The ramblings of a Geordie Clay Queen

Games workshop paints

2010-10-15T05:02:00.000-07:00

Hunting for the best cost effective paints and paint brush to use for creating detailing on my clay models, my lovely partner James mentioned Games Workshop. In his youth he painted the tiny models using these paint and recommended i give them a try. Searching online for paints to use on plastic clay i was shocked at just how expensive even one small bottles cost. But the Games worshop paints are basically the same, created to use on plastic models for a fraction of the price. So a few weeks ago of we went to Games Workshop, walked into a world on men and thier toys. Everyone turned to look at me wondering what on earth i was doing there ;-) After talking to the shop assistant and browsing through the paints i selected the above with the tiniest tipped brush id had ever seen, perfect!!!

To my joy i found the paints and brush where wonderful to work with easy to apply quick to dry. You only need to tiniest amount, i can see the bottles lasting for quite some time. The paints mix perfectly to create new tones if needed.

Seeing the Tartan kilt developing was thrilling, each patterned layer building to create the design.

So dont spent a fortune on speiclised clay paint pop down to Games Workshop:-)

Recycling fun

2010-09-09T17:23:00.000-07:00

Today was spent having fun with newspaper shredding and then throwing :-) I spent most of the day cleaning up after my son spread the spreaded paper around every room in the house. He had a ball thowing it at me and i have to say i enjoyed it just as much!
I want to be as eco friendly as possible with my packaging so will be using reused or recycled boxes and protective materials. One of those is shredded paper it makes a brilliant protective insulation around my toppers and is by far more enviromently friendly then packing peanuts!

I am still sourcing a wholesale supply of boxes that are cost effective strong enough but also astetical pleasing. The best so far is http://www.boxmart.co.uk/products/details.aspx?typeId=88&ProdItemID=1577&ChildID=&menuId=2 I want the inner box to be Keepsake boxes to be resuaed to house the toppers or other precious items. The then outer protective box will be a nomal packing box. Both items need to be from recycable sources and able to recylce again. Its took me moths of reseach to find BoxMart, i think thier the best company to suplly what i am in need of. I will be ringing them next week to discuss my first order !

I am in love with Liquid Sculpey!!

2010-09-08T00:46:00.000-07:00

I cant belive it has taken me so long to try this wonderful meduim the results are brilliant. I have had a bottle of liquid sculpey bought way back when i first began crafting, but i never used it. I thought its only use was as a paper picture transfer. ( Liquid sculpey is a translucent liquid clay) Skimming through one of my clay books i came across a refrence to using liquid sculpey to smooth out the lines between to pieces of clay. On my my models i like to blend the pieces of together so you can no longer see the lines. This is hard to create epecialy in tricky areas such as the neck and head. Using liquid sculpey for the first time i almost jumped with joy watching the lines vanish to make one smooth piece. As you can see in the photo above the effect is amazing no lines blended together prefectly. This made the job of blending far easier and less fiddly :-)

2010-08-26T02:05:00.000-07:00

Ooooooo playing around with Picasa on my computer i found i could upload directly from them. Its not very often im excited about technology, usually you can find me cowering behind a sofa quivering with fear lol.

I have had mylovely new Fujifilm s1500 camera for a few weeks but not had much chance to use it.

Still getting used to all the buttons got to stop thinking it's a point and click camera and use it to its full capabilities.

Im having a go at editing the lighting and background of some of my picturers using both windows gallery and picasa.

Ummmmmm i think photography is not one of my strong points, do you agree

This is a picture of my latest creation a Mother's and toddler babywearing ornament for a fellow babywearing Mamma.

She is an avid photogapher so had to add a little camera to the ornament, this lady takes stunning pictures some of which i have used in the past on this blog.

O. Sebastian Jewelry & Crafts: Earring Entry 8/20/10

2010-08-21T01:25:00.000-07:00

O. Sebastian Jewelry & Crafts: Earring Entry 8/20/10

Lots of Catching up to do

2010-08-19T15:41:00.000-07:00

I have not been on in weeks and so much has happend....
I made a last minute decision to go and visit my family up North for a week. It was a wonderful time away my son enjoyed every moment of being with his Grandparents and playing with his cousins :-) It would be so lovely is we still live close to each other, i miss the North sometimes!! Anyway back to chatting about clay

The lovely lady i made this for kindly sent this image in, its a much better picture then the fuzzy ones i took
Thank you

My latest creation was a christening cake topper made in a hurry due to going up North.
Id like to have spent longer on it but feel it still looked cute
Picture sent in by the lady i made this for, i didnt make the cake by the way lol

I was going to send all of my toppers large and small via special delivery. But after sending the christening topper relised with it being so small and still strongly protected. To in future send all small toppers and ornaments via 1st class recorded delivery. This keeps the costs down for me so i do not then have to pass it on to the customer. All my larger more delicate toppers will still go via special delivery

Horror story of the week!
I have had a mad panic over one of my favourite exctruder gun discs, the finest one i use for hair. I can not find it anywhere there was a lot of tearing the house apart i can tell you. I blame my son i am sure hes has it somewhere little darling of mine;-)
Ive had to buy another set of dics just to replace that one but it is worth it. The effect it creates for my toppers hair is brilliant!

I have now bought and paid for my craft insurance with Ian W Wallace.
http://www.craftinsurance.co.uk/index.htm
the price is worth it as it covers me for ever eventuality and it is talor made for crafters. I had heard a lot of good things about this insurer and i can now add my vote for them. It was so quick and easy to fill in the forms and the lovely lady on the phone aswered all my questions in full. I came away - £69 lol, but feeling secure in the fact i am now insured.

To pay for the insurance and to purchse more clay it broke my heart but i sold two of my babywearing woven wraps. I am happy they have gone to good homes and it was worth it in the end :-)

I have plenty more i need to add but i'll leave it for another day

News update

2010-08-04T17:59:00.000-07:00

I am no offically registerd as self employed exciting but very scary
I had buttierflies dancing around in my tummy as i rang HRMC as this is ahuge step.
I have also booked myself on the Business link course as i have heard they give you a lot of helpful advice on starting up your own business.
This means i'll have to learn book keeping and do tax returns ( very scary)

I also have a new logo my wonderful friend Niki designed it for me
I love it :-)

I am still building my fan page on facebook and today has been spent writing and re writing my terms and conditions as well questions and answers form.
It was a relife to finally do a bit more crafting tonight as admin isnt may favourite thing in the world.
Still no website my lovely friend Sarah said she will help me set one up. I have no techinical capiblilites, even the though of attempting to make a website brings me out in a cold shiver lol

I am looking into and found a craft insurance company and will be ringing them tommorow. I will need insurance for the Baby and Toddler event in Septemeber.
http://www.babyandchildrensmarket.co.uk/Default.aspx
My stall will only be for information and advertising purpases. I need to get onto vista print and order posters leaflets business cards ect ect. I am thinking of making clay kerings with my logo on it, to give away to everyone who takes a leaflet or contact details. I also need to find somewhere that dose backing boards to attack larger photos of my toppers to.
I have a lot to plan and prepare for but i am looking forward to getting out there and spreading the word about Ama Aqua cake toppers :-)

Right i need to get of to bed as it is 2 am oh the joy of late night crafting

My creative son playing with clay

2010-08-04T15:15:00.000-07:00

My son loves to sit next to me while i am crafting and copy my actions.

He is so adorable rolling out the clay trying to roll it between his hands into a ball.

He shouts out "rol, roll, roll"and "pat,pat, pat" as he crafts bless him my cutie pie :-)

Mind he is forever stealing lumps of clay and runnning of into the sitting room giggling

I now have a huge stock pile of 'junk' clay due my son attempting to hide clay around the house.

Its like a little game of treasure hunt instead of treasure its find where the earth he put the clay. Oh there it is under the seatte he' s even posted it through the letter box ( little monster)

My junk clay....

Talking of junk clay this is a good tip never throw away 'ANY' clay even if it is covered in fluff.

Keep it back and build scrap pieces of clay into a huge ball to use for model making.

If your low on a certain colour use the junk clay mould into desired shape,t hen place a thin layer of the chosen colour clay on top. This way you never have any wasted clay it all gets used it saves on resources and money :-) I found it invaluable to use epecially for larger models where ever scape of clay is needed to create my art work :-)

My top five tips

2010-07-25T14:57:00.000-07:00

I thought id share some of my experience so far mistakes i have made and what i did to rectify those mistakes.

One always use a strong armature ( wire skeleton frame ) if you are making your own twist and intertwine two pieces of wire together especially the trunk and the legs. I have found using only one wire for the legs leaves the legs more likely to bend during baking. As the clay is unstable while baking and will bed and bow with gravity. This means your sculpture will have legs bending inwards and the body leaning forwards. Strong legs equals strength while baking and of course afterwards.

Two ( rant) ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh i hate fluff /dirt annoying particles that stick to your clay like magnets. Always always clean your hands before and after you use the clay. Never us a tool until it has been cleaned. Check the surface your using for dirt particles and remove . A trick i have learned is use a bit of junk clay to sweep over the surface this removed more fluff then a cloth would, also use that to clean your hands in between your crafting session. I wear man made fiber clothing while crafting as natural or mix blend clothes can cause fluff transfer onto your clay. Use a room that is away from the main body traffic and not near a window.

Three DONT mix colours under artificial light and always make more then you need of a mixed colour store and label in case you need it later. I have made mistakes with sculptures and needed to re do an arm of leg went to make another and realised i do not have any spare clay. Mixing clay colours to create the right blend is time consuming and hard to recreate the same blend a second time. I have also made the mistake of thinking two pieces of clay looked the same shade blended unbaked onto baked thinking they matched then baked the fresh clay on. Then in daylight gone ahhhhhhhhhhhhh when i've realised there not a match ones darker then the other.
I have no choice to do most of my crafting at night, but i now make sure to find time during the day to mix the clays store it and label the various shades separately.

Four
Now for me this a rule hard to keep to due to time constraints but its a good one
Dont bake your model evening/ night under artificial light always check it during daylight hours . As any speck of dirt ,fluff finger prints, scrapes, cuts and marks will show up. You can then remove dirt, smooth down marks and finger prints. If you bake at night under artificial light you will be unable to remove mistakes like this, once baked your stuck with them.

Five Always bulk buy clay in various colours make sure you have a few of most colours. I found with my first topper i used a lot of black made a mistake with the legs needed to re do them ,but to my horror realised id ran out of black clay and had to rush order more. Having more then you need is better then finding yourself short. With polymer clay you cant just pop down to the shop and buy it so plan ahead and include extra clay as back up.

I will add more top tips at another time hope this helps other budding clay craftes out there :-)

Embossing baked clay

2010-07-25T13:34:00.000-07:00

Ceramic tile to protect the work surface also its a great not stick suface for the clay
Heat gun, silver embossing powder and already baked clay wedding day plaque

Cover the whole plaque in sliver powder dont worry about overloading it go wild. Brush the powder into the groves.

Shake of the loose powder back into the powder pot

Heating the powder melts it into the groves ( wording)

Once cooled down varnish and bake the plaque for a second time to seal the powder
This is such an effective way of creating decorative lettering to clay :-)

Finished sweet miniture and wedding topper veil drama

2010-07-23T17:40:00.000-07:00

The finished miniature :-)
I have meant to add more to this blog for days but been snowed under with finishing my topper. Cramming in a hundred other craft projects at the same time my heads spinning lol.
The lady and her daughter i crafted for received it this morning and loved the miniature. I am so please they not only liked it but it got to them in one piece. I have thought of buying a bulk buy of packing peanuts but i had a massive roll of wadding and gave that a try instead. It worked so i may purchase more wadding instead of peanuts. I still need to source a good place to buy a stock of good quality boxes to store and post my toppers in. I have yet to find the right boxes. I have also been busy trying to sell items like toys, clothes ect to make enough money to buy a new camera. I am looking at Nikon d40 on ebay fingers crossed i can raise enough funds. I need to have clearer more professional pictures to advertise my toppers to potential customers. At the moment the pictures taken do not show of my work of do it the justice it deserves.
I have set up a new FB profile under the name Ama Aqua Cake Toppers so other crafty companies and business can add me. So if you wish to add me please send me a message

Finally i am on the last piece of my 3rd wedding topper all that is left to do is bake the topper and emboss the wedding date plaque with silver embossing powder. Never tried embossing but i have come across a fab tutorial outline various ways to bake and emboss on clay. I bought a heat gun last week for the embossing but it has come in handy else where. I was struggling to flatten the veil material to fit nicely around the brides head. The netting i have chosen is a bit to firm for the job i need it to do, i tried a few ways to manipulate the material into place. Nothing worked till i used the heat gun to dry the glue on the rhinestones round the edge of the veil. I realised the veil has begun to more, reshape and shrink. I quickly realised with some manipulation of where i placed the heat gun and fabric the veil would be in the correct position. Result :-)

So my favourite tool of the day is my new heat gun

My sweet minitures

2010-07-15T16:21:00.000-07:00

I have decided to make a miniature range to sell on my folksy shop
This will be small basic versions of my wedding toppers as well as christening and birthday toppersI am part way through make a belated 2nd birthday present for my friend Jo's Daughter ( sorry hun for being so late)
.

I think my range will look similar to this ornament there quicker and easier to make. Therefore i can create more = more sales :-)
Of course i will not only make humanoid figures but favourite children's TV characters, toys
such as Waybaloo ,Thomas the tank engine, aeroplanes, slides, tool kit, dolls, the skies the limit.

As much as i love my larger more detailed toppers they are so labour intensive and due to time constraints i will never make enough to make a good turnover. I will still make them of course but with my sweet ornaments and basic toppers i can hopefully make a bit of revenue.

And talking of revenue i have now decided due to starting a folksy shop ( yet to add any products to this ) and more people requesting toppers. To officially register as self employed i know that a profit is a long way away and all funds with be ploughed back into the business. But i am so happy i am now at the stage that paying customers ,besides friends are asking me to craft for them :-)

I will update with further pictures when its compleated along with a few others i will be making in the next few days

2010-07-14T09:52:00.000-07:00

A sneaky preview of my third topper i couldn't help myself i had to share. I will show the wedding outfits when the full topper is complete

Id suggest buying one to create life like hair, also

I am so pleased with how the hair on both heads and the glasses on the male topper turned out.

Its all due to my new lovely tool, a clay extractor gun

recommend arm work outs as it takes a lot of effort to push the clay out lol. You can pick up a fab one like i did on ebay for under £5

I think i may make a post demonstrating all the tool i use and what jobs each one has in my crafting process. I want to pass on the knowledge i am acquiring to to help others who wish to learn
polymer clay sculpting

2010-07-14T09:47:00.000-07:00

Again this ladies tutorials have come to my aid this time in sculpting the male face.I really must remember to post on her video and give her a massive thank you message.I found this second head much easier to do as i felt more confident in my abilities. Mind it took me just as long to craft due to time limitations. I am so glad my friend wanted me to try facial details and its been a delight to experiment with my crafting capibilities. But i have decided the topper i will make and sell comercially will have a simple eyes, button nose and smiling mouth like the face on Sharnes topper. I may do facial details as a custom one of for friends or special customers. A few years down the line when i am more established and my son is at school. I will be able to focus on 'stepping up' my business a gear and make more detailed, refined, expensive figurines well thats my goal and dream anyway.

Beginner Sculptor- the Female Face- Part 1

2010-06-25T04:30:00.000-07:00

Part 1 of 7

I have found this ladies tutorial a wonderful resource, aiding me in understand how to create a life like face. For those just starting out id say use these videos as its been a life saver for me.

The instructions are so clear easy to follow and detailed and her tips on tools to use invauable. I already had a dentistry tool kit but only used a few of the pieces. I got out and used the one she demonstarates in the video and i can say its now one of my favourite tools to craft with. I also bought a gum stimulator ( never knew this would be so difficult to get hold of ) Again the details you can create with this tool are amazing i highly recommend both!

Progress at last :-)

2010-06-25T04:22:00.001-07:00

Happy friday afternoon to all :-)
Sorry i have been a bit quite lately as i have been busy making my 3rd wedding cake topper. This one is to be a much smaller version for a 9.5cm width top tiar cake. This has been just a much of a challenge as the larger toppers as working so small can be very fiddly. The bride to be also wished for facial detials something i have never attempted before. Again being a a bit crackers i thought id see what i could come up with. I crafted a tester head and was amazed that i could actually do it not perfect by any stretch of the imagination. But for a first attempt i felt quite pleased though i did make the head far to big I have decided not to wate this tester head but turn it into a African Babywearing mother and baby ornarment for myself :-) As you can see from a few of my pictures i carry my son. The carrier in my profile picure is called an Asian carrier called a Mei tai . It is not only stunning but very comfortable and incredible well made. My son is 2 years old and i can still carry him with ease!
Anyway back on topic
I have now made and baked the brides head and will be adding the hair hopfully tonight. Sorry no pictures of yet i promised to show the Bride first :-)

Other news a few weeks ago i went into a local craft shop on the hunt for some clay cutters. The owner of the shop was very helpful and we ended up chatting about my toppers. The lady displays and sells a few local handmade sugarcraft cake toppers, mass produced clay toppers, but no handmade clay toppers. ( I say this with some excitment) as she invited me to bring along photos of the toppers i have made so far to see if i could also display and sell in her shop. I am not at the stage to become an offical business but a good bit of impromptu marketing done there. Knowing i may have a found a niche in the market right here at home :-0)

Another update i have been commisioned by yet another friend ( i love my mates) to create a Anniversery ornament of her her husband and 2 children. The lady i made my very first topper for will soon be having a baby shower to celebrate her second pregnancy. As my gift to her im going to craft a cake topper of her with bump .
Now i just need someone needing me to craft a birthday cake topper
All this experiance im building up will, fingers crossed, lead me to craft proffesionaly.

Another gorgeous sunny day

2010-06-16T23:53:00.000-07:00

Thursday 17th June 2010

Morning all :-)

Another lovely day beautiful sunshine and clear skies a day that deserves to be spent outdoors!

Yesterday we spent a fun filled few hours in the garden and yes i was right about getting wet.My son took great delight in chasing me round the garden soaking me to the skin with the cheekiest grin and the naughtiest giggle

My Other half is of work for the next few days so we will be going out on are usual family walks.Were both interested in wildlife especially birds and recieve a lot of enjoyment from seeing, hearing various species. Were not sit down for hours and stare at one spot hoping to see a specific bird ( im far to impatient for that) But while walking we do get a bit excited if we spot a bird we have never seen before. Not many of are friends share are love of wildlife and think were a bit sad lol.

My plan for a crafty night went out the window as my son refused to fall asleep till gone 10.The past month hes been up till that time getting up at 6am equals a very tired Mammy.

Que the sound of violin strings;-) I prefer to craft on nights my partner is either working or he's gone to bed for work the next day ( he works shifts) Not to craft when he's of but with limited time avalable, needs must and all that. I think hes feeling a bit neglected lately.

I will update to night fingers crossed with progress pictures of my 3rd topper.

Of to get both of us ready to go out wishing you all a sunshine filled day :-)

My first blogg and an introduction to me :-)

2010-06-16T02:03:00.000-07:00

Wednesday 16th June 2010

I will soon be heading out into the back garden with my son to play in the sandpit and water table Im more then sure he will be chasing me round trying to throw water at me and trying to make me fit into his cosy coupe car. Just finished watching Mr tumble dvd for the second time today my son adores Justin. So do i but im feeling if i see Something special one more time i may loose my marbles. Setting up this blog is been a head butting the wall expericance but im getting they YAY! Im not to most technical person, hard enough finding the on switch for the laptop.

Last night was spent researching for my new up and coming venture making special occassion cake toppers. Learning about ways to advertise my business without spending an arm and a leg.
I have found wonderful advice and inspiration from http://www.craftforum.co.uk/ the ladies are so welcoming to a newbie like myself and very happy to share thier experiances and tips.

Tonight will be an all nighter to catch up crafting my third wedding cake topper. I have been lucky that so many of my friends are getting married they have become my guniea pigs. Crafting for friends is an excellent way of building up your skills before venturing out into the big bad world of business. I am not sure where the passion to learn how to craft with clay came from. For me it had always been water colour painting and drawing right, from an early stage i loved to draw and paint. Then a few months ago i took part in a crafty swap, i thought lets learn a new craft. So i bought a block of clay and made lillies to decorate a upcycled cream pot. A clay lid stamped with a leaf pattern lid for an upcycled mayo jar. I found exploring how to mould and create shapes and patterns with the clay exhilarating. While reserching things to make for the swap i came across pictures of cake toppers. At the same time my friend Sarah had to move forward her wedding and needed a topper asap. So being brave ( or plain crackers) volunteered to have a bash at making one. And to my shock and delight i found i could knock out quite a good topper.

Ive added a pictures of my first two toppers please excuse me if its untidy im new to all this.Right im being dragged toward the garden by an impatient child of to jump in muddy puddles. Hope you all having a lovely summer day :-)