Hi all, I'm pretty new to putzing and I'm so jealous of all your cute little people. I'm finding it difficult to locate little santas. I have a couple (including an african american santa) from dollar tree. But they're paint jobs are very poor. And I found a tiny little Mr. & Mrs. Claus at a cake decorating shop. I've also looked around eBay and it's very hard to find santas that are the right size. Is this just something that you happen to come across over the years, or is there a reliable resource.
Thanks,
Shannon

I find my little people just about wherever I can and have had some great luck at tag sales. You are right about the paint jobs on some of the dollar items being so poor--occasionally I will actually strip off the paint and re-do them if I like a piece well enough but here's the kicker--instead of using a paintbrush which requires a very steady hand, I'll find ultra fine tip markers and use them instead--they give you a lot more control.

Check out this site--which has "push molds" for making figurines--go to the Christmas category
http://www.madaboutmolds.com/index.htm

one inch gnomes!
http://www.meyer-imports.com/product_in ... ts_id=2914

There is someone in our crowd who has a mold for the little santa figures made directly from an original and who may be willing to sell you a finished santa or two. I will contact him offline and ask about it.

As mentioned, I sometimes find that cupcake picks can be a great source of miniature figures and accessories
For putz scenes: small figures
--miniature leprechauns http://www.artfire.com/ext/shop/product ... ue/2834357
--Skiers http://www.artfire.com/ext/shop/product ... t_supplies
--Mushrooms and holly picks http://www.artfire.com/ext/shop/product ... t_supplies
--Tiny evergreens http://www.artfire.com/ext/shop/product ... t_supplies
--Snow white and the 7 dwarfs http://www.artfire.com/ext/shop/product ... t_supplies
--Bat picks http://www.artfire.com/ext/shop/product ... t_supplies

Well I have played around with molding various figures used on the houses and have a few molds. The molds are plaster and some have badly deteriorated. Often I would model the figure from wax and then cast the mold in plaster. Once I took an original figure and put some of the "Sculpty" brand clay and set it in the oven. I have also used that rubber often is automotive for gasket sealing. It is a real raw rubber type and not easy to use. For the new figure I use Durham's Rock Hard Putty as it is a bit harder than plaster and tan in color. For small wires that were inside these items I use a thin Christmas ornament hook and set them in while the putty is still not set. Two of my more interesting molds are a door that I used a rubber compound and took it from an original press mold door (and yes the original had a wire in it but it isn't really needed) Also a stoop mold taken from a pottery stoop. These last two are likely quite rare items. Tom Hull