Dollhouse Miniature Toast Toppings pt 1

 

Watch the video here.

This week we are going to top some of the slices of toast we made last week. I am making a list of more ideas so remember to let me know if there are special toast toppings you would like to see,

I did end up just doing a few of the toppings I had planned, I have not been feeling well this last week so I just didn’t get as much done as I wanted to. I also didn’t get out to the craft store to pick up a couple of items that I wanted to use this week.

So let’s start with peanut butter and chocolate=hazelnut spread. Both of these are made the same way, just the clays used differ.

For the peanut butter, I used a combination of the 2 parts Fimo Yellow Ocher, 2 parts Sculpey III Hazelnut, and 1 part Fimo Gold Yellow. After combining these colors really well I mixed in enough liquid Sculpey (white) to make it spreadable. This color was a guess since when I went to my cupboard to get my jar of peanut butter it was gone. You won’t need the exact colors to mix use the clay colors you have and use my formula as a guide. It will help a lot if you have some peanut butter on hand too.

For the Chocolate-hazel nut spread (Nutella) I just used Fimo Chocolate mixed with the liquid clay.

Just spread the clay mixtures on the toast slices like you would clay frosting on a cake. You can add detail to the top however you like.

Next I did some very simple jam/jelly. For this I really wanted to have some liquid Kato clay but since I hadn’t gotten to the store I just used the same liquid clay for this also. Simply mix the liquid clay with a tiny bit of oil paint the color you want the spread to be.

Once you have topped the slices you wish to top bake them at the recommended temperature for 10 minutes and allow to cool.

I did add a tiny bit of Mod Podge to just the toppings once they cooled. For the peanut butter and chocolate one I used Mat Mod Podge. For the jam/jelly I used Satin. This step is optional but it does give a more finished appearance to the toppings.

 

 

I hope you enjoyed the tutorial be sure to let me know what you want to see in future tutorials.

As always I do want to sincerely thank all of you for watching my videos and reading my blog posts. It means so much to me that you are supporting me in this way. If I could ask you all to do just a bit more by subscribing to the channel and liking the videos and leaving comments. Those help more than you can imagine. Also if you could pass the links on to your friends I would appreciate it so much.

Dollhouse Miniature Sailboat Makeover

 

Watch the video here.

This week I actually had a lot of trouble coming up with an idea of what to do for today’s tutorial. Every idea I came up with just didn’t seem like the right one. Then I remembered I had a bowl of items from Blind Bags that I wanted to do makeovers on. I decided to go through and pick something for this week. As soon as I saw the little sailboat I knew that was what I wanted to tackle for today.

I did hop online to look for some inspiration pictures and I came up with two solid ideas of what I wanted to do. The big problem, I only have one of these sailboats. So I decided to paint it like it is a model someone built and create a diorama base for ti. So that it looks like it is out on the water sailing. I did decide to keep the painting of the boat very simple. First because for this project I wanted the base to be my focus. And just as importantly I had a heck of a time getting both paint and glue to dry this week. I guess with the change in the weather going much wetter and cooler my paints and glues were affected much more that I expected. I do need to allow more drying time for the next few months I guess.

So before we go on, I thought I would mention what my other idea was. I had thought it would be fun to do a painting technique that made the sailboat look like it was carved from wood. If enough people are interested in that ti might see if I can find some kind of small plastic item to do that on in a future tutorial.

So back to today’s project.

 

I dug through my stash of wooden shapes and found a wooden board that if I remember correctly were just called signs on the packaging. The ones I have on hand have been painted at some time in the past, probably leftover from another tutorial on the channel years ago.

Since I wanted to paint the plastic sailboat I started by cleaning it off with some Isopropyl alcohol on a cotton ball. This removes any dirt and/or grease/oils that might be on the surface. Allow this to dry.

 

I then painted the entire boat with a couple of coats of white craft-paint and allowed to dry. (this is the step that took forever….)

 

 

 

 

 

Once dry I painted just the hull of the boat with some gray paint. And allowed to dry.

 

 

 

Then I glued it to the base. I purposely set the boat at an angel and off center on the surface of the board. I used some super glue (CA glue) not a product I really enjoy using but since I am trying to avoid glues that smell bad right now (headaches) and I was at this point way behind schedule it seemed the best option.

Once the glue is set up I used some paint-able caulk to the surface of what will be the water the boat is sailing in. I used just a tiny bit on a toothpick and applied it around just the very front of the boat and then behind it to look like the disturbance the boat would cause in the water. The tube of caulk I have says it can be painted in 2 hours so that was how long I let it set up before moving on.

 

For the first coat of paint on our “water” I used a bright blue craft paint. Try to avoid the peaks of the texture you added in the last step so it looks more realistic. Allow to dry.

 

 

 

 

Next I came in with a few more colors of craft paint in different watery looking colors, mostly blues with a blueish green added in. these were added sparingly on the surface of the “water”.

 

 

 

 

Once the water was finished I added a base coat of golden n yellow paint the edge of the base and allowed to dry.

 

 

 

 

 

I finished up the base painting with a coat of gold metallic paint over the golden yellow and again allow it to dry.

 

 

All that was needed now was a coat of Satin Mod Podge to give our sailboat diorama a finished look.

As always I do want to sincerely thank all of you for watching my videos and reading my blog posts. It means so much to me that you are supporting me in this way. If I could ask you all to do just a bit more by subscribing to the channel and liking the videos and leaving comments. Those help more than you can imagine. Also if you could pass the links on to your friends I would appreciate it so much.

Dollhouse Miniature Scarecrow Cookie Jar

 

Watch the video here.

We start the cookie jar like pretty much all the others we have made, with a card-stock core or base. This is made from a strip of white card-stock that is ¾” by 4” and is rolled around a Sharpie type marker and glued to form a tube. This allows us to have a sturdy base to build our cookie jar on and it also gives the inside of the cookie jar a nice finished appearance.

I do highly recommend using a thick tacky glue for this step and then allowing the glue to dry really well (overnight is probably best) This way the glue will not let go in the oven. At least that is what has worked best for me on these. The only time this method didn’t work for me was when I tried to rush and didn’t give the glue enough time to dry completely.

Once the glue on the card-stock base has dried we need to add a very thin layer of white polymer clay. This will give us a nice base to build our cookie jar on. For this I used Liquid Sculpey in White.

Once you have the outside of the base covered including a bottom added bake for 10 minutes at the temperature recommended on your clay. We also need to make a small disk of clay that will fit inside the top of the cookie jar to form the lid on. Bake your pieces for 10 minutes and allow to cool to room temperature before moving to the next step.

Now onto making our cookie jar look like a scarecrow. I decided to keep this one pretty simple. For the color of the jar part of the cookie jar I am using Fimo Soft in Sahara. This is a light beige color clay you can use any similar color. Roll it thin and cut a strip to cover the jar. Use some more of the liquid clay to attach this layer to our already baked layer. Do keep the layer thin so the cookie jar stays a nice shape. Trim the beige clay to make a nice neat covering. Once you are happy with this layer you can add some details to the bottom edge to make it look more like gathered fabric. You can use any tool to this even a toothpick would do nicely. Once you are happy with it bake for 10 minutes and allow to cool.

Now we can begin working on the lid/hat for this I am using some Sculpey III in Hazelnut. I rolled I out using my craft-sticks to get a nice even layer. I then cut a circle with my 1 ¼” round clay cutter. This will form the brim of the hat. 

 

I want the hat brim to come down a bit over the top of the cookie jar so that is why I am cutting it this size. Use some more of the liquid clay to attach the round disk of clay we made earlier. Work with the edges of the brim to give it a nice shape and then bake if for 10 minutes. Allow to cool.

 

 

Now for the rest of the hat. I used more of the same clay and formed a cone shape. This was then added to the top of the brim with more liquid clay. It was then worked with until it covered the brim and looked like a hat. You could texture the hat at this point if you wish. The hat will need to bake for about 20 minutes.

For the face I decided to use my liquid clay with oil paint for painting the features. You could use craft paint if you wish. I feel with the liquid clay makes the lines I painted stand out a bit and just give a nicer look.

I mixed small dots of the liquid clay with oil paints to create black (using lamp black), white (using titanium white), and orange (using Vermilion red mixed with lemon yellow). 

 

 

 

 

 

I then used both a small dotting tool and a toothpick to paint on the features.

I did stop before adding the eyelashes and baked the face for 10 minutes to cure it.

 

 

Then I could paint on the lashes with out smearing the parts I had already painted. Bake3 for 10 minutes one final time when you are finished with the paint.

 

Now a thin coat of Satin Mod Podge will give the cookie jar a nice subtle shine and make him look finished.

As always I do want to sincerely thank all of you for watching my videos and reading my blog posts. It means so much to me that you are supporting me in this way. If I could ask you all to do just a bit more by subscribing to the channel and liking the videos and leaving comments. Those help more than you can imagine. Also if you could pass the links on to your friends I would appreciate it so much.

Dollhouse Miniature Toast

 

Watch the video here.

This week I decided to show you how to make some slices of toast for the dollhouse dolls. When I started filming I had planned to also show at least a couple of variations of toppings to go on the toast but life got in the way. So next week we will be adding some fun topped toast options like maybe avocado toast and peanut butter toast. If you have any request be sure to let me know. I will try to get some of the requests in the video next week but the rest will go onto a list and we will do those later.

To begin you will need a loaf of polymer clay bread that has not been baked off. I made some pretty much the same way as I did in this tutorial from a while back. The beauty of making the loaf is you can leave it unbaked and slice off of it for a very long time. Just wrap it in clay something that is clay friendly and protect it from getting smashed.

 

 

Once you have the loaf formed slice off as many slices as you want to make toast from. Since I made my loaves just for this I did freeze the clay loaf for 15 minutes to make slicing easier. That way the loaf kept its shape.

Now we get to texture the cut surface of the slices. Since I am going to texture both sides I like to work on a piece of coarse grit sandpaper. This way I don’t loose the texture of the first side while texturing the second side. You might even find that the texture from the sandpaper is enough to match the type of bread you are reproducing.

Once you are happy with the texture it is time to color the toast. It does help to have a slice of toast in front of you for reference. Since my real toaster never toasts evenly I had a lot of variation in levels of toasting in my one slice to use for color reference. For the most part I used the same color of chalk that I always use for baked goods to color the toast. (yellow ocher, reddish brown, and dark brown) I did add some orange-yellow also and on one slice I added just a tiny touch of black. Have fun with the coloring step toast comes in all shades. Here is a link to to my Polymer Clay 101 playlist if you need more information on working with the chalks or clay.

Once you are happy with the color of your toast slices bake them at the recommended temperature for your clay for 10 minutes.

Now they are ready to add to your scene as is or to top and then add. If you want the slices cut I prefer to do that when they are still warm from the oven either now of after any toppings are baked. You can always heat the slices up in the oven again to slice them in the future if needed.

I did want to add this cute photo of one of the slices of mini toast with the toaster we made a while back sitting on top of the real slice I toast I had for reference.

As always I do want to sincerely thank all of you for watching my videos and reading my blog posts. It means so much to me that you are supporting me in this way. If I could ask you all to do just a bit more by subscribing to the channel and liking the videos and leaving comments. Those help more than you can imagine. Also if you could pass the links on to your friends I would appreciate it so much.

Dollhouse Miniature Scarecrow Flag

 

Watch the video here.

Like always we are starting with a strip of plain white, 100% cotton fabric. I use bleached muslin for my flags, you should be able to find this fabric in any fabric store/department especially if they carry any fabrics geared to quilters. For our flag we need a strip that measures 1” by 3”.

The other item we will need to begin is some paper backed fusible web. This is basically a fabric glue that is heat activated and comes on a sheet of paper making it very easy to use. I prefer the Heat 'N Bond brand. There are other brands in stores and you can use whatever brand you can find. I do recommend you pick one that is designed to hold without sewing. Mine is labeled “Ultra-Hold” this way you won't need to worry about your flag coming apart later. You will need a 1” square of the paper-backed fusible web.

Follow the directions on your fusible web product to form your flag.

Now that we have a blank flag we can begin making it fit this month’s theme. I wanted a nice bright blue background like a couple of the scarecrow flags I saw online. However, I did not want to have to cover the blue color with my light face color paint. So I found my circle template and made a ¾” circle on the flag where I wanted the face to be. You will want to do this on both sides of the flag and do your best to line them up. 

 

 

By drawing this circle I can leave the area inside it plain and paint the bright blue right up to the edge all the way around. I don’t mind if the blue affects the colors of the other elements of the flag design.

 

 

 

 

 

Once the blue paint dries on both sides of the flag, use a creamy color to paint the face area. And allow to dry.

 

 

 

 

For the impression of the scarecrow’s shirt just paint a rounded shape with the color of your choice. I used a dark winey red. Be careful that you are painting this at the correct end of the flag (the sealed edge not the pocket edge)

 

 

 

For the hat I just paint a triangle shape on the top of his head.

 

 

 

 

Now we can start to add the details to the face. I used my white paint pen to make eyes, I will add to this in the next step. Some orange to make a small triangle nose, and finally some bright red to create a collar on his shirt. All to dry. I also added a small red flower to his hat.

Now with some black paint place a dot in the white dot for his eyes. I used my paint pen for this step. Then with a toothpick (or a very fine brush) add some black lines for the eyelashes and mouth. Then with some yellow paint  a dot to the middle of the flower.

 

With a darker yellow add some hay around the areas where the face meets the hat and shirt. I did find that my toothpick was much better for this step than a brush.

 

And with that our flag is ready to hang for fall.

As always I do want to sincerely thank all of you for watching my videos and reading my blog posts. It means so much to me that you are supporting me in this way. If I could ask you all to do just a bit more by subscribing to the channel and liking the videos and leaving comments. Those help more than you can imagine. Also if you could pass the links on to your friends I would appreciate it so much.

Dollhouse Miniature Standing Turkey

 

Watch the video here.

This week we are making a fun standing turkey for Thanksgiving. This is another project that I have created a pattern for you to use in two ways. I have a PDF for you to download and hand cut the pieces from. I also have a PNG that can be used with your electric cutting machine (like a Cricut) the PNG is designed to be used as a 6” by 6” file. Both can be downloaded here.

I highly recommend cutting the pattern from white medium weight card-stock, the kind you find in any craft store for card making.

Once you have your pieces cut out it is time to glue them together in sets of 3. by this I mean each set is made of 3 layers. I use a nice thick tacky glue for this step. Allow the glue to dry.

Now we can paint the pieces. This is where you can get creative and make the turkey yours. I chose muted fall colors but go with your heart. You will also need a strip of the same card stock that is 1/8” wide and two toothpicks. Paint those as desired too.

Now we can assemble the turkey. This will take several steps and I like to let the glue dry well in between the steps so that the pieces stay where I want them,

 

First glue the feathers to the body oval on the back. Start with the largest single feather in the middle and work down in size as you move out.

 

 

 

 

Next we glue the body front to the front of the oval.

 

 

 

 

 

Now add the wattle and beak to the face. You can use the pieces on the pattern or just paint these features. 

 

 

 

 

 

After the glue/paint on these dries add two small dots for eyes. Allow to dry completely.

 

 

 

Now glue the two toothpicks on for his legs. I added a small piece of the card-stock to re-enforce the joint but this is optional.

 

 

 

 

Once the glue on the legs is dry trim the legs to their final length. I cut mine so that the total height of my turkey was around 2 ½” tall.

Now glue some of the narrow strip of card stock at the ends of each leg to act as a “foot”

 

 

Once this is dry pick out a base. I found a piece of a jumbo craft-stick in my stash that I cut to just a bit longer than my turkey is wide. Finish as desired. I just used a very thick paint as a stain. Allow to dry completely.

 

Now glue your turkey to the center of your chosen base. I did have to use a glue bottle to prop mine up while the glue dried.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once the glue dries give the entire turkey a coat of Mat Mod Podge and allow to dry.

 

 

 

 

There I think the front porch is looking very festive for the fall season.

As always I do want to sincerely thank all of you for watching my videos and reading my blog posts. It means so much to me that you are supporting me in this way. If I could ask you all to do just a bit more by subscribing to the channel and liking the videos and leaving comments. Those help more than you can imagine. Also if you could pass the links on to your friends I would appreciate it so much.