flats tutorial

 Hi dear mini-fellows:) Someone asked me in comments to show how I made flats for the girl's room scene. I suppose it can be done much easier and I would love to learn other ways to make shoes in 1/12 scale or less, but here's what I came up with. I've tried to make this tutorial as detailed as possible because sometimes what you think is simple is actually not so easy to understand. Well, let me start. Here's what you need: cloth (I use patchwork fabric, because it has neat print and is pretty thick), glue PVA - the white thick glue in the cream-bottle. what's the analog in your countries? is tacky glue the same? it is glue suitable for paper and cardboard mostly. It takes some time to dry but once it does it makes paper or fabric much harder, translucent crystall glue for different materials. UHU has the same for woodwork and other staff. you need to apply glue on both sides, wait couple of minutes and press them hard together - they are instantly glued with very high adhesion, thread for finishing touches, thin paper and cardboard (I use any thin cardboard from small boxes, like boxes from medicines, cosmetics etc.)

 1. I draw the base of the shoes and the heels on a thin box cardboard (as you see, it's the lead from the used box)

 2. put them together and glue with PVA glue - it's perfect for cardboard

 3. Here are patterns for inner side (insoles) and tips of the shoes on a simple thin paper (like the one you print staff in the office)

 4. make sure it suits as you wish it to. cut it to size if needed

 5. cut two thinnest lines for back side of flats from simple paper

 Yes, they are thin and small :)

 6. I glue them to the left side of the fabric with PVA glue. As I said, it'll be much harder once dried and the glue prevents the fabric from ruining.

 7. while glue dries, paint the soles

 8. cut the patterns from fabric. The soles shall be cut to size, while the tips and the backs need more fabric to cover the edges.

 9. The backs shall be covered both sides with fabric

 10. here are finished back sides and an example of folding the tips. I glue fabric to tips with crystal glue because it's very hard and messy to try to glue them with not-an-instant glue.

 All the parts ready to assemble.

 11. the insoles are glued to the base

 12. I glue one side first, wait for it to dry and only then glue the other - this way it's much easier to keep them in place where needed

 13. Tips are glued. It's time for backs.

 time to cover all the small wholes and threads that accidentally came out.

 I dip the thread into PVA glue, remove the glue excesses with a paper towel or simply with fingers. This way the thread will stick to the shoe and preserve the form when dried. I didn't make photos of wrapping the shoe - actually its up to you :)

I hope it was useful for anyone out there :) Cheers!

little additions

first of all I want to say thank you all for all your lovely comments:) I do not answer them all because it would be an endless "thank you-thank you-thank you" posts :)
second, I want to say special thanks to Wendy who gave my blog an award. Thanks, Wendy! It's the first award for me and I feel very honored. However, the conception of an award-free blog is closer to me so I just give this prize to all my readers (and many others that I read, who still don't know about me :)
Now for the additions part :)
It seems I'll spend this whole week on this project since it appeared to need more details. However, here's what I made so far:
Shelf with necklaces. It's made of the same cardboard I've made books of. And toothpicks for tiny hangers. I like how it turned out. It's very easy and quick. If anyone wants to see how-to - let me know and I'll make another one with the photos of the process:)

 2. slippers and matching shoes for the dress. I didn't find a tuto on this one so I had to "invent the bycicle" all by myself. I'm quite pleased with the result, but if you take a real-life closer look you can see glue on flats. So I need more practice.

 
 3. Last but not least. Something I am actually proud of: watercolors.

I didn't invent the design I need an example to see where some details, which I can't draw from my head. As an excuse I can say that I do not copy the initial picture - I just need to see some basics: where the shadow go, or what details shall I make accent on. That was actually the first picture that you see if you type "ballet dancer watercolors" in google. I just decided I wanted it to be in a little other colors. I hope someday I won't need work of other artists at all, but for now I need something to look at when I draw. Still I like very much how she turned out. She's certinly better in real light: much brighter.