Lisa_F

I had one of the parties a few years ago, back before I knew anyone in my area that liked miniatures. It's definitely doable even if you don't have any local mini friends. Before I had mine, I contacted miniatures.com and asked if most of the *guests* could come from my same household & be related to me - and I was told that my family members could count as guests if they placed an order. So what I did was scheduled a party & then gave my husband and two adult sons (both working) catalogs with items circled that I would like for my birthday (or was it Christmas? I can't recall). It worked out great for all of us - they didn't have to try & figure out what to get me, I was still surprised with what I got because I circled so many different items and I was able to meet the 3 guest minimum requirement for the party I also gave a catalog to my sister & my mother so they could order things too. With the holidays right around the corner, if you're family participates in gift-giving for Christmas you could have a party and invite family members to order something for you. Just circle different ideas in each catalog so nobody doubles-up on something and then they all have different ideas to select from, in different price ranges.

I don't know how many years they have done this, but for at least as long as I've been entering the contest (three years) HBS sent those who entered the contest one of the kits for the next year's contest for free.

I received the kit (free) because I entered last year's contest. It sat here in it's box until the end of last month because I just had no motivation for it. I finally got started on the house with Kelly's (rodentraiser on the forum) help and now that I see it as something I want for my collection , I've finally found my motivation for working on it. I'll be entering it into the contest but I don't have any delusions about winning anything :wub: But that's okay - to end up with a little house that I like well enough to keep in my collection of houses is more than enough for me.

My guess is that a big hug, a heartfelt "thank you" and seeing the look of happiness on your faces when you enjoy your new floor & windows is all the thanks she will need or even wants.

Definitely Molly, the Ratcatcher and the Colonel. Now if you ever made Santa Claus, that would be my first choice

Beautiful dollhouse. I'd love to have one in 1/12 scale!

I use DAS air drying clay and while I have a few clay tools now (purchased fairly cheaply at Michael's with a coupon), when I built my Adams & did the stonework on the exterior, the only tools I had to start with was an old rolling pin, a paint brush, a dried out ink pen and a cut-up credit card. Those four things got the job done. :welcome:

Hi Sydney, No, a string of Christmas lights would not count as one bulb. Each bulb in a string of Christmas lights count individually towards your bulb total. So if one string of Christmas lights has 12 bulbs, then you would count the 12 (and not *1* for the whole string). Likewise, if you use a fancy ceiling light that has 3 bulbs, you would need to count each bulb individually in that light. When you are looking at bulb/light allowance for each transformer or lighting kit - count all the bulbs in your lights individually.

A victorian rowhouse would be great! And if the Beacon Hill were to come out in laser cut I'd break out the ole' credit card without hesitation! Probably my favorite by far though would be a house - with various additions that could be purchased to add to it to make a big house!

I love the Christmas themed roombox idea! I'm rather partial to Christmas decor anyhow, and I know I'm not unique in that. I would think many people would buy a raffle ticket for this one. A library room could be made rather inexpensively - by using strip wood for the shelving and making books out of wood scraps or poster board covered with printie book jackets. A sunroom with perhaps a chair & side table & lots of plants/flowers. The plants & flowers could be made from clay or paper or by using bits & pieces of rl artificial plants. A recent trip to the craft store netted me a few small artificial plants that will provide me with enough material for dozens of mini plants and they were fairly inexpensive.

I don't know whether or not Aileen's Tacky Glue is considered a permanent adhesive, but a house I put together using this glue 16+ years ago is still in one piece, despite having spent a few years in a garage that was not insulated very well and after it's years of isolation in the garage it was gifted to a preschooler. The preschooler is now a teen and she still has the house and while the house certainly looks it's age, the only original pieces no longer on the house are some of the trim pieces and a few shingles.

That's it in a nutshell. That and personal preference. Some glues are good multi-purpose glues & will take care of a lot of your gluing needs, but there are some mini projects that will need a particular type of glue. What is it you are wanting to glue? My general purpose glue of choice is Aileen's Tacky Glue - it can be found in craft stores, Walmart, etc. I use it for gluing my house kits together & have never had a problem with the houses staying together. I also use it for putting together flooring using the skinny sticks / craft sticks. I use it for attaching shingles, gluing together H.O.M kits, and DIY landscaping for my houses. And I use it for gluing DAS clay to my house exteriors. For wallpapering I use YES glue. And for putting together plastic mini kits I use superglue.

Actually Bre, I think it's my "oooppps!" Kelly & I work on our minis together most Monday's and the photo's she posted are of the work she did on her shop, with the stucco paper on the exterior. When I replied to the thread with the "not Kelly" I just meant that although I wasn't Kelly, I was popping in to answer for her because I'd worked with the same paper several times. Sorry for any misunderstanding! That's what I get for trying to hurrry and post something on my break! lol! If your Walmart doesn't have it, also try checking at Home Depot and Lowes because I've purchased other patterned paintable wallpaper there too.

Not Kelly, and I don't recall what she applied the paper with - but I think it was tacky glue. Hopefully she'll hop back on this thread & confirm if it was. I've used this paper many many times in my dollhouses. I use it alot for ceilings & walls where I want the stucco look. I bought the roll a year or so ago at Walmart back in their house paint aisle - it's a big roll of textured paintable wallpaper and was pretty cheap, especially considering how big the roll is. One roll would be more than enough to cover the Thornhill - both inside & out! If I remember correctly it was $7 - $9 for the roll. They had a few different ones but this one looked the most realistic for minis. I applied the paper with plain old YES glue. I always paint the wallpaper before gluing it onto the dollhouse walls. The very first time I used this wallpaper, I glued it onto the ceilings of my Newport prior to painting the paper. When I painted the paper (a few days after gluing it onto the dollhouse) it (the paper) bubbled up & looked just awful. I had to pull it all out and redo it. So from then on I paint it first, then glue it on.

I've used dh wallpaper, scrapbook paper, real life wallpaper that has really small print and real life paintable wallpaper that I customize the color with my own paints. All work equally well. The scrapbook paper- I've sealed it with krylon clear sealer spray before using it. Not sure if that's even necessary, but it works for me.

I use the skinny sticks for my floors too - they are cheap, easy to work with and produce great looking floors! I don't have many tools for wood working but with skinny sticks all I need is a pair of scissors :lol: . I get mine at Michael's craft store, Walmart and sometimes the dollar store. The ones I've found at Walmart are sold in the craft section and come in a bag - I can't recall now how many are in the bag - a couple hundred I think. They are very cheap. Once in a while I find them at the dollar store - those are of a lesser quality, some of the sticks are crooked and the sticks are thinner (but that makes them easier to cut with the scissors) but those come 500 to a bag and I actually prefer these. They look like the wooden coffee stir sticks that can be found in some coffee shops. Not the greatest picture, but the floor in my teddy bear shop was done with skinny sticks: Edited to add: I make a cardstock template of my floor and then glue the skinny sticks to the cardstock template. I use tacky glue to glue the sticks down and in between sessions of gluing, I lay a piece of wax paper over the partially completed floor & put heavy books on top - so the flooring doesn't warp while the glue dries. Once the floor is completed I sand & stain the floor - and I usually sand & stain a few times until I get it exactly the way I want it. Once it's all done & dry the template slides right into the room.

I'm going to hop over there sometime before Friday night & get the building components I need for the Lisa's Cottage contest kit.

I agree with everyone else, contact an attorney who deals with landlord/tenant issues or perhaps see if the Landlord and Tenant Board can help you or refer you to an attorney. It sounds like all that may be needed is a sternly written letter (by the attorney) sent to both the collection agency and the rental company requesting documentation of the charges they are demanding - and if they cannot or will not provide the requested documentation, then to cease & desist all collection procedures and to clear your rental record with that company. I don't have any knowledge of the landlord/tenant laws for Canada, but I would think that if they can't provide documentation to back up their charges and if they don't have a judgement from a court of law, then they wouldn't have much legal standing. I hope it all works out for you!!!

Those turned out great!!! The teapot is absolutely adorable!

Linda I am very sorry for the loss of your dear friend. I did not know Debra on a personal level, but I did admire her work and contribution to our Greenleaf family. Her passing is a great loss to the miniature community and we are all little sadder for it...

I refuse to answer that question on the grounds that it might incriminate me! :thumb:

I was 5'2" from the time I was 15 until I had my first son. At my first appointment with the OB during my pregnancy I was 5'2". At my six week checkup after having my son I was 5'3". Stayed at 5'3" for the next three years. Got pregnant with my second son and I was 5'3" at my first dr. appointment. After having my son I was 5'4". I've stayed at 5'4" for the last 23+ years. Don't know what it was about being pregnant that made me grow in height but I always figured if I could've just had a few more kids, I could've been taller! At 5'4" I'm the tallest woman in my family - on both my mother & father's side of the family. The rest of them average 5'1" or 5'2".

I wish we had an A.C. Moore around here. I'd pick up an Apple Blossom for my granddaughter in a heartbeat!