Tools For Making Doll Food

 

Watch the video here.

This week I have a different type of video for you. This week we are making a couple of tools we are going to need for some upcoming projects I have planned.

I had actually been planning to do a totally different tutorial today however when I went to grab my materials to make it I realized I needed to make a new set of spacers to roll out my clay. (my old set had gotten damaged a while back) Since I was going to be making those I decided to go ahead and make another tool I have been working out that we will need soon also. And since I was making these I decided to go ahead and turn on the camera and teach you all how to make these at the same time.

So I started with the easiest one, the spacers I use to roll out clay. I like to have these on hand in a couple of thicknesses so I can easily roll out thicker sheets of clay. I make them out of craft sticks that I glue together and clamp while the glue dries to prevent both warping and spreading/shifting of the craft sticks. I just use Tacky glue for this.

You will need these in pairs since you will need one for each side of the piece of clay you are rolling out. I made a set 3 craft sticks thick on camera, this makes a spacer that is about ¼” thick. Off camera I made a pair that were 2 sticks thick, these measure about 1/8” thick. The amount and type of glue you use can affect how thick yours end up as well as the brand of craft sticks you use. Do be sure to use glue that is polymer clay safe and make sure the glue has time to cure at least a day or so before you use them the first time.

Now onto what I am calling a “grill mark tool” I have been planning to make some summer foods over the next few months for the dolls. In my mind that means at least a few of them will be things that have been cooked on the BBQ grill. I knew I needed to come up with a way to do the those all important grill marks easily. So for the last couple of months I have been thinking over how to do this. I came up with this design a while back and I am happy with how I think it is going to work.

I also spent some time debating about how to present the making of this tool to you all. I didn’t want to have to go over the how to make the tool each time we used it but also by itself I didn’t feel it would make a very good tutorial but since I needed to do the other tools also I felt the combination would be the solution. Now in future tutorials when I use either of the tools we make today I can just link this tutorial so you can find out how to create the tools.

For the grill mark tool we will need 4 craft sticks and 6 bamboo skewers. You will also need glue (I used tacky glue) some wide masking tape and some 4 squares to the inch graph paper.

Start by setting up your work surface. Tape down a piece of wide masking tape sticky side up, make sure it is wide enough to slip the graph paper under it. Cut a piece of the graph paper about 4 ½ wide and slip it under the wide masking tape. I do highly recommend taping the graph paper down once you have it placed where you want it.

Now cut the bamboo skewers down to 4 ½” long, I got two pieces from each skewer with a tiny bit of the pointed end left over.

Carefully lay the skewers onto the tape lining them up so they are centered on the vertical lines of the graph paper. Work your way across lining up each skewer with the lines so they are equally placed. Do your best to line them up and to have the ends lined up also.

 

 

Once you are happy with how the skewers are placed carefully remove the graph paper from underneath everything.

Now add glue to 3 of the craft sticks and carefully place them across the skewers to hold them together. 

 

 

Once you are happy with the placement very carefully add a weight to the top. I am using a brick from the hardware store. You could use a book or whatever is heavy enough to hold all the pieces in place. Now let it sit to dry, at least a few hours. I ended up leaving mine overnight since I got busy. You want that glue to have time to dry.

Now carefully lift the brick off and set it aside. Remove the tape from the work surface, turn the everything over and carefully remove the tape from the tool check all the skewers to make sure they all are held tight. Since both the craft sticks and skewers tend to not be completely straight you might find that you have a couple of places that the glue didn’t hold. Carefully add some glue to those spots and clamp them in place to dry.

Next I added an additional craft stick to the back of the center one to act as a handle to make this easier to use. Be sure to clamp this also until the glue at least sets up a bit.

As with the spacers allow all the glue to at least a day or two before you use it.

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.

Doll Size Guitar (Dollar Tree Makeover)

 

Watch the video here.

I got a lot of really positive feedback on the last Dollar Tree makeover I did on this channel so I when I noticed these guitars at the store I decided to see what I can do with them.

My Dollar Tree had these over on the aisle with the card games and such. They had the style I got and also some other styles. They also had this shape in a couple of different colors. I chose this one because it reminded me more of just a classic guitar.

As far as size these are really good for our 18” dolls. The big thing that bothers me is that they only have 4 strings instead of 6. I did play around with another one off camera to try to figure out a way to add 2 more strings but so far I haven’t come up with an easy way to do that. So for now the dolls will just have 4 strings on their guitar.

Today we are going to focus on adding a strap to the guitar. To do that I decided to add a “button” to the body of the guitar for the strap to attach to. For this I first looked through my jewelry supplies and didn’t find anything. Then I decided to dig through my tool box. 

 

 

In there I found a package of mending plates that came with some screws. I looked online and found out they are called flat head screws. The ones in this package are fairly short (about ¾” long) and not too fat. I found a drill bit that was just a bit thinner also.

 

Then I marked the center of the end of the guitar and used the drill bit to just start a hole then carefully screwed the screw into the guitar just leaving the slopped part out. This way I have a “button” to hook the strap to.

 

Now that we have a way to hold the strap to the guitar we can start making the strap. I am going to start by creating the loop to go over the button we just added to the guitar. To do that cut a piece of embroidery thread a few inches long. Then add a small bead to the thread.

 

Now fold the thread in half, add some glue to the make the ends stay together into a stiff point (once dry you can even trim the hardened end to a better point) then slip the bead onto the ends to form a shape like this.

 

I know that looking at black on black makes it really hard to see the details so I made the same loop with light colored beads so you can better visualize what I am doing.

By moving the second bead up and down you can snug the loop to the button to help keep it in place.

To create the other end of the strap cut another piece of the embroidery thread a few inches long (probably about 4” or 5”) then fold it in half and tie a knot near the fold. This will help it to stay in place when we glue it by giving it a bit more surface area to catch the glue.

Now cut a piece of the ribbon 14 ½” long (my ribbon is 5/8” wide) then glue the two pieces we just created from the embroidery thread to each end. Be sure to have them glued to the same side of the ribbon. Let the glue dry.

 

 

Once dry add some more glue and fold the corners of the ribbon up to make a point covering the ends of the embroidery floss parts. Then use some small clamps to hold this in place until the glue dries.

 

Once the glue dries simply slip the loop over the button on the end of the guitar and snug the sliding bead up close to help it stay in place. I did make the loop on mine a bit on the small side so I do recommend you make a slightly larger loop when you make yours.

Then slip one of the ends of the floss on the other end of the strap under the strings up by the adjustment knobs and tie it in place.

 

And I think the dolls are going to have a lot of fun playing guitar. I love this one and I am so happy I noticed the guitars hanging the store.

I’m thinking about working on a guitar case for the dolls to too. Let me know if you would be interested in that also.

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.

Doll Size Corn Dogs

 

Watch the video here.

I decided to make some corn dogs for the dolls this week. I know my kids loved to eat these as they were growing up (and to be totally truthful I still enjoy one once in a while) so I thought the dolls might be fans also.

To get ready I mixed my clay mixture off camera. I am using a combination of approximately 2 parts Original Sculpey with 1 part Sculpey III in yellow. You could use any white and yellow clays for this. You could even work with just the Original Sculpey if you wish. I used to the combination because by using a light yellow clay it will make the process of added the “cooked” color to the outside much easier. If you just used white you will need to spend more time working with the chalks to get the right golden brown delicious color. The downside to the mix I used is both of the clays are very soft and while that makes working with them easier on my hands it means the clay does become misshapen much easier than a firmer clay would have. I used what I did simply because they were easier to find and I didn’t have to go dig through my clay stash to find them.

 

 

For the sticks that the corn dogs will be on I am using some flat toothpicks. I made a mark with a pencil 1” from the wider/round end then cut them down about ½” past that mark.

 

 

 

Next I rolled the clay into a snake about ½” in diameter and cut 1 3/8” long pieces from this snake.

Roll each piece into a ball, the ball should measure around ¾” in diameter.

Then roll the balls our to be shaped like a corn dog. I like to start with the ball shape because the makes getting the ends to be rounded so much easier than trying to work from the snake shape. You are aiming to make a corn dog that is about ½” in diameter by about 1 3/8” long.

Now add a bit of the liquid clay to the stick in the area between where you marked the 1” and the place you cut off. Then insert the stick into the clay corn dog up to the pencil line. This will give you the proper 1” handle on the end of the corn dog and all of the ones you make will be the same.

Now roll the corn dogs in a piece of fine grain sandpaper to give just a bit of texture so they look like they are coated in batter.

Use a pointy tool of some kind to ease just a bit of the clay down the stick to look like that little bit of batter that is always on the real ones. (this not only looks good it helps to cover that pencil mark up)

 

Now we can add some artist chalks to make these look all “golden brown and delicious” Start with the yellow ocher chalk and cover the clay completely. This is the step where starting off with the yellow clay really pays off. Because you want the chalk to still look translucent but you need to also have the color to be there. Once you are happy with the yellow coverage repeat this same thing with the rust color chalk. Then use just a bit of the brown chalk on the areas that would normally cook more.

 

Now bake the corn dogs at the recommended temperature for your clay for 25 minutes. And allow to cool to room temperature before handling then.

 

 

 

And that is all there is to making these. If you wanted to you could give them a coat of a mat clear finish if you wish.

 

 

 

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.

Watch the video here.

I decided to make some corn dogs for the dolls this week. I know my kids loved to eat these as they were growing up (and to be totally truthful I still enjoy one once in a while) so I thought the dolls might be fans also.

To get ready I mixed my clay mixture off camera. I am using a combination of approximately 2 parts Original Sculpey with 1 part Sculpey III in yellow. You could use any white and yellow clays for this. You could even work with just the Original Sculpey if you wish. I used to the combination because by using a light yellow clay it will make the process of added the “cooked” color to the outside much easier. If you just used white you will need to spend more time working with the chalks to get the right golden brown delicious color. The downside to the mix I used is both of the clays are very soft and while that makes working with them easier on my hands it means the clay does become misshapen much easier than a firmer clay would have. I used what I did simply because they were easier to find and I didn’t have to go dig through my clay stash to find them.

For the sticks that the corn dogs will be on I am using some flat toothpicks. I made a mark with a pencil 1” from the wider/round end then cut them down about ½” past that mark.

Next I rolled the clay into a snake about ½” in diameter and cut 1 3/8” long pieces from this snake.

Roll each piece into a ball, the ball should measure around ¾” in diameter.

Then roll the balls our to be shaped like a corn dog. I like to start with the ball shape because the makes getting the ends to be rounded so much easier than trying to work from the snake shape. You are aiming to make a corn dog that is about ½” in diameter by about 1 3/8” long.

Now add a bit of the liquid clay to the stick in the area between where you marked the 1” and the place you cut off. Then insert the stick into the clay corn dog up to the pencil line. This will give you the proper 1” handle on the end of the corn dog and all of the ones you make will be the same.

Now roll the corn dogs in a piece of fine grain sandpaper to give just a bit of texture so they look like they are coated in batter.

Use a pointy tool of some kind to ease just a bit of the clay down the stick to look like that little bit of batter that is always on the real ones. (this not only looks good it helps to cover that pencil mark up)

Now we can add some artist chalks to make these look all “golden brown and delicious” Start with the yellow ocher chalk and cover the clay completely. This is the step where starting off with the yellow clay really pays off. Because you want the chalk to still look translucent but you need to also have the color to be there. Once you are happy with the yellow coverage repeat this same thing with the rust color chalk. Then use just a bit of the brown chalk on the areas that would normally cook more.

Now bake the corn dogs at the recommended temperature for your clay for 25 minutes. And allow to cool to room temperature before handling then.

And that is all there is to making these. If you wanted to you could give them a coat of a mat clear finish if you wish.

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.

Doll Size Serving Tray

 

Watch the video here.

 

This week I am doing a makeover of a tray I found at the local Dollar Tree. This was in the Crafter’s Square section of the store with the other unfinished wood items. There were actually 2 different designs of the tray. The one I picked has an oval cutout for the area of the handle and the other one had hearts. Either one would be excellent for this project. These trays come in two sizes and this is the smallest of the two.

I wanted to create an easy ‘tile” bottom for my tray and decided to play with some card-stock from my stash. You can use any card-stock for this the weight of the card-stock won’t even matter on this project. I picked a printed sheet that has kind of a mid-century look to it. I then picked 3 solid colors that would blend with it. All of my sheets of card-stock are rather heavy. You can pick any design you want or just use solid colors. I can see this being really cool to do for different holidays also since there are always so many pretty card-stocks out at those times.

I cut the card-stock into ½” wide strips to use for the woven base and I cut more than I felt I needed. I decided to run all the patterned pieces the long way with the solid ones crossing them in a pattern. I just did a very standard weave on this but there are many other woven patterns you could do for this.

 

 

To keep everything in place I used some tape (sticky side up) on my tile to hold the patterned strips then wove the solid ones in place. 

 

 

 

 

I tightened up the strips as I went so I wasn’t seeing my tile in places between them.

Once I had enough of the woven part finished and I was happy with how it looked. I slipped a sheet of parchment paper under it and gave the top of it a good coat of Satin Mod Podge. Once dry I turned it over and gave the back side a thin coat of the same Mod Podge. I did turn it right side up to dry (I didn’t want to chance the top side sticking to my work surface.

Meanwhile I got the wooden tray ready. I started by sanding all the rough areas with fine grain sandpaper. Then I wiped it down with a paper towel to remove any dust.

Now it was time to paint the tray. I went with a solid white using just some craft paint I had on hand. It did take 3 coats and I sanded the entire surface with the same sandpaper I used earlier between the 2^nd and 3^rd coats because the grain of the wood was raising a bit with the moisture from the paint.

I made a pattern to fit the bottom of the tray since I didn’t want to take a chance on measuring wrong but you could just measure and cut to size if you wish. I cut the woven piece to fit the bottom of the tray exactly, in fact it was fit so close I had to use a tool to remove it when I put it in to check the size.

I decided to use the Mod Podge to glue my woven piece into my tray. I knew I wanted to cover the entire bottom of the tray so that was easier that using glue. Also the Mod Podge was already on my work table. I spread a pretty good layer of Mod Podge over the bottom of the tray then smoothed my woven piece in place and spread any Mod Podge that came up from underneath evenly over the surface. This now needed to set aside to dry completely.

Next I used some gold paint to coat the inside of the oval handle cut-out. I did

Have to touch up my white a bit. I wanted just a hint of the gold showing on the flat surface.

 

 

 

 

Once everything is completely dry add a top coat of Satin Mod Podge and allow to dry.

 

 

 

 

And there we have a serving tray for the dolls to use. I am so happy with how this turned out I hope you all enjoy the project also.

 

 

 

 

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.

Doll Size Bagel Bites

 

Watch the video here.

This week we are continuing with our theme of snacks for the 18” dolls, with some Bagel Bites. I know these are pretty common in the US, I’m not sure if they are in the rest of the world. If you aren’t familiar with these the are simply mini bagels that have been cut, spread with pizza sauce, and topped with some cheese and optionally with a few pieces of pepperoni. (at least those are the only 2 varieties I am familiar with) They are sold frozen and can be heated up in the microwave or oven to cook. I know growing up my kid’s loved them so I thought the dolls might like them also.

For the bagel part of the of our project I am using Original Sculpey. This is a relative soft whitish polymer clay. After conditioning the clay roll a snake about ½” in diameter. Then cut ¾” long pieces from this snake. Each section of clay you cut will make 2 bagel bites.

After cutting the clay roll each piece of clay into a ball. Once the balls are rolled place them one at a time onto a piece of sandpaper and use you finger to flatten the balls a bite. Try to get them about ¾” in diameter and around ½” thick. Once all are flattened I used a Phillips head screwdriver to make the hole in the middle of each side. Don’t go all the way through just make some shape.

The next step is to use a yellow ocher artist chalk to color the entire outside of each bagel. Then follow up with some rust colored artist chalk. This will take that white clay and make it looked like it has been baked.

The next step is to place the bagels in the freezer for about 15 minutes. This will firm the clay enough so we can slice them easily without loosing the round shape. Don’t leave them in there too much longer than 15 minutes though you don’t want to try to cut clay that is frozen solid. If yours get too hard just let them sit at room temperature for a couple of minutes.

Use a clay blade to cut each bagel into 2 halves.

If you want to add some “pepperoni” to your bagel bites just mix some red polymer clay with about the same amount of a dark brown polymer clay to get a cooked pepperoni color then roll it into a thin sheet and cut tiny bits from it.

Then bake the clay pieces at the temperature recommended for the clay you are using for 15 minutes. Allow them to cool to room temperature.

One of the things I wanted to do with this tutorial this week was to use craft paints instead of liquid clay for the sauce and the cheese. In order to do that I am mixing in additives to give the paint more texture than it would normally have.

For the pizza sauce I first needed to mix my red color here is a picture of the paints I used to create the color. If you have a red color that you like for your sauce go ahead and use that. Since I didn’t have a color I thought was really right for this I mixed in colors until I reached the color I had in mind.

 Once you have the color you want add some white sand to the paint to thicken it and give it some texture. This will make the sauce look a bit more realistic.

Paint your sauce paint over the tops of your bagels, concentrating on the outside of the top of each bagel. Allow the paint to dry.

To make the melted cheese I used a cream color craft paint mixed with a bit of satin Mod Podge. Then I added enough cornstarch to the paint mixture to thicken it slightly, you just want it to start to thicken.

Then all you have to do is apply a coat of the “melted cheese” to the top of each bagel bite. If you are adding “pepperoni” just place it on top of the wet cheese paint. Allow this to dry completely.

Now we simply need a coat of satin Mod Podge over the tops of each bagel bite. Allow this to dry.

And just like that the dolls can add some Bagel Bites to their snack.

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.