Another commission finished and despatched

I really enjoy creating these wedding toppers and this last one was no exception. It threw up a couple of challenges.

My first challenge was the veil. Veils are really hard to perfect on the toppers and it is very difficult using the clay, they tend not to last long, the clay would have to be so thin it would crack either when fired or while in transit and the second challenge was the kilt. It has to look something similar to the actual garment.

I think I managed on both counts, to see all the steps please follow this link and let me know what you think.

http://tinyurl.com/cm92vme

Thanks for taking the time to look.

My daughter Rebecca gets married on 17th December and her husband to be is a Wii addict. I wanted to show this in the Wedding cake topper I created for her.

She chose to make her bouquet from beads, brooches, crystals, pearls and porcelain roses. Her headdress is also jewelled.

You can see all the steps that it took to create this topper on http://www.weddingsofclay.co.uk/blog.html

Please feel free to leave any comments both here and on my website.

Thank you for looking.

Poorly Bertie

Poor Bert had an operation to remove his longing for girl doggies on Monday 14th November. He came home as right as rain and then went slowly downhill. He developed an infection and by the Wednesday he was very unsettled, agitated and wanted nothing more than to put himself in the smallest corner of the house. Another trip to the vet took place and he confirmed the infection and gave him painkillers, antibiotics and a buster collar! 

 For some reason his favourite place was the bathroom.

He looks like a sunflower and I was tempted to draw petals on it but thought it may embarrass him when he went out.

He was on short walks only, no running, playing or jumping, not that he wanted to at the time. Only problem was he wouldn't spend a penny with this collar on and he stored it up for two days, then we stood at one tree for a full five minutes while he got rid of it. Because he couldn't go in the garden we were walking the estate at 5 am when he needed to go out. I have to admit I was a little worried when he seemed to show no improvement.

He had a little difficulty eating his tea so I ended up holding it for him and for some reason he wouldn't stand and I had to hand feed him till he decided he wanted it. I have gone through a load of pasta, he loves it.

You may notice the grey around the collar, we had to tape it up several times to keep it from dropping to bits. He crashed into all the doors several of which have no paint left on them. My legs are covered in bruises, you would think someone had whipped me with a stick, he couldn't judge the distance and would crash into you from behind. He did enjoy loads of cuddles and would sit with his head on your knee and go to sleep.

After several more visits to the vets and more antibiotics he was more or less given the all clear, he is 99% healed.  The collar is used only for bedtime and then after another couple of days it is going in the bin. He is running around pinching slippers again and looks forward to his walks and meal times.

Boy am I glad, I have been totally stressed out and worried about him all the time. I have been told off for fussing over him too much, but I am sure all you pet lovers out there can identify with that. It's just so nice to see him back to 'normal'.

Another Holiday, Another Cat

Just had a week in Lanzarote soaking up the sun and yet again Steve found a friend. He is not a great lover of cats so why do they take to him so much. It followed him all over the complex.

This poor cat who we christened Fang had a bit of a deformed chin, it was much larger than it should have been and the two front canine teeth were longer than normal, one even came half way down his chin and he found it difficult to pick things up off the floor. He wasn't a skinny cat and he was very friendly, in fact he would sit by your side and lift his paw as if he was begging.

The complex Las Tabaibas was well looked after very clean and tidy and we were very central to shops, bars, restaurants etc and the sun shone the whole week just at the right temperature. Bliss, wish I was back there now.

The old town habour.

View from the patio.

The pool which was deserted much of the week making it nice and peaceful.

Tasty and a bit of Fun

Thought I would share with you the best recipe I have ever found for Pumpkin soup. Nice and warming with a touch of curry spice. Lovely at this time of the year. If prepared with vegetable stock it is suitable for vegetarians.

2 pounds ( 900g ) of pumpkin flesh, cut into cubes

1 large onion, chopped
1 large potato, peeled and cubed
1-2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 flat teaspoon of curry powder, mild or medium strength
1 bay leaf
salt and freshly ground pepper
3-4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 tablespoon sunflower oil

1. boil the pumpkin cubes and the bay leaf in some water until nearly tender

2. sweat the chopped onion in the oil until transparent

3. add the crushed garlic, trying not to burn it

4. mix in the curry spice and stir

5. pour the cooked pumpkin into the mixture

6. add potato cubes, stock and salt and pepper, simmer until cooked

Blend to a creamy consistency.

I store this in plastic containers and as soon as it has gone cold I pop them in the freezer. Lovely served with crusty bread and a dollop of Creme Fraiche.
 
As well as a tasty meal, you can also make an item of jewellery out of the seeds! I cut the pumpkin in half and then scoop out all the soft squidgy bits along with the seeds, a bit messy but necessary. Wash the seeds in hot water, dry and spread them out on a baking tray which has been covered with silicon paper. Pop them into the oven at 100-110 degrees and leave them for about 30 minutes. Keep an eye on them, your oven is not very hot but they can go too crispy.
 

HEY PRESTO!

 

I coloured the seeds with alcohol ink, very carefully put a hole in the top, bent an eye pin and put that through the hole, as if you were going fishing and then dipped them in the Melt Pot. I think the orangey ones look a bit like Amber. You could go on and do a number of these and thread them into a necklace. It brought back a few memories for me making these. As kids we used to dry the melon seeds and make ourselves necklaces and bracelets. Mum would boil them with onion skins to colour them brown or use the flowers from Gorse bushes to make them yellow.

 

 

Another Wedding Album

Here we are again creating Wedding Guest/Photo Albums.

My eldest daughter Rebecca is getting married in December at Horsely Hall near Stanhope. A lovely setting although by then we may be under a covering a snow but we have been assured that the lane will be cleared by one of the many farmers that live around there so no guests should get stranded. Fingers crossed.

The dress has arrived and is now carefully stored ready for the first fitting. Rebecca has created her bouquet out of beads and crystals, unfortunately I don't have a photograph of it finished I will have to update you later on that one, she is also doing the button holes herself. I have created the favor boxes and the wedding guest/photo album, I have also created one for myself, I am guilty of taking photographs and storing them on my hard drive and never printing but with wedding photo's I find it so much better to put a few in a nice little album for friends and family who don't attend to view. I also want to redo her cake topper on a smaller scale with more detail as I now know the design of her dress and headdress.

I have posted some photographs of the finished albums, to view more on this post please follow this link. The full story appears on http://tinyurl.com/5usd88b

Rebecca and Ian's wedding album.



My album.

Favor boxes.

Please feel free to leave any comments on here or my website http://www.weddingsofclay.co.uk/

Thank you for visiting.

Chain Maille Bracelet

It is ages since I have updated my blog, I have been too busy with my new website but in an effort to put this right I thought I would show you my latest jewellery project. Chain Maille.

I got all my jump rings together along with the instructions for the piece I was going to make, Dragonscale. Unfortunately I just couldn't get it together. No matter how hard I looked at it and how many different instructions I looked at I couldn't get it to come right. After two days of getting so far and swearing at the jump rings I began to lose my temper so I decided to attempt another pattern instead. For the sake of my sanity.

This time I managed to complete and here is the evidence.

All set to go.

I knew I was missing one step from getting the pattern right but for the life of me I couldn't figure out what that was. I had to admit defeat on the Dragonscale but I can always revisit it at a later date and have another go.

This is the second attempt of getting something right and thankfully it worked out well. The pattern is a daisy and it has a total of six flowers each with six petals.

The rings are made from non-tarnish wire and come from http://www.beadsdirect.co.uk/ 

Chain maille rings are not just your ordinary jump rings. These artistic wire chain maille rings are precision made and have the ideal temper for making chain maille designs and come in loads of different colours. You can also buy beginners and advanced books showing you lots of different designs and all come with instructions.

I also want to congratulate my good friend Carrie on her new business venture. You can visit her website on http://www.pressfordesign.co.uk/  Affordable web and print design. Carrie is also a very accomplished print maker and dazzles you with the intricacies of her carvings take a look at some of her work http://erasercarver.wordpress.com/ I know you will be impressed.

An Angler and his Bride

First things first, we have to have a body and that body has to have trousers, waistcoat, shirt and tie.

 

 
Next he gets his jacket and accessories.

He is an angler so he needs his fishing rod and if he has been lucky a fish on the end of his line. A few maggots crawling out of his pocket! and the compulsory camouflage hat.

Got a bit carried away with the bride and forgot to photograph her in stages. She is sitting on a tree stump.




Frying tonight! she is cooking the fish that her Groom has just caught. Need to hurry and get their eyes in before they have an accident!



This is the view from the back, I added flowers in her hair and she is sitting on a tree stump that is surrounded by grass and flowers.

Fish supper anyone! I think it is more of a skillet than a frying pan.

Here they are all done and ready for their tea, after they get married of course.

Hope you like them.