Dollhouse Miniature Apple Sign

Watch the video here.

I have another free pattern for you to download so you can 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 do highly recommend on this pattern in particular that you mark the top side of each piece before you remove it from your cutting mat if you use an electronic cutting machine or before cutting if you are cutting by hand. These pieces look a lot alike but are not interchangeable.

 

 

 

 

 

Once everything is marked and cut (and removed from the cutting mat if needed) you are ready to glue. I like to use a thin even coat of a thick tacky glue. This is what works the best for me. You will need to glue the pieces into units each made up of the 3 identical pieces. Allow the glue to dry completely before moving to the next step.

 

Now we are going to paint the pieces. For this project I painted everything with a nice bright red at this step. Any bright red will do, use enough coats of paint to cover the marks we made earlier on the pieces. Allow the paint to dry.

 

 

Once the paint is all dry we can start to glue the “boards” onto the full apple shape. I like to do just three first (the 2 edge pieces and the center one) then give the glue time to dry. This way I am more apt to get the pieces spread across the apple evenly and have even gaps between the boards.

 

 

 

 

Once the glue holding the first set of boards is set up so they won’t move around add the last two boards the same way. This time we need the glue to dry completely because next we are going to be doing some more painting.

 

 

Next I painted my stem with some brown paint but I did change the color of the stem later in the video, I just wasn’t happy with the color I used at this point.

Now we are going to start to age/dirty up the apple sign. I wanted this to look like it was made of old wood and had maybe been around a while. To do this we will need a warm/orangy brown color. I didn’t have any paint the color I wanted so I mixed two colors (a brown and an orange) to get a color I was happy with. Then it is just a matter of dipping your brush into water then just touch the paint and use the result as a wash on the sign. Be sure to always paint vertically on this step on this sign. Do thin coats and allow to dry in between. Then add more if you feel you need to.

 

 

Now we are going to add a wash with a dark brown paint, concentrating on the spaces between the boards. Paint on the wash then use a paper towel (or a dried out wet wipe) to wipe away excess. This way the spaces between the boards stand out and don’t disappear on the sign.

 

At this point in the project I decided that I was really unhappy with the color I had used for the stem so I used the same dark brown to paint over the stem and I am much happier. Allow the paints to dry completely.

 

 

 

 

Once dry finish the piece on both the front and back with coats of Mat Mod Podge. This will seal the paint and also help all those layers to blend together. Allow to dry.

 

 

 

Now if you wanted to take the project a step further this would be a good time to add either the last name of your doll family to the sign or maybe a message like welcome or home. Use a pencil to first write out whatever you want your sign to say then use white paint to do the final painting of the lettering. Once dry add another coat of Mat Mod Podge.

 

 

 

And here we have our sign on the front porch of he Beachside Bungalow along with last year’s apple projects.

 

 

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 BBQ Grill pt 2

 

Watch the video here.

This week we are doing more work on our BBQ grill. I have to say I am really pleased with ow this is turning out so far and I can’t wait to share the next part next Sunday. I am still not sure how many parts the project will take to complete. I am trying to keep each video between 20 and 30 minutes and to end in a logical place each time.

The first thing we are going to do this week is make the grill rack that will go into our grill so the doll family can use it to cook some delicious foods.

I thought about this process for a while before I started the project. I wanted to make the rack as well as the rest of this project from materials all of you could easily get and work with. I am trying to avoid things on this project that require special tools or special glues. So for the rack I am using Slim Sticks from Hobby Lobby, these are their version of skinny sticks (or coffee stirrers) they are slightly narrower and a bit thinner than a standard skinny stick.

Cut three pieces of slim stick to just fit inside your grill going front to back on top of the ledges we put in place last week. Then cut two pieces that are just a tiny bit shorter that the lengthwise measurement of your grill, again to fit on top of the ledges we put in place.

The exact size of the pieces that fit your grill might be slightly different than what fit my grill.

The other thing we need for this step is a way to line up all the pieces of the rack easily. I decided that some 8 square to the inch graph paper would be the best tool for this since it is super easy to get. I used a sheet I printed from a free PDF that I got online. I use graph paper a lot to help size items on both of my channels. This time since I was going to have to tape the rack to the paper I covered a piece with some clear packing tape so that I can re-use it for a long time to come. I can see this being a very useful tool for many projects.

Now tape your covered graph paper to your work surface and then line up one of the longer pieces of slim stick you cut. Make sure it is lined up with the lines f the paper. Use some tape to hold it in place being sure to avoid putting tape in the middle or at the ends of the stick. Now put some glue onto the end of one of the shorter pieces and add it to the end of the long piece. Being careful to line up the short piece with the end of the lone piece and use the lines on the graph paper to help you get a nice square corner. Repeat with a second short piece on the other end of the long piece. Allow this glue to dry completely so it doesn’t get moved in the next step.

Once the glue dries carefully add the other long piece of slim stick to form the frame that we will be building the rack on top of. Allow this glue to dry before moving on. I know it already seems like this week’s part of the tutorial is a lot of waiting for glue to dry and it is. That is because we need to make this frame as carefully and as accurately as possible and I have found over many years of doing minis that the key to that is patience. Line up each piece and allow the glue to dry so you don’t move something and ruin the entire project.

Now it is time to add the 3^rd short piece we cut to the middle of the rack frame. Now be very patient and allow the glue to dry completely, even if you fudged a bit and only let your glue get set up on earlier steps this time it has to dry all the way because we will be moving the frame for the next step.

Now flip the frame over and tape it to the covered graph paper this time with the long slim sticks facing up. Again be sure to line up with the grid, this will make adding the rest of the rack so much easier. I used round toothpicks for the top bars on the rack, they are a good size, easy to get, and easy to work with. Cut one to the size you need and then use that one to measure the rest of the pieces. I used 19 toothpicks for my grill so you will probably need around that many I would think.

Now dip both ends of one of the toothpicks in glue and add it to the top of the frame. I like to start in the middle and work out to the ends. I find this way the project turns out much better and I can place them much more evenly. Only glue a few (like 3 or 4) at a time and allow the glue to set up. I just had this on my table and every time I walked by during the afternoon I added a couple of toothpicks. This way I wasn’t just waiting for glue to dry and the project got done as I was doing other things. Allow the glue to dry completely before the next step.

Now flip the rack over and using a craft knife cut any pieces of toothpick that are sticking past the sides.

Then using a piece of 80 grit sandpaper carefully sand the long edges back. Be very careful to brace the rack in your fingers so you don’t break it. Sand a bit and try it in the grill. Keep sanding until it fits into the grill on top of the ledge.

Now we are going to cut some pieces of heavyweight card-stock. It should be labeled as heavyweight and rated at 100 lbs. This will be the outside layer on most of the grill that will be seen when the grill is finished. Cut a piece that is 1 1/8” wide by 4 ¼” long. And a piece that is 3 1/8” by 3”.

At this step we are just going to anchor the ends of the pieces in place so run a bead of glue on edge and glue as shown in the video. Be very careful that the pieces are lined up so they will go on straight. This will be the finished surface of the grill. Allow the glue to dry completely. 

 

 

 

Now using some thick glue spread a thin layer onto the card-stock and smooth the card-stock into place. Allow to dry.

 

 

Once the glue has dried we are finishing up this week by painting all three pieces (the grill body, the rack, and the side firebox) with a black craft paint. Be sure to get all the nooks and crannies so no white or wood shows. Also be careful to wipe up any drips as you go.

So here we have the grill as it is at the end of today’s tutorial. I am loving how this is coming together. Be sure to come back next week when we add the bottom part to the grill.

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 Beach 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.

So this time we have the normal pieces for the gnome that if you have been following these projects you will be familiar with. The only extras are the round life preserver our little gnome friend is holding and the pieces to create his sunglasses. These pieces will need to be glued into “units” made of 3 pieces each with the exception of the back piece which has 4 pieces to add strength. Here are all the pieces as cut.

And here are all the units after being glued. I use a thick tacky glue because that is what works best for me. Do note that there are a couple of units that you make two of, and there are 6 of the pieces to create them. On my first gnome (off camera) my Cricut had a bit of an issue with the sunglasses frame and it only cut 2 of them successfully. I found that was fine so as long as you have one of the frame pieces you will be fine. I just make the standard 3 because that is what I normally do and if needed you would have enough to make it if you machine gets cranky.

Be sure to allow the glue to dry completely before moving on to the next step. I have found if the glue is at all damp the paper will stick to the tape that we put it on to hold it still for painting.

Speaking of that the next step is to place all the pieces onto some tape that is glued down to your work surface sticky side up. I like to group my pieces by paint color to make it easier to get everything painted correctly.

For the ring and the beard paint them white. Then I like to streak in just a bit of gray on the wet beard paint to make it look a bit less flat. Next we have the flesh colored pieces, the sunglasses and finally the hat and background/body piece. Allow the paint to dry.

 

 

 

Once the paint dries give the life preserver ring a coat of mat Mod Podge. This will seal the paint so that if any mistakes come in the painting of the red areas they will be easier to fix.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once the Mod Podge dries we can add those iconic read stripes to the life preserver. I like to pencil in the areas first to make sure I have them spaced the way I like them. Them use some red paint to fill in the areas and allow to dry. If you get any red where you don’t want it use a cotton swab that has been dipped in water to clean up.

 

 

 

 

While the red paint dries we can do the first gluing step. We are going to assemble the glasses and add the beard to the back/body piece. Allow everything to dry.

 

 

 

Now we can add the hat and feet to our gnome friend. This is also a good time to paint the outside edge of the sunglasses and add the lines to create the flip-flops that our gnome friend is wearing to the beach. I used a tiny dotting tool for the lines. Allow everything to dry.

 

 

 

 

Once all the glue and paint has dried it is time for to glue everything else onto our gnome. This included his nose, sunglasses, the life preserver, and his hands. Allow the glue to dry completely.

 

 

 

 

Now a quick light coat of satin Mod Podge to give our gnome a finished look and to help seal everything together.

 

 

 

 

 

Next I added just a drop of clear nail polish the the lens area of the sunglasses. This gives just a bit more shine and sparkle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now he is ready to join our other beach items on the 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.

Dollhouse Miniature BBQ Grill pt 1

 

Watch the video here.

Today we starting on a pretty large project, a BBQ grill. Not just a plain little everyday grill but one of those wonderful smoker grills that are so fun to use. This is a project that I have been wanting to do for a very long time I just had to work out some details and I have finally got the plan ready for you.

Now I won’t be providing a pattern for any of the cut parts because I encourage you to adjust the size to fit the area you want to use. So your grill could be smaller or larger. Maybe your dolls want to have one of those huge grills that the competition BBQers have or maybe they just want a smaller version. I will be adding a side firebox so my dolls can do some smoking if they want to. You might choose to omit that part.

This is a project that will be spread over multiple tutorials, how many I am not sure yet. I now we didn’t get all that far in today’s video and it is over a half hour long and took me several days to complete. I hope you agree this is going to be worth the work though and join me on this adventure.

As for materials I am trying my best to keep this inexpensive and easy for all of you to make. The basis for the main part of the grill is a toilet paper tube. The side firebox is the tube from a package of aluminum foil. So in a way this is a Trash to Treasure project (at least so far)

To begin we need to make that toilet paper tube much sturdier than it would normally be. For this I cut 4 strips of printer paper 4” wide by the length of the paper (11”) and using some Mod Podge applied them about the tube. Do just one strip at a time and allow plenty of time for the Mod Podge to dry between the addition of the next strip. This took a long time for me, so be warned. But this is the base of our grill and everything depends on this.

 

 Once all the paper is added and the Mod Podge is dry even up one end and then trim the tube to about 3”. This is one of the places you can change up your grill’s size, just remember that the measurements I will give in the tutorial will be for the size I am using and you will need to adjust as needed if you choose a different size. 

 

 

 

I found the best way to cut the tube was with my full size Miter Box, just be careful when using tools. I also cut a piece of smaller tube (from a roll of aluminum foil) to 1” at the same time.

 

 

Next we will need to cut the large tube into two equal parts lengthwise, I found my scissors worked just fine for this step.

Now we can add a hinge to the grill so the lid can be opened and closed. I like to use fabric for this because it is very flexible and strong. I cut a strip of 100% cotton muslin 1” by 3” for the hinge. Glue one edge to one half of the grill and allow to set so the glue can get a good grip. Then glue the other edge to the other half lining up the halves as carefully as you can. Allow this to dry.

 

Cut 8 card-stock rounds that are close to the size of the diameter of the tube you used. I found the lid to a bottle of Tylenol was perfect for mine. Glue these rounds into 2 stacks of 4 each and allow to dry.

Then cut the rounds in half and glue them to a piece of printer paper allowing plenty of room around each one. Allow to dry.

Cut the paper with the half circles glued on leaving plenty of space around. Then fold in half and cut a rough shape around the half circles. Then cut notches out of the paper around the edge to look like this. These notches will allow you to glue the ends of the grill in place.

 

 

Add a line of glue to the inside edge of the tube to hold the card-stock.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Add a line of glue around the outside edge of each end and lining the card-stock half circle with the end of the grill use the tabs to hold it in place. Do this on each end and allow the glue a few moments to set up a bit.

 

 

 

 

Then run a line of glue around the inside edge of each end and an on the inside of the card-stock half circle fold the extra paper over use the tabs to help hold it in place.

 

 

 

 

 

When you are done it should look like this.

 

 

Now to neaten up the look of the grill we are going to add some more strips of paper. I cut 2 at 4” wide and 2 at 2 ¾” and added them to both the inside and outside of the grill to cover up the tabs from the ends. I used separate pieces for the top and bottoms to avoid adding any bulk to the hinge.

At this time also cover the small tube we cut earlier. I covered the ends and then cut tabs to adhere the paper up the sides (do both ends) then with a strip of paper cut 1 1/8” wide I covered the tube to neaten it up a bit. We will be doing more detailing of this later.

The last step for today was to add some craft-stick “ledges” for the rack to rest on. Cut two pieces of craft-stick slightly shorter than the inside length of the grill and glue then a bit down from the top of the bottom half like this. Allow to dry.

So that is as far as we are going today. Next week we will be making the rack that the food will be cooked on and start to add some exterior details to both the grill and the side firebox.

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.