Doll Size Lunch Tray

 

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 5 files: a PDF for hand-cutting of the pieces, 3 PNG files 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 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 did try to make this pattern fit onto just 2 pages but I just could not make it fit. So we have to cut 3 pieces of paper. Do note that there are two sizes of the pieces with the holes cut from them. The 2 layers that will be the top layer of the tray is slightly bigger so that it forms a lip that extends out from the wells of the tray.

Like always with these projects we will begin by gluing the pattern pieces together. Start with the solid pieces and the larger pieces since there are only 2 of each of these. With these like all the projects I make like this take your time lining up the pieces. They are designed to fit together and line up. The better you do at lining them up along the way the better the project will end up. Then tackle the main pieces of the tray. Do these by starting with two stacks of 2 with a leftover single piece. Then once they have dried a bit I combined all of the same size to make one unit that size. In the end I had 3 sets of pieces glued together in stacks ready to build the tray from.

Now the order of assembly is kind of important here. I have set this up in the way that is easiest to do it. Start by gluing the bottom (the solid piece) to the bottom of the thicker stack of pieces. The one that has 5 layers and is smaller. These two are the same size and should be easy to line up. Allow this glue to set up at least long enough that nothing shifts when you go to the next step.

And that next step is to add that last larger set of pieces. This is pretty simple just line up the cut outs in it with the cut outs in the other tray piece. Once glued this will need to dry completely before the next step.

This next step is optional, I decided to add a layer of tissue paper (the kind sold near the wrapping paper and gift bags) using some Mod Podge over the entire tray. My thought on this was that it will add more strength so the tray will hold up a lot better and also I will help to blend the layers together even more. If you are careful and only add a single layer the wrinkles will be minimal but if the threat of wrinkles is something you want to avoid just go on the painting step at this point.

If you do cover yours like I did I highly recommend starting on the bottom side and do your experimenting on there then once that dries turn the tray over and do the top side. This will need to dry completely before going on to the painting step.

Now the fun part pick a color of paint for your lunch tray. I looked online and the real ones seem to come in just about every color of the rainbow. So pick whatever you want. I picked an aqua color simply because I really like the color and I hardly ever had a reason to use it on anything. This color is somewhat transparent so it took about 3 coats of paint to get good coverage. Allow the paint to dry.

 

Now seal the tray with a clear sealer, I used the same Mat Mod Podge that is used for the tissue paper layer. This gives just a light sheen and I like the look for things like this. I used 2 very thin coats of the Mod Podge for this and it turned out just right.

 

Now for the other really fun part- it’s time to add a school lunch for the dolls. I went through some of the foods I have made on the channel and added these. The bottle of “juice” is just a small bottle of bubbles I picked up in the party favor aisle of some store. I’m not sure which store it could have been Dollar Tree or Party City but I am not sure off the top of my head. Click on the names of the other items to be taken directly to the video tutorial for that item.

 

Corn Dogs

Salad

Potato  Chips

Slice of cake (Yule Log Tutorial)

 

 

 

I think our doll looks very happy with her lunch. This should be a really fun addition to your doll accessory collection.

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 Potato Chips

 

Watch the video here.

This week I have another project with a pattern you can download and use for free. The pattern has a version to cut by hand and one to use with your electronic cutting machine. This pattern is free to download and you can use it as many times as you wish. You can even sell the items made from my patterns. I just ask that you don’t sell or pass along my patterns. If someone wants a copy of the pattern send them to the video and here to the blog so they can download their own copy.

The free download has 3 parts in the file. There is a PDF if you want to cut by hand. And for those of you that want to use the pattern with an electronic cutting machine the pattern itself is a PNG and there is a text file that has the information about the sizing as well as hints that I have to make the process smoother.

The pattern is located here.

Depending on how you are cutting your chips will determine when you paint the sheet of paper.

If you are going to be cutting by hand with the PDF, go ahead and print the pattern sheet on regular printer paper. I do suggest using whatever setting on your printer that uses less ink. Sometimes it is called something like draft. Sometimes there might be an “ink saver” setting. Try to pick a setting that will use less ink. You might also need to set your printer up to print edge to edge to get the entire pattern. Once printed I would let the ink dry at least a couple of hours then proceed with the painting process. Most printers I’ve had over the years the ink will not run very much if any. If it does run just trim off any ink that ran when you cut the chips out.

If you are going to be using the PNG with an electronic cutting machine paint the paper first and then let the paint dry at least 24 hours. That way you can be sure it is completely dry before it goes anywhere near the machine.

When you are ready to paint the first layer of paint a wash made up of mostly water with just a touch of white craft paint and a touch of a golden yellow craft paint. The amounts of paint to water will vary depending on the brand of paint you are using as well as the exact colors of paint. You aiming at just tinting the water.

 

 Work on top of a piece of wax paper or parchment paper so that your paper doesn’t stick to the work surface. I found a sponge brush was the best tool for this first layer. Paint one side of paper completely then allow to dry and paint the other side of the paper. Be aware that the coverage will not be even, it will be fairly blotchy because of how watered down the paint is. Allow to dry.

Once the base layer of color dries again tint some water with paint this time using just the white paint. Then using a chunk of kitchen sponge paint the surface with the watered down white. Use a dabbing motion and don’t cover every bit of the surface. Let dry then repeat on side 2 and allow to dry.

Now we need to add a sponged layer of the golden yellow paint that has bee watered down. Do this exactly like we did with the white layer but use less of this layer. If you get too much of the yellow on you can always correct it with another layer of white.

Let this dry before proceeding to the next step. No matter how you are cutting the chips the paper needs to dry all the way through before you cut into it.

 

Once completely dry if you cutting with a machine be sure to anchor the paper to the cutting mat really well. I used wash tape on all four sides of my paper. Between the paint on the surface and the fact the paper is no longer flat it needs to be really held down to the mat. I would not however use one of the mats that has extra grip because that might tear the painted surface off the paper. Just use a regular mat and lots of tape to help hold it.

 

Once cut we can start to work on the detail painting on the chips.

For the first step of the detail painting I used more of the watered down golden yellow paint (this time a bit more paint than before) and using either a cotton swab or small paint brush (or better yet both) add an outline to each chip as well as some random spots of the paint/water mixture. Again laying the chips on wax paper to dry.

 

For a final bit of detail I used a bit of brown paint with a bit of water and flat brush to paint just the outside rim of some of the chips. Not all the way around just a partial outline on some of them. Then also tear a few chips because there are always some broken chips in the bag. Allow this final paint to dry.

 

 

 

And here we have some of the finished chips, I hope your dolls enjoy them as much as I enjoyed coming up with the 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.

Doll Size Potted Plant

 

Watch the video here.

The first step is to start the prep work on the pot we are going to use. I have some of these cool shaped containers from yogurt that I decided to use. Look through what you have and find a container you like.

I do want to take off the edge/rim at the top of the container. I don’t like how it sticks out so I used some scissors to simply cut it off. Once you get your scissors lined up with where the edge bends out it is really easy to cut because in that area the plastic is a bit thinner.

Since my container had a label that was removable I was able to remove it and I had a nice white pot at this point and I could have just used it that way. But I wanted to add some color to mine.

Since the container was very shiny I used a sanding block (you could use sand paper) to rough up the surface a bit. I then wiped it down with some Isopropyl Alcohol (you could use white vinegar) this removes any dust from the sanding process and any oils that might interfere with the paint.

If your container has printing on the surface instead of a removable label I suggest painting it with a coat of white paint then painting it with the color you are going to use. If you are going to make a really dark color pot you could use black for the base coat.

Now just paint the outside and down a bit on the inside at the top. You will most likely need multiple coats of paint to get full coverage.

 

While the painting is going on let’s work on the plant.

For the plant I have created a free downloadable pattern for you to use. You can find it here. You can make as many plants with the pattern as you would like, you could even sell or give away the finished plants just please don’t give away/sell my pattern. The download contains 3 items, a PDF if you want to hand cut the pieces as well as a PNG that can be used in your electronic cutting machine. The 3^rd item is a text file with sizing instructions and tips for using the PNG with your cutting machine.

I did my best to try and place more of the palm fronds on a page but the Cricut cutting area wasn’t big enough for more that two, so for each frond of your plant you will need a separate sheet of paper. We are using printer paper, and mine is super cheap so it is pretty lightweight.

The pattern is designed with the two pieces on each sheet being a mirror image of the other one. So you will need to keep track of which side gets glued together.

You will also need a piece of 20 gauge stem wire for each frond cut about 9” long. 

 

Start with a bead of thick tacky glue down the center stem area of each frond then coat the remainder of frond with a coat of Mod Podge.

 

 

 

 

Add the wire to the center. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And then add the other frond on top creating a sandwich with the wire in the center. Carefully lift this off your work surface and place standing up in a container so that the leaves are not touching anything. Allow to dry completely.

Once the glue/Mod Podge dries go over each frond and do any trimming you need to do to neaten them up.

 

Once you are happy you can gather some green craft paints (I also ended up using a yellow) and paint the leaves.

 

 

 

 

While the paint on the leaves dries we can move back to working on the pot providing the paint on it is dry.

 

 

 

 

The next step on the pot is to fill it with some foam. I’m using some floral foam from the dollar store but you could even use styrofaom packing, any kind of solid foam pieces that you can fill the pot with. Use some Tacky glue to hold it in place while we are working.

Once the foam is in place let the glue dry at least most of the way. Note I didn’t mention it in the video but you could use hot glue for this if you are very careful to not melt the foam.

Once you are happy with the way the top of the foam looks and you have most of the top filled in to the edge of the pot it is time to paint the top of the foam with any dark brown craft paint. Ideally we will never see this paint but just in case there are thin areas in our “soil” we don’t want to see the color of the foam through those areas. Just put on a nice thick coat of paint and allow to dry.

Once dry if you find you have been a bit sloppy with the painting job take a few moments to touch up the painting until you are happy with it.

Once the paint is dry we can add the “soil” and the plant.

We do need to add both the “soil” and the plant at the same time because once the thick layer of glue dries it is next to impossible to add the plant stems without damaging the plant.

So start by adding a thick layer of a foam friendly glue. I would normally use tacky glue but I am almost out of tacky glue and didn’t want to use it all up on this project. Instead I used some school glue. Basically any white glue will work for this.

Once the glue is added to the top of the foam spread it out as well as you can. Try not to have any bare areas. I use a toothpick to spread mine and for me that works really well.

Now we add the soil. For soil I used my go-to, very well dried used coffee grounds. The key things in that description are very well dried and used coffee grounds. As long as you follow that these will work really well. Just pour them over the wet glue, spread them out and pour of the excess.

Now we add the plant fronds, I’m grouping mine in the center of the pot since I have something like a palm plant in mind.

As for the number of fronds for your plant you could have made as many as you wished to, as long as they will fit in the pot and look nice.

Now let the glue dry somewhere that the pot will not get knocked down.

 

 

Once the glue holding the soil in place is completely dry you can arrange the leaves the way you want to make the plant look the way you want it to.

 

 

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.

18” Doll Size Valentine Candy Box

 

Watch the video here.

This week I wanted to show you how to make this fun heart shaped candy box for the dolls. After all Valentine’s Day will be here in a few weeks and the dolls need to be ready.

Over on my dollhouse miniatures channel I have been making a lot of projects with free patterns that can be downloaded to make them much easier for my viewers to recreate. I decided to do some over here on the doll channel too. So this week I have free pattern for this candy box that you can find right here. The link will lead you to Google Drive where you will find a folder that contains the pattern in two forms. A PNG to be used with any electronic cutting machine that uses PNG files. (be sure to consult the text file for directions on sizing) In addition there is a PDF that can be printed and used if you are hand cutting the pieces.

I am happy to have you use the pattern to make candy boxes for yourself, your friends or even to sell. Just please don’t sell or share the pattern. If someone else wants to make one too send them to my video/blog post so they can download it themselves.

I am using just plain medium card stock in white for this project. I find that many colors of card stock fade badly and the painted stays true to color a bit better. Also, the paint helps to disguise the fact we made this from layers of card stock instead of a single layer of heavier material.

I am going to lead you through the process of what I did in the video here.

Let’s start with the box bottom:

 Once you have the pieces cut they should look like this:

I have 4 large hearts, 6 smaller hearts and 1 strips.

 

Set the strips off to the side for a bit and glue the hearts together in two stacks, one of the larger hearts and one of the smaller ones. Do your best to keep the edges lined up and even and use a small amount of thick glue. I do suggest drying the pieces under a bit of weight to help keep them flat.

Once dry we are going to add the wider of the two strips to the sides of the smaller heart. First use something like a blade of your scissors to slightly curl the strip then give it a fold in the center. Now line the fold up with the “v” at the top of the heart and glue it around. The strips are all cut a bit long so that you can trim them. Fold the end of the first side around the bottom of the heart. (I forgot to take a picture of this but I did take one of the pieces for the lid so check below if you can’t visualize what I am saying here) We will trim the second side when the glue dries. Be sure the strip is lined up with the back of the heart all the way around. Allow the glue to dry.

Once the glue is dry cut off the extra bit of the strip of paper at the bottom of the heart. Now repeat the process with the narrower strip being very careful to keep the long edges lined up at the back side of the heart. Allow to dry.

Once dry trim the strip just like we did before. Now it is time to glue this heart to the larger heart. Apply thick glue to the back of the small heart and do your very best to line it up in the center of the larger heart. You might need to weight down the smaller heart to keep it flat against the larger heart. Allow to dry.

 

 

Now we can proceed with the lid to the box. Here are the pieces cut out. The are the same as for the box bottom except the strips are narrower.

 

 

 

 

 

Glue the hearts together exactly as we did with the box bottom.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now for the strips. Here is what they should look like when they are curled.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And here is what I mean by making the crease in the center.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now for the big difference in the box lid from the box bottom. We need to glue the narrow strip on first this time. This will allow the top of the box to fit onto the box. Allow to dry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now add the wider strip to the lid. Allow to dry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Again we need to glue the smaller heart with the sides glued onto it to the larger heart. Again being very careful to line it up in the center as best as you can. Allow to dry.

 

 

 

 

 

Once the glue has dried paint both pieces with some red (or your choice of color) craft paint. You will probably need two coats you want a nice even color. Allow to dry.

I used some wash tape to decorate the top of my box, you could to the same or use a pretty sticker, or you could paint a design, of add some Valentine paper, or leave it plain. I do suggest that if you use a sticker or wash tape you add it with a layer of glue instead of depending on the sticky to remain good. Some times over time the sticky baking can fail so glue will help the project still look nice in years to come. Allow any glue/paint used to decorate the box top to dry completely.

 

 

Now we need to add a thin even coat of Satin Mod Podge to both pieces avoiding the places that will touch when the lid is on the box. Allow to dry.

 

 

 

 

Now we have a wonderful candy box but no candy……

come back to the tutorial next week where will be making some chocolates to add to the box.

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.