I Just Joined the 2016 Polymer Clay Challenge

While I lost steam last year with the challenge, I am going to do it again this year. I plan on making a Head, 1 pair of hands or 1 pair of feet each week.

I love sculpting. Creating someone from a lump of clay is just amazing to me and every time I do it I feel so accomplished.

This year I will be focusing more on sculpting. I am planning on entering one of my dolls in the Petaluma, CA Doll Show this year and my focus for 2016 is on defining my personal style. This challenge will definitely help me in that respect.

Treasure Chest Tutorial Coming soon!

Yes, you saw that right! I am almost done with the treasure chest tutorial. I made the treasure chest shown above for my guy's Pirate themed birthday party this past August but when I sat down to write the tutorial I realized that I did not take as many pictures as I needed so off I went to the local thrift store for a couple of things so that I could show you the steps I took to get my results.

I'm really excited about it and hope to have it posted by the end of the year. After that I'll be finishing up a pennant banner tutorial. This one is super easy and gives you so many more ways to use those cool digital downloads that you see on Etsy and other places.

I'll also be posting a pic of my completed Santa. He turned out pretty darn cute if I do say so myself and then I'll share with you some upcoming projects I have for this new year, including my ideas for my entry in the Peteluma Doll show this year.

Thanks for being here!

Debbie

New Project

Hi everyone,

I imagine you are all as busy as I am right now but I had to pop in a share a project I am working on.

This little buy is a class that is being taught by Deb Wood through A for Artistic. If you haven't visited A for Artistic yet, you really should check it out. The classes are amazing and since they are mostly online you can go at your own pace.

This guy is from the Santa Claus is Coming to Town class. In this class we get one lesson a week for 3 weeks for Santa then there is a bonus lesson wrapping tiny presents. Week one-done!

I will share my progress with you as I go.

I still have those tutorials to share plus other fun things. The first tutorial from John's party is on making a printable fabric banner - totally cool! I'll be posting that be the end of December - PROMISE after that I'll have one on whipping up a quick and easy treasure chest and also some pictures of my latest original works!

Thanks for being a part of my world!

Debbie

Zombie Swap! What an Amazing Package

My amazing swap partner Kerry sent me the above package. It was so beautiful, full of glittery skulls and so many cool presents to open! It made my day. 

Here is the star of the show, my amazing zombie! Isn't he cool. I love his hair, the cool screws in his head, actually I love everything about him! Kerry you are so talented! I am always so in awe of what you do. 

This darling dish towel is just fabulous. I love the skulls with roses - seriously, who wouldn't LOL. 

Zombie Virus -awesome and to make it even more awesome - it is filled with yummy dark chocolates!! My favorite! 

I am a huge Walking Dead and now also Fear the Walking Dead fan. I've see every episode of both shows and this made me cheer. I can't help it. I love the zombie paradigm. It's just such an interesting scenario. Of course that is why I participate in Zombie swaps and make zombie dolls!

Here is the package with everything unwrapped. I was so excited when I saw that journal, I couldn't wait to show everyone. It is even more beautiful in person! I didn't get a good picture of the journal but it is stunning!!

Thank you Kerry for sending me a swoon worthy swap package :0)

Debbie

Sneak Peek!

Here are a couple of sneak peek pictures of the Primitive Zombie Doll I made for Yarnigras's Halloween Swap.

Once my swap partner receives her package of goodies I'll post more pictures.

Sunny Orlando

I'm currently in Orlando Florida for a conference for work. My hair is crazy curly, my skin is "glistening" and it is HOT, HOT, HOT!

Last night we were treated to a desert buffet and waterside seats to the fireworks at Epcot - all in all a fabulous night!

When I get home i'll be posting a sneak peek of my zombie doll for the swap at Yarnigras Swapper Spot blog. 

I'll leave you with a pic of the sweet(?) little guy in the lagoon of our resort

I will post more soon

Debbie

Pirate Costume

Just a quick post to show you my costume from the party (and a sneak peek at two upcoming tutorials). I'm pretty pleased with it! The treasure chest at my feet is going to be featured soon as a tutorial! It started out as a simple pine chest from Michael's.

The picture isn't that great but this banner will also be featured soon in a tutorial on printable designs. I hope to have those finished soon.

Thanks for stopping by!

I Just Joined Yarnigras' 7th Annual Halloween Swap!

It's official! I just joined the 7th Annual Yarnigras Halloween Swap. This time we are swapping handmade, primitive style zombie dolls! For the details on the swap click on the picture above or click here to be taken to the Swap post on the Yarnigras Swapper Spot blog.

I've never made a primitive style doll of any sort so I am excited and terrified! I'll definitely post some sneak peeks along the way.

For a look at some past swap dolls from this group click here to see a doll that I received and here, here and here to see some of the dolls that I have sent.

These ladies are amazing! If you like to get cool packages in the mail, enjoy making dolls and love zombies... this is the swap for you! Check out the link above for more info.

So Many Projects

 This month has been a whirlwind of activity at Sunflower House Art. I've been volunteering at the Lake Tahoe Shakespeare festival (best volunteer gig EVER!), planning a pirate themed costume party (which is this weekend - squee!) had a couple of other birthdays and sadly two funerals. Toss in the vest I HAD to make for my pirate costume, an artist's retreat and gearing up for the craft fair in October and I have barely looked at my blog!

I have, however, been taking lots of pictures of all of the cool things I have been making for the party - treasure chest, printed canvas pirate banner, pirate themed candle holders... so that I can share them with you. Once I get through this weekend I'll be posting some tutorials on the cool things I've created.

I'm super excited about these projects and think you will be too. I'll also be showing you how the playhouse looks so far. It's still not painted but it is looking pretty darn good! Hopefully paint will happen soon.

I'll be posting about a new swap that I'm participating in later on today. It's a new style for me so I am nervous and excited all at once!

Before I run off to sew buttons on my guy's costume... here is a peek at the vest I made. I almost didn't post it because I had to line it and I HATE lining things and there are a few visible glitches but its a costume and I'm OK with it :0) I'm actually pretty happy with how it turned out.

Pirate Costume Vest Front

Pirate Costume Vest Back

Stay tuned for fun things to come - soon - OK, probably closer to in September :0)

And the Winner Is...

The winner of my Mad Tea Party Embroidered Tea Towels is:

Lavender Dreamer! 

Congratulations :0)

Back in the Studio!

I am starting to gear up for the McQueen Craft fair this October and I've been busy in the studio making Steampunk fairy doors and glittered ornaments. This year I'll have 4 different varieties of glittered ornaments and lots of different fairy doors, even some Lucky Leprechaun doors.

Here is a peek at my current work space - so much fun!

It is so nice to be working with clay again. While I was in San Francisco I saw this beautiful church and it has inspired some of my other Fairy doors - you'll get to see them soon.

Aren't those doors amazing! I love the color, the detail, the way they are set into the building, everything about them is inspiring!

If you haven't had a chance to stop by my Mad Tea Party you can see it here. I am giving a set of Wonderland inspired, embroidered (by me) tea towels away next weekend so be sure to stop in and leave me a comment!

Thanks for stopping by!

Welcome to the White Rabbit's Mad Tea

Thank you for stopping by my Mad Tea Party! And a super big thank you to Vanessa over at AFancifulTwist.com for hosting another magical blog party! Be sure to stop by her blog for what is certain to be a stunning visual treat as well as the place to find the links to all the participating blogs in this year's Mad Tea Party.

Now... on to the White Rabbit's Mad Tea,

Our host is late, as usual. This time he sort of has a reason, he left his pocket watch on the table! Poor rabbit! I hope he doesn't miss out on the party!

We've prepared some delicious treats for you. Coconut cake, Chocolate cake, even some French Vanilla cupcakes for those of you with discerning tastes. 

This chair is reserved for someone special... YOU! So please have a seat and choose a treat. I'l get you some tea, we have quite a selection. I'm sure our host will be here soon.

The flamingos think they are incognito, since they brought flowers we'll let them stay and enjoy some tea. 

Be careful with these little bottles, I'm not sure what's in them but the last girl who drank some had quite an unexpected journey. I'd be happy to get you some tea...unless you are up for an adventure!

Poor Rabbit, he left both his clocks on the table. Hopefully he'll be here soon!

Yay! looks like he made it after all, shy guy. Give him a few minutes to get some tea and I'm sure he'd love to visit with you. Oh the tales he has, after all he lives in quite a wondrous place...

I hope you enjoy yourself while you are here. I'll be out visiting other parties this weekend. I can never get enough Mad Tea!

One last thing...

Follow my blog and then leave a comment on this post for a chance to win this set of Wonderland themed dish towels. I'll be doing a random drawing on July 25th. and contact the winner via email. Be sure I am able to contact you through your profile. Good luck and thanks for stopping by!

*****

I had grand plans for my party this year but my surgery took the wind out of my sails for almost 3 months then the rains set in this past month which is highly unusual for Northern Nevada, so I was not able to get some of my projects done. In fact, I've been out of the blogging world for way too long! I'm happy to report I am back and should be blogging regularly now. I still have those fun projects to complete, they will now be for next years tea, and they'll be featured here as I work on them. I also have some great pieces  that I am working on for the craft fair I am doing in October and for the Polymer Clay challenges. I've missed my blog and am so happy to be back!

I just Joined A Fanciful Twist's 8th Annual Mad Tea Party!

It's been quiet here at Sunflower House these past few months. I haven't touched clay in weeks and my studio is so bad that the term cleaning just isn't strong enough, I'll be mucking it our later today :0) so I can get back to work!

I am so excited to be a part of the 8th annual Mad Tea Party being hosted by Vanessa over at A Fanciful Twist! I've been working on some fun things for this year's party and later this week I'll be posting some updates.

Check back on July 11th to join in on the fun and if you'd like to join in on the fun head over to A Fanciful Twist (or click on the picture above) and sign up to be a part of this magical event!

What Beautiful Weather?

 

As many of you know I live in Northern Nevada, a High desert area. We are currently in year 4 or 5 of a drought and this week it has been raining all week! It is lovely!

I've been busy with work and life and more work lately but I will be blogging again soon.

Happy Earth Day

Happy earth day! 

I am planting several meyers spruce trees to celebrate our lovely planet!

Have a great day!

Steampunk Fairy Door

Today I was so lucky! I had the wonderful opportunity to provide a workshop at the Reno Steampunk Expo! It was so much fun! 

Here is the project we made

I had such a great time! My students were amazing! I had a range of students including a very talented 12 year old named Josh.

Each of my students made unique fairy doors, they were true artists and it was such a great way to spend the morning. I am so happy I was able to participate!

Steampunk style is fabulous! 

Here is one of the stunning sculptures on exhibit at the expo this weekend. I am a HUGE Jules Verne fan so seeing a replica of the Nautilus was amazing!!!

Here is a beautiful art car! So much style and fun! Truly a wonderful experience

This week has been crazy! I've been working all weekend and am looking forward to a little more calm this week! 

Talk to you soon!

2015 Polymer Clay Challenge - The Creature

I was so inspired from the workshop I attended that I came home and sculpted a creature. He is painted and ready for clothes!

My Creature

He is just so happy!! I have a really busy week coming up so I probably won't get to work on him until closer to the end of the month. I can't wait to share him with you when he is done!

My First Sculpture

I sort of fell into sculpting. I've been making dolls since I was a child. I love the doll as a canvas because there truly are no limits to what you create with them. I love fabric and making fabric dolls has always been a pleasure.

I had already discovered polymer clay and really enjoyed working with it but I hadn't thought too much about doll making with clay. Then, the fateful day, I had joined an email list for doll makers and the very first day I was on it a wonderful lady(now a really good friend) posted information about a doll making workshop in Reno, with Wendy Froud - OMG! So I immediately emailed her and signed up for the class.

The class was amazing. I learned so much and had a great time. Wendy is a fantastic teacher who truly enjoys what she does. It just shines out of her. It was a three day workshop and at the end I had a completed fairy. So cool!

My First Sculpture

I know she looks sort of like Mick Jagger in drag but I love her! One of the lessons I didn't learn that first workshop was to let the sculpture lead the way. I've said it here before, sometimes I am thinking of a particular project but once I start sculpting someone else shows up. Well, I REALLY wanted to make a fairy so that is what I did. (Have I mentioned that I am occasionally stubborn?) Had I listened to the clay I probably would have had a really cool creature instead. Either way I fell in love with polymer clay dolls. I get to use all of my passions in one project (you know, fabric, jewelry making, sculpting, embroidery...). 

I've continued to take classes and learn from as many artists as I can. I've been lucky enough to take classes from Kate Church, Patricia  Hedegaard, and Christine Shively to name a few. I've learned new techniques from every instructor and from my sculpting group and I continue to explore new techniques and ways to work with clay. 

This recent class was exciting for me on several levels. I got to take a sculpting class from both Wendy and Toby Froud, I got to take it with 3 of my friends and I got to see how far I've come.

Recent Workshop 

Now and Then

I'm pretty pleased with my progress. Both Facebook and my camera identify my new figure as human, Facebook wants me to tag her!

I've been working like crazy since I got home and will be posting the creature I made for the 2015 Polymer Clay Challenge late today. He's pretty cute!

I love figurative sculpture but polymer clay is so versatile you can make jewelry, dolls, decorative bowls, clocks... the list goes on!  I will be teaching a Steampunk Fairy Door next weekend at the 2015 Reno Steampunk Expo - I'll show some pictures after class - promise!

One of the things I have learned over the years - practice really does make perfect. Each head I sculpt is better, each pair of hands, every foot, the ears, eyes... every time I pick up my sculpting tools I improve my skills. If you want to sculpt don't worry if your creation doesn't look like the instructor's, keep sculpting, your skills will improve! I am finally creating the creatures and figures I see in my head and it is fabulous!

Figure from Class - A Better Picture

Here is a better picture of the figure I created this weekend - she was not happy that I didn't share a good one :0)

She is wearing leather boots (which are almost complete), a leather bustier and a necklace of strung garnet beads. Though they are hard to see in the picture, she also has feathers in her hair. 

She is very gypsy-like and is evolving as I accessorize her! The trim around her waist isn't tacked down yet and her headpiece is not complete but they are at least in progress and thankfully I am having a great time with her!

I'll post more soon.

Update - Froud Workshop

Toby Froud, Digby and Me

I am home from Portland and the amazing Wendy and Toby Froud workshop. I had such a fabulous time and I am wiped out! Above is a picture of me and Toby, along with Digby, the star of Toby's short film Lessons Learned.

Wendy Froud and Me

Wendy is a warm, talented and genuine soul. She is kind and friendly and so easy to be around. It was just amazing to watch her and Toby as they created this weekend. They are willing to share their talent, tips, tricks and knowledge and if you ever get a chance to meet them - Do it! Wendy inspired me to sculpt and every time I take a class with either her or Toby I learn more. My skills expanded this weekend and it was wonderful.

My creation is not quite done but here is a peek at her. She is sitting on the dashboard of my friends car so the picture isn't the best.

She stands about 16 inches tall and was so much fun to make! I'll be showing you the very first sculpture I ever did alongside this sweet girl to show you that practice is really all you need to increase your skill level - ok, and maybe some really great teachers! If live classes are not available in your area DVDs are the way to go! Wendy does have a couple of DVD sets that are available and if you are interested in sculpting fairies or character figures of any style, I would highly recommend them.

I am working on her jewelry and head piece right now. She may get wings though that is entirely up to her. I hope to show you the completed piece by the end of the month, regardless of her state of completion, I'll update with some comparison pics this weekend.

Stay tuned for my class recap and my experiences on the road!

At Class!

I am currently in Portland on day 2 of the Wendy and Toby Froud class. Here is a sneak peak of my piece: 

I'll post more when I get home and will also be posting comparison pictures between this beauty and my very first sculpture. 

Well, back to class :0)

2015 Polymer Clay Challenge Week 11

This week I wanted to get back to the 2 figures I started a couple of weeks ago so for week 11 I made some Leprechaun boots! As you may recall the leprechaun I am working on is not a cartoon leprechaun but more of a woodsy guy (check him out here).

These boots are sturdy and worn and have served my guy well. With tough laces, a nice reinforced toe and extra "leather" on the sides, I am sure these boots will be good for quite some time!

My Leprechaun was pretty pleased with the boot though he is getting impatient with me. He wants skin and clothes :0) So here are the fabrics I am starting with. I am sure I'll change them up as I go, or he may just insist on something else entirely! I'll keep you posted.

Lots of neutrals and plenty of textures to work with. I had to throw in some green and I just happen to have those super cool green leather gloves that I found at my local Goodwill store. I have no idea if I'll use them but they called to me when I was looking for fabrics to dress my guy in. I love the coarse textures here. I can't wait to see what this pile of fabric turns into!

Next week I am planning on hands. Not sure who for yet but both figures need hands, of course I may make boots for the Steampunk figure. She's being patient so far. Hopefully she'll stay that way for a bit!!