Dollhouse Miniature Statue

Watch the video here.

Remember the Christmas light bulbs I showed you last week on Trash to Treasure Thursday? Well, after I got that one all filmed, photographed and the video done I went to clean up my worktable so I could go on to another project. As I was picking up the little plastic ends that I had removed from those light bulbs it occurred to me that they really could become something too. The first thing that popped into my head was that they looked a bit “art decoish” and would make cute little statues to sit on a shelf. They are the perfect size for that too. I bet if you think about it and really look at them you can come up with something else to make with them. If you do be sure to post a photo on the Facebook page or email me a copy. I would love to see what you do with them.

To make my little statue all I did was to use some Brushed Metal spray paint from Krylon in the color Satin Nickel. I think that you could also use a brush on craft paint to color these too. Especially if you either use one of the ones meant for plastic or give them an under-coat of Mod Podge. You can make yours any color too. I bet these would look awesome in a high gloss black finish. I chose the color I did because I needed it for another project that I painted at the same time. Since I had the paint can out and was already using it I figured I might as well do this little piece too.

So what do you see when you look at that little plastic piece???? I want to know your ideas.

Dollhouse Miniature Pizza

Watch the video here.

This week I decided to take on the task of making both dollhouse scale and 18” doll scale pizzas with videos. It was interesting moving back and forth to make the videos. Hopefully it worked out okay and I got everything in both videos.

If you want to see the 18” doll pizza that video is here.

Since I am trying to stay really simple on the 18” doll blog projects and I wanted to try doing both at the same time I simplified this scale a bit too. I think that will help those that are just beginning to do clay since I especially tried to limit the number of colors of clay I used. The entire project only uses 3 colors of Fimo brand polymer clay!

You will need the pizza pan from the Trash to Treasure project a couple of weeks ago. Remember that is the end of a crescent roll package.

For clay you will need Fimo in the following colors:

Sahara

Translucent Yellow

Light Flesh

You will also need: something to roll out your clay, a work surface, a baking surface, artist chalk in: ochre, reddish brown and dark brown, a brush to apply the chalk, a craft knife, a clay knife, a brass brush and an eyeshadow brush, Tomato Spice Acrylic paint, lemon yellow and white shiny Scribbles paints. (I'm really hoping I didn't miss anything I that list)

Basically you are going to fill the bottom of your pizza pan with the clay, brush it with the chalks to “bake it” make the toppings and brush them with the same chalks to make them looked “baked”. Then you will bake off all your clay pieces, add the tomato sauce paint and allow it to dry. Add the “cheese” paint and use it to glue on your toppings.

You can make any toppings you want. I chose these because they are among the easiest to replicate with the polymer clay. If I get enough interest I might show you other pizzas in future videos. 

 

Dollhouse Miniature Bottles

Watch the video here.

First let me apologize if my voice sounds a bit raspy this week. There is a wildfire about 15 miles from us and the smoke is really bad (has been all week) Don't worry unless there is a dramatic change in the wind direction we are very safe just very smokey.

Now for today's project. We are making some bottles out of Christmas light bulbs. I have had this project on my list since the beginning of the Trash to Treasure series and never remembered to do them when you could actually get the bulbs so you could make some. This year I actually put the sack containing the non-functional string of lights that I saved a couple of years ago right where I have to work around it. I figured that was the only way I wold remember to do the video. Now I can put the bag away, hopefully next time I want some bulbs to craft with I will be able to find it again.

So this is another of those projects that is so easy and you can use it in so many places. Just please be very careful since these bulbs are glass and rather thin glass. They will break easily and they will cut your fingers so BE CAREFUL!!! They are worth the effort though because they do make really cute bottles.

Use a pair of needle nose pliers to pull out the ends of the wires.

You can easily make labels, use thin paper- like regular printer paper or for designs I love origami paper. Cut the label in any shape you like and glue it on the bottle. You can even draw a design either by hand or on the computer for whatever you want in your bottles.

Use whatever glue you have that will stick the paper to the glass.

You will have to glue your bottles in place if you want them to stand since the bottoms are just a bit round. I found the Amazing Goop type glues (one part epoxies) work the best but I think your hot glue gun would also work.

So what kind of things do your dolls have in their bottles?? Potions? Wine? Oils? ????? You tell me what yours are holding.

Dollhouse Miniature Pizza Pan

Watch the video here.

This week's Trash to Treasure couldn't be any easier, you just need to go the grocery store and buy some of those canned biscuit things. I picked up a can of crescent rolls this last week and these make the perfect pizza pan.

The hardest part of this project for me at least is remembering to not throw the ends of the can away. LOL This time I actually wrote myself a note and taped it to the package.

I have the best luck using small nosed jewelry pliers to pull the cardboard out of the ridge at the edge of the disk. I pull as much out as I can then I soak the lid for a while, let it dry and then pull more. I just keep repeating this until it all comes out. It seems like it would work to use something sharp to force it out but I always manage to hurt myself doing it this way and it takes longer.

If you want to make Barbie a pizza pan try using the ends from the larger cans that hold the cinnamon rolls, large biscuits or the pizza dough.

We will make a pizza using this pan in the near future so watch the channel/blog for that.

Dollhouse Miniature Peanut Butter Cookies

Watch the video here.

This week we are going to make a really simple polymer clay project. I get a lot of requests for simple projects and thought this one would be a fun one for both beginners and those that have worked with clay before.

One of the beauties of this project is that you only need one color of clay, a light beige. I used Premo Ecru this time but I have also used Fimo Sahara in the past. The Ecru is just a tad bight darker in color and I prefer it for cookies but either one is great. If you can't get either of these colors just pick a light beige color, I am sure every brand of polymer clay has a color (or multiple colors) that will work.

You will need a few tools and supplies but if you put your mind to it you can probably round up most of them around the house.

You will need a work surface. I most often work on a ceramic tile from Home Depot but you don't have to use one if you don't have one. Use any smooth clean surface. You can even work on a sheet of clean white paper. Don't work directly on a wood table though because polymer clay can mar the finish on many woods and don't use a plastic surface for the same reason.

Next you will need a pointy tool of some kind. I love to use a dental pick from the dollar store but you can use a sewing pin, a safety pin, a thin toothpick, a piece of wire, really whatever you have. This is a simple beginner project so I want you to use the things you have so you don't feel you have to spend a ton of money on tools and supplies.

To texture your cookies you will need either some sandpaper or an emery board. Both of these items are probably going to be somewhere around the house already.

To bake on I prefer to use a paper plate which I have talked about many times. They are perfectly safe to place on the rack in your oven remember the clay will actually burn at a lower temperature than the paper will.

To give your cookies a baked look I use some inexpensive chalk (soft) pastels. These are easy to find almost every where that sells craft supplies. You can also use matte finish eye shadow as a fine replacement. The three colors you will need are a golden yellow (ochre) a medium reddish brown and a dark brown.

To apply this color I use an eyeshadow brush from the dollar store. If you don't have one of these feel free to use a paint brush or a cotton swab. I have even used my fingers to apply the chalk on some projects but that would be difficult on these cookies because they are sooooo tiny.

And that is really all there is to it. After you bake the cookies, following the directions on your clay simply place them on the serving plate of your choice. Gluing them is a good idea if you want them to stay put. I like Beacon's 527 glue for this job.

See how easy that was! You just made your first polymer clay project and it was really easy.

If you would like to see more beginner level polymer clay projects let me know and I can do more of them.