Now Christmas is over and we are almost at the start of a new year. Time out has been fun and we have had many adventures together as a family. We have been to New Orleans, Disney and a whole bunch of awesome towns as we could not stop at Pensacola- Fort Pickens as a storm had washed away the beach road. About 2500 miles round trip...

I have made a few bears but been painting and planning school parties and Christmas. Right now I have a ham in the oven with potatoes roasting next to it.

Many new things have been playing on my mind for a while and I finally started on one. I have always wanted to make an elf like creature out of polymer clay. Here is the start of my 'hunter". The armature is aluminum wire wrapped in paper tape- masking tape.  The eyes are black glass beads. I wanted an ethereal unreal look to them.



Armature and start of head

Face with eyes-in close up detail





Of course E likes to play with clay too and we had fun cleaning her hands after the plasticizer we added to her clay dyed her hands purple!!
I also have been having way too much fun with the computer as I got a virus that has been heck on everything. It was quarantined by my software but it is still nerve wracking and I find some things may have been affected as I still cannot get them to work. Like composing on this page to add photo  into the text where relevant. Just makes me more convinced I am better off as an artist, not a computer engineer : ) 
                 



The elf head and feet ready to bake

E's hand match her outfit : ) That plasticizer really released to color from the clay

My Mommy comes to visit us today for a long stay! Yahoooooo! I love my mom and she is such a great support for what I do. She bounces ideas around with me, we brainstorm things to make and she is my support when it does not work out how I want.

I know a lot of fabulous mom's out there. Here is a huge shout out to them. A huge hug and kiss for each great home cooked meals, the washing that magically reappeared into the closet all clean and pressed, the help with last minute projects (lots of those : ) ), fixing all those things that just needed fixing. For just being there. For all the great hugs you give us.

My fondest memories are of coming home and my mom would be there and suddenly the world was OK again. All the school bulling vanished, nasty kids became unimportant, homework not too much and of course there was always a snack and a cold glass of milk to have with our chat.

I have been blessed with a great relationship with my mom. I have been able, through my whole life, to be able to discuss anything with her. She always understood, even when I did not want to share something.

I am a mom now which has just added to the appreciation of all the things my mom did. I used to think she was so lucky not having to rush off anywhere everyday, but I did not think of all the things running a house takes. I did not know as my mom did them all. I never once asked if she minded being home- giving up her career to be there for us. I am trying for balance between a home business which I run by myself, and being all those things a mom has to be. I am also a wife, gardener, chauffeur, cook, cleaner... well- I am a MOM!

I love you mom! Thanks for everything!!

Another week going by with no blogging : ) I have been brainstorming new things to make for Etsy to sell. I love making bears and soft toys but I am starting to think it is not enough.  So now we look at ideas that could sell all year round as gifts and below the $25 to 30 mark.
Not as easy as it sounds because once you have added in time, material costs and other things that make up the final selling price of an item, it is easy to be over that!

A typical  formula I now use to price stuff is:

ITEM COST = COST OF MATERIALS+ COST OF LABOR+ LISTING FEES + SELLING FEES+ PAYMENT PROCESSING FEES+ COST OF PACKAGING

SELLING PRICE = ITEM COST X 4
WHOLESALE PRICE = ITEM COST X 2

As you can see there is a lot more to pricing than just materials. When I started out, I used to just take materials and multiply by 3. It works for a bit but then you realize that while the price sounds great if you are a buyer of goods, as a seller it is priced more as a hobby rather than a viable living. I have been told so many times by people that my bears are so expensive. I make a living doing this and I have a lot of costs associated with this. I did not add Overhead as a category in my formula as a lot of my costs are covered as I work from home and do not rent a space and my cell is used for more than just work. It is hard to split this out. It also takes a long time to make a collector bear.
 My bears are meant to last a lifetime and to be passed on to the next generation. They are made as such and prices as such.

Even so, with that fancy formula I often end up with a price that is not realistic to sell the bear at. Often it ends up being a compromise between the two formulas: old and new.

So now I am looking at making things such as book covers with applique animals, coffee cozies, tissue holders and satchel messenger bags with animals appliqued on. The list will grow...

Any ideas?

What my kitchen counter looks like right now! I am trying to get the monster (E calls him Gum Drop) and Fall Bear finished for Halloween so I must do that and list- well, like- today. Listing takes a long time as you want to be sure you not only tell what is important about the character you are listing but also that you spell correctly. I am amazed at how many times I have gone back to see a listing and found mistakes in the wording and spelling. I have many "cross gender" animals being called he and she in the same paragraph !

Photos still are my main bug-bear. That means my main problem. How do you convey the softness of the fur, the luxury of the fur and the expression of the animal. Sometimes you really do need to see them in person.

I am still in the planning stages of E's next birthday.  I know it is in December, but the speed at which this year has gone by tells me not to delay too long. I am hoping to have many items listed for the Holiday Shopping Season. Etsy tells us what to do and when but it does help that it is not my first season doing this. Still got a lot to learn though...

As we stand right now, the theme is still Alice in Wonderland and I am thinking of casting silver keys as the party favor. My jewelry studio is finally up and running!! Yay! Look at Etsy soon for some earrings, stack rings and necklaces. I love making chain necklaces and bracelets. I almost have some  finished. Silver sure has gone up in price since I last had to purchase it. I can see why so many studio artists are working in metals other than silver and gold. I have seen some gorgeous stuff out there:

This is a friend's work- check out her fabulous style: https://www.etsy.com/shop/KimberleyMorris

I lost touch with Kim a while back and was thrilled to find her work on Esty. She is super talented and works in a strong, beautiful and bright style. Her materials are unconventional, but then I remember her being so too and enjoying her company because of that.

I hope to show pictures of jewelry in progress soon. It is kind of hard to photo and work at the same time : )  I am also going to explore some polymer clay jewelry as that will allow me to add a sculptural element to my work. Watch this space...

The Jointed Puppy pattern is coming along nicely. As usual I had some issues with the photographs not being up to par : ) I am almost ready to list the pattern for sale and then I will start to work on the kitty one. I will do a single color kitty but add a pattern option for one with "socks".

Finished puppy

 

Etsy has been running some wonderful workshops on shop optimization, Search Engine Optimizing and even shop design. They are really a great resource for an artist to build a business and they have so many tie ins to places like Moo.com for business cards. These discounts sure can make a difference to an artist starting out. You do not need to sell on Etsy to access a lot of their sellers handbook so if you want to start a business there is all kinds of advice from people doing that very thing. Great steps and advice on what works and what does not. I am also aware, thanks to them, that it is time to start building stock for Christmas and Black Friday sales. I plan to do a larger range of my small stocking stuffer puppies, some accessory pouches for kindles, smart phones, key rings and eye glass cases. Plans are there but in this Texas heat it is hard to get the motivation. I am also discovering in a huge way the Steampunk Art Movement. There are a lot of sellers that dedicate themselves to this fantastic idea. Modern equipment and ideas but in a Victorian setting. I really do not do it justice with that description : ) My favorite site to visit (since Halloween is around the corner and I want something different) www.steampunkemporium.com. Now to plan some animals that can exist in this type of fantasy...

 

Flu has already been doing the rounds at our home and it sure has slowed progress. Nothing like flu in the summer! I am so glad Tamiflu works well as E is no longer sleeping but back to bouncing on the couches and doing cartwheels. No more fever so back to school for her. Phew.

Back to school has started! Homework is still an issue with the little one so I have been taking time out to work with her. I have also been helping our new teacher as much as I can in getting the class ready. Our theme this year is nautical based and the class is looking awesome. There are some wonderful ideas!

I have been developing a new pattern that I am finally ready to say I like and is a go! I wanted to make a smallish bear that has a youthful little girl face. I try to give my bears character and the nose has always been super important. Normally I have a longer nose as a more realistic bear would have- what happens when you shorten the nose on the pattern?  I also like to dress my bears and what little girl does not like to dress up ?

 

Her fur is unusual- it has been woven from bamboo. It is super soft and silky and has that lovely reddish fox like glow with a white tip. I kept her nose small, needle felted and went for a brown instead of my usual black. Her eyes are glass which I am starting to like more and more. I agree with others that work with glass eyes- there is a life to them that other materials cannot always get right. Again, it is a personal thing and I still use the black button eyes that are plastic.

A range of animal cushions and toys I am currently designing, that are based on a ball shape, are also starting to work out for me. The owl turned out nice but small. My monster is still camera shy but I hope by the end of this week he will allow a photo to be taken. His needle sculpted feet need work. Or surgery as E says : )

 

A lot of pattern designing and testing is underway but I really need a new camera. I am not happy with the photos posted lately. I need to change the bulbs in my photography light fixtures and I need a camera that allows me more freedom to choose how to handle the light I am working with. My photos seem out of focus and the colors are not good. They still seems dark to me. Thank heavens Texas has a lot of sun so I can photograph outside if all else fails. 

Moon Bear is a special pattern from Monica Spicer. I liked the look of her bear so bought the pattern from her Etsy.com shop "Mon's Treasures". The shop has the most amazing patterns. However I did not get the eyelids to work out for me. Kind of why I bought the pattern. He still turned out well and the young lady who got him is happy and that matters most : )


Moon Bear

I love the tummy insert and how the muzzle has a two tone. Not something I do much but will be great for the lion and fox in my works.

I am working on a pattern to sell on Etsy.com. I designed this puppy a while ago for O.R.V.A.L . They are an animal league that works with rescue and rehabilitation of cats and dogs in Louisianna. I made a few puppies and kitties for them. I had hoped to hear about how they did with the sale of these but I know organizing fund raisers is never easy, and things fall through the cracks as a lot of people that work with them volunteer. I swear volunteers help make the world go around!



Sketch to pattern

Close up of picture

Another fabulous weekend out camping. We spent a night at the Guadalupe River State Park. It is absolutely gorgeous there even though the river is low. Walking along the riverbank in the shade of the biggest swamp cypress I have ever seen (bar San Antonio's river walk) was cool and so awesome. The roots of these trees are huge and at first I thought they were a pile of driftwood, not roots. I was sad to see someone had carved their initials into the biggest of the trees. We also got a chance to see buzzards sunning themselves on the tree tops. I have never seen so many in one spot. We counted 12 !

Of course the next day was spent at Schlitterbahn Waterpark in New Braunfels. Just for E. The 90 minute wait to do the MasterBlaster ride was worth it. I am sure there are people who were in the line behind us who's ears are still ringing from our screams : )

The next night was spent camping at Bastrop State Park in Austin. It is still very obvious a huge fire went through there a couple of years ago. It is not our first time to stop there and we can see the difference in the park. All the new young trees growing out of the ashes. We were also lucky that though it was August, we did not melt sitting outside as the weather was fabulous. It is dry so no mosquitos either which is a double bonus.

I have been working on a bear with a tummy and nose insert that are differently colored to his body. I am also working on trapunto paws. The puffy ones : )

Trapunto paws on my sunshine dragon

 

It is hard to design a bear when I keep looking at my new Charlie Bear called Dreamer. The Charlie Bears are hard to get here (very limited numbers) but so worth the effort and cost. Have a look at their website...
http://www.charliebears.com/

I will post pictures of my new bear later as he is planned as a gift and I do not want to ruin the surprise. I am also planning some soft toys along my weenie steakboy line. Just trying to think of a few I would like to attempt. I have often made miniature dogs out of fleece and felt but I think I would like to make a range of dogs and maybe cats out of fleece but bigger and maybe more anime influenced.

I also am on facebook now. That is new and daunting as I never really know what to do. I want to get pictures out of my work and get feedback from people. I am hoping it will give me a direction to focus my bear design on.

Marie Mouse is finally finished. Her shoes took a long time- small, delicate and fiddly. The soles are leather and the top is made out of wool felt. Her fan has been made from cotton lace and accented with gold glitter glue. Both have small pearls added. The fan and the shoes are removable.

The shoes are made from wool felt uppers and leather soles.

 

The fan is cotton lace that has been gathered and decorated with gold glitter glue.

Marie mouse detail

Her back showing the long curly hair and bow with pheasant feathers. You can just make out the pleats at the back of the dress.

 

Marie Mouse. The front of the dress.

 

She stands a whole 8 inches tall and is fully jointed. Her face has been needle felted and she has fishing gut whiskers. The glass eyes are accentuated with leather lids and eye lashes. The bodice piece is an earring from Charming Charlie's. I used it to decide on the color of her dress and ribbon. Her feet and hands were sculpted from Sculpey ( no molds used)  and the wire inside the Sculpey part has a wire that runs up to the joint. The ends are also glues in for good measure. She has copic coloring to the ears and cheeks. I think she may be missing a "patch" like they would have historically had on their cheek : )

 

 

 

 

 

THE PHOTOGRAPHING CHALLENGE

A big challenge for anyone photographing a craft is getting it right. Creating that warm fuzzy feeling. I struggle with this almost as much as costing out a bear. A good camera is great, but only if you know how to use it!

I have had the same camera for years and only recently, to my great embarrassment, I actually found out what some of the buttons on it do! I always just take a picture with the AUTO setting on. I do use the small flower logo so that I can focus in closer. I like the point and shoot approach. The Macro setting (the flower logo) option offers me my close up and this has always seemed to work just fine. Lately I have noticed a blue  or green-yellow sheen on my pictures. The whole color is off. Especially if there is white on the bear.

This should be a black and white bear on a white background.

 

I alo always use a white background so that when you see the store in Etsy it is all the same and looks uniform. However since I have changed the bulbs in the lighting I use, it seems to have changed the whole look I am getting. I am now using compact fluorescents and the reading of color on my camera has been changed. Did you know you can accommodate that different lightbulb on a camera? It is called white balance. The button looks like a sun. It helps your camera adjust to the light you are photographing in, so that white appears to be white and not slightly yellow or green or blue.

 

Of course you can correct white balance by just take pictures, loading them onto the computer and adjusting them with software like Picasa or Photoshop. That is what I do now : ) But I want to make sure that when I photograph my plushies that I end up with a good image that needs little work to adjust. I feel like I am cheating if I have to adjust anything other than a crop to fit in a nice image. The white balance button allows you to choose between daylight ( a sun logo), cloudy conditions (a cloud logo), fluorescent (looks like a long bar with light rays coming off of it), flash (the lightning bolt) and tungsten (a normal light bulb with rays). This helps the camera adjust to the light so that white will look like white again.

 

Totally overexposed and all you can make out is the black. Dramatic but not good.

 

Been adjusted using software but still not right. Gone from green to pinkish.

 

This little panda has given me so many challenges to photograph. Have a look on my Etsy.com site and tell me if you think I am getting better. I know I need more work on my photographing, but my skill in is making and not photographing animals, so I learn as I go along. Each small success is one more feather in my cap. When I started making bears I never thought I still had so much to learn! I like to count each success no matter how small as some days that is what keeps me going when things do not work out how I like!

 



 

 

Wow! We are home from a six and a half weeks of world travel. E and I went to London to hug an aunt and see Harrods. We could not get to world famous Hamley's due to road closures as people were protesting the G8 summit. Still saw some awesome Steiff Bears and of course bought a Harrods bear : )

On to South Africa. Grandpa took us to Bakubung near Sun City. We got to see some awesome animals and what a fabulous experience. This is who joined us for lunch one day!

We sat up at an open air restaurant and he came right up and drank from the fish pond. I wonder what the fish thought?



 

After that we went to the coast and even though it was winter it was warm enough to swim. Durban was still warm and humid. Summer there can be super steamy!

 

Cape Town was next on our list. It is still one of the most beautiful places in the world and I ate far too much really superb food. Never mind all the good wine.

The drive around the coastal highway to Camps Bay.

 

 

Cape Town felt more like winter and the wind really scared us some nights as it blew so hard! Pity we had to see most of this in winter, as South Africa in summer is wonderful. But school holidays...

 

When we got back to Johannesburg, Grandpa felt that we needed to interact with some animals.

E feeding a giraffe. She wiped the drool off on my jeans after that. Yuk- giraffe drool is sticky

In the enclosure with the baby lions and a baby hyena. The hyena just wanted to chew on us and already those jaws are strong. The cubs liked E's pink trousers and kept swatting them.

 

Back home. Still feeling the jet lag but it is good to be home. Now back to work creating some new animals. Just not sure who should be first...

 

 



Marie Mouse has an up-hairdo. I has not been easy as I have had to add hair : ) lots of it- to pouf out the top knot.

the back view showing the gold ribbon and pheasant feathers that hold the braid in place

 

The front/side view of the knot

 

After gluing on and needle felting a few more hair pieces, Marie had an awesome amount of hair. I took some from the one side, about 1/6 of her hair, and braided that. I tied the braid off with delicate gold cord. I then took the rest of the hair and twisted it into a top knot. I wrapped the braided hair around the base of the twisted knot and that helped hold it all in place. There is currently a pin holding the braid in place as I intend to stitch it. The gold ribbon has real pheasant feathers glued on. This too is pinned in place. It is a bit to one side. I need to decide if I am going to put it totally to one side or centralize it.

 



Gluing in leather insole

Gluing on leather outer sole.

 

 The shoe making has been fiddly at best. Working in small sizes is never easy. The sole is leather and the upper is felt. I plan to embroider the tops and add bead embellishments. Court shoes were pretty fancy. I also need to figure out how to resize the shoe a bit as they are a bit big for Marie Mouse. I made them pointy from a pattern meant for round shoes....Although I tried to trim the length it did not work. I will have to adjust from the back.

Another project I took on to see how tough it would be- making covers for a composition journal. I ended up making a few for E's friends. Here they are in progress. I am thinking I may make some for my site. I would like to keep the background simple and applique an animal on. Dogs, bears, cats and birds. I am thinking of felt to do the applique in. Maybe a monster for the guys? Personalizing them with a letter is also great, but not for etsy.com unless I add it as an option.

I am also thinking of useful things- cell phone covers, a jewelry roll, roll up pencil cases and maybe a "book" made of fabric for people who quilt. A book that can hold pins, slots for scissors, pencils, stencils- all these things that we use to create. I am always losing my scissors. A place to put them all the time seems like a good idea for me! The brighter the better so I do not misplace my storage book.

This weekend will be spent finishing the tiling job in the bathroom. I will be so glad to get the use of my bathroom back!

Marie mouse has hair!



 

Marie mouse being fitted for the bodice of her dress. So far the dress is good. Fiddly to sew as some parts are small but it is coming together now. I have used a chandelier earring from Charming Charlie store as the centerpiece of her bodice. The colors compliment the ribbon on the outer dress which is why I chose it. I found the earrings in the discount section which helps too. I am going to sew it all together to make one piece as I do not intend for this to come off of her. I have made a fabric bodice and stitched the earring to it. The fabric bodice will be sewn to the dress and the earring will overlap slightly.

The hair was bought from a doll supply- CRS Crafts - and is a Monique brand strip of curly hair. I have cut the pieces to length and glued each one carefully into place to build up a good wig. I am going to needle felt the edges to help blend them in more. Be careful with that glue! It is easy to over do it and put too much on- this makes the hair hard and I want long flowing locks. A bit like Rapunzel really! In the background you can see the pattern for the shoe I am planning to use. Some modification required as mouse feet are different to a dolls. well- mine are : )

The wigging has been started. I start at the bottom and work up. Gluing each piece on one at a time. Once the hair strand is dry I can add the next one. The Mouse hair is going to be a poufy wig with a braid wrapped around it. So far the plans are to tie a gold bow with feathers on to hold the top in place, but pearls look nice too. The outer layer of her dress has pearls glued on at the diamond intersections.

Next are earrings (drops removed from the bodice piece), the finished hairstyle and the shoes...

Marie Mouse is coming together. I have finished her polymer clay paws and hands. I free sculpted them- no molds used. I also tried to size them as if they were cloth ones. If I make another mouse like this - this is one thing I will change. I think making them smaller would be more elegant.

 

 

I am going to add some eyelashes to her face and maybe more puffiness to her cheeks.  The whiskers will be added last. My next step is to make her dress and shoes. After that I can assess the hat. I want a really French delection but I do not want to overwhelm her.

The eyelashes are doll mohair lashes that I have glued using Tacky glue to a leather strip. I will then add them to her face also with glue : ) .

I am adding gold ribbon on the her arms and legs to where the fur meets the clay. Not only will it look more elegant but it adds a measure of extra strength to prevent the arm or leg being pulled out. This little lady will be for looking at- not playing with!

This week has been hard to get work done. Each time I hear licking noises I know the pooch got the "cone of shame" (Thanks Disney movie  "UP")  off and is checking his stitches. Now that the hair is through the licking is slowing down.  That sure was one big incision to remove his tumor. Poor pooch. Sure has slowed work in the studio but at least I know my mom super hearing still works.

I have finished my first Panda bear. He is sure very tubby. But I like well fed bears : ) . I struggled with the eye patches as I decided to applique them on. I am not sure coloring them would not have been better! I am working on a pattern where they are sewn in place first. This requires very accurate sewing or the eyes will be uneven. I will post a picture of this face process as I go along.
I have also worked on a Ranger Bear for my daughter's class, which will be presented to them on Monday. I hope to post a picture of them with the bear. Another exercise has been to make a butterfly bear with the favorite color being purple. She sure came out with a regal look to her! Pictures after the young lady has recieved her first.

School activities are high right now and I cannot believe how much the youngsters at our school have grown in size and grace. Summer is a slow time for me so I will be 'vacationing' my Etsy.com store on the 7 June for a break and a trip with E. There will also be a light of silence from this side as I am not sure how safe it will be to access this account from where we will be to let you know. If I can I will as we have some really fine things planned. I plan to resume on the 29 July or there abouts refreshed and with new ideas!

It has been a wonderful busy few weeks. A lot of things accomplished!

I have been looking on line and with Etsy.com on how to make wings. Thank goodness for you-tube. Garden of Imagination has some great feed. I have found a huge amount of ways to adorn creations with wings but my favorites are using transparency paper and printing on it as a start to the wing; using fantasy film and liquid fimo or gallery glass and then the sewing kind which is a lot more little kid friendly.

Good luck fairy bear

As usual the trying to strike a balance of beautiful fairy looking wings and being something a young one could play with is the challenge. I am starting to think that the wings have to be removable. Sewn/quilted wings sewn onto the body work. Any other type is more for display : )

 

 

This is "Lady". I have been working on fully jointed puppies to add to the collection of the small fleece un-jointed ones. I have made some in the past as gifts but feel the pattern is now ready for me to list.

 

"Penelope" is one of our dragons. She has a green brother that I donated to E's school for a fundraiser. It seems like he was noticed and he went for a good end bid! I am delighted as I know schools all need the money. Penelope has another of my favorite kid of wings- made from liquid Fimo Polymer clay. Then you add micro glitter and bake it. Very much stronger that the fantasy/Angelina film used on the green one. I have been making wings- haven't I ?

 

I have also managed to finish the "Spring Bear" in our series of seasons bears...

And this is Sunshine dragon. I am happy with the body pattern now but I am still developing heads.

 

Another project I am working on is a Mouse that would be in the French Court of Marie Antoinette. I am using Tissavel woven back fur in summer squirrel, supplied by Fabric Empire. I buy online as it is not always easy to find what I want in my neighborhood. She is getting her face needle felted and feet and hands are sculpted from polymer clay.

Marie Mouse needle felted head with glass eyes.

The inspiration for the mouse came from Beatrix Potter's Tailor of Glouster illustrations.

 

 

This scary stare is from another needle felted face project. I have started, stopped, undone and restarted so many times now! Polar Bear Queen will have a fully sculpted head and paw pads. She is also made from tissavel fur from Fabric Empire. Fabric Exchange and Intercal trading also carry some tissavel fur.

Polar Bear queen sits a whopping 26 inches high and she is fully jointed with a double jointed neck.

I will keep posting as I move along on these two projects. the dress is cut for the mouse and I am ready to joint her. She is going to be fully jointed but with the split pin and washer system rather than safety joints. the original pattern I used for her is the same as the mouse I made for E's birthday party. just adapted to felting by changing the fabric and adding sculpted feet and hands instead of sewn ones...

 

I hope everyone who reads this has a fabulous and productive time as I have. I will be slowing down as my best bud in my studio- my pooch Mushu- just had a huge tumor removed from his leg. This is not his first ad he is an elderly gentleman now. I wait for the test results anxiously and find it hard to work as all I want to do is sit with him and give him love.

 

 

This week saw the creation of a much wanted to do bear. I have always loved the idea of steampunk. A victorian romance but with the idea of modern technology.

Charles's hat took forever! I really had a tough time figuring out how to make it and in some ways it still bothers me that it took so long : ) It looks good on him though. I love the outcome of the heart pendant that he holds. I made it out of sculpey and old watch parts. Thank heavens for Etsy sellers who have these things available! His fur is a special fur I got a while back and it resembles feathers rather than a fur! Super soft to the touch and has fooled more than 1 person. Califabrics.com sells it in all kinds of colors.

 

I am working on dragons now. Have a look on Etsy and Emma's Bears! I love that dragon- mine is a little more bulky in his nose : ) E's school is having 'diversity day' and I am going to show how I make the dragon- so I need one finished, one half way and one just started I think.

Time to shake some tail feathers and get going...

We have finally finished our dragon. I am a lot happier with the result : ) We have also been busy exploring polymer clay.

 

Our dragon is wearing glasses and red sparkle eyes. He is going to be a Library Dragon for E's school.

Paw detail- we embroidered the claw shape to add emphasis.

 

His little wings- he is after all, a baby dragon!

Our ploymer clay explorations have also included dragons, mice and seahorses! Most of these were done by E! She has a real talent for making clay critters...I just did the green dragon on the bottom.

 

Plans are in the works for a top hatted steampunk feather fur bear, a really chubby bear and another fairy bear. Esty should have them by the end of next week if that top hat works out! Ouch on a new thing to make that feels a bit flimsy to me. Maybe thicker cardstock as the base of the hat that the fabric is glue to my be in order!

 

I am also expolring some polymer clay options to see if they can be sold as beads in our etsy store. The green dragon I made is a bead, and his leaf wings on top are the bail.

 

I did make one with pearls and gold, but as E lost a tooth- the toothfairy was asked to bring that dragon. Oh well. That tooth fairy has been way too busy in this house, but at least she brings nice things for E's teeth!