A neat, almost dust free, way to display minis is in plant terrariums. I have a couple I received plants in a long time ago and the plants have since departed. My favorite has a glass lid and a 1/12 scale grand piano fits just perfect. With a mini carpet and candelabra it makes a great display.

I also had many items I was given, bought or just liked that were just "put away" as I didn't have a particular place for them. So I created an Antique Shop. It's a large old Ballhagen building (no longer available), 2 stories high. I cut out a lot of the siding and replaced it with windows.

Anything can go into an antique shop. Now I can enjoy so many of my treasures that I didn't have a room setting for.

Ruth
Grass Valley, CA

The first 1/12" scale house was a Green Leaf. I found metal U shaped tracks at the train and speed car hobby shop. By installing the tracks on the flat part of the house and using Plexiglass, I could slide the panels into place.

But the attic was a different problem. The adhesive backed Velcro dots solved that problem. I got the more expensive Velcro dots with industrial adhesive so that I would not have them coming loose. 25 years and holding.

A moth ball tucked under the stairs seems to keep critters (spiders) out as well. However, remember it is dangerous for cats and causes nerve
damage so it probably is not good for us either.

Barbara up from yea OLE Doll Dungeon www.DeVilbissDesigns.com

One of my favorite ways to display minis that don't have a particular home just yet, items that don't seem to fit in with anything else, or just special pieces, ia to use domes.

Many of the Wisterias & flower gardens I create are stand alone pieces that are meant to be viewed individually. I live in very dry, extremely dusty Arizona. It gets rather tricky trying to keep dust out of miniature flowers & gardens, so once the dust is there it's most likely to stay!

I solved my dust and display problem when I started placing the gardens in a dome. I love arranging my custom gardens "in the round" with a good view from every side and angle and frequently place the domes on small revolving turntables or lazy susans.

Domes are available in a wide range of sizes and they really enhance a special piece. You can put furniture, accessories and "theme" items together in a dome and come out with a very special look.

One easy, effective way to display small items in a dome is to paint 1" square blocks of wood, stack them and glue together in alternating rows or different levels. I like to use black paint as it really shows off the items but any color would be appropriate.

I prefer glass domes but plastic ones are less expensive and are available on the market. You can find domes on the internet or pick them up (cheaper than the stores, even with shipping costs) on e-bay.

Era Anderson Pearce, IGMA Artisan
Robert S. Pearce
Pearce Miniatures
Visit our website: www.pearceminiatures.com

Nipples, and rubber stuff: I've made nipples and condoms and even a sad looking rubber glove from liquid latex rubber. It's totally wonderful stuff. You can get it from MicroMark. I think a jar is around $10.00 and lasts forever. It's white when wet, and dries to the yellow that's the color of a nipple. It can also be tinted with a very small amount of acrylic paint, although it might lose some stretchablilty. You can brush it on or dip things in it. To make a balloon or condom, just dip a wire in the rubber. When it's dry, baby powder it and roll it off. To make the nipple, you can use a smoothed wire or rod inserted into a tube. Most craft stores sell the rods and tubes in the model section. Buy a tube that fits snugly over the rod. You can use the rubber to make flexible molds, too. I've even baked polymer clay in rubber molds, but I'm not sure how long they'll last if I keep it up.

Bonnie Lavish

Scale: The best tip that I ever saw for seeing if the scale was good, was here on this list, I'm pretty sure. :)? It was regarding the question of seeing if prints on fabrics and wallpaper were right. You cut out a one inch square from a piece of card and lay the square over the print.

I took this tip one step further. I hold up the same piece of card and hold it like a picture frame to actual items and view them with it. It works!

Leslie Peters

Scale and Proportion: Most dollhouses are not to scale. We (designers) typically use 9" to 10" ceilings. Modern houses are 7.5' to 8', Victorian were 9' to 13', colonial were 6' to 8'. We make them taller so its easier to see into the rooms and to work in the rooms. Front to back we tend to use 12" to 16" which should be 12" to 14" more typically. Width we use 8" to 12" to keep the houses from becoming unwieldy, 12" to 16" would be better. The diecut people (Greenleaf, Corona, Artply, etc) use even smaller dimensions for their rooms (6" and 8" are common), thereby making true 1" scale furnishings look too large.

Most dollhouse furnishers/collectors put too much into their dollhouses, making the rooms look small and the furniture large. Hey, but what the heck, its all for fun anyway so do what you like. Rather than worry about absolute scale, life will be much easier if you just make it look right.

Tom Berkner

Loofah: A loofah is a gourd - in the squash family, and grows on a vine. It grows REAL well here in the Southwest as it loves the heat and doesn't need much water. When it is green and on the vine, it is edible. (If you are REALLY hungry!) But, when it dries, the outer shell becomes very brittle and can be crumbled off. Inside is the Loofah you get at the stores (and swap meets), and that structure is full of seeds. Shake out the seeds, and there is a loofah! It just needs to be rinsed out to be ready to use. No part of the loofah is toxic as far as I know. For those of you unfamiliar w/a loofah, it's shaped like a cucumber with an internal structure similar to a sponge. They can be used as is, or can be cut and flattened into a sheet. They are most often used in the bath as they exfoliate the skin. But, they sure have many uses in miniature when texture is needed. They can be used in landscaping, and can also be used in faux painting.

Nicole Walton Marble

Glass bricks: You might be able to make an illusion of glass block using plastic canvas with the threads removed to make the size block you want and adding some clear silicone in the spaces. The canvas should be flat on a sheet of wax paper. When dry, you could pull it off. I have never tried it, but, I think it might work.

Mary

Snow: I have made snow in mini scenes in several ways.
1. Baking soda poured over a thick coat of tacky glue, with some ultrafine white glitter added for sparkle.
2. Spackle painted white.
3. Above with Sno-Tex added on top.
4. Plastic snow sold by gift shops that carry Dept. 56 collectible villages.
All give a realistic snow effect.

Beth