I made these polymer clay dollhouse frames, then added some gold leaf to them to fancy them up. These are cute for formal paintings in a Victorian dollhouse, or you can make the frames and paint them instead of doing the gold leaf for a more casual look.
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Materials you’ll need.
To make these frames, you’ll need the following (all links are affiliate links, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.)
- Silicone frame molds
- Gold leaf
- Mod Podge
- Paint brushes
- Parchment paper
- Polymer clay
- Polymer clay blade
- Toaster oven to cook the clay
Make sure to use the toaster oven outdoors for ventilation!
Make the polymer clay frames.
Start with the molds on a flat surface, you’ll need to press them firmly onto the counter during the making of the frames. Warm the polymer clay up in your hands by kneading it.
Press the clay into the molds, trying not to overfill them too much. You want them to be pretty level so that you won’t get any bulges on the back once they’re baked.
Fill the mold and really press the clay into the cavities to pick up all of the details. Turn the mold over and press it against the counter to make sure it’e really in there.
Cut away the extra clay so that the clay is level with the mold. Be careful not to cut the mold with the blade, since you can slice pieces of the soft silicone mold off if you’re not paying attention.
Put the mold on the counter with the clay side down, and start de-molding the frame by removing the mold from the frame. Don’t pull the clay out of the mold, that can stretch it. DO it more like you’re removing the mold from the clay, not removing the clay from the mold. Keep the frame on the counter as you peel the mold off of it to keep its shape.
You’ll end up with a molded frame that’s not stretched out! If you need to trim off anything from the center area you can do that now using an exacto knife.
For free dollhouse printables, check out our printables section .
Bake the frames.
Put the frames on the toaster oven baking sheet and preheat the oven to 275F. You can go a little lower if you want to, because things that are thinner can burn (as you will see.) Polymer clay can bake at a lower temperature for a little longer and it will still work, especially for something like this.
Keep a close eye on your pieces and if it looks like they’re starting to turn brown, take them out! I was sitting on the porch and noticed that there was smoke coming out of the toaster oven and realized that it was burning, so things that are thin definitely DO NOT need to be in for the full baking time!
Luckily, polymer clay can be painted and it doesn’t really matter if it’s burnt for these purposes. If you’re making something that needs to look pretty on its own, that’s different.
Cover the frames with gold leaf or paint them.
At this point you can paint the frames if you want to, especially if they got burned or scorched! Use any kind of acrylic paint or water-based craft paint to make them the color that matches your dollhouse decor.
If you want to make them a little fancier, add gold leaf to them for a really impressive look. Get the frames that you want to cover and put them on a piece of parchment paper. It doesn’t matter if they’re burned or not because we’re going to be covering them up with the gold leaf.
I use this parchment from Baker’s Signature…The Mod Podge doesn’t stick to it when it dries because there’s a coating on the paper that lets you peel the dried glue off.
Paint the frame with Mod Podge or another adhesive to make the polymer clay sticky. Make sure to get into all the nooks and crannies.
Get your gold leaf ready…I used this brand that was sent as a sample, and it worked really well, as you’ll see. Get it on Amazon here (ad)
Gold leaf comes in sheets in a booklet, or sometimes in flakes. These sheets were easy to use, and they came with some gloves to keep the sheets from sticking to your hands.
Put the leaf over the frame with the adhesive on it and pat it down with a fluffy dry paintbrush, or use your hands with the gloves. Avoid getting glue on your hands, and add more glue and gold leaf to the frame if any spots tear and reveal the polymer clay.
It’s okay to add more glue and gold leaf as you work, since the leaf is probably going to tear somewhere because it’s not stretchy. As you cover areas that are curved or that have crevices, the leaf will naturally rip, and you’ll have to fill in blank spaces.
Work carefully and press the leaf onto the surface, filling in as you go. If you use the gloves, try to make sure that you don’t get glue on them. When you’re totally done covering the frame, let it dry for a while.
Seal the gold leaf.
If you want to, you can seal the gold leaf to keep it from flaking off later. It can change the color a little, but it will make the surface less likely to get scratched. I used Mod Podge to seal one frame, but you could use polyurethane or a sealant that’s specifically for gold leaf.
The frame on the left is the one that I put Mod Podge on, and you can see that it’s dried darker than the other two. Those don’t have a sealer at all, and I don’t think that they need one since these are small pieces that won’t be handled a lot. The sealed one was still shiny, it was just darker.
You definitely don’t need to apply a sealer if you don’t want to, but if you don’t the gold leaf might scratch off. It’s not that big a deal if you’re not going to be handling the frames that much, though.
Attach a picture to the frame.
Get a small portrait or painting and cut it out so that it’s a little bit bigger than the hole in the frame. Using a piece of packing tape or duct tape, cut the tape so that it’s a little smaller than the back of the frame, and attach the picture to the frame using the tape.
If you want to do something more permanent, you can use epoxy glue to attach the pictures to the frames. Mod Podge or another type of glue might work, but it might peel off.
The end result will be pretty gilded frames that will dress your dollhouse interior up. These would be cute for a formal gallery wall or for a Victorian themed house. The shine that you get from the gold leaf is something that you really can’t get with paint, so the process is worth it to give your accessories an upscale look.
