Japanese Tea House: The house was a kit (by Darlene Guerry) that my DH bashed a bit. He added about an inch and a half deck to the front and scored to look like individual wood boards with nails and support underneath. The sliding shoji screen doors on the left are a "sandwich" with the plexiglass in the middle. It was clear and he made it look clouded and more like paper screening. The grids on the doors and the "moon" window (on the right) and the front trim are lazer-cut wood and were included in the kit. He changed the roof and used paper to cut the shingles and mini lumber for the wood trim. This to make the roof look more like the traditional ceramic deep blue tiles. (I'll try to have him take new pic's with his new camera and then hopefully you'll be able to see the detail better.) The house sits on a "tray" and that is where I made the raked, sand garden. It was easier than "grass" for me. The rocks by the house were collected (snitched) in Japan at a shrine. The small kokoshi dolls on the back shelves were bought in Japan. Some very expensive (at a mini shop) and the others for $1.00 a piece at the Yoyogi Shrine flea market. (Lucky, huh!!) Same for the musical instrument and some of the vases.

The dolls---Aqua--from Phyllis Hill and Red -- doll from P. Hill and I dressed her(Looked easy--not so) The one in the rickshaw, (by Chet Sumner, Calif.) by Katy Sue Dolls, UK and the last, kneeling in print kimono by "lynn". Japanese man by Carol Kubesh (not pic'd. yet).

Elise in Central Va.

Marcie

Quilt Shop Room Box: I have my own mini quilt shop too. Suggestions--bolts of fabric on rectangles of thin foam core, mini spools of thread, mini pincushions, scissors (brass charms), quilt batting, baskets of these supplies, I have cutting mats and rotary cutters cut out from magazines glued on card stock. I have hanging sample blocks from Miniature Quilt Magazine.

Jan in Cincinnati

Quilt Shop Room Box: Check any local museum shops or stationery shops for fancy gift wraps. I once found some in a Baltimore album quilt pattern that I used over time for several "wallpaper borders" in country and Victorian rooms.Look in fabric shops' button sections for mini scissors; cut tiny circles of green felt with pinking shears and glue to red pompoms for pincushions; ink lines on flat wood coffee stirrers for yardsticks; snip off turned tops of decorative toothpicks for spools. Sometimes the quilting fabric sections have mini-quilt print patterns -- I bought a yard a few years ago and am just running out. Very easy quilts -- just stitch together with felt batting and backing, turn, stitch closed, and either machine stitch or hand-stitch along the printed design. (For me, real batting is too puffy to drape over a mini-bed or display over a quilt rack or folded in a cabinet.)

Loretta.Sniarowski

Quilt shop: I don't have one, but I go to a couple just to pet the fabric. Both have baskets with 8" fabric squares (precut blocks) folded into squares (good luck with that in mini) either in a trug type basket or laid out on a display table by colour; fat quarters folded and stacked on shelves by colour; lots of quilters' magazines and some reference books (101 quilt blocks); finished quilts hanging on the walls; notices for classes and quilting bees for the Linus charity; notices from people offering to finish/quilt unfinished quilts; cutting mats & quilting rulers & rotary cutters & scissors hung on the wall; bolts of fabric arranged by theme (Xmas or flowers or whatever) and colour; sale basket of precut squares; big cutting tables; back room with sewing machines, tables, etc for classes; Ott lights; thread display; quilt frames and big hoops to buy. And something you can't buy, a cozy welcoming atmosphere. Sounds like a great project to have fun with.

Heather in Toronto

Quilt shop: Most quilt shops have fairly plain walls. Maybe a border or wainscotting. As for other items in the shop - need a quilt in progress with ironing board and iron in corner. Wall of notions: green cutting board, rulers (all types - square, rectangular, triangle) needles, thimbles, patterns in small plastic bags, Quilt kits in small plastic bags. And don't forget the rolls of batting, trays of cut fabric (fat quarters & half yard cuts, nicely folded into small rectangles) rack of threads, small picture of a raffle quilt (or the actual quilt) with raffle tickets. A money jar and large basket for local food pantry. Flyers announcing quilt shows.

Dianna.Marquardsen

Quilt shop: I have the box made for the shop 16x10x10 with a plexiglass front. What kind of lighting should I use? Should I just use a ceiling light or should I use a florescent light in the ceiling or one of the showcase lights for the box as a whole or a combination thereof? Many thanks for all the hints and ideas for the quilt shop. They have been great!

Marcie

Quilt shop: My quilt shop has a center chandelier with two lights, a ceiling light in the little side room and at the front of the shop a strip light with two bulbs that's attached to the ceiling. That strip light counts for ten bulbs with the transformer. Can't think of the name of it but it comes on a green cardboard (got mine at the miniature shop). You could get by with just that, but a ceiling fixture gives a room a more realistic look..I think.

The Klaeser's

Oz: I bought the 4 resin Wizard of Oz characters put out by Avon, they are aprox 1/2 scale. I plan to make a display scene for the set. What I plan is to paint the backdrop with a blue sky, rainbow and the Emerald City. Winding through the base of course will be the "Yellow Brick Road." I plan to put the apple tree on one side and thought that the Poppy Field would be nice to have on the other side.

Rusty in Ky

Hunting Lodge and Chickens (---Helen!) -- The new print catalog from http://www.terrysvillage.com is chock full of thematic ideas. Also, full scale polymer strawberries that would make an adorable setting for a garden fairy doll.

Chrissy the Hyphenated

Dollhouse Kits: The Little Dollhouse Company in Toronto changed hands a year or so ago, and the present owners design their own houses. The kits are cut for them by IBEC in the same western cedar. The display houses looked to be of the same good quality, and the houses have realistic designs. The smallest has 2 rooms and an attic, the largest has 10 rooms and a hidden room in a tower. Prices range from $90 to $480 (Canadian money). Very attractive on all counts. No website, but a catalogue. For those interested, tel. nos. are 416-489-7180 and 888-763-8966, email is ail@softwonders.com I have no association with this company, but really liked their houses, and was impressed by the variety of specialist minis they had on display (doctor's office and hair salon roomboxes and much more).

Kay in Ottawa, Canada

Canadian Flag printables: You won't believe the different sizes and this site has animated flags as well as more Maple leaves than you will ever need! http://canflag.ptbcanadian.com/

Laurie Sisson

Spools for thread: Someone was asking recently about what to use for spools for thread in a Sewing Room.   I think the best thing is the smaller sections of the #2000 Tiny Turnings.     I have a one inch scale "Quilt and Crosstitch Shop" in which I made 190 spools of thread in a cabinet. I wound embroidery floss of different colors on the pieces of Tiny Turnings then measured the thread cabinet at my local store and built one like it to hold the thread.  There are pictures of the scene on my website: http://www.mybizz.net/~wncoffey/

Jane Coffey

Mini Needlework/Fabric Shop: I have one in progress, almost finished except for all the really little details.  I made the usual fabric bolts until I realized that I could use mini wall paper wrapped around a bolt also.  I cut out pictures from the huge 800 page catalog of the wall paper samples and wrapped them around my bolt.   I make my bolts by folding index cards to size.   As the bolts are in a shelving unit it doesn't matter if the "fabric" wraps all the way around.   So I have tons of fabric bolts in lots of colors.

I made regular bolts of ribbon also.  But them I decided to make mini printed   ribbon on my computer.  I used clip art to make a line of little pumpkins and it worked.  I've made all kinds of printed ribbon.  The ribbon rack is an inexpensive hutch from the craft store.  I took off the doors, stained it with brown shoe polish, cut white cocktail straws to fit the shelves and wrapped the ribbons around the straws.   They fit right in the shelves (across).   I also did some solid colored ribbon with my computer.

I am using cuts outs from magazines for sewing and needle work books.   The book of the month type ads have just the right size.  I am also using catalog pictures downsized for the sewing notion packages. I also wrapped cocktail straws with fabric cut 4 1/2 inches wide to be the decorator fabric.   I made racks to hang on the wall.   I cut 2 strips of 1/4" wide x 1/8" wood to fit vertically on the wall.  I put in little eye screws evenly spaced in each and fit the "bolts" in the eye bolts.

Since I have two front windows and a glass door, I made signs on my computer with all the shop information:  name, proprietor, hours, etc.  I am going to print it out to fit the appropriate windows on over head transparency film made for ink jet printers.

I also made two large tables using little wooden spools found at the craft stores for the legs.   It seemed appropriate for a fabric store.   I made notion stands using the spools and wooden wheels.  I used large needle to make the holes to put wire in to hold the notions. I'm thinking about scanning real lace and reducing the pictures, though I do have some mini lace.  I am going to use dowels for thread, but I am not making individual spools.  I am going to build a rack similar to the ones in real fabric stores and fit the dowels across.   I am going to use paint pens to color them for the thread.

Lee Ann

Exercise Room: spa: Besides the Stockton's exercise machine, there were photo ads in Dollhouse Miniatures Magazine for about 12 months although not in the most recent issues that pictured all sorts of exercise equipment including dumb-bells, slant board, that waist machine with the belt, etc.  Maybe someone out there has back issues---I don't have any here.

Also, don't forget the Jacuzzi and lots of towels strewn about the floor and stall showers with those rubbery slip-proof mats.  I would include tennis shoes or running shoes, bathing suits, dirty socks, headbands, shorts, tennis rackets, gym bags, kickboards, sunlamp and massage tables too.  I have no idea how you could make those "Gripmaster" hand exercisers that all good spas and therapists have around to work on your grip----in real life they come in four different strengths.

GlobalSMB

Barn Plans: A great place for plans for farm buildings is from U.F.A. (United Farmers Association in Canada) where they sell plans for full size barns ect.   The person was nice enough to shrink a copy for me maybe you have an association in the states similar?   Also Lee Valley Tools sells some great books full of old plans for buildings, equipment etc.  They have a site online http://www.leevalley.com

Joanne in Calgary

I just finished a garden scene inside a flower pot.   The flower pot is tipped on it's side and corks glued to the sides keep it from rolling. I used cardboard to build up a flat floor and covered it with 1/2 inch tiles.   I made a tiny potting bench from scrap wood and put garden tools, a fertilizer bag, a birdhouse and empty flower pots on it.   Then I placed pots of flowers, a garden hose, a watering can and tiny rubber boots around the potting bench.    I completed it by gluing brown ballast on the boots and around the edges of the tiles.  I'm so in love with it, it makes me feel spring is around the corner.

Ame Fay, Covington, Kentucky

Wedding miniature: Check out http://www.wilton.com It's a website for cake decorating. Use them a lot because I've been decorating cakes for about 30 years, in addition to raising 5 kids and working to keep afloat (the heck with making ends meet - I can't even get the to wave at each other.

Just bought the wedding cake topper "First Dance" from Wiltons for about $15.00 and am going to do a roombox (somewhere down the line) It is 6" tall (the groom). It is a resin figure and can be painted to tone down the gloss, match hair color, etc and make the happy couple look more realistic. In addition, Wiltons has 1" wedding bells and smaller doves and stuff that could be added as decorations and there area all sorts of mini flowers in stores to make a bouquet in your daughter's chosen color scheme.

Diann

School room: Perhaps the room needs a teacher bending over a student working at her desk. Maybe the other students should be clustered at the different areas working on the different projects. Some sorting the flora and fauna or making drawings of them or looking through a microscope at the cells of the plants. Some building a model of the pyramid or drawing their own map or flag.

There should be book bags on the floor where each student's desk is. These should be well-worn and look full of books. Some of the desks can have notebooks open on them, there should be a stack of quizzes or homework on the teacher's desk to be graded as well as a grading book.

Most modern school rooms have those white dry erase boards instead of chalk boards. Some plants in the windows or one on the teacher's desk. Colorful bulletin boards and a tall file cabinet for the teacher.

Under the windows are usually cabinets which are window high. They have sliding doors and the top is a ledge which can be used to hold all sorts of student projects. Underneath would be supplies - - boxes of pencils, markers, construction paper, glue, copier paper, student texts for the next area of study. One of these could be left slightly ajar so what is inside can be seen.

Maybe a student at her desk using her math skills to calculate the number of stone blocks used to build the great pyramid or calculating the weight of just one of them or how much the whole thing weighs - that throws in another subject or maybe this could be used on a bulletin board. In these patriotic days, a flag standing in the corner of the room. There should be at least one computer in the room. Many teachers have a laptop or a PC could be at a special desk in the back of the room. A couple of students could be on the internet looking up Egypt.

Susanna from Indiana

I Love Lucy room: I used to work at Universal Studios/CA where they have a whole exhibit dedicated to 'I Love Lucy' and even have the sets up.  The colors on the walls and, I believe, the fireplace is gray.  I could be wrong on the fireplace, they may have left the brick exposed.   I'm also thinking that most everything in the room might have been painted in assorted shades of gray, it showed up on black and white tv screens much better than colored furniture.  Wish I could be a bit more helpful, as I just watched a tribute to Lucille Ball last Friday on one of the ABC, and her daughter and son were filmed on the set.   You might want to try going to the Universal Studios website to see if they have any pictures of the exhibit, and if not, you may be able to get a phone number to contact guest relations.   Hope this helps!

Monique