Creative Crafting

A couple of weeks ago the children next door found a toad in the yard and wanted to put it in my pond.   So over they came (5 and 3) to place the toad in the water.   I had to remind them not to step on the flowers…the little girl asked me why and I could have stated the obvious about killing my flowers, but instead I told them that my garden was full of fairies and gnomes, and that if they weren’t careful they would hurt the little people.

Of course, this led to more questions about what were fairies and gnomes and how come they couldn’t see them, where did they hide and so forth. We sat on my porch eating Ed’s chocolate chip cookies and milk for about an hour and talked about fairies and gnomes. If you have inquisitive children of your own I am sure you can imagine the questions put to me. Their mother was just as enraptured by the questions and answers as she was by Ed’s cookies!

It has been awhile since I last posted.  I have been busy planting my gardens, learning more about polymer clay, and having fun with different projects.   All of which I will be posting about in the coming weeks.

Here is one such project that has been keeping me busy.  I made some for myself, my daughter (who also has a beautiful garden), my new daughter-in-law who hasn’t learned the fine art of relaxation with gardening, but I made a set for her anyway just in case!

I put pictures of the project at the end of the article….so have fun!

Design by Roxane Burkett, Sheryl Eggleston – Stamp Studio

Materials and Tools:

Check out what’s happening at CreateForLess this month. May 2 was National Scrapbooking Day, but they are celebrating all month long with these great promotions…

It’s a celebration of scrapbooking this month at CreateForLess. Our Scrapbooking Sale is featuring some of our most popular scrapbooking supplies at great low prices. Sale items change weekly – this week we’re featuring scrapbooking albums, then adhesives, punches and Bazzill Cardstock. This is the perfect promotion to add to your scrapbooking section, especially if you’re already promoting National Scrapbooking Day.

Shop, Crop and Save at the CreateForLess Scrapbooking Sale.

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Desired Creations has a great tutorial for creating life like hands for any project.

The dime is included to give a sense of scale. Simple tool set: #2, 3, or 4 knitting needles and blade (tissue blade or single edge razor blade, etc.)

A.   Start with a nice little ball.

B.   Roll ball into a cylinder about 1.5 inches long and a little larger at one end. The smaller end will become the wrist.

C.   Use your thumb to flatten the larger end until it looks like a flat paddle.

D.   Use a blade to cut away a little notch on one side.

E.   The little segment that remains after the cutout? – pinch, pull and shape into the thumb. Smooth and round any cut edges using your finger tips and the knitting needles.

F.   Make three cuts, as shown in F. This is the beginning of making four fingers.

I just found this out and I find it amazing.  We all know Polymer Clay has many uses, not just for jewelry and little figures, but did you know you can put finished pieces in water?  I didn’t.  According to this website: http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/aquafloats_pond.htm, you can make decorations for your aquarium using Polymer Clay.   Now, if you can use it there where it is in water all the time, why not as lawn ornaments?

It says there has been no adverse reaction to the fish or the piece, although you shouldn’t glaze pieces if they are going to go in water. The varnish/glaze might be water based and destroy your piece or possibly poison your fishes.

New Sculpey Ultralight can even float in water after being cured.

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How to get rid of fingerprints on your finished product…

Your fingerprint is messing up your finished piece. Nothing is more depressing than seeing those marks and knowing that you put them there. However, there are a few techniques to get rid of this little problem.

Gloves can be very helpful. They not only prevent fingerprints but they also keep the clay cleaner. Keep a box next to your workstation.

Keep a small bowl of water on hand. Dip your fingertips into it and smooth the clay gently, this will get rid of some of the fingerprints.

Take a cotton swab or Q-tip and dip it in rubbing alcohol. Then take the damp cotton swab and rub it gently over the clay. This will also grab some dirt. Be very careful when you do this however, as too much rubbing alcohol will cause the structure of the clay to break down and your piece will lose its shape. Or smearing of different colors can occur, so be very careful on the amount you put onto the clay surface.

No family traditions? Then this is a great time of year to start new traditions! Easter is a great time to capture special family moments for scrapbooking. You don’t scrapbook, but planning your picture taking ahead of time guarantees you won’t miss any of these great family memories.

During winter months have you longed for spring days? So now when the gardens are starting to bloom with tulips, crocus, daffodils why not take photos using them as a backdrop? Or use the photos to imagine the spring warmth on a cold winter day.

Easter time at our house always meant Easter cookies, cakes, coloring eggs. Take pictures of you family doing these simple traditions to share with others. Once the fun of making the products is over make sure you take pictures of the finished pieces.