Aurelia

Aurelia is now on sale at Etsy.

Miliefiore mermaid finished.

Finished another mermaid. This one was more difficult personally. However, It is not my favorite and I am disappointed with it. Her tail is a milifiore technique and I am not sure it translated well on the tail. I had her face painted twice now and again I scraped it all off for the third time. I am waiting for her paint to dry.

I am interesting in learning about heat set paints. I went to hobby lobby to do some research on products and  they happen to have heat set paints but only for a kit called reborn babies. It only came in three colors and it didn't seem worth it. I am sticking with my acrylics for now.

Whilst doing this sculpture I have been reading up on acrylic painting and feel like a complete idiot. Many years ago, I got my first acrylic set and never liked the paintings I did because the acrylic didn't seem to work on the canvas and it was so frustrating. Thinking paint can just go on a canvas no problem was a dumb thing to think. I graduated to oil painting because it was slicker and I liked the results. I learned that it requires extra materials like the stuff (forget the name of it) that goes on first to keep the paint nice and smooth and wet for weeks. I swore of acrylics because I was THAT dumb. So I looked into what gesso was and mediums and such and apparently, it's a whole new world. So I want to experiment and see what I can do. A painting that dries the first day rather than two months from now would be nice.

New Look!

Thank you to my husband Brian for helping me yet again with what seems like the impossible. I don't always get technology and I am so grateful for Brian for getting it together for me. Hopefully, I will feel more comfortable blogging and sharing my work and my process. Be sure to check out my gallery for images of my past work on the top right side of the teal colored bar. Please look through them all. They are in random order. The newer ones are towards the bottom and on the second page. Thank you to the few who have continued to support and encourage me to keep going.
-Vickie

baking clay with an embossing tool.

Fun little fact that I just discovered about Polymer Clay. When doing mini-food for example, It seems ridiculous to spark up the oven for such a minor thing. I don't have a tiny oven for such things so I tried something different. I thought, my embossing gun might do the trick. I put my tiny little cookies on an actual cookie sheet that I use only for projects and I blew the hot air semi close to the piece allowing the cookie sheet to heat as well as the piece. It took about a minute. The clay got gooey for a moment and then it started to harden and it was done. It turned out just as good as if I would have used the oven. It was an epiphany! Also totally cool. Just had say so.
here is the project that was cooked with an embossing gun.

New Sculpt made on October 2012

Newest Piece. Now available on Etsy.

Black Tulle Halloween Wreath

It's fall and I have been pinterest-ing all year great Halloween ideas and I finally did one. I loved this dark wreath with the black crow and peach colored flowers. I made my own version. I couldn't find a crow. I'm still looking.

The wreath took 2 spools of tulle. It needed a third but I was being cheap and so I stretched it as much as possible. The problem was I used a white Styrofoam ring and the tulle needs to be doubled when you wrap the knots around to have effective blackness. I have lots of white gaps so, get a third. I put different embellishments on. Although the actual crafter who used peach was far more beautiful. Anyway, here it is. It's an undertaking and can get pricey so it's not for the crafter who wants instant results on a cheap budget. It was about 4 hours of work. At least wait for the sales on tulle. No sense in spending more than you have to.

August Haul (what I bought this month)

Not a whole lot makes me happier than to spend time in a hobby/craft store. Especially when I have money. That wasn't always the case. I have a good stock of materials in my closet, some I am sorry to say hasn't been touched yet. I vow to get to it. I promise. However, I keep an eye on things I want and sometimes they are just too pricey and I can't see myself using it all the time. When they are on clearance, it's a different story. I found this on clearance and I about died when I saw it.

PEBBLES Cream Chalks: At hobby lobby in the clearance section. I have only actually seen it being used on a scrapbook show a year or two ago.
 It was marked as 4 dollars and some change.  It wasn't all that expensive to begin with but I have to see a need before I can justify. It looks like a makeup compact and comes with a handy little tool that grips a reusable pom pom. Meant for scrap booking, coloring in stamped images, light coloring on pictures, adds color to drawings. Super cute and fun to play with. This isn't chalky, it's more like a cream that has a metallic sheen. Very well could be used for makeup. in fact, I am using it for makeup on my mermaids. I am very excited to use it.

The two paint canisters are "paint creme" used for stencils on walls. But again, with the makeup type usage. It's nice and stiff paint that I am using for makeup for my mermaids as well. believe it or not, I got it at goodwill. Never opened and a dollar for both. I haven't found much use for it elsewhere. no big deal.

The clay, because I am a clay girl and I need more of it. especially when it's on sale.

I love glitter. Glitter is lovely, and yes, Martha Stewart line is worth the money and of course it's so pretty! Her glitter is uber fine and goes a long way. You always need glitter if not just to look nice on a shelf. All my glitters are on display on the wall and it makes me happy.

The brush was something I picked up, because I am actually going to use it for makeup for me. I mean why not? I got the idea from a makeup tutorial. It's brilliant.