Lets Make Faces and the 12 Days of Christmas!

Lets make Faces...

cute little funny faces out of polymer clay. There are commercial molds available or you can easily make your own molds from antique dolls. Using the doll of your choice firmly press it into a flattened ball of polymer clay to create an impression.

Bake according to instructions on the package to cure your new clay mold. Let the new mold cool down entirely before using. Lightly dust the mold with a little bit of talc to help prevent the clay from sticking. Then roll an egg shaped ball using more polymer clay.

Press it into the mold, be sure to put the narrow end of the "egg" shape in first, this will help to make sure the clay goes

all the way down into the lowest parts of the mold like the nose and lips areas.

Gently pull the clay out and put the doll faces onto a baking sheet

and pop them into the oven, again following the directions on the package. Hey, they are looking a bit like cookies aren't they or maybe even some delicious Christmas candy?!

Anyway be sure to let them cool completely and then use acrylic paints to give them a nice healthy complexion. Sometimes its necessary to blend paint colors to get it just right!

Then go in and start to work on the details,

pretty blue, brown and green eyes,

lovely pouty lips,

eyebrows and eyelashes and some rosy pink cheeks, apply the cheek color with a Qtip so that you have a nicely blended edge.

You can use pastel chalks for cheek color or even try your own make up (blush) that works great too!

Spray them with a light coat of matte sealer. I like to create big batches of these funny little faces

and paint them with lots of different expressions and in different styles,

some with sweet expressions, some looking to the left and some to the right.

I generally prefer to paint them in an antique sort of style but of course you can paint yours anyway you like. Now, go crazy with them and have some fun, how many different uses can you find for them?! Tuck them into a fresh pine wreath or create angelic tree toppers, maybe they can become of few of Santa's little helpers!

I found these great antique clown die cuts a while back and wanted to copy the theatrical make up they are sporting.

I think they used to have a different idea of what a clown should look like back then! They always have a more mischievous

sort of look, but I like that so I duplicated it on one of my new little faces

and decided to make my own Christmas clown ornament complete with a lace umbrella to balance himself with! You can use your new faces for lots of fun things, I'm going to buy a bunch of silk flowers and glue these into the centers to create really unique ornaments to hang on the tree! Can't you just picture it, dozens of smiling faces staring out at you! They would look great in the middle of a pretty red silk bow too! And Hmmm, well you get the picture!

Meanwhile over at the Where Women Create blog... Jo is having a very special ~Twelve Days of Christmas~ giveaway and doing it in style! She is featuring a different prize EVERYDAY until the 12th of December at midnight! This wonderful Partridge in a Pear Tree ornament is by the amazing Patience Brewster
click here to check out her site!

Another wonderful giveaway prize is a mini trio of perfumes ( Pink Lotus, Cacao, and Blonde Tabac) by the divine Mandy Aftel!
Click here to visit Mandy's web site

And yet another spectacular giveaway prize, pottery by Jill Wiener of Earth Girl Pottery! Now that's a face!

Jill has graciously donated a second beautiful piece, this ripe for the picking Pear vessel!

A very pretty huge ribbon assortment from The May Arts, these will come in handy for wrapping presents!

A Gypsy Fabric Club packet from Pamela Armas, check out the sweet butterfly wings in there!

Bluebird Buddies, one of a kind art dolls by artist Christi Silacci, courtesy of Jen O'Connor and Earth Angels Toys!

Ooo, pretty!

Your choice of beautiful ribbon necklaces by the talented Beth Quinn!

A Vintage Trinket Necklace, handcrafted by Andrea Singarella!

Your choice of a quilter's Jelly Roll... or a quilter's Layer Cake...

Plus an assortment of sewing and quilting patterns from Fig Tree Quilts designer, Joanna Figueroa!

And on the 12th Day of Christmas... a twenty dollar store credit to Gussy's Etsy store, compliments of Maggie Whitley!

Guess what?! The 12 Days of Christmas giveaway over at the Where Women Create blog is SO FABULOUSLY popular Jo is extending it by a few more days! Today on the 13th day of Christmas Dara Dimagno has created THREE wonderful pieces, an ornament and two custom necklaces!

There are also pieces by KC Willis of the Lipstick Ranch and Trish Preston of Two Peas in a Pod, with lots more to come so be sure to check out the fabulous Twelve Days of Christmas Giveaway on Jo Packham's Where Women Create blog! Click here to join in the festivities!
Be sure to check back here and on the Where Women Create blog ~ Twelve (16) Days of Christmas Giveaway! I will be adding updates as the 16 day giveaway progresses!


And one last thing while we're at it, I will be adding new things to my Etsy shop (like these delightful bisque tea cups) every week so check back often!

Happy Thanksgiving and Thank You!

I am thankful for plentiful seasons and lean years.
I am thankful for crisp Spring days that lead into lazy Summers and frosty Winter nights.

I am thankful for sunrises in the mornings, sunsets at dusk and moon beams by twilight.

I am thankful for sparkling stars, blue skies and red roses.
I am thankful for cuddly kittens and playful pups.

I am thankful for simple thoughts, a stream of consciousness and complex endeavors.

I am thankful for artistic inklings, literary curiosity and musical enchantments.

I am thankful for all that I've come to know as well as all that I have forgotten!

I am thankful for alertness, awareness and yes, even oblivion.

I am thankful for tomorrows, yesterdays and happily ever afters.

I am thankful for laughter through the tears.

I am thankful for a bounty of friends and family.

And I am thankful for the opportunity to share a few stolen moments with all of you who do the same for me!
Wishing you all another Happy Thanksgiving!
P.S. I have filled my new Etsy shop to the brim with goodies, stop in and take a peek!

Hear Ye, Hear Ye and Hear You too!

As life trots along and we all hurry, hurry, hurry to keep up with it, there are a few announcements I would kindly like to

share with you. Jo Packham the Vibrant Creator and Editor-in-Chief of the Monumental, Splendiferous magazine

Where Women Create has started her very own blog! If you haven't popped in to say hello be sure and check it out!

It is really hard to believe that it has been a whole year since Where Women Create made its glorious debut, so many amazingly

talented and creative women have been featured on its pages. Jo is holding a One Year Anniversary Contest on her blog and
giving away some very cool goodies like this fabulous Where Women Create charm bracelet! Isn't it simply delicious!

And now for the second exciting announcement...you will want to be sure to mark your calendars and Save the Date...

for the Fall of 2010 for The Creative Connection, (info coming soon, Check here!) it will be a new type of event for creative women and women entrepreneurs. This event will bring together the top women industry leaders in the world of crafts, fashion, technology & e-commerce as they look at & share experiences, tips & tools, ideas & community with fellow creative women through workshops, panels & seminars. This is a NOT TO BE MISSED EVENT! I know I for one cannot wait for it! Info will be posted at www.wherewomencreate.com very soon!

Moving right along... there is a fun new book called Scraps - An Inspirational Field Guide To Collage. It is published by Lark books

Sterling and features beautiful everyday items and images

arranged in fresh, charming and interesting new ways.

It even answers the age old question...

When is a collage finished?

Something that even though seems like it should be obvious can be quite tricky indeed!

The book is by the lovely Elsebeth Gynther & Christine Clemmensen, who by the way happens to be holding a contest on her blog too! I am sure she will be pleased if you to drop in and check it out!

So many wonderfully magical things are happening right now, I am almost breathless with all of the news! My friends Victoria and Richard MacKenzie-Childs at www.victoriaandrichardemprise.com

have released their newest and most miraculous design collection... a handmade limited edition quilt by Victoria herself (no kidding)!

This gorgeous glass necklace is so colorful, sparkly and pretty it will make your eyes water!

Hop on over and take a peek and be prepared to be dazzled!

And lastly, you may have have noticed a few changes on my side bar...

Like my new Etsy Shop!

I am very happy to say I have f i n a l l y opened it up.

It has been a great new adventure and let me just say

I will be offering up for sale some nifty and intriguing little things that

I personally find quite appealing.

The sketchbooks and journals have different personal messages and

a hand drawn sketch on the very first page of things that fascinate me... just to get you started. I think it's a unique way for us to share a journal together!

You will also find lots of hand poured, smooth and creamy porcelain parts and pieces, unusual lovelies to add to your own

altered artwork and masterpieces, very special things you won't find anywhere else in the world!

And occasionally there will be some of the most spectacularly silly and unique vintage items that I have carefully collected over the years and that I now figure it is high time to be passed along so that they may be enjoyed by many others too!