I need to make some fake foods for display purposes. Cakes, pies, rolls, breads, large & small.?

Question

A few years ago I was at a craft fair & saw small refrigerator magnets that looked like tiny donuts, hamburgers, crackers & such. Some of the crackers & cookies looked real like they had just been varnished. Any information would be appreciated.

Answer 1

Here's a book on how to make REAL tiny foods:

http://store.americangirl.com/pls/ag/AG_pagestyle?catid=437588&groupid=442271

It should be a start for ideas. Make the foods using use Sculpey Clay. You can buy the clay in most craft stores.

Have fun!

Answer 2

Are the magnets made from salt dough or clay? If so, use a clear craft spray or a glossy or matte spray sealer to coat the dough after you have finished crafting. It will last for years. You can buy this at nearly any large craft store. Using varnish should work as well, though I prefer the craft spray as it dries nicely. See the links to see how real the dough and clay art looks.

Answer 3

It would depend upon the size and realism you're looking for, and how long you expect them to last:

I have done a fair amount of work as a props builder for various community and professional theater groups, so I do my work in life-size or larger.

A Cake- I would build it from styrofoam, then mix plaster and Celluclay to make frosting... tint the frosting and apply as normal.

A Pie - I've used a basic pretzel dough recipe to form the crust, then filled it with colored plastic gel, and then baked the lattice crust.

Breads - Celluclay or paper mache over a foam form. I've also taken french bread and coated heavily with polyurethane varnish.

Also, many hobby stores will have rubber molding material and then resin or rubber to make your item.

Answer 4

There's loads of info on making miniature foods (and other things) from polymer clay** on this page of my website:
http://glassattic.com/polymer/miniatures.htm
(... click on the subcategories under FOODS...)

(and if you want some info on using magnets with polymer clay, check this page too:
http://glassattic.com/polymer/other_materials.htm
...click on MAGNETS near the bottom of the list...)

If you want to make the items larger, you can still use polymer clay, or you can use a different "clay" or other materials.

Polymer clay items though shouldn't be thicker than 1 1/4" if they're solid (to prevent cracking when baking), so for thicker or larger items we either make them hollow, or we make them over an "armature" or form--one that's removable after baking the clay, or one that's left inside (like tightly-scrunched aluminum foil, for example).

**polymer clays are oil-based clays (not "air-dry" clays) that must be heated to cure and harden them (usually at approx. 275 F in a home oven for 15-45 min, depending on brand and thickness)
... some brands of polymer clay are not strong after baking in any thin or projecting areas though (Sculpey, SuperSculpey, Sculpey III, and to a lesser extent FimoSoft)
....the strong brands --even when thin-- are Premo, FimoClassic, Kato Polyclay and Cernit (in the US)


Have fun!

Diane B.