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TIP OF THE WEEK
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Featured Tip
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Perfect Palettes
Instead of discarding pill bottle tops, use them for small paint palettes.
They may be used over & over by rinsing with water or paint thinner. Great for small projects or touch-ups!
Submitted by: Larry Geddes, New Era Dollhouses - Warwick, NY
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Tip Archive
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Miniature Sanding Tool
A real cheap small round sanding tool for enlarging small holes or openings can be created by taking a toothpick and
dipping the same in woodglue then waiting a minute or two and then dipping it in sand (the kind used in ashtrays is best for finer sanding and larger grains can be used as required for specific jobs). You can also
create custom sanding tools by using ice cream sticks, tongue depressors, shishkabob sticks etc. I have even used yarn and made sanding lines for creating details in 1 inch dowel stock or other materials as
needed... it can take the place of lathes and or routers for small detail work.
Submitted by: Leslie Looman, Dollhouses by Leslie - Edmond, OK
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Christmas Lights
Decorate your dollhouse for Christmas - buy lights that are sold for the Christmas villages. They are inexpensive and they run on a
battery pack, so you don't have to wire a whole room or room box just for the tree. They come in twingle lights also.
Submitted by: Dee G. - Crete, IL
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Miniature Shrubs
Make realistic miniature shrubs & bushes by gluing reindeer moss to different shapes of styrofoam.
Submitted by:
Brad E. - Locust Grove, GA
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Plastic Bowls
Use the plastic from model paint. Just cut out the round sections. They look like little clear bowls.
Submitted by:
Judy - Texas
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Bubble Bath Bottle
Stack and glue together (4) propeller beads in any color you wish. Top with a 3mm or 4mm gold or silver round bead.
Submitted by:
G.C. - Georgia
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Dollhouse Food
I like making food... for my dollhouse that is. I take uncooked rice and color it with an orage marker.
This gives you baby carrots. Coriander (round spice) colored with a little green marker gives you brussel sprouts. Parsley and red pepper seeds makes a nice salad. Fennel seed with a light green marker makes nice pickles. Rosemary flakes colored green make green beans.
Submitted by: Sue Z. - Hesperia, MI
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Simple Ceiling Fixtures
For ceiling light fixtures, use the bottoms of travel-size plastic shampoo bottles cut to 1/2
inch. This forms the "globe" of the light. You can then glue on a metal ring from a screw-type bottle cap to form a collar and glue the whole fixture to the ceiling, directly over the light
bulb. I used the tape wire and tiny brass nails to hold the light bulb wires in place.
Submitted by: Lisa B. - Minnesota
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Realistic Landscaping
Try using green floral foam when constructing gardens. It adds incredible
depth and contour to any garden area. I carve out the shapes and hills that I want with a spoon or knife and can make stairs, built in rock walls, and walkways. The possibilities are endless!
Also,
take a walk outside and see what you can find just laying around. I find flat rocks for walkways, and grind up my own mulch out of bark for ground coverage. Keeping the materials natural in a miniature garden allow
for a truly realistic look...
Submitted by: Andrea H. - Hudson, NY
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Dollhouse Bricks... on the cheap
• First, buy a one 10 pound bag of quikrete mortar mix, quikrete concrete acrylic fortifier,
and concrete color, costs is less than $12.00.
• Make (cheaper) or buy 1/8th inch wood strips (or what ever size your bricks will be). Make a grid about 5" by 5" (makes approximately 70
bricks at a time) with the wood strips the same size as your bricks (notch each one so they fit together and lay flat).
• IMPORTANT-You have to coat the entire mold in a very thin
(don't "glob" it on) layer of vaseline so the bricks won't stick to the mold (I used a two inch paint brush). Just stick the brush straight into the mold and wiggle it around to get some
vaseline in each brick area. Lay the mold on wax paper so the mortar doesn't stick to the table.
• After mixing your mortar, fortifier (without the "fortifier" jobs as small as
mini-bricks will crumble) and color, pour it into the mold and make sure every brick section is filled. • Use a scrap piece of wood to lay across the mold and scrape off any excess mortar.
• Let dry over night.
• Tilt your mold up on one side, supporting it with your fingers and gently push each brick out of the mold using a push stick the same size as one of the bricks so it will go
through each little square that will be your bricks.
• Glue them to your project and spray them with a clear coat (not glossy) to seal them so you can add the mortar lines... sanded tile grout works
fine. It can be applied easily and is easy to clean off the sealed bricks.
• You can put a little more vaseline in the mold and make more bricks. So far my total cost has been less than $20.00 and I
have made almost 700 bricks with less than half a bag of mortar.
• Recently, I purchased a small sheet of plexy glass approx. 1/8" thick (cost @ $2.00) and made my mold from that using 5
minute epoxy to glue it together. It takes a little more work but lasts a lot longer than a wooden mold. So far, its working great.
• These bricks are a little bit more delicate than store
bought ones, but look incredibly real, the bricks will be a strong and solid piece of your project if properly done.
Submitted by: Kevin C.
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Hold It!
Instead of clamping your work when waiting for your wood glue to dry... try a drop of hot glue... it holds and lets you keep building.
Submitted by: Bob Pierce - Let's Pretend - Danvers, MA
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Samples with Style.
Try using the little sample pieces of formica used for countertop selection at most building supply/home
improvement stores. I use mine for the backs of fireplaces. Also the paint chips from the paint department that look like marble are very nice. Use your imagination.
Submitted by:
Mary B.
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Picture This
Looking for a creative way to display your photos? Use Classics windows and doors as custom picture frames, just cut your photos to size
and hang on the wall or place on a table.
Submitted by: Unknown
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