1" pineapples: There is a Kousa (I think that is the spelling) dogwood, which here in Maryland is blooming now. It is a little later than the normal dogwoods. This fall it will be covered with these perfect little seed pods which are bumpy and when painted yellow and adding some leaves at the top are perfect pineapples. This hint was courtesy of "Ladybug" in one of the classesI took from her.

Evelyn Gilbert

Cake Texture: I have kneaded cornmeal into polymer clay to give more texture to cakes.   This was included in a recipe in Dollhouse Miniatures a few months ago. The recipe was for a bundt cake.   I don't think flour, being so finely ground, would add much texture to the clay.

Mary in MS

Food Texture: I think the "flour" you are thinking of is Semolina, this is a fantastic additive for texturizing mini food.     

Miki (U.K)

Cake plate and cover: I made a cute cake plate and cover using the plastic top from a bottle of water (or you could use the plastic top off the top of Hershey Choc. ) For the base I used the little blue disc from the inside of a coke cap.  For the Choc top you might need to use a different base. Place a bead on the top of the water cap and you have your cake cover and plate.  I decided to use findings to make mine have a base but either way they are cute.

Mary in Maryland

Citrus texture:  You probably already know this one but.....To create the right  texture on the orange skin, roll the fimo ball over a used toothbrush.   Leaves an indented look just like an orange. Ditto for lemons."  A bird perch scraper works very well also. 

Sue in CT.

Cakes: We were making cakes at our mini club on the central coast NSW in OZ and after the meeting of course I'm sure we all did some more at home , well I woke at 3.am  with this idea to decorate a smooth cake we had 'iced' to stamp it with a small stamp we can get a 2.00 shop, usually children's play stamps, just the right size and looks good. Not earth shattering but good if you are not an artist.

Judith

Cornish Pasties: If I was on holiday in Cornwall and bought the real thing we would have  eaten them hot in our hands as a snack for lunch. No doubt some may eat theirs differently. They were a complete meal in a pastry case with meat and vegetables inside. Made originally for workers to take with them.

If I made or bought them we would have them with thick cut chips/ French fries and peas or baked beans. Or with mashed potato, thick onion gravy and boiled vegetables. , like carrots, peas and cabbage.

For those that would like to know what they look like to make some English fare, the famous Be-Ro site has the old recipes with pictures. Look for pastry then Cornish pasty. http://www.be-ro.com/f_insp.htm

This is the book I learnt to bake with. I have several editions including the 100 year old anniversary one. The firm has been going since 1880.  So many recipes are from the original, so lots of ideas for mini Fimo food. Also on the home page is a picture of the first one produced as well as later editions.

Pauline, UK

Potatoes: I make russet potatoes from white FIMO, poke a few little holes with a needle tool for eyes and bake at 250 degrees for 12 minutes. For the coating, I use ground brown chalk. Just rub the chalk over a piece of screen. When I put them in a pot with Envirotex (casting resin), they then look wet and under water. Different colored chalks have a lot of uses. I've scraped many over a screen and store in one of those 12-section plastic boxes.

Ruth

Wine labels: French wine labels like the ones Vi in Hamilton mentioned can be found at http://users.skynet.be/sudene/imprimables.html

Erin at OBU

Souffle dish: I found a perfect souffle dish (the cap from the hair dye bottle I was using

Kim in Louisiana

Christmas Punch:   Materials:
Polymer Compound Resin (2-bottle kit such as Envirotex-Lite)
Red Transparent Dye
Chrysnbon Punch Bowl Kit
Clear Baking Crystals for Ice Cubes
Candy Canes
Paper Cup, Stirring Stick, Toothpicks
Method:
Pour very accurate amounts of both resin and hardener into a paper cup. Add Red Transparent Dye, drop-by-drop until a good rich red color is obtained. Stir thoroughly. Carefully pour the resin mixture into your punch bowl.   Using a toothpick, fill cups.   Add "ice cubes".   Arrange candy canes around bowl by hooking them onto the outer rim.   Insert ladle in bowl if desired.   Allow to harden undisturbed for about 12 hours.

Mary Eccher

Potatoes: I make russet potatoes from white FIMO, poke a few little holes with a needle tool for eyes and bake at 250 degrees for 12 minutes. For the coating, I use ground brown chalk. Just rub the chalk over a piece of screen. When I put them in a pot with Envirotex (casting resin), they then look wet andunder water. Different colored chalks have a lot of uses. I've scraped many over a screen and store in one of those 12-section plastic boxes.

Ruth

Cloth Covered Wire: I've had a small business making wedding cakes and I make the hand molded gumpaste (sugarpaste) flowers for my cakes. I use the wire that you are talking about. I order it from a wonderful place in Virginia called:

Beryl's Cake Decorating & Pastry Supplies
Tel: 703-256-6951 Fax: 703-750-3779
email: Beryls@beryls.com

Web page: http://www.beryls.com

They carry the wire in the smaller gauges 28, 30, 32. Also they carry petal powder colors we use on the sugar flowers-not sure if they will last, but I have some flowers on display that have been colored for 8 years and they still are bright and fresh. Also, in their catalog they have all kinds of texture makers, such as cobblestone, brick, basket weave, to name a few. She specializes in European roll fondant supplies for making really unique cakes a lot of which are decorated with scenes of mini items. A wealth of possibilities!

Ginny

Wine bottles: I bought some of those cheap, cheesy looking wine bottles - 3 red, 3 green....really awful looking. But I brought them home, painted them glossy black, painted the top gold....printed out some French wine labels from a French site (can't remember what it is but will email when I can locate it) and glued them on.....they look like REAL wine bottles.....you'd never know they were 6 for $2.

Vi in Hamilton

Potato Chip/Tote Bags: A request was made for how to make bags to hold single servings of pepper seed potato chips. So, here's how I make small bags. (And like practically everything I know, I probably learned this from Joann Swanson.)
- - Look through your wood collection and find or cut a longish strip that is the width you want your bag to be.
- - Wrap a piece of Saran or other cling wrap lengthwise around the wood, glue seam.
- - Let dry and cut off excess at seam.
- - Then slide the wrap down slightly until a bit sticks off the end of the wood.
- - Run a tiny line of glue inside and clamp the end seam with a hair clip or other clip until dry.
- - Slide more of the wrap down until you have enough of the bag to fill, with a bit more for the top seam, and cut, leaving the rest of the wrap still on your form.
- - Fill the bag with your chips or whatever and then glue and clamp seam at top.
- - Excess on seams can be trimmed away when glue has dried.
- - Continue sliding off wrap to make more bags.

If you want identical sizes, hold your form over a piece of graph paper or a ruler as you push off your bags. This works for all different size bags, depending on the wood piece you choose, for cloth and paper as well as the cling wrap. I've made everything from chicken feed bags to Halloween treat bags to potpourri bags, etc. piece of plain white typing paper will make almost any kind of bag you want if you glue on cut out labels from ads. Of course if you want colored bag, any sheet of colored paper will do. When you use paper, this process works for open sacks, as for luminaries. Just fold in seam at bottom and glue. If you want to make totebags, cut off to desired height and glue on handles. Those scissors that cut decorative edges may be used for interesting effects. To make a candy garland, use a skinnier form and instead of gluing ends
just tie off with thread, insert a colored bead or piece of Fimo candy, then tie again, continuing until you have the length of garland you want. I made a gingerbread man garland once to match a real one that stretched over our doorway, using Fimo gingerbread men made with a star cookie cutter, pinching points to form bodies. For popcorn balls, tie twice, then cut off between ties.

With the wood form you have control and regularity of size that's hard to get otherwise. I saved the forms I used for each type of bag, labeling them: popcorn ball/ Halloween treats; fertilizer/plant food; flour/sugar/potato chips, etc. Particularly good when you want to stock a store or make lots of (full-size) tote bag or table gifts.

Wanna in El Paso

Ice cream: My favorite item for ice cream is Crayola Crayons Model Magic. I learned about this terrific product on, where else? SS! I have also used it for a waffle cone by coloring white with grated chalk and pressing a thin pat into a piece of screen. At the hardware store they have small patch kits for screens. I use the patches, which are self adhesive and attach one to the tile I am using for a work surface with the clay.

Becky

Ice cream and waffle cones: I make the cones from Sculpey or Fimo. I use a glob of acrylic paint for the ice cream, and when dry, I cover the paint with clear nail polish.

Viola

Milk: Milk can be convincingly simulated by using white stained glass paint, resin tinted white, and probably, although I've never tried it, by mixing white glue with a bit of white acrylic paint. You might have to do this in layers, adding some as the previous layer dries. I believe Scenic Water has also come out with a milky white to go along with their clear product.

Alice Zinn

PIZZA - The long promised Pizza How-To is finally up at my Website. Health stuff had put me out of commission for the last 2 months. Anyway..... for those of you who have been compiling the Mary's Menus Cookbook, go to the second page of my website and click on Mary's Menus Projects. For all the newbies here at SmallStuff, you may be interested in the other projects there also. Feel free to print them out and build a "cookbook" of your own. http://www.pannikins.com

Mary (Eccher) Pannikins/Hudson River Miniatures

1" scale Mason jars: http://www.cottonridge.com has them!!!

Marsha, Newark, CA