Let it Snow! (Making a snowglobe from scratch)

I found an old jar with a good round shape (This one happened to be an Inglehoffer cranberry mustard jar from our local meat market)

I washed out the jar with hot water and dishsoap, and let it dry completely. I took the lid, and gradually built up a base layer on the inside, until it was above the lid level. After that was done, I formed the snowy hillside and the hole for the pond.

While that was baking and cooling, I made the tree for the scene.

I attached the tree, and the pond, and baked it again.

Then I added penguins.

Once the scene was complete and cool, I made the globe fill mix. Water, glycerin, white vinegar, and glitter. (Too much glycerin means glitter won't fall at all, too little makes it fall too fast. Too much glitter ruins the scene, also)

I assembled it...

Finally, I made a base. (the writing isn't the best because I used the gel pen too soon after I pulled it out of the oven, ooops!)

I cleaned it all up, texted my best friend and told her to come over, and made her penguin collecting heart all happy when I gave it to her. :D There you have it, my first snowglobe.

Writing on Polymer Clay: Sakura Gelly Roll test

I have a lot of requests for personalized items. That's all well and good when the item or lettering is the right size for embossing, painting, or sculpting letters. However, when it comes to a lot of projects, namely ornaments, cake toppers, and even to signing my own projects when completed, I really needed to find a good pen/marker to do so. Sharpies sucked. I love them for almost everything, but clay is not one of those things, sadly. I used a PrismaColor pigment pen to sign one of the first things I made, but it wore off over time from being on the bottom of an incense burner and being moved around. After a lot of searching, digging through cluttered websites, etc, I found that Sakura Gelly Roll gel pens seemed to get good reviews. I was skeptical, as these are $1.50 or less in most places per pen, and nothing more than the exact same gel pens I used to use obsessively in high school when they were all the rage. I went to Micheal's, and picked up a multipack of metallic Skaura Gelly Roll pens, and when I finished the second curing of a project (a multi-colored fleur de lis for Mardi Gras), I signed the back with the blue gel pen. (While it was still warm, it helps the ink to flow, and to set a little.) After the piece completely cooled, I put it back in the oven a few minutes to fully set it. After it was cooled again, I rubbed the ink, scratched it with a fingernail, and otherwise tried to manually remove or smudge the mark. Nothing. It stayed exactly as it had been written!! I'm psyched, and now totally sold. Sakura Gelly Roll gel pens have made clay life SO much easier! Yay for cheap solutions that work!

Crab Shack

Did you know that seashells make great items to add to clay work, or to put clay on? They are able to be baked/cured with the clay, and are generally strong enough to hold up to sculpting,and it's easy to work with adhesives, and to attach the clay to the shell. The possibilities of working with polymer and seashells are endless. This little hermit crab was inspired by my oldest daughter's ocean biome project for school. Eith some leftover shells, and leftover scrap Premo!, and some creative license, little Kermit the Hermit was born.

Jack and Sally Sitting in a Tree..

My dearest friend, if you don't mind I'd like to join you by your side Where we could gaze into the stars And sit together, now and forever for it is plain, as anyone can see, We're simply meant to be.

You can own Jack (Or Sally) by going here .