I Have A Mold Problem!!

***I have had so many requests to upload Baa-Little Lamb's pattern that I have decided to put it back on my blog at least until Easter. I then plan on selling it in my Etsy store. Please do not pin it to pinterest but for personal use only. The tutorial and pattern can be found here. A BIG thank you to everyone that loves this pattern. It is very dear to my heart.

Well...actually it's a molding problem. I love molding clay!!!

I am taking a much needed little break from life, even if it is only for a few minutes to write an entry. I guess when you can't remember your password to log in and write a post then you have been away too long. I know most of you don't know this but my 8 year old decided to open up an Etsy store last November. Little did we know that it would take off like it did these past few months, both online and locally. I believe that we have made over 1000 pencils since February. That's a lot of gluing. Things have slowed down a bit and I can breath a little. We are going to take it a little easy until school lets out and then we will work on updating her store. She has a lot of cute ideas she wants to try: homemade playdough, hand stamped pencils, hand rolled pencils, etc. This should keep us busy this summer :) Fun times! Meanwhile I have started on a new little adventure that I am really enjoying. I have started sculpting polymer clay again. I love that I can work on a piece, set it aside and then come back and work on it some more. You do have to bake polymer clay instead of letting it air dry. I have been studying a lot of youtube videos. There are some really good ones out there. They have tips on which little oven (your kitchen oven works great, too) to purchase, what kind of glazes to use, how to make certain characters, etc.  Here's a few of the charms/characters that I have made. Some are from tutorials and some are my own designs.

Clay all nicely packaged, just waiting to be turned into something awesome!!

Clay after it has been conditioned (soften with heat of you hands and then knead it until it is workable about 1 minute). This is the start of Scooby Doo and Gang.

I like to draw what I am making first and then go by the drawing. You can also paint on polymer clay. See Woody's hat in the upper left corner.

Some charms before baking. All of these were made using tutorials. Top left, clockwise, Ralukkuma (Japanese Cat), Molang (Japanese bunny-white), hampster (colored using chalk pastels), mushrooms, rabbit (using tutorial from guinea pig), & a guinea pig.

On baking sheet waiting to go in the oven. Woody bottom left corner, used tutorial on youtube for Woody.

Q-tip (3inches) in the picture to show scale of charms. Panda and two girls are my own design. The house is from Disney's movie UP. It is taking me a while to finish it. The cheese at top is really the dormer for the house. Can you spot the tiny mummy? 

Woody, Evil Minion, and baby Stitch.

Isn't this guy hysterical!! His hair is purple wool roving.

Bunny chan and panda chan are my own designs. I think that they look so sweet. Their eyes are tiny pieces of clay.

Hope you enjoyed this little peek of what I have been up to. Now it's off to go and visit/catch up with your blogs,

Holly

Hear Ye, Hear Ye...Merry Men & Women Ahead

Update: Robin Hood, Maid Marian and Rub-A-Dub-Dub have all been sold thanks to a wonderful Etsy customer!

Cupcakecutie asked me a question on my comment section back on the 18th and I just now found it. I am so sorry. So, I hope she is reading this. She wanted to know where I got my hedgehog and mushroom sewing pins that were on an previous post. I made them. I don't really sell the pins by themselves, usually only with the pincushion. I have an Etsy store: http://www.cottonpickinfun.etsy.com/ and my pincushions, clothespin dolls among other things are on there. I believe that I state in my Etsy "rules" that I don't ship internationally, but I will. I am just not sure how much to charge for shipping and have never shipped anything out of the United States, so it may take me more that my normal of shipping "within 48 hrs of receiving payment". If you can bear with my slowness (aka ignorance) then by all means, convo me on Etsy and maybe we can make it work. So sorry Cupcakecutie (btw: love the name).

Today I am going to show you Robin Hood's better half. No....not Little John. Maid Marian. I wanted very much to put a diamond on her "hand", because you know that Robin Hood popped the question and he must have used some of the spoils for an engagement ring. Well, maybe I will, the diamond could easily be taken off if someone didn't want it. It would be so cute:)

I had a hard time designing her dress. I really wasn't sure what I wanted it to look like, but I knew the princess cone would have lace coming out of it. That just exudes Fair Maiden. The color was really hard. Pink is a princess color, so technically she could be a princess instead of Maid Marian. That would be really cute, but I like her with Robin Hood. They look so sweet together. I hand embroidered her dress and everything else is hand stitched, also.

Above: Maid Marian

Above: embroidered accents and pearl accents.

Above: Lost in the Sherwood Forest?

Above: No...here's her hero.

Above: stopping to say "hello" to Patrick Gnome.

Above: Rub-A-Dub-Dub...two mice in a tub. The two towels are real and the bar of soap is clay. The little towel in fluffy brother's paws is also real.

Above: sweet little brothers have just finished their bath. One already has a towel dried head and he looks surprised at his "do".

Above:Must haves at bath time: Mr. Bubble and rubber ducky. I knew that I wanted to make Mr. Bubble container for the mice but didn't know what else to make. Because I love to send two sewing pins with my pincushions, I had to put on my thinking cap. I thought about a toothbrush, hair bush, a bubble, bar of soap, etc. When I asked D#2, she immediately said "A rubber ducky, of course!"  That is one clever kid, I hadn't even thought of that. She was very impressed with this mini ducky. It is 3/4" by (a hair taller than) 1/2". Mr.Bubble is about the same.

The brothers are tiny too-small non fluffy one 1"x1", actually that is the size of what you can see. The fluffy brother is 1 1/4" x 1 1/4". Both mice are fully "bodied", meaning they have legs and feet and are fully "furred". I didn't put a tail on them because it seemed to really get in the way of the pincushion bath water. The teacup is an antique one. It is one of my favorites. I love the detail on the cup. The cup and saucer are bonded together.

Thank you so much for looking,

Have a great night and I will get that flocking tut up soon. Dear hubby has to take my camera to work Thurs, so I had better get it done tomorrow,

Holly

Fur and Tails

The little mice are so fun to make. I have ideas coming out of my ears and can't make them fast enough! I am so absorbed (addicted) in making them that on some days I have totally forgotten to eat lunch. I now pay more attention to the clock. D#2 is picked up from preschool around 1pm and I don't want to be late. Guess it sounds like I have made 100s of these little guys. Well.....no. It is mainly a trial and error process that has taken a few attempts to get it "right". Some of the dear little mice looked like DNA gone bad-mice with huge heads, arms and legs missing, ears too small, mange, among other horrors. One little mouse takes several days to complete. Glue, paint and clear coats take a while to throughly dry and then putting the "fur" on takes a while for me to be happy with it. I trim fur, add more, find bald patches-add more fur, and then trim some more. Below are some of the better looking mice. These are the "keepers".

Above: Three blind mice, not really. Three mice climbing on a pincushion. The lower mouse needs some bald spots covered. He is the WIP (work-in-progress). I haven't done his final flocking.

Above: It is very hard to take clear photos of these little guys. My micro setting automatically flashes (unable to turn off) and won't let me use the brightness button instead of the flash. I used two different clays on the two mice and I like the one on the right better. In person it looks more realistic. Yes...that is a real thimble. The brothers are less than 1 1/2" tall. The right mouse is a little smaller. D#1 claimed him. So I am not going to put him on Etsy. She wants me to make clothes for him!?!? Like the mice on Cinderella-Jasper and GusGus. Maybe I need some smaller hands.

Above: Looks like someone is getting helped into the thimble.

Above: He fits.

Above: Little mouse with hand sculpted thimble on his head. Tomato is made out of recycle wool and leaves are wool felt. Stuffing is wool and synthetic.

Above: He is 1 3/4" from toes to top of thimble.

Have a great rest of the day and gather up some mice to help you with your sewing, many hands make light work!

Holly

Playing with Clay....

I love working with polymer clay. I love how a big lump of "nothing" can become anything - from smiling fruit to tiny spoons to realistic looking animals. I am not much of a realistic type of crafter. I prefer cutesy & whimsical stuff. More like Mary Engelbreit than Thomas Kinkade. I really, really love cutesy, whimsical realistic. What's that? Well.....it's giving ordinary things (animals or inanimate objects) personality. Such as, The Secret of Nimh or The Brave Little Toaster. Speaking of The Secret of Nimh, I always loved the little momma mouse and the mouse family's underground home. It was a sad movie to me, though. Many years ago I happened upon a tiny collection of mice figurines at a shop called The Mole Hole (love the name). I instantly fell in love with the tiny little creatures-they reminded me so much of The Secret of Nimh. The one big problem was -they were so expensive. I did end up buying one and have treasured it to this day. 

  

Above: Wee Forest Folk figurine. You can barely make out the owl in the hole in the tree. Miss Mousy  is just under 1" tall. So tiny. I have always wanted to a mouse similar to her. I haven't made any that small yet, but I have made some around 1 1/2" tall. I am now "flocking" them with fur. All that means is that I am adhering fur to them. I think that they look much cuter and it is easier to hide flaws.

Above: Lump of clay already prepped and ready to go.

Above: I sketched a profile of the mouse that I want to make. The jelly bean looking thing on the bottom right is his body. 

Above: His head.

Above: Pen in picture to show scale.

I have finished sculpting several mice and am in the process of flocking them. I will post them when they are finished. Maybe tomorrow.

Have a great rest of the day and don't forget to keep those hands busy,

Holly

Cheep.....Cheep.....

Baby bunnies, sweet baby lambs, baby birds, little baby calves and really just about "anything" baby. I say just about because there are some babies that are not very pretty to look at, ex. baby flies. Enough said, just wanted to clarify that. I really, really love baby chicks.

Once upon a very long time ago, my sweet middle sister gifted me some baby chicks and I fell in love with them. Don't tell her but I was also terrified of them. I didn't know how to raise a baby chick. Even though I had already raised two children from babyhood to (at the time) 6 and 7 yr olds , baby chicks were a whole different story. I just knew that they were not going to last very long. Well they survived the 6, yes 6 hour trip back to our little farmhouse in Mississippi. And they did "cheep" they whole way home. The chicks did survive to teenhood and then some unseen force let them out of their pen. One escaped rooster found his way to a nursing home much to the delight of the residents. We never did claim him, didn't have the heart to, the residents had adopted him. Not sure where the others ended up...... We did get some replacement chicks and for the next several years they provided us with eggs and amusement. Maybe one day I can fill you in on the rest of the stories--warning there are a lot. One example, we found out that "Rooster" didn't like umbrellas or actually the flapping motion of one opening and closing. Great story behind that discovery.

I have been working on a Spring pincushion. I think it turned out pretty cute, because it is a baby chick after all. And as soon as I attach it to the base I am going to list it on Etsy- tomorrow (?).

Above: Start out with this.....

Above: and you can end up with this.

FYI: the roll of pink ribbon is just a prop. Not included in the design.

Above: Little chick is made out of yarn with fun accents. If you maximize the picture, you can see the detail on the grass. Little blades of grass.

Above: Vintage wool and vintage ric rac, ribbon rosettes, feather stitching with french knot buds.

Above: feather stitching with the french knots, which I can do correctly after trying about 30 times, practice makes perfect :)

Above: side view, her eyes are not glued in yet. I am not sure about the size of them....I believe that they need to be bigger. Let me know your thoughts.

Above: Jelly beans, hand sculpted from polymer clay. Really, everything was handmade. Of course I didn't spin the yarn (bummer-would love to try though) or make the wool (double bummer-would love to try that also--note to self--look for good used loom and spinning wheel :).

That's all for today, tomorrow after lunch my time I will be drawing the winner's name, so if you haven't left a comment yet, do so on this post.

Please don't forget to exercise the creative side of your brain

and don't forget to do something fun, like spinning yarn or loom something,

Holly

A Guessing Contest & Cutie Fruities....

Gonna do something fun with these little cuties. They are so sweet. I can't believe how well they turned out. Hopefully they will be strong enough for what I want to use them for. I will just leave you with a little teaser and give some hints: there are zippers, thread, fabric and ribbon involved. Leave a comment before Saturday telling me what you think it might be and I will put your name in a hat and draw the winner. There is no limit on how many times you can enter or guess. More entries = greater chance of winning :))  The winner will receive one of what I am making =D

Here's to you- I can't wait to read your guess(es),

Always havin' fun in the craft studio );D

Holly

Shhhh....a little secret

I am going to share a secret with you today. I received a question asking about putting the little polymer clay sculptures on to the sewing pins. I will share with you what I have found out. It is best to use glass head pins. The long ones- about 2". Glass heads do not melt, like the plastic ones.

Above: Glass head pin

Below: I start by shaping the base around the glass head:

Above: Keep shaping until head is covered.

Above: then I use an x-acto knife to tap around the pin because there is usually a small hole that will form around the base of the pin. Sometimes I add a small disc of polymer clay and tap that around the base of the pin. Finish sculpting and then bake or air dry according to the directions.

Above: here is the finished pin. I am not an expert on these, but I have found that these techniques work great for me. Go ahead and make some and then post them and send me your link. I would love to see them.

Above: Here is a cherry pin that has a small hole where the sewing pin is protruding. The polymer clay is keeping the pin from moving around, so the larger hole is not an issue. I do like to cover up the hole, but I didn't see it before I baked it and sealed it.

Above: Here is Ms. Library and Miss Sweet Shop. These are two new dolls that I will try to put up on Etsy (http://www.cottonpickinfun.etsy.com/)  tonight. I do have plans on making a baker doll. So stay tuned.....

Above: Close up of faces. Ms Library has glasses and a sensible wool skirt. Her blouse will have a cameo broach and polymer clay buttons for the back of the skirt. I will post all of those as soon as I can bake and finish them.     On top of her book will be a polymer clay date stamp. I need to go and bake it before I can place it on top of the book she is holding. Miss Sweet Shop has some delicious strawberry glazed donuts for you. She did add some sugar on top of them. The tray is also polymer clay paint with silver metallic paint. I have showed you the donuts before. They were in a previous post.

Above: Their pedestals, Ms Library has books at her feet.

Above: Not a very good pic. These are the buttons, broach and date stamp for Ms. Library. I hope that you found this post a little useful. I love making the clay pins and love designing them. I am going to try and always include them with the pin cushions that I make. I think that the two combined make a wonderful gift.

Have a great day and keep those fingers busy,

Holly