Daffodil Nails

I did a back fill on my silver nails from a few weeks ago and decided it was time to add a bit of spring to their icy colour scheme.

I used STAEDTLER karat soft pastel chalks to colour my acrylic powders. Here's a tutorial on the process in case anyone missed it. 

There are so many colour choices using this chalk method for adding colours to my acrylics that all I can think about is making a full spring flower garden on my nails. I think I need longer nails so I can have more room to decorate.... or maybe I should be using this technique with the super softened STAEDTLER Fimo and create some jewelry pieces. Whatever I decide to do, I'd better hurry up and do it! The real flowers will be up and poking their heads through the soil before I know it.

Hope you can sense the spring where you are too.

My goodness it's been a long winter.

Silver Stiletto Nails

I used 4 different sizes and shapes of iridescent glitter, some teeny silver glass beads and a bit of STAEDTLER's silver metal powder in these stiletto nails.

I't so hard to get the shimmer of the glitter in a photograph.I tried a few different light sources to see if I could catch some of it for you.

I dotted some silver polish onto the smile line for now. I'm planning some 3D flowers for these nails later.

You can see some of the holographic glitter in this shot but it still isn't even close to the real glitz.

They look all icy. I'm going to be adding a bit of spring to them soon enough.

Hope you're all keeping warm.

Simplicity 7048 With a Groovy Fabric

I really do enjoy a good retro or vintage pattern, and this one popped out of my pattern cupboard at me. I also remembered some 70's style cotton I had stashed away. I think the two are a perfect match.

I remember Mom wearing these dresses when I was little and I've been wanting to make a few of my own with handy pockets and a bit of a shorter hemline. 

I added a pocket to the left front bodice piece.

I also trimmed the generous 70's collar to a peter pan shape and removed some of the seam allowance  to thin it out a bit.

I'll probably wear the collar open but I think it will also be adorable closed with a pin.

I really love the shape of this dress. The waist and shoulder darts are perfectly placed. I did shorten the sleeves and may add a same fabric tie belt too. Not sure yet. I'm also still deciding on the button style. Might have to make some out of Fimo?

What's your favorite vintage/retro pattern?

Painting Pansies with Super Softened STAEDTLER Fimo

I've really been hooked on painting with thinned out STAEDTLER Fimo these past few weeks. I've also been loving the hearts. I wanted to share how these pansies were done (thanks for the request) as well as the base heart for the project. So here goes..... 

Another Rose, Painting with Polymer Clay

I've been playing with many different ways to make flowers lately, and wanted to share this step by step pictorial tutorial. It's pretty much the same method I've covered in the video here, but the clay in this tutorial is a bit firmer. 

I love the translucent shimmer of the STAEDTLER Fimo Effect Rose Quartz colour #206

I also used # 505 Pastel mint, # 305 Pastel aqua, and #052 glitter white.

I filled my metal bezel with a dome of #305 pastel aqua and baked it in a preheated 230 degree oven for 20 minutes and allowed it to cool before I made the leaves and flower. I then used #505 pastel mint to make green flattened teardrop shapes and flatten them out with a soft but firm round paintbrush. A number 4 or 6 will work best and I like to use the Heinz Jordan Synthetic mongoose brushes. I used a toothpick to draw lines in the leaves and baked the piece again for another 15 minutes to set the leaves. Be sure to allow the piece to cool after baking.

Will the Real Toad in a Hole Stand Up Please?

Growing up in Canada with British, Scottish (and a dozen or so other nationalities thrown in for good measure) ancestry, I've had the good fortune to have some seriously good home cooks in our family. (Not to mention a few world class Chefs). I've always, always called an egg fried in the middle of a cut out piece of bread, a toad in a hole. I've recently been re-educated.... Informed by a very rightly informed informer, that a toad in a hole, is in fact..... This!

It's Yorkshire pudding with a halved sausage stuck in.

Soooooo Delicious!

I made a traditional Yorkshire pudding batter:

1 cup of flour

1/2 cup of water

1/2 cup of milk

2 eggs

dash of salt

I beat it up and let it rest.

Then I put a tsp of olive oil and 1/4 tsp of butter in each of twelve muffin holes in a muffin tin. 

I heated the oily muffin pan up for five minutes in a preheated 400 degree oven until it was bubbling.

Then I quickly poured in the batter half way up each muffin cup and sploched in a halved precooked sausage into each tin along with a cherry tomato. Do this very quickly. You don't want the fat to cool down or you'll lose the rise of the batter.

 I baked it at 400 for 35 minutes then turned it down to 350 and baked it for another 10 minutes.

Serve them right away. They are popovers and will deflate if left too long. But it's not terrible if they deflate. They're just as delicious. Just not as beautiful.

You soooooo have to make these!

They are in fact, the true toad in a hole.

I'll call the other ..... a bird in the nest form now on?

What do you call the eggy toast fry thing?

Heart of Gold... and Blue and Silver and White...

Here's a very simple Valentines set made using STAEDTLER push molds and STAEDTLER Fimo Effect clay. These are a mixture of Fimo Effect translucent and metallic gold swirled together to make a marbled effect. I used the push molds to make each halves of the heart beads, then I joined them together before baking and curing the pieces. 

I sanded the heart beads after they were hardened to make them super smooth.

I also made some super simple beads. Just balls of clay with holes. 

I made swirly beads by turning a worm of clay around a toothpick and baking it. 

This set are made using STAEDTLER Fimo Effect Translucent blue, sparkle white and metallic silver. 

I think I like the cool icy colours a bit more.

Hope you're having a cozy weekend in. 

We're getting hit again with another frosty dumping of the white stuff.

A good opportunity to play with my clay.

:D

How to Paint 3D Roses Using Super Softened STAEDTLER Fimo

Excited to share the video on Painting 3D Roses with Super Softened STAEDTLER Fimo.

It's a nail technician's technique, applied to polymer clay.

I love that this Fimo version of the rose allows me time to play with the shapes. The acrylic powder and liquid that I use to create 3D nail art has a very fast cure time and I always feel rushed. 

This really is a very versatile way to make delicate blossoms. 

Can't wait to hear what you think of it.

Super Softened STAEDTLER Fimo: Filling a Textured Surface

I've been playing with a heap of new ideas the last little while and am excited to share what I've learned. I use super softened STAEDTLER fimo for a load if techniques and am pleased a punch at the results. This tutorial for filling a textured surface is the first of many tutorials using this  ultra soft clay mix. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Here's a video showing how I make the softened clay. It's not long and I'd love to hear your thoughts. I know the miniature food creators out there use softened clay to make whipped cream toppings and sauces for their teeny delectable. I use mine as a dimensional paint.

I've also been using it to fill textured surfaces. It gives a nice detailed pattern with a smooth as silk finished surface.

On the Wings of Love... Sorry, couldn't help myself!

I made these for the first time almost a decade ago, but I remake them almost every February to get ready for Valentines Day! Thought it was about time I shared them with you.

Materials used to create these pieces:

STAEDTLER Fimo effect clay in 

#08 metallic mother of pearl, 

#28 metallic colour ruby red, 

#81 metallic colour silver,

various jewelry findings to assemble the pieces

ear hooks

leather cord

and any clasps, closures, crimps or jump rings you'll need.

Tools needed to create these pieces:

Basic fimo sculpting set

STAEDTLER Fimo heart push mold

toothpicks

parchment paper

First I made some spacer beads that looked like little crowns. I flattened a ball of silver clay and poked a hole through the middle with a toothpick. Then I made teeny balls of silver clay and set them firmly around the side of each flattened ball bead.

Next I made the winged hearts. I freehand cut out some wings from a 1/4cm thick sheet of mother of pearl clay. My wings were about 5cm wide and about 2.5cm tall. I set two toothpicks near the middle of the wings and used a STAEDTLER Fimo heart mold to make a 3cm wide heart from the metallic red clay. I sandwiched the toothpicks between the wings and the heart. Make sure to twist the toothpicks to make sure they'll come out easily after baking. Bake the pieces in a 230 degree, preheated oven on a parchment lined baking sheet for 20 minutes and allow them to cool.

I strung the leather cord down through one toothpick hole in the heart and up through the other. Then I took both ends of the cord and put them through a crown bead. You can tie the ends of the cord so it will fit easily over your head, or you can add crimps and a lobster claw closure to the ends to finish the piece.

I made the earrings in much the same way. The winged hearts only have one toothpick hole. I added a round silver bead to finish the bottom of the piece and hold the earring together. 

Happy almost warmish weather sometime soon?

We were at -20 something today..... GAH!!!!