DIY Dollhouse Food Miniatures from Bread and Glue

Did you know that you can create amazingly lifelike miniature food by using white sandwich bread and regular white school glue? Well, you can! It's super easy and you can even tint the dough right at the beginning so the color goes all the way through, unlike painted items (although you can paint if you prefer!).

Ready for the great secret recipe? Here goes:

2 parts white sandwich bread (crusts removed)

2 parts white school glue

1 part food coloring (optional)

Tear the bread into small bits and add the glue. Mix well with your hands until a dough is formed. You can add a few drops of water if needed. Divide the dough up and color each part as desired.

So, now that you have your bread and glue dough, you are ready to start making some miniature food. I'll give you a few ideas to get started, but you'll come up with plenty of ideas on your own, too. Since bread and glue dough doesn't need to bake, it just air dries, you can add extras such as stems to fruit, etc. right off the bat.

Baked Goods

Pies

Use metal bottle caps as the pie tins, these have the fluted edges that are just perfect for this project. Take a ball of brown or tan dough and press into the cap, leaving a bit of a dome in the center. A toothpick will help create the fluted edges on the pie and also make the little holes on top of the pie (which can be painted red or purple later to show the contents of the pie.

For a lattice topped pie, use a colorful dough such as red for strawberries or purple for blackberry or blueberry. Press into the bottle cap, leaving a small amount of space for the crust. For a truly realistic look, roll itsy bitsy balls of the same color and cover the top of the pie filling with these. Now, roll a small ball of tan dough and flatten it out to be very thin. Cut into strips that are about 1/8" wide. Lay these in a lattice pattern over the pie, leaving plenty of room for the filling to show through. Lay a very thin snake of tan dough around the edge of the pie and use a toothpick to flute.

Cakes

Flatten out a piece of dough in the color desired for the cake icing, brown for chocolate, white for vanilla, etc. The dough should be about 1/2-3/4" thick. Use a round cookie cutter to punch out your cake, or cut a square or rectangular one. Decorate with colored "snakes" draped in swags around the edges of the cake. You can also make tiny icing flowers by rolling tiny balls and using the point of a round toothpick to press out little petals. Add a minute dot of yellow in the center and you have icing flowers. Painted lengths of toothpick can be inserted for candles on birthday cakes.

Bread

To make buns or rolls, roll brown dough into balls and flatten them slightly to create a rounded oval. Cut a shallow X in the center and split it open a little. You can sprinkle a little real flour on the rolls as well for a more authentic look.

French bread should be made from barely tan dough. Roll a ball and then roll it slightly between your hands to form a longer loaf. Drop it on the table to flatten the bottom and use a knife to cut three diagonal slits in the top.

Fruit and Veggies

Pumpkins

Roll balls of orange dough and squash slightly so they sit on their own without rolling. Use a toothpick to score the sides like a real pumpkin. Insert a twirled length of floral wire into the top for a stem. You can also add a green tissue paper leaf, if desired.

Tomatoes

Roll tiny balls of red dough. Use a toothpick to poke short lengths of green embroidery floss into the top and spread the frayed ends out, pressing them gently into the top of each tomato.

Bananas

Use yellow dough with a small amount of brown mixed in for ripe bananas. Roll a snake and cut into ¾" lengths. Pinch the ends to form a banana shape and curve each banana.

Potatoes

Brown dough should be used for this. Roll small ovals and then use your fingers to give each potato a misshapen look. Add dimples with a toothpick, if desired.

Carrots

Roll short orange lengths and form a point at one end. Use a toothpick to score horizontal lines in the carrot and to push one end of a ½" length of green embroidery floss into the wide end.

Let your creations dry for a few hours and add any accents you want to with a permanent marker or acrylic paint. They will last longer if you give them a protective coat of varnish or clear nail polish. This is just the beginning, you can create dozens more foods, just use your imagination!