Food Site: My miniature club has how to make some great foods under workshops: http://post.queensu.ca/~readel/MEKA/MEKABase.html

Marlene Chapman-Ontario

Cheeses: Gouda: cover round of yellow Fimo with flattened wrap of red and form into cheese shape - when cut in wedges -looks like wax over the cheese. The same thing can be done with wax colored with melted crayons. Melt yellow wax and let cool a little- when cool enough to work make the cheese round. melt red wax and keep dipping your yellow round into red till a solid edge is formed (let the yellow really cool) (Put your yellow cheese on a long needle when dipping.) Slice that while warm and you have plenty of gouda. Re-dipping will make the center yellow soft enough to cut with a razor. Cheddar: Try orange dipped in black (or wrapped with Fimo) for cheddar. Brie: a pale colored yellow/cream Fimo can be dusted with corn starch or baby powder for Brie. Hanging cheese: A log of uncolored Sculpey that has been baked with a loop of thread through the top can be a hanging cheese for a shop and tied with beige thread like provolone- dipping that in cream colored wax can make it look very real ,the warm wax will make the cheese look real when tied up.

Now you're on a roll make the same log in Salami colored Fimo with the loop tied at the top before baking. Use the spatter paint technique (with a toothbrush) for adding 'fat'to the salami. Make sausages on a string the same way. And you've got your Swiss so you are all set.

Gail

Coffee Beans: I just made my own last week (a countertop case with five sections of coffee beans behind glass) for my coffee house project. I used #15 Miyuki seed beans in opaque dark brown, from Fire Mountain Gems. I took pictures to show you -- you can take a peek at: http://www.persephone.com/ministyle/CoffeeHouse.html

Alix in San Francisco

Coffee Beans: for whole coffee beans maybe sesame seeds would work. You can paint them different shades of brown (just swish a bunch around in some paint all at once to color the lot) to represent the different kinds of coffee beans. They seem about the right size, and have a glossy surface like a bean. Otherwise you might look for different shades of brown seed beads (the flat solid-colored type, not the iridescent) and see how that looks behind the 'glass' of the bins.

Grace

Liquid Sculpey: If you add eye shadow to the TLS (Translucent Liquid Sculpey) and mix well, it will tint it and you have lots of different colours. Just a couple of uses could be Icing on a cake, Chocolate Sauce for ice cream, drizzle for cinnamon buns, pie filling. It bakes hard but it gives a total different look to you project. There are other uses for it, but I just started using it for my foods .

Kathy Huffman

Mini preserves: Try glass stain for your preserves and "juices" in jars. It will dry clear with a tint of color to it. Add some fimo bits or beads or whatever for the texture you need for the particular type of "jam" you are making. I've used it for juice on a cutting board when cutting tomatoes or peaches. Also used it painted on the inside of a clear pony bead to make it look like the jar (pony bead) had something in it. Then add a little label and a lid.

Mary in Minneapolis

Another use for sawdust: paint a liter-bottle cap brown, apply a thin layer of tacky glue around the sides, roll in fine sawdust and you have a fancy chocolate cake with the edges decorated in chopped nuts.

Loretta.Sniarowski

BBQ Potato chips: You can also sprinkle pepper seeds with paprika for "barbecue" chips.

Maureen in St. Albert AB Cda

Button Cakes: There are cakes that you make from buttons. Use White Silicone and stack the buttons according to sizes and color and make up your own layered cakes. Use dimensional paints to drizzle sauces and icing effects. I used toothpicks to support the button sitting on top of some tacky and then positioning all on styrofoam. From there, I squeezed out a small bead of silicone onto a toothpick and placed it on the button. I placed another button on top and let dry.

When dry, add another dollop of silicone on top for whipped cream look and drizzle with paints; chocolate, pink, green, yellow, anything to resemble the real stuff (dimensional paints work best for me). Then sprinkle real cocoa, sprinkles, etc. to change the "types" of cakes you are making..

Bon from Edmonton, Alberta

Mini preserves: Use polymer clay to make fruits and things to go in the jars, they don't have to be fancy. And use scenic water for the preserving jelly, syringed into the jars it should look the part (don't forget to put your preserves in the jar first). To finish the jars cut a tiny circle of fabric and wrap some thread around to hold it on the neck of the jar (that's the fiddly bit!) Now just set them on the dresser or in the cupboard, leave one without a lid and stick a spoon in it, spill a bit on the table or the floor.

Jacquie Hall

Ice-look for the 'beans' that are in Beanie Babies. Walmart has them in the craft section. A friend made a replica of a seafood shop and used them in the display cases. Works great. They are really little bead-like thingies.

Martha Simpson

Frosting and Wet look for food: You can use gloss made especially for Fimo, dimensional paint or nail polish. For frosting and other effects I've collected nail polishes and used them in various ways over the years. They are made out of wonderful fast drying acrylic and none of the items have yellowed or cracked. I have bought them in so many wonderful shades. You find terrific ones for Halloween, white for your frosting, black and orange. I have also used frosted and iridescent nail polishes in various shades on Light brite pegs and beads to look like shampoos and conditioners. I painted a Chrysnbon chair with frosted maroon nail polish years ago and used part of an old tapestry tie for the seat cushion and it still looks great. I also like the fact you don't have to worry about a brush to apply it. More recently I have found blue, purple and green.

Jean Day

Button Pastries: I found a had no corks around the house so I tried the button box. Bingo! I found a metal button which looked like a sort of half ball in a ring . Painted in a pastry colour it looked very much like a pie. I added some "pastry" leaves ( self hardening clay) to go on top and varnished it to give it a bit of a glaze. It looks very tasty. The next victim was a button in the shape of a flower in a ring. The centre of the flower looked like a pile of cherries. So I painted the ring and the petals a pastry colour and the cherries red. When this was dry I painted the cherries with red glass paint. Easy!! Then I got all excited about tiny buttons that looked like doughnuts. LOL I painted them and added some jam with the glass paint. Are there any of you who make their cakes out of buttons too and want to share some ideas? Loretta mentioned bottle caps for cakes.

Marianne

Buttons make great cakes. So do some of the little wood pieces from the craft shop. All you need to add is glue, paint and maybe some holeless beads. There was a good article in Doll House Miniatures November 1997, called "Tiny Treats from Beads and Buttons"....I got a back issue from them no more than a year ago.

Ginger in PA

Spaghetti: I have found that off-white Fimo, squeezed through a garlic or onion press (onion presses have slightly larger holes) makes great spaghetti. It even comes out twisted together.

Dani in Bradshaw MD

Button Pastries: I found a had no corks around the house so I tried the button box. Bingo! I found a metal button which looked like a sort of half ball in a ring . Painted in a pastry colour it looked very much like a pie. I added some "pastry" leaves ( self hardening clay) to go on top and varnished it to give it a bit of a glaze. It looks very tasty. The next victim was a button in the shape of a flower in a ring. The centre of the flower looked like a pile of cherries. So I painted the ring and the petals a pastry colour and the cherries red. When this was dry I painted the cherries with red glass paint. Easy!! Then I got all excited about tiny buttons that looked like doughnuts. LOL I painted them and added some jam with the glass paint. Are there any of you who make their cakes out of buttons too and want to share some ideas? Loretta mentioned bottle caps for cakes.

Marianne

Baking Mini Food: I second Kim's suggestion for smooth ceramic tiles for baking mini food and other clay items. Depending on your oven, many toaster ovens will easily take a 6" tile for larger/longer items.  I also prefer the glazed tiles.  I make twisted candy sticks and prefer cutting to length after baking.   Get several in white and a couple of a dark color like green or blue. White and translucent Fimo shows up better on the dark tile.  As you are cooking with one tile, get more food ready on the extras.   Write your name on the bottom if you are going to a class where several use tiles.  No mix ups with someone wanting your better looking strawberries!

My favorite trick for baked "cookies" is to lay rolled out clay directly on the tile and then use the Kemper punches to cut cookies.  Peel the excess away leaving the cookies undisturbed.   If the baked clay "sticks" to the tile, you can pop it off with a fingernail or razor blade.  You can also dust the surface with ordinary cornstarch.  I quit using baby powder when I ruined some red cookies trying to get the baby powder off.

Kathy in KY

Fimo food: For those who wanted a substitute for semolina. To make a sponge cake texture you might get away with using polenta (corn meal) as long as it's finely textured. Because you are only using small amounts you could grind it finer in a small bowl (or pestle and mortar if you have one) I also use poppy seeds for fruit cakes and sesame seeds for almonds. Mustard seeds make goodcherries but they need painting first and also you can grind down small piecesof pre-baked clay to make suet pieces (white clay) orange and lemon peel (addedto fruit cake or mince pies), coriander seeds make great walnuts in a bowl(Angie Scarr tip) and don't forget some liquid Sculpey for making icing(frosting) and fillings like jam etc.

Jacquie Hall

Pastels for polymer foods: I thought it might be useful to go over some points. The artist pastels are basically like chalk, sold as sticks of different colors. These are used as an alternative to paint for the purpose of making objects appear more natural. They are especially useful for coloring baked goods, roasted meats, fruits, some vegetables, flowers, and much more. (I buy an entire set of 12 colors at Wal-Mart for something under $5.) To make the powder, take a stick and press it onto paper (like you did as a kid writing with chalk on a sidewalk) and that's all there is to it. You can mix colors as well. (Example: I use a coat of "mustard" mixed with a touch of brown to coat pastries and breads. Then I add a bit of solid brown and/or some burnt sienna to the tops. Note: I make burnt sienna by mixing orange and brown, then just a tad of red.) Brush on the pastels prior to baking the clay. The idea is to pretty-much dab on the color, rather than to solidly paint the object. To apply pastels to small items, such as potatoes, just roll the objects in the powder. The whole point in using pastels is to impart a depth and variance in color, such as for making oven-roasted potatoes. The pastels become a permanent part of the clay when baked, and do not need a gloss or matte protection. If you use pastels after baking, you'll find that it is harder to apply the pastels and you'll need a gloss or matte finish to protect them. Do NOT use "oil" pastels…just the regular artist pastels. Honestly, if you make mini foods orflowers from polymer clay, this product is a "must-have."

Doc

Removing varnish: Found this in the tips section of DHM or MC, can't remember which, but it works great. Get some Pumice powder. I had to go to a woodworker's supply store to find it. None at Walmart, Home Depot, Lowes, Ace or any other easily found location.
You sprinkle some out onto a plastic lid or something like that, pour some baby oil, cooking oil, etc. into a small container, dip a soft cloth into the oil, then into the pumice powder, and rub it on your furniture. Works like a charm and leaves a nice smooth finish. I used q-tips to get to corners, etc. Love the stuff. Will never sand varnish again.

quinn