Racing Bunnies.... Easter Magnets For The Fridge.

I thought I would include this rough sketch of how my projects begin. I almost always draw ideas out before I make them 3D real projects. I have three giant black sketch books for keeping these idea sketches in. Sometimes I'm surprised at how closely the actual project resembles the idea sketch. Do you have an idea book where you doodle projects that you want to complete? Having these books helps keep me motivated and organized, and I prefer these hands on real world idea books to the virtual variety. Although I must admit I do understand the lure of the pin.

:)

Products needed to complete this project:

STAEDTLER Fimo, 56g blocks in the following colours

1 chocolate -75

1 white -0

1effect light pink - 205

1effect lilac - 605

1effect aqua - 305

STEADTLER permanent black medium marker

Six heavy duty ¾ inch flat magnets

Tools needed to complete this project:

Basic plastic modelling tools

Non food use baking sheet

Oven

 Roll out the block of chocolate color FIMO soft clay into a six inch long snake. Cut the snake into three equal pieces and cut a half inch piece from the end of each piece. You will have three one and a half inch pieces and three half inch pieces.

 Form the larger snakes into flat pear shapes. These will be the bunny bodies. Roll out the half inch pieces into one quarter inch thick worms.  This worm can be divided into a tail and two ear pieces.

 Flatten two lengths of the quarter inch thick worms into ear shapes keeping the ends pointy. Smooth one end of each ear onto the head of the bunny and blend by gently rubbing the seam. Use the last bit of the quarter inch thick worm to make a flat teardrop shape for the tail. Push indents for eye sockets using a sculpting tool.  Pinch off a small amount of white clay and make two eye balls. Pinch off a teeny bit of pink clay and make a small triangle nose. Push the bunny onto a magnet so the magnet is embedded into the bunny’s belly flush with the clay edges. Bake according to manufacturer’s instructions. Allow them to cool.

 Using the STAEDTLER permanent marker, draw on pupils for the eyes.

 Cut two sections from the light pink, light blue and lilac FIMO effect clay and four sections from the white FIMO soft clay. Make worms of each of these colors and twist the worms together, re rolling and twisting until you are happy with the marbling. I rolled and twisted mine six times.

Cut this new pastel marble clay into three equal sections and form flat backed egg shapes from each section. Embed a magnet into each egg back as you did for the bunnies. Bake according to manufacturers package directions. Allow to cool. 

These little guys have been on our fridge for a while now and everyone who comes into our kitchen makes them speed up and down the fridge. These bunnies are built for speed!

I told you I was on a bunny kick..... only half way through the bunny obsession.

Stay tuned for more Bunny tails.

;)

In The Beginning There Was Hugo

I came across a box of old slides while I was reorganizing the studio. We watched them on the weekend in Mom's room. We turned out all the lights and loaded them into the old slide projector and saw the pictures on a sheet on Mom's wall.  It was a pretty good time. I highly recommend it.

We came across this pic of me when I was about 10 years old. Mom and Dad got me a Hugo! Master of Disguise doll. He came with all kinds of makeup and prosthesis you could apply to change his appearance. I can still smell the glue stick that came with him. He was awesome! This is proof ......  I can totally blame my parents for my bizarre Halloween obsession.

I obviously took those early experiences to heart. I have simply upgraded from a Hugo doll to a Mr. Jimmy. Did anyone else have one of these guys? 

(a Hugo doll.... not a Mr. Jimmy.)

;)

Studio Makeover Progress

This is seriously a load of work.

 The space is approximately 25 X 15 not including the fabric room. That's another 12 X 12 space that will store my fabric and patterns.

 I can already find things I need at a glance. 

 All the adhesives I could wish for on one shelf!

I've thrown out dozens of dried out or separated paints.... so sad.

A shelf just for glitter and sparkles.

 Oh and the beads and jewelry findings....

 There are ten drawers like these ones filled to overflow with earring clips and chains and jump rings and bezels and brooch backs.......

There has been heaps of progress. I know because of the thirty or so storage boxes I've emptied and recycled. It's still such a jumble though. I'm half excited about being able to use the space and half crippled by depression about the amount of work ahead of me before I can call it done. 

My chin is up...... I'm going back in! 

Wish me luck?

Spoiled With Maggie Cake

Maggs made us some delicious cake this weekend. I asked her where she got the recipe and she said. "Jeez Mom, I know how to make cake." She makes me laugh. I still use cake mixes because I can never seem to get a consistent result without one. Here she is at seventeen, not only just winging a basic cake recipe... but elaborating on it.

She's made it chocolate mint. Brown layer chocolate.... green layer mint. We were out of icing sugar so she used our tried and true method for 

no icing sugar icing. 

Cake and tea for breakfast anyone?

My Glowing Mushrooms are in Polymer Cafe Magazine!

I really enjoyed making this project and I got loads of technical help from everywhere. I couldn't have written the wiring instructions as clearly if my cousin Gavin hadn't told me the story of the bank teller and the Christmas lights.... um.... don't ask me to repeat it..... Our grocery store shipper and receiver, The Mighty Chris.....(Hi Chris!) helped out with  clearing up any confusing detail in my wiring sketch. Sometimes a simple project can get very very complicated when you try to write it down and I rely on many family and friends to proofread my instructions before they are submitted. I thank you Mom and Mr. Jimmy!!!

April 2012 Polymer Cafe Magazine has my instructions for my glowing mushroom driftwood mood light. 

The instructions start on page 44 and as always, if you have any questions just drop me a line here on the blog.

Here's a shot of the cover. Click on it to be taken to the publishers page and grab up your copy today.

Soft Chalks on Acrylic Ground for Pastel... or How to Relax With a Bunny Portrait

I have been enjoying some colour blending and thought I'd share. It's very relaxing.....

I guess it's no big surprise that I'm a bit of a STAEDTLER fan. I think one of my favorite things to play with to relax are their Karat soft chalk pastels.

I've been playing with them for ages. They're my go to feel good medium. I especially like to play if I have added some grit to my drawing surface. I use Golden acrylic ground for pastel to give my surfaces tooth. It's kind of like drawing on a fine sandpaper. The eye sketch above was the first time I used the two mediums together. It was about eight years ago? in Toronto at a course given by Golden to art instructors.

I usually add some colour to the acrylic base. This time I added a metallic pink.

I secured my thick paper to a flat surface until after this prep coat dried.

I like to leave brush strokes and I usually don't mix the paint up completely. I think added texture and colour make drawing more interesting.

I've added some colour and used a dry, soft, flat brush to blend the chalks into the background.

After the chalks are all filled in where I want them to be. I add some black lines to define the shapes. This time I grabbed my black STAEDTLER Karat watercolour crayon and scribbled onto some scrap paper.

I used my Heinz Jordan series 681 needle point brush to pick up the colour.

This is an awesome brush! It holds loads of paint and has the teeniest tip. I can paint forever without reloading and still get fabulous detail.

Here are some of the steps I took while blending out the chalks. There was no plan so there was nothing to stress about. I just played.....

Seriously addictive!

I think I need a series of bunny folk for the hallway now.

Monday Night Mehndi With Maggs

 When the girls were little, we did mehndi or henna tattoos in the spring. I haven't been able to find a good supplier lately so we haven't done it in ages. We picked Maggs up a gorgeous kit online and were going to give it to her on her birthday but I couldn't wait.

Here's what she did to her left hand. She's fabulous! I started her off by making the flower in the center for her but she built off of that and did the rest.

It really looks like a piece of beautiful lace draped across her hand. 

Here she is working on some curly cues and dots to fill the design in. You can faintly see an old design under the new black henna. We're relearning. It's like icing a cake. Loads of fun!

This is what I made on the inside of my wrist. I think it looks like a fish flower. These designs will darken up over the next few days and we'll add some progress shots to you can see what happens. Henna is pretty cool. 

Have you played with Henna?

*EDIT*

Here are a couple shots of the second day. You can see how much darker the henna on my inner wrist got in one night.

Here is Maggie's arm. I really like how hers turned out. We'll Have to experiment more this summer. I'm working out a design in my head that involves an octopus.

I got this very cool Mehndi kit from an ETSY seller. Redwood Henna. Their instructions were very easy to follow and the scent they have mixed up for their kits is gorgeous.

Colourful Gel Nails

These are my natural nails with a splashy gel topcoat.

 I've added some of the flower and leaf canes I've made using STAEDTLER Fimo.

 I made some white nail polish dots too just to dress things up.

Here are the flower and leaf cane slices before I embedded them in the UV gel.

This is George..... He thinks the flowers are for him.

Silly kitten!

New Things

I've been working away on these very one of a kind face moulds. I am adding them to the many prizes that the Lovely April will be sharing at her 

Fabulous All Things Crafty Retreat.  

April is one of my STAEDTLER Design Team Sisters and her work is gorgeous and full of heart just like April herself. 

The retreat is in March and I hear there are still four spots open for some lucky art types. Read up and if you're in her neck of the woods (Arkansas) and needing a crafty getaway to keep things sane, you should contact her and reserve your spot!

Here are the goods inside the two kits I'm sending along to be given away as prizes. There is also a two page full colour pictorial included in each kit. 

It's going to be a ball. Wish I could join you!

Snow Day Art

I came home for lunch today to find that It was declared a SNOW DAY!!!!!

My dining room held a gaggle of school girls completing an art project. They had to complete a self portrait with colour. One girl picked STAEDTLER Karat pastels and went to town filling in and blending the pastels into each other. Great job!!!

 

 My Maggs decided to use STAEDTLER Karat chalks after she sketched herself out into a mirror image.

Maggs blended the chalks with a dry paintbrush. The girls did a great job. I'm so proud of them. I think STAEDTLER might be helping me be a better Mom. They sure were happy to be able share my gorgeous art supplies. 

 

Thanks STAEDTLER!!!