Saturday, January 28, 2012

Eggs Benedict, Asparagus and Coffee in 1:3

Miniature Eggs Benedict, with asparagus, made out of polymer clay. I've never tried hollandaise sauce before, probably why it took me 4 tries (and more than 4 hours) to mix the colour for it -_-"

the asparagus...aiee. that was another issue for me. my initial batch, i showed bf while i was doing them halfway, and he said they're too dark!!! it was late last night and i mulled over it on the journey home, 'twas the first thing i thought about when i woke up, and as soon as i got back into the office, i remixed the batch so that it had more 'tones' and variances in colour.

total time for the asparagus (including mixing colours and conditioning)...8 fricking hours!!!! *groans*

but. i need to move on, and wished desperately i could tolerate caffeine (which i can't T-T) so....

same commish, for a 1:3 cup and saucer with coffee art. I made the cup and saucer too....

out of air dry clay (la doll premier)....i thought my previous commission was long, this took longer!!! =_=""""" but it was a challenge, and you know me and challenges....

though speaking of challenges, i've sort of given up on the "I'm a giant challenge"...fond as i was of it, i have had hardly any time to myself what with the stuff going on around me and the commissions i'm committed to....plus i think Emily herself has either given up or likewise not found the time to complete it. my little 1:24 bakery/cafe is still sitting on one of my chairs in the office -_-""" no matter. i'm not hoping for any downtime but if i do, it'll be there. waiting. just like my abandoned 1:12 secret project XD

and then there's this to round up this commission....



some 1:4 muffins! i actually went to buy one (cos i love cranberries) to check out measurements and well, research is always a good excuse to have dessert ;P

ok now to move on back to something smaller scaled. going to start on that soon! have a great weekend ^ ^ (it's DATE NIGHT TONIGHT WOOHOO!!! FINALLY!!!!!)

Monday, January 23, 2012

Happy Chinese New Year 2012!

 Miniature Chinese New Year goodies in 1:6 (Playscale, Blythe, Barbie, Pullip)
(i hope one day i never have to keep repeating this scale stuff, but since I work in such varied sizes...better to be clear, huh!)
 made for my bf's mom :D I make a little something for her each year, and for the first 2 gifts, she said it was too small!!! I agree, as a gift for a non-dollhouse collector, 1:12 does seem...too tiny to notice the detail. so this year, i went 1:6 HURHUR. depicted are miniature Kueh Bangkit, Kueh Belanda aka Nonya Love Letters and Pineapple Tarts :D

these are made after the more traditional form that I grew up with, and still enjoy to this day. I even remember helping mom roll up the love letters as a kid, broke quite a number of them in the process, but that just meant MORE FOR ME :P

(no wonder i was such a rotund kid, and now, a rotund adult huhuhuhu)

and I made another for my aunt, whom I owe a lot to. there's also a 1:12 version of the 2 cookies that I   made for my cousin, but i can't seem to find a suitable plate/packaging, i left everything in the office  AUGH! (ya including my camera huhuhu these pics were taken from my phone, last minute assemblage of the dishes hehehehheh) i hope she doesn't mind T-T. will try to take photos of that later, surely i have -some- spare 1:12 dishes at home HRMMMMMMMMMM

it was a great reunion dinner. i introduced (ok ok, FORCED) Ben to try out TripleTown HUHUHU HE'S HOOKED, and now the game is available as an iPhone/iPad app too!!!!!! HAHAHAHHA i hope he doesn't miss his flights..had a good steamboat dinner...Ray, Dad, Grandma and I did some 'dry swimming' (aka mahjong) ...Grandma and dad hadn't played mahjong in over 20 years! for me, not for at least 15?!? so it must have been trying for Ray to catch us up to the rules and such, but much like riding a bicycle, we got back into it pretty easily, wobbly starts and all :D 'twas fun, i won a whopping 150 cents! XD

I showed grandma the 1:3 polymer clay bak kwa that I'd made a while back, LMAO SHE SNIFFED AT IT!!!! XD XD XD i cracked up so hard.....she also sniffed at the 1:3 love letters.....she then sternly told me not to mix it in with the actual ones HAHAHA i'm laughing crazily at the monitor as i type this XD

i think i must have had too much sugar yesterday and it hasn't worn off ;)

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!

(oh oh!!! and congrats Talina for taking me along for the ride ;)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/170766182213

HUAT ARR!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Friday, January 20, 2012

Breakfast in 1:4



I made everything, except the jar :)

Plate/Mug : La Doll Air Dry Clay

Coffee Art/Jam: Resin + Acrylics

Toast: Polymer clay

This request came in via my Etsy store early this month, and it must have been one of the longest commissions I've ever undertaken. Mostly in part due to this:

I fell in love with the mug when my customer showed me the photo. the slot at the bottom is supposed to be for biscuits!!! how adorable, right???? but construction was really quite the headache, as i had to wait for the different components to dry before i could continue...like the handle, the base etc....i've reinforced the handle with wire too :) the longest part of it apart from the waiting was the sanding and priming and painting and varnishing....really really tedious. not difficult per se (i expected it to be more hellish since it's rather 'precise' work?) just....tedious. and dusty. XD

i hope it looks realistic? o.O

i did say i loved it right? huhuhu! this is my own mug! no actually, i prepared 2 just in case 1 didn't work out...i tend to do that if i'm making something tricky that takes a long time/multiple steps just in case i had to start over.....luckily i didn't, so the extra mug is MINE ALL MINE!!! my own mug is kinda rough around the edges, cos i had not much time to uhhh 'refine' it....ah well. it's just like me then! ;P
i love eating toast! with loads of butter! though i really really try not to :P the oven at home short-circuited a few weeks ago (i turned it on and a flash went off inside, causing a blackout XD ) so this is the closest to toast i've had since T-T grilled cheese sammiches are NOT THE SAME~~~ *whiny voice*. 


:) this took a long time too, mainly in searching for the jar, and re-doing the artwork on the label (modified slightly from the original label....) i don't think i've tried chunky peach jam before, maybe the closest i've had was...apricot preserve? in my mind they would taste the same......:S


ok that's it for now. the next one will be rather ambitious and interesting, and in 1:3 O.O it'll be a busy busy week, Chinese New Year is just around the corner!!! i'm still rushing to make the gift that i always do for bf's mom, and will be helping with reunion dinner shopping....and poor bf found out today that his lungs got infected (probably complications arising from hand foot mouth disease....:( ) so this will make it coming to 3 weeks since we've been together (waving through a locked gate 2 metres apart does not count ToT *sniffles sadly*)....i hope everyone's had a better time than he has!!

back to work! i hope to update again before i leave for the weekend. meanwhile, HUAT ARR GONG XI FA CAI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!~~~~~~~!!!

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Lacking in time....


vs
vs

lol the dime looks like it's growing larger.

now let's watch it shrink.....


Restocked the goldfish crackers, these are new designs (flatter and more realistic) with laser-printed packages.....
1:12 Cheddar on the left and Original on the right :)



1:6 (Playscale, Barbie, Blythe, Pullip, YoSD)
Cheddar on the left, Original on the right

If you'd like these in larger sizes for your MSD or SD13/SD17, just contact me at snowfern at gmail dot com :)

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all packed up and ready to go to France!

it seems i've been making the same old stuff, that's cos i'm trying to fulfill some requests as well as re-stock more of the popular items. but i have been working on some little different things along the way.....CNY is fast approaching (reunion dinner this sunday!!! am not even close to done with CNY cleaning gahh) and a number of my family members have been sick the past week, as if that weren't enough, poor bf has contracted hand foot mouth disease from his nephew and will be quarantined until 20th Jan :( so it has been a rather busy time for me.....i'm still hanging in there albeit with a sore shoulder! I have a new best friend too, a hot water bottle XD

back to work. :S

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Singapore Favourites in Miniature


Nasi Lemak in 1:12, done during a lesson with beginner student (partly demonstrated by me)....i don't feel comfortable saying it's done entirely by her (she insisted the fish was mostly done by me LOL we were running out of time and I had to show her!)

was a little too ambitious in trying to squeeze these many items into a 2-hr lesson, especially to someone who's totally new to miniature-making and clay! this was done in air dry clay, which is something i often recommend to newcomers, mostly because there's lesser investment than polymer clay....i think we did pretty well :) She was really fun to teach, and very understanding about my situation.


PERSONAL STUFF HERE!!!
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(NOT a favourite, but eh....)

I had fallen ill with food poisoning the night before, i thought i'd shaken it but midway through the lesson i had to go uhhh toss my cookies again :( i was so sick that i couldn't make it to the clinic until thursday (the lesson was on last tues night), and by saturday i was still puking my guts out (that's just the least of it :X :X :X ), in fact i think i'd even reacted badly to the antibiotics -_-" dad 'kidnapped' me to the hospital for treatment despite my protests (and tears, yes, i hate going to hospitals THAT MUCH), doc wanted to ward me but i insisted on getting out, so she said ok, 2 hr observation after medication and re-hydration....so that's my umpteenth drip in this lifetime. the backs of my hands are practically freckled with drip scars i'm so sick of hospitals AUGH!! curse this weak stomach and constitution.

anyhoo.

so that was last week. i'm MUCH better now, although a little lonesome cos bf had to go in this week for reservist training. that joker told me he was so relieved, and applauded my dad's tactics in getting me treated -_-" he said at least he knew i'm being cared for while he's away...i suppose this episode has taught me that............




ER docs have a great sense of humour.

so does dad.

and bf.

and i must have, too, since i'm grinning at the recollection of it all.


================================

so back to miniatures. where's that CNY post I promised eh!??!?!

1:6 prototypes of bak kwa (a type of sweet pork jerky we have here, very super popular during chinese new year) and nonya love letters. i think i'll try and roll up the love letters a little tighter for the actual item. plan to make a set for bf's mom.....


these twice as large, 1:3.....i have some other goodies in mind (and in progress, molds have been made but no time no time!) but judging from my to-do list and last week's shenanigans, i don't think i have time to make more :( ah well. maybe if there's a CNY doll gathering i'll bring them along.....


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there's been a lot of differently scaled items i have been working on, mainly this 1:24 commission that came in early last week. i only have 1 item in the list left to complete, but since my hands cramped up rather badly since i had to use tweezers to wrap these teeny tinies, i decided to take a break and update this blog.
a 1:12 vs 1:24 pic. that's a re-make of the toffee coin i talked about re-doing previously.
yes, they're detailed on the inside too. approx 1.5mm-2mm (excluding the long one, of course). which is your fave?? i like the strawberry cream one BEST. i remember picking through each container to get just the red cellophane wrapped strawberry dreams MM MMMM they were the only ones i liked really. no no, i'm not a picky eater, i also like the long toffee centred one when i've finished up the strawberry dreams :P

:P
more choc chip cookies, this time i coloured it to match the cookies on the packaging, though not as picture perfect, i mean c'mon, the cookies i buy seldom ever look as promised on the package!!!

when the request came in for these 1:24 items, i thought to myself....geee.....really?? can i do it? i'd already struggled with the 1:12 versions.....and the 1:24 ones would be what, 1mm long!!!! but you know what, i'd already prepared the packagings for my 1:24 roombox, so i decided to accept the challenge. they were so tiny i packed them up for easier manipulation.


just for fun, i took photos of these with 1:6 versions :)

 1:24 gummy bears??!??! mmyep. 1mm gummy bears.
they're made out of polymer clay, unlike my 1:12 versions (which were made out of epoxy resin) shown here for scale..to be honest i freaked out a little making these, firstly they're so tiny and since my magnifying glass is at home (it's a bulky heavy workstation by Tamiya) i made the mold/master entirely by intuition. i mean really, there's no point me squinting and giving myself a headache since i can't see it anyway no matter how i tried. luckily they turned out reasonably gummy-bear shaped (i think!). the green was left intentionally as is, i thought about mixing it a little lighter, but at 1:24....i figured the colours could stand being a little bolder.

wow you're still reading? thanks! i always try and ramble less, but i'm bored and forcing myself to relax the hands so i can continue working later.....

i have 1 more item to complete, as i've said earlier, but here's a semi-group shot :)
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back to larger scaled items.......

1:3 heart shaped choc cookies

part of an older commission



a more recent request, in 1:3. people seem to like the cookies huh! making me crave for some zzzzzz




aaaaand, another request (2 actually) for 1:6 aka playscale (Barbie, Blythe, Pullip, YoSD) Goldfish Crackers. might list these if there's any demand. oh and the shapes are new and the smiles individually put on :) my newer 1:12 versions will be a similar shape, there's only 1 left of the older design in my Etsy, if anyone's interested. The newer version will cost more, since they are more laborious to make and come with (in?) laser printed packaging.

ok i think that's it for now. there'll be more updates and items added to my Etsy hopefully by next week.

back to work!