The March Hare.

Here's a really simple Easter Brooch to make with the kids. 

Things you'll need to make this piece:

STAEDTLER Fimo air basic in white

Basic sculpting tools

paper towels

Acrylic paint in pink, a flesh tone, black and white

several small paint brushes

white glue

pink sparkles

E6000 jewelry adhesive

Large brooch back

Roll out a 5cm ball of clay and flatten it onto your work surface. I work on parchment paper because it's so easy to clean up.

Make two worms and attach them to the top of the flattened ball to make ears. Blend the seam where the clay meets by gently rubbing with a damp piece of paper towel.

I used my finger nail inside the damp paper towel as a sculpting tool. I made a ridge just inside the edge of the flattened clay ball.

I used my stylus tool to make a smile. You can use a pencil tip if you don;t have a stylus.

Next I drew some eyes and eyebrows. Keep everything smooth by cleaning the surface of sculpting debris with a damp paper towel.

I rolled a small ball of clay for the nose and stuck it right there in the middle of the face. Let this dry overnight.

Paint the bunny suit part of the brooch any colour you'd like. I chose pink.

Colour in the skin any fleshy tone you think will work.

After the paint is dry, add a coat of white glue to the bunny suit and sprinkle glitter over it. Let it dry and add a second coat of glue and glitter if you want to.

Paint in the eye nose and mouth details using a fine brush

Leave a thin black edge around each eye and fill the center in with white.

Add a black dot to the middle of each eye.

I also added a fleck of white to the top right corner of each pupil to add a gleam of light. Use a soft brush to drybrush some pink onto the apple of each cheek. Dry brushing is easy.... Dab a teeny bit of paint onto the tip of your soft brush and rub most of it off by painting in circles onto your pallet paper. When you have most of the paint off of the brush you can swirl it over face again and again until a thin soft bit of colour begins to show up.

Add a brooch to the back of the piece and voila..... you have a cute festive brooch to wear over the Easter Holiday.

Blue Cheese Burgers

We made burgers filled with blue cheese yesterday and they were delicious so I figured we'd share the process.

You will need:

2 pounds of ground lean beef

1 pound of seasoned sausage meat

1 1/2 cups of bread crumbs

1/2 cup of A1 sauce

3 eggs

3 strips of extra thick bacon minced

1/2 cup of blue cheese crumbled

salt and pepper to taste

Mix everything but the blue cheese together in a big bowl. Make golf ball sized balls from the meat mixture.

Flatten the balls and crumble some blue cheese, about a tbsp for each burger into the center of a patty. Cover with another patty and press the edges shut to seal in the cheese.

Bake them or bbq them or fry them..... whatever you prefer.

We made our own buns using 

our tried and true bread recipe.

Mom made some delicious potato salad and beet salad. It was a feast! We added mushrooms and dill sauce made by Maggs to the burgers but not much else. They were really delicious but way too filling. We'll have to figure out how to make the buns less substantial..... or hollow them out. 

I'm still full. 

Do you guys have a favorite hamburger recipe?

Pillows and Pals.....Cake and Computers..... or, There's Someone at the Backdoor!

Lynne and Neil just posted this photo of the finished bed including the pillows we made here. It also includes a shot of a textural acrylic painting I did years ago and almost forgot about. It's a perfect setting, calm and serene. Makes me want to cuddle up and snuggle in.

Every once and a while (too long in between) we will have a crafty day / dinner party with some close friends. Today was a day like that and it was a gorgeous day for it. Sunny and warm. We shared some drinks and ideas and some good food (too much good food!) and ended up with very productive day.

This is what Lynne and I made! The fabric in the back is what we were trying to co ordinate. The couch under the pillows just happened to be the same colours. 

Lynne usually comes prepared with planned out ideas of what she wants to create. This time it was four pillow covers. She brought some fabrics she saved from shortening curtains and we raided my fabric stash. We even included some fabric that we used to make the boys vests at her wedding. We sketched out some plans and included measurements. 

Measured six times and cut once...... Sewing math can be complicated. We had nine pieces for the front panel on one pillow and we had to account for seam allowances between every fabric change. But we totally succeeded! It was perfect and we love it!

We just made sure to make it a little bit bigger than we needed and trimmed off what we didn't need. It's much easier to take away than add. 

I think Lynne came up with some pretty cool designs and the colours are great together. We even matched up the grain in the linen. There was a shot through the fabrics at even intervals and we managed not to bung up keeping it all even.

Brace your self.....

This next picture isn't for the faint of heart.

Men reading instructions!!!!!!!

The fabulous Neil of LOD Consulting is our go to computer guy.

He is pretty much a wiz! Mr. Jimmy consulted him about building a new computer and the parts came in last week. The boys spent the day putting it all together and then started on Mom's computer...... Mom's is going to take a bit more than a day unfortunately, but we're working on it. Before she knows it she'll have a new computer all filled up with family photos and art pictures. 

Maggs whipped up another one of her delicious deserts. I don't know how she does it. No recipe. Just throws stuff in a bowl, decorates it and voila..... she's made another drool worthy delectable. This one is a chocolate orange cake with Orange and condensed milk glaze.

It was a really great day. We have to make this a more than once a year deal.

Hope you guys are having a great weekend too!

Bunny Sweater Brooch..... or Still Chasing The March Hare.

I'm a big fan of 1950's fashion. I own many cardigans and thought what a better way to dress up a cardi for Easter than to add a bunny on wheels pin. This is a pretty easy project and would make a great gift for any cardigan wearing relatives this spring season. Hope you like it as much as I do!

Products needed to complete this project:

STAEDTLER Fimo, 56g blocks in the following colours

1 soft chocolate -75

1 soft white -0

1 effect light pink - 205

1 effect aqua - 305

1 effect light yellow – 

Staedtler permanent black medium marker

12 gold color eye pins

20 gauge wire

Two one inch gold brooch backs

E6000 jewellery adhesive

Tools needed to complete this project:

Basic plastic modelling tools and roller tool

Double round nose pliers with wire cutter

Non food use baking sheet

Oven

 Roll out the shapes you will need to make the bunny out of FIMO soft chocolate. You will have one body, one back leg, one tail and one ear. Use the pictures to help you create the shapes. Place the front leg onto the bunny body as shown blending the back edge of the front leg into the body.

Roll out some FIMO effects aqua to a 1/8 inch thick sheet and press a piece of textured ribbon or fabric onto it. Cut ¼ inch wide strips of this ribbon clay. Place a piece of the ribbon clay onto the neck area of the bunny body to act as a collar.

Assemble the rest of the bunny by adding the back leg, the tail and the ear as shown.

Roll small lengths of the ribbon clay around the end of a knitting needle or pencil tip to form curls of a bow. Place these curls to look like a tied bow.

Roll out some yellow clay to make a rectangle that will fit along the bottom edge of the bunny. Cover a one inch thick worm of aqua effect clay with a ¼ inch thick sheet of yellow clay. Trim the yellow clay to be even with the aqua worm and roll to smooth.

 Slice two ¼ inch thick discs of the yellow wrapped aqua worm to make tires for the toy. Place a small ball of yellow in the middle of each tire and flatten.

 Make a half egg using the FIMO soft white clay that is about an inch wide by an inch and a half long. Adorn the egg in aqua color ribbon clay as you did the bunny.

Push the sharp end of a head pin into the front of the yellow bar beneath the bunny and into the bottom of the decorated egg just under the ribbon.

Make a worm from the aqua clay and the yellow clay that are about ¼ inch thick. Cut equal segments from each that are about ¼ inch long. Roll these segments into balls and then pierce them with a length of 20 gauge wire to form beads. You will need 10 beads, 5 of each color. Bake these pieces according to the package instructions and allow to cool.

To assemble the pieces, put a headpin through each of the beads and using the double round nose pliers turn a circle in the other end of each pin. Join these head pins with beads into an alternating yellow, aqua bead chain. Attach one end to the bunny and the other to the eggs headpin. Don’t forget to add a pupil in the eye using a permanent marker.

Use the E6000 jewellery adhesive to attach the brooch pins to the backs of the egg and bunny pieces and let them dry.

Still haven't caught up to that March hare! I'm getting closer though. Lets see how many bunny projects it takes for me to catch up with him.

Comic Book Nail Art

 

Removed the red tipped Fimo cane slice Gel nails and decided on just a fancy polish on short nails for this week. I'm working away on some detailed sculpting projects that require stubby bail lengths. I've jumped on the comic book superhero nail art bandwagon. 

Here's the right hand in action. I usually don't post pics of this hand. The nail art isn't always the best because it's done by my left hand. I'm right handed but can use my left for most things unless it's very detailed. I took this picture by accident and decided to include it as an example. I haven't cleaned up the slopped polish on my fingers yet. Do you guys have problems painting that other pesky hand?

Racing Bunny Bangle......

Sometimes while you're working on a project you can suddenly see some of the components as something else. The Racing Bunny Magnets morphed into a bracelet during their construction. One design with two finished projects. 

Do you ever morph projects like this?

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

Elastic beading thread

Tools needed to complete this project:

Basic plastic modelling tools

Toothpick or skewer

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 snake piece. You will have three one and a half inch pieces and three half inch pieces.

Form the larger snake pieces into flat bottom 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 some 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 a 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.

Use a toothpick or a skewer to make holes sideways through the bunnies at the neck and hip. 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, aqua 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. Make two holes sideways through each egg as you did for the bunnies. 

Roll out some white FIMO soft into a ¼ inch worm. Cut ¼ inch sections from the worm and roll them into bead shapes. Use a toothpick or a skewer to poke holes through each bead. You will need 12 white beads. Bake according to manufacturers package directions. Allow to cool. 

Cut two 12 inch lengths of elastic cord. One cord is for the top hole and one for the bottom of each bunny and egg bead. Add small white beads between each larger bead to add length to the bracelet. Tie off the elastic using three or four knots when all the beads have been added and snip off the loose ends. Hide the knots inside a bead.

Still searching for the March Hare! 

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.)

;)