YouTube - Miniature Polymer Clay Teapot

Cre8te this adorable little green pepper teapot/

Pencil carvings

Pencil carvings by Mizuta Tasogare and Kato Jado
Unbelievable that any of these can be made from pencils.

And get a load of the pencil sharpener. Oh My!!!!

Pencil Art like I have never seen before.

Normally I would have lots to say but quite frankly I am speachless!!!

Household Hints For You

I would love feedback through your comments if any of these actually work or Not?

• Stuff a miniature marshmallow in the bottom of a sugar cone to prevent ice cream drips.




• Use a meat baster to "squeeze" your pancake batter onto the hot griddle and you'll get perfectly shaped pancakes every time.




• To keep potatoes from budding, place an apple in the bag with the potatoes.




• To prevent egg shells from cracking, add a pinch of salt to the water before hard boiling.

• Run your hands under cold water before pressing Rice Krispy\ treats in the pan and the marshmallow won't stick to your fingers.

• To get the most juice out of fresh lemons, bring them to room temperature and roll
  them under your palm against the kitchen counter before squeezing.

• To easily remove burnt on food from your skillet, simply add a drop or two of dish soap and enough water to cover bottom of pan, and bring to a boil on stove top.

• Spray your Tupperware with nonstick cooking spray before pouring in tomato based sauces and there won't be any stains.

• When a cake recipe calls for flouring the baking pan, use a bit of the dry cake mix instead and there won't be any white mess on the outside of the cake.

• If you accidentally over salt a dish while it's still cooking, drop in a peeled potato and it will absorb the excess salt for an instant "fix me up."

• Wrap celery in aluminum foil when putting in the refrigerator and it will keep for weeks.

• Brush some beaten egg white over pie crust before baking to yield a beautiful glossy finish.

• Place a slice of apple in hardened brown sugar to soften it.

• When boiling corn on the cob, add a pinch of sugar to help bring out the corn's natural sweetness.

• To determine whether an egg is fresh, immerse it in a pan of cool, salted water. If it sinks, it is fresh, but if it rises to the surface, throw it away.

• Cure for headaches: Take a lime, cut it in half and rub it on your forehead. The throbbing will go away.

• Don't throw out all that leftover wine. Freeze into ice cubes for future use in casseroles and sauces.

• If you have a problem opening jars: Try using latex dishwashing gloves. They give a non slip grip that makes opening jars easy.

• Potatoes will take food stains off your fingers. Just slice and rub raw potato on the stains and rinse with water.

• To get rid of itch from mosquito bites, try applying soap on the area and you will experience instant relief.

• Ants, ants, ants everywhere ... Well, they are said to never cross a chalk line. So get your chalk out and draw a line on the floor or wherever ants tend to march. See for yourself.

• Use air freshener to clean mirrors. It does a good job and better still, leaves a lovely smell to the shine.

• When you get a splinter, reach for the scotch tape before resorting to tweezers or a needle. Simply put the scotch tape over the splinter, then pull it off. Scotch tape removes most splinters painlessly and easily.

Now look what you can do with Alka-Seltzer:

• Clean a toilet. Drop in two Alka-Seltzer tablets, wait twenty minutes, brush and flush.




• The citric acid and effervescent action clean vitreous China.
  

• Clean a vase. To remove a stain from the bottom of a glass vase or cruet, fill with water and drop in two Alka-Seltzer tablets.

• Polish jewelry. Drop two Alka-Seltzer tablets into a glass of water and immerse the jewelry for two minutes.
• Clean a thermos bottle. Fill the bottle with water, drop in four Alka-Seltzer tablets, and let soak for an hour (or longer, if necessary).
• Unclog a drain. Clear the sink drain by dropping three Alka-Seltzer tablets down the drain followed by a cup of Heinz White Vinegar - Wait a few minutes, then run the hot water.

Tessa Farmer - Artwork - The Saatchi Gallery

Tessa Farmer - Artwork - The Saatchi Gallery
This gives a whole new look to miniatures for me as well as fairies.

I am speachless to say the least. If you dont like insects you may wish not to click. One of the reasons I have chosen not to include an image here in my blog post about this. Still none the less its neat and so very tiny!

Parole de pâte

Parole de pâte

A project pendant made from polymer clay that even a beginner would not be to intimidated to try and create. In fact I myself now want to make one, or more. Looks very neat and interesting, not to mention easy!!! 2 colors of clay and some handmade molds from buttons or other textures you can easily find around the house and or may already have in your stash of tools. A bit of contrasting color acrylic paint and of course your polymer clay dedicated oven and you can do this!

How to Make a Cardboard Box Storage System

How to Make a Cardboard Box Storage System
If you have a lot of small supplies to store but would rather not invest in a permanent storage system yet, you can make your own from boxes and add to it as your collection grows. It's not the sturdiest system, but it's flexible, easy and inexpensive, and that might be just what you're looking for!

I found this quite interesting and without a doubt if it works as good as it appears it may, it certainly has my vote for something that can help get you to be more the organized person you need and wish to be.

Do you have a new years resolution to be more organized?
Do you have a desire to be able to find what you need when you need it?
Do you have a work space that's an embarrassment to your family and friends who may come to visit you!
If you answered yes to any of the above questions, then you my friend are in need of some organization and this just may be what Dr. Neat-Freak ordered for you!!!

Bathroom Aquarium

Something's fishy With this
Bathroom in an Aquarium

"Giving dioramas a whole
new meaning. Something I myself have never before seen, but I am now so very
interested in creating" By Andrea "Cre8"

Miniaturist from Denmark by whom I
only know named Claus with an amazing love and relationship through his live in
mate's daughter Amanda, creates a dollhouse for her to house her dolls and many
miniatures offered by friends and others that were obtained for many different
places. This project which started in 2003 and was completed to where it was
finally suitable to gift in 2004 for Amanda's 8th Birthday a website about the
conception of this wonderful project was born. Named Lykkely with Lykke meaning
happiness in Danish, also Amanda's middle name, used in conjunction with
Ly, meaning "shelter" in Danish at the recommendation of Claus's mother.
Translating into "Shelter of Happiness".

Within the links of other projects
Claus has posted within Lykkely this fascinating underwater lavatory complete
with all the things one might find aside from magazines to read while waiting to
do their business. Now of course your probably saying to yourself, "what do fish
need magazines for, they can not read anyway"? To this I have to laugh since
they would not need the modern comforts of a bathroom complete with bathtub,
vanity, sink, toilet, towels, bath matt, waste basket, electric shaver, sail
boat, furnace, and bath and beauty products either, but this place has it all.
The plant I find to be a required element added, it brings oxygen into the tank
and makes the tank more environmentally beneficial to the fish.

All sorts of idea had popped into my
mind after seeing this thing. Being an animal lover of all creatures, fury and
scaled alike, I wonder now how I can myself build something that would be fish
safe or even reptile friendly and at the same time be more than just a place my
tank-able friends could safely reside in. Heck, I don't think I was interested
in fish before now. One thing I am thinking is that Japanese fighting fish
(Betas) and gold fish are fish that normally do not even require filtration or
aeration in the tank, making the project even more of something I think I could
achieve. I would just have to seek out ways like Claus had while on bunch breaks
and other times in-between when there was nothing to do back in the early 1980's
when he worked for a company that made scale models.

Using Plexiglas he heats up to bend,
and then paints to resemble the towels, mats and even water in the bath tub, he
was able to create this apparently fish friendly environment for finned friends
to swim around in. I am sure while he does mention that it seems to not bring
harm to the fish, that whatever paint and or glues he used were both non-toxic
and water proof.

Above Claus and His Friend Amanda "Lykke",
shown with the dollhouse he made for her and gave to her for her 8th Birthday.

See more of Claus's Bathroom Aquarium
as well as look at the wonderful project he affectionately named Lykkely
http://www.lykkely.dk/en/subpages/other/aquarium/1.htm

Blu-Tack Not Just For Posters Anymore

Made from a formulation comprised of synthetic
rubber, polymers, oil, and inorganic fillers, Blu Tack is a gummy substance
sold around the globe that can even sustain heat. Initially blue in color, yet
now commercially available in a myriad of colors. A major drawback is that
extended periods of use of Blu-Tack will leave an oily stain behind on any
paper or paper-like material.

Sold under other brand names, this stuff just may be
the next best thing to chewing gum! Well it may look like chewing gum anyway,
although you really don't want to eat it. You will want to use it for many
other things that I am sure you may not even realize you can use this stuff
for.

Suzanne Ivester who calls herself "The Nimble
Sprite", has found that there are quite a few uses for the blue stuff as she
writes about in her own very well put together and quite interestingly worded
blog 101 uses for Blu Tack. She even welcomes others who have found uses for this wonderful stuff we American's here in the good ol' US of A refer to as Blu-Tack, to email her and
tell her about how they use it and says she will share it with others who read
her wisdom.

As an artist, crafter and sculptor of polymer clay
herself, its no wonder Suzanne has been attracted to this polymer based
product. Uses such as picking up lint from hands or clay, to polymer clay
caning using the stuff on the ends of the canes to reduce the waste normally
created during the reduction of the canes, The Nimble Sprite has found many
more uses for this wonderful stuff that goes above and beyond what you may
have thought it was originally created for. It's not just for holding up
posters on walls you don't want holes in anymore!!!

Blu-Tack is a versatile, reusable pressure-sensitive
putty like adhesive. Common uses for Blu-tack are to fasten posters to walls,
hold small items like mouse mats and telephones in place, hold screws to screw
drivers and model parts for gluing or painting and to even level out those
picture frames you may have hanging on your wall that just do not look
straight. Clean off your computer's keyboard from lint or dirt that might be
in those hard to reach places, and clean lint or pet hair from fabrics.

The original version which was invented in England in 1971 during development
of an industrial adhesive by Bostick, a branch of a French mineral oil company
called Total. It is thought this was probably one of those happy accidents. A
Laboratory Researcher by the name of Alan Holloway who was working for a
Sealant Manufacturer Ralli Bondite of Warerlooville Hampshire, has
inadvertently produced a product in the year 1970 that was of no good use as a
sealant, but was pliable and semi-elastic. The product was demonstrated soon
after by Ralli Bondite management to executives visiting from another sealant
and adhesive manufacturing company, and was introduced as a means of mounting
notices on walls. It was not really noticed for its potential until years
later when Bostik started research into the development of what
would eventually become Blu Tack.

In its early stages of conception the product was
white, but was colored blue after there were concerns about the possibilities
of children mistaking it for edible candy. Similar products were later
introduced into the market from other manufacturers which include Tac 'N
Stick, Sticky Tack, Buddies a pink color tack, Pritt-Tack, and White Tack, made by a
German company UHU. All similar products but as the name suggests with the
"White Tack" it is white in color, so that it does not show easily through on
posters as Blu-Tack does.


You can find Blu-Tack probably in your local Wal-Mart, Kmart, Target or general Hardware stores and outlets. You may even find it hanging on display at your local Auto Part retailers. The official Blu-Tack site in the UK http://www.blu-tack.co.uk/ may help you in your search for it, as well
there is an official Australian site for Blu-Tack http://www.blutack.com/, and the handy
reference by Bostik as to how it was made http://www.blutack.com/BLU_TACK.htm.

Among many handy uses for Blu-Tack its also been used by some very creative people as way to express themselves artistically through sculpture and even clay animation videos which can be found on YouTube and or other sites or blog where it may have been the topic of conversation.

Miniatures By Rachel: Tools Needed for Miniature Cake Making

Miniatures By Rachel: Tools Needed for Miniature Cake Making


I first became quite fascinated with Rachel's miniature cakes, pies and tarts when she first had posted in a miniature group we both share membership in. I found her work to be so wonderful and real looking that I immediately found myself hungry and craving sweets.

Rachel's work was published in Dolls House Artisan and since I was not a paying member of the online publication, I was not able to see for myself just what the talk was all about but so soon after she posted that she started her own blog. Rachel R. Pensit: creates cakes in 1:24th, 1:14, half scale, play scale and probably some others. You do not need any special tools and anyone can make it, she says in the online publicized tutorial she wrote for their members. A colored Sharpe marker pen cap is what she uses to cut the small circles she uses to create her cakes and shapes she makes from the metal cutting blade that comes on the boxes of the saran wrap, wax paper and or aluminum foil boxes. She says she bends them into the shapes she needs, like hearts for instance.

She sells her work on Etsy, Piczo, and another site like Etsy called DaWanda. I never asked her just how well any of those sites are doing for her and or her mini bakery business but I can just imagine since I strongly feel who wouldn't want what she creates. If you think your not into dollhouses, room boxes or miniature scenes and do not need any baked creations to fill the shelves or appear to fill the tummies of your dolls, why not try wearing them around your neck, and or dangling from your ears as the sweetest earrings anyone has ever seen. I am even more fascinated by the fact that as yummy as these sweet treats look, you really can say they have zero calories.

I am quite intrigued by Rachel's sweet treats which she fashions by hand and only few tools she herself makes and of course with some polymer clay. Not the polymer clay you bake though, no she uses Air Dry Polymer clay. I have yet to ask her what brand exactly she uses but one day I will. I only know of a two brands and one is not carried here locally in the USA although I am not quite sure Rachel is from here in the USA. Makin's brand air dry clay is a polymer clay, not sure the one she chooses to use though.

Lykkely.dk - Bathroom aquarium

Lykkely.dk - Bathroom aquarium


If there has ever been something created with miniatures that has interested me this is it!!!

No idea as to the health and welfare of the fishy but I have heard Goldfish can be put through the most trying conditions and fair through pretty well, allot better than most other species of fish. Now this is neat!!!

Check it out and comment on what you think about it. I wonder if there is good business behind the whole concept. I know I would buy one without even batting an eye, let alone I would take on even another household pet just to have it and use it to its full creative reasoning.

Imagine one for your Beta. (Japanese Fighting Fish)

Turquoise Rock Tutorial by Kathy Halverson

Polka Dot Creations Faux Turquoise Rock Tutorial by Kathy Halverson

I am just in love with this stone. I could not resist blogging about it here. You will love this!!!

Polka Dot Creations Christmas Spiders Tutorial by Adria Filion

Polka Dot Creations Christmas Spiders Tutorial by Adria Filion

This is not just for Christmas though. Make these spiders for any ocassion you wish, they are just amazing!!!

Polka Dot Creations The Weave Cane Tutorial by Lisa Clarke

Polka Dot Creations The Weave Cane Tutorial by Lisa Clarke

Funky Art Queen: Printing on Fabric Tutorial

Funky Art Queen: Printing on Fabric Tutorial

Funky Art Queen: Doing Tape Transfers

Funky Art Queen: Doing Tape Transfers

The Art of Penmanship

I had to blog about this. The wonders of art of this type alone are interesting enough, but to think that with one single stroke of a pen from the top of the nose of an image depicted of Jesus and not lifting the pen to complete a full image of this magnitude in the middle to late 1800's is what has got me and others questioning just how much truth there is to such art.



So I set out today to find out whatever I could about this wonderfully odd art and try if I might to see what truths or hoaxes this whole business of creating such beautiful art without lifting the pen once it meets with the paper may have to it. Did they not have roller ball type pens back then? I thought they used those style of pens you had to dip into ink to continue to scribe onto anything they wanted to leave a mark on?


Knowles & Maxim claimed it held truth when they copyrighted few of these artistic phenomena's in the late 1880's. And the The International Association of Master Penmen, Engrossers and Teachers of Handwriting have about 20 vintage writing books online you may wish to take a look into.

This one blog I found BibliOdyssey: The Art of Penmanship alone depicts several of these I would imagine Quilled art wonders that were apparently created between 1879 and 1919. Apprently this is more about exercising the hand and whole writing technique than it was the art back then, I just see it as fascinating and well, is it real?



There have been many books related to the art of rare calligraphy and penmanship, here is a site that lists many of them:
http://www.iampeth.com/books.htm

Originally sold for one dollar, Real Pen Work boasts that it is "The greatest means ever known for learning to write in an elegant hand."

Hudson Maxim, was an inventor and an entrepreneur, while Alden Knowles was an expert penman, they both set out by trial and error to sell their ink and instructions for elegant writing styles and pen work. The history of their friendship and business relationship is fascinating and was recorded in the beginning of this book.

Real Pen Work 1881 was designed to be a self teaching aid, and it states that by following the simple instructions, even for those who might not find that handwriting comes natural to, should be able to write in a beautiful elegant hand in an incredibly short amount of time. In fact, it says, "There is no more doubt about it than that the sun rises and sets." Now that certainly is some claim!



It starts with "How to Sit at a Desk" and "How to Hold a Pen," these authors stressed the importance of proper posture followed by scales for slants, analysis of capital and small letters, sample alphabets, and Spenserian scripts, as well they shared the "secret" of the tracing process.



Somehow similar patterns can be observed in nature. They are called catalysis spirals, occurring when oxygen and carbon monoxide land on the surface of a platinum crystal. Read more info here http://cphoenix.livejournal.com/

There are detailed examples of flourished birds and ornamental pen-work throughout the book which today can be found for the low price of $24.00 which includes the book and the accompanying CD, which contains all of the images found in the book in PDF, JPEG and TIF formats. These images are an incredible bonus and can be used for scrapbooking, note cards, and countless other projects, since would now be considered Public Domain having been copyrighted more than over 100 years ago.





Real Pen-Work 1881 is a lovely instruction manual and a very interesting piece of handwriting history excellent for anyone who home school. Students can at least learn of the rich heritage of America's golden age of penmanship throughout these beautiful pages and be able to create keepsakes of their own. Still there has been no evidence that could be found to confirm there was any truth in the claims the books held and or how it was those images really came to be.

£100 million Diamond Skull - Art Oddity

By A. Herrera "Cre8"
Click to Enlarge


This is something I have to add under Art Oddities. It is so intriguing to me that something so expensive can be so oddly real and yes someone obviously died but now certainly their death has not been in vein by having had an artist with very expensive taste and the ability to either come up with allot of money or allot of diamonds create such a magnificent piece of work from the skull of what is thought to have been a 35 year old European who was believed to have lived between 1720 and 1810.

Click to Enlarge
The Artist Damien Herst shown above cradling the skull in his arms after he covered it in 8,601 diamond pieces.

This certainly takes OOAK art to a whole new level. Who in the world, let alone their right mind would be able to create such magnificence again. First of all, how many 35 year old Europeans who have died way back in that era would have their skull laying around just waiting for the chance to be gilded in diamonds let alone have a whole new grill of platinum and diamonds created to replace every one of the teeth in their mouths to of course go along with all those diamonds in their skull!

Click to Enlarge

Above image showing the artist as he adorns the skull with the £12m-worth of diamonds that are said to be ethically sourced. Set in the forehead of the 18th century skull is a pear-shaped pink diamond.
Click to Enlarge

The expensive skull covered in diamonds was sold for £ 100 million.

Click to Enlarge

Unbelievable that the platinum teeth alone are said to be covered in £14m in platinum.

Lgdesigns’s Weblog

Lgdesigns’s Weblog

Wonderfully creative artist adds a link to my website and asks me if its ok LOL I am honored!

I have to say though she has these images on a rotating slide show widget of the 1st snow where she is and they are COOL to say the least, such a thick pretty white covering all over everything. There is what I thought was a wooly sheep sitting outside of a door but I think its a dog with lots of snow covering his hopefully thick fur coat.

Its refreshing to see the foggy yet warm looking banner across the top of her themed blog, and then to see the cold bitter looking snow covered truck and other things from her shared images of the 1st snow of the year for her. I hope her creative claying is not effected by the cold. Here where I am in Florida its a welcomed blessing.

Jewelry Display Ideas

Jewelry Display Ideas

Jewelry Display Ideas is your resource for discovering fantastic new ways to show your jewelry, plus creative ways to package it.

I found this to be a very imformative website. I think most people who sell jewlery or maybe even other items can bennefit from this webiste and what it has to offer its visitors.

Check it out!

How-to-make-beads-from-Polymerclay

How-to-make-beads-from-Polymerclay

This is an awesome Blog and has a few short tutorial videos and all are great techniques that I think everyone will enjoy!!!