Broken Eggs

What a week! Too much happening, with not enough time or energy to sort everything out... in fact, the only crafty thing I've done is make some 1:12th scale broken eggs from the eggshells I made recently.

I didn't put my usual penny in the photograph to show scale, as you've already seen th eeggshells and cupcakes next to the small coin (and yes, it really is the same coin each time!).

I even missed "What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday"? because I was so busy - but family does come first...yes, even before crafting, even in my house *lol*

Onion

Just a quickie show... I tried to make onions. I did find some on EBay, but have always been outbid (I'm such a scrooge - hate paying out too much *lol*).

My onions aren't too bad... though I rather stupidly made onion canes and made these with a 'skin' on them - though it doesn't show too much. My red onion cane is a complete disaster... I think that using plain translucent is a mistake, and if I try this again I'll mix it with a little pearlised white clay too.

The whole onions are made from the cane - so if they are sliced, they'll look like real onions inside - well, sort of :)

Egg Shells

I have been fascinated by the little touches many artists add to their miniature scenes... the most amazing are little broken egg shells. So... of course I had to give it a go too :)

Firstly, I mixed polymer clay: 1 part light brown, 2 parts white, 3 parts translucent. I rolled this well-mixed egg shell colour on number 4 of my pasta machine (1=thinnest, 7=thickest).

Next I rolled out some plain white clay on a number 1. I did try a half and half mix of translucent and white, but this didn't really work as well as the white on it's own. I laid the white onto the egg shell brown, and once again put this through the pasta machine on number 1. I don't have a photograph of this, because my camera refused to take a picture...I begged, cajoled, and eventually swore at it - but it just didn't like my egg-shell clay rolled out. Anyways...

Next, I laid out the clay and cut circles out of it. I used the plastic cover that protects the end of a new paintbrish - just a little plastic tube that is not quite 2/8ths of an inch in diameter (just over half a centimetre).

I did remember to dip the cutter into a little cornflour (or baby talc) as I used it to stop the circles from sticking to it.

The spare bit of clay that is from around the little circles... I don't discard that. I bake it when I bake the finished eggshells, and then I can use it to make little pieces of broken shell.

I then had to find something with a rounded end... small enough to model an egg shell around...

The end of a paintbrush worked nicely - though later I used an orange stick that I lightly sanded to a rounded end. Once again I remembered to dip the end into cornflour EVERY TIME before I used it to model an egg shell.

Carefully, I picked up a piece of egg shell clay, and placed it onto the end of the paintbrush, white side onto the surface and the brown side outward facing. Cool fingers were a help at this point, as warm hands stick to the clay :) Very quickly, I molded the clay around the end of the paintbrush.

Next, I simply flicked the formed shell off of the end onto a baking tray - I used a silicone loaf tin (which I burned the first time I used polymer clay *lol*). The edges of the shell were quite jagged and rough already - but if I wasn't happy then I'd use my nail or a sharp knife to cut into the edge BEFORE I took the shell off of the end of the paintbrush.

Then all I had to do is bake according to the clay manufacturers' instructions, and I have wonderful little egg shells for my miniature home. Not all the egg shells were perfect (unless you're a genius, really lucky, or a perfectionist  I don't think anybodys eggshells would be)... but most were be fine :)

I can't wait to use these on a preparation board... baking cupcakes probably... :)

Icing Cupcakes

I really should check before I glue things down... these cupcakes are definitely a bit wonky! Still, true to life then - at least, that's how my cupcakes turn out anyway :)

I found the cute little wooden bowls at HobbyCraft - they had a sale on them... and I so wish I'd bought loads more! For the icing bag, I did have a vague idea of using hairspray or white glue spread (or sprayed) onto carrier bags and then peeled off... then I found a tutorial online that had a similar (but better) idea of how to make the bags using glue... so I went with that one instead. The boards were bought at HobbyCraft too - 1.5" round, 12 of these were cheaper than a pack of six 1" round boards. I sometimes wonder who decides on pricing!

I did make another icing bag with a flattened nozzle (the nozzles were all made from scrapbooking aluminium foil border metal) and a bit of piped icing to match that... I just haven't glossed the icing bit yet :)

All-in-all, a fun project ... quite easy (again)... though I do have to practice those cupcakes... or buy a proper mold :)

Apples

I'm definitely taking the easy option with my miniature food making right now... it's apples this time. Easy to do - no taxing the mind at all :)

From whole apples...

to peeling them...

or cutting them in half...

or wedges...

to munching them and leaving just the core...

I think I'll have one of the apples being peeled, placed on a plate with a knife for my dolls house. Maybe an apple core on the side of the plate too... Yes, I like that idea :)

Cupcakes

I really wanted to make cupcakes - I know everyone else is doing it - whether full size edible ones, or dollshouse miniatures...

The most difficult part was making the bases - who'd figure this would be the hardest part? I tried making a silicone mold, making each one individually... and ended up making a sort-of mold from scrap clay. Of course, to make this mold I had to first make a base to make an impression of!

Compared to that, making the cherries for the tops was easy-peasy - stalks an'all!

I used a mix of brown, white pearl, and transluscent clay for the base, and then just a mix of liquid clay and white clay for the 'icing'.

Some of the stalks are falling off - they are so tiny! But to be quite honest, the cherries still look good whether the stalks are on or not.

I did a few with slices from the strawberry cane I made to decorate the tops - just because the cherries were becoming annoying :)
Even though these are a bit of a pain to make - quite fiddly (especially when trying to 'ice' the tops!), I'd make them again - maybe using a white colour for the base to look like they were in paper cases.

Peaches

I think my mojo is waning... so I tried to make something simple. All I got was misshapen peaches *lol*

I made some with leaves, and most of them without. I'm really happy with the shading, and because they're not varnished at all, they even look a little fuzzy.

I'm sure they'd look much better stacked up in a fruit bowl... I'll try it out later :)

Fresh Fish

I had a go at making fresh fish... well, they're half a fish really, because I couldn't sculpt both sides :)

I tried rainbow trout and sea bass. The rainbow trout must be farmed... because they are not sleek and slim, but are fat trouts. My sea bass are a little better... but both sets of fish look so much better when they're NOT in close-up *lol*

Revamped Dolls House Doll

Isn't it funny how you buy something that you know you're just going to change completely?

Take my dolls house doll, for instance... here she is when I ordered her:

Long dress and full pinny, dark hair and a cap (bald under that cap though!), and sleeve protectors.

All perfectly acceptable...  but not for my dolls house. I just liked the look of her face... so that's why I bought her. So... I got her home and ripped her hat and hair off. The sleeve protectors were a no-no, and also the full pinny. Collar on that dress?... not a chance! As for the length... way too long. But she had cute bloomers on that could stay.

Her hair was replaced with blonde mohair - twice! Never again... that stuff gets everywhere!

The dress was shortened, the collar removed and the neckline widened... no pinny - just a purple ribbon instead and we were almost there. Except for those legs. She had flat feet with painted black boots on. No good at all for curling up on the sofa to read a book, or settling down on a blanket to fuss the dogs. No... they had to go. So I ripped them off.

Oh, the guilt! I kept looking at the sweet face on the doll, and telling her that I could rebuild her... better, stronger... :)

The major problem here, of course, is that I have no idea how to sculpt feet and legs. I knew I wanted chubby legs with small feet (just like mine!)... but that was about it. Last night I couldn't sleep - probably the thought of that doll laid on the table with no legs! So up I got from my bed, into the craft room, found some pink skin-tone clay and tried to make something... anything that might ease the guilt.

The leg-making and feet-sculpting was so hard - but not nearly as difficult as trying to keep them the same size!

I did it though... and for an old lady whose got rheumatoid arthritis and is a complete amateur, I reckon I did alright... and the doll seems quite happy too.

The originals and the replacements. The new legs look bigger - but from heel to top they are about the same length as the older legs.

You can see how chubby they look from behind... just how I wanted them to be :)

I shaped the legs and feet so that I could pose them - bending at the 'knee' and with a slight pointing of the foot. She can now tuck her legs under her as she sits on her blanket and plays with the Jack Russell pups...

She looks so different!
Oh... I nearly forgot to add that the mohair costs about £2, the fimo polymer clay I get on EBay (postage free) for £1.59... and the rest of the doll is just altered from what she was wearing originally - except for the piece of ribbon that I found in my stash drawer. A dolls house doll, customised to suit my (still un-made) dolls house for under £4... and the doll originally cost £3.50 - so that's a unique and perfect-for-me dolls house doll for very little cost. I'm a happy bunny :)

Do I Sell...?

I've been asked a few times if I sell my miniature food. Yes, I do. I sell on EBay as charleys_mini_market - but only 10 items each month so as not to pay fees for every listing. I am also going to start a shop on Etsy... though this will take a little while, as I want the items I sell to be absolutely as perfect as I can make them.

I have a few problems with cat hair at the moment. A couple of days of sun, and Callie is shedding all over the place. My duvet looks like a fur blanket!

I do try to ban the animals from my craft room - but they love it in here. Bella likes to tip over the bin and empty it all over the floor, Callie loves to sit between me and my computer (or whatever else I'm concentrating on at the time), and Lily just likes to be near me - poor old doggie that she is. Did I mention smelly? No?... Poor old SMELLY doggie that she is :)

I'm not making a fortune out of this hobby - and never will, nomatter how good I may get... I just can't see myself charging huge amounts for the time taken to make these minis. I've seen preparation boards that (in the opinion of a few people I've asked) that are no better than my own, selling for £15 or more! Oh, to have that confidence in my own work *lol*

Anyways... sidetracked...

I'll have a link on the sidebar when (or if) the Etsy store finally gets set up... I have to figure out postage costs and all sorts - but first find the time to do it all :)

So... if you're among the six people who have asked me if I sell my miniature foods, and you happen to read this... Thank You!

Pea Fritter And Chips

I just had to make these... partly to use up some of the huge pile of chips I had made... and partly because, well, I just had to :)

Pea fritter (cut in half) with chips and ketchup.

Anyone my age (not telling) and living in the UK may well recall the original copy of the newspaper front page headline... I couldn't not use this really... This headline has to be the most humorous, surreal, bizarre, outlandish, and unforgettable of the last century...

Yes, you've probably guessed that it's

"Freddie Starr Ate My Hamster"

Had to be done :)

New Look

I had to simplify the look of this blog... all those pink and orange swirls were making me dizzy!

I hope the plain-ness of it now isn't too off-putting - at least the colour scheme won't clash with the tomato ketchup on my mini-food :)

Right... off to sort out those pesky labels, and then post a piccie of what may be my absolute favourite mini food item I've ever made...

Pomegranates

I tried to make itty bitty 12th scale pomegranates. My absolute best friend and I were reminiscing about having pomegranates as a special treat when we were small children... and eating them with a pin, seed by jewel-like seed. So... I mixed a pomegranate-like colour, then halved it with transluscent clay... but they still came out a little dark. I don't know if I have the patience to try them again though *lol*.

They look quite bland... but the amount of time these took  was amazing - blending chalks and getting the king-flute on the top (don't know why we called it the king-flute... but we did and that's just how it is *lol*)... maybe more transluscent? I attempted the halved pomegranate several times before ending up with something I was slightly happy with. First, I tried to roll (by hand) some teeny seeds - they weren't opaque enough, Next I tried glass marbles with a little adirondak inks for colour - not enough ink. Lastly (and best) I tried the glass marbles with a lot more ink, and the result was a bit more satisfactory.

I may try these again... maybe.

Bell Peppers

Or, as the posher peoples amongst us might say... Capiscum!

Remember that awful failed experiment where the green pepper rings just didn't turn out right? I did it again... differently of course... and managed a slightly better result (let's face it, the end result couldn't have been much worse *lol*). I also made some whole peppers - obviously I am not clever enough to make these so that they are able to be sliced... but for a first attempt, they're not awful.

I will attempt other colours...but will alter the style a bit - maybe use more transluscent clay.

Waffles!

Another uber-easy tutorial on making waffles... I'll try not to waffle on (ooh... bad bad joke *lol*)

First things first... make a template out of scrap clay using the reverse side of a blade/knife (the bladed side makes too thin score lines) and quench it after baking (immediately after removing from oven, drop in iced water for a minute). I'm not 100% sure if the quenching makes a difference - though I have been told it makes the cooked clay much tougher and harder. The photo shows the template in a centimetre ruler - just over 3/4 of a centimetre square.

You'll need to lightly coat the template with a dusting of cornflour to stop it sticking to the clay.

Roll out some pale tan coloured clay - I rolled mine on a number 4 on a pasta machine (mine goes from 1=thinnest to 7=thicker) and press the template knobbly side downwards into the clay.

Don't let the cornflower build up between the ridges - use a dry, stiff brush like a toothbrush to clean it - but remember to flour it again before using it to press into the clay.

Separate the templates on the clay - just roughly cut around them using a blade - CAREFULLY!

Now neaten those edges. You want to leave just a narrow edge around the pattern of squares - about the same thickness as the ridges between the sqaures.

Now use the edge of you blade to gently push the sides in - all four sides.

You should end up with something looking like this:

Dust this with chalk pastels - a pale orangey-brown.

If you're stacking some up on a plate, just leave them at this stage and bake (arrange on oven-proof plate before baking). If you want to show the waffle being served, add two tiny squares of pale yellow (for butter) and drizzle over some liquid clay with a little bit of caramel-colored chalk pastel added.

After baking, when they're all cooled down, hilight the sauce and butter with a bit of gloss.

All done!

Too Much Bacon!

I made a LOT of 12th scale bacon. I couldn't help it... I made a cane and it went so far... so many strips of fried crispy bacon that I really don't know what to do with them all... but they sure do look scrummy (even for a vegetarian like me *lol*)!

Those chips were a pain to do... I made one lot and then decided they were slightly too big, so had to start all over again. I must admit that when I look at this picture, my mouth waters and I can almost smell the salt and vinegar on those chips!

I do enjoy making bread in this scale... it's easy and quite effective. There was a tiny bit of clay left over from making the loaves from these "bacon sandwich in progress" prep boards, so I made some tiny little bread rolls...

Not too bad... but I should have paid a little more attention to the detail.

Still... it's fine to store away for when I finally build my 1:12th scale dolls house (still in it's box!)