Here is a hint that we picked up that I think is worthy of passing along. 
A quick and easy way to get wood flooring is simply to stain
what already exists and then cover with a clear coat of shellac or varnish.

    Spring type clothespins make handy clamps
for holding small pieces when gluing.

    Pierced earring backs make terrific salt and pepper shakers.

    Check buttons.  Especially those in sale bins. 
We have found some that can be used for bedside lamp shades,
others for bathroom fixtures along side of mirrors,
and others for serving dishes.

    Cameos found in many craft departments make lovely wall sculptures.

In the brass department of large pottery stores we found several miniatures, including a chair and an old-fashioned wash stand.

    We glue our wall-to-wall carpeting with a thin layer of white glue. 
We squeeze a squiggle over the surface
and spread an even coat with our fingers.   

    Ruffled trims make simple valances. 
Four inch ruffled lace also works for curtain panels.

    Blue saran wrap makes very believable ponds, streams, etc.

 In the cake decorating departments, we have found
gazebo's, statuary, and pillars.  These can be Flex-stoned
to look like granite or they may be painted. 
They work very well in landscape settings 

    Paint and Tex (a paint department product) makes wonderful stucco.  We have also used Flex-Stone to stucco some of our houses. 
This seems to work better on straight sided houses.

    The blister packs that furniture and other items comes in
sometimes have a large flat area of clear plastic
that covers the packaged item. 
These can be cut to size for glass in picture frames or cabinet fronts. 

    Cut a large birthday candles in half, insert it into a  pony bead,
glue to a small woodsie, add dried flowers and greenery
and you have a chunky candle centerpiece.

    Bath towels and wash cloths can be made from thin new wash cloths. Simply pink the edges.

    We periodically check the miss matched paints in the paint departments.   We like semi-gloss interior paint for the
exterior and interior of our houses.  
We find it covers beautifully and dries to a nice luster. 
We have found many colors we can use and they are always discounted.

    Magazines can be made by taking several strips of catalog pages,
sew them with the sewing machine (down the center) fold on sewn line.  Download magazine covers and much more from Jim Collins
home page http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Meadows/1832   
Glue covers to outside of sewn strip.  Trim to cover size.

    Clear contact paper can be used to give stability to posters,
calendars and in my case hairstyles for my beauty shop.

    Toy stores are a great source of dog and cat figures. 
We picked up some at our local toy store. 
There were about 5 dogs in a blister pack for $2.99.

    Glasses are made by simply cutting a straw to size. 
They can be clear or patterned.  

    The tops of glue bottles, fray check bottles and other little types also make perfect little glasses for a bathroom sink.

    We know many of you use the wallpaper sample books, as do we.  
Did you ever use the heavy vinyl looks for bathroom
and kitchen floor coverings? Works great.

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