Model Magic: Model Magic is great for breads: make your loaf or buns, coat with coloured chalk, then slice. Looks just like it. And you can snip up dried-up old stuff into bits for a potato salad. I got this from "I Love Minis" in Calgary.

Leslie Carmichael, Calgary

Model Magic: Model Magic makes marvelous marshmallows! MMMM!

Alice Zinn

Model Magic: I love model magic for any kind of ice cream.

Becky

Build your own "Cookbook" from my Website: You asked if I still have my project booklet. I haven't had those for years. When I was writing the Mary's Menus articles on Fimo and resin for Nutshell News, I put that booklet together from copies of the articles. Well....as the number of articles increased, it became very costly to continue the booklet.

BUT.....for anyone interested in learning about modeling compounds and resin in miniature cookery, I have a plan and I hope you will like it. As of today, my WORKSHOP link at my web site http://www.pannikins.com/ was uploaded.....the very beginnings of it anyway. There you will now find information on ALL ABOUT MODELING COMPOUNDS, ALL ABOUT RESIN (dispelling some of the misinformation out there), the GINGERBREAD MAN project, and the WITCHES' BREW project. The EGG NOG will go up there tomorrow. This is just the beginning. My intention is to post many, many more projects (for the novice as well as for the advanced student) to my web. Each and every project at the Workshop link will be fully able to be printed out easily. Therefore, those interested, can compile the projects into a folder of some sort and create their own instructional miniature cookery book. All I ask is that these projects not be used for monetary gain, either by submitting them as articles of your own to the magazines, writing your own book using my techniques, or becoming a dealer at a show creating just my projects, instead of using your imagination to create your own. Yes, all these things have happened to me in the past 20 years. You are welcome to use the projects for your own use, club projects, or to develop your own talents with your own projects using the techniques mentioned...and I truly hope you do so.

Mary Eccher

PUMPKIN PIE

Sculpey - white

Fimo - Ochre and Orange

Artist's Chalk - Ochre

X-acto Knife

Toothpick

Fimo Matte Lacquer

Miniature Pie Tin

Knead a bit of ochre Fimo into white Sculpey until a pie-crust color is obtained. Roll a small ball and press into pie tin (as you would with a real pie). With an X-acto knife, trim any excess from the rim of pie tin.

Cut the point off a toothpick, and use this to flute the edges of your pie.

Bake pie in oven at 250 degrees for 10 minutes.

With X-acto knife, shave a bit of ochre artist's chalk into a powder.

With thumb, rub this powder around the fluted edge of pie for a "baked" look.

Then paint edge with Fimo Matte Lacquer.

For filling, knead together one part ochre to one part orange fimo. Roll a small ball and press into pie crust until even and flat. For whipped cream, roll a very thin snake of white Sculpey and place this around the edge of the pumpkin filling. To texture, make triangular indentations in the snake with the flat side of the very tip of your X-acto knife. Bake entire pie again at 250 degrees for 10 minutes.

NOTE: For colonial pumpkin pie, spray the pie tin black and leave off the whipped cream.

Mary Eccher

Model magic: I believe this does dry out quickly if left open but having been lucky enough to get a packet sent to me from USA and sharing it with friends, I must say it makes lovely bread and if you roll in a thin long roll and make indentations you get wonderful strings of sausages. Colour with chalk pastels.

Roberta

Making 1:12 scale dolls: I'd also like to invite anyone who's interested in making polymer dolls to view "A Doll is Born". In it, I detail the steps I take when creating one of my 1:12 scale art dolls. People have asked me for tips and if this can be of help to anyone, I'll be delighted.

Diana in Canada

When I first started making dolls about 3 months ago, I would spend hours sculpting the head and then make a mould of it, but I soon wanted all my dolls to be different. Now I first make a skull with a nose and eye socket and then bake it. This gives me a much better surface to work on and the nose doesn't get squashed all the time. I also bake 2 tiny eyes in white clay at the same time. When the head is cool, I cover the head with a thin layer of clay and build up the eyes with the pre-baked ones. Doing it this way means I can alter the expression without having to redo the whole head.

Pamela in Wales

Gingerbread "frosting" Besides joint compound, another easy-to-work modeling clay would be Sculpey brand. (The regular type.) You can get it in 8 lb bricks in white, and it's very soft and smooth. Too soft for most miniaturists' taste, but would make great icing.

JJ

Frosting! Gosh, this depends on what type of frosting you need to replicate. Glass stain white (or with a touch of any color for pastels) is great for a glaze icing. Caulking, 3-dimension paint or puff paint are good for frosting cakes. Used with an EMBOSSART TOOL, which is like a syringe, more detail can be attained. Also, Sculpey, kneaded to a very soft consistency, can be used,"fluffing" up with the tip of an X-acto knife.

Mary Eccher

Lady Fingers: Why not find some thin fun foam in a tan/beige color and cut the ladyfingers from that. Or you could use Fimo and make the cutter from the metal end of a pencil. (Remove the eraser and shape into an oblong shape.) Sounds like a wonderful gift. I've done several for marriages. Usually made a 4x4 Corner in Time (from an old Nutshell News) and they came out wonderfully! Be sure to take pictures when you're finished so we can see what you've done.

Terri Young

Fimo foods: There are a number of books out for making food from polymer clay, but I think the key is to work with the real thing in front of you. That's the advice in the video for making food from polymer clay (I don't know the name of it, but I've seen it for sale at miniature shows).

I started out making green peppers, and I think the smell of the pepper helped me get the color right. I formed the clay around Styrofoam so they would be hollow and could be cut. I know, I know. There are a lot of people who are concerned about toxins from the heated Styrofoam. But I'm still here and have no major healthproblems. The amount used in a pepper is exceedingly small.

The other thing I've found is that if I take the amount of clay that I think is the right amount for my carrot, or grape or whatever, I probably can make two or more from that amount. Of course, fruits and vegetables come in a variety of sizes, so whatever you wind up with is OK.

Pick a food you want to make. Start with the real thing in front of you (I bought 3 grapes one time to use as models - didn't want to buy any more at $1.69 a pound) or a really good photo if it's something big and expensive like a ham. Have fun.

Marsha Heeter

Clay Food Tips: Go to Lisa Volrath's web site http://miniatures.about.com and she has a poly clay section with food on it.

Elizabeth

Angie Scarr Videos: I have the Angie Scarr videos, and some of her work. I have watched her demos at fairs...she is fantastic. Plus she visited a club I go to for a workshop day ( I couldn't go) and everyone went home with peeled oranges, fruit, vegetables and the enthusiasm to go on and make more things. Angie is in a UK magazine each month with a 'Challenge Angie' page...you should see her lobsters! So if anyone can think of something in the food line that hasn't been done, or you can't do...I think she could.

Hazel

Overstuffed furniture: There is information about overstuffed dolls house chairs and sofas in Venus Dodge's 'Dolls' House Needlecrafts and Sue Heaser has written a book on Making Dolls' House Dolls from Fimo - that may be the title but I'm not sure of that one. Both are in print.

Chris

Polymer Clay Molds: You can use polymer clay to make molds - it works pretty well for something's - less well for others. Novelty buttons work well, so do small castings, charms and components - depending on their shape and complexity. I had hoped to make oval frames but found that they distorted too much when taking them out of the mold.

I start by taking a ball of clay and softening it. Flatten the ball slightly. Dust the surface of the ball and the item to be molded with talcum powder. Push the item - such as a button or a finding, into the softened clay. Remove the item (hopefully you used enough talc - if not roll the clay up and start again) Examine the mold carefully - look for cracks in the clay - if the mold is not perfect start again. When you are satisfied with the mold, bake it as recommended on the packaging.

When using the mold - dust liberally with talcum powder to prevent the fresh clay from sticking to the mold. Soften a ball of Fimo and push into the mold. Remove from mold- trim away any excess and then bake. You can use the mold over and over again.

Lesley

Home-Made Air Dry Clay: You can also use tiny amounts of poster paint to color it. Use just a touch from a toothpick dipped in the color. Or you can paint when it is dry. You could also try the gel color, not the liquid, it makes it too wet. The clay keeps for weeks in the fridge. I color when needed so you aren't stuck with too much of one color.

Roberta Pijper

Mold Making Method: For many years I worked with natural liquid latex. It also is available as a synthetic called Neoprene. It is not that costly and can be obtained from some Home Depot stores or at times from carpet laying stores. Procedure; Make your original piece. Make it out of Fimo, plaster, what ever firm substance permits you to create your "thing." Attach some form of holding device to the base. Think of a lollipop or ice cream on a stick. Place the thoroughly mixed latex in a container that is deep enough so you can dip the master model into the latex and have the latex completely cover the model. Like dipping a Jelly Apple. The model is prepared by giving it a good dusting with talc or rubbing it down with powdered plaster of Paris.

When stirring the latex do not be too vigorous as this creates bubbles that adhere to your model and become a source of extra work. Holding the model by the lollipop stick, dip it into the latex. Turn it right side up and let it drip and dry in that position. Repeat this process of dipping and drying about 10 times. This creates a wall of thickness that can support many pourable mediums. When this method is used a model that has some undercuts can be reproduced. After your casting mold has been made trim off the drippings and excess from the base of the model and pull the rubber mold from the model. The mold will be inside out at this time. Inspect it for any defects such as shallow craters made by unbroken bubbles, fill these in with a drop or two of latex. On occasion there will be little "nipples" created by the latex finding small holes in the model and running into the holes. These can be sniped off very carefully. After this inspection your negative cast is ready for work (almost) To avoid air pockets when pouring material into this

negative mold make a pin hole in the lowest part of the mold when it is in the upside-down position. This will allow trapped air to escape when the positive mold is poured into the negative mold. Dust the inside of the latex negative mold that you have made. This is the "separating medium" that will allow you to pull the flexible latex mold off your poured positive replica.

Of course hold the hollow mold with the opening "up" or it becomes impossible to pour anything into it. This procedure is good for solid reproductions. If you have a model of a person with his/her hands on their hips. this method is of no value.

Bob

Sticking Fimo to Fimo: It is hard to get clay to stick to itself. I always bake the pieces separately and then glue them together with PVC glue.

Mary Kalsiki

Sticking Fimo to Fimo: You want them to be warm and sticky and well conditioned before you try to stick them together. If they still don't want to stay, try using one teeny drop of dilutent. That works to help them stick and cure together. You can also glue them. If one is already baked, you may have to settle for re-gluing them after they are both baked. But if they bake together they should cure together. This does not apply to things that accidentally touch and bake together (ie gumballs that fall together when dropping into the baking pan or such). You can normally roll them apart without it being noticeable.

Noëlla