WHO can do this...YOU can! Working With Sculpey Clay

Creating this owl was not only fun, but incredibly easy to do! I have never used Sculpey III Oven-Bake Clay before in my life. I have always wanted to play with this clay and try it out.

I purchased the Crafter's Variety Pack that comes with 12 different colors and 2 modeling tools for $9.99. The package came with an insert that gives great directions and several project ideas. There is also a great website at www.sculpey.com that includes tons of great ideas for working with this clay and directions.

My 9 year old daughter Kaylee made a great little penguin in no time at all.

I prepped my surface by using wax paper as to not leave any stains on my dining room table. It took me a bit to decide what to make with all the great colors that I had, but eventually I decided that I would make an owl.

  I selected chocolate brown for his body and pottery for his face and wings. I cut small pieces from the blocks of clay and then kneaded it until it was soft and smooth. His face started as a ball that I flattened with my fingers and then I pinched him a few ears..

 I pushed the top of the pen into the clay to shape his eyes and I used just one side of the top of the pen to create his chest feathers. 

I made his eyes and his talons with yellow. His pupils are black and for both parts of the eyes I just rolled the clay into tiny balls. His nose is made from the color just orange, I used the moldeling tool to shape a triangle.  For his talons, made crescent shaped pieces and cut out the centers with the modeling tool.  I thought they looked like little fortune cookies :)  After I was happy with his looks I popped him on a cookie sheet and baked him at 275 degrees for 15 minutes and he hardened and is done.  

This is my lovely daughter Kaylee.  She is my shadow and quite artistic. In fact you be the judge of who made the cuter clay figure.  She loves penguins.... The idea for this little guy came right from sculpey.com.  They have great directions.  He is a slight variation on the ones that they show.

HELP.... he  screams!! Put me together!

Time for a bit of sunbathing!! Getting ready to bake in the oven!

As you can see he has been eating his share of fish and is a little thicker than our owl friend, so he will bake for 30 min at 275 degrees.

This was a great little project that took very little time at all! We had a blast and it was so very easy!  Look for more projects like this one right here. Thanks for visiting and please feel free to comment or ask questions.

Life Gets in the Way

As I started my blog the other day I thought I would write about all the things related to the crafts that I enjoy doing so much.  But life got in the way, just as I took my first step.  I have since decided that life will always be in the way, so rather than let it discourage me, I will include it as part of my journey.  As I am sure that anyone who reads this will also be dealing with the ridiculous battles that challenge us each day.

I had great visions of accomplishing lots of artistic creations this week.  Instead, because I live in Upstate NY, I am dealing with ice jams that have caused significant damage to my daughter's bedroom and my newly remodeled kitchen (that was a very recent DIY home improvement project).  So I have had fire restoration people, insurance adjusters, contractors, etc in an out of my house for the last few days!  Not quite what I had imagined for my vacation week from my real job.

The good news is that even with all of this going on, my Etsy site is doing well.  I have had several orders for my work. If you haven't had time to stop by my shop, please do so. www.etsy.com/shop/believeinURdream  
Remember, that I love to do custom work, so please feel free to ask if there is something special that you are looking for!

Bird Cards

I Think I Can...I Think I Can...

I can and I did!!! In case you are wondering what I am referring to it is "Taking the First Step."   The first step is always the most difficult part.  But here I am, I have come far!!  I have figured out how to get this far setting up this blog!!! Now for the rest of the learning to begin...

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step........Let the journey begin, and here's to having a successful journey, filled with followers, friends and fun!

Writing has been something that I have always enjoyed doing.  I have not written anything in what feels like a million years.  I would say I am out of practice for sure.  I am optimistic in saying it's like learning to ride a bicycle ~ You never truly forget how. This time it is all different though. Now I'm connected. To who? Just me for now.  We all need to start somewhere, right?

I'd like to officially start this blog by saying hello!!  I'm glad your here. I join you to hop on board and follow me on what is sure to be an adventure!!

My name is Laurie and I live in New York. I'm ordinary, but extraordinary all wrapped in to one! My life is filled with many blessings.  To start with I have a wonderful husband and daughter.  Kevin is my husband and Kaylee is my daughter. I am sure I will refer to them from time to time! I also have two pets, a dog named Karlee who steals my heart everyday and a super cool blue Beta fish named Sapphire.  

Of course, when we start something new, we often do not know where we will end up.  I expect that I will cover many different topics in my blog.  My main purpose is to share my creative work and assist others in their experience. I have an Etsy site called BelieveinURdream.  You may visit it at www.ETSY.com/shop/believeinURdream. 

At this point I have been dabbling if different types of crafts. I like to refer to myself as an evolving Artist!  I truly enjoy creating all kinds of things including rings, beaded jewelry, scrabble tile pendants, bottle cap magnets and jewelery, paintings, drawings, primitive crafts, working with modge podge, paper mache' etc.  As I make and create I will share with you!  I also have about a million and one other interests, that I am sure will be represented throughout my blog! Thanks for stopping by!!!

I don't care if you walk, skip, dance, run or drive....Follow me and become part of my adventure!!