Tips

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BABY RATTLE: just too cute! Hobby stores sell the smallest plastic 'eyes' with a pastel or primary colored bead in them. Do you know what I mean? The moving goggley eyes.... flat on one side with a black circle "eye" floating inside a plastic dome. The tiny ones are only 1/8" in diameter. First, glue 2 of the "eyes" together, back to back and set aside to dry. Next, make the handle. Find a fancy-handled toothpick or plastic skewer and paint the fancy end any color/colors you want. Let dry. Cut off the sharp end so the fancy end is about 3/8" long, just where you stopped painting. Make sure to make a flat cut so your "eyes" will stay glued.

CAKE: Styrofoam has a perfect cake texture!! Denser textures cut easier. Cut into cake shape..."frost" with Spackle...cut out a slice for realism...paint the "cake" part "chocolate"!! Don't forget the filling!!

CANDLE: The stem inside some glue sticks is great for a spiral candle. Cut into desired lengths and paint or leave white.

CANDLE HOLDER: Look for some pretty buttons with 2 holes. Insert a short bugle bead into each hole to make a nice looking candleholder (the holes may have to be enlarged some). Glue the beads in place and let dry on wax paper. Paint gold or silver if desired. Add "candles". You can also add mini holly leaves to decorate around the bottom for Christmas or some flowers for other occasions.

CARPET: Rubbermaid makes a knubby foam shelf liner that could resemble Berber or Hi/Low carpeting. Check it out!

CEILING TEXTURE: For textured ceilings (or rough stucco "Spanish" walls): Cut brown paper bag a little larger than ceiling (or wall) and crunch it up into a ball.** Open it up and gently smooth it out. Paste this wrinkled paper onto ceiling and, when dry, paint. Wallpaper paste works best for attaching paper...and don't forget to smooth out air bubbles.

**If there isn't enough texture when you first unroll it, crunch it up into a ball again for more wrinkles. Do it as often as necessary to achieve the look you want.

CHANDELIER: Use a large Treble fishing hook and 3 clear faceted beads on each "hook". Attach a piece of jewelry chain to the hole on top with a jump ring. Now you have a simple, but elegant, chandelier.

COOKIE SHEET: Eye shadow metal pans are perfect for bake ware in the kitchen. Make some donuts, cookies, etc and place on cookie sheet and place in an oven or on a countertop

~~ D ~~

DESSERTS: Candy molds in small shapes can be filled with plaster of paris or filled with sculpy/fimo and baked and painted for 'cakes' and 'desserts'. Tip: Lightly rub a very tiny amount of glycerin with a small brush so it will easily drop out.

DOORS, SCREEN: The flexible springs found in ink pens make a "realistic" addition to a wooden screen door .

DRAWER PULLS: If you don't have any purchased mini hardware, use staples, beads or map tacks!

~~ E ~~

~~ F ~~

FABRIC: Old silk ties have nice tiny patterns!! Great for drapes, bedspreads, upholstery & doll clothing. Ties are made on the bias. When cutting out your pattern, remember to cut parallel with the grain unless you want it to stretch.

FABRICS: Don't throw those old clothes and purses away before inspecting them for use as fabrics for your dollhouse or dolls. That beautiful satin dress with the stain on it "that will never come out" would make great drapes and matching bedspread. That leather purse that is worn out is probably the right texture for a new sofa. Fabric from a tapestry purse can be made into a wall hanging. Nightgowns and underwear are a source of lace.

FABRIC INTERFACING: If kitchen foil is used as an interfacing with fabric, you can get folds, drapes and even a camping tent flap to go where you want it to go, and it stays put. Just glue the cloth to the foil. If both sides are to be seen, then another layer of fabric needs to be glued on the visible part.

FABRIC TRIMS: If you need chenille trim or very fine feathers for clothing or floral arrangements, the most unlikely place to check is...a full line bait/fishing equipment store. They sell the prettiest pastel colors of chenille trim for using with bedding, curtains (as tie backs) and for lots of other uses.

FENCING: Netting from the fabric store, sprayed with aluminum paint, rolled and tied looks just like fencing for those outdoor barn and garage scenes.

FAUCETS: Bend pierced earring "fishhook" into shape for hi-rise faucet stem. Make a base of basswood and wrap with foil. Glass or silver beads would make realistic knobs.

FIREPLACE STONE: Add some model railroad gravel to your acrylic paint to achieve stone texture on wood fireplace.

FLOORING & FURNITURE: Thin, self-adhesive, wood veneer strips (all types of wood) are available at hardware & handyman stores. It's RL use is for edging countertops & tables. Cut up to make an inlaid wood floor or tabletop.

FLOORING, MARBLE: Marble can be simulated by using a piece of vinyl floor tile in a marbleized pattern. Find tiles of different sizes and thickness at your local home improvement center. They are fairly easy to cut to use as flooring in a miniature room or cut into different shapes for table tops. A one square foot tile goes a long way in miniaturing!

FLOOR TILE: You can use real clay or ceramic tile in your dollhouse. A 1 inch tile would be a 12" square in the dollhouse....an acceptable size for flooring!

FLOOR TILE (free!): Make some shiny tiles for floors, walls or countertops by cutting up glossy gift boxes into squares and gluing in a tile pattern. Some glossy greeting cards are stiff enough for this too!

FLOWERS: Make petal & leaf shaped cuts from colored paper with specialty edged scissors used by "memory album" crafters. If you don't have any of those, try pinking sheers! Then glue them together to make tulips, daises, etc.

FRAMES: Make picture frames from the metal oval-shaped settings used to hold fake gems. Use clean plastic for the glass and back with thin cardboard. Cut picture from magazine or photocopy/reduce your own.

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GIFT WRAP: Foil papers from cigarette packages make wonderful 'wrapping paper' for presents. Foil candy wrappers purchased at a cake/candy supply store also makes great wrapping paper. They both are very thin and fold well around a block of wood.

GLASS: Just about everything you buy these days, if it doesn't come in a box, comes in a rigid plastic "bubble". Don't throw any of these away without first looking at its potential for "glass". Use in picture frames, for windows in your house, on table & vanity tops, in ponds, or to cover anything to make it shiny!! Study them all!!

GROCERIES: Cut out the colored ads on coupons in your Sunday paper....cereal boxes, aspirin bottles, cans of tuna, Spaghettios etc. Paste these to blocks of wood and dowel pieces (painted appropriately). Now you have little products for your house or store shelves.

~~ H ~~

HAT STANDS: Display your sunbonnets on golf tees!! Stand them upside down, cut stem to various heights and glue a large round bead to the top. Paint or decoupage to match decor. Add hat!!

~~ I ~~

ICE CREAM SUNDAE: Dimensional paint can look like ice cream and topping...some of the colors even have "ice cream" names (chocolate, vanilla, etc). Roll a mini pom pom or wood bead in the dimensional paint to make the ice cream "scoop". Drizzle the fudge (or other) topping. Don't forget the cherry!! I've put blobs of translucent cherry colored paint on wax paper, enhanced the "ball" shape when semi-dry, and then transferred it to ice cream.

ICE CUBES: I love this one!! Get some inexpensive clear plastic canvas (used for plastic canvas needlepoint). Cut it up with strong sheers and you have instant ice cubes!

~~ J ~~

JELL-O: You can make "Jell-O" gelatin desserts (that actually wiggle) from the gel type candles. Have your "molds" ready (spray with a mold release first). Light the candle and, as the candle gel melts, scoop up little spoonfuls of the melted liquid and pour into your molds. You can even add "fruit" while it's still liquid. Remove from mold when cooled and solid.

~~ K ~~

KITCHEN SINK: Some of that plastic "bubble" packaging described in "glass" above is the appropriate size and shape for a kitchen sink, bathroom sink or utility sink!! Paint the OUTSIDE of the sink shape the appropriate color...that way the INSIDE will still be "shiny" and porcelain looking. Add faucets , spout. & drain hole. A black Sharpie pen will work to draw in the drain or cut a silver circle from Christmas card and add black "hole".

KITTY LITTER BOX: Hang on to those jelly containers from restaurants. They make great kitty litter boxes for the dollhouse pet. Add some railroad supply 'gravel' and you have a "ready to use" litter box. ( One of our club members actually made the litter box with the kitty's 'business' in it....friends and family were really grossed out when they saw that.)

KNITTING BASKET: Wind colored thread over small balls of clay (Sculpy, Fimo, Cernit), secure with glue. If you want to use real yarn and have the patience...unwind each "ply" of lightweight baby yarn or crewel yard and wrap the clay ball using only 1 ply. If you can find embroidery thread in a non-shiny finish...that should give a good yarn appearance. Place the yarn balls in a wood bowl or a basket. Add a couple of long pins which have been painted to resemble knitting needles. Add a reduced photocopy of your knitting pattern...and there you have it!!

To add a little more realism: Drape loose end of yarn over edge of basket & in other "natural" positions. Put a little glue on your fingers and pull the yarn end thru them...then when you position the yard end, it'll stay put. You could also knit a few rows onto the "needles"!

~~ L ~~

LAMP SHADES: Paper cupcake holders come in sizes small enough for 1" scale!! Use the full size cupcake papers for Barbie-sized lamp shades.

LATTICE: Plastic canvas cut on the bias makes convincing lattice (and many other things!!).

LIGHT FIXTURE, CEILING: Those old earrings you find at flea markets and garage sales....the big ones with all the beads on them.... make great fake ceiling fixtures. Round ceramic drawer pulls make good ceiling fixtures too

~~ M ~~

MIRROR, SMALL: Use a button back from the "covered button" sets and insert a small mirror or a piece of chrome sticker. Take an old cufflink turned upside down and glue the mirror to the little swivel thing. It makes a really good mirror to sit on a counter in a powder room or bathroom.

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~~ O ~~

~~ PQ ~~

PAINTINGS, OIL: To make a magazine picture look like a real painting, cut it out with a little extra around the edges. Pin it down to a piece of foam core or something that's been covered with saran wrap....then take an old brush and dab glue on it to imitate brush strokes, let dry. You might have to repeat the glue dabbing step to get it right. Cut it out. Frame or stand on easel. Granny Stover's "YES" glue is very, very thick and makes wonderful "paint swirls" to imitate an oil painting.

PHOTOS & PICTURES UNDER GLASS: Instead of covering a cutout picture with a clear spray varnish or similar product, cover it with clear contact paper. It gives it more support, doesn't curl up as much, protects it and is a lot less mess. No drying time either.

PILLOW ROLL: A no-sew project! Cotton rolls that dentists use and that you can purchase at a drug store are great for bolster pillow forms. Wrap a small thin piece of material around it, folding the unfinished hems in and glue with a thin bodied tacky glue. Tie ends with a ribbon. Decorate with lace, bunka, etc. Make a number of them and place on bed.

PLANTS, EUCALYPTUS: Add realism to your rooms with the natural fragrance of Eucalyptus. Punch mini leaves from "real" preserved Eucalyptus leaves with an inexpensive 1/8" circle punch. Use cloth-covered wire in brown or forest green (or paint it) to match the leaves. Glue the mini leaves alternately down the wire to look like a stem of Eucalyptus. Use a photo or a real stem as "model" to correctly place the leaves. Use heavy tacky glue and tweezers to place the leaves. Make a number of branches and place in a vase or bundle into a wall swag or wreath. If you have an enclosed room box, the room will be scented with the smell of eucalyptus....it is great!

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~~ S ~~

SHINGLES: Make a template of cardstock to resemble a row of shingles. Use this template to cut shingles out of sandpaper. They come in very realistic shades already so they need not be painted

SIGN LETTERING: You can buy bags of dried alphabet pasta (for making alphabet soup). These letters are just the right size to make signs with 3 dimensional letters. Glue to piece of wood and paint.

SLINKY TOY: Some very flexible springs in ink pens make excellent "Slinky" toys. Bend them in an arch and glue each end to a small piece of cardboard or onto the floor of the kid's room.

~~ T ~~

~~ UVW ~~

WALL SWAG. See "Plants".

WINDOW "GLASS": The clear plastic lids on boxes of Christmas cards (& other items) can be cut up to make window "glass" for your dollhouse. Plastic packing "bubbles" often have large, flat areas of rigid plastic that will also work for window "glass".

WINDOW MULLIONS: Cut up the plastic fruit baskets (strawberry baskets) to make the grid for divided windows.

WREATH: See Plants for mini Eucalyptus.

~~ XYZ ~~