Advice taken - regarding the altered box plus..........

I just wanted to thank everyone for their honest opinion of my art work - and especially regarding the box I altered.

I added a smidgen of gold rub and buff to the translucent polymer clay 'plaits' and it's made all the difference - so thanks for that.

I thought you might like to see my latest hobby!

At the ripe old age of 60 something, I have decided to have a go at something that I have always wanted to do -learn to play the piano. 

And yes - well spotted - this is a state of the art Yamaha keyboard - it's one that I have borrowed from the lady who is teaching me - but I have been lucky to find one, like new, on the Internet.

I had one lesson yesterday - and despite my bent fingers and on of my little ones which tucks under the next one - my tutor reckons that I will do well.

The hour was spent talking to me, explaining things about the keyboard, making a list of things I need to buy, and as she is convinced I will be able to play, I've bitten the bullet and bought the equipment!

I expect a lot of you must play something - or did at school - all that passed me by, so I am starting right from the beginning! How to read music - yikes.

I spent an hour in my garden studio where I have the keyboard - our home is too tiny to house it in here - and finally mastered the first page that I was given of a tune.  My homework was to learn the first line!

With no instructions with this one - I have been having a play, and found that it plays songs all on its own - so I can pretend!  It has a whole orchestra of instruments everything you can think of!  It'll be amazing if I can manage to bash out a recognisable tune!

So from now on, once a week, I'll be having a lesson - and maybe by Christmas I'll be able to play something to entertain my family or at least my grandson.  Or is that being too ambitious.

Little Luke is 6 and learning to play the guitar at school - we could form a group !

Flower Arranging

 I have joined a NAFAS flower club in a town near me. It meeets once a month and each meeting you get to watch a top flower arranger.  I was lucky to win the above flower arrangement in a raffle.  It's a big arrangement and as I live in a little bungalow I decided to make several small ones from it today.

 For this arrangement I used the green chrysanthemums, some yellow rubeckia flowers from my garden, and some fatsia leaves from a shrub I have, together with some of the foliage from the original arrangement.

 I need to add some red foliage to this orchid arrangement or red flowers to match the flower centres and enhance the beauty of the flower centres - it's a bit too green at the moment.

 I have made this for a new friend, who is going to attempt to teach me how to play a keyboard!

I have added flowers from my garden to the carnations, and included lavender, rosemary, ice plant, and fern.

It smells absolutely gorgeous!

I'm feeling pretty nervous at the prospect of my first lesson - 'trying to teach an old dog new tricks' proverb springs to mind!  And learning to read music - yikes.   It might be the shortest lesson in history!  But Coral reckons that she CAN teach me to play and that she is very patient - bless her - she'll need patience - watch this space!

Polymer Clay Play

I decided that I like the process of messing about with 'stuff' but when it comes to assembling things like the trinket box (on the previous post) - I am just no good at it - yet.  I don't seem to have the 'vision' at the moment - but I'll keep practising. 

So in the meantime - I had another experimental evening yesterday making these.

 This is a faux wood experiment.  I used an art doll face mould and carved it about a bit.  And just gave it a coat of matt clay varnish.  I think it would make a nice knecklace or pendant.  I'll have to see if I have any beads to go with it - or make some.

Gold or silver chain if I make a necklace?

I am finding that playing with clay is very restful.  I love the feel of it - it's like messing about with plastercine!  I never have an idea of what I am going to do with it.

I just get out a lump of white sculpey, roll it around to condition it and then see what happens.

This is made by moulding, hacking (oops I mean artful carving lol) and the stamping of butterflies. Finished off with a light coat of acrylic paint, then a darker shading at the bottom, and sealed with polyclay sealant as before - for a matt finish.  It looks like a piece of pottery.

Another 'one off' to be put in a box and used at a later time.

That's another joy of clay - each piece is original - which I like. For good or bad there are never two the same!

Trinket box - and stuff!

I have achieved quite a lot since my last post - but the projects have had to be done in stages and left overnight, or 48 hours in some cases.

The above is a little bird made out of polymer clay, which I painted with iron Verday paint from Happy Daze  .  I left it to dry and painted it again with patina and left it for 48 hours.  I am amazing myself at my patience waiting 48 hours - but I am being very good and it's really worthwhile following the instructions to the letter!

It's a lousy photo of it - sorry for that - it's dreaful weather here - thunder and lightening.  The head, back and wings look like iron after I had given them a good rub - they come up a lovely metal iron grey.  I left the chest and underbelly rusty - I rather like the effect.  

Another thing that's been a long time in the making is this little wooden box - which I think I bought from Happy Daze a very long time ago in a set - but I can't remember.

I just love the crackle glaze projects and boxes that Ginger creates - if you click on her name it will take you to her blog and a fantastic box she has made for the Stampotique Design Team of which she is now a member.

I looked up on the internet instructions on how to  create the crackle effect using PVA glue and acrylic paint.  I followed it to the letter - but it didn't work for me - I got sludge which didn't dry after two days.  So I scraped it off, dried the remnants, sandpapered it, and did something completely different.

 

I made a textured paste covered box, painted it with two coats of acylic. Then I rubbed some rub and buff gold over it all to emphasise it, painted and rub and buffed some beads and stuck those on for feet - and left it all alone for another 24 hours.

 Painted the insides with matt black and stamped on some swirls, and added a lock.

 

I then set to, to decorate the lid.  I made some little roses out of translucent polymer clay.

 

I made some translucent 'sausages' and plaited them to make a bag handle and to decorate the bottom.  I also cut out a slab of polymer clay and decorated that.

Now here is where I need your imput.  Would the plaiting look better with a light touch of rub and buff gold - or is that overdoing it!  Also - do you think I should add some gold fleckle to the lid  to 'tie in' with the fleckle on the gold slab - or does it look ok as it is? 

++ edited to say that I have now smooshed a light coating of gold rub and buff one the plaited clay)

 

Whilst I was waiting for paint to dry, I just sat and daydreamed out of my studio's side window.

The sun came out and made the hollyhocks glow with colour - these are over six feet tall,

Five minutes later the rain came!

What a treasure I dug up

 I was up my allotment yesterday evening when the sun was at last going down (dressed as you can see in my Worzel Gummidge outfit thanks husband for the candid camera photo - not!)

I was watering some of my pumpkins and squash

 .....doing a bit of weeding, and planting stuff  and.....

Look what I dug up
This is after it had been washed and some of the rust brushed off.

 I've dug up flints and bits of glass and the odd rusty lump of metal ....

but never an old artifact.

I have taken a mould of her so that I can make others

What era do you think she comes from?

She's about 2 inches long.

I don't have a clue what to use her for do  you?

In the post

They are all bagged and ready for posting now. 

I've had great fun creating these, and can't wait to try other experiments

(Almost )Finished charms

Well I spent the afternoon yesterday finishing off the charms.  I managed to break the top of the 'iron' leaf when inserting the jump ring - that's the third time I've done that!  I'll glue it together methinks and mount it on something - as I really like how it feels in real life!

Here's the side views of the charms showing the patina

 I have to confess that as a first effort I am quite pleased with the results

The look more metallic than I expected

And although the whole process was quite lengthy, I have learnt a lot of what not to do, and what's best to do.

Now I just have to add rings and pack them.