Dollhouse Miniature Trash to Treasure Bowls

 

Watch the video here.

I have a really fun, easy, and versatile trash to treasure project for you today. We are going to take something that would normally get thrown away or tossed in the recycling and make some bowls. The “thing” we are using today is a blister pack from some over the counter medication. But there are so many different items that come in this type of package. Not only can you find a large variety of round shapes that hold things like medication but there are other shapes too. For instance I know I have had gum that came in rectangular shaped ones, those would make some fun mini serving trays. If you look around I bet you can find a lot of shapes and sizes to play with. Really if you look hard enough you can make so many different things with this easy project.

The first step is to empty the blister packaging in a way that preserves the shape. I like to use a knife to cut the foil at each location and pull the foil off to release the contents. This is a habit I have gotten into over the years of making miniatures and trying to save all kinds of stuff to use to make things with. Once the package is empty peel off as much of the remaining foil on the back as you can. Concentrate on the areas around the openings.

Once you have reached this step clean out the openings if needed. The package I was using had some powdery residue in each one so I used a cotton swab to wipe them out.

I know some people like to cut the little containers free and then add the finish to them. I find it so much easier to add my finish to them while they are still connected. Once this dries I can cut them free and do any touch-ups needed.

Today I am using some nail polish to add the finish. You could use other things but I like nail polish for this for several reasons. First I know it will stick to plastic pretty well and it is fairly durable. Second it is cheap, well at least it is if you buy yours at the dollar store like I do. Also it dries pretty quickly and I have a lot of colors of it on hand.

So I like to start adding the polish to the outsides of the bowls. I did use 2 coats on the outside and then 2 coats on the insides of each bowl.

I had been planning to make the insides of the bowls the same colors as the outsides. However one of the tasks I was doing while waiting for the polish to dry was putting my dishes away. I noticed that the majority of the bowls I like to use in my kitchen have white interiors and colors on the outside. I simply like the way food looks in those bowls. So I decided to do the same when coloring the miniature ones today.

 

Once the polish dries we can start to cut them apart. I used a pair of regular craft scissors to cut the packaging into strips then to cut each bowl apart. It is much easier to cut around the individual bowls if they are cut apart.

 

Off camera I did play around with different tools to cut the bowls free and found that the one thing that really worked the best for me was a pair of inexpensive curved cuticle scissors. I tried with a couple of different craft knives and found they were just too difficult to get the shape the way I wanted it.

Once you have your bowls (or whatever you are making) it is time to color the rim at the top, this will finish off the bowls and give them a bit more visual thickness.

To do this I made a small pool of nail polish on a piece of parchment paper and placed the bowl into it top down. Allow it to sit for a few seconds and carefully remove, turn it right side up and allow to dry.

 

 

 

 

And that is all there is to this project.

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 Easter Gnomess

 

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.

 

As is the case with most of these projects the first step once you have you pattern prepared and cut is to glue the layers together. Just take your time and line up the edges as well as you can. Once they are glued I usually put them under a weight to keep everything nice and flat as they dry. Once dry we can prep to paint.

To get ready to paint I like to put all the pieces down on a piece of tape that is taped to my work tile sticky side up. This holds everything in place until I am ready to work with it. I did use a little piece of Washi tape for the single layer ear liner pieces.

I painted the pieces as follows:

 

 ear liners a pale pink

 

 

 

 

 Easter egg a pale yellow

 

 

 

 

ears white

 

 

 

 hair a golden yellow

 

 

hands and nose a flesh color

 

 

 

hat brim a medium blue

 

 

 

hat a pale blue

 

 

body/back a medium pink

 

 

 

and the shoes black

 

 

Once this paint was dry and I was happy with the paint coverage it was time to go on to doing some decorative painting.

I kept the decorative painting really simple just some lines for hair ties on the hair pieces, dots on the egg, and a very simple flower on the hat (which I then managed to pretty much cover up with the ears…)

Once dry it is time to start assembly.

The first thing to put together is to add those liner pieces to the ears. I like to line them up at the bottom of the ear and try to keep them centered side to side. Set those to the side to set up while we start adding to the hat. By the time we are ready for them they should be set up enough to add.

 

Start by lining the hair up the way you want it, I like to put mine on a piece of tape to make sure they stay where I want them. Then add some glue to the back of the hat at the bottom edge and place it on the hair pieces. Then add the nose into it’s little area just under the hat. Since this hat has a brim add that next. Then add the ears with the bottoms touching the top of the hat brim. Allow this glue to dry enough that the pieces won’t shift when we are adding this piece to the body.

 

 

Once the hat part has set up it can be added to the body piece along with the shoes. Again if you have time I recommend letting this glue set up before moving on.

 

 

 

 

 

The last pieces to glue on are the Easter egg and her hands then the project needs to dry completely before going on.

 

 

 

 

 

The last step before we display this little lady is to add a coat of a clear finish. I like to use Satin Mod Podge for this.

 

 

 

 

Once she is dry she can take her place in you mini scene. I think she looks right at home with the rest of our Easter decorations on the front porch of the dollhouse.

 

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.