Our guest for this interview is miniaturist Betsy Niederer, an incredibly talented clay artist who has been making polymer clay dollhouse food since 2001. She joined the International Guild of Miniature Artisans in 2004, and was juried in as a Fellow about 3 years ago.

Betsy teaches live classes and has several tutorials online. She has even appeared on the Martha Stewart show where she demonstrated how to make polymer clay Christmas cookies.


1) We can see that you are a miniaturist and not strictly a polymer clay artist, true? Tell us a little about you, your background and your early influences, where you learned, any formal or informal training.

I guess I am a little of both (polyclay artist and miniaturist), but since polymer clay is the medium that I use almost exclusively, I really feel that it is important to bring both communities together. Lots of miniaturists work with polymer clay, and introducing them to the larger world of clay artists in general will give them a broader idea of what kind of effects they can achieve with polymer. On the other hand, introducing polymer artists to miniatures might give them an additional area for business expansion, new directions for their work, and a fresh way to have fun with clay.

I am a stay at home mom of 2 boys (10 and 13), and started making miniature food as a result of a Barbie kitchen that I bought for my boys when they were around 2. The plastic food got lost down heater vents, flushed down the toilet, and who knows where else it ended up. I had some Sculpey clay and decided to make more, rather than buy it (my husband didn't want any more Barbie stuff in the house for "his" boys...I love Barbie and I guess I bought the kitchen for myself...). The food came out OK, but it was really was fun (I made cakes). One day I was on Ebay and on a whim I searched "miniature food" and I was shocked at the prices people were getting for handmade dollhouse food! Mine looked better than most of the stuff for sale, so a business was formed on the spot :-D.



A busy stove: The stove is 3.75" wide and 5" tall.

I studied art and design in college, and have taken painting classes off and on. As far as the clay, I'm self taught. My work is the result of lots of playing around, and lots of burned clay...



2) Inspiration: Your astounding polymer clay miniatures always revolve around food themes and especially sweets. What inspires you to choose one type of design over another?

Why food? I like to eat! Making food is fun - people love to put it in their dollhouses or miniature displays. Food brings a dollhouse to life. It makes it seem like tiny people actually live there. Miniature collectors decorate their kitchens with "work in progress" - as if the dolls were in the middle of baking cookies, or preparing dinner. The dining room can be set with an elegant dinner, a snack on the table in the family room gives it a touch of home, and a glass of milk near the bed suggest the occupant is ready for sleep.

Chocolate chip cookies: This is the class Betsy will teach at Philadelphia Miniaturia. The board measures 1.75" x 2.5"

I make lots of sweets because they make people happy, and they sell the best! Lots of collectors have miniature shops. Tea shops, bakeries, and sweet shops are very popular. I'm also a "chocoholic" so I make lots of chocolate things. Basically I make what I like to eat. I've never made a miniature brussel sprout.



Brownies: 12th scale, the board measures 1.75" x 2.5". The little cookbook was made by one of Betsy's favorite miniaturists Pat Carlson.

3) Planning and laying out new designs: Describe a little how you plan and create new miniatures. How do decide on a subject? Do you draft or visualize? Do you copy from real life or make up your own designs?

I'm a visual person. I start with an item - a glass vase, a shop counter, a table - and I just look at it for a while and think about what I'd like to see in it. A beautiful, graceful pedestal plate would look lovely with truffles and chocolate covered strawberries for example. I have a white floral bakery case that I'm planning on filling with pink and white pastries that would look great in a tea shop.

Cupboard of sweets: This is 12th scale, and measures 7" tall x 4.5" wide. Betsy made all of the boxes and paper stuff as well.

Sometimes I copy from real life. I was on the Martha Stewart show a few years ago and I was asked to copy the cover from the Living Thanksgiving issue. I used the picture as a reference. When I sent items in to be juried by the International Guild of Miniature Artisans (www.IGMA.org) I used real food as models, and had to make sure that everything was exactly to scale (I work in 12th scale - 1 inch equals 1 foot). When I make pastries and cakes I just use my imagination :-). It just depends.

4) Materials: Do you use other types of materials to create miniatures (wood, glass, etc)? How much of the miniatures which is not polyclay is also created by you or commercially purchased?

Food usually has to go in something, so I'm always looking for pots, pans, dishes, etc. Most of the items that I use are made by other artists. I'd love to use commercial items, but most aren't well made. If I can't find what I need I'll make my own. I make dishes from polymer clay, cake stands from beads and findings, and I make food display stands from wood.

Chocolate purse mold: It's the big secret -- Betsy uses this tiny purse charm to make chocolate boxes.

Chocolate purse: A plate of fine chocolates and cakes for your deserving dolls. It measures 1.5" long.

I love working with paper, and make my own candy and pastry boxes. Those are created from scratch using Photoshop.

Dollhouse cookies: The box measures .75", and everything was handmade.

I don't work with glass so that has to be purchased. I'd also love to learn how to make miniature baskets.

5) Resources: Do you have any favorite books or magazines that guide you?

I depend on style magazines for ideas and keeping up with trends. Martha Stewart Living is my favorite. I also depended on a great book when I first started making food "Making Miniature Food and Market Stalls" by Angie Scarr. Sue Heaser has some great miniature making books out there too.

I also spend some time searching Etsy-esque sites for ideas of what is selling, trends, fads, etc. Cupcakes are big now, so I'm making a lot of those. I'm also making lots of French macaroons in this years popular colors.

100 Cupcakes

6) Technique: Are there other types of polymer clay techniques that you enjoy as well? Do you make other types of items with Polyclay besides food-related miniatures?

There are lots of polyclay techniques that I want to learn. Particularly faux finishing (especially how to make wood grains), more detailed caning, beads, and figures so there is a lot that I can learn from the clay artists here.

I make dolls from polymer. They aren't great so I'm not going to show you a picture, but I love doing them.

7) Technique: How do you manage to get your miniatures so realistic? What type of details do you pay attention to when creating a piece?

The biggest things to remember when making miniature food are (I'm going to list them, hope that's OK...)

a. Using enough translucent. Most food is filled with water or fat. Light gets into water and reflects out again. Not enough translucent make clay food look like...well...clay :-)

b. Work from good pictures or from the real item if possible so that the color mix, texture, shape, and size is accurate. Attention to the details makes a huge difference.


c. The biggest mistake that I see beginners making is putting gloss varnish on everything. Not all food is shiny. Observe what is matte, and what shines. It makes a big difference.


d. Chalk pastels are great - they give soft color to the clay and allow you add delicate shading to a piece.

8) Advice for beginners: what are the fundamental skills needed to start working with polymer clay miniatures? Also, what is the most valuable skill a beginner can learn or acquire?

Taking a class is a great way to get started. There are miniature dollhouse shows all over the country and most of them have classes. I teach at shows on the east coast a few times a year. If you can't make classes, get a good book (Angie's book is a great one to buy first)...or my tutorials...hehehe.

Most miniaturists are happy to share advice with beginners (in fact we're thrilled to get new people interested in tiny stuff).

The best advice is to just do it! Jump in and have fun. Your first miniatures are probably going to be too big, or out of shape, but that comes with practice. You can give those away to the kids down the street who have dollhouses. Keep working and you'll be surprised how good you can get! The main thing is to have fun.

As far as fundamental skills...knowing how to keep dust out of the clay is a biggie.

9) Challenge: In your opinion, what is the most challenging part of designing/creating/assembling the pieces you make, including the fact that they are so tiny?

The most challenging thing is making things look as realistic and natural as possible. If I can get a bunch of grapes to drape naturally over the side of a fruit bowl without grapes falling all over the floor, or how can I get chocolate clay curls thin enough to look "in scale" - those are pretty challenging.

10) Your process: Describe in your own words how you created one of your most unusual pieces (recent or not).

My most unusual (and disturbing) piece was a tray of raw liver, fava beans, and a nice Chianti for a criminal psychiatrist with Silence of the Lambs tendencies. He keeps it on his desk under a glass dome.

First of all I hate liver. I went to the grocery store with my camera and took photographs of packaged liver so I could get the size and color right (it was pretty disgusting), then I measured and photographed fava beans.

There was no way that I was going to work from life for this. I mixed the clay according to the photos (the lighting was pretty good so it was accurate) and went to work.

I used resin for the wine, and for the liver juices...ick...on the plate. The whole thing came out really well, and I hope I never have to make raw liver again.

11) Your favorite: show us a picture of one your favorite pieces you ever made, and tell us why.

They are my favorites because I can't believe that I actually made them :-) They sort of just happened, and I don't know how!

12th scale chocolate lava cake: Only 3/8ths of an inch wide!


Betsy, thank you SO MUCH for such a fun and enlightening interview – you made our mouths water and put the desire to start making miniatures in our hearts!

Here are more of Betsy's wonderful creations. You can read more about Betsy’s work at her Profile page here at ClayLessons.com.

Little girl's tea party: The table is 4" x 2.5" with everything your little girl dolls need for a proper tea.

Canning Peaches 12th scale dollhouse food - the board measures 2.5" x 1.75"


Betsy's display at a show in Philly.

Want to learn some of Betsy's fabulous miniature techniques? Check out these tutorials available here:


Miniature Dollhouse Chocolate Chip Cookies


Miniature Food - Dollhouse Cupcakes

Click here to see all of Betsy's tutorials here!