The Countdown Begins........

New Year's Eve...full of parties, fun and celebration. Dressing up in your finest, checking your hair and makeup, one last time.

Arriving at the 'intimate' get-together, ready to party. (but darling, that headpiece IS abit much!)

Yep, maybe better to be a 'cone-head' like some of these guests

A word to the wise ~ something like this could happen...

.....if you drink too much!

However you spend your New Year's Eve, I wish you a happy and safe one and also wish that all your dreams for the New Year come true!

Happy New Year's Eve!

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Love Is All You Need

I hope everyone had a truly wonderful Christmas day, however you may have observed and celebrated it.

The above video showcases 156 countries coming together at the same time for the Starbucks Love Project. Please double click on the video above to take you to the video on Youtube, as your view will be counted and Starbucks will contribute to the global fight against aids in Africa.

From Me To You

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Isn't this scene adorable? Love the one shoe/one stocking on and the other being hung....with such care, hope and anticipation. And the little bare bottom is priceless!

I'm presently in a flurry of wrapping - trying to get done before our daughters arrive home this afternoon, but want to wish everyone that celebrates Christmas a joyous and enchanted day full of love, family and friendship. I wish that the day is everything you hope it to be.

Love and Peace

Seasonal Tidbits.....or Randomness

I'm working on a couple of pieces at the moment that can not be shown here (at least before Christmas) and thought I would share some cool and maybe not so cool pics with you.

"Santa Claus" shown above is from 1885. He looks like he has just come in from tending to his reindeer. I wonder if his jacket is red? Somehow I think it is is deep loden green.

Gift ideas for friends have certainly changed

Methinks this little gal from 1901 is NOT impressed with her Christmas gift.

How many of you that were snowbound this weekend got outside and built a snowman? Or made snowangels? I hope some of you did!

A unique (you could say OOAK, and you could also say, "ewwwww!") gift for that person that has everything!

When I first saw this image I thought this woman was standing with an elaborately dressed doll! Check out the muffs both are carrying!

I've never thought of putting the garland on the tree so that it would look rather webby. Must learn to think outside the box more!

And last, but definitely not least ....how to make a statement at your office Christmas party!

Ornies, Snowman and a Prince(???)

WIP pic of the snowman, "My Prince?" kindred and a papiermache snowman ornie (in the background below).

Both the kindred and the snowman are polymer clay over a foil armature. The upsided down snowman ornament behind them is commercial papier mache from Spain over a burnt out lightbulb.

I did these after the snowman and was running out of glitter - next time I will glitter-them-up more!

Snowman, stands approximately 8" tall. Painted, "antiqued" and glittered......

The kindred piece, "My Prince?" was done for a person that collects frogs. Polymer, paint, mohair and antique netting. The little blurb that went with her read, "Helena loved to catch frogs.......always wondering..."

Some more WIPs (kindreds and busts). I am also making a couple of gifts that I can't post pics of here. I'm hoping that after Christmas I will be able to keep my Etsy shop stocked properly!

I definitely want to start some Christmas themed items by late summer next year. I may even create a couple of Father Christmas figures again. I haven't done any in several years - to be honest, I became totally burnt out making them as I made many, many, many for several years in a row. I think I may be slightly ADD as I do get bored if I do too many of the same type of thing for too long.

Newest Alice in Wonderland Trailer.....Fabulous!

The newest trailer for Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland......going to be SO amazing!

Some Answers to "Essentials" Post

I was going to respond on the comments section, but thought it may be better for this to have its own post.

Here are my thoughts on some of the questions. If I get anymore

queries on the comments, I will edit this post.

~ Jackie, yes Prosculpt is a polymer clay which you cure in the oven. I use a roaster oven that is dedicated 100% to my clay. Purchased it at a church yard sale several years ago and I love it

I used to sculpt with Cernit, however ran into difficulties finding it in Canada. Marilyn Radzat put me on to prosculpt a few years ago and I have used it ever since. I find it blends well, is easy to condition and is quite strong (when cured according to manufacturer's directions).

~ Diane, in a pinch I have covered the wire with masking tape, however I prefer the white floral tape (can be found at Michael's). It is stretching so that application when winding around the wire is fast and easy. It also definitely gives the clay something to hold onto. If you ever see a vintage nail tool, pick it up - you may find that you really like using it.

~ Robin, have to agree that dental tools are a wonderful addition to any studio. I have a couple that I use quite abit. My favorite dental tool is a scraper, which works great for (wait for it LOL) scraping! When painting eyes especially, I often have little tags and blobs of paint in places I don't want - the dental scraper takes care of those getting rid of them without damaging or marking the clay.

~ Kaerie, I also use wire and foil with air dry clays. Again, I cover with floral tape or masking tape to give the clay something to grap onto.

I think that is it for now! Thank you everyone for reading and commenting on yesterday's post - and Tristan, yes - I can so 'see' using books! Be back later!

Essentials to Me

Have spent the last couple of days crunching to get some orders done by today. I was going to post pics tonight, however had planned to do the following post before this, and as this will be brief and it is getting late will do this one now.

I wanted to show the basic tools I use. I have a huge assortment of "proper" supplies/tools, however seem to stick with only several that I use consistently.

* wax paper....great at covering my scarred and battered table top

* aluminum foil....head armatures, also used for body parts

* small hammer....a must for pounding the foil to make tight, compact shapes

*wire.....for armatures - also, floral tape for covering wire

*Baby wipes, clay, stylus, knitting needle, scalpel, and my all-time favorite sculpting tool.....a vintage nail/cuticle pusher.

When I started sculpting I did not have any tools and found that this particular item worked great for me. Several years ago, I thought I had lost it, went and purchased four newer ones and I just could not use them. They didn't have the same heft or feel and I could not get used to them. Fortunately, I found my 'favorite tool'! I honestly am lost without this little metal item.

If you are reading this and new to sculpting, don't wait until you have the 'proper' tools. Try items you may have around the house. The above are what works for me, however many artists use other common household items (toothpicks, crochet hooks, etc). You never know what may work, unless you experiment.

Will post some WIP and pics of what I just finished, tomorrow.

To Those Who Celebrate..........

Happy Chanukah!!

(stockphoto.com)

A Special Piece

Toy Chest Father Christmas created in 1993

This was one of the first Father Christmas pieces I did. I had just started using polymer clay - which the hands were sculpted from. His face was sculpted jersey knit fabric which was then treated to multi layers of paint to give it an 'oilcloth' look. The body is batting wrapped wire armature with tee-shirt knit covering and the clothing was made from repurposed vintage pieces.

This piece, Father Xmas, toy chest, etc is all mounted on some 100 year old barnboard which is approx. 14" long, so it makes a substantial display piece.

Why is it special to me? It is one of the few pieces that I still have from the early days of my doll making, so it is fun to see

just where I have gone with this craft. The main reason though is that the toy chest was the base for a floral arrangement that my mom gave me when my eldest daughter was born. Several of the toys used in the display were also her's, including the small peridot doll

sitting in front of Father Christmas.

My mom passed away in 1996 and when I look at this I have such fond memories of how excited she was that she had 'helped' me

create this piece by using some of the items I did. My mom was such a big fan of my work, always cheering me on and I miss her dearly.

Wordless Wednesday

The Pink Glove Dance

Hi Everyone! The above video is so very cool. A friend sent it to me and it was sent to her by a friend. Here is what her friend wrote:

Our daughter-in-law, Emily (MacInnes) Somers, created, directed and
choreographed this in Portland last week for her Medline glove division as a
fundraiser for breast cancer awareness. This was all her idea to help
promote their new pink gloves. I don't know how she got so many employees,
doctors and patients to participate, but it started to really catch on and
they all had a lot of fun doing it.

When the video gets 1 million hits, Medline will be making a huge
contribution to the hospital, as well as offering free mammograms for the
community. Please check it out. It's an easy and great way to donate to a
wonderful cause, and who hasn't been touched by breast cancer?

I'm hoping that Medline is making donations at each 1 million mark!

**~** For Renee and Pat**~**

Wordless Wednesday