Minis for mentally challenged:  What a nice project! Try polar fleece for blankets, curtains, etc as the edges don't have to be finished so she can make them herself.  Michaels has lots of cheap hutches, etc for a buck or 2 that she can paint, she could even try decoupage.  Don't forget childhood standbys like matchbox beds, thread spool chairs.  Try populating it with teddy bears and troll dolls instead of people.  You might consider real wallpaper instead of printies as it is more durable and can survive rough handling during cutting. Don't forget the little end tables that come with your pizza.  Popsicle sticks have lots of uses.   Try cutting pictures out of magazines for paintings and framing with fabric trim.  Tearing apart old clothes from Goodwill for laces, etc can be fun.

Gyelle

Sewing accessories:  check out http://www.btinternet.com/%7Ebertiesbazaar/jess/   then click on Printies in the left column and click on Haberdashery to find printable sewing accessories like button, ribbon, and elastic cards, needle cases.   For contemporary patterns, get on the mailing list for whatever is your local fabric shop (e.g., Hancocks, Joann's, Hobby Lobby), you'll get flyers and can clip out the ad illustrations and glue to a mini envelope (adapt stationery patterns on Jim's www.printmini.com site).  Should also be able to use ad clips as a pattern catalog cover -- glue over a section cut from the spine of an old magazine, cover with glossy clear nail polish or packing tape to get the laminated look of the real thing.   Don't forget a rack of crafts magazines/books -- find covers in book club ads   as well as in store flyers.

Items for hanging racks:  Tape measures (3 inch lengths of yellow paper, marked with black pen, folded up and tacked onto cards).   Scissors:   flattened hooks of hooks and eyes tacked onto cards -- use several sizes for shears and embroidery scissors; paint loops orange to make Fiskars.   Buttons:  seed beads glued on cards, or tiny blobs of dimensional fabric paint). Zippers:   two lengths of metallic thread glued down center of narrowest grosgrain ribbon you can find, tiny bar of metallic paint as stop on bottom and pull tab cut from bit of metallic card at top.  Quick strawberry pincushions and rust-removers:  Cut one medium and one small green star from craft felt, string on a bit of green floss and glue to medium and large pompons.  Cutting boards:  4 by 4 inch cardboard; cover both sides with graph paper (or back with decorative paper), add string ties at middle of two opposite sides, fold in fourths, tie, and stack or lean in display area.

Loretta.Sniarowski

Crumpled Lingerie:   "display" miniature clothing is much easier to make than clothing that must fit on a doll. There were quite a few patterns with instructions given in past issues of Dolls in Miniature magazine. You can contact Viola Williams at   dollsmini@aol.com   for information on back issues. The new Dolls in Miniature magazine has printed some patterns for display clothing also.

If you really want the "crumpled" look, you don't have to work too hard, as a wadded up piece of fabric might look like anything - probably most wadded up items of clothing aren't readily identifiable.

A piece of pretty lace, sewn into a tube shape, with narrow ribbon straps across the top will make a nightie to throw on the bed.

Paulette in IN

ME house: I saw an official ME house at a show; the exterior is indeed paper printed in ME designs, like an update of the Victorian Bliss houses -- red faux siding with a flower border, trees, and shrubs printed on it. If you have paper or fabric you'd like to use, go for it. I used this technique in one of the first give-away houses I did, which in fact was a bashed Sweetheart with an added foamcore lower story and balcony. I covered the exterior with quilt fabric in a mellow old brick pattern, using wallpaper paste, because at the time none of the local mini stores had brick paper in stock. Worked just fine. I stabilized the fabric with Wonderunder iron-on interfacing, then cut paper templates, pinned them to the fabric, cut the fabric walls, and pasted the fabric on (right over the window openings). Once the paste dried, I used a craft knife to cut out the window openings, then added the window trim, doors and balconies. Turned out quite nice; the same technique should work as well for a fantasy finish. Mary Lynn in Huntington did something similar with her quilt shop and has more how-to details on her web site -- don't have it bookmarked, so maybe she will respond with this info.

Loretta Sniarowski

Printing on Fabric: I have just recently tried this myself for the first time and with success. I used an old white dress shirt of my husbands that I cut up (he'll never miss it!) and pressed onto freezer paper. For complete instructions on how to do this go to:
http://wingsnthings.tripod.com/chicken.htm

Marilyn, MI

Workshops & Organization: Organizing fabric: I just finished a monumental job of sorting through years of my own purchases, plus the quilting fabrics I inherited from my mother. I have an old dresser/chest of drawers, with four small drawers across the top and six drawers side by side below that I use for fabrics and sewing stuff. Here's how I did it:

I bought several boxes of ziploc plastic bags, both sandwich and gallon size. For all those fat quarters and eighths of a yard pieces that I'm always buying, I grouped related prints and solids together in the sandwich bags, by color. I did the same thing with the larger pieces, folding everything to fit. It's surprising what will fit within one of those bags.

I discovered that three rows of sandwich bags fit exactly side by side across the width of one standard drawer. I measured and marked off two dividers to fit from front to back of each drawer and my grandson cut them for me from cardboard. Four drawers held three rows each of sandwich bags (gasp!). I can just riffle through them as one does the patterns in the file cabinets at a fabric store. It's the dividers that keep them from slithering down.

For the larger pieces in the gallon size bags I made dividers to fit them, also, although the bags had to be lengthwise in the drawer as opposed to facing me (does that make sense?), sometimes with the ends of the fabric sticking out of the top of the bag. The largest pieces of yardages (from my mother's quilting) I just folded as compactly as I could and laid them flat in the bottom drawer. I may cut them into smaller pieces eventually to share with newbies.

I worked for days on it, but now it should not be that difficult to either locate something or to add new pieces (which I shouldn't do but know I will). I would imagine you could use the same process in those large plastic storage boxes, too, if you don't have a chest of drawers. Just line up the bags to see how they best fit, snugly but still flippable-through, and make your dividers.

In some cases I added odds and ends to the bags that I knew would go into a planned scene. For example, in a bag with some correlated apple prints from Joann's I put some apple buttons, stickers and pictures clipped from a magazine for posters, etc., that will eventually go in a Michael's hutch in my apple kitchen vignette.

Wanna in El Paso

Storing fabric in plastic bags: An addition to the utility of plastic Ziploc type bags. I also write in permanent marker on the top of the bag, the more rigid part above the zipper. For example, one bag may be labelled "Solids, cotton", another "Plain silk", another "Brocade" or "Christmas prints". You then only need to flip through the top of the bags, not investigate what is actually in each one.

Wendy in Clinton, NJ

Minis for mentally challenged:  I personally would think of her as a very young girl, maybe 6 years old? and go from there.

You could gather up fabrics, little cardboard boxes, (for stoves, tables, cabinets, etc.,) glue, findings...and let her play with them on her own.  Maybe a plastic doll that she could glue clothes onto.

Seems like just a box of various and sundries would be fun for a child, or a child like adult.   (Heck, it's fun for me!)

Also, there are many, many printables that would be simple to put together.

Just my thoughts...hope some of them help.

Kaye in L.A.

Pillows: What are your opinions on sewing? You could get some smallish print leopard/tiger/zebra print fabric, and cut two squares out of it that are ¼ inch larger all the way around than you want the pillow to be. Then fold over the edges to 1/4 inch, iron to make a crease. Pin the two pieces wrong sides together, and blind stitch the edges. I like to start in the middle of one edge, so I won't have to fiddle with an imperfect corner. Go all the way around the edge back and leave a hole for stuffing the pillow. Stuff with polyfil (quilt batting, even seeds or rice). If using the batting, use a pair of tweezers to stuff, getting into the corners. This method is handy when making a needlepoint pillow as well.

Kim From Canada

Pillows: What are your opinions on sewing? You could get some smallish print leopard/tiger/zebra print fabric, and cut two squares out of it that are ¼ inch larger all the way around than you want the pillow to be. Then fold over the edges to 1/4 inch, iron to make a crease. Pin the two pieces wrong sides together, and blind stitch the edges. I like to start in the middle of one edge, so I won't have to fiddle with an imperfect corner. Go all the way around the edge back and leave a hole for stuffing the pillow. Stuff with polyfil (quilt batting, even seeds or rice). If using the batting, use a pair of tweezers to stuff, getting into the corners. This method is handy when making a needlepoint pillow as well.

Kim From Canada

30's-40's Farmhouse: It wouldn't hurt to have some Victorian furnishings in it because people were far more frugal back then and if something was still in good condition there was no reason to replace it. Consider using rag rugs, a linoleum floor in the kitchen, a water pump on the porch, a cabbage rose print fabric for living room carpet, speckled enamel pots and pans, and a Victrola. (No, I wasn't around then, but my grandmother sure saved a lot of stuff and had a lot of pictures.)

Rosemary in Cleveland

Printing Rugs: When I print paper rugs, I dry mount them on poster paper or card stock. Use rubber cement to paint back of rug and top of poster paper. When it's dry, stick 'em together. Then I use a fabric fringe. I have been using a piece of cloth from inside an old necktie. It is beige and coarse. Very easy to glue to the edge of the rug and pull out extra threads to fringe.

Linda in Leroy, OH

Free Glue Guide: I found something in AC Moore's which I would like to share with all of you. They have a display of free brochures from Aleene's and the brochure is really quite helpful. It gives a brief note of use and properties of each of the 30 Aleene's adhesives. One panel of the 3-fold brochure has a chart which lists their adhesives, broken into categories, down the left side and across the top are different crafts. Under each craft, there is a dot across from the adhesive that could be used for it. Neat. Go get one before they are gone. After posting about the free Aleene's Glue Guide, I noticed a web site listed in small print (of course) on the back and I checked it. I think it is a site many of you would find helpful. It has sections for sharing (posting with Q&A), Fabric Crafting, Craft Painting, General Crafting, Paper Crafting, Kids Crafting, and Product Location. Did you know that a new paint called Tulip Ultra Soft Fabric Paint is available? It is produced in 3 finishes: Matte, Metallic (pearlized look), and Velveteen (gives look of velveteen fabric). There are a lot of possibilities in that paint for the creative dh enthusiast (like your average ss member). The site address: www.duncancrafts.com

Mel in Ma

Metlan: I submit that the finest wallpaper paste ever made is Metlan, a powder in a small box you should be able to get at any good hardware or wallpaper store. I've used it for years. I once covered a (full-size!) refrigerator w/printed tissue wrapping-paper. ( Tissue is at least as good as fabric for covering odd-shaped or curved surfaces.)

Metlan doesn't have to be sifted into the water as many pastes do; it never lumps. I've kept the mixed paste covered in the fridge for weeks on end & it's never lost its sticking power; you can endlessly re-position wallpaper & it doesn't grab. I have found no flaw in it. It comes in at least two, probably more, types; the two I've used are "for medium weight wallpapers" and "for delicate fabric & grasscloth". The latter is the one I put the tissue on with. The person who first told me about it 25 or so years ago said he'd papered a room w/newspaper comic pages, and that only with Metlan did the print on the back not show through.

Hilda

Oriental rug: I've been pining for a beautiful mini oriental rug for a long time. I checked out a stunning Oriental rug book at the library and scanned some of the rug photos. I scanned at 400 dpi and converted the colors from RGB (red-green-blue) to CMYK, (cyan-magenta-yellow-black) for even more intensity. (I did the color conversion in CorelDRAW 9.) I printed the rugs on light-grayish cardstock with a bit of rag content and it looks great. I'll add fringe. But the killer result happened when I printed the Oriental rugs on the new art canvas paper available at large computer stores. Words cannot even describe how realistic this looks. The art canvas paper really gives the texture this look needs. Since this special paper is meant to go through your printer, I like this much better than putting fabric through the printer. I'll put a finishing spray on the Oriental rugs and display them proudly.

Leslie Ann, CA

Printable wallpaper won't last!!  Do you all know that most computer printer ink starts to fade in a year or less? The spray fixatives will protect from moist, smudgy fingers, but not light. Unless you have a special, very expensive printer, you have ink that will fade over time.

I once heard that one of the higher quality miniature wallpaper companies carefully researched, developed and tested their printed paper for longevity. At less than $3 a sheet, I think real dollhouse paper is completely worth it.

Fabric, and real (big) wallpaper are also good ways to go. I like to think my miniature creations will last for generations to enjoy. Just my opinion!

Anne Gerdes

Ink Longevity: Inkjet inks used on regular paper or non treated fabric are not water fast or UV resistant.  How quickly the print quality deteriorates depends on the brand of computer/model/ink you use and the actual environmental conditions in your home. For inkjet inks, high humidity is the worst offender, followed by exposure to direct sunlight!  Neither are good for inkjet ink printed items...or other furnishings for that matter. However, the good news is that there are specialty papers and fabric treatments that will substantially increase the inkjet printed output durability.  If you want custom items that you can't find elsewhere you may want to check out the newer products available for your printer.

If you are using your computer to print designs that you want to last it will pay off in the long run to invest in the higher priced papers and the fabric treatments. Computer makers and separate vendors are diligently working to make inkjet ink and specially treated receptive surfaces with maximum durability.  The business community, digital photographers, and home crafters markets are very interested and this is a new and rapidly changing field. New products are being introduced all the time because consumers want them. Each computer model is different so you need to check with the manufacturer to see what they recommend for your purpose.  For instance, with my particular Epson printer, the manufacturer sells a matte photo quality paper with a factory tested "non fade" time up to 25 years that can be special ordered.  This is much better print retention than the generic printer paper at Wal-Mart. To find out what is available or under development for your printer model you would need to contact the manufacturer or a *knowledgeable* office supply representative.

For fabric printouts, the T-shirt transfer paper for your specific printer brand, the June Taylor *colorfast* (not just the regular) fabric sheets or the BubbleJet Set 2000 pre treatment will give much, much, more durable prints that simply printing to non treated fabric or generic printer paper. I have fabric and paper items that I've printed with my $150.00 Epson that have no noticeable fade for over several years. But I have used the best special papers and fabric treatments to obtain this durability. It will not be accomplished using generic printer paper or untreated fabric. Also, it is important for all furnishings, even in your full size house, not to expose them to direct sunlight or high humidity.  If any of you have ever seen a older home, with wallpaper, a southern exposure room, furniture on the north wall....after a few years, if you move the furniture, you will notice the "fading" on the wallpaper because the wall *behind* the couch on the north wall did *not* fade as much!

For inkjet printed wallpaper I would recommend using the June Taylor *colorfast* Fabric Sheets. I would not use generic printer paper. The June Taylor colorfast fabric sheets will be somewhat expensive at $2 to $3 a sheet but if you want custom designed wallpaper that you can not find elsewhere it may be worth it to you. As several others have suggested, you may want to apply the wallpaper with iron on fusible web to a piece of poster board.  If the quality does not suit you several years later it would be much easier to remove than if you had glued the wallpaper to the wall.

Also, if you have really expensive or heirloom quality miniature collections, you can purchase UV film that can be applied to a Plexiglass dollhouse cover that will substantially reduce the UV fading of all interior furniture fabric and wood.  A local interior decorator, or auto restorers' supply shop could refer you to suppliers in your area.

Wilma Kinder in SW MO Ozarks

Inkjet Longevity: I'm in what I laughingly call my Research and Development (R & D) phase of making wallpaper. Although I haven't the resources to conduct testing on a museum level, I have performed some rather rigorous testing on the things I make. I have to take exception to Tom's statement: "The typical H-P ink on H-P inkjet paper will last 6 months."   I have not found this to be true.  Since folks are buying my things made on an HP (Hewlett Packard) printer, I feel I must defend the quality of these things. I'm getting ready to buy my sixth HP printer, right now I have three of them. It will be another one to use to make minis and I'm getting it only because it handles larger sizes of paper. It is about five hundred bucks. The number of fabrics and papers I have shoved into my printer are in the hundreds.

Usually the consumer is largely unaware that there is a difference in ink formulations, even among models from the same brand of printer. Two of my printers use pigment based inks, one uses thermal inks. Expensive prints such as those you can have made, usually use a process called dye sublimation....those inks are different too. It is the INK that fades, so if fading is a concern, then it is the ink quality...the properties of the ink, that you need to take into  consideration. What you print on...also has it's problems.  Paper will deteriorate with nothing at all printed on it. Generally the consumer is also unaware that some papers have a right side, and a wrong side. The formulations for paper are almost limitless. The papers Tom is talking about are available to the consumer; Unfortunately, you have to buy a WHOLE BUNCH of it. But nothing keeps you from cutting it with a paper cutter and feeding it through your printer. Most home printers have a maximum size they will print of 14"long...unless you lie to it and tell it you are printing a banner. However, you are almost always limited to 8.5 inches wide, with a print area of 8 inches, and 11 inches long with a print area of 10.5 inches. Most dollhouse ceilings are less than 10.5 inches, and eight inch widths would probably cover most walls anyway. If the image was turned sideways, it would print eight inches tall, and ten and a half inches wide. Don't the inexpensive tab and slot kits have eight inch ceilings?

The way I go through my "testing" is to print on a variety of surfaces, put them into varying degrees of direct sunlight, and or...put them away in a box for six months or a year. I also make prototypes of the mini thing I intend to use the image for...and use a number of adhesives on it, and put this away for awhile too. I have discovered that it is usually the adhesive or the sealer that causes chemical reactions and makes the image blur. Not the ink. And not the paper...if it didn't blur within a few days of being printed, then it didn't ever. What makes the water based inks in inkjet printers blur...if it isn't the sealer, or the adhesives...is moisture. Moisture is death to ink jet inks. The transparency material has a coating on it that will absorb moisture and is not very good in any kind of humid condition without being protected somehow. This is probably what caused the church windows to blur. And...Tom said "over the years" they have blurred. The inks for home printers has improved in quantum measure from "years" ago. Tom suggests that you inquire what inks and papers are used for things you decide to buy. This, on the surface, sounds like a good idea, however, some materials and procedures are trade secrets to some manufacturers. No manufacturer, including me, knows the "expected lifetime" of printed things for sure. Even the museum research is still in progress. I can tell you how long they have lasted for me...which so far is five and a half years for some things, without any special care. Having a printer print your wallpapers won't guarantee heirloom longevity. Printers are who also make those prints we have seen hung on the wall at the dentist's office, or in some Motel Six  somewhere, that have faded to pale pinks and blues in only a couple of years.

You can get great results out of your home printer.  I haven't found the things coming out of my printer to be particularly fragile, or temporary. If it is an heirloom you are creating, then maybe paper for the walls isn't the way to go anyway. Don't be dissuaded from making your rugs, and wallpaper, and stained glass windows if you want to. They will certainly last as long as a tiny ottoman made out of a toilet paper tube. For all things in your dollhouse to last the longest...keep it away from the kitchen, and the bath, out of direct sunlight, and out of cigarette smoke and you should be able to keep it nice for a long time.

Terry

Printing on Fabrics: On the items I've printed to fabric using my computer manufacturers' recommend T-shirt transfer heat set sheets, June Taylor Colorfast Fabric Sheets and Bubble Jet Set ( all according to the manufacturer's directions) I have not found any noticeable fading.  I've used these products since they were first introduced to the craft/quilting market.  My oldest fabric treated items are now several years old and look great! NASA is so impressed with BubbleJet Set's durability that its engineers are testing it for use in extreme conditions in outer space!

Several major fabric/textile/craft distributors such as Dharma and Nancy's Notions have been impressed enough to distribute the newer fabric transfer methods and recommend them to textile artists. And, please, do remember if you use any textile products to "follow the instructions."

I have a friend who used June Taylor sheets with *my* Printer who set the "Print Quality" to "Overhead transparency" instead of "Regular" ...thinking "More is always better" and was disappointed when the ink on her printed items "ran" immediately.  :(  But...my June Taylor printed sheets (printed on the same printer...within 10 minutes of hers), look just as fine today as they did the day they were printed to fabric! I have even washed them several times since they are some of my grand daughters' favorite "handled/played with/re-arranged" minis...Christmas Stockings with their very own picture and name on them.  :)  And remember, that 100 percent cotton or silk...is just that! :-)

UNtreated Fabric: IF you print directly from your printer to "UNtreated" fabric the durability will depend upon the brand/model/age of ink/ fabric content/ humidity/exposure to sunlight/presence of tobacco smoke/environment. Remember, too, newer studies are actually showing that exposure to "tobacco smoke" is as harmful to textiles and photographs as is sunlight!

To learn more about printing to fabric you might want to purchase the March, 2001 issue of Dollhouse Miniatures magazine.  You might also want to subscribe to one of several fabric/textile discussion groups available on the internet that are specifically devoted to textile printing topics.

Wilma Kinder in SW Missouri Ozarks

Printable Fabric: I am very excited about some new information I learned today at a digital workshop with George Lepp (technical guru of the photography world). He displayed a poly silk fabric that is used on your color printer. This means that ANYTHING you want to print onto a fabric can be printed onto this wonderful soft fabric. I held it in my hand and saw a beautiful animal print that had been done on an Epson printer both on the fabric and as a print on paper.  The color was wonderful!! The possibilities of this product are endless for minis.

There was some discussion about washing this fabric and one of the attendees mentioned that you treat the finished product with Versatex and an extender and it becomes washable. Evidently versatex is available in art supply stores. 

I have no connection to the company that makes the poly silk.  Here is the web site. http://www.pictorico.com/

Gail