Miniature Monday: Making Miniature Scrolls, a Tutorial and Download

I recently participated in an exchange where I made 30 scrolls.  Making multiples of anything feels crazy, but I had fun making them.  I thought I'd share the process with you, and give you the file that I made so that you can print your own scrolls.  This is the finished product:

I searched the Internet for images that would look good in 1/12th scale for the scrolls.  I then re-sized each image.  Since you need paper to roll on both sides of the scroll, the images are in the center of the printout.  The downloadable file should print on a sheet of paper that is letter size:  8 1/2" wide by 11" tall.

Download File:  Miniature Scrolls PDF

If you are having a problem downloading the file, email me and I will send it to you.

I printed the sheet onto natural vellum paper, but you can use any type of paper you want.  This is specifically what I used (I have a few different sizes.)  This paper has no problem going through my printer, and I'm able to tea stain it without tearing it.

If you use regular paper, instead of using a tea stain, consider aging it with an ink pad.  Tim Holtz makes a nice variety of ink pads perfect for aging.

After Printing the scrolls, tea stain the page so that the scrolls will look aged.
Put the page aside to dry thoroughly

Once dry, you can cut the individual strips that will become your scrolls.

I used these great beads I got from a craft store near me, and skewers I purchased at the dollar store.  You will need 4 beads and 2 short dowels for each scroll.

I cut the skewer so that it is about the same size as the scroll image.  If you cannot find skewers, you can use a toothpick or a small dowel.

Put tacky glue on the edge of the paper.  I used Aleene's Tacky Glue.

Put the skewer on the glue, allow it to dry a bit while you hold it down.

You can place lines of glue every 3/4" (not an exact science, so don't worry.)  You do not need a lot of glue.

Since you want to give the illusion of an actual scroll, put your last line of glue along the edge of the image.

You will then repeat the same process on the other side of your scroll.

Make sure both sides are completely dry before you move on to the next step.

It's time to add your beads to the ends of the scrolls to fancy them up.

Any size beads are fine as long as they look good to you.  If you can find beads that fit over your dowels, great!  Mine didn't fit so I used tacky glue and a drop of crazy glue to keep the beads on the end of the scroll.

Glue the beads to the four points of the dowels and you are DONE!

I can't tell you how much I enjoy your blogs and learning from all of you.

I hope you enjoy this tutorial.

I actually recorded the process and will try to upload the video. That will be my first video.  I asked my 11 year old to help me since he has experience with you tube videos (so funny.)

I used my scraps to make closed scrolls out of decorative toothpicks, tiny stones, and embroidery thread to tie them closed.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.

Thanks for stopping by!