Experiment - Air dry clay (again)

loving the texture hating the wait
Originally uploaded by Snowfern

i'm loving the texture of this. but i hate that i have to wait 2 days or more for it to dry fully before further manipulation.

the white 'rings' are 1:3 scale donuts, i used a mold that i got from Kinokuniya. they were a mix of approx 1:1 grace:hearty white (thanks Asuka!), and i don't remember the ratio for the other layer cakes since my resin clay had somewhat hardened and i was so sleepy i simply mucked about with the clay.

i'd stayed over at Asuka's place, and we spent most of the day chit-chatting about miniatures (what else?) and me, making a mess of the clay XD it's so messy and hard to manipulate since i'm quite used to polymer clay. so i was in various states of amusement, enjoyment, and annoyance XD i have a few ideas in my head for these, but really, i seriously doubt i'd be taking a leap from polymer to air dry clays.

well. i've calmed down somewhat from this morning's enraged state (yea, that's me, enraged LOL i'm 'as mild as milk' as a friend once put it) but now i don't know if i should do anything about the situation i'm in. after all, i'll be busy this month with doc appointments and checkups (just got back not long ago from taking grandma to the doc's too) so maybe this shall be the month of clay-less play.

i did so look forward to accepting commissions, i have already 2 requests and i've told them i refuse to accept commissions until i have the clay in hand. luckily, the one fully-paid commission i have comes from a very understanding and patient customer/friend, and although i have no hard deadline for it, it fills me with a sense of dread knowing i owe someone alot of stuff.

*takes in deep breath*

i guess i'll work on my next experiment. oh and btw, anyone notice anything different about my flickr acct? ;P

I am really angry right now

i ordered some items previously from poly mer clay ex press dot com and i'm am SOOOO PEEVED right now.

not only did they charge to my card an additional shipping cost of $20 without prior confirmation, after almost a week's delay in reply, the manager has informed me that they have shipped my order to CANADA.

HELLO???I AM IN SINGAPORE NOT IN CANADA WTF IS WRONG WITH THEM?

i'm so tired of this bullshit. it is a major annoyance to me. all i can hope is that my shipment arrives safely, and that it isn't delayed for too long. meanwhile, i have to inform my customer that not only might her order be further delayed, i am no longer able to accept commissions for Jan unless i can find another supplier.

* i understood that the shipping costs were just an estimate, but hello? isn't it business courtesy to inform the customer BEFORE adding an additional USD$20 to their card?

**********UPDATE

they've replied and apologized for their error, they had a customer who shared the same name who lived in Canada. my parcel is on its way here. well. it still doesn't make me less peeved abt the earlier incident, to which they've offered no explanation either, but i'm going to drop it. at least until mid-Jan. or until i get caught up in experiments i forget all about this. ha ha.

my cousin's new camera

cousin visited today with aunt, and he'd brought his new DSLR, alas, he hadn't purchased a macro lens as yet and learned rather quickly that it's hard to take pics of my minis without one XD well, when he does, i'm sure i'll have FANTASTIC pics, meanwhile, here are some rather good ones too ;)

Yotsuba has been featured in quite a number of my pictures, and i hope you enjoy these as much as i did posing her ^ ^

Rock paper scissors!

"Jan-ken-po !"

"HEY! stop that!"

"Let's do some gardening ^ ^ "

trying to get her to stop moving is...hard....:P

"Usagi love"
(usagi is japanese for rabbit)

GUNDAM!
(i purchased a whole keroro gunsou kit specifically for this set XD)

"Hey Yotsuba! Look at the nice cameraman!"

mm just like those oleskool studio portraits hehehe

i knitted the rabbit following a free ravelry pattern, but i lost the link cos it must have been a good 2-3 years ago since :( her rabbit water bottle is one of my super duper fave re-ment items. i hope i haven't lost the cap :(

Eva kept trying to get into the shots XD

ok this pic i took with my own camera the night before. LOOK AT THAT!! soooo adorable!!! i absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE Stitch & Scrump (his little blue ragdoll) so when i saw this...i was ecstatic!

i took plenty more pics while i was at my very first dollmeet!!! pics are up on my flickr ;) (most of them are on flickr, don't know how many read the blog and i'm not sure about the protocol on using pics of others' dolls?) i was saying after many of them tried to persuade me to get one "WHEN you get one....." etc etc cos i was oooh-ing and aaaah-ing over the beautiful BJDs.....but yea. i still think of dolls as props to my minis, be it purchased (re-ment etc) or made by me....*scratches ear* sure, i love dolls, but somehow, the dolls seem more to me like props than the reverse haha. especially miniature containers/tupperware. ODD HUH?

it has been a really really REALLY fun start to 2010 ^ ^ i'm already exhausted! sheesh i'm weak.

going to a pyjama party tomorrow ;) can't wait! why do i get the feeling i'm trying to squeeze as much 'non-clay' fun in before my clay arrives? i think cos once the clay gets here, i'll probably lose all sense of time XD i hope by then my new friends don't think i'm avoiding them, i'm not, just very very obsessive is all :P

Introducing: Yeo Mini Store

glassware
Originally uploaded by Snowfern
http://www.yeoministore.com/

Asuka is a bad bad bad bad bad enabler ;P

Madam Ang gave me her address a long time ago, and i'd written it on a receipt and tucked it away and promptly forgot about it, since Changi always seemed so far away...well it still is, with the help of my evil enabler, Asuka, we (including "the other Cindy" (yes we refer to you as that, SORRY!)) went hunting for the store after Asuka showed me the link to the teapot set ; ;

the sizes are a tad varied, oddly scaled pieces, but they seem to work mostly if you're not too bothered by it.

she sells plenty of marked sets of Re-ment and Megahouse as well ^ ^ along with some discontinued sets. so if you're ever in the area....go find her!

Blk 57A New Upper Changi Rd
#01-1384 Singapore 462057
====UPDATE==== 09 Jan 2011
last i heard she's stopped selling minis but i haven't verified personally (live too far from changi to go check) but her website is still up, so....can anyone confirm this????

here, have a bite

chomped into
Originally uploaded by Snowfern

made these as part of a trade ;)

i'm not a very good keeper of secrets, and i have been harbouring a few of late. let's see what i can and cannot reveal for now... :P

1) giveaway prizes! i'm waiting for Hanna to receive hers before i can post pics, the local recipient has received his, and he has also showed me pics of the items, i'm glad he liked them! but since both parcels are different, well there are some similar items....if i posted them up here...the surprise would be half ruined? XD so...let's hope the holiday mail rush will abate soon....so i can post them up!

2) a secret gift...i'm not even gonna say who the recipient is. but yea. ;) i should be mailing it out tomorrow ^ ^

3) finally, i understand why i had quite a few orders from Spain XD i was featured in a spanish publication!

http://www.miniaturasrevista.com/

i believe the CDHM committee sent in an article that featured me? LOL if anyone has a copy, could you kindly scan the page and mail it to me? i would really really appreciate it!

4) CDHM has been really kind to me ^ ^ this month, they have a small feature in their new online magazine, and there's even mention of my pal Asuka ;)

http://www.cdhm.org/news/tidbits0110.php

5) another blog, http://dzfantasy.blogspot.com/ had asked on etsy forums if any miniaturists would like to be featured, and a teamMIDS (HI TEAM!) member highlighted it to the rest of us...of course i'd jump at the opportunity! also featured are a few other teamMIDS members, just scroll down, on the left will be links to our etsy stores :)

the blog itself is also very fun-loving and informative. it's chock full of tips and tricks, interviews and features for those who are keen on setting up their own hand-crafted online-shops ^ ^ Thanks Donna!

6) then there's deviantArt. thanks Myntkat! the feature is for December, so you probably have a few hrs left to view it XD in the rush for TDA, this had completely slipped my mind.

7) there is that newspaper report....but i don't know when it'll be published. i don't even know how much of the interview will be published XD so it'll be an embarrassing laugh if it turns out to be only a 1-line mention, but WHATEVER!!! i just hope they don't use any pics of me :X

i have been a member of dA for quite sometime now, but up till miniatures, i've never really thought of myself as being able to create personal works of art (?) i still consider myself more of an artisan/craftsman, but as i gain more experience, i'm finding that i -want- desperately to find a personal style. i want people to be able to identify my works like they would Kiva's or Emmaflam and Miniman (Paris Miniature's) or Stephanie's (Petitplat's) or Kim Saulter's or Mercedes (liberty biberty?) or ....omg the list is loooong....! there are so many new friends i've made..so many other miniaturists i've yet to 'discover'....so many yet-unlearnt-techniques, and old ones to master!

i do not make new years' resolutions, but i am determined to make this year more fun and eventful than the last! THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR FOLLOWING ME ON MY JOURNEY! and for your support this far ^ ^

(man, this post looks like i'm tooting my own horn. it's supposed to be a milestone/dedication sorta post....AH WHATEVER! :P )

<3,
Cindy aka Snowfern Clover ^ ^

Experiment - Soldering

soldering experiment
Originally uploaded by Snowfern

this is the 2nd time i'm trying soldering. yea. i suck terribly at it.

i managed to blister the cutting mat, my pinky finger, and the electrical cord on the soldering iron XD waha ha ha fret not, it didn't destroy the wire, i caught it before it did -too- much damage. it's now covered up with PVC insulation tape XD

i used the wrong type of wire. i vaguely recall the salesguy at the DIY store saying something about copper wire being the best to use, but i had so much wire at home from ex-jewellery projects that i decided to try it...well...XD ok so it doesn't work with stainless steel wire :P brass, pretty decently. i don't know what that coil of wire is made of, but with the flux it worked slightly better than without.

i have been really busy lately meeting up with friends and general mischievousness, but you can expect more food pics coming up as i start on a commission ;) it's very exciting because it's gonna involve stuff i've never tried before, i'm itching to start, but the clay isn't here yet.

i'm rather peeved about the clay order actually. the order came up to approx USD78 with estimated shipping, but they charged USD98 to my debit card WITHOUT PRIOR CONFIRMATION. that just pisses me off. i understand full well that it's an estimated shipping price, and frankly, the additional $20 wasn't unexpected, but COME ON. this is just POOR SALES SERVICE. to CHARGE a customer extra without informing them is just...grr.

i have previously ordered with them, and yes, their shipping is a little uhh...too much. tiny kemper cutters no more than 2" long in a box larger than 6" x 8", nearly couldn't find it in all the newspaper they used to stuff the box. they could have simply slipped it in a bubble envelope and cut shipping costs by at least USD5. but it was the first time i'd ordered anything online, so i didn't know better back then. they even sent it to the wrong address (bf ordered it, specified for package to be delivered to me, but they sent it to him)

ah well. it's the hols and maybe they were swamped. ionos. i just hope they don't try it again, or i'd have to look elsewhere. i wonder if they even sent out my order, but yea, it's the hols, so i'm not too picky about it. let's see how they reply my not-too-happy email about the 'uninformed' charge.

TDA 2009: the aftermath

wasn't kidding when i said mountain of mess
Originally uploaded by Snowfern

lol. talk about airing dirty laundry. that's my jacket that should be in the wash, on top of my box of jewellery findings.

i've been feeling so poorly lately. all i've been doing is slowly pecking my way through the mess on my table. it's only just gotten sorted out and now i've messed it up again trying to fulfill orders and take stock of what i have remaining.


Alexa wanted to know how i made my display stands, and now that i'm looking at it again, the pic is pretty self-explanatory. i think the only material that needs to be specially purchased is the ] [ shaped thingamabob that railway model enthusiasts use for their modelmaking. i found it at my local craft store at that section. i don't have any leftover to take pics of. the rest is up to you to reverse-engineer! have fun with it, i'm at the point where i don't want to think about it anymore XD it took me far too long to make!

you can also click on the image to see the notes i've added onto my flickr pic regarding materials.

ok i've packed up 7 items for each of the giveaway winners! i've realised AGAIN that it's really hard to pick out items for males -_-" they will be mailed out tomorrow before the p.o. closes for the hols! again, congratulations!

i have a more serious question though. it had been strongly suggested, and also been a plan of mine, to sell some tutorials. i don't know if i wanted to at first, but as i shift from this being a hobby to something that could help pay the bills, it's becoming increasingly evident that i need to focus on a reliable source of income. i was thinking of selling a macaron tutorial, in various scales. what do you folks think? and how much would you think is a reasonable amount for a macaron tutorial that teaches you how to mix colours, what tools, tips and tricks to use? i've been agonizing over this for months really, weighing out the pros and cons, whether i'm selling out or not....etc....bah. i welcome all input and will take them all into consideration. much appreciated in advance :)

(yea i seem to agonize alot over little stuff grr)