Chris Shibata from Canada writes:
I don't know why I never noticed the potential of cold drink lids before, unless it's because I rarely visit fast food places, but today I noticed the semi-opaque plastic lids each contain several
bowls suitable for fruit nappies in 1:12, soup bowls in 1:24 or salad bowls in 1:48. As a test I coated 2 of them with nail enamel while they were still in the lid, then cut all four out with curved scissors and touched up the cut edges up with gold leaf pen. I ended up with 2 bowls with a fine porcelain finish, and 2 frosted glass bowls. I also punched out circles from the unused flat portion of the lid, and used a ball stylus to indent the centres for plates. The indentations and rims hold their shape nicely, but the pressure from the stylus turned the plastic opaque white. I was hoping I could make sets of frosted dessert dishes but the plastic apparently had other
ideas. :-(

Nailpolish on both sides of 'bumps'-cut or punched out. Gold leaf pen on edges. I also tried adding more embossing in the form of little gouges to the plain plastic, and put pale blue permanent marker on the back and rim. It came out looking like a piece of Chinese 'Rice Pattern' tableware, with the blue showing very slightly through the flat areas and the rice dents are opaque white. The dents are too large for scale, but that would be easily remedied by using a smaller stylus.

*** Tanya has been so generous sharing all her projects, which has made us all so grateful.  It shouldn't be necessary to say this , but they are not for others to make and profit from! Please note they are for PERSONAL USE ONLY!!  If you wish to sell. please have the courtesy to contact her first.



Once again, Tanya has come up with a unique project!

Cheese Balls by Tanya McKibben
What you will need:

• Nail Polish Kit Party Favors – 4 Pack (found at Hobby Lobby)
• Cap from thingie found in pharmacy medicine bottles to keep medicine fresh (Top of canister) If you don’t have any of these you could probably use a large brad Gazz-It modeling beads – found at Dollar Tree Tacky
• Glue (to glue label and top to canister)
• Printer to print label for cheeseballs off the internet (Do a Google search for UTZ Cheeseballs)

Instructions:

1. Open polish bottle, cut the stem off with utility scissors. Empty contents out. You will have to stick some type of stick inside the bottle to get the polish flowing out. Run hot water inside the bottle until all contents is out and bottle is clear. Let bottle dry completely.
2. Open your container of Gazz-It beads and take out enough to fill the nail polish bottle. Put the Gazz-It beads on clean piece of cardstock or paper or whatever you choose.
3. Pour a small amount of orange paint onto the paper then take a paintbrush and cover the Gazz-It beads all over until completely covered in orange paint, let dry. Fill container up with the Gazz-It beads all the way to the top.
4. Paint the cap of your canister the same color as the real life product. I used a purple paint pen and the paint stuck very well to the plastic cap. Once it is dry glue the cap on the canister with Tacky Glue.
5. Once you have found your label on the internet via Google, copy and paste it to MS Word and resize it. If you can’t find the label I have it and can send it to you upon request. After you have resized your label and cut it out, glue it to your container of cheese balls and you are all done. If you decide to make one of these I would love to see pictures. If anything is not clear to you, please don’t hesitate to email me at teecrafty2000@ yahoo.com. Enjoy!

(see original pic here)

From Chris in Canada:
The Strepsils throat lozenges come in bubble packs which are

1. flimsy
2. and have a rounded top, so they're not any good for serving bowls.

BUT when used in pairs (one slipped inside the other) with an optional bead handle on top, they are perfect as clear covers for RL 9-10" plates of food for things like a counter display of fancy cakes or tarts. They are 3/4" tall so even work with a 2-layer cake or meringue pie. You don't have to double them up if you are gluing items in place, AND can promise you will never drop, squeeze or accidentally bump one with your tweezers or another plate. Being fumble-fingered on occasion, I chose to be safe rather than sorry, but it's your choice.

If you have occasion to get your hands on any lead wine-bottle seals found on some imported wines, usually the expensive ones, hang on to them. They are a source of very soft metal that can be easily cut then shaped with simple tools to make mini cooking and eating utensils, fireplace tools, period hardware for doors etc.... NOTE: If you are a Boomer or Zoomer and worried about handling lead, wear plastic gloves.
The metal cases from the tea light candles are great sources of soft metal for all sorts of things. The metal can easily be cut with old scissors and bent to shape.

Having trouble keeping to the New Years diet? Presentation is all, and Saskia just completed a treasure trove of chocolates with mini-calorie content!


Saskia says: I made the little chocolats with Fimo. We did a workshop at the SaHMClub. This was a start and I did it my own way. Mixing different colors of clay. Never be afraid to experiment with mixing different colors.
A straw is an excellent tool for making round and oval chocolates, or the tiniest punch you can find. Liquid clay, colored with a little oil paint does the decorating.

Carolyn Brown makes fabulous cakes, and much more.


Read all about her in the latest issue of Custom Dollhouses and Miniatures.
http://www.cdhm.org/news/item0110.php

Her Website is:
http://www.mapleleafminiatures.ca/shop/

Find other posts about Carolyn by entering her name in the blog's search bar at the top left of the home page.

Garden of Imagination has many food tutorials: