Tis the Season…
For DIY-ing Miniatures! Cheap, easy, and fun ways to spice up your mini collections
We are always on the lookout for unique miniatures, and this time of year does not disappoint!
Ornaments are a great way to find really unique pieces to spice up your shelves, and you can find them just about anywhere during the holiday season.
In looking for ideas, I came across this amazing tutorial for how to make your own gumball machine ornament…
Now, my brain was running wild thinking about all the ways this could get used in the tray, but I found the original to be a bit too large for my shelves.
SO I decided to see if I could shrink it! And then share with you guys all the tips and tricks I learned along the way so that you could make this awesome mini for yourselves!
What’s so great about this particular mini-making session is that it was fast, easy, and (best of all) extremely cost effective. Who doesn\’t like new miniatures on the cheap?!
Ok..ready…set…let\’s do this!
Step 1: Gather Materials
![\"\"](\"http://southernsandtray.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/making-mini-supplies-300x200.jpg\")
What you\’ll need:
• Small, 1-inch flower pots
• Glass ornaments (as small as you can find that work with the size of your flower pot)
• Paint – red and black
• Round candy sprinkles
• Super glue or clear craft adhesive (pro tip- hot glue does NOT work for this activity)
• Can tab
• Paint brush, covered surface to get messy!
(Also pictured are foam beads; these stuck to the inside of the ornament and did not give the desired effect…but hey, we tried!)
Step 2: Paint Your Pot
![\"\"](\"http://southernsandtray.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/making-mini-2-paint-300x225.jpeg\")
Use the red to paint your flower pot.
Use a thin coat and it covers nicely and dries really quick!
Step 3: Fill Your Ornament
![\"\"](\"http://southernsandtray.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/making-mini-3-fill-300x225.jpeg\")
Fill the ornament to your desired fullness will the “gumballs\”, AKA multi-colored sprinkles.
Return the cap (with or without the hook-y thing).
Step 4: Stick it All Together
![\"\"](\"http://southernsandtray.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/making-mini-4-glue-300x225.jpeg\")
Position the flower pot upside down.
Super glue the ornament (cap side up) to the pot.
Use super glue to adhere the can tab, pretty much anywhere… making sure the two holes are stacked on top of one another (so that it’s tall, not wide).
Step 5: Paint Tab
![\"\"](\"http://southernsandtray.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/MINI-COMPLETE--300x225.jpg\")
Fill the inside of the bottom hole of the tab with a coat of black paint.
This will be the opening, or the spout, that the gumballs would come out of.
Let dry and you are DONE!
So, in total this activity took less than 10 mintues and under $5 bucks to create (more like $1.50 if you go ahead and make up several).
What did you think?
Can you figure out ways to make this miniature better, or have similar ideas for cheap, easy, crafty ways to add to our miniature collections?
We would LOVE for you to share your ideas in the FREE facebook group, The Sandtray Movement.
