This Month's Tips & Hints
SOAP BUBBLES:
Go to the plumbing dept at your local Wal-Mart (or discount store), and get a small tube of white silicone (get the kind that NOT paintable). Use a toothpick to apply it where you want it, be stingy, do a little bit at a time and stir it up on the surface so it's lumpy. To make it look even more realistic, try embedding a few different sizes of irridescent beads into the silicone for bubbles or sprinkle some ultra-fine crystal glitter on the silicone while it's still wet.
PLANTS:
Put some fabric softener and some broken up Spanish Moss into a bag and close. Squish the two together real well, then take it out and shape it into any form that you want. You can try a topiary wreath, little garden animals, nice hedges. Try your imagination.
FOOTWARE:
The perfect size soles!! Those little nose foams from glasses are the perfect size for shoes or slipper soles. Add a little leather, canvas, or turn them into thongs.
MINI BOTTLES:
If you look at some of your light bulbs, you might find a surprise....little bottles in the base. To get the bottle out of the base of the lightbulb, take tin snips and cut around and around the metal base until the bottle falls out hanging by two wires. Then just cut the wires as close to the 'bottle' as you can. Trim the jagged base with tiny sharp scissors like cuticle scissors. Be careful to do this inside a paper bag, as the pieces fly all over and be careful not to cut into the bottle sides and break it.
ACCESSORIES:
Always look through those little packets of detailing itmes in your local model shop...
There is a 1:24 (1/2")scale set called "Interior Junk" that contains sunglasses, cd & box, cassette tape, coins, McDonalds fries, and other misc items...
The kit of German Seat belts & rudder petals for 1:72 scale WWll German Aircraft contains seat belts that look just like wristwatches...
Also, try using the metal rails from steam engines to make drawer pulls for kitchen cabinets (cut them up between each section)
FISH PONDS:
Use E Water for a pond project. You cannot let this stuff get too hot (works better if it's allowed to melt slowly). Paint your pond, fish, and whatever first. Glue them down and let dry overnight. Pour in your water and have a toothpick ready to get the bubbles out. If you pour it about 1/2" deep, you should have plenty of time to get rid of all the bubbles. To get a rippled effect in your water, try giving it a little nudge or jiggle as its setting up. WARNING: THE STUFF BURNS WORSE THAN HOT GLUE - KEEP PLENTY OF COLD WATER AROUND.