A Day Full of Love

This summer has been full of ups and downs.  There have been plenty of scares, but we are still holding on and moving forward.  Sometimes, our path leads in a different direction.  Perhaps one that we did not anticipate or expect, but we still continue onward, waiting to see what is around the next corner.

In the meantime, I have been working on a major project over the last month.  We just came home from a beautiful wedding of two of our dearest friends.  It was such a happy occasion and everyone was bursting with joy for the couple.

At the beginning of the summer, the bride approached me about making a bride & groom sculpture for the occasion.  She gave me plenty of notice, so I had no problem planning out the project.  Many sketches and redesigns later, I give you the Happy Cthulhu Couple!

This was the first time that I had to fix a standing figure with legs into the base.  This was a challenge, but I am more confident than ever in moving forward with these types of sculptures, due to the structural integrity that I was able to master.

I bugged the bride and groom for as many details about their wedding day as possible, so I could match the color of the bouquet, the style of wedding dress, the groom's suit and boutonniere.  I made cherry blossoms, to match the design of their wedding cake.

I added a few Swarovski crystals to the train of the dress to add a bit more flare and sparkle.  

Oh, and speaking of the wedding cake.  You have got to check this out!  Made by my friend, Mike, over at Baking Better.  If you have not checked out his blog, you must for some of the best dessert recipes around!

Seriously, the best wedding cake I have ever tasted.  Ever.

And a big Congratulations to the happy couple!  It was a beautiful wedding, full of love and joy!  We are all so happy for them and it was the loveliest wedding that I've ever attended.

Holiday Gifts

Ah, the holiday season is fast approaching and everyone is scrambling to finish their last minute shopping, baking, wrapping and gift making!  I took Friday off from work in order to finish up my holiday shopping and to finish up some holiday projects.

Since we are celebrating the season with one family today, I will go ahead and share their gifts with you.  As the upcoming holiday approaches and the gifts are given out, I will reveal each one to you.

Some of you might remember the pendant I made earlier this year, using image transfer, clay and Magic-Glos?  Well, I decided to incorporate that into my gift making this year.

This heart pendant featuring primroses will be going to my boyfriend's mom for Christmas.  It uses a combination of clay, watercolor, mica powders and resin to create an eye-catching piece.

 

While his sister will also receive a pendant, featuring a more artistic style flower.  I hope they enjoy them.  Stay tuned for more projects!  What are you making this holiday season?

Work Table Wednesday

So, the koi pond is progressing nicely!  I added some plants around the edges of the rock to add texture and depth to the piece.  Then, I sculpted some tiny lily pads, which I then painted, to adorn the surface of the water.  There is even a small lily blossom, but it is not a permanent fixture yet, so it might change once more.

Close up of koi playing peek-a-boo beneath the lily pads with his friends.

Yet, another angle.  I am hoping to get some really nice photos soon that can really show the detail, but I'm waiting for a good day with natural lighting.

And I finally started pouring the resin on my larger pond.  The koi are about halfway there on their swimming pool.  I even have some "plants" that will be sticking up out of the resin on this one to add a unique feature.  Both ponds will be getting a black-wash of paint to darken the stones before I deem them finished.

Work Table Wednesday

So, this is an item I finished a few weeks ago, but I have not had the opportunity to share it with you all.  It utilizes the Magic-Glos UV resin.

While vacationing this summer, I was lucky enough to stumble across both the resin and the curing lamp in a craft store.  I had been looking at these items for nearly a year and to actually be able to hold them, well, let's just say they moved right into my shopping cart and I never looked back...especially when I had a 40% off coupon on the lamp.

So, as soon as I got home and after I greeted the pets, I unpacked and eagerly set up for my first resin project that wouldn't involve mixing equal parts of chemicals and praying I get all the bubbles out...(oh, yes, I have failed with regular resin).

After much debating, I decided to take some white clay and do an image transfer pendant.  Once the coloring of the image and the transfer to the clay was complete, I decided to paint the area surrounding the image with iridescent pearl powders.  This gave a beautiful mother-of-pearl look to the white clay.

Then began the really tedious process of applying the resin, layer by layer.  You have to make sure to spread the resin equally across the surface and try to make sure it touches all of the edges.

This is the completed pendant after multiple layers of resin.

The iridescent pearl is move visible from this angle, along with the varnished appearance created by the  resin.

This was definitely a first project, but I have received multiple compliments on this piece and I look forward to working on more projects with this medium.