Making Mini Matches

And here we have a fair few matches...

I carved the sticks from real matches, sanded them down and then moulded miliput epoxy putty onto their tops, to form the slightly bulbous striking ends. Once the epoxy had fully cured I painted it reddy brown. Each match measures 1.1cm.

I made these as props for Una, whose job is to keep the sun constantly alight by lighting huge candles inside it. She has a constant supply of matches, always at hand. She keeps them in a bandolier style strap with pouches, so she can access them quickly and strike them on her belt buckle to light them before using them to light the candles.

I made the bandolier by carving the individual pouches out of dense foam. I pierced a hole in them with a needle and then pushed the matches into these holes, widening them. I painted the foam with acrylic paint. Once that was dry I epoxy glued the pockets onto a thin strip of fabric. To make the back strap part of the bandolier I stitched a wider strip of fabric onto the thin strip, forming a loop. I then gave the strap a hem on both sides.