Those of you who read my distressed post entitled "Why I HATE sewing" can now see the successful DVD player sleeve. I went back to the store to get more supplies, and I saw this satin hounds tooth. Hounds tooth is my favorite pattern! And to go with...a flashy red zipper! It's just perfect! Whew...stress be gone!
So I don't do a whole lot of sewing. Just basic stuff like hemming. I decided yesterday to sew a case for my portable DVD player. I was all worried about this project, being the first time I've done anything with a zipper. And when I got done sewing the zipper and two sides, I was super proud! The player fit perfectly!!!...through the back. The zipper needed to be about a freakin' half inch longer. And now I don't even have enough fabric to make a separate case for it. So now I need to know what to do with this. It's really not wide enough for pencils or my clay tools or anything. Ugh. I hate this. In every sewing project I do, no matter how hard I try to get everything perfect, I do some major, stupid mistake. Sorry for the rant. I worked really hard on this!
Jeremy the owl! He was sent for the needlebook swap, and I think it was a success. My partner loves it!
The first one is the "cover." The second is the center flap without needles (cover folded back), and the last one is the center flap with needles (those colors are much truer as well). The closure for the front is a bent nail. Jeremy is meant to look evil, but I have "programmed" him to protect his official owner. The center flap is meant to look like colors shooting out of a vortex. I don't know if that's what people get out of it, but that's how I envisioned it. I had fun making this, but it wasn't easy getting it done quickly. I'm working with some personal deadlines, so there were definitely a few full days of felting!
I was reading this forum awhile back and saw a post 10 or so back about "smoothing" projects. One bit of advice was to gently wet felt it with soap and your fingers. I tried that on one of my pieces, and it just made it ridiculously fuzzy. So then I figured I was too rough with the material, and I did it extremely gently with another piece. Still made it much fuzzier! What am I doing wrong?
I decided I want to make a sort of snow globe with a polymer clay figurine inside. But I know that certain chemicals can destroy the clay, so I decided to ask about it. It was suggested to glue the figurines inside using aquarium sealant (it's just silicone), so what's the compatibility of that one? For the liquid, I read that you can use plain water, baby oil, or mineral oil (the oil makes the snow fall more slowly). So what of those?
Every once in awhile, I see polymer clay projects that are said to be made with alcohol ink. What is the effect it gives to polymer clay? What is it like to work with? And where can I find it?
I've been working with polymer clay for just a few months now. I used Sculpey when I was really little, and when I decided that I wanted to get back into a hobby, polymer clay sounded perfect. These Bottles of Hope are pretty primitive, considering I've used these to learn techniques. I'm going to try to donate them to the cancer center where my Dad was taken care of.
Sorry the photos are behemoths. I've tried every way I can possibly think of to shrink them, and I just can't do it. Ugh.
Update: Thanks to Diane B. for teaching me how to post photos! Here they are... Oh, and another update: The bottles in the group picture are happily on their way to the Illinois Caner Center (the 2 not pictured with the group at all are custom orders). Yay!
(Edited 1-2-11 to replace low-quality images with better ones!)
Almost every time I roll clay through my pasta machine, some clay stays on the rollers. It's extremely frustrating! And then I try to clean it off using a warm washcloth and blu tack. While that gets most of it, it doesn't get everything. Sometimes (quite randomly), when I roll another color through, speckles or even large chunks of old colors mar my beautiful blends. Help, please!
I've read in a few places that rinsing a felted piece under water can make it appear smoother. I tried it with two of my felted pieces. As I rinsed them, I rubbed one very firmly and then the other very gently. Both turned out much more fuzzy looking than before! Eep! What am I doing wrong?
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Jeremy is meant to look evil, but I have "programmed" him to protect his official owner. The center flap is meant to look like colors shooting out of a vortex. I don't know if that's what people get out of it, but that's how I envisioned it. I had fun making this, but it wasn't easy getting it done quickly. I'm working with some personal deadlines, so there were definitely a few full days of felting!
