Mask of Cthulhu!

Wow, it has been a crazy month.  I have been invited to participate in a craft show in a few weeks, started up a shopfront on ArtFire.com, staying extremely busy with my day job and joined a great guild on ArtFire, the Polymer Clay Smooshers!

Autumn is probably my favorite time of year and is accompanied by my favorite holiday, Halloween!  I celebrated this weekend by watching Garfield's Halloween while working on a mask for a great event being hosted by the Polymer Clay Smooshers.  They are hosting a Masquerade Ball where they invite their members to submit a mask to be a part of the ball.  Several of us joined towards the end of the event, so the guild leader, ColtPixy extended the deadline for us.  I feel like I made it in just under the wire, as often happens with my deadlines :)

I have only started reading H.P. Lovecraft in the past year, though my boyfriend has been a fan of his work for a long time.  When I first started reading Lovecraft's short stories, I wasn't sure what to expect.  The underlying psychological horror in all of his stories is amazing, though some are much more entertaining for me than others.  If you decide to read Lovecraft, I highly recommend reading his work in chronological order, since many of his stories will build on his earlier fiction.  

So, when I was debating on what type of mask to submit to the guild's ball, I thought what a fun way to celebrate my enjoyment of Lovecraft's work than to try to craft a mask.  Here are some raw photos before baking:

 

After many hours of sculpting, fixing, retexturing, I finally attempted to bake the piece.  On the advice of a guild member, I used cornstarch to cover the piece to prevent the clay from burning.  It worked wonderfully, though it took me an hour to just brush the cornstarch off of the finished product! :D

This is the finished product that I now have listed on my Artfire and Etsy shops.  I carefully painted over the piece using a mixture of metallic yellows, greens and blacks to achieve a wonderful shimmer to the mask and add depth to the piece.  I hope I was able to achieve it.  

Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn.

"In his house at R'lyeh dead Cthulhu waits dreaming."

Autumn is Fast Approaching...

Last night, I came across a great deal on carving pumpkins at our local Fresh Market.  I was able to get a large pumpkin for only $3.40, with tax!  So, if you have one in your area, you might want to check them out soon for a great deal.  

Of course, as we pulled into the parking lot and I saw that glimmer of orange, I gasped in delight.  My boyfriend then sighed, because as he claims, I have an utter obsession with pumpkins.

I don't deny it.  I love them.  I have no idea why...but they make me happy and I giggle like a child when I see them displayed.

The pumpkin now has a prominent place on the coffee table, away from the pets so it does not get chewed on for now.  I have to protect it...it wants me to protect it.

Now that I have started to get into the spirit, I pulled out all of the Halloween and fall decorations today and began to arrange them around the apartment.  After finally sitting down for the evening, I decided I should actually work on my jewelry.  What better than to use my new coffee table centerpiece for my inspiration?

I carved this pumpkin pendant out of polymer clay.  I love the detail that showed up in the vine.  After I baked it, I painted it very carefully with several coats.  I am very pleased with the finished product.  It has a vintage look to me...

Whew!

I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend, no  matter what you chose to do!  

I planned absolutely nothing, and was able to focus on my jewelry and cooking the entire weekend.  I spent most of Saturday working on redoing almost all of my photos in my Etsy shop (check them out!)  While redesigning and uploading my photos, I started making connections through the Etsy forums and Facebook fan pages, which has been a great amount of fun!

Sunday, I spent the day working on a few sets of earrings and then creating a couple of polymer clay pendants.  One set of earrings I posted on Etsy (Time for Tea Too).  I also redesigned my Etsy banner and attempted to make my first clay cane.  It didn't turn out that well, but it isn't horrible for a first attempt.  The blue cheese-beer-bacon bread I made from scratch did turn out fabulously well, so the day wasn't a total loss on the creativity side. :D

Today, we smoked a pork shoulder and cornish game hen, and I made brownies from scratch for the very first time.  
 f you are going to attempt it, I highly recommend the Hershey's Kitchen brownie recipe:

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, melted
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt (I did only about 1/8 of salt)
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts(optional)

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 9-inch square baking pan.

2. Stir together butter, sugar and vanilla in bowl. Add eggs; beat well with spoon. Stir together flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt; gradually add to egg mixture, beating until well blended. Stir in nuts, if desired. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan.

3. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until brownies begin to pull away from sides of pan. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into squares. About 16 brownies. 

Now, I am just checking through the Etsy forums and glazing my polymer clay pendants...delaying going to bed.  I'm so glad it's a shortened work week, how about you?

Also, welcome to my new followers and the new people perusing through my blog!!!  I hope you enjoy!