DOLLHOUSE MINIATURE TUTORIALS

1/12th Scale Paper Daffodils Tutorial by Blue Kitty Miniatures

2010-12-23T18:21:00.001-08:00

This is a basic way to make paper daffodils for your dolls house without purchasing expensive specialist paper punches or paper.

You could cut the shapes with scissors but for speed and simplicity I used two basic paper punches which are inexpensive and widely available from general craft supply stores. One cuts a circle 16mm (5/8 inch) diameter (1) and the other a daisy flower (2) the same size.

I used normal typing paper, paper wrapped wire, tacky glue and green acrylic paint plus a small piece of light beige tissue type paper.

(3) Cut the circle as shown, discard the bottom section leaving two shapes which will form daffodil trumpets. One edge is longer than the other.

(4) Cut off the individual petals, you will only need 6 for each daffodil

(5) Place a spot of tacky glue on the longer edge of the trumpet piece and form a cone shape, I use a knitting needle to help form this shape.

(6) Make a tight little loop at one end of your wire stem, put a spot of glue on the looped end and pull the wire into the cone so the loop and glue is inside the base of the trumpet shape.

(7) Pinch the bottom end tightly together.

(8) With a very small amount of glue on the base of each petal arrange 3 equally spaced round the base of the cone.

(9) Add 3 more petals between and over the first 3. Pinching the base together before the glue dries to make a point around the wire stem.

(10) Bend the stem over at a right angle at the base of the trumpet and petals. For the sheath behind the flower I use the paper from a used and dried out tea bag. alternatively you can colour a piece of white tissue paper with cold tea, coffee or very dilute brown paint. Cut a petal shape, glue the base and wrap around the stalk as shown. Gently turn the petals back into a realistic flower shape.

(11) Paint the stem with green acrylic paint covering the surplus of the sheath.

Add leaf shapes cut from green paper or painted paper. Make daffodils in other natural colours, arrange in a flower vase or 'plant' in a flower pot or bowl.

For soil in plant pots I use old dry tea leaves mixed with a little water and PVA glue. Pack into your pot then insert the flower stems and leave to dry.

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Tutorial originally posted on Blue Kitty Miniature's blog.

How To Make A Pumpkin House

2010-01-09T08:30:00.000-08:00

How To Make A Pumpkin House
by Cauldron Craft Miniatures

Supplies Needed:
- 1 large fake pumpkin or ‘funkin’: available at most arts and crafts stores
- 1 base: Any stiff sturdy surface in any shape (wood, chipboard, foamcore)
- selection of sticks ranging in size from twigs to thick wood chunks and root brambles
- variously shaped wood crafting chips available in craft aisles
- acrylic paints in green, light green, dark brown, cream, orange, and yellow
- various glues: craft glue, goop, superglue
- paint brushes: 1 stiff dry brush and 1 soft bristle medium sized flat brush
- paint towels, water cup, plastic cup for mixing spackle mix
- selection of textured rocks no bigger than 1” in diameter
- sand and modeling gravel in various grades (gaming, comic, train and hobby stores)
- paperclay
- modeling flock (fake grass)
- reindeer moss and sponge moss from craft stores
- fake leaves and flowers of choice
- found objects like old keys, buttons, crystals, beads, thimbles, wine corks, marbles, springs
- twine and chain (available in jewelry crafting aisles)

Note about glues: Craft glue works on porous materials like cloth, wood, and cork. You will need goop or liquid nails for metal and plastic items and superglue for the tinier found object details. Sparkle craft glues are also nice to glaze your pumpkin with.

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Step #1: Cut the fake pumpkin and base it
I bought my fake pumpkins on sale after Halloween at Michael’s Arts and Crafts. I used a taller pumpkin that is about 11 ½”. There are 2 basic cuts, although you can add more if you want windows or an extra door. First, cut the bottom off so the pumpkin can sit flat on your chosen base. Next, cut a side opening in the pumpkin so you can easily see and decorate inside but not so big that it cuts the pumpkin in half.

It’s ok if the bottom is not perfectly level because you will be ringing it, both inside and out, with rocks, moss, and sticks. This adds natural looking detail as well as further securing the pumpkin to the base with more points of glued contact.

Now, choosing the base. You can just mount your pumpkin on a wood disc that is a bit bigger than the circumference of the gourd. I glued mine onto a pine wood disc that still had bark edging for a more rustic look. These are available at most craft stores. I decided to take it a step further and glue the disc onto a large rectangular board from an old shelving unit so that I could add a walkway and garden area. This all can be as complex or simple as you like.

How to finish the raw edge of your pumpkin’s opening? Lace, sticks, flowers or leaves, stamped paper clay… that’s up to you! I used clay with a sandy textured finish and sparkles.

Note: Keep the cut out pieces of your pumpkin and use for Gazebo roofs later!
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Step #2: Adding wood details
There are many things you can do at this step. You can make steps, a path, and a patio with wooden chips. You can build a gazebo, porch, fencing, or raised garden with sticks. Pine cones can be used like bushes around your pumpkin house. With my pumpkin house, I used dried roots from my lantana plants, potpourri bits, dried bark from mulch, craft chips, and sticks from my oak tree.
First, I built a 3 sided stick frame and let the glue dry. I made a path and a circular patio with variously shaped wood chips. I then put glue on the feet of the stick frame, pushed them into paperclay balls, and then glued these to the base around the patio area. I built the other 2 sides of the stick gazebo right onto this, using the paperclay balls, which air dries, to make the structure sturdy. It’s ok if the glue drips, that can be painted to look like dew or resin later.

I also built a wooden fireplace, a shelf, and added a bit of curving wood across the top of the pumpkin’s entry way. Large roots and gnarled ‘tree’ trunks were placed on either side of the pumpkin and the far corner of the patio area as well.

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Step #3: Applying gravel, stucco, and sand
I glued a ring of lava stone around the inside of the pumpkin’s base. These rocks are light weight, highly textured, and porous enough to stick with basic craft glue. I snitch these from the flower beds of banks and grocery store parking lots, a few at a time!

Next, I mix my basic terrain texturing ‘stucco’. This simulates dirt and worn areas of bare earth so it will be used inside the house and around walkways. The recipe varies a bit based on the surface I’m applying it too. On a wood base I use a whole bottle of acrylic paint (light green or tan), about ¼ cup of craft glue, about ½ cup of sand, and a bit of water until it has a porridge like consistency. Thick but still able to be spread about. You don’t want it runny or the grains will flake off. You also don’t want it too dry or the brush will just clog up. You can use gesso instead of paint or hodge pode collage medium instead of glue but those products are more expensive. Now take this mixture and paint all over the walkway, patio, and floor of your pumpkin house.

Now take your craft glue and make a line between the big rocks and the stucco surface inside the house. Take your medium sized gravel and sprinkle it on, pushing it in a bit with your fingers. Then do the same around some of your patio and path stones and around the legs of your gazebo. This will make a more naturalistic look, blending the textures of large pieces into the ‘dirt’ surface.

While all of this is still wet, sprinkle a bit of fine grain sand all over it, patting it in areas that have glue oozing out. Let all of this thoroughly dry.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Step #4: Painting the base colors
The Pumpkin:
If you want to change the color or enhance the exterior of your pumpkin, this is the time. You can add warts with clay, stripes, speckles, or vines. You will need to paint the inside of your pumpkin though. I used a deep orange on the outside with red streaks. On the inside I used a mustard color and then worked in a brighter yellow on the large open spaces. Around the fire pit, along the ring of floor rocks, and around the shelf I shaded with a brown.
The Ground Surfaces:
The floor of the pumpkin, the path, and the patio are all a light green at this point. I painted dark brown around the fire place, the base ring of rocks, and around the patio with more dark areas where rain might drip from the gazebo.
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Step #5: Detail painting
At this point I use 2 distinct techniques:

-Washing In a little container or flat surface, I mix water and pigment (acrylic or ink) and then wash this over textured surface. This picks up the negative space details and works best by using a color darker or in contrast to the base color. Don’t tip the painted surface until it dries.
-Dry-Brushing Taking a stiffer bristled brush, I will lightly dip it into a paint color that is a bit lighter than the base color. I will brush excess off on a towel if need be. Now I lightly brush in various directions over a textured surface, highlighting raised details.
Note: You will need to do the wash first and let it completely dry before trying to dry brush a lighter color or they will blend into a muddy mess.

On my pumpkin house, I used brown wash all over the interior floor surface and exterior walkways. Then I dry brushed light sage green and cream all over the shelf, ring of floor stones, floor, and fireplace inside the pumpkin. I also dry brushed the exterior wood bits like the gazebo, pine cones, and ‘tree trunks’. This still allowed the natural wood color to show through but tied all of these elements together a bit more and picked up additional wood texturing. I then brushed a clear sparkle glaze all over.
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Step #6: Adding the greenery
Now I glued the flat green reindeer moss on all the negative spaces around the patio and walkway and also around the back of the pumpkin house. I added cream colored spongy craft moss near the root bunch and tree trunk areas. I put a bit of this around the fire place inside too and on the shelf. My pumpkin house is more like a hut open to nature and so green has crept in!
With lines of craft glue, ring some of the stepping stones, around the front of the fireplace, and up on the pumpkin stalk and sprinkle on a bit of the faux grass ’flock’. Fake grass for miniature modeling can be synthetic, dyed sawdust, or made from dyed horse hair. You can find these type of products anywhere that sells gaming or railroad miniatures. Try hobby stores and comic shops.
Now pop in silk and dried flowers, leaves, and nuts as you please! I used potpourri bits, silk flowers, and dried items from my own yard. My gazebo is covered with fall colored leaves and little bits of lavender sprout here and there. You might want a spring time theme with lighter flowers, or a spooky pumpkin with webs and fake spiders… be creative!
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Step #7: The decorating!
You are now ready to really have fun and make your pumpkin ready the fairies! The little folk like to ‘borrow’ treasures and so found objects look especially cute. I used copper chain to hang charms and crystals about. I also glued iridescent marbles in niches. I put buttons by the fireplace to be dinner plates and an old key on the shelf to be a platter. A scrap of old cloth and twine became a clothes line. Just look in your junk drawers and use what you have!

Good luck and have fun!

Question about this tutorial?
Contact Cauldron Craft Miniatures at
http://www.etsy.com/shop/CauldronCraftMinis

How To Make Prawns

2009-10-21T10:50:00.000-07:00

How To Make Prawns

by Snowfern

Materials:
Fimo translucent orange clay
Fimo translucent white clay
Fimo white clay
Fimo red clay
KATO Translucent clay
Liquid Fimo
Razor blade or Xacto knife
Toothpick or Needle tool
Tile

1) Layer the clay colours: translucent orange and for the whiter bits, 1:1 translucent white:white with a touch of translucent orange. Stretch clay out to desired size (for 1:12 scale i have the length about 5mm or 3/16").

2) Slice thinly, approx 1mm slices.

3) Roll into a log making sure the stripes run horizontal to the length of the prawn.

4) Gently smoosh it down onto the tile.

5) Score approx 4 lines equally horizontally across with the razor blade taking care not to cut through the clay, then using your needle tool make a thicker dent vertically down the prawn.

6) For the fiddly tail bits, I used translucent KATO clay as it tends to bake stronger, coloured it slightly by smearing a thin bit of red onto it, and cutting it into tiny rhombus shapes. Bake according to product specifications. After it has been baked and cooled, using a touch of liquid fimo to act as a glue and strengthener, attach it to the end of the prawn body.

7) Carefully slide your blade under the prawn to lift it off the tile.

8)All that's left to do is to make your sushi rice (I use a small blob of 1:1 translucent white:white and textured it with my needle tool). Place prawn gently on top, bake, then gloss if desired. The prawn sushi hasn't been glossed yet.

Have fun! Please do not re-distribute this tutorial without my prior permission. You may email me if you have any questions, or if you would like to use this tutorial for your website and/or blog. All I ask in return is that you credit it back to me at http://www.snowfern.com/

Difficulty level: Intermediate

How To Make Lemon Canes

2009-10-08T10:37:00.000-07:00

How To Make Lemon Canes

by PetitPlat

This tutorial will show you how to make lemon canes. For most of you this isn't something new, but many still ask me how I do them, so here's the explanation!
I didn't invent this technique and I learned it from Angie Scarr. Though of course I adapted her technique for my work.

Materials:
- fimo: white, translucent, yellow, green (7/8 blue + 1/8 yellow)
- toothpick, pin, razor blade
- sandpaper
- glaze/varnish

1. Mix 1/2 white + /2 translucent
Mix Translucent + tiny amount of yellow

2. Shape the yellow mix into a ball and flatten it. The diameter should be approx 5 cm (2 inches). Cut in in 10 equal parts.

3. Using a rolling pin or a pasta machine (position 6) roll the white clay out and put it between the parts.

4. In the middle, shape a hole with a toothpick. Roll a white snake and place it in the middle of the lemon.

5. Using you pasta machine (position 2) or a rolling pin roll the white clay out and wrap the lemon cane with it. Make sure there are no bubbles (remove them with your blade) and that the clay don't overlay.

6. Now mix 2/3 yellow + 1/3 translucent + tiny amount of green (7/8 blue + 1/8 yellow) for the lemon skin.
Roll it out (pasta machine, position 7)

7. Squeeze and roll the cane until its diameter is approx 4 - 5 mm (0,16 - 0,2 inch.)

8. Cut approx 4 mm (0,16 inch) of the snake and close each side.

9. Using sandpaper and a toothpick roll the lemon gently onto it and shape the lemon.

10. Cut the lemon in 2 with your blade and then texture the inside with a pin.
Bake accordingly and then varnish the flesh.

PetitPlat can be contacted through her blog: http://PetitPlatBySK.blogspot.com

2009-10-05T13:07:00.000-07:00

Creating An Aged Look

by Dale's Dreams

These resin urns originally were a yellowish color

which were faux painted to look like aged cement.

Supplies needed:

Blak and White Acrylic Paint

Small paint brushes

Cup of water

Urns or other items

Step 1: Paint the urns white including the inside

so the yellowish color is completely covered.

Let dry before proceeding with the next step.

Step 2: Depending on how old you want your

items to look, mix some black and white acrylic paint

until you reach your desired shade of grey.

The darkerthe grey, the older it will look.

Using a brush, pounce the grey paint onto the urns.

The pouncing creates a nice texture that makes

the urns look like cement.

Let dry before doing the remaining step

of shading and detailing.

Step 3: To achieve any highlighting, shading

and detailing, make a wash of black. Just a drop of

black paint in a cup of water should be sufficient.

Dip a small brush into the black wash, and paint in

and around all of the nooks and crannies.

Wipe off any excess. Let dry.

The completed urns:

Question about this tutorial?

Contact Dale's Dreams at

http://dalesdreams.blogspot.com/

How To Make Miniature Eclairs

2009-08-20T10:10:00.000-07:00

How To Make Eclairs

by Snowfern

Mix approx 1/3 white to 2/3 caramel, or to your desired colour. I used FIMO caramel and Sculpey white for this tutorial, no particular reason, probably because I ran out of FIMO white. This is just the base colour for the eclairs and we will be using pastels to highlight it later.

Run the clay through a pasta machine at its thickest setting, or use a rolling pin with 2 flat objects at each side of the clay to get an even sheet of thickness to your desire. we will be shaping and texturing the eclairs in the next step.
I made a cookie cutter approx 1 cm long and 3 mm wide using the base of a pie tin, then formed a handle for the cutter using a hot glue gun. This is just to provide uniformity for the eclairs, you may use any shaped cutter as long as each eclair comes out approx. the same volume.

Here are the tools i use to texture my eclairs, the humble aluminum foil! Twist up some foil, then get a brush ready for use with chalk pastels, that easy, huh! Oh, nimble fingers and possibly a needle or toothpick if you wish to add further detail.

Basically, you run the tin foil around the edges of a log shaped base. This makes the eclair look all nice and puffy, then using a needle tool or toothpick, try and pat down lengthwise of the eclair to make very slight dents and ridges. I also noticed that eclairs are slightly puffed up on both ends, you may wish to shape and nudge it a little with your fingers. If fingerprints get all over the top, don't worry, since we will be coating the eclairs with chocolate later.

For the highlights, I used soft pastels, it's a relatively cheap brand called "Saintograph". Oil pastels are not recommended because they do not scrape into a fine powder, which is what we desire. Use a razor blade and lightly scrape off Ochre:Yellow:Brown in the ratio approximately 5:2:1, or until you get a slightly light brown baked pastry colour to your satisfaction.

Use a soft bristled brush and lightly dust on the pastels you have prepared to highlight the eclairs. Uou might find it easier to work the eclairs on a ceramic tile or foil or whichever surface you are baking on before dusting them with the pastels. After colouring them, bake them according to the product specification on the package. I like to bake my stuff at slightly lower temperatures for longer times to prevent burning. burning = wasted effort + toxic fumes!

While your eclair bases are baking, we can prepare the chocolate for the coating. mmmmm chocolatey goodness! Mix in a bit of chocolate coloured clay to a couple of drops of liquid polymer clay. I used FIMO liquid deka gel, but I think translucent liquid sculpey will do too. If you have pastels and decide to use that instead, mix the pastels to your desired colour before stirring it into the liquid clay. Here, you can see my funky pink knitting needle hard at work.

I like working with forceps, they give me better control while dunking the baked eclairs into the "chocolate", face down, of course. Kinda smoosh it around a little so that a wee bit of the sides are coated too!

Here's the bit I found tricky. Slowly pick up each eclair and try to get the trailing bit of liquid clay to rest in the middle of the eclair, then gently place them down onto your baking tile for further baking. Oops, see where i messed up and dropped an eclair? :(

After baking the coated eclairs and letting them cool down, you can take out your water based/acrylic gloss to make the chocolate all shiny! The liquid clay bakes rather matte, so i like to put a thin coat of gloss to make it look more yummeh and realistic :) Leave them aside to dry, and resist the urge to touch them or pop them into your mouth.

Hope you find this tutorial useful, you may email me if you have any questions, or if you would like to use this tutorial for your website. All I ask in return is that you credit it back to me at http://www.snowfern.com/

How To Make A Miniature Apple Pie

2009-06-22T15:36:00.000-07:00

How To Make A Miniature Apple Pie

by Fairchild Art

How To Make A Miniature Wall Fountain

2009-06-19T09:21:00.000-07:00

How To Make A Miniature Wall Fountain

Using Jewelry Findings

Minide

Yesterday afternoon I came up with a wall fountain for the mini garden. This is a quick and easy project.

Items needed: Metallic plastic frame scrapbook sticker (I get a four pack from the Dollar Tree), Small scallop shell or some sort of jewelry finding with a bowl, Barrell type earring back, fishing line - about 2 inches long, Tacky glue, Super glue, Antique copper acrylic paint, Dark green glaze or thinned acrylic paint (or several shades of green in either the glaze or paint), scissors, scrap of paper

Instructions: Attach sticker to scrap of paper and trim along the scalloped edges of the frame. For this fountain I turned the sticker so that the oval center ran up and down. Glue (using a combination of tacky and super glue) the earring back to the top point of the sticker. Glue the item you are using for the fountain bowl at the bottom of the oval with the bowl facing up (towards the earring back).

Depending upon what you are using for the bowl, you might have to trim or bend parts to make it fit snugly against the sticker. For the shell jewelry finding pictured, I'd have to bend the ring and part of the shell up to give a large enough surface to glue.

Once the super glue has set and the pieces are firmly stuck together, paint a light coat of antique copper paint over the whole thing, being careful not to get paint into the hole on the earring back. Once that is dry, paint another light coat of the antique copper. Give that a couple of minutes to dry and then, with a very light hand, highlight areas on the fountain with the green glaze or thinned paint. You are adding the patina. If you want your fountain to look old you'll want more green. If it's to be a newer fountain, go more lightly with the green.

Now, go away for awhile and let everything dry thoroughly. When you come back, put a dab of glue on one end of the fishing line and glue it into the hole on the earring back. Let that set and then trim the line so that the other end rests in the bowl of your fountain. Add tacky glue to the bowl and let it set up a bit then put the other end of the fishing line into the glue in the bowl. Once it is all dry you have water running into the bowl of the fountain.

I used a different type of finding for my fountain. You can't see into the "bowl" so I just glued the bottom end of the fishing line directly into the finding. Just adjust the directions to fit the frame and finding you use. Another finishing option would be to use acrylic paints to give it a stone look. (An example of that is at the top of this post.)