SAND, fine craft sand now comes in colors. Makes coating on fried chicken in yellow/brown, sugar in colors for cookies, mix it into paint for textured finish...let me count the ways....

Laurie Sisson

Cream of Wheat - my suggestion is to use a translucent material like silicone and mix in white sand on the top surface. The other suggestion was to use cream-colored floral tape for tamales.

Jacqui Marlin

Oatmeal/Porridge: I made the best looking porridge by accident. I was making cinnamon rolls using Crayola's Model Magic. I had tinted it off white using acrylic paint, and we'd used real cinnamon. Well, in the process some of it got a little too dry and I was experimenting. I broke up some of the pieces and put them in a container and mixed in some glass stain - probably clear. The glass stain seems to soften the Model Magic, and by stirring several times, I got porridge.

Marsha Heeter

Filling wine bottles: I have been filling wine bottles with 'Burgundy Wine' (or Grape Juice), resin. Now how many of you have tried this? The resin is just thick enough, that it did not 'flow' in a nice tiny stream! The bottle openings are so small. It is a little tricky! I ended up having to drip it in with a very thin wire!

Barb Lewis

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

Wrapping Mini food: I have only recently begun to make mini-foods to place in my mini-kitchen/refrigerator. I have a thing for details, so my thinking was, I would never put certain foods in the "fridge" without putting saran wrap around it, so my mini-yummies needed to be covered too. So, I put a small piece of saran wrap around the food (some on plates) and I twisted the wrap on the bottom. I then cut most of the excess away while holding the "twist" in place, which left a small bunch, that was of course too bulky for realism. So, I took a lighter and waved the flame several inches under my item until the saran wrap did kind of a "shrink wrap" around the food! It only takes a second or two and you can press the still warm wrap tight to the item to get a tighter fit. I used this method to wrap hotdogs, bacon, cheese, plates of brownies, etc. I also had purchased a loaf of mini-Wonder Bread that came with no plastic wrap around it. I covered this in Saran Wrap and held it over my stove burner to get it to hug the loaf somewhat. It looks so realistic now with a tiny red thread tied around the opening for the "twist tie". Of course, these "shrink wrap" tips needs to be exercised with caution, as fire will burn you!!! Someone may know of a better (safer) method, but this works for me!

Karen in Cary

Halloween Project - WITCHES' PUNCH

This is, by the way, an actual real-life Halloween punch. When you mix Orange Kool-aid with Purple Kool-aid (with Ginger Ale), you get a black Halloween Punch.

Materials Needed: Polymer Compound Resin (the 2-bottle kit such as Envirotex-lite. One bottle is your resin, the other is your catalyst) Black Opaque Color

Paper Cup, Stirring Stick, Toothpicks

Chrysnbon Punch Bowl Kit

Baking Crystals - clear (for ice cubes)

In a paper cup, pour one part resin to one part catalyst, very equally. Add to this just the tiniest touch of Black Opaque Color. STIR THOROUGHLY. Carefully pour catalyzed mixture into your punch bowl and drizzle mixture from the tip of a toothpick into cups. Add "ice cubes" and then set aside to cure and let harden for at least 24 hours.

Options: You may want to place a mini skeleton, candles, etc. in your punch to spruce it up. Do this as soon as you have poured the resin mixture, then add the ice cubes.

Any of the materials used above should be available at your craft or miniature shop, or can be ordered at my website. Wish I could import a picture of this punch to SS, but that is not possible. If you are interested, I will send more projects using fimo and resin to SS, and of course, I will have them at my website. HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

http://www.pannikins.com/

Mary Eccher

Tomato stems: Save those tiny tomato stems. Turned over they make the perfect topping for your eggplant. Try it.

Gail Spector

Icing: There is a product available at art supply stores called Modeling Paste, comes in a jar, and it can be mixed with any acrylic paint to thicken it. Great for individualizing icings for various projects.

Mary Eccher

Icing: use Acrylic Titanium Paint from the tube. It can be spread with a palette knife. I've fooled many a person with white icing on a stack of round Styrofoam before.... Also, the Burnt Umber makes a beautiful chocolate.

Gloria

Corn flakes. If you have ever sharpened a pencil with a knife or razor you get these strips of pencil shavings that are the color of corn flakes. Cut these shavings into smaller chips and you may have your corn flakes.

Dr Bob...Delray Beach, FL.

Icing: Have you tried the "snow" products that the craft paint companies put out? Delta makes four different types, maybe one of them would work.

Joanne in South Jersey

Icing: For icing sugar cookies I use the "slick" paint spread on with a flat toothpick. Hope it works for you!

Terri Aden

Corn flakes: To make the corn flakes, how about coloring a small piece of balsa wood with the appropriate color permanent markers, then shaving off small bits with your Xacto knife? Put them in a puddle of Elmer's, which will dry milky white!

Alice Zinn

Pumpkins and bread: try the Model Magic for those pumpkins and bread. Went on a "baking" spree a while back, and used it for the first time. Colored the white with paint, and found that nail polish made wonderful jelly for jellyrolls. When I go back to this project, will try baby powder for the powdered sugar that they need. Anyone have a non-edible suggestion?

Alice in IN

Nuts on candy apples: l cut up an eraser in tiny pieces with a razor blade. The beige ones...YEP they are still around ...l found the beige ones at the local drug store.

Cindy from Mi

Nuts on candy apples: I have used ochre Fimo mixed with a little transparent and some Champaign. Just so it is streaked. I chopped it a little after rolling about 1/16 thick. I then baked it and chopped it some more I have had enough for all of my chopped nuts that I need. I add them to cookies and on top of them and on my candy apples. Wow it's that time of year huh? Gotta get out those fixens and make some real ones to eat. Yummmmm

Billie Joy Eller

Candy and cookies: I carry the fimo rolls you can slice. I have gingerbreadman cookies, plus candy cane, Christmas trees, peppermints, holly, poinsettia cookies or candies. Email: yumaminis@juno.com

http://www.jbsdollhousesminiatures.com

Jackie Bruno

Fimo Cookies to slice: For the fimo rolls that slice up like cookies, please check my site. http://lincsminiworld.bizland.com/ LINC'S Mini WORLD The HOME of SHAPED Polymer Clay "STIX"(canes) for slicing EXACT DUPLICATE shapes. You should be able to find almost any kind of Christmas cookie shape you would like, from Gingerbread Boys/Girls, Trees, Angels, Snowmen, Santa, etc., down to the NEW 1/16th inch Snowflakes. Oops, the Snowflakes aren't on the site yet. I haven't seen SHAPED fimo/polyclay stix/canes anyplace else.

Now when it comes to "round" canes for candies, etc., check with Jane King JKMINI317@aol.com - for already sliced pieces, or Donna Smolik wolfes@flash.net for canes to slice. SS's own Noella used to do some really great canes, but I'm not sure that she's still doing them.

Linc in Indiana

Grapes: I use a very transparent mix of Fimo and place about 10-20 tiny pieces on my palm, spaced out and roll all 10-20 at the same time, dust with chalk, bake and glue to the branches of baby's breath.

Jean