You Tubers I like

I'm not feeling so good and I haven't at all been productive this holiday so I am going to give you some You-Tubers I like on polymer clay.

 

 

https://m.youtube.com/user/PolymerClayTutor
 

Polymer Clay Tutor is kind of my favorite right now. She focus on really useful tips and is really peppy. Her website is also extremely helpful with a whole community of people helping each other craft.
 

https://m.youtube.com/user/SugarCharmShop
 

Sugar Charm Shop has realistic teeny tiny charms she is amazing.
 

https://m.youtube.com/channel/UC7t5OM0oKq_x8w4oXjxqeWw
 

Cool Rice Bunnies is getting better and better this little lady makes some of the best cutesy charms ever.
 

https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCci5JVcvcozuqnRpD-8xqFQ
 

Lilac Sprinkles gives a great tutorial on glazing plus she is really hard on herself about her charms which means her pieces are fabulous.

Hopefully you enjoy, they're fabulous YouTube videos and tutorials.
Come back on by on Wednesday.  I should have something cool to show then.

Holiday hours

Ok kiddos.  I've decided that even though it's the perfect time to get wrapping tips, new recipes or even just pictures of my holiday crafting but, I'm going to take sometime off!

So, enjoy your season and craft something great!!!

See you again next Sunday!

Cookbook Christmas Card

Already late with the Christmas cards this year?  Me too.  So, I'm going big.  Cookbook greeting card!  I take my favorite winter recipes and put them in a book template in a Word document.  Then I sketched out a cute book cover.  Put it all together, in my case I punched out holes along the sides and put ribbon through the holes as binding.  Now, it is just small enough to fit in a greeting card envelope!

I have to admit, this was my bosses idea which is why this is a food phone.  My husband and I also work on the phone so it works for us too.  Two birds one stone!

Here are the pictures.

 

 

Thanks so much for coming by and hope to see you again before the holidays.

Don't forget to follow me on Pinterest, Google + or Email.

What clay is best?

I had to do some testing recently.  I am sick of my clay crafting cracking and breaking on me.  I did get a whole lot of great clay recently but I was still having trouble!  It was time to research!  Glass Attic was a lot of help but it has a ton of opinions and I have to admit is a little all over the place when it comes in information.  It did help me  find out that temperature is key and it needs to be cooked for at least 15 minutes at 275 degrees Fahrenheit for all the kind of clay I have.  Preheating is very important!  If it doesn't cook at 275 degrees (non-fluctuating temp.) for at least 15 minutes then the plasticizers won't cook off.  Plasticizers are what keep the clay soft so if they don't cook off they then begin to make the clay soft again and that is why they crack and break.  Sometimes the temperature and length of time don't seem to matter if the clay is no good to begin with.  I've seen on Polymer Clay Tutor that if you cook it for 1 hour your clay will be stronger but it gets a little darker.  I did that test too but it didn't seem to matter.  What seemed to matter was the type of clay, and the heat, and length of time cooked.

 

Here is the test I did recently.  I have made Dobby into a clay figure multiple times now using many different clay brands and found some cracked and broke right out of the oven and others would bend completely in half without breaking.  I thought it was just my cooking temperatures first but then realized it was the clay.  Test time!  I had to know which ones I could use and which ones I couldn't.  Let's get down to the findings.

 Just a few of the good and the bad.

Super Scupley will be the death of me! The paint job was great, the whole thing had been glazed then the next then I knew it's nose busted off then the ear next.  I was so mad I almost cried!

 

The clay pieces were small pea sized pieces pressed through a pasta press #4. 

1. Unknown.  I have no idea how I even got this one but it had been making the most flexible charms I only have a little left... I will be sad when it's gone.  When it is cooked to long it can get a little too dark.

2. Fimo Soft.  Nice tone but too easy to over work.  Think I might try leaching the clay. 

3. Super Sculpey.  I like the over all color, but there is weird sheet slivers in it.  But, really easy to work with and I think I could still use it for more block like designs.

4. Sculpey III.  The color is really pale and really opac.  I didn't like it at all. Plus it is really too soft.

5. Premo.  The color is a little yellow, nicely transparent, and it doesn't isn't hard to work with.1. Unknown.  Fabulously bendable.  I already new it but it was nice to test it out with other clay too.

2. Fimo Soft.  Surprisingly bendable.  I haven't really liked Fimo lately but now, I might reconsider.

3. Super Sculpey.  Huge disappointment.  I thought this was the clay everyone used for clay figurines, I was wrong.  It breaks at the slightest touch, it has these weird sheeting discoloration.

4. Sculpey III.  I thought this stuff was good, I was wrong.  I have a ton of it so I have to find a way to make it worthy.  Maybe mixing it with a clay that is flexible.  It might just make whatever I add to it weaker. :( We'll see.

5. Premo.  Just straight up prefect!  Keeps it's color, bendable, and really easy to work with.

 

Both ears stick out but as you can see they bend really well, great for a charm that will probably be treated roughly.

 

So, to sum up, Super Sculpey is unforgiving and ugly, Fimo Soft, if leached, could be pretty good, Sculpey III is opac and cracks at the slightest touch, and if I ever figure out what #1 Unknown is I will be buying it in bulk!

Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to follow me by Google +, Pinterest, or even just in an Email.

Until then, keep on crafting kiddos.

December Book of the month 2013

How the Grinch Stole Christmas (Classic Seuss)

I thought of giving you guys a great craft book for last minute Christmas crafting but, no.  For me How the Grinch Stole Christmas and it's cartoon video counter part were a staple at Christmas time.  I loved Dr. Suess already and the sing along and narrating is something that always makes me think of cherished Christmas memories.  The older I get the harder it is to remember the feeling the season used to give me and the purpose for so much celebrating.  So, here it is, $3.99 on 12/12/13 prices may vary depending on date of purchase of this Kindle download.  I will tell you, these books usually cost $15-$24 dollars and I don't know about you but that is crazy!  With kids using digital media more and more having the physical book isn't as big a deal as it used to be. Shell out the $4.00 bucks and have an amazing holiday.

Thanks for coming by and don't forget to follow me through Google +, Pinterest, or email.

Happy Christmas!

Sick day Apology

I am sorry. Ok? Sorry!  I didn't prep anything for Wednesday then Wednesday came and I got sick.  Spicy food is not my friend.  So, obviously no post. :(  Well, now today is here and I still have nothing to show kiddos. :(  Maybe by tonight I will have gotten it together to atleast give you a book of the month. :) Here's to hoping!
See you kiddos later today, wish me luck.
Thanks for reading and don't forget to follow me every Wednesday and Sunday.

Tardis Cell phone case

I was on Etsy recently and found some amazing polymer clay Tardis cell phone cases.  I read that the person selling them did them on hard plastic shell and so I gave it a shot... Another epic fail out of the test kitchen!  My second one came out much better though.  It's only slightly different then the design sold by Fantastic Visions who is fabulous!  I am not selling them so if you are looking to buy go to Fantastic Visions through Etsy. (I have made links for her Etsy shop all over this blog post) 

My epic fail.  I cooked too fast too long and it melted the plastic case.

 

The inspiration piece is fabulous!

Her cost is extremely reasonable so if you are looking for one for yourself Fantastic Visions is the way to go.

I made one for myself and it worked out the second time around.  I'm still doing some tests but I really like the idea of being able to make any kind of cover I want out of polymer clay... like Super Mario, Jim Henson or whatever is inspiring me at the time.

Check it out the words and windows and light on top glow in the dark.  Also a stolen idea.

 

Thanks for reading!

Keep on crafting kiddos.

Christmas Food Phone

Working on a sketch style cover for a workplace cookbook/greeting card.  A cookbook greeting card is a collection of recipes from a group of people, like a household, office, or classroom then Xeroxed into stapled books.  You could send these out as greeting cards instead of greeting cards.

I'm not quite done yet but I am almost done with the cover of the book.  So, here you go.

 

Thanks for reading and hope to see you Sunday.

Keep on crafting and DIY-in kiddos.



Hat Hooks in the Bathroom

  The bathroom... That one place in the house everyone must go.  It's also the one place you may feel limited on décor.  We had been stuck in the same old box-set bathroom fixtures since 1986.  Well my friends it was time for an upgrade.   After finally realizing that I wasn't going to find bathroom fixtures in the bronze I liked cheaply we decided on hooks.  Unfortunately I can't tell you exactly how it was done because, this time I didn't do it all by myself. 

  I can tell you that we did not initially like the hook idea until we saw the hooks mounted on a rectangular block of wood.  Fabulous.  We found the decorative block of wood at Michael's and then painted it white.  Now, unfortunately I don't really know anything else.  I do know that we evenly placed the hooks on the white wood board and then screwed the board into the wall.  I loved that we used a wood panel because it meant we could put this placard anywhere we wanted and find the studs later.  The screws were oddly placed so we filled them with wood paste, sanded them and then I painted over them in white paint. 

 One thing really great about this new set up is I can have wash clothes and towels up and my husband doesn't have to be careful about how he re-hangs the towels.   

The knobs of the cabinetry is new but the towel racks are old and unstable.

4 hooks to make one hand towel rack and one 3 hook regular towel rack.

 

Thanks for reading and come back around on Wednesday to see what's up next!

Keep on crafting kiddies!