Pow!

I ordered a set of steel letter stampers from eBay with the intention of using them to imprint wet silver clay before firing.

My first experiment was a simple but effective one...

A little nod to comic books.  I really love this, it is for myself but I am going to make some more for my shop definitely.  The edges are a little pointy and therefore sharp, not enough to be used as an offensive weapon, handy enough for cleaning fingernails perhaps?  Ew!  I think the next attempt will need to be a little smoother.

I used liver of sulphar to blacken it, then cleaned it back to silver again, leaving a little blackness to the imprinted letters so they stood out more.

What do you think?

Things that go bump in the night...

Sometimes an idea won't rest until I have done something with it...

...which is how I found myself at 11:30pm still crafting away by candlelight...ok, not candlelight, but you get the idea!

This latest spooky creation is still in need of some paint of course but I am delighted with him...

Can't wait to get started on a little troop of mummies!

More fairy magic!

With a little fairy dust, and the help of some paint of course...

A rather naked looking fairy is brought to life...

She was really very fun to make, it's always nice to have an excuse to indulge in lots of pink and gold :)  She's a little...um..bustier than I intended, but I think it adds to her charm.  I particularly like how her mossy head-dress came out, I may have to take that a bit further...I'm thinking Christmas wreaths perhaps?

Now this lady is up in my Folksy shop waiting for a new home!  Speaking of shops..I've added a couple of badges to my sidebar *points* and I am adding more items every week.  I am hoping to add a silver clay jewellery section to both shops really soon, I am really excited about that.  So far my Etsy shop contains more than my Folksy shop because, sorry to say, Etsy is a lot more user friendly and is much more of a sleek operation.  That said, there is something very delightful about the slightly clunky newness of Folksy and I really hope if finds its feet as the UK craft movement moves forward.

Rather excitingly, and very much to my surprise, my little hanging ghosts were featured on Etsy's front page today!  The Hollow Men treasury I showed you yesterday was selected for the front page today...

I promise not to go on about every treasury I am in, if I am lucky enough to be in more of course, it's just exciting to be in some for the first time so I am indulging myself :)

My first Etsy treasuries

I have recently discovered Etsy's treasuries - a place on etsy where members can put together little shopping galleries of lovely diverse things that are being sold on the site. They are quite addictive once you get browsing through them, I find myself losing large chunks of time to gawping at gorgeous collections of yummy handcrafted things.

So imagine my surprise when I discovered my little hanging ghosties had been featured in TWO treasuries no less!

Excitement!





I'm really chuffed!  I may even have a mug of horlicks to celebrate!

Silver clay

Earlier this week, on a whim, I treated myself to something I have wanted to try for some time.  Yesterday it arrived...

I had briefly read about silver clay before and had rather fancied the idea, though I was somewhat sceptical.  Clay that turns to silver?  And you don't even need a kiln?  Sounds like something from one of my wildest fantasies! 

I ordered myself a starter set from here.  I could just as easily have ordered a lump of the silver clay (or "art clay", or "metal clay" as it is also known) and had a bash at it, but I wanted to make sure I had a small selection of the most basic tools needed.

Despite looking a little like a school chemistry set this little box is actually full of very useful things - like silver polish, a stainless steel brush, a burnisher (I had to google what that was for..), some antiquing solution (which stinks), tweezers, a mesh and safety cage for firing on a gas stove, and a few other very useful bits. So for £40 it's quite a bargain.

It also includes the all important lump of clay!  7g of slow dry silver clay - it doesn't look like much but trust me it goes a long way.

So do you want to see my first effort?

Ta dah!

The whole process was an incredible amount of fun.  You get to play with clay - and it really is just like normal clay, like working with a mix of air-drying and polymer clay, very pliable and very easy to use.  Then you dry it - either leaving it overnight or blasting it with a hair-dryer, then you get to play with fire! 

The clay is fired carefully on a gas hob, which was quite terrifying the first time as I was convinced there would be some kind of explosion.  The fired clay gets dunked in water, at which point it is white in colour and you will still be uncovinced it has worked.  Then you use your steel brush, or your burnisher, or your sanding pad and...magic happens!  Alchemy!  The white rubs away to reveal pure silver!

You can then finish it off to be shiny, or brushed, or you can play around with antiquing it and polishing. 

I am SO happy with the result, I have been busy making more, I think I may be addicted :)

Fairy experiments #2

More fairy creations going on here at mudmeddling this week - a couple more fairy doors...

Unfortunately I messed these up somewhat, I rolled the clay out too thinly and they buckled slightly when they dried.  I should  have a) made the clay slightly thicker, and b) weighed them down slightly when drying the underside.  Still, a useful learning process.

And what good is a fairy door without a toadstool or two?

I can't decide if I prefer small or big spots...

But it was a lot of fun playing around with photographing them in the morning sun...

I'll definitely be making more of these to add to the shop/s so keep your eyes peeled.

More fairy experimentations tomorrow...

Fairy experiments #1

I have had little time lately to play around with my clay as much as I would like.  With my 4-year-old starting school, medical and antenatal appointments coming out of my ears, and then general work and motherhood on top of it all, sometimes my creative endeavors take the back seat.  It's not the balance I want.  Ideally my work would be my creative endeavors, but for now time and circumstance don't allow that. 

Maybe this little lady will grant me a wish?

She is an experiment - just a little idea quickly formed before I forgot it.  A little bell-like fairy with hand-painted hair and a neat little bun. 

I like her, she needs tweaking of course but she's cute and I like the style. 

More fairy experiementations to come later this week!

Fairy door painted

Yesterday I painted up my little fairy door...

Although I love seeing clay creations in their raw form, I do enjoy seeing them brought to life with a little colour.  This little door was particularly fun to do as the brown paint transformed the pattern I had made on the clay and I was really pleased with the result.

(Hmmm, funny how your floors look clean until you take a super close-up photo!)

I took a picture outside too to capture an outdoorsy situation...

This one isn't going into the shop, I struggle to part with the first creation that comes from an idea, so this particular one will find a home on a book shelf, or maybe even a skirting board...though I am not sure it'd survive a 4-year-old and a crawling baby over the next year or so...so a shelf it is :)

Now I really must go and mop that floor...

Fairy magic

Inspired by the stories my four-year-old insists I make up for her whilst she eats her dinner - which must always involve fairies, dragons, princesses and naughty witches who eventually see the errors of their ways - I constructed a little fairy door...

I was so pleased with the wood effect, made using the tip of a bent old metal skewer.  I just hope it holds out when I paint it, which I am just away to do now.  I am really looking forward to bringing this little door to life!

Spookiness

I have been happily creating some spooky things lately, inspired by the whiff of autumn just around the corner, my very favourite time of year.   I've been making rather a lot of simple little ghosts...

Each topped off with a crystal bead...

And very cute hanging from a cupboard handle...

Strangely addictive to make!  And the sole cause of my having completely run out of white paint :)

I have also been building a coven of witches...

Very fun little ladies to make whilst sitting with a cup of horlicks of an evening, my life is very rock and roll.

Opening Ceremony!

Well here I am popping the cork on a bottle of non-alcholic elderflower cordial fizz (dammit!) because, yes, I am the proud proprietor of an Etsy online shop!  AND a Folksy online shop!

*fanfare*

Announcing MudMeddling on Etsy:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/MudMeddling
And MudMeddling on Folksy:
http://www.folksy.com/shops/MudMeddling

Woo!  I finally bloody well did it.  I opened a shop!  That alone is satisfaction enough for me, for now.  I am realistic, I am not silly, I am fully aware that opening an online shop does not equal selling in an online shop.  I need to work on my business, nurture and grow it, learn and improve, but most of all love doing it.  As long as I love it I will do it, even if I never sell a thing :)

So want to see what's up for sale?

Some of the rather naked looking sculptures in my last post have been transformed into much more lively looking creatures...

I love how much a little bit of paint can transform things...

I set up a little photoshoot area in the garden to get some natural light and it worked quite well I think, though I still have a lot to learn where photography is concerned...

But I think the pictures came out rather well, the colours in particular are pretty true to the originals...

There are more than just Santas available though so do skip on over the either Etsy or Folksy to take a look :)  And I will of course keep you fully updated on new additions, but this blog will continue to focus more on the process and the fun of the creating, rather than just harping on about selling and shops. So there!

Now excuse me whilst I go and sip my elderflower cordial and wish it was real champagne :)