Work Table Wednesday

Remember the miniature koi pond that I made last fall for the state fair?

With the tiny koi, all three of which fit on a single dime?

Well, I couldn't stop just there...I had to expand...or...well, miniaturize!

Three little koi, swimming on a dime...

Three little koi, swimming in their pendant pond...

 

Three little koi, having such a fun time!

This is only the first of a few koi pond pendants that I plan to make...I am testing out some techniques and finding what looks just right.  I also have a few other ideas, but one project at a time! ;)

Day after Christmas Shopping!

Even though I am writing this post ahead of time, I am going to hazard a guess that we will be partaking in the day after Christmas shopping.  Last year, my mom and I raided Michaels for leftover Christmas trees...I ended up with two great small ones.

This year, I really don't have anything on my list for after Christmas shopping, but I'm sure I'll find some clay or paint that I "cannot live without." :P

Here is a summary of all the necklaces I made for holiday gifts.  I still have a few holiday gifts to show you, but those will be next time.

Work Table Wednesday

I have a lot of things on my work table right now!  The holidays are fast approaching and I find that I have a project every single evening for the next two and a half weeks, if I am going to stay ahead of the game and have everything done in time for the holiday parties.

My grandmother's birthday is this Sunday, so I sent her a package today containing some cute jigsaw puzzles, which she loves, as well as these goodies...

She is receiving a wall plaque I made out of polymer clay with pearlized powder, a beaded bookmark and two sets of earrings, including some gorgeous blue lace agate from CrysallisGEMS that I made into simple drop earrings.

Santa Cthulhus' are finished and drying with their shiny metallic sheen.  Maybe they should get candy cane staffs ;)

Our dog, Kallie, has not been amused by all of the frantic creating or holiday shopping.  She would rather take a nap.  So would I....she is a very smart doggie.

Work Table Weekend

Today, I spent time working with clay for the first time in a couple of weeks.  It was really nice to relax with my favorite medium.  I ended up reworking a hermit crab, finishing another one, as well as start the beginning of a new project attempt. :)  Here are the pictures of the works in progress.  The hermit crabs will be getting a coat of paint next, before incorporating accessories.  I did have to place a Santa hat on for the photo...it made me giggle too much.

 A friend and I explored Jerry's Art-a-rama yesterday and I picked up another jar of Pearl-Ex, along with two bottles of Lumiere paint that I cannot wait to try out.

We had so much fun exploring the art store and meeting individuals that do gorgeous work, including Sharon Payne of Jazztangled.  She had her boots on display, which won a 1st place ribbon at the State Fair and was demonstrating her amazing ability of Zentangle to customers of the store.

Property of Sharon Payne, jazztangled.blogspot.com/

Sharon had beautiful patterns on display and we really enjoyed talking with her about her artwork.  She said it was a wonderful way to relax, even though the final piece appears to be very complicated.  I wish I was had brought my camera to take a couple of pictures, but here is an example of her work from her blog, which you should definitely check out!

Property of Sharon Payne, jazztangled.blogspot.com/

The Results are In!!

We made it to the Fair and had a blast!  I buy our tickets early so we get a discounted price, but it can still be expensive, so you want to make the most of your time there.  We paid a little extra for parking, but it was worth it since we were right across the street from the fairgrounds and everyone was SO nice!

Of course, you have to sample the fair food...in all of it's fried glory.  One of our favorite vendors does amazing cheese sticks/cubes/melty goodness.  Here is a jalapeno pepper jack with jalapeno ranch dressing.

So worth the calorie count!  Followed by Italian sausages and more fried foods.

After the food, we decided to walk off all of those calories by checking out some of the livestock exhibits.  Look at the adorable bunnies!

We finally made it to the Handicrafts and Hobbies exhibit.  To my shock and amazement, every single entry won a ribbon!

Here are the results!

My acorn egg won First Place AND Best of Show for the egg decorating competition.

My pumpkin egg won a Third Place ribbon among some beautiful entries!

My Gnome Sweet Gnome house also won Third Place in the decorations division.

As did my hermit crab :)

My miniature Koi Pond received a 2nd Place ribbon in the Miniatures category!

I am so thrilled that all of my entries earned a ribbon of some form.  We also had a great time and won some stuffed animals at the balloon dart toss, as well as the ping pong ball game for goldfish.  I refused to bring home any fish, so the lady let me have a stuffed one instead :)

We also did a turkey shoot for the first time!  My boyfriend did a much better job than I did (his two targets are on the right, mine are on the left and are less..holey) :)  We would have won, but one guy was just a smidge closer to the crosshairs. It was still an amazing time!

Work Table Weekend

After a day of helping a friend move into their new home, I decided to work on my small mushroom home for my little gnome.  

The mushroom home got it's final touches of paint tonight.  The stepping stones leading up to the cottage were also fixed into place.

Soon, the wishing well will be finished.

 

Work Table Wednesday

So, I actually have a lot on my work table this week!

First, on my day job work desk, I have a beautiful mug that a friend, Stephanie, gave to me this morning while we were riding the bus into work.

She did a wonderful job on the handle..it has such a unique and fun design to it.  It reminds me a lot of grapevines...the mug also has a gorgeous blue/green tint, though this picture really doesn't do it justice.  Thank you, Stephanie!

Guess what?  It's finished!  I deem it done and ready to to be presented to the fair committee.  I darkened the stones tonight, finished off the lily bloom and got some of the detailed pictures that I've been wanting to do for some time now.

So forgive me if I barrage you with some of the pictures :)

So, what's next?  Well, another shipment of button covers arrived today, so I'm super excited to work on that.  I sketched out a full scene for my next project, but I'm still working out the details.  In the meantime, here's a hint:

It's going to have something to do with mushrooms, and no, it's not a cooking recipe ;)  Until next time!

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

Happy Hump Day to you all!  I am definitely glad for the shorter work week, mainly because it is allergy season and mine have decided to wreck havoc once more.  I've been sick for the past three days with fever, sneezing, sore throat and all of the other joys of sinuses.

That being said, I have not stopped working on my fair project, but I am determined to finish this up soon because I have another three entries I want to get started on and I'm running out of time!

Both miniature koi ponds received an extra layer of stonework tonight...which might be hard to tell from last week's post, but they are new! I promise ;)

The biggest challenge was that I had already finished the ground and beginning stages of landscaping, so I did not want to bake this new layer of stones directly onto the current piece.  So, I made all of the stones last night and baked them, before attaching them tonight with a clear glue.  Any holes and open areas will be filled later with more plants and moss after the resin is cured.

While the glue on the stones was drying, I decided to finish up my koi for the larger pond.  Once they are cool, they will receive their beautiful colors, like their smaller cousins.  These fish are not as tiny as the others in the small pond and were a bit easier to sculpt.

My beautiful cat, Arkham, likes to watch over everything I do and was a constant companion tonight.  It's also because he isn't feeling the best and will probably be having the pleasure of a second vet visit soon to deal with dermatitis issues, but for tonight, he is happily nomming on some wet food.

Work Table Wednesday

Operation Koi Pond: Phase Two

So, I have progressed further with the koi pond and now it has a nice, rocky bottom along with underwater shrubbery.  The koi have a new home in the pond and are just waiting for the water to be added in due time.

While working on this small pond, I've also been continuing to work on the original pond that ended up being too large for my UV lamp.  I plan to use a different type of resin with it and see how it turns out.

 

And that is what is on my work table this week.  What is on yours?

Mini Koi!

Ok, so I could not wait until Wednesday to share these little guys...

After sitting down to continue working on the miniature backyard pond, I realized something crucial..it was too big for my UV lamp, if I am to use the UV resin to create the water effect.  So, I worked on creating a new pond that is smaller and more compact (you will see it on Work Table Wednesday). 

Of course, the next step for any pond is to stock it full of koi...or at least, that's always been my belief.  I love koi.  They are beautiful fish that can reach amazing sizes.  These little guys however is probably the smallest miniature I have ever attempted and they will never grow past their 1cm long status.

I actually had so much fun working on these guys, I might have to do some more...and go into more detail.  Since these fellows will be swimming in resin, I didn't go into a great amount of detail, but rather worked on capturing the essence of the koi and their movements instead.  I hopefully did that...