Valentine - A Piggy Pilot

I saw the link to make this cutie, on a Russian blog. That was in 2019, and finally now in 2023 she is ready to fly.

She is a relatively simple ornament to make. You can go in many different directions to recreate her. Since it’s not far from February 14th, I thought she would be a perfect fit for Valentines day and a suitable name too.

I dressed her very simply in a boucle type of body fabric, a red/white stretch for her lower limbs and of course, some lace to make her just a little more girlie. Her little headpiece is a flower shaped spacer and inside there is a little red heart. She has her goggles to protect her eyes during her flight and lastly, an oversized cupcake carefully balancing on her back. Mine doesn’t have wings, but you can certainly add some. She measures about 3 1/2” long.

This is where you can find the instructions to make your own piggy pilot……….

https://www.livemaster.com/topic/2994489-handmade-piggy-pilot-christmas-toy-symbol-of-2019

A couple of suggestions………  Instead of making a body and head separately, then putting them together, if I make this again, I would make an aluminum foil complete piggy shape, then apply the clay over that.

Attach the wire around the body before applying clay. Then after the clay is applied and you’ve done the facial features (snout, eye position and ears), then I would insert the wire for the arms and legs. Easier to position when the basic shape is done. And here is my version….

Baroque Ornament - 2022

This is a recent design by Michelle Munzone. It’s a larger size ornament that might be better suited to hang from a hook, where it could be seen on all sides. It’s approx. 6” tall and has many sides to it. 

The face is made with a press mold, or you could sculpt a face with a flat back. She is trimmed with a number of different embellishments such as beads, ribbon, lace.  The fabric I’ve used is an Italian silk lining, used in making men’s suits.

Beading projects - 2021

I am by no stretch a jewelry maker. I don’t even wear a lot, but since I had so much time on my hands, I decided to dabble in a bit of it. I prefer more of a bohemian theme, nothing fancy or ornate… just simple, and easy to wear.

The first picture is of some beaded crochet necklaces. They are connected with magnetic closures. I did a number of classes on Artsy Bohemian Online School. The mini clay books in a previous post, was from her site as well. Robin Dudley Howes. Just click her name to see what she offers.

And these pieces are bracelets made from various designers patterns on Etsy. They are very easy to do and I enjoyed learning some new again. Never stop learning….

The last project for this post, is this little beaded tree. It’s very small, about 3” approx. I fell in love with the Navette beads I saw in a video, so I went searching….

So far behind in posting…..

I meant to post all of this at the end of December, but I finally got here at the beginning of February. Ooops.

These are the projects I finished at year end. It’s a combination of things, no theme or connection to anything else, just a number of projects I worked on during the month.

There is a new ornament pattern from MMMDesigns on Etsy. Larissa has started a new ornament series “Twas the Night”. This is Mrs. Claus, I posted Santa at the end of October.

 

Next is Ember the Baby Reindeer. Another ornament from Cheswick Company on Etsy. I found the antlers from a seller on Etsy. They are metal as opposed to paper.

Next are these clay Santa’s. They are from a free project by Maria Saracino that she offered in December. You might still find it on the Sculpey Clay site, not sure.

I get  a newsletter from an artist who works a lot with natural dyes from nature and many other out of the norm ingredients and materials for the free projects she offers. You can find her at Made By Barb.  A freebie she put out near the end of the year, was for these gnomes. I used pieces of tree branches, faux fur and big clay noses. It was the noses that got me. ;o)  It was a good way to use up a few on the thrift store glasses I had too.

  

 

Using a Becky Holloway pattern, I made this Santa for someone who did a really great job of organizing and running the Artisans show at the gallery.

 

And finally, this is Jill Maas recent doll pattern. I made this one just after the New Year, but whose checking.. She can be whatever she wants to be, I’m calling mine a Reindeer in Waiting. ;o)  So that’s it until next time….. I’m already two finished projects into the New Year, not counting Gracie that is.

 

Shabby Rose Fairies/Santa Ornaments

I’ve posted these many times over the years, to show you what I’m offering for Christmas sales. I won’t be posting all the fairies here, but I’ll show you two examples of this years versions. I made 24 for this season, half of them are wearing beaded slippers, the other half are wearing ice skates. Below are the Felt Santa ornaments. There are 12 of them, but I’ll just post two samples here.

The Artisans Show/Sale starts this Saturday and runs through Dec.14th. The times and location are on the main page of my website. Enjoy  

Week 31-34 Polymer Clay Challenge

The last four weeks of challenge projects, are Elf ornaments. Mr. and Mrs. Claus definitely need help of the elves during their busy season.

Week 27–30 Polymer Clay Challenge

This month I have made Mrs. Claus ornaments for the challenge.  I like to play with skin tones, so I have made them to be a companion to the Santa ornaments from last month.

Week 23–26 Polymer Clay Challenge

So I’m posting these in advance for the month of June. It just seems easier than posting each time I have an addition to the polymer clay challenge. For this post I have started on ornaments for the Artisans show in the fall. These are the first four, Santa Head ornaments.

I used different press molds and then altered them to include the eyes, rather than painting them. Then I made some little changes to the expressions. I’ve also used different coloured clay for skin tones. I have a box of real fur from very old coats and jackets and the heads are embellished with wreaths, a charm and clay holly leaves and berries. They each have either a velvet or stretch velvet hat. The locks for the whiskers are from a local fibre artist.

Enjoy…..

A Mash Up to End the Year

I’ve been working on a number of things and am well behind in posting here. I’ve made ornaments for the gallery, a small commission and some things for my own holiday decor. A bit of a long post, but better that than complaints that I post too often..?? Oh well…

First up at these Winter Rose Fairies. They are an adaption of the Shabby Rose Fairies I usually make. I made little snow globes for them to hold, and nice warm hats and scarves for those winter winds.

Next are the 12 Days of Christmas. These designs are made using the patterns from Larissa over on MMMCrafts. CLICK HERE.  Larissa has used the traditional way of numbering the ornament (who knew there was a different version of numbering them), so if you decide to make them, be aware that you will have to change the numbering if you want the version that is more widely known.

Along with the 12 Days of Christmas, Larissa included 3 bonus designs. One with the Partridge, one with the Geese a Layin and the last with the Lords a Leapin. So there is an egg, a heart and a pear. These ones are on my tree. They are so easy to make and a great way to use up those felt scraps that build up in a basket if you’re like me and love working with felt. ;o)

Another project I did for our Christmas decor. are these cute little Snowman coasters and Candle Mat. This is a design by Penny Lane Primitives. CLICK HERE. There are some really nice designs there suitable for many occasions. This set only took me a few days to do. I wasn’t at it non stop, but it’s very quick stitching you can do while watching tv.

The next thing is a stocking. I had one for hubby and one for the cat (of course), and just finished this one for me this year.The inside is lined with a pretty cotton print covered in male and female cardinals. The pattern does not call for lining, but I’m a detail person and just had to line them. Cheswick Company has a wonderful collection of stocking patterns. You don’t even need to fill them (they are between 18” and 22” long), that would take a lot of stuffing. ;o) But Cathy has tons of ornaments, tree skirts, prim dolls and more for all seasons. CLICK HERE

And the last picture is that of a small doll ornament. A couple bought one of my Tiny Dancers and after leaving the gallery, realized they should have bought something for the other granddaughter. So they contacted me and gave me some details of what they had in mind. This granddaughter loves basketball, has brown eyes and brown hair. So how to make this work. I had wanted to get a mini basketball for the doll to hold under her arm. Not enough notice or time for that, so I came up with a different idea.

I would have her sitting on a basketball. I found a soft foamy kind of ball at the $$ store and it worked out just great. I made some basketball shoes suitable for an 11 year old little girl and a little added bling. I also added a Santa Hat. When they came, they said I captured her just perfectly, so yay…good news. The End….

Sea Jewels–Ornaments

My first set of ornaments are these Sea Jewels. This is from a class with Marla Neiderer called Sea Princess. I’ve used batik fabrics that make some of these ladies look like they’ve just risen from the sea. I’m thinking they are more like half mermaids. ;o))) 

I’ll be posting again on the weekend with another set of ornaments.