Friday, March 18, 2011

Thank you Ann!

THANK YOU ANN!!! I recently won a giveaway over on Ann's blog, Amazing Miniatures. HOO BOY!! they certainly are amazing! not only am I a fan of her works, I'm coincidentally a fan of both IKEA and modern furniture :P so, winning the table was a :O :O :O :O !!!!!!!!! moment for me! 

I love love LOVE how it fits perfectly in my photoshoot area :D :D :D kismet, I say! :P i can't decide if it'll work better as a craft/work table, or a kitchen table, heck I think it could be anything! 

please please send her some love :) you can find her works at the links below! I especially love her modern wooden sculptures and frames ^ ^ 

Etsy:
Blog:

Thank you again, Ann! 

============================================





I usually don't get many requests for non-food items. Recently, I was commissioned to make some cigarettes in 1:3. I used to smoke, aeons ago, not too heavily but....yea...I know I shouldn't have but heck, we all go through growing pains, right? I managed to quit what, 5 years ago? It wasn't too hard because I don't think I was really addicted to it, just to the emotional relief it provided (time away from stressful situations). :P ANYWAY....here's my attempts at making the ciggies :) Luckily, dolls don't have lungs. :X


============================================



and since I didn't want to waste the rest of the photopaper, I printed additional boxes in various scales. the tiniest one is of course, 1:12....the paper is too thick and folding it at such tiny scales makes the ink crack :( could anyone suggest any ways of avoiding this? I don't think I can get any thinner glossy printing paper, other than heading down to the professional printing shop. ah well! at least it doesn't crack as badly in the larger scales :)

ok, there's only 3 2 days left to the #semi-sweeties contest...and I'm not yet done with it :-/ I managed to get down to bf's office this week, and get some graphic work done, so there's that to look forward to :) GIMP ROCKS. it rocks even harder cos it's FREE :P

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Tackling Greens

i recently was asked if i could do a salad in 1:3. i took in a deep breath, and replied that i would first do a mock up, and then she could decide if she wanted to commission a salad from me. i hadn't even given a quote as i was so lacking in confidence with working with greens.




1:3 salad

1:4 salad


1:6 salad (on a rement plate cos i can't find a glass bowl in 1:6 and 1:12 :( )

1:12 in sylvanian families bowl

1:6 vs 1:12, cos i really like big-small pics ^ ^


after hours and hours of mixing clays and colours to get the greens i wanted, i think i will definitely tackle more green projects. i still have a bit of trouble with the darker colours, but am sure it will go away with more practice. and practice i did! 


group shot! i'm thinking of using the last pic for my new website, planning to go down to bf's office next 2 weeks to revamp the site. the blog will remain on blogspot, but i want to fully utilize the hosting space which has been dormant for a while now :( maybe even set up a gallery and shopping cart, let's see how distracted i get first.....wakakakaka :X


=================================


remember how in my previous post, i said i might not be as pleased after the canes have been baked? yeaaaa :( T-T much sadness *sniff* see the translucent ring in the left pic? what happened was, i messed up and used a wrong bunch of clay while constructing the cane!!!!!! kyaaa~~~~~ T-T so in an attempt to salvage the rest of it (luckily i baked a test bunch) i cut away as much of the translucent bits as possible, and re-wrapped with some other clay.....alas, i overmixed white and it turned out weird. so now i have a whole bunch of weird coloured BAKED clay (see, never work late into the night out of stubbornness, it'll just create more grief). i guess it wouldn't matter so much if i 'hide' them between sammiches and such. it's just a huge disappointment that i would persist in my stubborn ways. :( gah. lesson learnt, i'll improvise and move on!

here're a bunch of the 'successes'. i had to slice them while they were warm or my hands would scream. the pic on the right shows the 'successes' vs the 'fails'. excuse the randomness of the strawberries, i made them for practice and didn't know where to chuck 'em XD dad and bf said there's too much dark green on the outer ring, i agree however i do recall seeing pics of similarly ratioed green portions on cucumbers, so it doesn't faze me much. i'll call it 'artistic license' *snort*

looking back on some earlier works, i was still immensely displeased with the way my strawberries turned out, especially the calyx portions. so here i am again, trying out 1:3 and 1:4 strawberries. i think i'll make a darker variety when i next tackle reds. for now, i 'm pretty pleased with this.


=================================
and just when you thought this looooooooooooooooong post was over...;P


tadah! more of the 1:12 cucumbers. see how the 'thick' green portion translates pretty well in 1:12? i have had a little more experience working with 1:12 canes than the larger scales, so i really wanted -this-, not the larger scales. it's ok though *licks own wounds* sob sob (CINDY OMG LET IT GO!!!! XD XD XD)

in keeping with the sliced theme....here're some sliced versions i made a while back but never 'finished'. i hope you can see the teeny bitty seeds....... you might have to squint just like i did when i put them in XD


i'm so happy with these! over here, we call them 'brinjals'. i think they're also known as eggplant or aubergine (man i love pronouncing that word, it sounds almost sexy XD ). they're my grandma's favourite vegetable. although i do think this part is called the fruit???? ionos, i always think seeds = fruit. anyhow, there's an old wives' tale about how if you eat too much of this your eyesight will get bleary....i believe it!!! i once went on this eggplant kick and ate it for lunch for a whole week....at the end of that week i kept rubbing my eyes, it felt sticky and stuff, could be coincidental to weather conditions or whatever but I BELIEVE IT!!!! 

i'm also really happy cos for the first time ever, both my grandma and dad recognized something i placed in their hands -_-"""""" they're my harshest critics!!!

not so pleased with the sliced ones, cos i overdid it on the skin part, ah well. i have a few unbaked brinjals waiting for their 'hats' hee hee. will finish them later....

=================================
are we there yet???? NO. :P but i hope you're still with me......hang in there........

as per one of my previous posts, i started making new plastic packaging in 1:12. here're some cherry tomatoes....

and i made covers for the punnets!!! they fit pretty snugly (for this batch anyway) so i'm really patting my own back sore by now! :P XD

vanity shot!

all that's left are the labels. which is another thing i need to finish when i'm over at bf's office. i can't concentrate at home, the clay calls out to me............

does this post really need more cucumbers?!?!??!?! wakaka.


the lettuce heads turned out surprisingly cool in the pics, but in real life it looks chalky. it was part of my earlier attempts with greens gah. also, the leaves need to be thinner grrrrr


oh hey, pears! this time i made the yellower kind......

and a few citrus fruits to round things up.

i will tackle tropical fruits soon! poor lone mango........trying to blend in with the plums........

ahhaha some inconsiderate shoppers have 'sampled' the berries while they were on the shelves! tsk tsk!

almost there!!! almost there!!! i still have more to do!!!!


=================================
ok the last bit, i promise :)

for the sharp-eyed who noticed this in the previous pic.....ehehehe. i have completed my macrame hanging thingy practice! i got the pattern off this site:


but i had to modify it as the threads i used were a tad thick :( no matter, it was meant to be a practice piece anyway and i like how it turned out! i want to tackle making green plants now that i'm a little more confident with the colour ^ ^ 

hope i didn't put you all to sleep :) time for a break, wow it took me only 4 hours to do up this post *eyes roll* 

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Cucumber Cane. and cuts.

is it wrong to be so immensely pleased with oneself??? XD i spent the WHOLE DAY making this cane. the bulk of the time was spent conditioning and mixing up the right colours, and test baking the colours. i fudged up on the darker greens, i hope this bakes out the way i want it to, right now it's looking good to me! i started out with an almost 3-inch diameter cane, and reduced it down, then split it into 4 portions so that i can try out some with and without skin. 

let's see if i'm as pleased once i bake up these XD meanwhile, i'm patting my own back for even attempting greens, i have so much trouble working with the colour.......

i want to try caning other stuff now! i enjoy caning, but these hands need a break...

not just the hands really. my right thigh looks like i've been self-harming, but let me reassure you that i'm not! from bottom up:

- 190 deg celcius binder clip flew out of my oven mitt and bounced off, BOUNCED OFF my thigh mind you. and it left that sear right thair. ah the price one pays for ones' craft (and clumsiness) *snort
- left, a bruise from a rash i scratched at after working with epoxy resin. i seriously think i'm getting allergic to that stuff....
- so....my 6 inch stainless steel blade i use for working with canes bounced out of my hands (don't ask me how, you already know i'm a klutz) and landed between my legs. i resisted the impulse to clap my thighs together, but a split second later my right leg involuntarily moved and i thought i'd only lightly grazed it. newp. the blade proceeded to bounce again and landed on my thigh, and onto the floor. i thought again that it was another graze and ignored the prickly pains, until the blood started showing. NICE HUH!
- Eva needs to cut her nails. she likes sharpening them herself though, even though i take the time out to sand her claws after each clipping GRRRRRrrrrrrrrrrr

massive update soonish, on my new vacuum box, macrame hanging, cucumber cane and gosh i forgets. i think salads. ionos i've just been occupying myself and catching up with clay, I MISS CLAYING!!!!!

Friday, March 4, 2011

Stuff I found whilst packing

 since bf bought me a vacuum cleaner, i'd been cleaning up my room with a tad more fervour. i pulled open drawers and gave their contents a good dusting down. first up, the crochet'd doilies i never got round to finish tucking in the ends XD would have to also find a day and time to tack them down to neaten them up, but i find that a rather tedious process. i made these when i was sicker than usual 2 mths back, all i could do then was lie in bed and my hands were itchy! most of the designs are the same, just in different sizes and threads.

i have no idea what i meant for them to be. some could be used to dress up mini tables and sofas, but i think the main purpose of making them was just so i could feel as if i were being productive :-/ they're now filed away in a plastic folder until i re-discover them during spring cleaning sometime in the future (not too far ahead i hope, i don't clean enough as it is :P )

 and then...there's this! my trusty box full of DMC threads. i started cross stitching as a child, and so have amassed quite a collection of threads. i have another 2-3 ziploc bags full of thread, these are just colours prepared for various projects. i am prone to organizing my collections, i also have 2 CD boxes full of music CDs which i've taken out of their jewel boxes, putting them into individually labelled sleeves. each box contains about 50-60 discs...i find the process rather calming. i think i'm a control freak in denial LOL. actually i think i did it because those darn jewel cases are heavy and we moved around quite a bit back then.
here's an unfinished project. i think i got tired of sewing the same cows (re: border) over and over again. i planned to turn it into a bag, i liked how the cows are somewhat of a parody of the american gothic painting. maybe i'll convert it into a cushion cover, ionos. maybe, maybe....LOL!

my most ambitious and fave project! i fell deep in love with this and bought the book on the spot. this was originally framed in a glass only 'frame' from ikea, but it fell off the wall and so went back into my craft drawer :(
closeup of individual stitches. i don't remember the stitch count of the canvas, but i know it's rather small.
 
 and then the kimonos! i love these, i remember trying to decide if i wanted to do the border, i guess i chose not to XD
 and some incomplete ones. i don't remember why they remained incomplete, i hope it's not because i ran out of thread, but judging from the progress of this, it probably is the reason :( don't you hate it when that happens?!?!
 i found this piece tucked away, with the threads, in the book. i don't use hoops, i find them a bit cumbersome, i simply roll up the canvas and hold it gently in my left hand, thus retaining the canvas' natural shape (somewhat, i hate it when the hoops leave marks or stretches out the canvas). so far, upon inspecting these, i don't see any sweat stains and i must have kept these for over 6 years? it's somewhat surprising to me as i have sweaty palms :P
 here's the title of the book for those who are interested. i highly recommend it, there are quite a number of designs in there that i adore which might be suitable for miniature projects! in fact, it's tempting me to pick up x-stitch again, more so after being a recipient of one of Rosanna's wonderful works.
i remember how much i loved this design that i made it such that it would fit into my wallet. however, my compulsions seem to only work on completing the designs, but not the finishings nor presentations zzzzzzzz -_-". so back into the book it went after taking this pic. ack *sheepish*

i have so many more finished and unfinished x-stitch projects. i remember filing them into pocket folders, i just gotta find it.....now that i'm blogging about them i feel as if i really should at least complete the incompletes before i embark upon mini x-stitch. gahhhh *grits teeth*

 on to the non-craft stuff i found! here's a Qoo bag. i used to drink the white grape flavour quite a bit. i vaguely recall queueing up in order to exchange/purchase these with my friend, we even got ourselves the Qoo bikini. i don't recall what we had to exchange for these though, probably some Qoo tabs + cash.....man that seemed like a lifetime ago. there's a whole bunch of soft-toy stuffing bursting to get out of the bag now :P

i vaguely recall a friend giving these to me. on the back, it says for distribution in Japan only. i don't even remember how she got it, or why. back then, i wasn't even a fan of Hello Kitty, not that i am now. although i admit i find Hello Kitty products rather cute NOW. funny how i've regressed XD
 wakakkaa! remember the days when Jean Paul Gaultier was soooooo fashionable!?!? is my age showing??? i love love love this bottle. i think either my aunt or cousin gave this set to me....so far i've only used one bottle (the empty one on the right).
i don't use any perfume anymore, but in my late teens, i used Escape, Eternity, Versace's Blue Jeans and Red Jeans....but my all time favourite was Davidoff's Cool Water for men! wahaha i wore alot of that! i think my 2nd fave was Drakkar Noir, but only on the men (boys?) i dated then tee hee....do they even sell these scents anymore? although i do not recall many of these scents, there is one that i hope to find again. Yardley's "Pink Lace". but i think even that is out of production. heck, i doubt i'd even like it anymore, but scents are closely tied to memories, and now that i'm all feeling nostalgic i'm missing the scents!

ok that's it for a peek into my dusty storage drawers. there's of course a tonne more stuff, like Burda magazines and knitting magazines that i used to collect, as well as my yarn stash and dozens of knitting needles, but that's another post for another day :) hope you enjoyed reminiscing along with me!