Polymer Clay Conundrum...

Okey dokey.....yesterday I decided to make 3 little pots with faces since I missed out on Nikki's cute little ones last auction.

I'm a pretty fair "carver" so I thought I'd be able to come up with 3 suitable little pots for Melin's retreat. No problem...turned out cute, baked up fine. Of course, I intended to paint them the exact colors of my choice so I used just whatever color clay I had on hand (conditioned and ready to go). I baked them last night and painted them this morning with acrylic craft paint. It went on a little streaky but, no matter, I just gave each a light second coat. When I went to "antique" them this afternoon with a water-based stain, the paint just peeled off.....bleh!!! It's like it didn't adhere at all! What a pain in the butt. So now I have really weird colored pots.... Any suggestions? Or opinions why the paint peeled? I've never painted polymer clay before but I undersand it is possible. Just as a point of reference....the first 2 pots peeled as I daubed the stain off. The second one got a ding from my fingernail before I even started.

What a bummer.....

Tabitha

Better pictures of Great Hall project

Mostly pictures....

Larry "Fuzzy Bear" Bolduc from Unicorn Studios...teacher extraodinarie. That is a half-scale (1/24) castle ruin in the background.
..rolling out the paperclay...
...staining the ceiling...

..the "components", formed, stained and ready to be put together...

...the backwall...

... "marble" floor with center medallion...

...all assembled....

..."daylight" will shine through windows and door... the leopard is looking at a bird on the step...

...all done...

....illuminated...inside and out.

...tabled tucked into right corner..

I really hope you can get some of the details from these. It was a wonderful class with some great people. I have the plans and components for the "Deep in the Foundation" project which is basically the basement of the castle....a dungeon or mad scientist lab... It was the first Larry designed and the Great Hall is made so as to stack nicely on top of it.

I'd like to also have a Tower Room...for my Princess and the Pea vignette. All in good time ...

Tabitha

The Great Hall....

It occured to me that I have been a very poor blogger of late. I've managed to keep abreast with my favorites but haven't done much with my own. I have been trying to help a friend with a "teen aged girl" problem (not very well, I might add) and readying the house and property for hurricane season. My husband thinks I'm a little obsessive over this but I always get nuts about my minis and how to best protect...or evacuate them! And, of course, the house MUST be clean...God forbid it should blow way dirty!

I am also preparing like a madwoman for my first show in July. I am not looking for a large turn out but at least I'd like to find out if I should continue to bother. I enjoy making so many different things...it's hard to know what people will like or want. In the States, it seems, July is a very popular month for Halloween and Christmas minis...so we'll see.

I thought I'd post a picture of what started me down my current path of "wizardy" minis.

It's called the "Great Hall" and I have turned it into Merlin's retreat. Below is the chandelier which will go in when I figure out how to get it all connected together at the top and flickering appropriately.

The box itself is modular...and all the insides are made from a foamcore board framework; nothing glued in, really, and all can be removed for any purpose such as additions or corrections I guess. The electrical workings are cleverly hidden just above the ceiling and accessed from the back. All the stonework is Paperclay. It was a new medium for me and very interesting. The teacher was a fellow, now disabled in a w/c, who formerly worked with real stone and found a way to continue doing so. What an amazing man!

Later...

Tabitha (aka Susan)

Scorching Update!!....

....for those of you interested.... I found the incense stick to work but be far too slow for me...I am hopelessly impatient. The old soldering iron I had for stained glass (something out of my past...don't ask) should have worked but didn't for some reason. I was sure a woodburning tool would do the trick but before I schlepped into town to look for one, I unearthed my son's temperature controlled soldering station he used for circuits boards. Since he is at camp this week, I could experiment without him knowing and losing his mind (anyway...I think I paid for this thing...)

The great thing about this device is that it goes to 480 degrees and has a fine point tip. Well it worked beautifully! No flaming, very good control of the degree of "scorch", no little embers burning just a little too much. Perfect tool. It was inexpensive...$25 I think. But for those who do not have such a tool lying around already, I think the woodburning tools are less....like maybe $10.

The only drawback is that it does take a bit of time to heat up so it is not as instantaneous as a flame. It's best to plan to do a bunch and then turn it off....I'm sure it draws a ton of electricity.

So I'm off to scorch!!! Yay!

Tabitha (aka Susan)

"Your request could not be processed...please try again..."

Does this drive anyone else bonkers or is it just me???? Usually takes 2 sometime 3 time to get a post through....even when I post on my own blog. Bleh!!!

Tabitha

Scorching!!

I have a question for all you wizard/witch crafters out there. Do most of you use paint or dye to simulate the old, worn brown edges of your papers, books, scrolls, etc.....or do you actually scorch the paper?

I've tried a candle to do this but always end up with my pieces up in flames, no matter how gently and carefully I do this. I have given up the flame approach and now use paints, stains and dyes to get the effect which is OK but not the same. I've tried using my soldering iron but that didn't work and now I'm thinking of using a wood burning tool if I can find one.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

Tabitha (aka Susan)

For Nikki....and all other fairie people...

This artist, Sue Ann Thwaite, aka Lady Bug, is a casual acquaintance of mine. I have seen her at many shows and dined with her last January at a Florida show. She is incredibly talented...able to make these tiny 1/4" scale fairies and accessories. She uses natural sticks and nuts casings and seeds and anything else she comes across.....pinecones and mosses and whatnot.

These are two custon fairy houses she did. I think they are amazing and great inspiration. Her website has many more wonderful things to admire.....and buy if you are of a mind. Or use for your own inspiration!

Welcome to the World Of Whimsy! http://www.ladybug-fairies.com/


This is a tiny fairy in a lipstick tube (I have one...it's adorable!) I have no idea how she makes these things so tiny, but I think these are made with fine wire dipped in glue and then painted.

Fascinating!


Tabitha (aka Susan)