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Valentine Treats for the Lady of your Dollhouse
By Michele Carter
PepperWood Miniaturist
Being an incurable romantic, when I think about Valentine's Day, I see images
of long-stemmed red roses, chocolates, jewelry, candle light and romance. I
expect that the lady who resides in your dollhouse would fantasize about
getting similar treats from her lover on this special day. Maybe her suitor will
ask for her hand in marriage? Or maybe he is in the doghouse, and to get back
in her good graces, he has splurged on every possible Valentine's Day present
he could think of. Whatever the scenario you picture for your lady, these
Valentine accessories will be perfect to set just the right mood.
The long-stemmed red roses are fairly difficult - especially if you opt for
adding the REAL thorns, but all of the other items pictured are "easy-peasy" as
a miniaturist friend of mine would say.
I have broken the materials list up by item, so that if you want to do one
project but not another, you can see at a glance what is needed for each item.
6 Roses in Florist Box
Materials Needed
White tacky glue
Red crepe paper
Red seed beads
Decorative whisk broom
Real rose thorns
1 sheet plain white paper
1 sheet rose leaves
1/4" hole punch
1/4" star punch
3/16" teardrop-shaped leaf punch (optional)
Green thread
Small piece of thin acetate
Heavy paper in white, pink, or silver
Pattern for box (supplied)
Exacto knife
Straight edge razor blade
Sharp tweezers
Mouse pad or several layers of craft foam
Double-ended ball stylus
Hat pin
Silver, red, or pink curling ribbon
Scissors
Styrofoam or floral foam
Step 1 - Prepare Stems, petals, leaf structure and calyxes
Stems
The stems for the long-stemmed roses are made from bristles from a decorative
whiskbroom, which should be available at most craft stores.
Pick out 6 (6 roses are about all that will fit in the florist box) of the
thinnest and straightest bristles for your rose stems. Dip one end of a stem
into the tacky glue, then place a seed bead onto the end of the stem. Place the
unglued end of the stem into floral foam to dry. When dry, paint stems with
avocado green craft paint return to the foam to dry.
Punch Petals
Cut out a sheet of red crepe paper and fold it over twice so that you have
four layers. Wrap a sheet of plain white paper around the crepe paper so that
you have white paper on the top and bottom of the crepe paper. If you try to
punch the crepe paper without the white paper, your punch will jam and the
crepe paper will shred and tear.
For each fully opened rose you will need 9 petals. For each partially opened
bloom you will need 6 petals. And for buds, you will need three petals.
Decide what mixture of blooms you want to make and then punch out the appropriate
number of petals. Remember that each punch you make will give you 4 petals.
Don't try to punch more than 4 layers of crepe paper at a time or the punch
will jam.
When you have finished punching, you will have stacks of 4 red petals with a
white paper petal on the bottom of each stack. Pick up the stack of
un-separated petals with your tweezers. Be sure to hold the petals so that the grain
of the paper is vertical on the petal. Carefully trim the round petals as
shown in the diagram. Separate the petals and discard the white paper petals.
Put your trimmed rose petals aside until ready to use
Calyxes
Paint both sides of a sheet of white paper with avocado green craft paint.
When dry, punch out six stars with your 1/4" punch. Then take your hat pin and
punch a hole in the center of each green star, using the mouse pad as a
cushion. Set aside until ready to use.
Leaf structure
Take a piece of green thread and apply some tacky glue to it by putting a dab
between your thumb and forefinger and drawing the thread through, coating all
around the length of the thread. Hang over a doorknob or coat hanger to dry.
Step 2 - Shape and cup petals
Core petals - 3 for each rose
Using the medium end of the ball stylus, shape and cup the bottom (narrow
end) of the first three petals one at a time by gently pressing them into the
mouse pad with the stylus. Roll the ball stylist back and forth to stretch and
cup the petals. Be careful not to press too hard as the petals will tear or
become transparent if too much pressure is applied. Remember to keep the grain of
the petals vertical as you cup and shape them.
Middle petals - three for each rose except the buds
Next shape and cup the bottom of the three middle petals, as above, then turn
them over, and with the small end of the ball stylus, curl part of the top
edge of the petal by pressing it into the mouse pad with the stylus. Do not curl
the entire top edge of these three petals. Try to alternate where you curl
the petal edges to add a more realistic and random look to them.
Outer petals - three for each fully-opened rose
Now form and cup the remaining three outer petals using the same technique
with the medium ball stylus. Then turn the petals over, and again, with the
small end of the stylus, curl the entire top edge of the petals.
Step 3- Apply the petals
Full rose bloom
With a toothpick, apply tacky glue to the seed bead. Place the cupped bottom
of the first petal on the seed bead and wrap carefully, stretching it as far
as it will go around the bead. The bottom of the petal will not reach all of
the way around the bead. Fold the top part of the petal over itself, forming a
point that looks like a chocolate kiss. You should not be able to see the seed
bead when looking down from the top. It is crucial to get this center petal
positioned correctly, or the rest of your rose won't look right. Apply the
second petal directly opposite the first petal, so that the base of the seed bead
is completely covered. Add the
third petal opposite the second petal. Next apply the three middle petals,
overlapping as you go around the bead. Finish off the bloom by applying the
last three fully-curled outer petals, overlapping as you go.
Half-open bloom
Apply the first three petals as before. Then add three petals that have been
cupped and partially curled on the petal edge. Make these petals peel back a
bit from the core of the bud - as if they are opening.
Buds
Apply the only first three "core" petals as before.
Step 4 - Add the calyxes
Full Blooms
Take out your prepared calyxes. Slide a calyx onto the bottom of the stem.
Place a small dab of glue on the bottom of the flower and the slide the star up
to butt the bottom of the bloom. Once dry, curl back the five points of the
star so they point down - these are the sepals.
Half-open bloom
Add calyx as above, but glue a few of the sepals (see diagram) to the body of
the bud, and pull back the rest of the sepals.
Closed Buds
Add calyx as above, except glue all but one sepal to the body of the bud.
Make one sepal appear to be opening by bending the tip of the sepal away from the
bud.
Step 5 - Add the leaves and thorns
Leaves
For these long-stemmed roses, the leaf formations are very visible, and
should look correct. You have several options for making the leaves. You can
purchase some printed rose leaves (available at www.pepperwoodminiatures ) which
you can either hand cut or punch out if you have a 3/16" teardrop-shaped leaf
punch ( www.hankypankycrafts.com ). Or you can purchase some laser cut rose
leaves from Jeanetta Kendall (1-800-414-5050) which are already attached to leaf
stems. All you need to do with those is paint them with avocado green craft
paint. Or you can punch out some plain green leaves from the painted paper you
used for the calyxes if you have a punch. If you use individual leaves, you
need to glue them to a leaf structure. Cut half-inch lengths of the stiffened
thread you prepared earlier and with tacky glue, attach one to three leaf
structures to each rose stem. When dry, glue rose leaves in the typical rose leaf
pattern shown in the diagram. Each leaf structure should have either three or
five leaves.
Thorns
Pluck a handful of real thorns from your own (or your neighbors?) rose bush.
Pick the smallest ones with the sharpest points. With a straight razor, cut
off the very tip of each thorn. This is the hard part: with your tweezers,
gently pick up each thorn and glue it to the rose stems. Note: if you apply too
much pressure with your tweezers, the thorns will fly off into space, never
to be seen again.
Step 6 - Make the box
Using the pattern supplied with this article, trace the pattern on a piece of
heavy pink, white, or silver paper. Use an exacto knife and a straight edge
metal ruler to cut out the box. Score lightly along the fold lines with your
exacto knife, then fold the flaps. Glue the tabs together to form the top and
bottom of the box. Cut a piece of thin clear acetate and glue it inside the
lid to cover the window. Decorate the box with silver, pink, or red curling
ribbon. Glue the ribbon around the lid and also the bottom so that when the lid
is on the box it looks like it is still wrapped. For the bows, cut a strip
of the curling ribbon in half, then in half again. Cut 6 or 7 two-inch lengths
of the curling ribbon and curl them with your scissors. Glue the curled
ribbon lengths on top of each other, fanning them out in a circle until you get a
nice full bow.
Heart-shaped Chocolate Box
2 Red foil hearts 1" wide (Michael's card section)
3/4" wide X 1/8" deep wooden heart (Michael's)
A 3/4" laser cut heart-shaped Doily (Jeanetta Kendall)
Red paint
White tacky glue
Scissors
For this project you can use a 1" wide heart-shaped punch if you have one,
and buy a piece of heavy red foiled paper. Punch out two hearts. I used
ready-made foil hearts by "The Card Connection" that I bought in the card-making
section of Michael's. If you use the ready-made foil ones, remove the sticky pad
from the back of each heart, and you will have to trim one side of the heart
with scissors as they are not symmetrical (someone got creative?). The
heart-shaped doilies are available from Jeanetta Kendall at 1-800-414-5050.
Paint the 3/4" wooden heart with red paint. Also paint the backs of the foil
hearts with the same red paint. Be sure to touch up the edges of the foil
paper too. When dry, glue the foil hearts to the wooden heart, top and bottom,
with the foil side out. Be sure to keep the overlap of the foil heart even
all the way around the edge of the "box". When dry, glue the heart-shaped
doily to the top of the completed candy box. Use only a small amount of tacky
glue to adhere the doily. You don't want glue to ooze up through all of the
cutouts in the doily.
Black ring box
Black Paint
Black Flocking ( www.minikitz.com )
9/16" wide X 1/8" deep wooden heart (Michael's)
I tiny gold or silver metal "jump" ring (jewelry finding)
1/32" (or smaller) rhinestone "jewel"
Dremel tool with drill bit
9/16" heart-shaped silver button
Dremel tool with saw blade, or craft knife
2 part epoxy
Emery board or sandpaper
Tweezers
The hardest part of this project will be finding a heart-shaped silver
button. I got a whole bag of silvery buttons at Michael's a few months ago, and in
the bag were dozens of heart-shaped silver buttons in all different sizes.
You must find buttons that have a loop projecting from the back of the button
instead of one with holes in the top. If you can't find a heart-shaped button,
you can use a round one, and substitute a slice from a dowel or a round wooden
part from Michael's which is the same size as your button. Make sure the
wooden piece is at least 1/8" deep.
Using your Dremel tool with a 1/32" drill bit, drill a small hole in the
center of the wooden heart. Drill down about 1/32 of an inch into the heart.
Then rock the drill bit back and forth horizontally to create the slot for the
ring to fit into. Then paint all sides of the wooden heart with black craft
paint. While wet, drop it into a small ziplock bag containing some black
flocking. Shake the bag until the wooden heart is completely flocked. Take out the
heart and allow it to dry. Be sure to tap the excess off of the heart once it
is dry or it will shed flocking every place you put it later.
Using your Dremel tool with a small saw blade attachment, carve off the loop
on the bottom of the button. You can also use an exacto knife or a utility
knife, as the buttons are probably plastic. If your button is metal - use
side-cutters to remove the loop. Sand any rough spots. To make the box top "fit"
over the ring when it is in the box, use a 1/8-inch drill bit to drill a
shallow hole in the back of the silver button where the ring would hit the lid. Be
sure not to drill all the way though the button.
Mix together a tiny amount of 2-part epoxy. Apply with a toothpick to the
back of the rhinestone jewel and glue to the small jewelry finding ring. You
will need tweezers to handle these tiny bits. When dry, place the ring in the
slot you made in the flocked box. You can leave it uncovered, or place the sil
ver lid over the ring in the box to make it look closed.
Red Jewelry Box
Red paint
Red flocking
White tacky glue
3/4" wide X 1/4" deep wooden heart ( www.minikitz.com )
3/4" wide sliver heart-shaped button
Dremel tool with saw blade or craft knife
As in with the black ring box, if you cannot find a heart-shaped silver
button, you can use a square or round piece of wood the same size as your button.
Paint the wooden piece with red paint, then flock it with red flocking as
directed in the ring box instructions above. Cut the loop off of the back of
your button. My jewelry box does not open, so I simply glued the button to the
top of the flocked box when it was dry.
Cupid Candlestick and Candle
1 Angel or cupid bead
1 earring post
1 jewelry finding for base
1 red candle (or paint a white one red)
Silver paint or silver marker pen
2 part epoxy
Tacky glue
Dremel tool with drill bit
I found my cupid bead at a local bead. I would recommend looking in a
specialty bead store if you want to find something similar. Although Michael's and
JoAnn's carry beads, their selection is limited. You could also use an
angel,or a heart-shaped bead. You will also need an earring post that has a funnel
end, and a decorative funnel-shaped jewelry finding with a hole in the center.
Mix up a small amount of 2-part epoxy. Slide the jewelry finding over the
earring post and glue together with epoxy. Then slide the bead onto the earring
post and glue in place with epoxy. When dry, drill out the hole in the top of
the bead with your Dremel tool to match the diameter of your candle. Next
paint the entire candle stand with silver paint. You can also use a silver
paint marker. When dry, glue the candle into the candlestick with tacky glue.
White shopping Bag
1 Miniature white shopping bag (Michael's card section)
1 mini plastic bag with red hearts (Michael's card section)
Silver, pink, or red curling ribbon
Scissors
I found a whole package of these miniature bags in the card-making section of
Michael's. Each card has about 8 little bags in different colors. Perfect
for many mini projects. I chose white because they didn't have a red one in
the package I bought, but you could also use pink or red if you can find it.
The plastic zip-lock bags with the red hearts I found in the same place.
Just cut off the zipper mechanism, and stuff it into the white shopping bag so
that it resembles cellophane "tissue". Use some quartered strips of curling
ribbon about three inches long and tie them to the handle of the bag, curl the
streamers with a pair of scissors.
Now you have everything you need to give the lady of your dollhouse a
romantic and memorable Valentine's Day!
Michele Carter is an IGMA Artisan, and a professionally trained artist. She
has a business, PepperWood Miniatures, making high-quality, collectible
miniature floral arrangements, accessories and original paintings. To see more of
her work, visit her web site at www.pepperwoodminiatures.com .
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