Dana's Hints
Siding
Have you priced the siding needed to complete your house?? Here's what I do.. Go to your local upholstery shop and ask for "tacking strips" these are the perfect size all you'll need to do is cut the length. While your there, ask for any old "sample books" they usually throw these away, but they are the perfect size for rugs, clothing, furniture etc.. I could go on and on with ideas but this should help..
Flooring
This takes time and a bit of work but the finished product is beautiful!! At your local hardware store buy a few bags of pre-glued "Veneer Edging" approx. $5.00 you can buy cherry, mahogany, birch, oak, etc... You'll need to cut it into 2" X 5/16" strips... I use a tool that holds my Exacto knife in it. In a real house the "joists" are placed approx. 16" apart, so you need to "draw in these joists every 2". While you lay them down all you need is an iron to set the glue. Always start from the most visible/open part of the house and work inward. This way if you make a mistake it won't show.
Wall Scones
"Trinket" jewelery is back in style now.. Have you seen the "display with all the drawers" in it? This display has everything from angels to stars... Buy one of these "trinkets" and turn it into a wall sconce.. The next time you'r at the "junk store" (second hand) look for old leather gloves.. If you cut the tip of the fingers off, they make great purses..
Perfume Bottles/Lamp Shades
Buy "glass" beads at a craft store. These are sold in a tiny box for $1.69. Make sure you get a good assortment. Take seed beads and "crimping" beads (the small metal band you crimp on a necklace to hold the beads on) a good glue (I use E600)you can make beautiful perfume bottles.Jewelry findings are great! If you find beads large enough, turn them into vases. Look through your buttons and use them. I bought "mirrored" buttons and used them as glass trays to hold my "perfume". While you look for buttons, see if you can find "lamp shades" I found cupped flowers and drilled the centers out and made a lamp. My husband laughs at this one.. Next time your at a resturant, keep the little cups that hold coffee creamer. If you paint them, cover them with fabric etc.. You have a lamp shade. For ceiling texture... add sand to your paint...
Concrete Foundation
Styrofoam makes a great looking concrete foundations.. Buy a bag of styrofoam coffee cups and cut them into rectangles of 1/2 by 3/4 for "blocks". Odd shapes are nice too.
Need "real" candles??
Buy the long 7" "slender candles". Cut them to length and with the heat of your hands you can shape them. For the old fashion "just made look" cut a piece about 2" long, score it like this.. -----/----\----- both ends are going to be the candles.. grasp both ends and twist the center wax away. Roll between your fingers to form and cut approx. 4 strands of the "wick" away.
Need paint tubes and or toothpaste?
Grab some foil, cut into 1/2 strips, using a very small dowel roll these strips on the dowel.. (Q-tip's will work) Take the tube you made off and fold one end and crimp it. Fold the other end and dab into glue then attach a bead for a cap..
Lace
Go to any second hand store and look at the pillow cases with lace on them.. You can usually find beautiful hand done lace in the righ size and all you need to do is cut it off.
Flowers??
Take a piece of pipe cleaner and fold approx. 1/4" over.. attach to a piece of green florist wire and you have mums..
Thank you so much all of you who have posted messages telling me to continue... Hey Lars.. Maybe I can be the next Dear Abby of miniatures??? :) I can see it now.. Dear Dana, What can I do with this old .......
Okay.. I'll admit it.. I couldn't handle not being able to post more hints.. What did she do?? Well... she talked her poor hubby Doug (aka Einstein-- he thinks he knows it all) into loading up the computer and bringing it to the old house just so "moi" could get on-line... So down to business...
Peg-board
Ever seen the perferated paper that cross-stichers use?? If you cut it to size and glue a wood border around it you'll have a great looking peg-board... Bend some wire to create hooks...
Skeins of Yarn
If you take DMC floss and pull one strand from it, wind it around a piece of wood (approx. 1/2" wide) tie it in the middle, you can make your own skeins of yarn/thread or whatever...
Hope this gets you thinking.. Gotta pack up the computer again... Darn phone company.. I need my lines installed!!...
I guess I have to admit it! I am a "net-aholic" I went through the worst "withdrawls" not having a phone this past 1 1/2 weeks. Then if that weren't enough.. GTE (the phone company) sent out the work order to install only one of my two phone lines.. uugghhh Can't complain too much.. already we've an offer on our "old" house" and it wasn't even listed yet! Back to the Hints..... I've started a notebook full of them and resolved to only post two every other day.. That way I hope not to run out of them to fast.....
CEDAR PLANTER BOX
Take your left over cedar shingles and cut them into strips 1/8" wide.. This is hard to explain so please bear with me.. You want to "build a hanging planter" two ways to do this are.. lay two of the strips horizontally about 1/2 from each other, ie... one on the north and one on the south side, lay two more on top of those but on the west and east sides (making a square).. continue to build into a planter approx. 5-6 "strips" high.. I really hope everyone can understand this... The next way is to cut a "bottom" and two sides.. glue "strips" connecting one end to the other..
Now that I have completely confused all of you... on to the next..
FEATHER FLOWERS
At the local craft store.. buy feathers in a variety of colors, cut these to size (approx. 1/2" in length).. Take a length of floral wire, attach three of these feathers around the end with "beading wire" (or something as small) Attach again, three more feathers until you get the look you want.
You can do more, if you are interested I'd love to explain it better, just let me know. I made a beautiful arrangement for my home with larger feathers... (thank you to my three parrots for their additions)..
Yes.. I know.. I promised to post every otherday... I guess this means I have to add two more hints?
My kids, (I have three) have been driving us nuts lately. We got them back though!! We took a pair of
shoes from each of them and "glued" them to the garage floor. That had to have been the funniest thing
I'd ever seen, them trying to get on their shoes for school.. hahahaha I know.. My kids will become
phycotic, but they will have had fun!!!
On to Hint O the Day!!! Thank you everyone who has written
kind words about my hints... :)
Fire
Chrysnbon puts out a "stove" I'm sure you could do this with other brands also. Take a piece of
RED METALIC pipe cleaner and wrap it around a pencil. Once you have your stove put together, drill
a hole through the bottem left hand corner. (I can't find the kit # I used, but it's the large one)
Thread your curled pipe cleaner into the hole and follow it with a small light bulb.
A very realistic fire!
Valance
At the fabric store look for small lace (1/2 or 2" wide), If it has at the top, an area you can weave
a contrasting ribbon through it, thats even better. When you make a valance always measure your window
and then double it.. (this goes for life-size also) Run this lace through a dowel or a tiny hollow brass
rod and attatch a bead to the ends.
Necklaces
Take small sead beads and thread them to create "mini" necklaces. For rings.. use a thick type of jump
ring, take a few beads and crush them. Glue the crushed beads onto the jump ring. Earrings, thread beads
onto wire and roll the end over.
For a cheese grater...
Cut a small piece of aluminum from a pop can. Poke holes into it with a needle.
Cut a paper clip in half and wrap the aluminum around it, the aluminum can be "rounded, or flat.
A kitchen knife?
Take off the serrated "cutting edge" off the tin-foil or saran wrap box and cut to size.
You can then make a handle from Fimo or drill a tiny hole into a piece of wood..
UUGGHHH!!!! My darn ISP is the screwiest connection out there!! I'd have posted long ago were it not for them! I can't cancel quite yet though since they did give
me the next few months free.. Please bear with......... This is being posted thru
AOL (lets hope it works!)
Christmas Tinsel
Fly fishing yarn, it comes in all colors and silver/gold. Can also be used for fake fur edging on a winter coat.
Gingerbread/Star/Tree Cookies
Wilton has cake decorating sprinkles that come in all of these shapes and colors (plus more of the holidays). They can be used as is or decorated. Exactly the right size. I spray mine with flat clear to seal them. Little things could show up and eat them if you don't.
Icing
I make icing from acrylic tube paint. Cut 6" squares of icing paper, fill with paint and ice just like you would with a big one.
Calender
All you need is your check register. Cut out the months and bind them together,
either drill two small holes or use a pin, to make the holes. Thread a peice of DMC/other floss through the holes and hang. I've added nice pictures from
newspaper ad's I've found.
Pillows
If you ever come across those old "little" drawer sachets, use them as pillows.
All you need to do is re-fill them with cotton/batting.
Fringes
I had the worst time making fringe until I figured this out. Take a length of grosgrain ribbon and simply cut one edge off and unravel the rest.
Fire place logs?
The nearest pine tree will yeild many.... Cut to size..
Web Master Lars Mikkelsen
Last updated 10/28/99