Making Wise Ones..

 I've been having a go at sculpting Owls again and I have to say I've surprised myself with how well they've turned out. 

They were all made with Super Sculpey and painted with Acrylics once baked. I still have quite a few to make to fill up Eeylops.

I found it helpful to use Google images for the colouring, when painting them.

I did find a lovely image of lots of Owls, all sitting together on a perch together. Might have a go at making it in miniature, it would look great in Eeylops.

House Elf Heads & Cages

 Over the Weekend, I spent some time in the Cabin making a few little bits.

I tried my hand at making a Cage for Eeylops, from the Laser cut wood I brought at KDF, from Templewood Miniatures, some stiff wire already in my stash, two Black Glass headed Pins and a small piece of Leather. 

Firstly, I gave the Wood a wash of Acrylic Paint. I then measured out where the wire was going to go and marked the wood. I then used a needle pointed tool to make holes into the wood, on both the top and bottom of the cage pieces, but made sure the needle didn't go all the way through. I then cut all the wires to the same length and glued them into the bottom piece. While I was waiting for the glue to dry. I cut a small piece of leather to make the handle and folded that and glued. I then cut the tops off two very small Glass headed pins, leaving a short piece of the pin to knock into the wood. These I used to attach the handle to the wood. Once everything was dry, I put the top of the cage onto the wire. It was a nightmare getting the wires to stay in place, but eventually after a lot of swearing, they all fitted in. I finished around the bottom and top edges with very thin cut veneer and touched it up with paint. All in all not bad for a first attempt, though next time, I'm going to hunt out my Dremel and drill the holes.

I've also made some more House Elf Heads to put in Frames. They are all made with Super Sculpey. I brought the Frames from The Works, they are bare wood, so can be stained or painted in any colour you wish. I originally brought them for my Scrapbooks, but they are the perfect size for 1:12th Scale. There are ten in a pack, 2 of each design for £1.00.

Please excuse the pictures as they were taken on my phone and it was dark outside the Cabin.

Kensington Weekend 2015 ~ Part 2 Gifts

 As I knew I'd be meeting up with Friends at Kensington, I made sure that I took a little Gift for them.

If you remember I made a mould of the Dragon head, well I thought they would be a nice gift for the Girls. I made them from Super Sculpey. I made a hanger from wire and inserted it into the uncooked clay. Once the Dragon heads were cooked. I painted them with acrylic paint and used Rub & Buff to make the details stand out. They also got a layer of Glitter paint, as I wanted them to Sparkle in the light. I used Rhinestone's for the Eyes. Once they were dry I used a matching Ribbon to hang them on. Although they are made from a mould, each one is slightly different as the decoration is all done by hand. I literally use my fingernails to make the markings in the fins.

 I also found some lovely little wooden frames in The Works, think there are 10 in a packet and five different shapes for a pound. I'd actually brought them for my Scrapbooks. I made a couple of little House Elf Heads, but made sure they had a flat back. I painted a couple of the Frames, first in Black, then in a Metallic paint and finished it all of with an antiquing medium. I then cut a backing from Scrapbook Card and mounted it to fit each Frame. I then added the Head.

I also took loads quite a few packets of Welsh cakes with me, which I forget to take a picture of, but luckily Bea showed them in a tweet, on Twitter. so I've borrowed her picture.

I hope everyone liked their pressies and I know those Welsh Cakes came in handy at the show, kept everyone going. Fuel for the Soul..

Dragons In The Clay..

 Everyone that knows me, knows that I have a love of Dragons. Hence, why I have Desdemona's Home for Orphaned and Abandoned Dragons. I also have the Dragonology Books and have been messing around with making some Dragon Heads in Sculpey. I finally managed to make one that I am really happy with. So much so, that I used a two part Silicone mould making kit and took a mould of it. I also found that an empty pen from a certain high-street bank, made a wonderful tool for embossing the clay to make the pattern on the Dragon's skin and my fingernails for the fin.

I took the mould to Gwili Pottery with me and Chris very kindly let me have a go at using the mould to make a plaque to hang on the wall.

The following pictures show the process of adding the Dragon Head to the Plaque with the lettering and edging pattern, then adding the coloured slips and the final result once the piece had been fired, glaze added and fired again. Really pleased with how this turned out. The Colours look so vibrant.

Gwili Pottery, have a wonderful showroom filled with beautiful pieces, which is well worth a visit if you are in Carmarthen. They also have a website and facebook page and they also do commission work, so if you have a special occasion coming up you can commission them to make you a special piece.

House Elf ~ The Making of Dobby

 After I made the other Elves, one of my Friends asked me if I could make a Dobby. 

Well I thought I'd give it a go and these pictures showed how he evolved.

I just need to dress him in his Dirty Pillowcase and paint his eyes.

I'm really pleased how he has turned out so far.

Elves & Mice...

 I would like to wish everyone a very Happy New Year 2015.

Back in November of last year, I showed some little Bugs and Bees that I had been making. Well when I finished those, I thought I'd have a go at sculpting some Elf faces. As you all know I took hundreds of photographs, when I went on the Harry Potter Tour, so had lots of pictures for reference.

I haven't been able to sculpt for ages, due to the swelling in my hands, but now they have changed my medication, the swelling seems to have subsided in my hands, although my legs are another matter.

I started off with a little head, that had quite Elfin looking features, just so I could see if I had the proportions right. That head is in the top picture and is currently sitting in the Cabin waiting to be cooked.

The next head that appeared in the Clay was a sleeping Elf. He actually surprised me, when he appeared. I then went on to make a another Elf and a little Mouse. Most of which have now got bodies and have been baked. But I have absolutely no idea, how I am going to dress them or how, so will probably be doing loads of research on Pinterest. 

When I showed these on my Facebook one of my Friends, asked me to see if I could make my favourite Elf Dobby. Well I had a go and I'll show you the results in another post..