Here are some of necessary the tools for hobby crafting and diorama making. This model maker uses wood rasps, sanding pencils, wire cutters, small pliers, a box cutter, a wood carving knife, and a Japanese pull saw. When building miniatures you may find yourself making your own tools or finding useful sculpting aids around the house. Occasionally, a wood burning gun can help you achieve detail for tiny window shutters and other fine work.
Watch this instructional video to build miniature rock walls for dioramas and game terrain. You can actually cast your miniature gates and brick walls out of plaster for a convincing effect. Use cheap and convincing materials such as sifted dirt, sand, plaster, and twigs to make realistic looking rock walls for your tiny scene.
Here are some examples of metal for detailing your miniature diorama or gaming terrain piece. Watch this instructional video for some quick tips on making metal handles, swords, and decorations for miniature architectural scenes, Warhammer, dioramas and dollhouses.
This tutorial miniature video will show you how to make crystals out of hard styrofoam. These crystals will add a dramatic effect to your miniature landscape.
Check out this ten minute video showing you how to make a miniature chocolate cherry cake out of polymer clay.
Learn how to make miniature teapots with polymer clay in 1:12 scale for dollhouses.
Stippling is a technique by which you can apply a rust-like effect to the metal sections of a miniature you are painting and want to look haggard. This video will show you how to stipple paint onto a miniature to give them a realistic, rusty look. Think about using your paint brush like a sewing machine.
The materials you will need to add snow and other details to the base of your miniature game figure are white tacky or craft glue, super glue, a few small rocks or pebbles, coarse turf, a small paint brush, and baking soda. Begin by using the super glue to apply a few rocks to your base. You don't want to apply too many as the main focus will be on the snow. Add white glue to the base being careful not to get any on the figure itself. Use your paint brush to spread the white glue around until...
This tutorial video will show you how to start making an ice base for your miniatures. Lots of interesting effects can be made with this plexiglass process.
This video shows you how to make a miniature loaf of bread for a dollhouse using Fimo.
At its heart, Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland" is a book about growing up, about the sometimes crazy and nonsensical journey into the world of pretty crazy and nonsensical grown-ups. But at the same time it is a story that celebrates childhood and the wondorous imagination that one can only have at that point in time.
The smaller your origami gets, the harder it is to fold, but not in the case of the lucky stars. The miniature 3D stars are easy to fold, and you just need a long strip of paper. You could buy pre-made strips of paper, or cut your own with scissors, box cutter or paper cutter. On you fold these mini stars, you'll have to fluff it out for that 3D look and feel.
In order to make a miniature baby doll bottle to be used in a dollhouse, you will need the following: orange paint, white paint, a paintbrush, and a light bulb from a string of white Christmas lights. The light bulb must be a standard light bulb. It can't be a replacement bulb, because it needs to be clear. The wires do not need to be removed.
This great video from Garden of Imagination shows you how to create mini tacos from polymer clay. Perfect for your dollhouse, or dolls, these detailed miniature gems are deliciously real look but only mini. This excellent video shows you everything you need to know to create your wonderful mini tacos for your dolls taco night. They take some time and patience but everyone will be raving about your special mini tacos out of polymer clay. They look so real almost good enough to eat.
Learn how to sculpt a miniature ladybug out of polymer clay with this free video art lesson. While this tutorial is best suited for those with some familiarity of polymer clay sculpture, novice sculpters should be able to follow along given a little effort. For specifics, including step-by-step instructions, and to get started making miniature polymer-clay ladybugs yourself, watch this sculpture tutorial.
Watch this ceramics video tutorial to learn a few ways to make a miniature pot using polymer clay. The two methods explained in this instructional video are the coil method and the pinch pot method. Both of the methods are easy for beginners to use in order to make a miniature pot out of polymer clay.
We don't know about you, but we're much more fond of fake flowers than real ones. Yes we know, real flowers are quite a bit prettier and smell like heaven on earth, but the great aspect about faux flowers is that they will never wilt.
You want to make sure your dollhouse has everything a real house would have, right? So when Valentines day comes around, don't your little people deserve some yummy chocolates too? In this tutorial, learn how to make miniature chocolates for your dolls using polymer clay. These delicious little bites don't take very long to create and they will add a nice bit of authenticity to your doll's home. So, if your little people need a tasty treat check out this video and follow along - you will have...
Garden of Imagination presents the making of polymer clay cabbage. She starts with a ball of polymer clay she has pre-baked in the oven. She, then starts to make the leaves. She flattens a piece of the green clay and then adds texture with a scalloped cake decorating tool. She folds the leaves around the ball. Halfway through, she instructs to bake it again. Then, she finishes adding "leaves" around the cabbage. The goal is to achieve a ragged realistic cabbage head. Finally, she gives bonus ...
Decorating a dollhouse with tiny details is easy with this informative clip. You'll learn how to make a miniature jar of jelly for your dollhouse. Learn step by step how to use clear liquid nail, coloring gel, a syringe and Q-tip to fill a tiny jar that looks more than realistic. Using a jar from a necklace, the presenter fills it with the colored glue then takes a small amount of cotton cloth, attached with a small wire, to make it look like a jar of jelly from your pantry. This easy to foll...
Garden of Imagination demonstrates how to make a miniature corn on the cob out of polymer clay. First, roll and flatten two small balls of green clay to make the corn husks. Make the husks pointed on both ends. Take a piece of yellow clay and roll it into a conical corn cob shape. Insert the corn on the cob into the texture piece and roll it to achieve the textured corn kernels. Wrap the corn on the cob between the two green husks. Make sure the husk leaves overlap in the front. Squeeze the c...
Watch this five part instructional video series to experiment with base coats on your Warhammer miniatures. Using thin coats of paint and small brushes, leave a wider margin for experimentation and highlight coats. The rich and impressive detailing on Warhammer figurines comes with patience and perseverance. Warhammer miniatures need several layers of primer and original fill color for a deep base coat.
In order to make bubbles for a miniature bathtub, you will need Amazing Casting Resin, Triple Thick, micro marbles/decorative beads, a dollhouse tub, and a miniature rubber ducky. You can purchase it in hobby stores: e.g. Hobby Lobby. Open it. Mix it well, according to the package. Poor it into the dollhouse tub. Allow the resin to set. It takes about 1 minute.
The trouble with decorating cupcakes vs. cakes is that cupcakes offer a much more limited amount of space on which to pour on decor. But perhaps this just means you have to miniaturize everything.
Even LEGO people get thirsty, and what better to quench the thirst than a nice cool can of soda pop? And what's the perfect way to get that cola to your LEGO men quickly? A LEGO soda machine! And believe it or not, this soda dispenser actually dispenses miniature soda cans! Watch and learn how to build this working LEGO soda machine, inspired by otlego's version.
Painting on a cake may seem counterintuitive, since the paint that most of us are familiar with is acrylic or watercolor paint, both of which are way toxic. But the project in this video uses an entirely different type of paint: cake paint. Cake paint is edible and comes in a variety of finishes to aid bakers who want to make their cakes into artistic masterpieces.
Here's one way to get your fill of ice cream without the calories. These miniature cupcake charms are adorable and can be used to adorn charm bracelets, necklaces, and earrings.
Here are some examples of brickwork for dioramas or war game terrain. Create a fine grit coating for foam carvings using a mixture of white glue, paint and fine sand. Press in brick patterns into foam, or if working in smaller scale, you can coat cardboard with a thin coat of plaster. Find old pieces of dry flat wood to create miniature slats of wood for sides of a barn or haunted house.
In this video, you'll learn how to create and decorate a miniature boxwood Christmas tree. It's a fun and easy project you can do with your kids for the holidays. All you need are a few branches from a boxwood bush and some decorative materials to get started!
Warhammer 40,000 and other collectible-miniature-based table-top games have created a generation of people who love painting and playing with tiny figures. If you are into the game or any of it's ilk you've probably had an idea for a piece that you would like to create from scratch. This video from Storm the Castle shows in great detail how to make your own miniature figures out of rubber that should stand up to anything you've bought from Games Workshop. Model on!
The equipment that you need is pliers, beads, beading wire, tinsel, some miniature flowers and a plain wreath. Twist a section of beads onto the wire, 5 beads make a nice grouping. Twist the 5 beads onto a single wire to make a bunch. Make enough bunches to cover the wreath. Fold a piece of tinsel between your fingers. Wrap the beading wire around the tinsel to hold it firm. Fluff the tinsel to give it some depth. Wrap the bead bunches and tinsel wraps around the wreath. Wrap the miniature pa...
Papa Tom teaches veiwers how to easily make a terra cotta roof for a realistic looking house for a diorama or school project. This is easy to do and provides incredibly realistic finishing touch to any plain old miniature building.
This year for Halloween, don't just settle for the normal cutesy pumpkin carvings — make these creepily charred and contorted miniature jack-o'-lanterns instead.
Learn how to make an polymer clay cherry pie with this free video craft lesson. While this tutorial is best suited for those with some familiarity of polymer clay sculpture, novice sculpters should be able to follow along given a little effort. For specifics, including step-by-step instructions, and to get started crafting your own mini, dollhouse-size cherry pies, take a look.
Learn how to sculpt a miniature Hello Kitty doll out of polymer clay with this free video art lesson. While this tutorial is best suited for those with some familiarity of polymer clay sculpture, novice sculpters should be able to follow along given a little effort. For specifics, including step-by-step instructions, watch this sculpture tutorial.
Before you begin on your kawasaki origami rose folding, you should probably master the basics first. Namely, if you're interested in folding floral projects, then it's best that you start with a simple project like this one.
There's no better way to celebrate the discovery of the New World than by recreating Christopher Columbus's three ships from the famous voyage— the Niña, Pinta & Santa Maria. In this short ship-building how-to, you'll learn a simple activity for you and your kids, where you'll make miniature ship models of Columbus's boats with egg cups, brown paint, white paper (sails), toothpicks, clay and glue.
Learn how to sculpt a miniature fortune cookie charm out of polymer clay with this free video art lesson. While this tutorial is best suited for those with some familiarity of polymer clay sculpture, novice sculpters should be able to follow along given a little effort. For specifics, including step-by-step instructions, and to get started crafting your own mini polymer clay fortune cookie charms, watch this sculpture tutorial.
Learn how to sculpt a miniature gingerbread men out of polymer clay with this free video art lesson. While this tutorial is best suited for those with some familiarity of polymer clay sculpture, novice sculpters should be able to follow along given a little effort. For specifics, including step-by-step instructions, and to get started crafting your own mini polymer clay gingerbread man charms, watch this sculpture tutorial.
See how to sculpt miniature macaroon charms out of polymer clay with this free video art lesson. While this tutorial is best suited for those with some familiarity of polymer clay sculpture, novice sculpters should be able to follow along given a little effort. For specifics, including step-by-step instructions, and to get started crafting your own doll-sized macaroons, watch this sculpture tutorial.
