish. Or use it as a planter in your mini scene, having leaves or a vine come down over where the broken handle was.

Carol Jones

Speaker boxes: I used an old speaker for a scene last year, and liked it enough to buy more. The ones I've gotten so far are quite sturdy, but pose a couple of design challenges. They have reinforcing blocks on the inside corners that you have to fit your inner walls around, and if you want to keep the nice finished front edge, you pretty much have to put the glass in first, then assemble your scene from the back. If somebody has solved this one, I'd love to know how! (And if you figure out some cool stuff to do with the speaker innards, too. They're starting to pile up.)

Lee Menconi

Display for tiny scene: I just saw the neatest thing at a craft mall locally - - - it wasn't mini but could be used for miniatures very easily. They had taken glass jars (i.e. mayo jars) and put a few Christmas cut outs, trees, etc. inside and then instead of the lid, used a voltive cup and candle. I instantly thought MINIATURES! What a neat way to share the hobby with friends and family in inexpensive containers that would keep the minis CLEAN too! One could even use baby food jars for 1/4" scale and pint size jars and landscape a winter scene . . . . or put a mini Christmas tree in the jar with mini wrapped presents under the tree? Or how about a table with all the Christmas cookies in the making? One could even turn the jar upside down and put the scene in the lid and after assembly, screw the jar on? The lid could be painted, covered with wallpaper, fabric, lace & ribbon . . . . . possibilities are endless!

Jo A Cohrs

Acorn caps: I used acorn caps as dishes for the mice living in my gourd mouse-house, also for the pole lamp inside the gourd house.

Christi Walton

***GOURDS***

First off, let me recommend a great book on gourds- our library has it and maybe yours does as well- they also sell it online at Amazon and places like that. The book is Gourd Craft by Summit and Widess. It is one of the most comprehensive and best books I have seen on a craft- I don't often buy books, but this is one I got.

Step 1 is scraping the gourds before you start to decorate. Gourds are naturally covered with a waxy epidermis that must be removed, and paint won't stick unless you take that waxy epidermis off. Just wrap them in a wet towel, put in a plastic bag overnight and the stuff will scrape off easily. I use and old paring knife (not serrated.) When I'm done, I also scrub them a bit with a green scotch brite kitchen scrubber.

Draw your design of where you want to cut with pencil. If you use marker, it will bleed through any paint you put over it. When I am cutting intricate shapes, I use a Dremel tool with a mini saw blade shaped steel cutter. (This can be dangerous if you aren't careful!) For simpler cuts and the easiest way, you can use a hand held jig saw. Drill a hole to start and then cut, holding the gourd as steady as you are able. You can prop it on a wadded up towel or something to hold it in place. If at all possible, try to avoid cutting the gourd with an X-Acto knife - the gourds are very woody and hard and it will be difficult to cut them this way, in fact you may cut yourself instead.

Then you need to clean the inside. I use a variety of tools to scrape the inside clean. Ceramic tools that look like a big loop on a handle and have a cutting edge work good and are inexpensive. You can also use a grapefruit spoon or whatever.... I finish with a steel wire brush chucked into my drill. *WEAR a dust mask!* The dust can be irritating and may contain mold that you might be allergic to. I like to paint the inside of the cleaned gourd with spray paint, but that is just personal preference. I paint the outside of mine with acrylics. I usually do a lot of sponge painting. I tried spray paints, but they don't hold up outside as well as the acrylics. Spray them with polyurethane or clear enamel when you are done. Some people prefer to use leather dyes or shoe polish to get a more natural finish instead of painting them.

Bonnie Gibson - Tucson, Arizona