Dollhouse Miniature Fall Plaid Tablecloth

 

Watch the video here.

This week for the tutorial we are making a fall plaid table cloth for the dollhouse. I started off camera by creating a table cloth the same way I did in the video you can find here. In that video I show you not only how to make the table cloth that can be draped to look realistic but I talk about how to size it to your table.

This video was supposed to go up on the channel last week and I had all but the end of it filmed when I made a huge error that ruined my table cloth that I couldn’t easily fix. I actually got to the same point twice, making the same mistake. So I decided I needed to build a way to fix that mistake into the project.

So you might be asking what was this mistake. For the plaid design I am using alcohol markers. I use these because they are a medium that won’t run if the table cloth gets wet and are not likely to come off onto other items in our miniature collections. I also find them much easier to work with than paint for adding details. Since I know that I can remove the ink with Isopropyl alcohol I figured that if I made any errors with my design they should be easy to remove. I was very wrong. In both of my first two table cloths I had placed a line in the wrong place and when I went to correct it all I did was make a huge mess. The ink soaked into the fabric so much that it just smeared instead of removing. That told me that I needed to seal the fabric. So I decided to use a coat of white paint on the fabric. Initially I was just going to do that but as I was working on the table cloth for the video I did some testing and decided that I wanted to add the extra precaution of the layer of Mod Podge to further seal the fabric. This way I was able to clean up any misplaced lines as I show later in the video.

I used my normal technique of using tape, sticky side up to hold the table cloth in place while I worked on it. Since I really wanted it to stay in place I used the widest masking tape I could find, and I did add a third strip at the top off camera. I also folded a piece of printer paper to fit under the table cloth that would stick out on the top and bottom. The paper will help my tile that I work on to stay much cleaner. You will also need to have the table cloth attached to a surface that you can rotate to do the lines like the tiles I usually work on.

 

The first step on the video is to add a coat of white paint to the table cloth surface. I used some white fabric paint simply because I have an entire bottle of that and my white craft paint is getting really low. In the end I do like the color of the paint more than the color of the fabric I had used. They are both white but the paint make a much crisper white color that I was happier with.

 

 

Now we can add that coat of Mod Podge, I used Satin in the tutorial mainly because it was on my table and I didn’t have to go find the almost empty bottle of Mat that I had just put away the day before. In my opinion the Mat would have looked better in the end but it is not a big deal the Satin looks good also. Allow the Mod Podge to dry completely.

 

 

To make the lines that form my simple plaid I used the Bic alcohol markers that I got at Walmart a few years ago. You could use any alcohol based marker. I have seen a lot of fall table cloths in real size advertised that are teal and orange and I find them so pretty so those are the colors I went with. Specifically the color names are- Hot Aqua and Sunset Orange.

Start by marking the center point of each edge on the tape/paper that is under the table cloth. 

 

 

 

Then pick which color you want to start with and make a line across the middle lined up with the marks you made. Be sure to stop and stop all the lines off the table cloth, this will prevent getting a blob of ink at the points you started and stopped. Working from the center line to the top edge make lines ½” apart. Then turn your surface the table cloth is attached to 180° and work from the center line to the opposite end of the table cloth. 

 

 

 

 

Now turn the project 90° and repeat the same steps to put lines across the table cloth. Again working from the middle to one edge, turn the project and work to the other edge.

Now you should have a table cloth with a grid of one color of lines. In my case the Aqua color.

Once the first set of lines is in place it is time to add the second color in my case the orange. To do this starting again in the center add a line ¼” away from the middle line and work to each edge just like before. This way your second color lines will be alternating with the first set forming our very simple plaid design.

Once the ink is dry which will be pretty quickly remove the table cloth from the tape and do any trimming needed.

At this point in the video I show you how to correct any mistakes and why I sealed the fabric like I did. 

 

 

 

As you can see where I sealed the fabric with both the paint and the Mod Podge it was easy to remove the ink so if I had made a mistake I wouldn’t had to start over like I did when I didn’t seal it.

 

 

Now on to putting the table cloth onto the table which I also showed in the original tutorial for the table cloth in more detail than I did on this one.

 

 

And now let’s see a few options for the table with the table cloth and various projects we’ve made on the channel in place on the table for a scene in your dollhouse or room-box.

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 Turkey Gnome

 

Watch the video here.

I have another free pattern for you to download so you make the project. You can find the file here. In the download there are 3 files: a PDF for hand-cutting of the pieces, a PNG to use with your electronic cutting machine and a text file with handy hints and tips (and the sizing information) to use the PNG.

As with most of these projects I cut all the pieces from medium weight white card-stock, the kind used to make cards and such. This is way more economical than having to purchase a bunch of colors and in my experience the paint colors are a lot more stable than the paper colors. I rarely get noticeable fading with the painted projects.

You are free to use the pattern as many times as you wish and even to sell the finished project. But, please don’t give away or sell my patterns. I spend a lot of time creating them and the only compensation I get is from people watching the videos and checking out the blog post. I really want to keep offering these for free so please if someone else wants to make one send them to the video and blog so they can get their own copy of the pattern.

 

I changed up the gnome pattern a bit this month first I gave him some arms to have at his sides instead of just the hands to hold something. Also I made the gnome himself a bit smaller since the tail was so large I felt that him being slightly smaller would be better. Don’t worry the pattern you download has the correct number of arms, I changed the file before I even started gluing so I wouldn’t forget.

For the gluing process I prefer to use a thick tacky glue since that is what I have the best luck with. Glue the pieces into the units shown in the picture remember I went over the what all the pieces were at the beginning of the video. These are the units after being glued so you can see what you should have at this point. I do like to put a flat weight on top of the pieces as they start to dry to help them remain flat. I find I have to remove it for the finial bit of drying though, just be sure the card-stock is completely dry before moving to the next step.

 

 

Once that glue is dry it is time to lay out some tape to hold the pieces still while we paint them. I do try my best to sort the pieces by the color of paint to make painting more efficient.

 

 

 

The beard is painted white with a touch of black.

 

 

 

The hat and 2 shoes are painted with black.

 

 

 

 

The wattle is painted red.

 

 

 

 

The arms and nose are painted with flesh, which I am still mixing from a pale yellow and pale pink.

 

 

 

The sleeves and body are painted a dark brown.

 

 

And finally the feather piece is painted with an orange, a yellow and the red.

 

Allow the paint to dry and do any touch-ups that are needed. Be especially careful that the edges of the pieces are covered in paint.

 

 Once the paint is dry it is time to glue the sleeves to the arms. Line them up at the tops and the sides and make you you have both a left and a right arm. Allow the glue to dry.

 

 

Once that glue dries do a quick painting of the edges of the sleeve area with the same dark brown paint and allow to dry.

 

 

Now we get to start the real assembly of our little gnome friend. Like always I started with the beard. Be sure it is centered side to side on the gnome’s body and that the tip of the beard is no lower than the bottom edge of the body piece. You could opt to place yours a bit higher on the gnome if you wish. I like to add the shoes at the same time with the straight edge of each shoe lined up with the bottom of the gnome. I like to add them now just in case the beard needs to be adjusted a tit. This glue needs to set up enough that the pieces will stay in place when we put on the next pieces.

 

Next up for gluing we need to add the hat and then the nose and the wattle to the gnome. Again I like to add the hat and nose at the same step just in case I need to adjust the hat to get the nose where I want it. This is also when we add the tiny wattle just to side of his nose. I decided to add the arms now also you can place the arms wherever they look best to you. Allow the glue to set up enough that nothing will move when we attach the tail.

 

The last piece to add to the gnome is the tail. You can put the tail as high up on the gnome as you desire. Just make sure the bottom feathers are higher than the bottom of the gnome so he will still stank up okay. Now the glue needs to dry completely before we go to the next step.

 

 

Once you are sure the glue is dry give both the front and back a coat of a clear sealer, I used Satin Mod Podge. Be sure to coat the edges of the piece with both coats to really seal the edges of the layers. Allow to dry.

 

 

 

 

Now your gnome is ready to take his place in your fall decor. I love how he turned out and he looks right at home with the fall decorations from past 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 Decorative Pumpkins

 

Watch the video here.

 

 

The very first step was to pick out the colors of polymer clay that I felt would be good for this project. I stuck mostly to what I would call fall colors. The muted oranges, yellow, muted green, brown, dark red, plum and brown. I also grabbed a bit of white and black. At this point I had no idea how many of the colors I would use I just wanted a range of colors that I could pull from.

The next thing that needs to be done is to condition the clays. This is the same thing we do anytime we work with polymer clay. If you are unfamiliar with working with polymer clay I have a Clay 101 playlist on the channel (which you can find here) that goes over a lot of the techniques of working with polymer clay.

The first pumpkin I show you how to make is a pretty generic shape, just the round typical pumpkin.

 

Start with a ball of clay about the size you want your finished pumpkin to be. This could be anywhere from ¼” to 1” or even larger.

 

Now use something like a ball tool (or the handle of a paint brush) to make a dent in the top of the pumpkin. This does a couple of things, it makes a definite place to begin the segment lines, gives us a place to later put the stem, and it helps to flatten the bottom so the pumpkin. will stay in place while we are working on it.

Now use a “pointy tool” to make the segment lines running from the dent to the bottom of the pumpkin. If you are making several pumpkins to be displayed together I think it looks better to vary the number of segments and how deep they are. That is one way to easily make each pumpkin look different.

Now take a tiny ball of the same clay and make a tiny ball then a teardrop from it for the stem. Place it in the dent in the top of the pumpkin and use a tool to help smooth the joint between the pumpkin and the stem. You can shape each stem a bit differently and add lines/texture to some.

 

Now carefully move the pumpkin to your baking surface.

 

 

The second pumpkin I show you how to make is a taller skinnier one. For this one start with a ball of clay again but after you make a ball roll it to make an oval shape.

 

 

 

Now use the dotting tool to add the dent on the top.

 

 

 

The “pointy tool” to add the segments.

 

 

And finally add the stem.

 

 

The third pumpkin I made on the video was a flatter version. For this I like to start with a smaller ball of clay since they do spread in diameter when you shape them.

Make a ball like before but this time use your fingertip to flatten the ball as much as you want for your pumpkin.

 

Now proceed with the same steps as before, add the dent.

 

 

Add the segment lines, I do like this shape to have deeper segment lines but that a personal choice.

 

Then add the stem.

 

 

The last pumpkins I made on camera was the marbled one. For the on-camera on I wanted to focus on the dark reds and the other warm colors. For the one I did for the pictures I used some of the greens along with the yellow and white. We have made marble on the channel several times before and there are many ways to get this effect. I just did a very simple process for the video to get the look I was after.

 Once you get the marble to look the way you want it to proceed exactly the same way as before. The only real difference in how I made this one was that I wanted it to be the star of the collection so I made it much bigger than the others.

 

Make a ball.

 

 

 

Add the dent in the top.

 

 

 

Add the segment lines.

 

 

And finally add the stem.

 

To bake the pumpkins use the temperature stated on your clay package. If you are using multiple brands of clay with different temperatures use the lowest temperature stated. I baked the smaller pumpkins for 20 minutes and the 2 larger ones for 45 minutes. That way I was sure everything was baked all the way through. Allow all the pumpkins to cool to room temperature before moving to the next step.

I

 really wanted to add some gold stems to a few of my pumpkins and to do that I just used some gold acrylic paint and carefully painted just the stem. You could of course paint other details on some of your pumpkins. You could use another color of paint, just be sure to stick with acrylic paint for the baked polymer clay. Allow the paint to dry completely.

 

 

All that is left to do is add a coat of clear finish to your pumpkins. You could do different finishes on different ones to give even more variety just be sure that you only use polymer clay safe products. I decided to just use the Satin Mod Podge this time since it has been a hectic week and I needed to finish up.

 

But here you can see the pumpkins displayed all together along with the plastic ones we re-did on Wednesday's video and a couple of other fall items we made last year on the channel.

 

 

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.