I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. Ours was pretty good. As good as the holiday can be without Donnie being here. I was up until about 5am emailing Donnie and wrapping gifts. The boys slept until around 8, but played in their rooms until I woke up at 9. The boys enjoyed opening gifts, then spent the rest of the day playing with all their new stuff. Me, well I napped off and on most of the day! LOL

I've been doing a little bit of clay work, I've started on my Valentine's Day cookies and such for my store. Hopefully this year I will actually find myself ahead of the game!

Take care and Have a safe and happy New Year!

Um yeah, sooo...

How is it possible that tomorrow, whoops today is Christmas Eve??? Where on Earth has the year gone? On a good note with the fact that 2011 is only a week away this also means that my hubby is that much closer to coming HOME!!!! =D (April won't be too far along!)

I am sorry for not posting since Thanksgiving...I've been busy but honestly feel like I haven't done ANYTHING! I know I actually did, but none of it really seemed post worthy. I have finished my gingerbread house. I love the way it turned out in the end. The base is 3 inches square.
I also made a dozen pearlized snowflakes and another dozen poinsettias as ornaments. These were roughly 3 inches across and I must admit being very happy with them. My customer was very pleased with them as well.

Let's see I also have started a partnership with a local jewelry artisan. It started out with me making tiger stripe beads for Auburn University. I think these will become a regular part of my repertoire as she says they are selling really well for her! I also made some houndstooth patterned beads. Personally I wasn't happy with them, but my customer says her customer are going WILD for them. I told her if I can figure out a better way to make them I will. (the cane started out around 2 pounds, but I only came away with about 8-10 of useable cane!!!!) I'm not sure what I did wrong in the reducing, or what I could have done differently. :-(

I have also been working on little bits and bobs of Barbie (1/6th-Playscale) items. My Flickr page has my most recent additions on the first few pages, including a small tutorial on how I make Slice N Bake cookies.

On the Barbie front I received and amazing yet terrifying commission...a dollhouse!!!
A dear friend of mine has asked me to build and decorate a bookcase style dollhouse for her twin daughters' birthdays in May. My goal is to have it near completion by the end of March, that way during April while my hubby is coming home or finally home I don't have alot to do. Soooo expect to see lots of posts about that starting in the near future.

Well I think that's about it for me, for now. Take care and have a wonderful Christmas! (of course if you don't celebrate, well, have a wonderful weekend! =D)

It's beginning to feel like Christmas!

I LOVE CHRISTMAS!!! The decorations, the scents, the sounds! Yep I love them all. Christmas music in playing on my laptop, and our Christmas tree will go up today. This years theme is Patriotic. Each time my husband deploys and is gone for Christmas I always decorate the tree in Red, White and Blue ornaments. It's one of my most and least favorite trees. I love the way it looks, but it means Donnie is gone again. *sigh* I'll share pics either later tonight or tomorrow. =D

I have been making lots of Christmas-y items, so far my favorite is the gingerbread house and tradional-colored 1/6th scale Christmas tree.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

To all my American friends home and abroad, have a wonderful Thanksgiving. (To all my friends who don't celebrate, have a wonderful Thursday! =D)

Thanksgiving will be a simple affair at my house today since my husband is overseas. I don't cook a turkey and all the trimmings for just me and the boys. So on the years that Donnie is away the boys and I nosh on a snack food/appetizer buffet. This year it's pizza spread (cream cheese topped with tomato sauce and pepperoni) eaten with crackers. Something we affectionately call Bacon Crackers. (thank you Lisa!!!) These are Club crackers sprinkled with parmesan cheese and topped with about a 1/3rd of a slice of bacon. They get cooked to crisp up the bacon and our family likes them chilled afterwards. I am making a small veggie tray and some spiced mixed nuts too. So we will just nibble away today.

My sister is coming over later to spend the day playing on the Wii with us. Then tomorrow she and I are hitting the shops for Black Friday. Everyone take care and have a blessed day!

Gingerbread Update

The house itself is almost done...I'm not sure what else I want to add, but it just doesn't look complete to me. I think tomorrow I am going to start the base. I made a cream puff snowman to go out in the yard. My oldest son thinks it looks silly, but I love him! I'm thinking some 'edible' landscaping might make things better. Unless you can think of something the house needs?

My Gingerbread House so far...

It's by no means finished yet...But it's getting there. I am waiting on some 'candy bars' to dry, they will become the front pillars on the entryway. I am thinking about a 'cookie' wreath for around the window too. I also made a cream puff snowman that will sit in front of the house too! (pics of that coming soon!) Over on my flickr are a couple more pics including a Big and Small comparison of some of the candies I've made so far. =D

Decorating HELP needed

So I am working on a couple of miniature Christmas trees while doing other things. I am stumped at the garland stage. Right now the tree has gold beaded trim around it and a sheer red bow with long vertical ribbon 'tinsel' on it. These are glued in place and not removeable.
Late last night I decided to add some of this really neat 'tinsel' garland to the tree as well. This is just wrapped on and can be removed if the consensus is that it doesn't need it. Someone on facebook mentioned the the green didn't really stand out. It actually does in real life, it's a rather bright metallic green. I like it BOTH ways and can't decide. Is less more, or since it's Christmas is decadence the 'rule'? The ornaments on the tree will be red, green white and gold. So waht do you think?

Been busy with little things

I was inspired by several other bloggers including Mo Tipton over at The Mouse Market. She's been making some of the most gorgeous gingerbread houses in 1/12th scale. She even has a little mini-tutorial on her blog! Since I am working more in 1/6th, I took a pattern from a cookbook and printed it out at the right size. Then I turned the printed patterns into templates by laminating them with clear packing tape. I lightly pressed each piece to some gingerbread colored clay. (which I also scented with a cinnamon Christmas oil, and added several herbs and spices for texture) I used my slicing blade to cut out the pieces. I actually worked with the sheet of clay pressed to my tile, and just peeled away the excess so as to not distort the pieces. After baking and cooling I started glueing them together. Today was spent starting on the candy making process. So far I have made candy canes, patterened hard candies, cherry sour balls, lime Dots, and Necco wafers. I need to make more Dots tomorrow and I'm also making some Kisses. While making the gingerbread I made some donuts and cupcakes too!
More pics can be found on my Flickr site here!

Clay Friends...WE HAVE A PROBLEM

Ok so today I found out about the impending changes to Polyforms' Premo! clay line. Facebook Topic here They are introducing several new luscious sounding colors. Ok this is good news, however there is BAD news attached to this. Due to sales volumes Polyform has decided to discontinue the following colors
Red Pearl, Green Pearl, COBALT BLUE, SEA GREEN, Copper, ZINC YELLOW, Frost, Fluorescent Green, Fluorescent Yellow, Fluorescent Red and Glow-In-The-Dark

Cobalt, sea green and zinc yellow are VITAL to most artists' palette! Cindy Lietz of Polymer Clay Tutor has been in constant contact with the people at Polyform and she is starting a petition to keep these PRIMARY colors in the line-up. It's about a quarter of the page down. If you use Premo! I urge you to read her article and help save these necessary colors!

Bren's been baking again

She's getting into the holiday spirit already. Today she worked on cutout cookie. (I love them but find them WAY more effort than I care to put forth) After mixing up a fabulous sugar cookie dough, Bren cut out trees, stars, hearts and teardrops. I was a little confused by the hearts and teardrops but Bren turned them into masterpieces.

I added the How-to pics to my Flickr.com account HERE Just clike the Next -> button at the top of each picture to see the next step. Written descriptions are underneath.

YIPPEE!!!!

My laptop is HOME!!! It is sooo wonderful to have MY computer back! I picked it up Friday morning and wanted to spend all evening on it, but decided to meet some friends for a free Trace Adkins concert. He performed over in Iraq for our troops earlier this week and came and did the same show for us military last night. (it was kinda cool, my hubby said he could hear the concert from his 'room' =D) Last night was also our 11th wedding anniversary. It was kinda weird to be out with friends rather than my baby on our anniversary, but such is the life of a military wife. The concert was short; about and hour, but he is a great performer and put on a great show. We had really good seats too!

After the concert I came home and played around on my computer for a bit, then headed to bed. This morning I got up early to do a craft show. (I shoulda stayed in bed!!!!) It seemed that who ever was paid to do the advertising for said show dropped the ball BIG time. I didn't even make back my table fees!!! :-( Oh well that was my last craft show for the year, so I'm not too worried about it.

I have actually made a few things over the last couple weeks, but not much. I've added some pictures HERE!
Right now I am working on some Barbie sized Christmas cookies! They are looking really good so far too!

Howdy y'all!

I'm still here and still waiting on my laptop to come home. It's on it's way back from TX right now. HOPEFULLY it'll be back before the week is out. So please forgive me for being around here as much. My hubby's old laptop just can't handle the volume of time that I am 'normally' online.

I just had my final pre-show meeting for the craft show this weekend. I don't think it'll be as good for me as my last one was, but if I atleast make back my table fees I'll be very happy!

Haven't really made anything new lately...just haven't really been in the mood. Next week I'll get back to my workstation as I have a couple of custom orders I need to get started on. Hopefully by the time I get back to work I'll also have my laptop back so i'll be able to share pics!

Hope y'all have a fantastic weekend! =D

hey look at me

I'm blogging AGAIN today! LOL

Thanks to all my friends who shared congrats on my working out. I am so happy that I am doing this. I feel great (granted it definitely tires me out, but even that hasn't been too bad since our internet has been acting up lately as well, so when I head to bed early cause I'm too tired I know I'm not really missing any emails from my hubby. His internet has been acting up too)

Today was another awesome workout: I did a mile and a half on the treadmill then we worked our abs. Then a few hours later I joined my middle son at school for his mile run in PE. I am happy to say that I walked about 3/4 and even ran/jogged a lap with him! (It hurt like heck, and left me horribly out of breath. But it motivated him and he finished his mile in 14.36 minutes! Pretty good for a 9yr old who half walked and half ran! =D)
Tomorrow the girls and I have decided we need to change things up a bit, so we are hitting the pool to swim laps, then next week we are gonna start adding some outdoor hiking to you 'routine'! I'm very excited about this as I love both swimming and hiking. Oooh that reminds me...I need to take in the straps on my swimsuit. The girls are hangin' out just a tad! LOL

Got lost somewhere along the way.

One of these days I will get back to daily blogging...so where have I been the last 3 weeks...um around. I had a craft show on the 16th & 17th (which did very well for me actually) so I spent the week leading up to it trying to gets stuff finished. Then in the midst of that week, my laptop started acting funny. Turns out the video card was starting to go!!! That was NOT cool, so $300 later it's off to the computer hospital to get fixed. Hopefully it'll be back in the next few days. I really miss MY laptop. While I am grateful for the use of my sister's desktop and my husbands old laptop; neither one is MY laptop and it's driving me nuts. I have made several new items but don't want to upload pics into a computer that's not mine, so I am holding off for now.
At my craft show I sold off all the remaining barbie outfits and several of the cakes and desserts. I have another show on the 6th, so I am already planning more. I also created a couple of monogram ornaments that I am hoping to sell as custom order pieces. They are simple but I think really lovely. I am also trying to find a decently priced chocolate scented fragrance oil. Last month I did a few pieces of Barbie desserts that were scented like cinnamon spice cakes. I'd LOVE to do some chocolate items too!
Um let's see what else...I've been reading up a storm...I think I've read atleast 15 books in the last 2 monthes. I'll try to review them at a later date.

Oooh I've also been working out Monday through Thursday for the last 2 weeks. Today was actually day 2 of week 3! I feel great and have actually already lost about 2 pounds! =D I feel really great after my workouts and am actually enjoying them too. (for the most part! ;-D)

My latest project to play with has been turning the bottle brush trees sold for Christmas displays into more realistic trees using lycopodium or Princess Pine. It took me about 7 hours, but I completely a 2 inch tree, and 8 inch tree and have a 5.5 inch tree 3 quarters of the way ocmpleted. It's a tedious, time-consuming and messy process, but they trees lok so amazing when they are finished! I promise to post pics as soon as my laptop comes home!

Thanks for reading along with where I disappeared to and what I've been doing! Until next time!

busy busy busy

ok so it's been almost 2 weeks since my last post...yeah the one about my goals...sadly I didn't keep up with them past the first couple days. The last 2 weeks have been kinda crazy, lots going on mentally and physically. I'm fine just got into a little funk. But I am feeling much better and am ready to spend the next couple days going crazy in my 'studio'. Well starting tomorrow night anyways. Today is my youngest sons 6th birthday. I just don't know where the time has gone! My sister will be coming over in a little while and we'll be heading out for pizza. B-man's favorite food! Then it's home for cake, ice cream and presents!!! This month is his month for a 'day out with mom'. So we are heading out for some fun tomorrow.
Although I have not kept up with my goals, I am ready to start fresh...it's a new month and it'll be a new week. I am going to be joining another mom at the gym every morning starting Tuesday. I seem to do better at keeping on things if I feel accountable to someone else. I know that's weird, but she's a great gal and since we see each other every day after school there can be no excuses. I did get another little exciting kick in the pants last week...I needed a new pair of jeans, and not only did I find them on sale, BUT the best looking style were SKINNY jeans AND they are a size smaller than I normally wear!!!! =D So color me motivated and now I have a plan too!!!
As for my other goals...well those are going a little slower, I am creating and I have listed several pieces on etsy as well. But with being in a funk for a while there, well it slowed things way down. But I have decided not to stress over things and just enjoy the process. As my husband wisely reminded me...I got into clay (and subsequently miniatures) as a FUN hobby! When it starts not being FUN, it turns into work and that's not what I want. So it's time to get back into having FUN! =D

Goals!!!

Yep 2 posts today!

So yesterday I discovered that I have managed to lose 5 pounds without even trying. WELL let me tell you this has given me a kick in the pants and really motivated me! If I can lose this without trying imagine what I can do if I put my mind to it!!!

So I am setting myself 3 weekly goals. I'd be thrilled if y'all could help keep me motivated!
1. Work out every weekday. NO EXCUSES!!!
2. List 5 items in my etsy shop every day!
3. Make atleast 2 items every day!

I am really feeling refreshed and ready to get back into the swing of things so HERE I COME!!!

Cakes and sales

So I really enjoy creating things. When I finish them I usually snap a quick pic on my desk to share.(with all the 'stuff' behind it) Listing items in my Etsy shop seems to be a whole 'nother matter! Yes it takes me a while, but I don't even really mind sitting down (or crouching as is often the case) to spend a few hours taking photographs and editing them to best show off the product. BUT sitting dow to list each and every item on Etsy about drives me insane! It's not that I don't like writing the descriptions, that part is pretty easy for me. But it's the monotonous plugging in details that gets me...Heck I've had items where the listing took longer to do that making the item itself!!!
BUT if you're going to sell online this is something that needs to be done. It's silly to complain about lack of sales when the same few items have been sitting stagnant in your store! Thanks to the late night urging of a dear friend I listed these 2 cakes Friday night. Saturday morning I received a message from a gal in Canada asking if I'd ship the cream and chocolate one to her. No problem, (I prefer NOT to list shipping prices for international, but I will gladly do so after I adjust the listing accordingly) I emailed her back and confirmed that I would indeed find out how much shipping would be then alter the listing accordingly. Well not 5 minutes later someone ELSE bought the cake!!!!
My poor first customer was heart-broken, but I told her I would gladly make another cake custom for her! Then later that evening after posting my good news on Facebook, someone else custom ordered a version of the cake in Chocolate and Hot Pink!!! Soooo this just goes to show how important listing is!!!! (And listening to the urgings of good friends! =D)

Gosh I LOVE books!

(Sorry this post is a 'tad' wordy! lol)

I really don't think there is anything like the rasp of pages turning in a good book! I didn't realize just how much I'd missed sitting down to devour a good book. Back in January when I first challenged myself to read 100 books in 2010, I didn't think anything of it. I mean I read each of the Harry Potter books from cover to cover on the day they were released! So really reading 2 books in a week should have been a cake walk. And it was until my husband deployed in April. It was kind of my ritual that I would read in the mornings while he got ready for work as well as in the evenings while he got ready for bed. Finishing 2 books was easy. But when he left, well my whole routine changed and I really didn't read as often as I had before. Heck there were several weeks that I didn't even pick UP a book, let alone read one. Oh sure I made sure to buy the latest releases from my favorite authors and read them. But the total immersion into them wasn't there. It certainly wasn't for lack of story that's for sure and I really did enjoy each book I read. It just wasn't with the same 'OMG-I-Can't-Put-This-Down' attitude that I truly love about a book that really draws you in.

I was at the bookstore a couple weeks ago looking for a new release and stumbled upon a couple other books that I had seen reviewed. I felt as though something let loose in my chest, as I grabbed those books...I could feel the need to read them, that sweet voice in the back of my head, calling out to me, crying to be fed the words written on those gorgeous pages. I finished the 4 books I bought in record time and went in search of more! And just last night I ordered yet more books! It feels so wonderful to be back to the point where I just want to lose myself in a book! =D

Ok so on to the reviews...I have finished 3 books and listened to one audiobook since my last post.
Book 54 was Guardian by Angela Knight. This is the most recent release in her Time Hunter series. I've written about her other books in this series of futuristic romances. Guardian follows Riane, a 23rd century Temporal Enforcer who, in the hunt for a traitor, gets stranded in the 21st century. Nick has been alone since his early teens, when 'monsters' killed his mother. Little does he know that his mother is actaully part of the very race of 'monsters' that killed her. Monsters which are also the enemy Riane fights against every day.
Book 55 is also by Knight, Master of Fire is the latest in her Mageverse series. (remember me mentioning King Arthur, Knights of the round table, vampires, witches and werewolves? yeah THAT series! =D) Master of Fire is about King Arthur and Queen Guinevere's son Logan. Logan is a Latent (someone capable of handling Merlin's Gift) who was long ago cleared to accept Merlin's gift and become a Maja (vampire) BUT Arthur and Gwen swore they'd never force that decision upon him, so Logan has lived a normal life in a small town as a fireman/arson investigator/bomb squad member. But when Latents start dying in suspicous 'accidents' Gwen fears for her son's life and sends a Maga (witch) to protect her son. Her only rules: Logan must NEVER know what she is or WHY she's there. Oh and NO FALLING for Logan. Let's just say "Best laid plans..."
These 2 were wonderful additions to Angela Knights wonderfully woven worlds and I look forward to reading even more!
Book 56 I just finished tonight, was Captive Desires by Diane Whiteside. This is the long awaited sequel to Captive Dreams which I read a few years back. (Heck that was the book that got me hooked on Angela Knight!) Captive Dreams follows Danae who is a successful Prima ballerina who writes fanfics in her free time. Imagine her shock and surprise to see her perfect envisionment of her favorite leading man at a fan convention. Alekhsiy has watched his pretty dancer through the veil that seperates the worlds many times, but even he is stunned by the rush of meeting her in the flesh. Now he must remember that he is in her world on a mission to save his own.
Book 57 is actually the audio book I listened too. Archangel's Kiss by Nalini Singh picks up where Angel's Blood left off. Guild Hunter Elana Devereaux must attempt to adapt to her new life by Rafaels' side. Demons from her past haunt her dreams, and begin to haunt even here waking hours. Murders in The Refuge must be investigated and lives must be protected. Is Elana strong enough? This was another fantastic installment to Nalini's Guild Hunter saga, but as with Angel's Blood, this definitely pushes the boundaries of our perceived notion of Angels. This one might not be for everyone. BUT I loved it1

So, what can it be???

I've been toiling with this idea for quite a while now...I wasn't entirely sure how I wanted to go about doing it. I'm still not sure this was the BEST way to do it, but I'm on the right track. I know at this point you're going, "Ok it's a white vase???" Maybe if I turn out the lights?





I printed off some wolf silhouette clip art and then trimmed each one individually. Each one got a good layer of black sharpie front and back. No clue if this helped the effect or not, but from the inside it look nice too! The images were then decoupaged onto the clear rectanglular vase with Mod Podge. While it dried i mixed up a 4:1 mix of Translucent-White premo polymer clay. I conditioned it until it was almost completely mixed but left a few striations for 'texture' so to speak. Then it got rolled out really thin in my pasta machine.
(a number 5 on my Atlas) The clay was then smoothed over the frame trying to eliminate as many bubbles as possible. I got most of them. I then baked it for 20 minutes (since it was so thin!) let it cool and sanded it a bit. I think it will get more sanding as well as some black trim along the top and bottom. I am trying to decide between black clay or a ribbon or fabric trim of some kind...black leather or suede 'ribbon' seems really appealing right now. Each side has a different image which can be seen here.

So what do you think?

Meet Dolce!

Last month I was commissioned to make one of my Kudzu's Whimzy-style dragons. I hadn't made one in a while, so I eagerly accepted. The customer only had one request...she wanted her to look sweet and kinda goofy. GOOFY?!?!?!?! Um ok so this had me rather stumped as I never have been able to capture the wonderful facial expressions like Sally can. But that's why they are HER dragons and mine are 'in the style of' LOL

So I knew right away I wanted pink...nothing says sweet to me like pink! As I fiddled around mixing colors and saw a butterfly land on a plant out in my flower bed...and it was a lightbulb moment!


Dolce was entirely sculpted by hand using polymer clay, her eyes are a blackish purple faceted Czech glass bead and her wings...well her wings are my secret! Just kidding! =D I actually recycle used dryer sheets, by painting them with a mixture of acrylic paints and tacky glue. after they dry I make the wire 'bones' which get glued down. After that glue drys the 'bones' are covered with either fabric paint or more glue/paint mix. When they are completely dry the wing shapes are trimmed out and inserted into the hole I made in the back.

I've been reading...really I have

I just kept forgetting to post about the books after I've finished them. I've read 10 in the last 2 monthes so my reviews are gonna be super quick. Most of the authors are ones I've talked about before, just current books in their series or new series by them. So without further ado, books 44-53 (in no particular order, mainly cause I'm not entirely sure which order I read them! LOL)
Nalini Singh's Bonds of Justice, the most recent release in her Psy/Changeling series. I also started her Guild Hunter series with Angel's Blood. I LOVE Nalini and have enjoyed everything she writes. Her GH series might not be for some folks who have very definite ideas and opinions about Angels and vampires. BUT if you are open to interpretation and creative liberties, this is a very well written storyline with plenty of twists and turns.
From Gena Showalter (one of my faves!!!!) comes the latest in her Lords of the Underworld series with The Darkest Lie. She also had a short in the anthology The Bodyguard.
Ok so what to vampires, witches and The Knights of the Round Table have in common???? Nothing, unless you happen to be Angela Knight. This is probably one of my favorite authors, I can read her work over and over again and never tire of it. The first set is her Mageverse series. In it King Arthur, Queen Guinevere, and the other knights are all immortal. Pretty cool, they've been protecting Earth for centuries. An old threat has come back seeking to conquer the universe starting with Earth. Oh by the way...Arthur and his Knights are vampires, and Gwen and the other ladies of Avalon are witches! (or Maja as they prefer!)Throw in werewolves and the Fae adn you have one wild ride of a story. Master of Night is the first book, which I HAVE read, just not this go-round as I can't find it! =( then comes Master of the Moon,
Master of Wolves,
Master of Swords,
and Master of Dragons
Her newest book is Master of Fire (which I am reading now, so not counting it...yet!)
Angela also has a futuristic series that deals with time-traveling genetically engineered warriors. Warlord which contains the short stories Jane's Warlord and Warfem starts of the series with a bang...actually I think it's more of a sonic boom as the hero Jumps into the 21st century. The second book in the series is Warrior. (again I've read it before, just not this time as I think I might have loaned it to someone. eeep!) Her newest book is called Guardian, which I just finished yesterday. Guardian features the daughter of the hero from Warlord as the heroine. Angela has a wonderful grasp on the future and her writings never fail to keep me entranced!

So there you have it...3 awesome authors, 10 great books in 2 monthes. I really need to do more reading or I don't think I'm gonna make my hundred. :-( Good thing I have several awesome books lined up waiting to be read!

It's beginning to look alot like...

Ok so I know it's only the middle of September, and I can't STAND seeing all the Christmas decor being put up in stores already...BUT as a crafter, I KNOW I MUST get started on Christmas decor (heck I probably should do some all year round so there is no rush) So I started out with these cute 'stained' glass items. I bought the little frames last year intending to make them then. Well best laid plans... Sooo here is teh 1st wave. 3 became ornaments with the fourth becoming a votive holder. I am including a battery operated tea-light flameless 'candle' with it. Right now I have one that changes color, but I am thinking that a plain one might be better. (More pics here!)
I have one more of each design...I was thinking about doing votives with the 3 that are ornaments and and ornament with the other. That way each design will be available as either an ornament or a votive holder.

I also finished a round 1/6th scale table. I'm rather happy with it. The base was an unfinished candlestick and the top is 2 thin rounds wood-glued together. I painted the base white and the top got stained Oak.

ICE Resin

Ok, so when my first batch of Barbie accessories can in months ago, among the goodies were several pretty perfume type bottles. I knew instantly that I wanted to try and reproduce them...well early experiments failed epicly! Until yesterday. In one of the yahoogroups I belong to someone mentioned a new jewelry grade resin that could be cast as well AND it took detail really well and stayed crystal clear. So I hopped over to the website. www.ICEResin.com It looked incredible...since I had some questions about ICE Resin and casting small items I sent off an email to their ICE Queen. (heeheehee, I love that. =D) And within 2 days, she replied and answered all of my questions and then some. I then discovered that my favorite online beading store carried it, so into my cart it went. While I was waiting for it to arrive I made some molds to try it out with. I made 3 molds from miniature plates, those can also be used with polymer clay! I also molded a simple bottle from my stash o'bottles. Yesterday I followed the instructions and mixed up 1/2 an ounce of ICE Resin. When you'r making miniatures 1/2 an ounce goes a loooong way! LOL The picture above is the result from yesterdays play. NOW I did realize that I skipped a very crucial step...letting the resin rest for 5 minutes after mixing. The bottle and the 'cut glass' plate are both full of bubbles. But the other 2 plates are pretty clear due to the resin resting a bit. The molded items will take about 3 days to fully cure, but I am totally thrilled with the way they turned out and already have another batch curing, as well as some new bottle molds setting up as well.

I took come pics today while I made the current batch as kind of a mini tutorial. Check them out here!

way behind, sorry!!! (plus Dresses 10 & 11)

Ok so let's see I last posted over a week ago...not good...been kinda hectic. First off I finished 2 more outfits by the 31st. The Robin (jeans, top, and bird watching accessories) and the Patricia (a blue and white paisley dress with Red accessories). The craft show I'd been working towards was Wednesday the 1st. Not the best show but certainly not the worst either. I did sell 3 of my barbie outfits. (the Rachel, Traelyn and Marsha!) So I was very happy about that. I sold a few other little things as well but not really all that much. Although I did hand out a ton of business cards and was invited to do another show in November, and had several folks ask about custom orders. =D

After that well I promptly got horribly ill! Like ugh thought I was gonna die ill. Thankfully it only lasted 24 hours and I have a wonderful teenaged son and 2 very well behaved younger sons. Joe took care of his brothers and such while I slept away most of Thursday. (Glad I was able to up up and mobile long enough to get the younger 2 off to school and then pick them up from as well.) I have no idea what cuased it, but I honestly think it was my bodies way of telling me I'd not been taking care of myself. So it forced me to! I am back to my old self again, but will definitely NOT be pushing myself so hard this time around. I don't have too much going on over the next couple of months, but there are some biggies. Yard Sale on the 18th, just a bit of rummaging around for that. Custom order miniature Miss Piggy and a dragon to go with the other Jim Henson characters I made last month. Another larger custom dragon, a set of custom Christmas ornaments, and Army Camouflage pens, oh yeah and some wedding accessories in miniature. THEN in October is the Fort Benning Bazaar show, then 2 more shows in November. None of these things will take up too much time and I promise to make sure I am eating and sleeping better. =D

Good Mail Day! =D

2 fabulous packages arrived today! I do so love it when packages arrive! And it's even better when it's something you've won. I follow a wonderful blog called Reanna Lily Designs. Jen is a quilter who not only makes gorgeous quilts, but makes quilt patterns too! I myself don't quilt but my mom does so I always like seeing what is going on in the quilting world. Well last week was Jen's birthday...to celebrate she did the gift giving! Every day she held a drawing, with Fridays' drawing being for 12 half-yards cuts of gorgeous fabrics!!!! Well being the fabric-hound that I am, I HAD to enter. I honestly never expected to win though. So imagine my surprise when in my inbox Monday was an email from Jen asking for my home address cause I had won the fabric giveaway!!! Weeeeee =D Well my fabrics arrived today being even more gorgeous in person! I simply cannot wait to get to play with them and create several fabulous goodies with all my pretty new fabrics!
My second awesome package held more fabric; a vintage cheater cloth in tiny prints and gorgeous shades of brown. This will eventually become a quilt of 2 in my mom's quilt shop doll house. From the same seller I purchased a 1999 issue of Barbie Bazaar magaine. Sadly this magazine is no longer being published but I am bidding on a couple lots of mags on ebay. I wish there was a magazine like this being published today. I chuckled at a editorial in it that asked "Now that the internet is here to stay..." This just completely made me giggle. I vaguely remember being in my early 20's around this time and the only time I dealt with computers was at work in the furniture store doing office work. No internet though. And here I am barely 11 years later and I feel weird if I don't check my email every day! We've come a long way, baby!!!

I am currently working on a pair on 1/6th scale pillows using striped material. Hopefully I'll be able to show them off tomorrow. I'm also lengthening a pair of RL curtains for a friends daughter's dorm room. Which reminds me I better get back to that! LOL Have a great weekend y'all!

Bren's Busy Baking!

Bren was sooo very excited when the mail showed up today...a package from Hong Kong! I ordered some more Re-ment dishes of ebay and Brens' chef whites arrived! She had to try them on right away. Ooops didn't realize the pants were capris, but
Bren says they'll be really comfy in the kitchen. Although we are thinking about adding a bit of lace to the hem for a little bit of 'flirt'! Our resident fashion maven Ellie declared that the red scarf would be better suited to tieing back Brens' hair. We both agreed!




After she got into her whites, she flounced off to the kitchen for a marathon baking session! I could hear the mixer going and bowls clattering as Bren sang along to the radio as she worked. She is a rather impressive baker as she got quite a bit accomplished today.
--Scrumptious Nibbles Sampler...Chocolate and vanilla butter cookies, jumbo cream puff, and a key lime tart in chocolate cookie crust. Also on this tray are a couple bars of the gourmet chocolate Bren uses in all of her chocolate dishes.
--5 layer chocolate and yellow checkerboard cake with whipped cream frosting.
--Black Forest Cake with buttercream frosting and homemade cherry filling
--Cream Puffs, Jumbo and MiniBite
--Bren's Famous Rich Dark Chocolate cake with Madagascar Vanilla Bean frosting!

Crafty people are wonderful folks!

So last week, Kathi over at Beautiful Mini Blessings posted a picture of some fabrics she bought at Walmart. Her favorite is a gorgeous teal blue paisley print. I fell in love with it too and asked if she'd consider picking some up for me as our Walmarts have phased out the fabric departments. She agreed and told me the other day that that my fabric was on it's way. So imagine my surprise when this good sized box arrived today. What I found inside simply blew my mind. This box was stuffed to the gills with gorgeous fabrics and trims that Kathi found and put together for me! INCLUDING of course my pretty teal paisley! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU KATHI!!!

Dress #9---The Halle

You know like Halle-ween! =D
Yeah ok I know it's a bad bad pun, but I couldn't resist! Dress number 9 (...hmm maybe I need to make a little Love Potion too! hehehe) Ok sorry back to the outfit! Dress #9 is an orange and black fringed, plaid wrap-around skirt, with jet crystal 'button'. The matching sweater is black 'knit' material with a decorative jeweled accent at the shoulder. This is actually a bodysuit which allows for the 'tucked in' look. Matching black mules and a Halloween tote bag make this a great ensemble for taking Kelly out trick or treating and then out to dinner or a party with one of the guys afterwards. (hmmmm has Edward taken an interest in Ellie?)

2 posts in one day...

Yep I just had to show off the new jackets I bought today! (Oh yeah and the Liv outfit that Ellie is modeling too!)
1. Liv jeans and lacey top. The jeans are a tad too short, I am thinking about adding a 'cuff' of brown suede (since the stiching is brown) The top is also a pain to get on as the Liv dolls must have slightly narrower hips than Barbies do. BUT once on it's really cute! The purse and dog bowl are Liv, the shoes, sunglasses & chihuahua are Barbie.
2.& 2a. Yellow Houndstooth hooded jacket
3. Coral 'puffy' parka, with 'fur' trim. I like the asymetrical collar, but want to tack down the right side.
4. Camo Nehru style jacket. I LOVE the hot pink trim with the camo
5. Aqua Short Flare Trench. Possibly my favorite, my sister informed me that she wants THIS jacket in HER size!!! LOL

Ooops I did it again...

Ok so after the craft supply haul the other day I really hadn't intended to buy anything else this month. BUT...then I hit one of our local Walmarts. And FOUND a TON of Barbie/1:6th scale stuff on clearance! The gorgeous red-haired basics doll was $7, normally $20, the Basics accessories in black and gold (with chihuahua) was only $4 again regular $20! The Taylor Swift 'directors' chairs were only $2 a piece so I bought all 4 figuring I can replace the glittery pink fabric. (Of course getting them home I discovered that they are REALLY unsturdy, sooo I will have to see what I can do to stabilize them!) The Liv pack with the pinky striped scarf was $1!!!! The other Liv items came from Toyrus as they were running a promotion that if you bought $30 in Liv items you got the Gift Shop playset free!!! (retails for $20) I love the way the Liv items work with Barbie so I snagged up the adorable coats as well as the lacey denim outfit!

Last but not least is the Harumika fashion design sets. This is an intriguing concept where you take 'sheets' of fabric and fold, drape and then tuck into a specially designed slot in the back of the Mannequin! I got the large set for $8 and the smaller one for $3. The thing I like is one, the mannequin, and 2 all the pre-made belts and such. I think this is gonna be alot of fun to play with! It seems that these items are not clearanced at ALL Walmart stores as I checked 2 others and these items were still full price! *sigh* Oh well!