How to make a Miniature "Adult" drink

[dorn27]

I'vebeen making American Girl (1/3 scale) drinks for a while now... of course thesewere kid friendly Lemonade. Upon request, I recently made some miniature beermugs for shamrockgirl18. She was curious as to how I did it and the possibilities of applying it to other drinks.

Things you'll need

Newspaper (to protect surfaces)

Disposable cups (I use paper condiment cups or paper candy cups)

craft sticks (stirring)

toothpicks (mixing in food dye and adding foam)

children's medication syringe (no needle, less than $1.50 at my walmart)

"Fake" water product.

Food coloring

Paper towels

plastic wrap (if you want to create a spilled cup as well)

and of course....

Mugs, cups, glasses of your choice

For foam:

Clear micro craft beads without a hole

Clear Glue (I use Eileen's)

White chalk

I specifically use this brand of liquid water called "Quick Water" itcomes in a purple box in the fake floral area. It's about $1 per ounce, but ifyou use a coupon, you can get a pretty good deal. I have found it at both HobbyLobby and Michael's, for the same price. I guess it's not an 'acrylic' and it promises not to yellow. This is important, because the color of your finished product may change over time with other kits.

This stuff is a 2 part compound that requires equal parts. It will set up in8-10 hours, but I noticed it stays sticky to the touch for several days after,I'm sure humidity plays a role in this.

First, the most important thing to test is coloration. Prep your area and have everything handy. I take a condiment cup, fill with a little more water than Iplan on needing and 'test' dye it. Because this is small scale, I use regular food coloring. I make one cup for each color (blue, yellow, red) and I put onedrop in each cup. I use the tooth pick to drip dye into the water cup, keeping track of how much it takes. I previously wasted a ton of Quick Water when Idropped dye straight in from the tube.

When I created beer, I used more yellow than the blue and red, making a veryyellowish brown.

Looking at your color, it may seem "good" in the condiment cup, but it'salso a good idea to stop and test it inside a tiny glass. I found the beer was VERY light in mugs, compared to my mixing cup and ended up adding morecoloration. Once you've tested this out, it's time to break out the real stuff.

If I'm using a plastic cup, I rinse and dry it, if it's a paper cup; I just graba new one. I start by adding a small equal amount of the Quick Water solutionsto a cup. Quick Water has best results if you stir it for 5 minutes, but sinceyou'll be adding color, I don't mix it now, that produces a TON of bubbles.

With a toothpick (one for each color) I pick up bits of color from each drop inthe separate condiment cups (from earlier). The toothpick won't pick up much atfirst, but once it gets a little bit of the QW on it, the dye will stick tothat and more will come along. Be careful. Once I get 2 parts yellow to 1 partblue and red, I stir and adjust as needed. I think I ended up adding more yellow and a tad more red, but it will depend on brand, which is why you tested it in water. If it looks to orange, add more blue. To purple, more yellow. Toogreen, more red.

When the color looks okay, stir a while longer to insure you've mixed for 5 minutes... Stirring slowly with a craft stick helps prevent bubbles.

Now for the mess. Us your medicine dispenser to fill the cups. It's easier tosuck the product up than load the back with this product. Once you've loaded the product, wipe the tip clean. This will insure a clean line at the beer (orother drink) edge. Fill the cup slowly, stopping before the height you want to stop at, at least one more drop will probably slip free, and one drop adds alot of height in a teeny tiny glass. Wipe off tip between glasses for a cleaner fill.

Now, put them somewhere to dry where you're cat, kid, dog, rabbit or spouse won't tip them over or steal them.

Come back in 8-10 hours when set.

The next part is tricky. It took some playing for me to get the right consistency.

In a paper cup, mix clear glue with white chalk dust. I scrap mine with anexacto knife, but it's up to you. Mix well, I use a toothpick.

Next, add a little bit of mircobeads. There should be more glue than beads, sothat everything sticks, but the bead help by showing though the side and makeit easier to apply.

With care, I pile foam into the mugs with a toothpick. In order to achieve the looks of bubbles at the surface, I dip the glue into a little tray with clean microbeads. Carefully shape with a toothpick, a few irregular spots (instead of smooth) will help it appear more real. For foam down the rim, I do the same,apply glue mixture with a toothpick, then top off with more beads.

The trickiest part here is applying foam to low glasses. A tiny gob needs toget right on the beer, not the sides of the mug. Save these ones for last, when you're more comfortable handing the glue from practice on the full cups.

"Spilled" mugs. I used a very slight incline with my cups for thisbecause the beer kept pooling under the mug instead of in front of it. I basically put two layers of computer paper under the cup, so the beer pooled away from it. Depending on your glass, this may not be an issue.

I did NOT fill the cups for this, instead I squirted a little beer colored QW into a pool on the plastic wrap. I tested a LOT of products for this, and this stuff doesn't come off of wax paper or aluminum foil well, so be sure you have plastic wrap. I poured a few micro beads in it to create carbonation look.(Other foam added later). Then, I put a tiny drip into the cup's side and laythat side down at the edge of the spill. I moved the spill on the plastic wrap over the computer paper, so the cup was up on it, but the spill was not. 8-10hours later, after it's set, I added a little of the glue and micro beads for abit of foam at the edge.

I could easily see this become a martini, a pink cocktail or some other drinkif you use the right color. I was able to save my syringe by wiping it out, and then washing it out, however for less than $2... its up to you if it's trash.

Have fun making your drinks!

[Kabrina]

Thanks for the tutorial!! I admired your beers the first time I saw them and was really curious how you'd done it.

[Minis On The Edge]

That is a Neat Tutorial!! Thanks for sharing it!!

[CheckMouse]

Thanks for the details - looks like a fun project :thumb: