A New Start

ahhh~ it's been a good few weeks since I shifted almost all my mini-making stuff (clay mostly) to bf's office. I think I've finally settled in. adjusting to the new workspace, packing, sorting, organizing....getting used to the air-conditioning (sinuses were in a terrible state the first 2 weeks) and travelling, and then getting used to the new worktable/chair....doing backups, formatting the laptop, getting the new oven and pasta machine set up, figuring out the ergonomics of it all....it's given me the opportunity to sort out and re-visit old ideas and materials that i had stashed away to work on 'some day'.

so this is the result of the few minutes/hours a day i could on making new furniture/props for the fresh start! this is my kitchen island, heavily HEAVILY inspired by IKEA's STENSTORP. it's going to be my new favourite prop tee hee. it took me a little over a week, the few minutes i have awake at home each day drawing up the plans, measurements, sawing, sanding, painting, sanding, painting, sanding, painting, gluing before FINALLY FINALLY YAYYYYY omg i might have missed out a coupla gluings and sandings, not in the above order.

forgot to mention, the pegs that came with the cheapo plastic mitre broke and the saw 'jumped' and ate into my left index finger. it wasn't -too- bad a cut, but it did hurt. that same night, i accidentally stuck a thumbtack into the edge of my right thumbnail, and as if those two injuries weren't enough fun for one day, the stupid plug on my vacuum jumped while i was retreating the cord and gave my right middle fingernail a good whack. so i was really wincing whenever i had to type, hence my online disappearance. no pics, although i really did want to, them were nice bruises :X hurhur. *painful laughter* bf had a good laugh at my expense when he questioned me on the number of 'working fingers' i had left.....and my reply was like a little child trying to learn how to count with his fingers...*whimpers softly* least i didn't flip him a birdie :S

so anyway. i'm determined to fill up my Etsy before i head home today....it is bf's birthday today, HAPPY BIRTHDAY L! being broke and all, and since i've started coming into the office with him everyday, i barely had any time to myself, so i couldn't even sneak away to get him a gift (not that it mattered, re: BROKE), so after he walked me home last night, i went on dad's laptop to find an easy peasy cupcake recipe, snuck back downstairs to the neighbourhood convenience store, made the batter BY HAND COS I COULDN'T FIND THE MIXER OHNOES, even whipped up my virgin batch of frosting (which didn't really matter, he doesn't like overly sweet stuff :-/ ) and since the uber dense miserably frosted 'cupcakes' were such a miserable flop, i tried to salvage it by whipping up a new batch of frosting this morning....and after all that he was too sick to even head to the office T-T so there went the surprise GAHHHHHH. wound up delivering it to his place before heading down to the office, where i am now whacking away at the keyboard with my freshly healed fingers ^ ^ of course, i'd left the camera in the office so no pics either :S

maybe i shoulda taken up his mom's offer of her spare mixer HRM. nah. strike that, i gotta remember i'm diabetic (dangit was so damn thirsty all of today after 'tasting' all the cupcakes and frosting last night hurhur)

i love how my ramblings don't match up with the photos :E

ok. so here's what else i've been attempting to list for the longest time. they'll be up, soonish in my Etsy Store. :) yuh, it's quite miserable and sickly looking now hurhur :X

 i've missed you all T-T SAY YOU'VE MISSED ME TOO!!!! *throws diva-esque tantrum* :E :D XD

Updates while updating

 this was a test shot taken my first week at the office (last week). tweaked it a little with IrfanView, gonna try and set up a photoshoot area too. the office lighting is far superior to the one i have in my room, so i'm (reluctantly) excited about the prospect of taking better photos.....when i get round to it :P

WARNING. GEEKY COMP STUFF AHEAD. ok maybe just borderline geeky. :E

i'd decided it was time for my waaay overdue annual formatting of the laptop. about ...4 years overdue :P it got infected recently with a nasty and persistent virus that infected every external HDD. i don't know how i got it, even AVG couldn't detect nor remove it, bf came up with a brilliant solution of utilizing an even older laptop which has UBUNTU installed as its OS. i formatted at least 4 thumbdrives, my camera (yes even that got infected grrr) and of course, my trusty laptop (seen above on the right, installing its umpteenth update i think). debated over whether i should have used ubuntu this time round, but opted against it since it'd be really troublesome when it comes to flash and other little entertainment stuff that i use the laptop for when i'm working on minis...so it's back to the restoration disc and back to winXP. i know, i know, i'm pretty outdated but i really like winXP (whines).

the pasta machine was kindly donated by my cousin (THANK YOU!) and i took it apart to remove the little attachments which i know i wouldn't use, as well as give it a cleaning. i have since worked on a really little bit of polymer clay (hangs head in shame) but in my defense, there really was a lot of moving and packing to do!! all those materials...gahh i'm still sorting and packing them -_-"

 even had to bring my trusty little caddy over. i'm really fond of clear/translucent white plastic containers :X

and the back shelf, which is holding a whole lotta stuff i've yet to sort out still....and it's been over a week since i've 'settled in' blehhhhhh

am also going to try and list more items, undecided on where i should list them, am still installing updates, my stupid fonts aren't getting updated, so any graphic work is being delayed as i attempt to fix the issues. meanwhile, here's a sneak preview on what you can expect to see once i get things sorted out, might even set up my own shopping cart if i can concentrate for periods of more than 40 mins at a go (the average length of each episode of 'Damages' LOL)

k time to reboot (AGAIN!!! OMG)

1-12 Sashimi Platter

 have had rather bad cravings for japanese food lately, i wonder why HRMMMMMMMMMMMMMM :P

 i tried out a new clay for the 'stoneware', it's "Tebineri Clay" which is according to the website, is a pottery polymer clay. essentially, you work it like you would air dry clay (or real pottery clay i suppose, but ionos cos i've never worked with 'actual' pottery clay before), let dry before baking at 160 deg celcius. working with it is tricky, cos it dries really fast in this climate, but even when dry is really brittle, however after baking, it's waterproof and quite sturdy.

of course it's not as strong as ceramic or pottery would be, i'd say it's about as sturdy as if you'd made a similar plate out of polymer clay. it's a clay i could definitely work with alot as it combines my fave properties of both air dry and polymer clays.

 

made this chrysanthemum out of FIMO polymer clay. very fiddly and after making just 2 teeny and 2 larger ones my hands cramped up LOL

inspiration for the sashimi platter (inclusive of the plate) came from a take-away menu LOL

can't tell you how pleased i am with how it turned out ^ ^ of course me being my worst critic, there are multiple areas which i can improve upon....*mutters* next, WHOLE FISH *shudders*

on the personal front, the workshops are over~! some of you may have already viewed the pictures over on my facebook...not gonna link it cos double chins aren't all that attractive (maybe i should grow a beard to hide mine) but i'm so happy to see photos of my students enjoying the classes :) judging is this saturday, i'll try to remember to take photos hee hee. also, Crystarlia has taken more beautiful pictures of her dolls with some of my works ^ ^ you can view them in her flickr stream!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/crystarlia/

Thanks CH!!! ^ ^

k time to rest my hands again T-T

1:12 ADC Basic Strawberry Cane

strawberry cane for beginners. i'll teach my students how to detail it further in class :)

it's not exactly a tutorial either, gonna use it alongside Lesson 2 this saturday. doubt i'll have time to edit/render/upload more by then, especially when this laptop keeps crashing when i do any graphic editing (the graphic card probably overheated, weather's been really warm lately too). we'll just have to make-do, like we did last saturday!!! :P

another competition! and some quick updates

I was recently alerted to a lantern-making competition, and am hoping to participate! I wasn't sure where more info could be found online, but a quick search on Google turned up this:

http://www.ntu.edu.sg/events/pages/newsdetail.aspx?URL=http://www.ntu.edu.sg/events/events/Pages/ChannelUinvitesstudents.aspx&Guid=dcf9e9a4-bdf0-4811-81b1-77be49732dd0&Category=Event%20Calendar

the brief can be downloaded on a link via the page itself.

Participation is free-of-charge. Pre-registration by 31 July 2011 is required to confirm your participation. All completed entries must be submitted to Central (6 Eu Tong Sen Street, above Clarke Quay MRT) on 15 August 2011, no later than 5pm Singapore time.

i hope to participate, but what with the stuff going on, i am not exactly hopeful :( we shall see!

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

been keeping busy, what with a strained neck and all (yea i forgot how heavy clay can get -_-"), hence the lack of updates. made a video to help with lesson #2 of the workshop this saturday.....getting the hang of editing videos. apologies for the poor quality, can't do much with my laptop overheating + virus (cleared with AVG) + crappy lighting/video skills.



not sure if i'll make more videos, depends on how effective they will be (if they can be shown at all!) during class. didn't provide a narrative cos i lost my mic,.... and i don't like the sound of my droning voice (it doesn't sound like me, or the me i think i sound like), so again the class will have to put up with my frantic breakneck speed explanations. :E

the first class went as well as could be, considering the class size and my lack of experience. i hope the students enjoyed at least some of it, i know i wasn't as concise as i'd liked (read: LONGWINDED), but i had a script all ready that sat untouched and unread on my table, that's how i tend to do things! i can't even follow -my own- directions -_-"""""""""""""""""""""""" zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

ah well. *heavy sighs*

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

made these the past few weeks, was meaning to list some of them, alas, my IBS kicked in and i was OOC for a few days, so that kinda messed up my schedule again. *fumes* i really wish my body would co-operate with my brain GAH.

WIP pics. i sent the above preview to Asuka, and remarked that it looked like a poker chip -_-" bf agrees.

LOL.

preview. am setting up a workspace so i can conduct lessons on basic polymer clay caning. syllabus and details should be made available by September...2011 (hahah i said i'd start teaching aug last year....geez talk about slow)

more pics for another post, got some stuff to do, and my comp is not cooperating. *shakes fist at it* grr.

1:12 Caladium hortulanum

 the weather in Singapore has been really warm lately, and thus dampened my enthusiasm for making clay minis. so i decided to work with materials that did not melt in my hands :P

next to Eva's cute little acorn house!

i found a wonderful plant tutorial quite a long time ago, and tucked it away in my bookmarks for until i could find a way to incorporate it into whatever project that would call for greenery. you know how you would print out little projects that you hope to get to 'some day'? i have quite a number of folders of stuff like that :P for those who might want to add another project to that folder (if you haven't already!) you can find it here:

http://les-miniatures-de-victoria.oldiblog.com/?page=articles&rub=212034&nba=3

googletranslate was a great help, and i did manage to get them out within half a day (with plenty of distractions of course, courtesy of a little four-legged 'helper'). initially i was going to finish them with a satin varnish, but initial results looked too plasticky to my taste, so i switched to matte and i think they look pretty good! i don't really like round pots, prefer angular stuff so i picked out a Re-ment planter from the home centre series and used it :)

in case you were wondering what i printed it on, i used a regular old 80 gsm copy paper, but would much prefer something thinner, and set to best photo quality setting for matte papers. the instructions are pretty self-explanatory, plenty of pictures are in the tutorial!

* forgot to add earlier that i did run a green pen down the sides of the leaves to hide the white paper, i think it makes a world of difference! oh and of course that i crinkled up the paper too before i varnished it....

i'm not sure why, although i do like flowers in a 'please don't buy me flowers i prefer them in the field' kind of way, i would much prefer a beautiful green plant. i remember learning about poisonous house plants way back in primary/elementary school science, and caladiums really stuck in my mind. firstly, for the way it rolls off the tongue, and then because they just look....so happy! i really like the shapes of them, and the colours. if ever i were to own a plant (*snort* it's amazing i kept my dog fed and watered daily as it is, and she has to remind me) i would probably pick a hardy green leafy one, like these :) just don't let the kids touch it!

i hope this planter will brighten up my nook a little. going off to try and do a little 'mini-baking' now that the weather's a little cooler today :) hope you enjoyed my little show-and-tell!

Work and Play

Thank you Eva!! These beautiful gifts were from Eva when she visited Singapore last week, Asuka, Sans and I got together and Eva cooked a beautiful meal for us :D I overate as usual, so much salad (I was being cheeky and didn't say "when" early enough XD XD XD) so I guess it isn't too bad XD will wait for Sans to put up pics cos we used her camera hee hee.

i also got a beautiful little menu done by Asuka herself for TDA! she stayed up all night before TDA to make this...the results were well worth it! i've stored it away safely for when i get a doll *sighs* it's ok, at least i know there's one other person who thinks like me *winks at Jenn* XD Sans gave me a set of small teeny screwdrivers too, it seems we're always exchanging little handy tools and such for minimaking hehehe! NEVERENDING STORY XD in case you were wondering what the 3 items at the back left are, i bought some sanding sponge thingies from Daiso...the numbers are supposed to indicate the grit size i think....haven't tried them out but i plan to do a bit of woodwork when i can...soon.....soon......*sweat*

looks like my little photonook is filling up nicely with gifts from my friends around the world, i'm so happy to have met you, Dale, Rosanna and Eva :) so lucky so lucky! (i daren't put the acorn house and the frog in the nook, cos my shelves aren't held up by anything except some tacky glue XD)

doesn't end there! Rayner came back from a company trip to taiwan. he woke me at about 2am early monday morning to give me this...A HUGE DOMOKUN AHHH!!! I LOVE HIM! he's like this cute clumsy bumbly creature (eh, sounds familiar) and this would be my first Domo-kun related merchandise cos as much as i like him, and PLENTY OF OTHER CUTESY STUFF, i know that surely, if i indulged there would be hell to pay for it.

like a lack of a wardrobe HA!

or lack of a workspace. DOUBLE HA!

all nonsense aside, it really was a good weekend :) i've had to really sit down, compose myself, and get some 'real work' done though. the miniature workshop starts in about...2 more weeks...applications close in 3 days.

strangely, that's not what i worry about. for a few good years i've had to give private tuition, i don't think it would be all that different. me, talking non-stop (i'm good at that, check), faffing around details i find important but will probably not be (high points, check), baffling people with sudden topic shifts (oh look, birdy!).

where was i?

OH yes. 'work'. here's stuff i've put up on DoA Marketplace.....you know, usual procedure, or email me snowfern at gmail dot com yada yada yada....~

NPNT, so here they are! Io)

 uhnnnn i got distracted while waiting for the pics to upload, so a /random moment:

http://rrkra.deviantart.com/

SO DAMN COOL. imma bead a little after i get some work done, got heaps of beads lying around from back when i did quite a bit of it XD

back to 'business'

oh~! i'm so happy! while creating this post, some of the items sold already! looks like i need to do some more pic editing @ @

eh. where did the time go. OH YA. btw, i've added more links to the right....do take a look! ^ ^ man i really love playing spot the difference XD XD XD