Fruit Loops

My first endeavor to make miniature doughnuts was hugely successful - or so I thought. I was able to shape the doughnuts around wire to make the charm, I 'iced' them with colored frosting and then I added sprinkles. I then glazed the doughnuts for a final touch. Perfect... then my toughest critic then showed up. "Look", I said, "aren't they cute?". "Hmm", he responded, "what are they, fruit loops"?!

Oh well... I still thought they were great - and have not been discouraged from continuing to make doughnuts.

Lemons

The saying goes, 'when life gives you lemons, make lemonade', well that saying doesn't quite work for FIMO lemons.

One of the first techniques that I tackled with FIMO was understanding how to make clay canes, often called millefiori canes. Millefiori is an Italian term meaning "a thousand flowers" and it is a technique developed for use with glass, to make decorative patterns at early as the 7th centrury AD. Polymer clay artists have adapted this skill to produce an incredible variety of clay designs. In my case I used the millefiori technique to make a lemon cane, out of which I was able to make a few lemons (if you were to cut open the whole lemons, you would see life-like citrus pattern inside.) However the technique is involved and takes effort, and I ended up with more lemons than I could possibly ever need.

So I took my lemons and made lemon cream pie. I especially like that I used a coke bottle cap for the pie tin :)

My newest acquisition

Yesterday I had a visitor, who brought me something I have been waiting for for a while now...Martha Stewart Micro Glass Beads. Most of you may not appreciate the usefulness of beads so tiny that they have no hole, but when crafting miniature food - they can add just the right amount of pop to a cake or cookie.

I decided to make a few donuts and put together another charm bracelet. I love the color scheme and the micro beads look wonderful to me.

Enjoy!

Miniature Wedding Cake

I was chatting with my wonderful critic, DL, the other day and she said - "Make me a wedding cake", so accommodating as I am - I obliged.

The cake itself was relatively straightforward, a few layers, some icing. But then I decided to decorate... wow, did it take a while. I have seen a number of beautiful, life size cakes with sugar flowers cascading down the sides and that was the look I was going for in miniature. However each flower had to be individually formed, shaped, placed and a tiny bead placed for the center. In the end I love the result.

A number of friends have suggested making miniature wedding cakes as name cards or to hold table numbers, but I think the effort is too painstaking to make it worthwhile.

Fimo and I

In early December 2010, I picked up some FIMO on a whim, and literally within days I was hooked. I have been experimenting daily with different techniques and possibilities. My original goal was to craft miniature foods - which I have be doing, but I tend to be drawn specifically towards desserts. Cakes, pies and chocolates are my favorites. To explore some new techniques I have also been making jewelry pieces, beads and necklaces. I'll be using this blog to document the process.