INFO re ALL Miniatures

"Miniatures" on this page will mean small items --suitable for a diorama or doll house, etc.
....and also to very small miniatures --for jewelry (charms, etc.) or very small scenes

When you're working really small, it's almost like learning a whole new medium
....many things will need to be baked in stages ..curing only once results in a lot of frustration and major fingerprints. Eliz.w

Using molds (or making your own molds from polymer clay or from 2--part silicone putties, e.g.) can be a great way to duplicate many of the same item
...here's one place that shows finished silicone molds for making pie crusts of various types, etc.
http://www.candlesandwoodcrafts.com/molds.html
...or make your own mold: http://www.norajean.com/New_Projects/PieCrust/Index.htm
Elizabeth's little cave below was created with molds because she had to make a number of them for a swap.
......(see much more on making or buying molds on the Molds page)

Miniatures can be made with any of the clays, but Premo, for example, allows some flexibility and strength for thin things such as petals, leaves, etc., (and projecting things) that might break easily (esp. if using Sculpey III). Patty B.
...I did some strength tests with mini teapots (Fimo, Sculpey, Cernit, & Premo) ... I made one teapot from each clay, then put'em in my young sons' toychest with all the Tonka trucks and stuff.....several weeks later I fished them out
......Fimo & Premo ones were fine... Cernit pot had a broken handle... Sculpey ones were in powdery piles and pieces. Sarajane

Polymer clays come in a range of colors, but they can also be mixed together to create any color (or tint, shade or tone of it) you might want
...adding translucent clay, and mica-containing metallic clays, to the other clays also yields many special effect colors

If I ever paint small baked pieces, to do them more easily I attach a small object to the top of the golf tee with Fun Tack
...... the tees can then be stuck into floral foam or something similar for drying. Cynthia

things to think about for scrounging whole minis and parts to make into minis from everywhere
http://wannainelpaso.com/cheapthrills/index.shtml (click on all !)

The most common scale for dollhouses, etc. is 1:12 ...or 1/12th ... (1 inch = 1 foot in real size)... it's to figure out and to work with because of that (..so if a room is 8x10 feet in real life, it'd be 8x10 inches). Most pre-made dollhouse furniture and accessories are in this scale. The only disadvantage to this scale is that it has the potential to be huge, especially when you're modeling actual modern house plans with their enormous great rooms and not the quaint country cottages that so often come in dollhouse kits.
....Another scale that is smaller and perhaps more manageable is 1:24 (1 inch equals 2 feet) or "half scale" in dollhouse enthusiast terms This is much more manageable size-wise. You can still find pre-made dollhouse goodies in this scale, though not nearly as many as you can for 1:12, and a lot of the stuff is fancier made specialty items.
...The other option is 1:48 (1 inch equals 4 feet)...often called "quarter scale" by dollhouse people, but it is also the same size as "O scale" in model trains. That means that you can find a great amount of outdoorsy miniatures since that's what train people use most. You're more limited on indoor furniture items, but there are some places online that sell that size furniture, usually unfinished. Of course, you can always make your own as long as you remember the sizes, but that gets a bit hard for quarter scale (or O scale), since everything is so tiny. But if you're good with something like polymer clay, you could probably pull it off. cabritoesneato

FLOWERS & LEAVES

There are directions for small flowers in various of the Hot Off the Press-type books and even in the Klutz Press clay books for kids—(see above). ....Sue Heaser has mini flowers and plants in several of her books. ...Donna Kato has lots of flowers in her book too.

Most. foods need at least some translucent clay (solid or liquid) in them along with the base color, since most food has some transparency. Laura
....translucent clays and translucent liquid clays can be used to lessen the saturation of a color, and make icings for cakes/cookies. Patty B.

(Translucent) liquid clays can be colored with oil paints, metallic powders like PearlEx, and alcohol-based inks like Pinata to create colored liquids which can be dribbled onto things such as melting ice cream, melted butter, etc. Patty B.
...also gravies, etc.

To get yourself a library of great food photos to use as guidelines for making mini foods, NoraJean recommends buying cheap cookbooks often on sale at larger bookstores, often in a special section
... books like these are also good for ethnic or specialty foods if you want to make them (Japanese/sushi, Chinese or other Asian foods, breads/rolls, cookies/sweet rolls/pies/cakes, Mexican foods and/or Dia de los Muertos shrines and their foods, barbeque, chicken/gravy/meats/fish, veggies, fruits, soups/stews, etc.)
....she also recommends making your own scrapbook of food photos taken from magazines, etc., and watching the Food Network on TV

book: ...If you want to add candies to your list of fruits and veggies :-), try Fimo Sweets by Esther Olson
......(for lots of candies, pies, cakes, cookies, etc....see also Houses > Candies & Sweets)

There is a very good 18-page book by Barbara Meyer called Meyer's Homemade Meals you may want to find.  I bought it at D & J Hobby in Campbell (Bay Area), California--they have a large dollhouse section in their store.  Its table of contents lists beverages, garnishes (fruit and veg.), breakfast foods, breads, family favorites, cold cuts, salads and shrimp,  vegetables, and meats.  Her results are very realistic looking! Diane B:
(........see more books and videos, etc., at top of page... esp. from Angie Scarr)

mostly FRUITS

CITRUS fruits (lemons, limes, oranges)... some whole fruit, some just canes, and some both
...Candy's lesson on a caned orange (uses all opaque clays tho so not as realistic, and more segments)
........ she uses one white-wrapped log, cut into lengths and made pointed along one edge, surrounds a plain white log with the pointed sides of the wrapped logs, then wraps all with white, orange, and dark orange... lots of white in this cane
http://www.polymerclaycentral.com/candy_citrus.html
.......Maureen Carlson's lesson on making citrus canes (lemon, lime, orange)
http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/dc_occasions_december/article/0,,HGTV_3472_1390370,00.html (pictures at top of page, but instructions in middle)
.......Marina's lesson on making orange and lemon slices & putting on barrettes, bracelets
http://www.marieidraghi.it/agrumimurrine.htm
.......Eliz's lemon, lime, orange canes http://polymerclayexpress.com/images/wreath25.jpg
..NoraJean's lesson on making citrus canes with tinted translucents + opaque clay (for the white)
..... limes, oranges, etc. http://www.norajean.com/Biz-Archive/food/Citrus/Citrus-Grp.htm
..NoraJean's sheet of slices made with translucent and opaque citrus canes (or semi-opaque)
http://www.norajean.com/Biz-Archive/Sproing-002.htm
.......Nora Jean's sheet of slices on a black background (original photo gone, but this shows a bit)
http://www.norajean.com/Biz-Archive/Sheets/OnBlack/Grp-Fruit.htm
.....Lindly H's slices of lemon (one with pink flesh), lime and orange ccanes, with white pith layer, and flesh a fine chop of colors
http://www.lindlyhaunani.com/images/citruscanes.jpg
whole and/or caned oranges/citrus = (whole) straight orange clay for the outside, then roll on a toothbrush for texture. Transparent with a little orange for the inside if you want to cane for slices - and orange with a little white for the segment divisions.
....Angie's very thorough lesson on making an "orange" cane, then turning it into a "sliced," or peeled, or whole orange ....she uses an insertion technique before wrapping
http://www.angiescarr.co.uk/UK_Oranges_Demonstration_Page_1.html
....Nora Jean's lessons on citrus fruits ... whole and caned
http://www.norajean.com/Biz-Archive/food/Citrus/2002-orange-grp.htm
....Miniland's lesson on whole oranges, rolling on a metal file for texture, then making 4 indentions with Xacto in bottom for stem, and brushing a bit of powder from leaf green pastel chalk onto the center and in indentions before baking
...http://www.miniland.ca/OrangeClass.html
...see also Sue's lesson on making tiny whole lemons for lemon tree, above under Flowers & Leaves
... limes = same as ones of the techniques above, but with lime green clay
...tiny slices of mandarin oranges (see Jane W's photo link below under Pies, etc.) ... making them isn't too bad, except that they fly all over the house, cured or uncured. They came out so cute!... But it was hard to dunk them and then retrieve them... finally settled them down with a strainer for tea. Janey

kiwis
--WHOLE fruit, cut in half -- inside colour transparent + leaf green, caned with tiny purple logs for the seeds... outside, roll on quilt batting for texture then brush with browney green pastel powder
--CANEs (cross-section, slice, only):
.... very simple kiwi cane lesson by minagi... wraps a thick layer of green around a translucent log ...after slicing, each slice gets its seeds by dotting it with black paint on a pin
http://minagi.hybridi.net/minagi/crafts/tuts/polycakes/polycakes.html ("direction # 4)
....simple kiwi cane lesson by notamiwithani uses a log of translucent for the center... surrounds it with many tiny logs of alternating black and green... wraps with thick layer of green
http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=165263.0
...NoraJean's lesson on a more realistic kiwi ...(folded cane as component for kaleiscope cane)
......she lays 5 tiny black logs in between the folds of a green+translucent sheet... (first black log placed inside top of first fold, 2nd black log placed lower during next fold, etc.... ending up with 3 seeds up, and 2 down)
(see Canes-Instr.> Folded for more on this type of cane)
......wraps with sheet of green+trans ...reduces cane
......cuts into 3 lengths... pinches** each seed end of cane till has a triangle cane
......rejoins lengths side by side ..... reduces again
......cuts into 4 lengths, then rejoins radially ......wraps with light brown
......(this creates an pretty uneven center though, so might want to do the wrapping with green-trans-white only around 3/4 of cane leaving the seed end free, then placing the cane lengths around a center log of the same green-trans-white radially)
......also, reducing this way will make the round seeds turn to streaks, so might want to build the cane as a triangle cane rather than squeezing it into one in this step**
http://www.norajean.com/Biz-Archive/food/Food-Kiwi-grp.htm
..OR could create an even more realistic kiwi cane component for using in the "kaleidoscoped" cane, using a placement of seeds end to end like this --only 2-3 seeds per unit
http://www.dpcprints.com/print.php?IMAGE_ID=198412
...Angie Scarr's triangle cane component has only 1 seed per unit (approx. 24 units), and no brown skin on the outside of the thick slices
http://www.angiescarr.co.uk/1001_18.JPG.UK_Craft_Items_Canes_and_Slices.html
(see more in Canes-Instr >Triangular Kaleidoscope Canes for general method onmaking triangular kaleiscope canes, and see also Kirsten's similar eye cane in Sculpting-Body > Eye Canes)
(more real kiwi slices: http://tinyurl.com/ylzha5)

Eliz's mini-lesson on grapes (+ bunch) http://polymerclayexpress.com/images/wreath05.jpg

Miniland's lesson on making a tomato http://www.miniland.ca/TomatoClass.html
.. Eliz's mini-lesson on a tomato http://polymerclayexpress.com/images/wreath08.jpg

Nora Jean makes a nice, green apple by taking a slice of a green & green-with-white-or-yellow-added Skinner Blend rolled up into a log (light green on inside) and running it through the pasta machine to enlarge and lengthen it. ...She then wraps the slice around another ball and smooths then rolls? to smooth the seams... She creates an apple shape with the light green at top and bottom, indents the top and adds a stem.

Here is the formula I use on apples of various types:
Red: Mix 5 parts red to 1 part transparent. Form into 1/4 inch balls. Indent depression at top and put a bit of dried flower stem in. Indent shallow depression at bottom. Bake. Touch irregularly with dark red or dark green chalk depending on the apple you are trying to duplicate. Gloss.
Green: Mix 1 part leaf green to 1 part green to one part transparent. Form as above. Roll in green chalk. Bake. Gloss.
Yellow: Mix 5 parts golden yellow to 2 parts transparent. Shape as above. Roll in yellow scraped chalk. Bake. Gloss.
I find it works best to take the chalk or pastels coloring on my finger and touch it to the apples in a pattern that looks like nature... mine are one inch scale so you might want to increase the size a bit. You can use eye shadows, chalks or artists pastels for the colors. The pastels are your best source I think ...Nature does not present perfectly shaped or sized apples, so I always let them vary a bit for more authentic looks!!! Laura

candy apples (Miniland's lesson) http://www.miniland.ca/CandyAppleClass1.html

Elizabeth's lessons on ...apples (including Winesap with Skinner blend) ...more realistic, whole apple
http://polymerclayexpress.com/octo2003.html (click on photo for details)

more apples are in Gifts > Teacher Gifts

Betsy's apples (green, red/green), grapes, cantaloupe-honeydew, peaches or nectarines
http://www.angelfire.com/art2/smallstuff/page7.html

Lesley's lesson on making fuzzy peaches with clay by pressing a bit of white flocking (usually sold in the scale plastic model section of a hobby store for model car upholstery) to raw clay peach before baking after applying a bit of matte acrylic finish then allowing to dry till tacky (or could use dryer lint?)
... then add bit of red, peach, pale yellow and/or green chalk or artist’s pastels over flocking with foam applicator or cotton ball (spray with matte artist’s fixative to hold chalk of if will be handled a lot)
http://miniatures.about.com/od/miniatureprojects/ss/fzzypeach.htm

mostly VEGGIES

Nora Jean's many lessons on veggies + fruits
http://www.norajean.com/Biz-Archive/food/Diner-Grp.htm & http://norajean.com/Tute-List.htm ....from there, see also more of NoraJeans food lessons:
...purple onion slice. . . . vegetables, seafood, bananas, sweets, Asian food, more fruits, pie
(many of these may be now on Nora Jean's new website: http://norajean.com/Tute-List.htm )
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Shadowlands/2708/mini.html
... watermelon that was broken open. It was quite easy to make, just get the right color pink for the inside, do a simple green stripe for the out side, cut apart and make the edges jagged after baking and paint on the seeds. At least that one didn't leave me with 100 feet of left over cane! Cynthia
..(.grapes being mostly water, like the Tompson's seedless green grapes, are achieved in polymer clay with a massive dose of translucent and the smallest smidgen of green.)... I took equal portions of cobalt blue and zinc yellow premo, made a nice dark green. Then I took one part green and four parts translucent and got peas for the pod green, still too dark. Took one portion of that green and mixed it again with four parts translucent and got a lettuce green that when done in layers with no color translucent makes for believable lettuce for one's summer mini sandwiches ...,
... ok take the lettuce green mix and take the 1 to four ratio with no color translucent and then I got the green for the seedless green grapes. White clay will cut the natural translucence of the yellow and the blue ...want to see INTO the grape after curing. . . . Make wee branches and lay them down on your ceramic tile or baking surface. Then place your grapes on the branches and let your memory of what a cluster should look like, wider and more abundant on the top, trailing down to that last grape at the bottom. After they are all arranged I mash them down a bit with a dry soft bristle paint brush, tap tap tap, not to distort the grapes but just to make them snuggle down a bit. Cure and then finish. When using translucent remember to do the ice water dunk as soon as they are finished curing. It is true that your translucents will come clearer when they are cooled quickly and not let to cool off on the tile over time.
~With Premo I'm finding that the primary colors are translucent, they will allow light to shine through them if they are mixed with other colors that are naturally translucent or mixed with translucent.
...In fact Takwan pickles are exactly zinc yellow and need no mix to look true to life. Nora Jean
....papaya http://www.norajean.com/food/Papaya-grp.htm
... guacamole and avocado http://www.norajean.com/Mexico/03-10-03-GuacamolePixs.htm
...Mexican foods (peppers, tacos, etc.) http://www.norajean.com/Mexico/Index.htm
...whole and caned citrus fruits: http://www.norajean.com/Biz-Archive/food/Citrus/Citrus-Grp.htm
......orange, lime ( logs are incompletely wrapped, spiral cane as center...& she uses tinted translucent & opaque clays
http://www.norajean.com/Biz-Archive/food/Citrus/2002-orange-grp.htm
...many fruits and veggies http://www.norajean.com/Biz-Archive/food/Diner-FruitNvegs.htm

fruits and veggies for sale (made from cold porcelain)
http://www.polymerclayminiatures.com/1-6-playscale-play-scale-Doll-Food-miniatures.html

Donna's (worthart) lesson on corn on the cob (like mine too--she also used a window screen to make the indentions in the cob and mini-rods of various greens to make cane for leaves)
http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=655476&uid=448958&members=1 (website gone)
Angie S's lesson on corn on the cob... she uses a clay gun to extrude yellow clay through the smallest multi-holes disk just a little, flattens some with finger, then shaves it off... wraps this around a tapered base; her leaves are thin slices of multi-stacked greens (this makes larger "niblets" than using window screen method)
http://www.angiescarr.co.uk/ (click on corn demo in left nav. bar)
Karen T's (caned) Indian corn (over a thimble) ... Skinner Blend logs (light in the middle) in burgundy, tan, yellow, cream seem to have been reduced small and joined in several long sort-of rows to create mixed corn... each applied cane slice partly covered by dead corn leaves from stack of several light yellow, pale green and cream layers.
http://www.claycat.faithweb.com/cgi-bin/i/co01.jpg
Nora Jean's lesson on (caned) Indian corn
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Shadowlands/2708/corngroup.html

the mashed potatoes were made with off white clay that was mixed up with diluent to get a mashed tater texture.
...the gravy is TLS mixed with some pastel powder to get a gravey color.
...the corn is just yellow corn colored clay scored with a blade and after they were cured I put a little yellow glass stain on for a melted butter look.
...the biscuits were cut out of a light tanish clay and then I manhandled them a bit so they didn't look so perfect and then brushed the tops with a golden pastel.
http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=1134282&uid=448958 Donna in MT

Katie's lesson on baked potato smothered with cheese and red peppers
http://tutorials.theclaystore.com/miniature-food/polymer-clay-baked-potato

Japaya's realistic whole raw russet potato is made with inclusions in transcluent clay (FS)
...look fairly realistic and "thin-skinned," and has with very small areas of other browns/reds/yellows:
....dried red chili peppers (including seeds & skin) ground to flakes (some becomes powdered) (these will tint the translucent a light brown)
....thyme leaves (chopped?)
....yellow mustard seeds (could use brown ones?)
http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u232/meriporlared/imitacinpiedra3copia.jpg

(photos of many types of potatoes, for reference
http://www.foodsubs.com/Potatoes.html )

Christina's whole, Idaho-russet type potatoes and carrots
http://www.geocities.com/chellstr/clay/miniatures.html

Marita's mushrooms in basket
http://bussola.supereva.it/italyclay/book/foto/marita2.jpg

Sherrall's lessons on carrots, broccoli & caulifower put in jars, plus tips on using Envirotex
http://miniatures.about.com/library/clay/bl091700mix.htm
Flo's mini scene of many vegetables in bins and in back of pickup truck ("Produce Stand" memorabilia)
http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=297871&uid=155794

Elizabeth's lessons on veggies. . . potato..... corn on cob ... lettuce ... squashes... pumpkin
http://polymerclayexpress.com/octo2003.html (click on each for photos of that lesson)
Maude's veggies lessons
http://www.fortunecity.com/victorian/cezanne/4/minis/veggie.html
Betsy's whole onions with skins, garlic heads, untrimmed cabbages... yams, carrots, tomatoes
http://www.angelfire.com/art2/smallstuff/page7.html

carrots: (I had decided to try some faux carnelian.) I used some translucent premo, trans red and trans orange, with a dash of black crumblies. I was feeling very proud of myself when I cut it up into long rectangular beads, until dh came out and asked if julienne carrots were on the menu tonight. When I looked again, he was right. They do look remarkably like carrots :( Grumblez, Sera
...lesson on making carrots (with structural paint? in tubes)
http://www.thaiminiatures.com/learn_from_pics.htm (see more lessons on carrots in Websites below)

Angie's lesson on making leeks... she uses a green and white Skinner blend to make a type of ikat stack (see Canes-Instr > Ikat)
....squishes the blend sheet into a "plug" cane, pasta machines into a long ribbon, cuts lengths from it (which she forgets to mention) , then stacks the lengths with each color falling on same side, but offsetting each layer so it extends past the previous layer
... adds a bit of solid green or white to each end to lengthen.... forms into a slim rectangular block
....use thick slice from block for center stalk (cutting down ctr. of green end a bit to make 2 inner leaves), then add 2 or more thin slices around center fanning outward... press bottom on coarse sandpaper ... add a little brown powder or ink to bottom for dirt
http://www.angiescarr.co.uk/UK_Leeks_Demonstration.html

asparagus
...Lindly Haunani made bunches of stalks of wonderful tall asparagus spears as vertical part of a diorama/sculpture for an open-on-one-side box
http://www.nwpcg.org/ravensdale/rave/rave00/haunani.shtml (gone now)
....Lindly's short asparagus spears as earrings
http://www.tinapple.com/oldsite/retreat (click on # 38)
...... stalks are rods of yellowish-green and translucent clay mix
......".leaf-bits" at tip end are slices from 2 bullseye (or Skinner blend) canes formed into pear shapes, then overlapped
......... cane 1 is same medium yellow green mix, around around light reddish purple, around light yellow-green, (prob. all mixed with some translucent), and are in approx. 3 staggered "rows" beginning a tip
.........cane 2 is same cane but no purple (thin yellow-green wrap around light yellow green), overlapped in one "row" --and also placed down the stalk (wherever old "leaves" grew)
http://www.craftsreport.com/february05/oe.html
http://lindlyhaunani.com/06work.html
...Kim C's lesson on asparagus stalks made to onlay on a clock face (not very colorful though)
http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/cr_clay/article/0,1789,HGTV_3236_2331459,00.html
...Betsy's stalks of asparagus... thick ends rather translucent white
http://www.angelfire.com/art2/smallstuff/page18.html

sushi.....+ fish... Asian foods
NoraJean's lesson(s) on making canes of sushi rolls (rice grains made here with translucent and white clay finely chunked in food processor)
.. fish & salmon etc. for "open face" sushi... + many other Asian foods in Bento, platters, etc.
http://www.norajean.com/Biz-Archive/food/Sushi/Sushi-Grp.htm (click on one-tile-NoriMake...+ Fish...+ Asian Meals)
....NoraJean also has separate lessons for making canes of:
salmon http://www.norajean.com/Biz-Archive/food/FishMix/FishMix-Grp.htm
+ meat strips http://www.norajean.com/Biz-Archive/food/MeatMix/MeatMix-Grp.htm + wasabi (green + translucent)+ yellow pickle Takwan (Premo's Cadmium Yellow)+ pickled ginger (crimson and translucent + sea weed (black + touch of purple and silver--for shimmer)
iampoison's lesson on making sushi rolls with rice made from a cane of translucent wrapped with white then cut into multiple lengths, and laid around logs of green, red and orange for carrot, avocado and salmon (...these logs would stay round next to the rice canes better if they were cooler than the rice canes when the total cane were reduced, or they were all surrounded by a layer of white before adding the rice canes, and/or they and the rice canes were each pressed together more so there wouldn't be as many empty areas before reducing)
http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/58865159
Pine Studio's lesson on making sushi rolls + slices with sea eel, egg, cucumber and rice
.....to view in English thru AltaVista's BabelFish, go to: http://babelfish.altavista.com
.......then enter http://park2.wakwak.com/~pine/studio/howto/index.htm in the Translate Page window ..select Japanese to English ..click on WindingSushi --in the long category, 4th from bottom)
.....she makes her rice as individual grains (not a cane) by scraping at white (or trans/white?) chunk of clay with an awl to make many tiny chunks... then lets the chunks firm up for a few hours (softer brands of clay probably wouldn't work well), and puts a thick layer of it loosly on the black "wrapper" (which is actually black paper she's added a layer of glue to), then adds the eel and cucumber canes/logs on the rice, and rolls the whole thin up, slightly overlapping it at the end
minagi's various sushi, etc.
http://minagi.hybridi.net/showcase/Polyclay_food (click on 4 sushi links at bottom)
Elizabeth N's many sushi items, for jewelry (rice here is just solid white clay)
http://www.creativeadornments.com/sushi.html
Noriko's various sushi pieces as "numbers" on a clock face (you gotta check this out)
http://www.sushiclock.com/
NoraJean's lessons on fruits and vegetables (some for sushi)
http://www.norajean.com/Biz-Archive/food/Diner-FruitNvegs.htm
(see also more at Pine Studios just below)

peanuts
.....for a simple replication, you could make a round ball from peanut colored clay**, then roll it to lengthen it a bit. Then put it on a flat or textured surface, and roll over the middle section (back and forth like sawing) with the handle of a paintbrush, or a knitting needle, etc. to create the “waist” … you could kind of twist one half to one direction if you wanted to make it more realistic.
**Premo’s Beige, or FimoClassic’s Champagne or Ochre… or any brown lightened with a lot of white
....for a little more complicated way, you could make two small oval balls from tightly-scrunched aluminum foil (or even from polymer clay then bake them) to use as forms... cover those with a layer of peanut-colored polymer clay (could even glue them together in this accurate "offset" configuration before covering:
http://www.irteb.com/herbal/images/peanut.gif )
...You could texture the raw clay peanut with a tool of some kind (like maybe a grid of impressed rectangles, made by cutting down a pencil eraser into a rectangle), or make a “texture mold” from polymer clay using a sheet of plastic canvas.... Or you could just texture with anything rough for a general simulation, or not texture at all.... (if you want to “antique” the texture to make it stand out more, rub on a bit of brown-ish acrylic paint getting it down into all the crevices, then wipe it off of all the top surfaces with a paper towel, etc.).... Or you could just draw on the “grid” texture lines with a fine paintbrush and some light brown acrylic paint, I guess.
...Or, if wouldn’t be too big, you could also “cover” a real peanut with clay instead. Most foods do fine under polymer clay as long as a big enough hole is left for the moisture to escape… or even better, take the 2 peanuts out of a shell, then glue the shell back together and use that for covering (then no hole necessary). Diane B.
(for chopped nuts, see below in Donuts, etc.)

PROTEINS

eggs --I cane hard boiled eggs these using golden yellow and white. You get a better result if you bake the yellow first as a nice round log, then wrap in white and bake again - slice while warm. Sue Heaser
...Katie's lesson on making fried eggs + bacon ... and + a cast iron frying pan to put in it
http://tutorials.theclaystore.com/miniature-food/making-a-frying-pan-with-bacon-and-eggs/
... more eggs below?

cheeses (whole and wedges):
Philippa Todd's various fabulous cheeses: http://www.bpcg.org.uk/images/philippatodd/cheeses.jpg
Gail's cheeses ...Brie: pale colored yellow/cream Fimo, dusted with corn starch or baby powder
...gouda: cover round of yellow Fimo with flattened wrap of red, and form into cheese shape - when cut in wedges, looks like wax over the cheese
...cheddar: orange wrapped with black
...hanging log of cheese: bake clay with a loop of thread through the top ...tie with beige thread like provolone- dipping that in cream colored wax (or translucent clay) can make it look very real . Gail
...for cheeses, play with different yellows mixed with a lot of white - too many kinds to type out here! Sue Heaser
melted cheeses
...for her macaroni & cheese, teapotdnky tinted liquid clay orange, the blobbed a little of it on top of a pile of clay elbow shapes... then she blew hard on the liquid clay to coat the elbow macaronis
.....iampoison did the same thing for her cheese fries... over a pile of tiny french-fry-shaped clay pieces

whole ham ...mix of pink and brown... outside part is translucent mixed with a yellow.
whole roast beef ...a little tricky --ended up being a deep red with a brown, with the layer of translucent and yellow
meatloaf ... two shades of brown chopped up real fine, then blended together.... same as the meatballs. junebug6162
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e81/primcreek/minifood.jpg

whole fish ...I got directions for from Angie Scarr's book ( http://www.angiescarr.co.uk/ )
...she makes a cane for the body of the trout... and separate canes for the eye and fins.
(Donna's tiny wrapped canes, in-between various layers of clay, rolled and tapered to form a realistic 3-D rainbow trout with added fins ...based on Angie Scarr lesson)
http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=985985&uid=448958)
...the bones of that fish with only a head and tail are from a feather! Donna in MT
(see also sushi + more on fish just above)

For fried chicken I made some tiny leg bones from mostly translucent clay. I rolled a very tiny log and then for each leg I sculpted tiny knobs at the ends. I loosley mixed up some carmel, yellow, translucent and brown clay for the flesh on the legs, made a little tear drop and inserted the cured bones into them and smoothed down the flesh onto the bones. I textured the legs with a toothbrush. After they were cured I brushed them with some wood gel acrylic paint and then covered with Flecto.
.....When you are making small scale food you really have to keep your scale in mind. This is a one foot equals one inch scale. It's also helpful to have the actual food in front of you or a good picture. Donna in MT
....Sherrall Chapman's lesson on making turkey and dressing
http://miniatures.about.com/library/clay/blturkey.htm
... It is amazing what a sprinkling of real pepper seasoning can do for a little piece of polymer clay chicken (fried chicken patty on a sandwich) !! kishcrafts

Philippa's many meats .....& some chicken
http://www.bpcg.org.uk/membergallery/philippatodd.htm (click on each photo containing meat) (sliced, whole)
including http://www.bpcg.org.uk/images/philippatodd/meats.jpg (raw roasts, chicken legs, ground beef, etc.)

Allyson's mini site... whole turkey.... cold cuts.... bacon strips.... bone-in ham
http://members.aol.com/alsminis/index.html
NoraJean's mini- lessons on various meats
http://www.norajean.com/Biz-Archive/food/MeatMix/MeatMix-Grp.htm

*Angie Scarr's fruit, veg, plates, meat/fish, etc. (& lessons on oranges/peels, corn, leeks)
http://www.angiescarr.co.uk

(see other meats elsewhere on this page --esp. in Mixed Foods below... and hamburger beef, salami, pepperoni sausage slices, hotdogs, etc. just below))

PIZZA, HAMBURGERS, TACOS, SANDWICHES, etc.

pizza
...I made my pizza by stacking a disc of pale yellow clay under a slightly smaller brownish clay disc, then adding toppings of pepperoni (see above) and mushrooms (cane slices), plus red and green and translucent/white bits for peppers and onions, (more?).
........ can't remember if I cut the pizza into (4-6) "slices" before baking, or while still warm from the oven but did use a single-edge razor blade for the cleanest thinnest cut. Looked pretty convincing . . . Diane B.
....I used precured pizza toppings ....makes the making of pizza just a breeze... take uncured pizza "cooked dough" (remembering the brown around the outer edges of a real cooked pizza), then take the cured toppings and arrange... cure ...while still hot, slice quickly with a razor. Nora-Jean
...'s lesson on making a pizza Margharita http://tinyurl.com/7fote
...Angie's various toppings for pizza (bell pepper rings, tomato slices, (red) onion slices, pepperoni, mushrooms)
http://www.angiescarr.co.uk/1001_33.JPG.UK_Craft_Items_Canes_and_Slices.html
...Raggedy D's lesson on making pizza
.....crust is white + translucent + ochre, formed over small dish for rim... then brushed with all over with crushed soft pastels (or chalks)--yellow ochre all over , then along rim with soft brown
.....pepperoni cane made with translucent + white + brick red and white + translucent (chopped, then formed into log) ...log baked, then sliced
.... tomato sauce is made from artists acrylic paints
.....cheese is white glue tinted marbly with yellow-brown paints
.....all dry-brushed with burnt sienna acrylic paint here and there
http://raggedyds.com/howto1.htm

pepperoni slices...I made some very convincing pepperoni slices by making a lace cane (many wrapped logs) from translucent, wrapped with reddish brown and reduced it really small... took slices, then put them on my tiny pizza. Diane B.
...whole long salami or sausages ..use dark reddish brown clay, with a thread loop tied at the top before baking.
.......then use the spatter paint technique (with a toothbrush) for adding 'fat' to the salami. Gail

Katie's lesson on making a hot dog in bun (textured on the inside of each half with tiny pin pricks) --cartoony
... with squiggles of mustard and ketchup
... "relish" (could mix in some darker greens too) and chopped onions
... or spaghetti noodles (clay gun extruded snakes of white clay with a bit of yellow) with meatballs and red patches for tomato sauce
http://tutorials.theclaystore.com/1/how-to-make-clay-hot-dogs

Norajean's lessons on hamburger patties... plus cheeseburger and fries
http://www.norajean.com/Biz-Archive/food/burgerNfries/CheeseBurger-010.htm
http://www.norajean.com/Biz-Archive/food/CheeseburgerGrp.htm
lesson on making a cheeseburger and fries (colors used lat and opaque though)
http://www.sculpey.com/Projects/projects_BurgerFriesKeychain.htm

cheeseburgers & pizza by Marie S. http://www.clayfactory.net/marie/images/831.JPG

Katie's lesson on hamburger, with tomato, lettuce and sesame seed bun
http://tutorials.theclaystore.com/miniature-food/polymer-clay-hamburger

Jacey's club sandwiches, etc.
http://www.geocities.com/sopcg/MemberJacey.html

taco ... Katie lesson
http://tutorials.theclaystore.com/miniature-food/polymer-clay-tacos

BREADS

(+ other links on this page also have lessons and examples)

Norajean's many many lessons on various breads
...and ways of making them look realistic with diff. colors of clay, liquid clay, eye shadow, etc, etc.
http://www.norajean.com/New_Projects/Bread/Index.htm
http://www.norajean.com/Biz-Archive/food/Diner-MeatNbread.htm
(Norajean's techniques changed over several years, so try to find them all --see just below as well)

Norajean's lessons on making "toasty tops" with a clay color composed of translucent, yellow, red, bit of brown ... (she calls it "melted cheddar cheese mix")
...she makes a 3-layer sheet to use for various bready things (top layer the orig. mix, middle layer orig. mix combined with light yellowish clay, bottom layer white)
... for some types of bread she uses the layered sheet in different ways
....... for example, sometimes wrapping it around a ball of white clay, etc... then shaping or making "open cuts" in the "crust", etc
....to make (one half a) hamburger bun from the layered sheet, e.g... cut out a disk from the sheet, then smear the orig.mix layer down over the sides a bit to soften the layers, which also causes the color to lighten toward the bottom of the smear for more realism.
http://www.norajean.com/New_Projects/Bread/02-20-How-To.htm
http://www.norajean.com/Food/ToastyTop/Index.htm (don't know why these are all "wet" looking)
...biscuits ("bikkies") http://www.norajean.com/Food/ToastyTop/Bikkies.htm

CRUSTS, etc
...Norajean (just above) also uses brown eye shadow on the upper parts for darker crust areas in some lessons
...You can make the top of the bread brownish by using a "wash" of paint (acyrlic)
...... or artist's chalks (& pastels?) --which can look more realistic. Cynthia
...........(see Powders > Chalks... and Paints > Pastels and Chalks)
....liquid clay (TLS) with brown ochre (oil?) paint on a make-up sponge-brush (like the eye shadow applicators), smeared on to the right thickness to look like the pies had browned (shiny when cured). Jane W.
...I made a very thin skin of golden-brown + translucent claysby rolling the mised colors between sheets of parchment paper on the next-to-thinnest setting on the pasta machine... then I carefully layered on to look like the crust
.......a little Future when they came out of the cure made them look like they were butter-brushed
....Nora Jean also sometimes adds a white-chalk powder for the flour-y look some breads have after baking (and in the open cuts)
(see more ideas for crusts also in many areas just below, re Liquid Clays, Thinner Icings, Thicker ... plus in other lessons)

Kathy's lessons on french, farmer's, and regular bread
http://post.queensu.ca/~readel/MEKA/Workshops/Bread.html
bun and twist loaf
http://albums.photo.epson.com/j/AlbumIndex?u=4043334&a=30603422&pw=
Betsy's French bread, buns, rolls, toast, buscuits & dough
http://www.angelfire.com/art2/smallstuff/page4.html ...http://www.angelfire.com/art2/smallstuff/page3.html

toast and sliced bread
http://www.bpcg.org.uk/membergallery/philippatodd.htm
Raggedy D's lesson on bagels, with cream cheese and jelly
...she makes hole with wooden skewer, then shapes a bit before removing from skewer
...makes powder from a Burnt Sienna artist pastel stick, and paints it all over bagel, holding bagel with q-tip in hole
...cuts a shallow line around equator if cutting in half later, and bakes (cut bagel in half while still warm)
...for cream cheese, she spreads on Premo white clay and bakes
...for jelly, she tints tacky white glue with acrylic paint 1 to 1, then paints on (...adds a coat of matte --satin?-- varnish)
http://raggedyds.com/howto1.htmhttp://raggedyds.com/howto1.htm

various breads, desserts, etc. http://www.pancakemeow.com and/or
http://www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml?user=pancake_meow&mode=full

Garie's stuffed pastry rolls like empanadas, piroshki,etc (fruit inside tho?) with faces (for animated TV commercial) ..(not miniature)
http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/art/animation/1a_animation.htm

SWEETS

FROSTINGS. +. ICINGS
Whipped Cream ... Meringue

basic info

The shape and the final look you want will dictate which materials & which techniques you'll want to use
...icing or frosting can be made very thin all the way to very thick
....can be opaque or translucent, or transparent (jellies, sauces, etc.)
... can be colored .... can have speckly "inclusions"
... the thicker frostings can be applied and shaped in various ways (spread with tools or placed by hand, extruded through a clay gun or icing tip, etc.)
.......thinner icings can be spread on, self-leveled, or drizzled as well

COLORING solid clay or liquid clay (...coloring them "white," or pastel, or stronger colors)
....mix colored clays into white or other softened solid clays, or into liquid clays
....use various colors of artists' oil paints in tubes
.........tint with shavings from oil pastels (esp.when coloring liquid clay)
NOTE: most oil paints are translucent, but white oil paints and oil pastels contain titanium oxide so are opaque (...could also work on darker surfaces like chocolate cakes, etc.)... if not much is addded to liquid clay or translucent clay though, may not be completely opaque
.....you can tint liquid clays with transparent alcohol-based inks ...(Pinata, Adirondack) .....the alcohol can cause bubbling and frothing in the liquid clay though if there's too much of it (so I've been dropping the ink onto the surface and letting it sit for a while in hopes that the alcohol will evaporate off ....then I mix the color into the liquid clay....so far, no problems even when I didn't wait to let the alcohol evaporate). Elizabeth
....can use small amounts of acrylic paints (fairly opaque), but let sit awhile before baking since the water in them can cause problems
....can use "inclusions" mixed into liquid clay, or mixed into translucent or Pearl or any color solid clay (though some inclusions may also act as thickeners and stiffeners)
.........powders: like mica powders (Pearl Ex, etc.), powdered chalks, eyeshadows, blush powders
.........or maybe just white cornstarch, baking soda, talc powder
.........ground-up spices (some may remain somewhat particulate), or perhaps embossing powders
.........or use real-metal powders, or microfine glitters
(see Inclusions for more)

THINNING solid clay
Solid clay (translucent, white, Pearl, or a color) can be thinned with various materials to create icings and glazes; the more thinner that's added, the thinner the icing/glaze will be...some possibilities are:
....liquid clay (any brand that's translucent... or the opaque white version by Sculpey called "Liquid Sculpey")
....Diluent (now called Sculpey Clay Softener)
.......if either of those 2 is added to baked clay, it must be baked again to cure (regular temp... can be baked multiple times)
....vegetable oil... glycerin... mineral oil... Vaseline
....rubbing alcohol (let sit awhile before baking)
....a soft .solid clay
....... most translucent clays are softer than colored ones ...the Sculpeys are also softer (Sculpey, SuperSculpey, or Sculpey III), and FimoSoft (...and fresher bars of Premo, etc., may be quite soft).... Mix Quick is a bar of clay (mainly translucent) also sold as a clay softener by Fimo

THINNED solid clays may also need to be SOFTENED MORE before using by subjecting to heat and stretching (from conditioning by hand or in the pasta machine, or by putting in a very warm place a while)... especially if wanting to spread or extrude them.

APPLYING:
...depending on thickness and desired effect of icings/frostings/etc., they can be applied with brushes, palette knives, fingers, extruders, or other tools
... can also be textured or "combed" with tools like sponges, rubber-tipped brushes, wadded plastic wrap (stamped, stippled/pounced, stroked, etc.)

thicker frostings

Can just use regular clay alone (white or colored) ....esp. the soft chalky "original" white Sculpey that comes in a box
...or use a white clay mixed with some translucent clay

Or regular clay, thinned with various things (liquid clay, Softener-Diluent, veg oil, etc.).
...thinned clay can be shaped by hand...spread on...or extruded from a clay gun or through an icing tip
(partly depending on the proportion of liquid clay to solid clay mixed... how thin or thick it is)
.....I used a lot of liquid clay (both the opaque LS & also TLS... and others) for the icings. Jeanne
.....add liquid clay to white clay .... mix until it peaks like meringue for a fluffy frosting.
....Nora Jean's lesson on fairly soft white icing made with liquid clay and white clay
http://www.norajean.com/Food/Cinnibun/007.htm
.....Betsy's lesson on making fluffy, stiffer, white icing ..or could be whipped cream (with liquid clay and white clay, by mixing them very firmly on a ceramic tile until mix is smooth with a popscicle stick, then spreading with a toothpick (she feels Kato liquid clay mixes up the easiest)
http://www.cdhm.org/tutorials/making-a-miniature-cake.html (photos 28-34)
...teapotdnky mixed rubbing alcohol into her clay for very thick cupcake frosting... stirred every so often over a day or two before spreading
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k84/blogcraftster/cupcakes.jpg

applying frostings
...(sometimes it's useful to cure the clay shape first, before applying a frosting)
...you can put frostings on already-smoothed out... or you can spread and smooth them with a spatula on other tool (on cakes, cupcakes, e.g.)
......or shape and/or texture slightly (on cakes, e.g.)
......or extrude softened clay through a clay gun and/or through any shape of icing tip
--into logs, fluted logs, other shape logs --which can then be used to make lines, dots/stars, spiraled dollops (if thin enough, clay should also thin out at the top when pulled upward for making a dollop), as well as dropped cookies, candies, etc.
..........for miniatures though, such tiny amounts of clay are needed that the clay can just be pushed through an icing tip with a finger
......especially for extruding stiffer thinned clays (i.e., only a little bit thinned), clay should be softened first (condition till warm, or heat slightly in other ways, after thinning)
....can also use clayalley.com's icing tip adapter tool with an icing tip on a clay gun
....PineStudio's clever "icing tip" made from tiny cylinder of serrated metal strip fr.plastic-wrap box...+ transparent tape as the "icing bag")
(to view English translation through BabelFish, first go to: http://babelfish.altavista.com
...enter this url in Translate Page window: http://park2.wakwak.com/~pine/studio/howto/index.htm
...select Japanese to English... click on Cookie in left bar)
(for more info on using icing tips and/or clay guns, as well as various other mediums that could be used or mixed together to create icings, see Clayguns )

whipped cream + custards
....NoraJean's stiffer "piped" whipped cream --TLS + white and/or Pearl clay-- on a lemon custard pie
http://www.norajean.com/New_Projects/PieCrust/006.htm
...for a spiraled dollop of whipped cream, roll a ball of regular clay (or thin it a bit first) into a tapered log, then arrange it in a tall spiral
...minagi's realistic foods --multi-layer cakes and pies, many with whipped cream and/or fruit on top
http://minagi.hybridi.net/showcase/Polyclay_food (click on each link, except sushi ones)
....Eliz's whipped cream-looking frosting on cookies & gingerbread men
http://thepolyparrot.com/cookies.html
....colored "whipped cream" could also be used as custards for pies, tarts, and cakes (or alone)
(see also just above in thicker frostings for similar looks)
...Raggedy D used plain Premo (white) clay (a fresh, soft bar) to spread on her baked "bagels" for cream cheese

meringue .... mixed white & Pearl clay (a whitish mica-containing polymer clay)
.... added a little liquid clay at a time with much mooshing (kept adding till I couldn't handle it any more and added a little more, which made peaks just like I wanted.
.......I glopped it on the pies... peaked it with a toothpick, and baked
... then just .touched the tips of the meringue with a dab of TLS mixed with a dab of brown ochre paint.... re-cured for 15 minutes.
...added the "weeping" look with Future on a paintbrush, if desired. Jane W (...see below in More Sweets)

(for making round or other shapes of ropes of frosting, see Clay Gun > Small & Med. Extruders... and Icing Tips)

[for making edible candy doughs which can be extruded, molded, caned or sculpted, see Kids-Beginners > More (Various)]

thinner icings, glazes

Somewhat-thin to very-thin icings and glazes, etc., can be made by tinting liquid clay (or other clear liquids)... see Coloring just above in Basic Info
....or by thinning solid clays way down till they're runny or almost runny ...see Thinning above in Basic Info

some uses:
...translucent .thin icing for cookies http://www.angelfire.com/art2/smallstuff/page8.html
...........or drizzle for cinnamon buns
.....can drip these where you want then spread around them with a toothpick, etc
......or drizzle in patterns or lines/dots
...transparent,.colored . fruit glazes or pie fillings for pies/tarts/cakes, jellies, jams (... use with fruit or fruit pieces, or without... or other sauces
.....can pour over fruit in contained cells/pools, for pies or tarts... or drizzle over fruit, or just anywhere you want)
.....can also use an epoxy resin (colored with artists oil paints or not) for these thicker effects by waiting till the resin begins to gel before pouring it out, etc. (see more on using resins in Other Materials)
....opaque .chocolate sauce for ice cream, or other opaque sauces and gravies

other clear-drying mediums (instead of liquid clay) which have been tinted will work too
......Varathane... Future...acrylic gel mediums ...acrylic fingernail polish...(some will automatically give a glossy finish)

acrylic paint (or tinted "white" glue) + add a glossy finish (if the icing needs that look)
... or even use puff paint

(for making drizzled ropes, etc, of icing, see Liquid Clay > Drizzling)

DONUTS, Cupcakes, etc.

Norajean's many-lessons on making donuts of various types:
...plain glazed donut... iced donut....double-chocolate long crullers...
...donut with sprinkles........ jelly-filled donut with powdered sugar on top
http://www.norajean.com/Food/Donut/Index.htm (click on each type of donut for lessons)

lesson by iampoison for making a jelly donut with powdered sugar on top... doesn't use liquid clay mixed with regular clay for jelly like Nora Jean's lesson does)
http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=223979.msg2419907#msg2419907
or http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v16/xxiampoisonxx/jelly7.jpg (then replace the 7 with 1, then 2, then 3, etc for steps)

Pine Studio's lesson on making donuts
.. she somewhat flattens a ball of clay, then creates a hole in the middle with an awl, and lets sit a couple of hrs to firm up
.... then paints thinned down brown acrylic paint on top, & later adds clear acrylic finish (fingernail polish?) for glossy chocolate icing
...one donut has a sugar topping (... fine sand glued on top of icing)
(to view English translation through AltaVista's Babel Fish, first go to: http://babelfish.altavista.com
...& enter this url in the Translate Page window: http://park2.wakwak.com/~pine/studio/howto/index.htm
...then select Japanese to English ... click on various links in left bar, including Doughnut

icecreamcute's donuts ..... ice cream cones ... and cupcakes
http://www.livejournal.com/users/icecreamcute/2293.html#cutid1

Jeanne R.'s very convincing donuts & crullers, with icing, etc.
http://www.heartofclay.com/page7.htm

cinnamon rolls
...Norajean's lesson on cinnamon buns with icing
http://www.norajean.com/Food/Cinnibun/Index.htm
......flatten two logs of slightly different light brown+translucent colors together, one on top of the other (the long edges of each layer will be rounded)... roll the strip up into a short jellyroll (do not cut ends)... cut jellyroll in half crosswise to create 2 cinnamon rolls (place the non-flat end of the jellyroll face up, and gently round its bottom edges)
..... for the icing, mix liquid clay into white clay, and slather over top of cinnamon rolls... bake
http://www.norajean.com/Food/Cinnibun/008.htm
...can mix real cinnamon or any brown powder (see Powders) into liquid clay or into translucent clay
.....for individual rolls, then roll a long log of dough colored clay
.......slather one side of the log thickly with the liquid clay (or press on log of translucent-clay-with-brown inclusions)
.......roll into a spiral, taking care not to flatten the dough log too much (can flatten some after spiraling if want)
...OR for a cane-like log from which slices can be cut
.......spread the brown-colored liquid clay (or lay a thin layer of the brown trans.clay) onto a rectangular sheet of dough colored clay...roll up into a jellyroll log ...can then cut into thick slices, and round off edges for individual rolls
(for icing, see below)
...I mix liquid clay with a touch of white oil paint for the icing
.......for the filling, mix cinnamon with liqiud clay to form almost a paste
.......make a long, skinny triangle-ish shape from tannish clay, spread on the cinnamon fillng, and roll up from the wide end to the skinny end.... the filling will ooze out, but just spread it around the outside of it... put it on a baking surface, and drip on some "icing"...bake. somethingweird

Garie's stuffed pastry rolls like empanadas, piroshki,etc (fruit inside tho?) with faces (for animated TV commercial) ..(not miniature)
http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/art/animation/1a_animation.htm

(see just below ---with other cakes-- for making spongy or crumb-y textures for breads or cakes)

(see above for other info on making Icings-Frostings)

TOPPINGS:
chopped nuts... first I make a peanut-color clay ...then roll it out into a thin sheet, and bake it... once cooled, I chop up the sheet Rachael Ray style with an ordinary large kitchen knife (as if mincing a veggie/garlic with a chef's knife) ..I end up with finely chopped bits or "peanuts". iampoison
(for a whole peanut, see above in mostly Veggies)

sprinkles
...Nora Jean rolled out various colors of clay into very thin logs... baked them... then cut into disks while still warm
http://www.norajean.com/Food/Donut/Sprinkles.htm
....rolling the logs much thinner would work well for the longer sprinkles (colors, or chocolate)

granulated sugar...or sugar sprinkles .... snowcone ice, etc.
.....the simplest way to simulate a sugar topping would just be to pounce a dry brush with white acrylic paint on it onto the clay (pounce off most of the paint on a paper towel before pouncing on clay though)
........I once found a pearl white glitter that looks remarkably like sugar when you put it on fake candy and cookies.
.......for sprinkles I've used salt and apple cider mix. Jeanne
.......Alison used Varathane, then irridescent sprinkles, and another coat of the varathane to seal them on
http://www.michiesminis.com/clay/xmasswap/candybead7.html
.......for the sugar coating, you might try using white "scenic sand" (fine-grain silica sand) available at hobby shops. Diane B.
.......I've also used teeny tiny holeless beads (usually with a coating of sealer or liquid clay on top). Jeanne
...... KIT-CAT made snow cones of crushed/shaved ice (which could also be chunky colored sprinkles) by mixing teeny tiny bits of colored clay with mineral oil, then squishing till right consistency achieved... the baked result is lumpy
..........could also pre-bake the bits if want more definition for them
...... Sherrall's lessons on making sprinkles http://miniatures.about.com/library/clay/blrecipe100100a.htm (gone)

...powdered sugar
.....Nora Jean scraped bits from a white pastel pencil with an Xacto onto her jelly-filled donut...had rubbed liquid clay there to hold them on, then rebaked ........other sticky surfaces to hold the sugar could be white glue, a clear acrylic finish, glycerin, wet paint, etc, all of which would dry, not have to be cured)
http://www.norajean.com/Food/Donut/JellyFilled-008.htm
......or could try white chalk scrapings ...other white powders (drop from a seive to keep from clumping?).... or white embossing powder (heated)
......iampoison used scrapings from white charcoal stick for drawing
......or "spray" dots of white acrylic paint onto the top area with a toothbrush... could mask areas where don't want speckling

try using real spices...esp cinnamon and ginger powder for polymer clay gingerbread cookies. kishcrafts

CAKES

crumbs and crumb-y texture
... Betsy textures the inside surfaces of cakes by scraping a pin into and around a clay surface in various ways... teasing up, swishing, pressing, pushing, circling, etc, whatever works
..... re-cooling the clay may be necessary to continue, or if not working well enough
http://www.cdhm.org/tutorials/making-a-miniature-cake.html (click on photos 21-26)
....you can also stipple the cut surfaces with the ends of a very stiff brush to apply some texture to the insides of the cake. Lysle

spongy cake texture
...Garie's mini-lesson on creating a spongy effect by mixing baking soda into his "polymer paint" (...a solid clay piece with holes poked in it, soaked 3-6 hrs with paint thinner to dilute it, then also adds liquid clay)
........ when the mix is poured into a mold (like a mini bread tin made from alum. foil) to simulate a cake shape, the baking soda creates many tiny bubbles in the clay during baking, and also domes up like a loaf of bread or cake would
http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/miniature_cake.htm
...i used garie's technique (just added baking soda to my TLS/clay mix) but i didn't dissolve it in any solvents or add the Diluent ... give it a try, it's easy. Shiny Things

Betsy's (yellowish) vanilla cake is created with 2 parts white + 1 part yellow (set aside 1/3 of mix)... add the 1/3 mix to 8 parts translucent (better to have too little yellow than too much; can always add more later) .. see crumbs tutorial just above for photo

Katie's lesson on making a layer cake (choc + vanilla) with choc. stripes across top (small ropes of clay, flattened and dragged with a needle tool), top edge embellished with white and dark choc. balls
.... sides of "bare" cake are textured with the tip of a needle tool to look spongy/cakelike
http://tutorials.theclaystore.com/1/making-a-cake-out-of-polymer-clay

minai's lesson on making several layer cakes
....mutiple round cutouts of different-colored clays, stacked together... then all covered with a layer of frosting
....then decorated with kiwi and other fruits slices, hand-formed whipped cream dollops, etc ... hand-formed chocolate onlays (leaves, coffee beans)
http://minagi.hybridi.net/minagi/crafts/tuts/polycakes/polycakes.html

if you're getting the middle layer of icing too thick in your slice of layer cake, making it look more like a sandwich:
...after forming your (whole) cake, cool it it in the freezer for about 30 min... then slice the cake while it's still raw and cold. Lysle

I use a (piece of) wooden dowel as a permanent armature that I cover, frost and decorate, esp. for cakes that are highly decorated
... I always got a lopsided cake when I tried to make one out of polyclay. Cynthia

Flo's wonderful tiny wedding cakes with many small flowers on tiered cakes, etc.
http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=298642&uid=155794
Philippa's beautiful many-tiered wedding cakes...and desserts & parfaits, including cakes (non-wedding)
http://www.bpcg.org.uk/images/philippatodd/cakes.jpg ......http://www.bpcg.org.uk/images/philippatodd/foodtable.jpg
Betsy's various cakes http://www.angelfire.com/art2/smallstuff/page3.html

kitchcrafts fat slices of layer cake, often with translucent glazes or dripping glazes
http://blog.myspace.com/kishcrafts (April 22, 2007)

Raddegy D's lesson on making an orange bundt cake (with optional orange slices) which has a
transparent glaze made from tinted epoxy resin poured over the cake and onto the plate
....she used a tiny bundt mold to make the (golden yellow and translucent) cake
... then crushed soft pastel sticks (chalk ones) to brush over cake : yellow ochre (alll over), then burnt sienna (on upper surfaces), medium brown (upper surfaces)... bake
....placed cake on dish, or onto waxed paper if wanting to remain separate
....then poured an epoxy resin (tinted amber) over all, allowing to collect on plate, etc. (after curing can peel off waxed paper)
(... she had also add a few slices of an orange cane, I think to the bottom sides of the cake before covering all with resin)
http://raggedyds.com/howto2.htm
(more on epoxy resins in Other Materials)

Dorothy Greynolds made mini-cake "vessels" for a swap
http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?&p=999&uid=2343137&gid=9316342&&imgid=131048308&offset=0

cupcakes:
Sculpey's lesson on making a (short) simple cupcake (like a choc. Hostess cupcake with choc. frosting and a white frosting squiggle)...bottom & sides of cupcake given a spongy texture by rolling repeatedly over a plast grater with tiny prongs
http://sculpey.com/Projects/projects_EC%20CupcakeEraser.htm
cupcakeaccessories' lesson on making a (tall) simple cupcake ... twisted rope (diff.colors, rolled smooth) coiled around a clay ball armature for top (placed on top of a slightly-tapered, fat cylinder, bottom)... after coiling, top pressed into white/clear glitter before baking (heat safe glitter)... no sealing?
http://img399.imageshack.us/my.php?image=cupcaketutorial2wr8.jpg
icecreamcute's donuts ... cupcakes.... ice cream cones
http://www.livejournal.com/users/icecreamcute/2293.html#cutid1
Mandabeads' many cupcakes (some with glitter, onlays, scallopped icing pushed through star icing tips, bright colors, etc.)
http://www.freewebs.com/amandahinson/gallery.htm
...teapotdnky mixed rubbing alcohol into her chopped clay for very thick cupcake frosting... stirred every so often over a day or two
......also used glass glitter, pastel pearly seed beads, and dark brown Reese's mini pb cups to put cupcakes in
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k84/blogcraftster/cupcakes.jpg
...(see the many ways to make frostings and icings for adding to cakes, cupcakes, donuts, cookies, etc, just above in Frostings & Icings )

petit fours
....decorating petit-fours is like doing them in real life. They are a waste of time for the amount of enjoyment a person would get seeing (eating) them, but they are cute and fancy, and look really pretty on a tray (she used a filigree finding as her "dish" under the petit fours and round bakery paper protector).
http://albums.photo.epson.com/j/ViewPhoto?u=4043334&a=30580927&p=62823943

I made a speckled birthday cake with colored sand kneaded into (some Model Magic) .... later, I frosted it, then cut a slice out of it and put the slice on a plate It looked very realistic.

For breads and cakes I find that "Model Magic" (a marshamallowy, air-dry clay) gives a much more realistic result than polyclay. It air dries and you can slice it after it is dry. The resulting product has a "give" to it that is more like real breads and cakes. Cynthia

PIES, TARTS

NoraJean's pies (various fillings, etc) made with pre-baked pie shell from polymer mold (could use a wide, domed button?)
http://www.norajean.com/New_Projects/PieCrust/Index.htm
Jane W. creates her pies in metal bottle caps (partly smashed, and painted silver) so fluted edges will stick out well...
http://albums.photo.epson.com/j/ViewPhoto?u=4043334&a=30580927&p=62823949
...could also use bottle cap as removable form or mold...perhaps using a mold release... or could make a mold from back side of bottle cap)
Betsy's various pies http://www.angelfire.com/art2/smallstuff/page3.html
.........(for more pies, see Houses-Structures > Candies, etc. )

to make tarts, I use metal "finish washers," upsidedown (... look like bundt molds but flatter, with much larger hole)
...I got them at the hardware store( a dollar for 25)... one type is designed to be smashed, the other isn't.
(I had tried using grommets first, but they're a little narrow and not as sturdy. ) Marie
...Jane W's tarts...also, where there is juice from berries, as well as the pies (apple and cherry), there is liquid clay mixed with a bit of the "berry" colored clay (on the blueberry tarts added some from the cherry pies, you know how the juice is redder and the berries bluer). I am having trouble getting the last little flecks of color to mix into the liquid clay (...so use artists oil paints or other colorants instead?)
http://albums.photo.epson.com/j/AlbumIndex?u=4043334&a=30580927&f=0

for many more pies and tarts, do a Ctrl+f search on this page, or look in links on this page to photos of the mixed sweets and mixed foods
....also see Houses-Structures > Cookies, Pies, Cakes

MORE Sweets (mixed) ....+ Tips

for candies, chocolates & cookies (plus more on pies & cakes), see Houses-Structures > Candies & Sweets

Jane W's lessons for cakes ...donuts ...pies (including lemon meringue)... tarts ...petit fours
http://albums.photo.epson.com/j/AlbumIndex?u=4043334&a=30580927&f=0
...the vanilla custard is white and yellow paint in TLS.
....the chocolate custard is brown and black and a dab of red mixed into TLS.
...lemon meringue pie... made the lemon part with a few drops of yellow paint mixed into the TLS. It rose some, but cured and dunked it was pretty translucent.
...the meringue... took a white/pearl mix, added a little at a time with much mooshing some TLS. Kept adding till I couldn't handle it any more and added a little more. This made peaks just like I wanted. Glopped it on the pies, peaked it with a toothpick, and cured. Took a dab of TLS mixed with a dab of brown ochre paint and touched the tips of the meringue. Re-cured for 15 minutes. Grabbed a paintbrush with Future floor wax and added the "weeping" look.
...crust edges on the lattice-topped pies, the braids, the regular-topped pies, and all the pies:
........same TLS with brown ochre paint on a make-up sponge-brush (like the eye shadow applicators), smeared on to the right thickness to look like the pies had browned. Cured. Most needed NO floor wax as it is shiny when cured.
...pumpkin pies ... about 50-50 brown ochre paint and TLS, which made it puff up a lot and get tiny bubbles. Looks just like pumpkin custard to me!
...pies created in bottle caps, partly smashed, so fluted edges will stick out
...tarts ....where there is juice from berries, as well as the pies (apple and cherry) there is TLS mixed with a bit of the "berry" colored clay (on the blueberry tarts added some from the cherry pies, you know how the juice is redder and the berries bluer). I am having trouble getting the last little flecks of color to mix into the TLS (use artist's oil paints instead?)
...chocolate is a trip, folks. Almost ate the clay, especially the devils' food color!
... MaryBear recommended I try some nuts on the chocolate covered donuts, and some colored sprinkles on the white-frosted ones, to get them to not look so like bagels. So I will try that.
.... (she used a filigree finding as her "dish" under petit fours and round bakery paper protector)
http://albums.photo.epson.com/j/ViewPhoto?u=4043334&a=30580927&p=62823943
...the bread in loaves - round or sandwich- have a skin of golden-brown plus translucent, rolled between sheets of parchment paper on the next-to-thinnest setting on the pasta machine, and carefully layered on to look like crust. ...A little (Future) when they came out of the cure made them look like they were butter-brushed.
...making the tiny mandarin oranges isn't too bad, except that they fly all over the house, cured or uncured. They came out so cute! But it was hard to dunk them and then retrieve them. Finally settled them down with a strainer for tea.

Lesley's lesson on making waffles or pancakes
...for waffles, could create the waffle's pattern by using a homemade clay stamp on a flattened clay ball (make stamp just smaller than ball to allow upraised frame around outside)...(could also just impress a pin or needle across the flattened clay vertically & horizontally to create a grid, or impress with a piece of plastic canvas or other gridded texture)... then impress a needle across the center (horiz & vert) to create the plus-mark impression created by a waffle iron
... then cut the impressed clay into a square or circle, etc (may need to add logs or top-rounded strip of clay around outside for outside framing)
... add a bit of color to upper areas of textured waffles with brown acrylic paint, artist’s pastels, etc. (for pancakes, don't darken outer areas )
http://miniatures.about.com/od/miniatureprojects/ss/miniwaffles.htm
http://miniatures.about.com/od/miniaturebasics/ht/pclaytools.htm

PineStudio's donuts ... waffles ...fruit tarts
......ALSO fruit inside formed gelatin--like Jello (actually a 2-pt resin--looks like an epoxy but could be a polyester-- but could use Varathane or Future, etc., or even a clear liquid clay like Fimo's or Kato's but would have to bake that and also use a silicone/etc mold).... she "casts" the resin in a "mold" which is one plastic dome of a multi-pill packaging sheet
.....ALSO "twisted cookies (clever "icing tip" made from tiny cylinder of serrated metal strip fr.plastic-wrap box + trans.tape as"icing bag"), with cherry in center
.....ALSO fabulous pastries
(to view English translation through AltaVista's Babel Fish: go to: http://babelfish.altavista.com
.....enter this url in the Translate Page window:
http://park2.wakwak.com/~pine/studio/howto/index.htm ...then select Japanese to English, and click on various links in left bar
pancakemeow's various realistic foods (desserts, bread... pb&j, etc... mostly scented --see Inclusions > Smelly)
http://www.pancakemeow.com
Jacey's foods and cakes, etc. (club sandwiches, etc.)
http://www.geocities.com/sopcg/MemberJacey.html
Sherrall Chapman's various foods and sweets
http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=1958870&uid=462662
minagi's realistic foods --multi-layer cakes and pies, many with whipped cream and/or fruit on top.. (+ sush, other)
http://minagi.hybridi.net/showcase/Polyclay_food (click on each link, except sushi ones)

various foods as jewelry... http://www.inediblejewelry.com

TIPS from Janey:
....Kato's liquid clay (or Fimo's) is clearer when ice-dunked than Sculpey's TLS.
...The filigree stands for the pastries are jewelry findings.
...Print-out boxes for donuts are awful to assemble.
...I am getting better about not conditioning the clay to the point where it is just too sticky. . . .Kato is less sticky than the other brands, and with careful handling (i.e. gloves) cures with a sheen to it that is especially nice on those cakes, plus it requires no sanding!

MIXED. FOODS

Marcy's mini foods, for sale
http://www.marcysclaypen.com/miniatures/miniature.html
Christel's very realistic foods
http://home.online.no/~raje/Polymer/miniatures/index.html
Gail's many foods and kitchen containers, etc. (&Halloween, Valentines cakes, etc.)
http://home.att.net/~stuff22/foods.htm
Flo's many kinds of foods
http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=298642&uid=155794
B.B.O.'s many foods (look under Seasonal too)
http://www.bbobx.homestead.com/index.html
many foods & drink in one place
http://smallstuff-digest.com/cgi-bin/archives.cgi?category=cat_fooddrink
iampoison's lesson on making a banana split (ice cream, bananas, sauce, bowl)
http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=157386
Jane W's meats, cheeses, salad with bell pepper rings, olives, bread