Yes, you could say I like donuts (or doughnuts, as I grew up spelling them).
These are different from those felt ones, though. For one, they're tiny
and for another, they're made of wood.
See?
They're actually little wooden wheels! Who says wheels have to be stuck on vehicles?
I bought mine here, where I buy all my wooden craft parts, including the blanks for my peg dolls and clothespin people. I buy them in bulk because I don't know how to buy just one of anything.
The husband was away for the week, so we indulged in a craft that we knew would take that long.
We had a lot going on that week, including chauffeuring various children to various educational institutions, playdates and recreational activities. So we did just a little each day, with plenty of drying time in between.
Day #1
We painted the little wheels in shades of dough. We used acrylic paint. Notice the kids are dressed in very bright colors - they were instructed to choose their most lurid clothes to camouflage paint stains.
Two coats later, the wheels were left to dry overnight.
Day #2
We painted on frosting - also two layers.
Day #3
We added sprinkles.
This we did with toothpicks. Notice that we didn't actually use a palette. Instead, we used a sheet of wax paper over a padding of paper towels. The wax paper is a good non-stick surface for the almost-dry bottoms of our painted items, and when the painting session is done for the day, everything gets crushed up and thrown away. Almost zero cleanup.
These have nonpareils (or hundreds and thousands as I grew up calling them). Kate, Jenna and Momma did these in collaboration.
And these have sprinkles and drizzles. Momma did these by herself when no one was watching:
Day #4
We varnished the donuts. This is what I used - you can get it at Michaels. Again, we did two coats.
Drying tip: I mounted the wheels on the ends of chopsticks (first wrapping their tips in wax paper strips) and then stuck them in a bucket of rice. They dried beautifully and evenly
and we had a charming table centerpiece during the week.
Day #5
We made cardboard tiered serving trays.
Here's how:
We cut two circles, one larger than the other. We also used a skinny cardboard tube, and a strip of cardboard for the handle. The dimensions are not important - it all depends on the size of the cardboard pieces you have available.
We cut a central hole in the smaller circle, and made it slightly smaller than the diameter of the tube. Short radial lines (left) were added to make a snug collar (right)
so that when the tube was inserted (left), the little tabbed collar could be glued on (right) to hug the cardboard tube.
We bent the cardboard strip into shape for a handle and glued that into the top end of the tube.
When everything was dry, we had a mini-tea party for dolls.
I love these donuts. I am glad we bought a bag of 100 wheels because I think I am going to make more. And guess what - these come in a bigger size, too. And what about these for spice jars for a toy kitchen? And toadstools for fairyland? And trees for advent? And I must tell you how absolutely therapeutic it is to paint wooden things. Very calming to just sit, me and my toothpicks, and go dot, dot, dot. So much better than seam-ripping.
Cardboard and wood .......... is it any wonder that I'm not sewing anymore?
P.S. Of course I'm still sewing, silly! Did you panic for a second? Hee.