Sunday, October 21, 2012

Reader Build

Remember our Campfire?

One of our readers has built her own!!!
It looks FANTASTIC!

Check it out here:

Please feel free to use these plans to build furniture, for sale or for pleasure, but please do not sell the PLANS as your "own".  Please also give credit to me and link back here!  I hope you enjoy them!!
***I am NOT LIABLE for any plans featured here. Please take every precaution and use your own discretion to make sure these toys are safe for children to play with them.

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

18 inch Doll: Polymer Clay Chicken Noodle Soup

Today we are making
CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP
for our dolls!
 YOU WILL NEED:
1 - 2 ounce package of BEIGE polymer clay (noodles, chicken)
1 - 2 ounce package of ORANGE polymer clay (carrots)
1 - 2 ounce package of GREEN polymer clay (peas)
Translucent Liquid Sculpey (to make your broth)
Triple Thick (clear glaze to seal your cereal) AND dedicated paintbrush to apply
Pastel Chalks (for creating color in your broth) AND dedicated paintbrush to apply
Polyblade (for cutting your clay)
a clay "plastic roller" or a clay "pasta machine" (for rolling out your clay)
toothpicks
tinfoil (AND / OR a dedicated glass baking dish)
Old toothbrush (for texturing) AND/OR a small ball of tin foil
clay extruder
oven
***I purchased a ceramic soy sauce bowl from World Market to use as the soup bowl.
DIRECTIONS:
NOODLES:
1.  Roll out some of your beige clay (to warm it up) and place into your clay extruder. Extrude out snakes of clay. (I use a vise to squeeze the clay extruder...they need to design these things better...)
2.  Lay out your snakes of clay. If you want round noodles, leave them as they are. If you want "egg" noodles, gently flatten them with a roller:
 3.  Cut your desired noodle shape into pieces:
 4. Arrange HALF of your noodle pieces in the bottom of your bowl:
CHICKEN:
5.  Roll out a snake of beige clay until it is the thickness of a SHARPIE marker (about 1/2"). Pinch one side of the snake so that it is "Egg" shaped when standing on end (this gives your chicken piece a bit of shape):
 6. Shave some yellow and red-brown chalks onto the snake and rub in to give it color.
7.  You may also add some dark-brown chalk to give the snake a "browned" look:
 8.  Slice your snake into pieces:
 9.  You MAY want to slice those pieces into smaller halves:
 10.  Use an old toothbrush or piece of tin foil to add texture to your chicken pieces:
 CARROTS:
11.  Roll out a small ball of orange clay (about 1/2" in diameter):
 12. Roll that ball out into a snake the diameter of a toothpick.  Par-bake your snake until JUST HARD:
 13.  Cut your orange snake into tiny slices:
PEAS:
14.  Roll out your green clay into a small ball (about 1/2" in diameter):
 15.  Roll out the green ball into a snake just slightly smaller than the size of a toothpick.  Par-bake until JUST HARD:
16.  Slice your snake into tiny pieces:
BROTH:
17.  On a scrap piece of tin foil, place a glob of TLS (about 2-3" in diameter), and then shave some dark-yellow chalk onto the top. Mix the chalk into the TLS well, until the color of the TLS is a light yellow:
 18.  Add a few pieces of your carrots, peas, and chicken to the TLS and mix in:
 19.  Pour the mixture into your bowl (over the top of the noodles you placed in previously), and then add a few noodles, veggies and chicken on top. (You may not use ALL of your clay pieces that you have made because it looks good without them. Simply par-bake all of your pieces, and then store them in small sandwich bags until you can use them on another project!)
 20.  GENTLY press the ADDED veggies, chicken, and noodles into the TLS until they are JUST COVERED and slightly under the surface of the TLS:
 21.  Bake your bowl of soup (or use heat gun as I do) according to manufacturer directions:
22.  Once baked, allow to cool. Once cool, glaze with Triple Thick and allow to dry overnight.
You are now ready for play!
The spoon is from a silverware set sold here:
The "glass" is from Joann's and is a "candle holder".
I believe these are the same (they have changed packaging):


PLEASE REMIND YOUR CHILDREN THAT 
THIS "FOOD" IS FOR PLAY 
PURPOSES ONLY
AND SHOULD NEVER BE PLACED INTO THEIR 
MOUTHS!

Please feel free to use these plans to build furniture, for sale or for pleasure, but please do not sell the PLANS as your "own".  Please also give credit to me and link back here!  I hope you enjoy them!!
***I am NOT LIABLE for any plans featured here. Please take every precaution and use your own discretion to make sure these toys are safe for children to play with them.

18 inch Doll: Polymer Clay Cereal

Today we will be making
BREAKFAST CEREAL
for our dolls!!
YOU WILL NEED:
1 - 2 ounce package of BEIGE polymer clay (cereal)
Translucent Liquid Sculpey (to make your "milk")
Triple Thick (clear glaze to seal your cereal) AND dedicated paintbrush to apply
Pastel Chalks (for creating color on your cereal and in your milk) AND dedicated paintbrush to apply
Polyblade (for cutting your clay)
a clay "plastic roller" or a clay "pasta machine" (for rolling out your clay)
toothpicks
tinfoil (AND / OR a dedicated glass baking dish)
Old toothbrush (for texturing) AND/OR a small ball of tin foil
clay extruder
oven
***I purchased a glass tea light holder at MICHAEL'S to use as the cereal bowl.
DIRECTIONS:
1.  Roll out some of your beige clay (to warm it up) and place into your clay extruder. I used a "quatrefoil" extruder tip to give the clay snake the "cereal" shape. Extrude out a snake of clay. (I use a vise to squeeze the clay extruder...they need to design these things better...)

 2.  Once you have a snake, cut it into several sections (about 4 or 5) to make cutting go quicker. Use your  polyblade to cut the snake into thin slices:
 3.  When all of your snake is cut into slices, scrape some golden YELLOW chalk onto the pile, and then mix around with your fingers:
NOW...bake your cereal pieces (or use a heat gun) until the pieces are JUST BARELY HARD.
This is so that the cereal will hold it's shape when you mix it with the milk.

 4.  Use a scrap piece of tinfoil to mix your "milk".  Place a glob of Translucent Liquid Sculpey into the middle of the tinfoil (this is about 3" in diameter), and then shave some WHITE and a tiny bit of BLUE chalk onto the TLS. Mix the chalk into the TLS well.
 5.  Once mixed, add several pieces of your cereal to the "milk" and mix well:
 6.  Carefully fold your foil into a "funnel" and "pour" your milk/cereal into the glass bowl (you will have to scrape the foil with your mixing toothpick, and discard your foil). You may add a few pieces of cereal to the TOP of the milk, and then gently press them into the milk without submerging them:
 7.  Use your toothpick to gently "pull" the milk mixture up AROUND the cereal on top (you are kind of "dabbing" the milk onto the cereal pieces):
8.  Place your bowl of cereal into the oven and bake (or use a heat gun) according to the clay manufacturers directions or until the clay is cured and is no longer glossy. Allow to cool, and then glaze with Triple Thick. Allow Triple Thick to dry overnight. 
You are now ready for play!
The spoon is from a silverware set sold here:
The "glass" is from Joann's and is a "candle holder".
I believe these are the same (they have changed packaging):

PLEASE REMIND YOUR CHILDREN THAT 
THIS "FOOD" IS FOR PLAY 
PURPOSES ONLY
AND SHOULD NEVER BE PLACED INTO THEIR 
MOUTHS!

Please feel free to use these plans to build furniture, for sale or for pleasure, but please do not sell the PLANS as your "own".  Please also give credit to me and link back here!  I hope you enjoy them!!
***I am NOT LIABLE for any plans featured here. Please take every precaution and use your own discretion to make sure these toys are safe for children to play with them.