Using Wood Scraps: Just have to share the great project my mini group did with wood scraps--Everyone brought a pile of wood scraps to the meeting - and we all made tree houses from them. (It was a 1" scale project.) It was a free-form-no-particular-design-your-own project (there's one for the list!) that as just so much fun! It didn't have to be square or plumb (unless you wanted it to be) We exhibited them in a silk ficus tree at the local mini show and got lots of great comments on them. I chose to make mine less that square and paid no attention to plumb....and aged it with India ink in rubbing alcohol. Put a sign on it : Girls Keep Out (with the s backwards)

Patty Johnson , East Moline, IL

Gypsy Peddler cart: your peddler might have equipment for repairing pots and pans and sharpening knives, and a violin, a tambourine and perhaps some castanets.

My mother, who passed away in October at 85, told me that when she was a little girl the gypsies came once a year and camped on their property in the willow groves down in the Red River bottomlands. They made furniture from the flexible willow boughs and then sold it on their travels. In those frugal days, people brought their pots and pans to be repaired and their knives and scissors to be sharpened, and Grampa got all theirs done free for letting them camp there.

Wanna in El Paso

Gypsy Peddler cart: lots of pots and pans sounds right. I remember reading somewhere that repairing pots and pans was a traditional gypsy occupation -- supposedly that's why in Ireland the terms gypsy and tinker are virtually interchangeable. Maybe someone from the UK knows the tools a tinker would use, perhaps something on the order of a soldering iron, wrenches and bolts or screwdriver and screws to replace handles and knobs? At any rate, a tool box would be appropriate.

The gypsy ladies need a trade, too. Perhaps they are traditional fortune tellers, in which case a mini Tarot deck, crystal ball, and/or palmistry chart will set the mood for customers even if they really use "the sight" to read the future. Perhaps one is a wise woman who sells gathered wild herbs and hangs her inventory of dried plant material among the cookware in the cart. Another may have branched out into jewelry making, and sells exotic beaded necklaces and earrings. She would need a box of supplies and a lap cushion or tray on which to work.

Loretta.Sniarowski

Gypsy Peddler cart: I think that you should have (besides the pots and pans)rolled fabric, bandanas and scarves as this is what some gypsies wore. You might also try beaded necklaces or beaded jewelry as they wore that as well. If they are sleeping outside instead of in the cart, you will also need to get them bedding. Plus they should have a little dog following them as well.

Laura Jevtich

Gypsy Peddler cart: For the gypsy scene you will need several large rugs. When I was camping in Italy some gypsies set up camp near us & the women unpacked large beautiful woven rugs & washed them in the river, then spread them out to dry on the riverbank They were very colourful in red, blues & blacks. (The rugs that is! and the women wore long swirling bright skirts &,positively rattled with all the jewellery they had on). there were also gypsies passing through the village I lived in in Greece. At night they put large sheets of cardboard on the ground (the women swept the ground first with straw brooms) & put the rugs on top of the cardboard & slept out on them under the stars.

Wendy

Gypsies: Not sure if this happens only in Britain, or how long this "tradition" has existed, but at nearly every outdoor market or public event, you will be confronted by gypsy women selling bunches of lavender "for luck". They usually charge 50p or a pound; about a buck or two. If they really DO believe lavender is lucky, your gypsy wagon needs a little sprig of it -either white or dilly-dilly blue - tucked away somewhere.

Donna from Devon

What about a self-storage building with stucco walls and a metal roof and metal slide-up doors or regular flat doors painted like metal and doors that open to reveal several rooms full of mini stuff? Not much to do decorating except stucco and hanging light bulbs and lots of cardboard boxes & furniture and whatever else needs a home temporarily. Crazy idea or not? It's had me laughing all day. Not as good as the Alley scene though. Maybe I should make it a barn instead, more character that way.

Toni in Denver

Cobbler shop: lots of shoes in various stages of being made, with soles ready to be sown on. They used a piece of work on their work bench that looked like a wooden door knob sitting on a chuck of wood. The shoe was turned upside down on the "door knob" to hold the shoe in place while they worked on it. Also lots of leather, not worked on yet and bottles of polish and rags for putting it on the shoes, as well as buffing cloths. Also places for the customer to sit while the cobbler took there measurements and also tried on the new shoes that he made. Cobbler has to have a long apron on too, of course, and be gray-haired...lolol Iron tools for cutting and poking holes in the leather. High button shoes of lovely colors in the windows .....

Darlene / Somerset NJ

Shoe Repair Shop: I found the tiny shoe repair shop tucked away in an old adobe building on Alameda; it smelled of leather and pungent dye and I was reminded of my grandfather's mule harnesses. From a curtained doorway at the back of the room came the sounds of ranchero music on the radio. " Be with you un momento, Miss," the man said from the workbench that he straddled. Built somewhat like a rocking horse, it had a patina that came from time.

The shoe man had a bushy white mustache that stood out from his wrinkled dark skin, and little half glasses perched on the tip of his nose. He wore a leather apron and some kind of protective leather tip on his thumb. "Just a few more stitches" he said as he patted the boot top that was snugged on the metal last. "Sientese, por favor."

I sat down in an old wooden chair with curved arms and surveyed the room. The wall across from me was lined with shelves that were filled with every describable type of shoe. Their tags hung helter-skelter, and they all looked well used. Since this is El Paso, there were many boots; some of their tops leaned one way, some another. Most were plain, workmanlike; others had ornate stitching and one luggage-color pair had bright leather appliques of stars in red. All were well-polished, if somewhat dusty.

In the small glass counter were round tin boxes of wax, polish, and saddle soap, bottles of mink oil and dye, shoe laces, shoe horns and cards showing metal taps and different replacement heels. He also had a stack of pale blue flannel polishing cloths, cut with pinking shears, various styles of brushes, including wire ones for suede (I bought one and still have it) and a fancy wooden box to hold shoe polishing supplies. It had a last-type form on top where one could place his foot while applying polish. I later went back and bought the box for my husband for his birthday; he still has it, too.

Past the shelves on the left side side wall leading to the curtained doorway was a poster advertising a long-concluded bullfight in Juarez, another with one of those Vargas girls from the 40's holding a frosty bottle of Coca Cola next to her cheek. On the wall at the back of the room an ancient clouded mirror darkened around the edges leaned out from its wire hanger. Beside it was a hand-lettered sign in ornate script: Custom Made Boots.

A little cash box sat open on a battered wooden table under a dusty window on the other wall, along with some papers stuck on a metal spike, a Mexican pottery mug with pens and pencils, a half-full green glass Coke bottle and a brown paper lunch bag with a spot of grease on the side. One of those old black dial telephones sat atop a telephone book. Another chair similar to the one I sat in was pushed under the table. On the window sill he had taped newspaper clippings, yellowed with age and curling around the edges.

Wanna in El Paso

Barber shop: would have had at least one good leather chair for the customer to get a hair cut in and several wooden one for customers to wait. Their would be long straight edge razors, scissors, combs, shaving brush and mug. Maybe have a customer with a hot towel around his face to soften the beard before a shave. Mustache wax: maybe the owner could have a long mustache. Of course, men reading the newspaper while they waited, maybe some gossip going on or maybe a barber shop group practicing their singing while they waited. In Victorian times the shop would be ornate.

Darlene / Somerset NJ

Barber shop: Don't forget the red and white candy twist barber's pole outside, and inside the leather strop for sharpening the razors. Also the men had some type of grease or liniment for their hair.

Are you adding a trap door for the victims??? And a pie shop planned for next door?

Pauline

Reference material: I have found a site that may help with visual references, (whist planning, building and finishing projects). - I am sure someone was asking about barns and architecture fairly recently. Any way it is available at: http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/

Most, if not all of the counties of England are available, are many"eras " of historical architecture. (and there are some great pictures too!) The site belongs to English Heritage and is added to frequently. I hope this helps someone out there with ideas.

Chris, from Lancs. UK

MARY ENGLEBREIT SITES: Here are some sites that I have saved. Most of the sites are the works of the talented members of SS and I hope you, too, will be inspired.
http://miniatures.about.com/library/weeklytopicsubme.htm?once=true

http://fayzerplace.homestead.com/MEhouse.html

http://www.maryengelbreit.com/

Susan in Mid TN

ME House: I have an ME house--one that was designed by her. However, there is another gal who has done a couple of ME-style houses using cutouts of ME stationery, stickers, etc and it was very effective. There is ME wallpaper that can be purchased from dollhouse dealers. Depending on the size of the rooms of the dh, you can use "printie" wallpaper that is on the http://miniatures.about.comwebsite (wallpaper and borders) that Lisa designed when she was doing the ME-style roombox (all on the website).

If you'd like to see my ME house, go to http://fayzerplace.homestead.com and to "My Minis" and "ME House" (not the Book House--although that is a little 1/4" scale house made from a tiny ME book) I didn't use ME wallpaper in the bedroom of the house, but the other rooms are ME.

Fay in St. Louis

ME house: A few years back I did the ME house. Mine is the original with the outside papered. I used the Minigraphics ME wallpaper for the inside. If you use black & white check and lots of cherry prints, you will have a start. At the time I bought the kit, I also bought the ME furniture. It has since been sold to a woman in Canada. You can paint some furniture black, some red etc. My kitchen has a checked floor, white cabinets w/red trim. I was able to find a black ME print at our local quilt shop which I used to re-upholster a couch and chair. The bedroom is pink and green (colors taken from the paper). Ann Estelle (the lady of the house) has a teapot collection and an eclectic assortment of furniture. Wish I had a website so you could see what a lovely house she lives in.

Roberta in Wisconsin

ME paper: Try looking at www.about.com at the miniature site. There are three sets of coordinated ME style papers, including borders and flooring. I have used them in two of my houses, and in several other projects. They work best if you print them out on cardstock and spray both sides with an acrylic matte spray. I have also cut up some of the little ME books for artwork and tiny borders. I know that there is ME scrapbook paper and some fabric out there, but I have not been able to find any in the stores near me.

Lauren (in Maryland)

ME House: You could try Michelle's mini's for inspiration. She has some wonderful ME printables on her page as well! Her page is http://mkm311.homestead.com/michelleminis.html

Rhonda

ME stuff: Lori Ann Potts of Mustard Seed Miniatures does some great ME styled items.
One of her workshops is an ME inspired workbench - totally fun! She also sells 1/4 scale wallpapers in that style and has some wonderful resin furniture that you can paint and upholster to match.
Also try Debbie Young - I am quite sure I purchased some of my ME 1/4 scale
papers from her.
Now - for 1/12th scale. At a Scrap Book shop I found a package of papers for making memory books that were a perfect 1/12th scale for wallpaper. Check those sorts of sources out. Rubber stamp stores and places like Michaels or Crafts Canada tend to carry things like that too.

Debi in Quesnel

Mini scenes as gifts: I learnt last Saturday that my 7 year old's teacher was leaving for a college position, and between my daughters she has been teaching them for 5 years. Saturday evening I had the brainwave that I could use the left-over gift bag room from my elder's party in January and make a classroom scene from printables. I had till Wednesday morning but I made it. My daughters identified the important elements of the classroom and then we set out to find them on the web. I think we found everything from just 4 sites, Jim's printables at http://www.printmini.com, Eileen's printables at http://members.home.net/eileenmorgan/printables.html, http://miniatures.About.com and a site I only just found with a huge range of stuff, Boop Mini Printables at http://www.geocities.com/boopmini40/

I used a table from the dollar store and painted it the right colours, backed a clock face of Jim's with a button of the right shape and colour, made a flag from a fabric cutout and a fancy toothpick, mitred a window frame from balsa, made coloured pencils from 1/2" nails with the heads cut off and painted, and everything else was paper. The school has been undergoing construction to add more classrooms and this teacher's windows had been blocked by a breeze block wall, so we even found a printable stone floor that looked pretty realistic behind the window frame! That touch went down really well. Boop Mini's had the critical snack food containers and bookcases, somewhere else had the ubiquitous tissue box, to which we added a real bit of tissue, Jim's TV, computer and dictionary (exactly the right one!) were perfect. We also found manila files and envelopes, graph paper, tiny word puzzles, books (including a Dr Seuss with inside pages), 12" and 36" rulers, a file box, maps and posters. Paper sample books rescued a while back from the garbage provided construction paper and even a blue rug. Finally, my daughters painted and drew miniature artwork for the classroom walls.

The teacher loved it and did spend quite a while looking at and commenting on the details. My daughters then showed it off around the school. The art teacher was very intrigued and may well want more information later, and the principal liked it too. Another parent also got talking to me about it, and one thing led to another and I might get some more work (real life) through her. So all in all it was a very positive experience for all of us. Don't let this one disappointment stop you from making other miniature gifts.

Wendy in Clinton, NJ

Old Abandoned House Finished! I've been silent for so long, but been busy
completing the old, abandoned Depression era house. It has taken me so much longer than I thought it would due to making so much "stuff" for the attic! These people had to just move off and leave the accumulated stuff in their attic...as well as the rest of the house...and it took lots of research, thinking, and *time* making stuff to fill that attic! The daylight was fading pretty fast while taking the pictures today, but I think these will show you what I did with the project. Pictures with better lighting will come in about a month, as I'm expecting company and don't have time to redo right now. I'm pleased with the way it turned out...and so *glad* to write "the end" to this rather large project! It contains just about everything I've wanted to do mini-wise. An old house, pond, garden (copied Joann Swanson's scarecrow from a NN mag), cemetery, cellar, outhouse, clothes washing area, rabbit hutch complete with rabbits, treehouse...in the large size tree I made, old toys indicative to the era, old rusty mailbox...complete with bullet holes, and lots of other things here and there. There were several who wrote saying you were using this for ideas for something similar of your own. Well, now you won't have to look at green and purple striped pictures! The old pics were done on a scanner gasping its last breath...I gave it a decent burial in the back yard!

Rita Pierce