Memorial Nursery: In the nursery you might put a teddy bear or other soft toy in one corner of the crib. Someone might have given that baby girl a certain colored stuffed toy that you might duplicate in the crib. This could add to the memory.

Ann in AZ

Memorial Nursery: Last May I created a garden greenhouse for donation to a statewide group of catholic women. The theme was "respect life. " I assembled all the items from kits and/or pieces of doll projects I had but never finished. Somehow I knew what had to be in the vignette when I looked at the pieces. It was a porcelain mother doll with a porcelain, jointed baby in a very fancy white wire carriage inside the greenhouse surrounded by baby photos, baby things and tiny birth and baptismal certificates (from Jim's printable minis). the wallpaper came from Brodnax and the lace in the windows was really lasercut stationery (from a museum store catalog). the outside of the greenhouse was peopled by small plastic/rubber baby dolls in different poses with wings made from the same laser cut stationery. They all had happy expression on their faces. These little angles had toys, bunnies, kittens, birds to keep them company while they hovered around and above the mother/child tableau. It was very well-received even though I had some misgivings re the theme and how to fit in all those little angels without seeming morbid or exploitive.

Hope this helps those who want to do a memorial scene without there being too many tears.

Karen

Baby’s Room: If you don't want a baby in the crib but want a "story" in your room setting without dolls, how about an "After the shower" setting. Baby stuff still in the scattered, opened boxes with tissue. A record of "what was from whom" in an envelope on back of or under the box may get a lot of people to studying your scene to see if their gift was included. How about a stroller or bassinette still in mid assembly with the instructions spread on the floor with a couple tools and a half empty soda bottle. How about a reduced size photo copy of a newspaper front page from the "birthday". Maybe there is nobody in the setting because they have had to leave "suddenly" for some special event. Make sure the weather and time of day outside the window is appropriate for the day and time. You could even have a nursery clock set to the time of birth. Someday, you will hopefully discuss the scene with a young lady. Be sure it is about HER, not just some generic female infant.

Mel Koplin

Baby’s Room: I've done a few and I like to leave some toys on the floor, an afghan hanging on a rocker with a favorite stuffed animal curled in it. In one, I put a crumpled blankie in the crib, with a bear peeking through the crib slats.

Teddy

Crystal Ball: When my "New Age Crystal Tea-bagging Fluffy White Witch"(tm) needed a crystal ball I went to my local lapidary store and bought a real rock crystal which had been cut and polished into a sphere.  It is the size of a marble and has no imperfections.  I then bought a cheap "made in china" kettle with a stand so I could use the stand for my crystal, as the only stand the lapidary store could sell me was clear acrylic and not very "occult-y" looking. The kettle stand is metal and black and works really well.  I am happy and so is my Witchy ; ).

Fran in Melbourne

1930's 40's farmhouse: I wasn't around in the 30's or 40's, but the first items that came to mind for your farmhouse are: an old wire screen round fan on a stand, a space heater, an oval braided rug, rag rugs, an old toaster where the sides drop down, a Hoosier cabinet for the kitchen and a wringer washer.

Janet

30's & 40's House: I hate to admit it, but I'm a HUGE fan of The Waltons and that is just the time period and style you are looking for. If you can't catch any repeats on TV, you might see if they have a book about the show in your library. My cousins had an old farmhouse I used to go visit, and little had been done to the place since the 40's. The beds were all metal, not brass. Wood floors with floorcloths. Main heating was by woodstove in the living room and kitchen. You may want to have a piano and an old stand up radio in the living room, cause there wasn't TV. The whole house had one bathroom and there was no hot water heater. If you wanted a hot bath, you heated it on the stove (which was gas). Most farms then probably still had iceboxes, not fridges because they were so expensive. Most of the curtains were hand made. You have to have relaxing furniture on the front porch cause there was no a/c and when it got hot inside, you could relax outside.

Dale

30's & 40's House: I adore 'The Waltons'! That surprises most of the people who know me, as I'm more of the Gothpunk type, but my family comes from rural Pennsylvania and life is/was very much like that. If you watch the eps, you see that the show wasn't nearly as syrupy sweet as it's gotten a reputation for. Yes, that would be a wonderful source for a 30s farmhouse. The farmhouse we lived in when I was born (I was born in 1960, lived there until I was five) was bigger and darker (probably because of the climate), but the heat from the basement hardly ever reached the upper floor, so during exceptionally cold spells we slept in the humongous kitchen. We had both a wood stove and a gas stove, and no indoor plumbing until my mother was pregnant with me and laid the law down to my father, lol.

Molly

30's & 40's House: Phyllis Jellison's Remember When Dollhouse book mentioned recently has lots of good patterns for DIY, and Joan McElroy's Dollhouse Book also has a lovely chunky 30s look sofa pattern. Patricia King and Andrea Barham's books have directions for 30's style radios with deco speakers. Barham has some other deco accessories. Jellison and McElroy are out of print but pretty available at used stores including http://bn.com/ and http://www.amazon.com/. Shop around for the best price if your library doesn't have them. Can't remember the title, but Vivienne Boulton has a DIY book which is somewhat simplistic but includes a chapter of 30s period items, and many of her patterns can be used with better materials (wood, not card, deco bookcase) to make nice things. Several artists do Fiesta ware when you're ready for accessories, including some SS members. Barbara in S. Africa does some lovely Clarice Cliff dishware, too.

Loretta Sniarowski

30s-40s farmhouse: Remembering my grandparent's farmhouse during those years: Living room had an "overstuffed" sofa with two matching chairs in a claret-color cutwork velvet type fabric. There was a Victrola "talking machine" record player that played flat 78-rpm disks, it had to be hand-cranked. This was definitely country, there was no indoor plumbing, no electricity until after W.W.II. They used kerosene oil lamps for lighting. In the dining room there was a long table with straight chairs of the ladderback type and a hutch that held dishes. Beds were carved oak or wrought iron with patchwork quilts and one had a spread made of yo-yos (we talked about those a few weeks ago on SS).

There was a wood-burning range in the kitchen but I cannot remember much more about what was in there except a bench that held the water bucket and dipper (for family drinking water) and a bench with a basin for washing hands before meals. Besides the beds in the bedrooms there would be a "bureau" (dresser); the older ones had a wavy-distorted type of mirror, and some of the bedrooms had trunks to hold linens and clothes.

There was also what was called a "wardrobe" which was a free-standing closet for clothes. The window glass also gave a rather wavy view when you looked out through it. I think the curtains in the bedrooms were made of flowered cretonne or white cotton material.

This house was quite old at the time and my grandfather had remodeled and "modernized" it around 1925, a lot of the furniture had come down from his parents also. Much of it was homebuilt or handmade by local people of the time. Unfortunately the house burned in l952 and essentially everything was lost, including my grandparents who died in the fire, so much of this comes from rather hazy memories. It was in a lovely setting, against the rolling hills that sloped down to a creek -- wonderful for playing and wading in the summer, there was an apple orchard and horses, and an old "molasses mill" where once the neighbors had brought their cane to process into molasses, and a blacksmith shop where horses still were shod when I was very young. I have always wanted to do a house of this type and have been collecting furniture and accessories for years with it in mind.

Susan

Printable party items: Mini's by Mel   http://www.efn.org/~variscom/ has a lovely printout page with party plates and cups project.

Jean

Baby mobile: Go to a mini or craft store and find a few little things that you want to hang from it, toys, charms or whatever suits your fancy! Cut two pieces of wire about 1 1/2 inches long, and twist centers together to form an "X". Make tiny loops on each of the four ends. Using thread, hang your toys. Tie a piece of thread to the center and hang it from the ceiling...or..use another piece of wire to create a hanger in the shape of an arc. Attach one end to the crib and hang the mobile from a loop in the wire at the other end!

Alice Zinn- Pt. St. Lucie FL

Loom: To get the effect of a loom in another room, I wonder if it would work best if the picture of the loom was on one wall, and then was reflected onto a mirror on another wall, so you are not looking directly at it. In that way I believe that the glossiness of the photo will be less obvious. Maybe you could even put a candle stand or something in front of the mirror so that the loom shows up behind it.

Viola

Seaside Shop: Thought I'd let you know how I finished my seaside shop.  I made it in a plain roombox, plywood.  The shop itself gives a different feeling than norm, as you really feel like you are standing in the middle of the shop as there is a false window and door at the back.  Through the window is a scene as if you were on a fishing dock.  I scored the outside of the box so that it looks like planks, and then put colours of wash on it.  For the frame, I crushed barnacles which I had collected in California, applied glue to the frame and pressed it into the crushed barnacles.  I glued only 3 sides of the frame together (sides and bottom).  I glued the top edge to the glass.  If I need to get into the shop, I can just slide the glass up, but when it's in place it looks like it's completely framed.  My frame happens to be flush with the bottom of the box, but if yours is not, you can just put blocks of wood, or 'feet' on the four corners to raise it.  If I had to raise it a bit in a seaside shop, I think I would make it look like pilings!

Jonesy

Round beehives:  At our last club meeting, one of our members presented the workshop using one of those beehives.  The beehive was poked onto a thin dowel which fit into a medium-sized clay pot filled with air-dry clay.  I painted the beehive and pot yellow, then used a stain to weather it (came out nice honey-color!).  The dowel was just stained.  The base of the pot was filled with green railroad landscaping foam (three colors mixed).  The flowers were made from yellow five-petal punches.  Mine was a little different from the others, who just mounded flowers on their pots.  I happened to have a mini sewing kit in my purse so got out a length of green thread, pulled it through some glue, then through the foam, and made vines which twined up the post.   I used my black Sharpie pen to poke into the petal to cup it (pad was folded paper towel) - black-eyed susans.  The entire pot then was surrounded by a little section of white wooden picket fence.  The whole effect was great and very inexpensive. We're all struggling to make bees and will compare our efforts at the next meeting.  Anyone have suggestions on bee-making?

Wanna in El Paso

Halloween printable patterns:

http://miniatures.about.com/hobbies/miniatures/library/wallpaper/holiday/blhalloween01.htm

Lynn Silvestri

Nautical Accessories: For the person looking for little bottles, I don't know if they are still out there, but years ago I was able to obtain little glass bottles that were the correct size for small water coolers in mini- would have been about a bit more than 1" tall.. They came from a friend that worked at the hospital, I believe they were some kind of medicine vial.  Maybe someone on the list who works or knows someone who works in a hospital can check it out for you. Hallmark has put out two great ornaments in its miniature ornament series that would also be good for your nautical minis- they are little bottles with lighthouses inside of them.  It is part of a series, they had them this year and the year before.  You might be able to find them on eBay- I'm betting the stores have sold or put all the Xmas ornaments away. Michael's also has some wooden unpainted nautical stuff that might be a possibility.  I saw a rowboat that was pretty nice - maybe not perfect scale, but not bad either.

I built a 3" lighthouse and light-keepers cottage for use at the floral shop I work at.  They had a table setting contest complete with decor and flowers and ours was "New England Brunch".  I built the basic lighthouse from foam core, spray painted it with gray fleckstone, and then taped off stripes and painted them black.  The lighted top was made by inverting an appropriate sized glass jar into the base. I used pin-striping tape from the auto store to simulate the panes of glass, and put in an electrical socket with a yellow bulb and blinker.  The cap on top of the glass was an old chandelier ceiling plate and a decorative knob.  I also built a railing around the "light".  It cost under 10 dollars to make the whole thing.

Bonnie Gibson - Tucson, Arizona

Soda Shop Ideas: I see a marble tile floor, a long counter, a soda fountain. Behind the soda fountain counter is a slatted "something" on the floor. (to keep it from being slippery?? A mirror on the wall behind with glass shelves with sundae glasses and ice cream soda glasses. The fizzy water machines, snow cone machine, A penny candy counter. When I was a young girl, (many many moons ago) we called it the Goody Shoppe, we all hung out there. I used to go steady with the Fonz. Yea right! A couple of booths, It is all in there in my crystal ball. You are so young you wouldn't remember, the Poodle skirts. I didn't have one. We were too poor. Can you imagine being sixteen and not having a Poodle skirt. I was deprived. Lots of challenges in this one. Ice cream cones, soda glasses, penny candy, a pink fluffy sweater draped over a booth back. Posters of the one and only James Dean. WHO, she says....... Well, if you need help, the ones of us who remember JD are here, right people. Whatever happened to soda fountains and ice cream cones????

Barbara D

Bordellos: Just catching up on a bunch of unread digests and all this bordello talk reminded me of one of my "dream projects." I would dearly love to re-create the Bird Cage Theater that is in Tombstone, AZ. I've been there many times.

It is a fascinating bit of history but sadly in need of restoration. I'd love to make a mini of it to save some of the details (for instance, at this point in time you can still see what the wallpapers might have looked like, but I fear that will not be the case for long).

The Bird Cage was a combination saloon, gambling house, and bordello. The New York Times referred to the Bird Cage in 1882 as, "the Roughest, Bawdiest, and most Wicked night spot between Basin Street and the Barbary Coast." For nine years it never closed its doors, operating 24 hours a day.

There are 14 cages or "cribs" suspended from the ceiling, which is where the "ladies" would work.

You may all know about this place because Wyatt Earp, "Doc" Holliday, Curley Bill, and a host of other figures from the Old West spent a great deal of time there. The song sung by Lillian Russell "She's Only a Bird in a Gilded Cage", was written there and was about the girls in their cages.

Last time I visited Tombstone they had opened six rooms below the theater, which previously had been closed to the public. They had been closed off for 105 years, and are in their original condition. This lower level was also where they played "high roller" poker, where the minimum stake was $1000. It is said that the game was played around the clock for over 8 yrs.

The movie "Tombstone" did a fairly accurate job in portraying the Bird Cage, so if some of you have seen it you know what place I'm talking about.

Tori

Bordellos: I had a chance to go through a famous San Francisco (really Sausalito but who's quibbling) bordello about 25 years ago. I think it had been turned into restaurant but can't remember for sure - the decor took my breath away. It was supposed to have been restored to its original glory. I think her name was Sally (Stanford?) This was one wealthy woman and her clients were among the most elite in the Bay Area. If I've gotten the name wrong please correct - - and the old cliche of all red was right there,complete with palms and silk upholstery, fine furniture, tall ceilings (they seemed to be 15 ft. high), etc.I just saw Murder Rooms on PBS and there are bordellos here with nothing but a bed and hardly any covers so the contrast can be quite drastic. Jana Joseph did a set of 4 ladies of the night (old West style) along with the Marshall and Gina Bellous ladies which have molded corsets fit right in here too. Anyone know of any others that would work?

Ana