it's been over a month since my last post???

1:3 polymer clay and air dry clay custom request items

my customer wanted a sort of 'preparation board' type scene for a very chef-y BJD and i immediately got excited! i'd never really done a 'proper' prepboard, not even in 1:12 but sorely wanted the opportunity to, so although this request came in just as I did say I was going to cut down on commission-work, i couldn't resist :X

So I proposed a few items, like flour, sugar, icing, eggs, completed cupcakes as well as one 'mid-decoration'.....i think the potential for these props is endless! ^ ^

this little 'picnic cake' was my favourite piece to make :) made me want to go out and get some huhuhu, there's something about jellies and gelatinous stuff that i like, though i know exactly how it's made :S what, me eat glue? NEV--

nevermind. MOVING ALONG~!

these were particularly problematic to make with a very very sore shoulder and sprained finger *winces at recollection*

i did re-do the macaron box for the 'rainbow' range of macarons :D

few more random shots of the request.

i'd love a bite of not-too-sweet red bean filled mochi right now.....i especially enjoyed the ichigo (strawberry) chocolate mochi that my middle brother once brought back for me from Japan, took all of my willpower not to consume the whole pack in one sitting :S ah good times.

and on to why i've gone AWOL the past month or so:-

Reposted from my deviantArt journal (i post more personal stuff there, but thought to repost this here since it'll explain why i've stopped taking in students and what it means for my mini-making)

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how time flies! things over here have been rather hectic, and the worst of it is (I HOPE) over! within a space of a month, a few members of my family and bf started passing around the very fashionable flu that comes with April's weather shift....

which led to my youngest brother spending 2 nights at the hospital for complications arising from the flu (bad bronchitis/asthma attack, they're still trying to figure out why :S)....

then my pulled right shoulder muscle from carrying not-too-heavy packets of soupy foods around, was so painful i got on some 'fun' painkillers but took me out for a few days....

then finding out my dad's routine checkup turned out some pretty bad news about his heart - something about blood pumping back into chambers, possible blockage or not-blockage....i'm trying hard not to think too much about it but instead focussing on adjusting his diet so we can keep him around for a lot lot LOT more....my heart aches a LOT thinking about this. 

leading into news that the lease for the office is up, and a lot earlier than i'd been prepared for, so i'm in the midst of packing all this mini stuff up, all this while trying hard not to mess up my still-sore shoulder (at least i can move it and turn my head now...)

i was really down for a few days, being stuck in bed nursing the shoulder/neck/gastric flu(food poisoning??) but there's plenty ahead of me yet, and although it could have been so easy for me to slip down the slippery path back into *gulp* **lowers voice into whisper** depression, i went on an escape-from-reality adventure in Pocket Legends, which meant spending plenty more time with my youngest bro, simply not thinking or overthinking everything. i guess everything is falling into place, and it seems i might be going back into my old (and oft-role) of caregiver. but no WAY am i going to give up on minis. it keeps me sane, happy, and brightens up my darkest moments. so though i may be more subdued and less faux-cheery (huh) i am determined to come up with better works and figure out how to make bland foods appetizing for a funny old man with just a few teeth left XD speaking of which, grandma is getting new dentures fitted so....


*deep sigh*

ANYWAY. here's to me, surviving all this. :E GO ME RAWRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

so that's it for April i think. i'm moving stuff back slowly and hope to have everything sorted out by mid-May (lease is up end-May) and try and establish my new routine and role in life (i'm awful at handling change, could you tell???? XD ). i have a lot of mini odds and ends still waiting to be listed, but i'm trying not to stress myself out, so i'll update over on my facebook fan page when i've listed something new, remember to 'Like' it for updates!

http://www.facebook.com/SnowfernClover

also, for those who were wondering about the googlefriend connect thing, i'm not sure if those who have 'followed' in the past are still getting updates, or if they (you?) would have to become a 'member' of my blog again?!?

thanks so much for accompanying me on my journey this far, here's to the next chapter of my life, i am glad that all i feel now is slight trepidation and not a full blown panic/anxiety attack XD

aiight. back to work. :S

Sales, and a little more about me....

assorted 1:3 and 1:4 items with 1:4 'model' (i think)
items with 1:3 model (i think LOL)

My customer all the way from Spain very kindly gave me permission to use her pictures for this blog post :)

Thank you Siruveru!

Items above are from my very first sale at http://www.denofangels.com marketplace! Siruveru has been very supportive and helpful while i was gathering info on what items and scales to sell at TDA09, i feel so thankful for all my customers and supporters ^ ^

i'm currently at a place where i'm a tad confused about where i'm going on this journey. i haven't had a stable source of income for at least 2 years, so the $ i get from random sales and commissions ise definitely welcome. however, i'm beginning to think that i need to sort out a direction for this blog/page. i know one thing for sure, i'm not going full blown commercial. where possible, i'll still put up tips, experiment results and maybe even more tutorials.

but please forgive me also if i start selling more 'advanced' techniques (like frosting etc) and molds and such. actually, if at all possible, i'd even love to publish some day. have some sort of passive income, so i can indulge more in my experiments and creations. i don't know why i feel so guilty for 'selling out'. i have resisted putting up ads and such on this page, and whatever little i earn goes back into materials and dog food. so really, i'm not sure why i keep feeling like a sellout :(

do people who suddenly switch from 'hobbyist' to 'full time miniaturist' all struggle with this, or are these issues more deeply rooted in my twisted mind than i first imagined?

thanks for reading. and yes, it is -that- time of the month *moody*

Experiment - Air dry clay (and yet again!)

first try. you can tell i didn't mix the clays sufficiently. well ok maybe only those who work with air dry clay can tell better. click on pic to see notes i've added on flickr to the pic.

this one is a mega disaster LOL the white lightweight paper clay might have been a little too pulpy, but i think maybe MAYBE if i added more grace, it wouldn't flake and crumble when i slice into it?

this one gave the best results, but took the longest to dry cos i totally added too much water. at least i -think- i've figured out how to slice it decently. i used a razor blade for this.

and i really wanted to find a way to do the frosting like i did for my donuts, 'cept air-dry style. this is a defniite failure. i mixed acrylic with white glue for the lower one, but i think the ratio was wrong and the acrylic dried up too quickly. the upper one was only marginally less of a failure as i'd added 2:1 water: acrylic, then a dab of white glue. still. no go. not as beautiful as the results i get with liquid polymer clay.

which would be tomorrow's experiment. :) wow 3 posts in a day!

oh yeah, these bases were made with the help and advice from Asuka but please don't pester her LOL! i literally mucked about with the clay, it got so messy i think more than half the clay went down the drain since it stuck to my hands and i got so grossed out i nearly gave up more than once > <

see what i mean by 'lots of failures'? man if i had documented all my polymer clay failures i'da given up a looong time ago :X

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.

long leave of absence from minis

ok after i post this i shall ban myself from the keyboard and all other activities that require the use of my right hand.

mom bought even more crabs yesterday and told me to cook them before rushing out, i reluctantly did so because i hate the idea of food spoiling/wastage....but i paid for it dearly. cleaning and cooking the crabs placed such a strain on my barely healed hand/wrist that it started throbbing very painfully all day yesterday, and it is clear today that it will be a long time yet before i can go back to mini-work.

i am mad as heck and almost tearful, but feeling mostly resigned to the fact that i -must- leave my hand alone lest i destroy it totally. probably will take a trip down to a chinese acupuncturist since western medicine is not helping.

sorry to drag everyone down, but truly, i am miserable without my minis. so i guess this is my application for leave of absence? i don't know when i'll be back proper, but i'll pop in once in a while when i'm super sure i'm ready to work minis again. :(