Hot Dogs for the Dolls

This post has actually been hanging out on my hard drive for over a year, I just hadn't posted it yet. I had originally written it to be published in a different place but that offer fell through so I just put it away and forgot all about it. I had the thought when I tucked it away to post it as a blog but I felt it was just a bit on the difficult side since I hadn't posted any (or many??) polymer food tutorials at the time on this blog. So I saved this and managed to forget I had it. Then a couple of days ago someone on one of the many doll groups on Facebook mentioned that she wanted to make some hot dogs. Aha! I thought I have a tutorial for that. Since summer is fast approaching I figured it was the perfect time to post this.

Yummy hot dogs just in time for summer weather!!

I will warn you this is a rather long post but it is broken up into segments. So you can do as much or as little as you want. A lot of the parts of this tutorial will work with other foods too.

There is no video for this but I did take a lot of photos so hopefully they will guide you . Remember if you have questions be sure to ask me. I have several ways to get in touch with me. 1- You can post as a comment right on the blog. 2- you can use the contact me button on the right hand side of the blog page. Or 3- you can like my Facebook page that is dedicated to 18” dolls and ask me there. (here is that link) 

Buns

For the buns we are using only 2 products  soft pastels (I am using a set of inexpensive “Artist Loft” brand from Michael's Craft Store) and some Model Magic clay from Crayola (you will find this in the kid's crafts section of your local craft store)

We start by rolling out a snake of clay that is 5/8” in diameter (I like to use a circle template to check the diameter), we then cut this into 2” lengths. Each of these pieces will be a hot dog bun.

Now round off the ends of each piece of clay with your fingers and slightly flatten the bottom. In the end you want each bun to 2” long, about ½” tall and about ¾” wide. It doesn't have to be perfect just so each of you buns is about the same. Now I like to make my hot dog buns in pairs just like the real ones come in the bag from the store (at least they do where I live) so I gently press the buns together in pairs. Be sure to store the remainder of your Model Magic in a sealed bag (I use a freezer weight zipper bag) with all air removed from the bag. Stored this way the rest of the clay will last between a few weeks and a few months depending on the temperature of the area it is stored.

the three colors of chalk

Next we are going to make the buns look baked, we do this with the chalk pastels. I like to use an eyeshadow brush (I get them from the dollar store) but you can use anything you like to apply the chalk (your finger, a cotton swab, paint brush, whatever works best for you) We only need 3 of the chalk colors for the buns: the yellow ocher color ( a golden yellow) a

showing the three steps of the shading

rusty brown and a medium to dark brown. Use a knife blade to scrape off some of the yellow ocher color chalk onto your work surface and apply to the tops and bottoms of each bun pair. Try to keep a small white area around the middle of the edge. When all the buns have the yellow chalk applied scrape a bit of the rusty color into what is left of the yellow chalk on your work surface. Mix it together a bit and apply some of this over the buns concentrating on the top and bottom not so much on the sides. Try to make the colors blend together so it looks natural. Now repeat with just a tiny bit of the darkest color of chalk. Keep your touch very light on this step because you don't want the buns to look burned. If you decide that you got too much dark on the buns scrape off a bit more of the yellow ocher color and apply it over the dark areas to blend a bit.

ready to dry out

Now your buns need to sit and air dry for about 24 hours. When they are dry you can pull the pairs of buns apart (if desired) and cut them open with a sharp craft knife.

Hot Dogs

For the hot dogs we need the following polymer clays:

Fimo- Sahara ( 1 part)

Fimo- White (2 parts)

Fimo- Ochre (2 parts)

Fimo- Mandarin Orange (2 parts)

Fimo- Black (just a tiny pinch)

Premo- Pomegranate (1 part)

Mix all the colors except the black together and then add just a tiny pinch of the black at a time to get the correct color. The purpose of the black is tone down the color not to make it darker. It is best to have either a real hot dog on hand to compare the color to or at least a really good picture for reference.

After the colors are thoroughly mixed and you are happy with the color it is time to make some hot dogs. The first step is to roll our clay into a snake that is about ¼” in diameter. Cut this snake into pieces just a tad shorter than your finished hot dog buns. It is best to wait until the buns have dried for a day since the air dry clay does shrink a tiny bit (more sometimes than other times) and the polymer clay will remain the same size once baked. Once you have cut one that you are happy with use it to measure off the remaining hot dogs. Cut as many as you want for your scene.

step 1 before we start rounding the ends

Now simply use your fingertips to round the ends of the hot dogs, this requires a gentle pinching motion. Just be patient with this step it is really easy once you get it. It just takes practice and can seem a bit clumsy the first few times. This is a technique we use a lot with clay though so take the time to get a feel for it.

step 2

finished end

Once you are happy with all your hot dogs bake them according to package directions. 

The Toppings

Feel free to make/use as many of these as your dolls desire

Relish

showing clay before mixing

For the relish we are using 2 colors of polymer clay: Moss from Sculpey III and a translucent (I'm using Fimo but for this any brand will do)

and after mixing

Mix about 1 part Moss to 3 parts Translucent until thoroughly combined. This mixture is going to look much lighter in color than it will once baked because of the translucent clay in the mixture. Roll out thin, I use my pasta machine for this but you can do it with a roller just get it thin. Now brush the top with a good coat of green pastel chalk, I actually scrape the chalk off directly onto the top of my clay and use my fingers and a brush to spread it around and work it slightly into the top of the clay. Now just use a clay blade to cut thin strips of the green clay and move them to a baking surface.

clay ready for the chalk

you will need about this much chalk

chalk application finished

strips cut

If you have some yellow and red clay on hand it is a nice touch to add some tiny bits of these to your finished relish. If you want to do this take just a tiny bit of each color and chop them up finely and add to the baking surface.

Onions

For the red onions you only need some translucent clay (I am using Fimo but just about any brand will do for this) After conditioning a rolling out thinly brush the top surface with a combination of purple and bright (hot) pink chalk pastel. I simply scrape both colors of chalk together on my work surface and then mix with the brush before applying to the top surface of the clay.

Now just cut into thin strips just like for the relish and bake according to clay instructions. 

After baking set all of these strips aside until you are ready to assemble your hot dogs. You will also need some Clear Gallery Glass paint when you are ready to assemble.

Ketchup and mustard

I use Scribbles 3-d fabric paint for these items on most of my polymer clay foods. They work well and don't need to be baked. They do require some time to dry however.

To Assemble

Now that all of our components are baked and cooled it is time to assemble some yummy hot dogs for the dolls.

You will need to mix up your relish as needed. To do so simply chop the strips of baked clay into little bits and mix with Clear Gallery Glass paint. (other brands of glass paint should work also) and use a toothpick to spread the relish mixture where ever you want it. You might also want to mix up some extra to put into a bowl for “serving” Just remember that once the Gallery Glass sets up it is permanent so it can't be made ahead and put on later.

For Mustard and Ketchup simply use some 3-D fabric paint, I prefer the Scribbles brand. It comes in many colors and I have a large collection of them because they are so useful in so many ways when making doll food. For the mustard just pick a good yellow and if your dolls want some ketchup pick a good red one.

Now cut up the onion strips into tiny pieces and add them on top of the ketchup and/or mustard. The paint should hold them just fine.

There you are some yummy hot dogs with yummy toppings all ready for Summer eating for the dolls.