Making miniature cakes out of buttons

Hi Folks,

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. 

Today I wanted to share with you something different instead of my finished projects.

As Christmas brings with it Sweets, chocolate, cakes and all the yummy stuff I decided to do a tutorial of how to make miniature cakes made out of buttons. Yes folks BUTTONS!

I believe there was someone that asked me to give a detail explanation of how to do this and so here it is. It is quite easy to do especially for those who find it difficult to use polymer clay like myself. Although I think I will be trying my hand at polymer clay very soon.

 As you all know buttons come in different shapes and sizes. Some of them are just perfect to turn them in to a three tire cake. I always enjoyed doing these and I think they where the first of my creations. 

You don't need a lot of items or material to do any of these. You will be surprised that you'll find them roaming around the  house.  You need:

1) Three buttons

2) PVA glue or super glue

3) Crafts knife or a small saw

4) A fine small piece of sand paper or nail file 

6) Tooth picks

5) 2 Paint brushes

6) Various colors of Acrylic Paint

7) Acrylic gloss varnish or clear nail polish.

The most important thing is that you get your buttons correct and just right for the cake.  In all you need three buttons which must have the same diameter.  Two of them are just the ordinary holed button. It doesn't matter how many holes they have as they won't be seen. These will be used for the tires of the cake. The third button is used for the top part. So this button must not be holed from the top.  The button could be a shiny shaped button. You have to make sure that it's design and shape are fit for a cake. 

1) Top of the cake button

Firstly we start by removing the back piece of the designed button which is used for the top of the cake. You can use a craft knife to remove it if the button is made out of plastic. If the button is made out of metal, don't worry, you can use a saw or something to clip it off. It is important that this piece is removed and that the back of the button is flat.

2) Gluing the buttons

After that  glue together the buttons like shown.

You can use PVA glue or super glue. I prefer using PVA glue as it gives you some time to set the buttons in the right position. Make sure that the buttons are aligned in a straight line. Let the glue set. At this point you might find that the buttons looks strange and that they don't look like a proper cake. Note that this is not the finished cake yet.

3) Smoothing off the edges.

When the glue is set take a piece of fine sand paper and smooth off the edges of the buttons. This can also be done with a nail file. Please note that some buttons don't need to be sand papered as they already have a round finish. I usually only sand paper around the cake as it also helps when painting the cake.

4) Undercoat

Use 2 tooth picks to hold the cake upright by placing them in the button holes.  Paint the whole cake with a white acrylic paint. This is used as an undercoat. It helps to make the cake look whole. As the top button and the other buttons differ from each other it is always best to have an undercoat. At this point make sure you leave the paint dry properly. 

5) Decorating the cake

When the undercoat has dried up you can start painting your cake and decorating it the way you like. If you'll be using different type of colored paint always allow the other paint to dry up first as you'll end up smudging the whole thing. For small details it is best to use a fine paint brush. See what is best for your cake. This is your cake and you can do whatever you like. Let the paint dry throughout. 

6) Varnish

When the paints are dried throughout, paint the whole cake with a glossy clear acrylic varnish. This will make the cake look more moist and yummy. If you don't have varnish you can use a clear nail polish. Thinly varnish the cake twice.

When ready and dried you can place it on your cake tray or plate. 

Here are some samples of the cakes that I made with buttons.

I hope that you found this tutorial helpful. If you have any difficulties please don't hesitate to drop a line and I will be very happy to help you out.

Well folks this is it for today. 

Please keep tuned for more of my projects.

Take Care,

Rebecca xxx

Christmas Spirit at 'Chestnuts'

Hi folks,

First of all I want to welcome the new followers of this blog and I want to thank you all for following and for your kind comments. It's very encouraging.

Today, I will be sharing with you some Christmas Spirit at  'Chestnuts'. I love decorating this particular room for Christmas.

Here are some pictures of my Christmas scene. It's all set up for the Christmas Dinner.

After Christmas I will be sharing with you my second dolls house 'Sea Shells'. So I guess that's all folks for today.

The Guest Room

Hello everyone,

Christmas is getting closer by the minute. I have been very busy but I try my best to post regularly.

Today I will be sharing with you the Guest room, which is the last room of Chestnuts.

The Guest Room

Well it is quite a floral room. Most of the furniture was hand built. The curtains and bedding where sewn by me. I have also upholstered the armchair. Actually the armchair was the first piece of furniture that I did of the whole house.

The carpets have been done by me which are tapestries. The blanket in the cot was hand knitted by me too. 

The frames are hand made and the two oval frames where buttons which I have transformed them into portraits. 

 Even if it's a small room and actually just a guest room or a spare bedroom, I truly love the color scheme. 

Well I guess this is it and the final room for The Chestnuts house. 

Next time I will be sharing with you some Christmas Spirit in Chestnuts and then will go to a completely new project. So keep tuned.

Take Care

Rebecca xxx

The Music Room

Hello Everyone,

First of all I want to welcome the new followers on the blog and for the kind comments. It's very encouraging.

Today I will be sharing with you the music room which is situated in the basement of Chestnuts.

The Music Room

This room is situated in the middle of the basement which leads to the guest room and to the Scullery. As I had built the dolls house before the basement, obviously it wasn't  designed to have a basement and therefore I could not make an internal stair case to join the two buildings. So for this room I made a fake door at the back hidden by a curtain too.

I have bought furniture kit for the whole room as I didn't have any idea how I was going to build a grand piano as I never really got to see one in real life. 

I have varnished it and added a lot of touches myself to it. The desk for example didn't have any opening doors or window glass. I managed to make them open. 

The upright plates that are shelved in the unit have been done by me. The very first plates that I actually did. They are made out of paper and coated with glossy varnish.

The books and small frames have been done by me too. All soft furnishing was done by myself too. The curtain the chair cushions, the table cloth and the doily. The music notes have been minimized to scale and printed.

Well I guess this is the Music Room. Next post will be the guest room and the last room of the dolls house.

Please keep tuned as I will be sharing with you new projects very soon. 

Take Care

Rebecca xxx

The Scullery

Hello everyone,

Firstly I want to thank Diane for your much appreciated comment and for following my blog. I'm so glad that you are interested in my projects.

Today I will be sharing with you the Scullery which is in the basement.

The Scullery

Most of the furniture that you see is made by myself. The table and chairs I have bought them as a kit, I have joined the pieces and built them. I regret for not doing them myself. I think I would have done a much better job.

Here you find the area where the washing is done. I have built this section where the chimney is and the oven and tub are. I have built them out of wood and then tiled them up. The top of the oven was covered with clay and painted so it would have a stone effect. Obviously the lid is made out of wood too. the door of the oven is just made out of cardboard and painted acrylic paints. I have dirtied the bricks to make a worn look effect.  

I have added some suitable accessories for this room which also serves as a ladder. The furniture is painted in a very pale light green and there are sections where they are painted in cream. 

All wall shelves have been built and designed by me. I like the wall shelf near the window myself which took some dedicated time to do. 

Well I guess this is.

Keep in touch as I will be posting more very soon.

Take Care and see you.

Rebecca xxx

The Basement and Garden

Hello Everyone,

Today I will be sharing with you the basement. The basement is not a kit. I have made it myself and designed it well copied one of  the Dolls House Emporium's. I couldn't buy a kit for this as the house itself was handmade and I couldn't find a basement with the right measurements to fit the dolls house. So I guess this is it and I was really happy with it's outcome.

The basement and front garden

The front garden has a small fountain on the left hand side and some garden furniture on the other side. Then I decorated them with pots and flowers. I have covered the stair with marble adhesive paper.

The basement has three large rooms which are the music room, the scullery and a small guest room. 

Well I guess this is it. I will posting each room of the basement very soon.

Take Care

Rebecca xxx

The fountain in front garden

The Garden furniture

The three room in the basement