My Glow in the Dark Witch Candle holder from beginning to end

I just love Halloween and have had a vague idea for a Witch candle holder for some time. I figured I'd start with the cauldron and take it from there. I wrapped a glass votive holder with black polymer clay and created a rim along the top edge.  Then I dusted the clay with purple Pearl Ex powder. I decorated the edge with a string of glass beads and cut out star shapes under the rim.

To create the flames I used red, orange, yellow, and glow in the dark clay, thinned and twisted to resemble flickering flames.  The rocks were sculpted from swirled multi-colored clay.  I sprinkled the base with green and copper embossing powder before I baked it.

Next I used a bottle and shaped wire to create an armature for the witch.  I wrapped the top of the bottle (her torso) and the head and arm wires with floral tape to help the clay adhere to the bottle and the wire.

Then I added a layer of clay over the whole armature and began sculpting her face and hands.  I mixed equal amounts of flesh colored and glow in the dark clay to create a flesh tone that glows brightly in the dark.

As you can see, she still glows just as brightly as she would if I had only used glow in the dark clay.  This is the first time I tried mixing it with another color.  In the future I'll have to try mixing GITD clay with other light colors and see what happens.

Here I've added some ragged looking robes to the witch and secured her to the base with liquid polymer clay.  Her make up is chalk, which I rubbed on paper then applied to the face with a small brush.  I also filled the star cut outs on the cauldron with a mix of glaze and glow in the dark powder. 

Of course a witch has to have her Familiar.  This is the beginning of the armature for her black cat.  The wires have been secured in the foil core with glue.

I wrapped the armature with floral tape to further secure the wires in the clay and provide a good surface for the clay.  I made sure the cat would fit properly next to the witch.  I posed him so that he would appear to be up on his hind legs, looking into the cauldron.

And this is how they looked right before going into the oven for the final bake.  The cat has his front paws on the rim of the cauldron and I added liquid polymer clay to the bottom of his feet and tail to secure him to the base and the cauldron.  I textured his fur and used glow in the dark clay for his eyes.

 
  I used a fuzzy type of yarn for the witch's hair, and added felt to the bottom of the base.  Now this spooky sculpture is complete and listed in CreativeCritters!  I included a vanilla scented votive candle as well.

And this is what it looks like in the dark.  Pretty cool, huh?

      It almost looks like the flames are actually flickering, and I love how brightly that glow in the dark powder makes the stars glow! This took a few weeks to complete, and is certainly a one of a kind creation. I tried some new things with this sculpture, and was pleasantly surprised with the results. Thanks for joining me on another creative journey! =)

-Michelle of CreativeCritters

Become a fan of CreativeCritters on Facebook

Follow CreativeCrittersBlog

Join CreativeCritters Google+ circles

Get CreativeCritters e-books from Smashwords and Amazon

Polymer Clay Covered Jars from CreativeCritters

My latest adventures in polymer clay involved finding a creative way to recycle glass baby food jars.  And before anybody starts jumping to conclusions, no I do not have a new baby!  I do however, have a cat who needs to take a pill every day.  The vet prescribed L-Lysine tablets to help clear up Calcifer's clouded blind eye.  I crush the pills and mix them with a little baby food and Calcifer thinks he's getting some gourmet treat ;-)  I end up with one or two empty 2.5 ounce baby food jars each week though, and I can't stand the thought of just throwing them away.  So I got creative with polymer clay and started decorating the jars and turning them into fun little stash jars.  I got my fans on Facebook to help me out with ideas.  They suggested things like dragonflies, lizards, and sunflowers.  Here's the result of those suggestions.

 

 

 

The beads were a fun, sparkly addition to the polymer clay!  And I had a lot of fun with Pearl Ex powders as well.  This Fall Leaf jar was dusted with a mix of red, green, and gold Pearl Ex powders.  I just love the effect the powders give!

 

And I just loved creating these Halloween jars!  Of course they've got glow in the dark effects, which are practically mandatory for my Halloween items!  Naturally I just had to create a Jack O Lantern jar, complete with glow in the dark ghost and a black cat.

 

And this is what it looks like in the dark.

 

 Spooky, isn't it? ;-)  Then I made this Halloween jar complete with more ghosts, black cats, and a spider!

 

I included glow in the dark dimensional paint along with the glow in the dark ghosts for this one.

 

 Each of these little stash jars measures about 3 1/2 inches tall and would be perfect for storing beads or other small items.  And not only do they make handy little containers, they're pretty enough to put on display!  I'll continue to create these fun stash jars, since I'm sure I'll have plenty of baby food jars to recycle.  And if you have any ideas for different types of jars just leave me a comment- I'd love to hear from you!            -Michelle of CreativeCritters                  

Gardening Halflings and Gnomes

It all started with a gift for my friend's birthday.  I made her a sculpture of a dwarf standing in front of his lighted mushroom house.  It was so much fun to create, I decided to make another version.  The mushroom house itself is really cool.  I wrapped clay around a glass votive holder for the stem and living area of the mushroom and cut out the door and windows so the light could shine through.  Inside is an electric tea light.


Pretty flowers grow up the stem of the mushroom and around the base of the house.  I decorated the cap of the mushroom with glow in the dark leaves and stars.
 
Then of course there are the main characters of this piece, Gnor the Gnome and Henry the Halfling.  As I was sculpting these two I remembered our neighbor and Grampa exchanging fresh garden vegetables during the summer.  They were good friends and always willing to share whatever they had grown that season.  I still remember Mr. Wednt bringing Gramma bouquets of dill- LOL!  In this sculpture Henry is bringing over a basket of tomatoes, corn, lettuce, and carrots.  The more I look at Henry, the more I see Mr. Wednt in him- he even used to wear a straw gardening hat.  This all came through subconsciously, and I didn't even see the connection until after the piece was finished.  The Gnome and Halfling were inspired by Boris and Dinko Tilov.  I've been doing a lot of the projects in their Sculpting Mythical Creatures in Polymer Clay, and having a great deal of fun with them.  Their characters are always fun and whimsical, and full of personality.  I'm currently working on another project from that book, and should be listing that one in the next week or so (all depending on how complex I make it).
Thanks for stopping by and sharing the creativity!
-Michelle of CreativeCritters

The Polymer Clay Smooshers Mythology Challenge

I've completed and entered my sculpture for the first Challenge of the new year for my Polymer Clay Smooshers Guild.  The theme for this Challenge was Mythology.   Of course this gave me all sorts of options for creatures to make.  Last year I got the book "Sculpting Mythical Creatures out of Polymer Clay" by Boris and Dinko Tilov, and had been planning on sculpting the griffin for months.  There are all sorts of great projects in this book, and I've done several already. As usual, the Smooshers challenge gave me an excellent reason to start this particular sculpture.  This was also my first sculpture of 2011 (so you know it had to be a good one!)


I love the Tilov's style and sense of whimsy, and the fact that they encourage you to make the creatures your own and get creative with them.  They usually have several different versions of each creature at the end of each project, so you can get an idea of the possible variations.  I added a bit more detail and texture to this guy.  The feathers on his head were all individually textured, and his mane has a nice furry texture as well.  I gave him furry ankles too, just for fun.

I also used glow in the dark clay for his eyes and claws, which always adds a magical touch.  Eventually I plan to do all the projects in this book (with my own style, of course).  This is one of those books that will be referred back to quite frequently.  Don't forget to check out all the entries in the Challenge (the Smooshers are a very talented bunch!), and vote on our next Challenge theme.  Just click The Polymer Clay Smooshers guild Mythology Challenge to view all the entries and vote for what you want to see us create next.  The results never fail to amaze me!  Thanks for joining us in our smooshing adventures! =)
-Michelle of CreativeCritters

World of Warcraft trinket box for my brother

I wanted to make something really special for my younger brother for Christmas, and I knew I wanted it to be something related to the World of Warcraft.  I decided a trinket box would be something he could use, and I ended up sculpting two different Murlocs, a Wind Rider cub, and the Horde symbol onto the box after I covered it in polymer clay.  I spent a lot of time on all the little details like glow in the dark spines, teeth, and eyes for the Murlocs.  I also textured their skin.  The Wind Rider cub (inspired by the adorable plushie my mother gave me) is also highly detailed, right down to his tiny little claws and glow in the dark fangs.  The Horde symbol on the end of the box also glows in the dark.  The letters W O W on the lid were sculpted from glow in the dark clay and serve as a handle.
    

I really like the way this turned out, and my brother was pretty impressed as well (and it made it all the way to AZ without anything breaking in transit!).  This is definitely a one of a kind creation, although I may try my hand at other World of Warcraft trinket boxes in the future.  Stay tuned to see what else this Creative Critter comes up with!
-Michelle of CreativeCritters

The Polymer Clay Smooshers guild Medieval Challenge

My Entry for the Polymer Clay Smooshers Medieval Challege

It's almost time for all the entries for the Polymer Clay Smooshers guild Medieval Challenge to be unveiled.  This was an absolutely wonderful theme for our creative minds to play with!  I've had a sneak peek at some of the other guild member's pieces and I'm VERY impressed.  I just can't wait to see all the entries!  What I've seen so far is incredible.  You give the Smooshers a Challenge and they rise to it every time!  I really do love the level of group participation within this guild.  We really get to know each other and learn from one another.  It's just so much FUN being a Smoosher! 

Of course I just HAD to create a dragon for this Challenge- it was just a matter of deciding what kind of dragon, and in what situation.  I chose to sculpt a Dragon Rider for this one.  The Rider and his Dragon are bonded for life, and are more friends than pet and master.  Very few people are born Dragon Riders, making their magic special and rare.  I've had this story in my head for years, and I believe I'll create more Dragon Riders in the future.  Eventually I may write the entire story down as well.  This particular dragon has blue belly scales and blue and green scales (each cut out individually) cover his body.  His wings are an iridescent blue green that shimmers beautifully in the light.  His spines, horns and ears were sculpted from glow in the dark clay.  The piece measures 7 1/2 inches tall and 9 inches from toe to tail tip with a 7 1/2 inch wingspan.


Thanks for joining me in my creative adventures!
-Michelle of CreativeCritters

Making a Cat Demon Sculpture

So here's the video of the making of my Bewilderbeast sculpture, starting with a simple wire armature, and ending with a completed glow in the dark monster demon cat sculpture.  I took these pictures over a period of several days, and the sculpture went through several bakes.  I would sculpt and texture one part, bake it, then work on another part without worrying about messing up the rest of my work.  Since this is a somewhat large sculpture, with many layers of clay, baking it in stages also ensures a strong sculpture.  I only had a vague idea of how this piece would go when I started sculpting, and I just did what felt right as I went along.  The glow in the dark horns, fangs, eyes, and claws were a last minute idea.  I think they turned out quite well.  Even I am amazed at how a bit of wire, aluminum foil, and lumps of polymer clay can become this amazing creature.  I still surprise myself with some of my creations- LOL!  I hope you all like the video, and if you want to see more pictures of the finished project, or purchase him, just check out his listing.  Thanks so much for stopping by!
-Michelle of CreativeCritters

Meet the Bewilderbeast, a rare and unusual creature

I call this creation a Bewilderbeast, and just listed him in CreativeCritters.  My inspiration for this wild fantasy beast was my kitten Calcifer.  I always end up sculpting my pets, but with Calcifer I wanted to capture that wild, exuberant kitten spirit.  I got a flash of inspiration when he was sitting up on his haunches boxing with me one day.  I just saw this wild sculpture in my mind's eye, which became more detailed as I started sculpting.  


Here are a few pictures of my fluffy inspiration.  I'm fairly certain Calcifer is is a Maine Coone Cat, which means he's going to be very big.  For my Bewilderbeast sculpture I wanted to emphasize the large paws and big fluffy tail.  Of course the glow in the dark horns (which are normally invisible) are part of his Fire Demon heritage.  The wings are also important.  If Calcifer could fly he'd be the happiest kitten in the world!  He loves to be up high (and often rides around on my shoulders).  The way he jumps and leaps, it's almost as if he DID have wings (maybe they're invisible too).  I made the claws, teeth, horns, eyes, and some stripes and feathers glow in the dark.  I used powdered pigment over glow in the dark clay, and once you charge him up in bright light he glows for a LONG time.  This piece took well over a week to complete, but was an absolute joy to create.  I even used real cat whiskers, which I collect when my cats shed them naturally.  Standing 7 1/2 inches tall, this fantasy sculpture is most definitely one of a kind!  I even gave him little pink paw pads.  Here are pictures from the listing in CreativeCritters.  You can click on any of the pictures to view the listing and see the full description.  Thanks for stopping by my wild and whimsical world!

-Michelle of CreativeCritters

The Space Challenge for the Polymer Clay Smooshers Guild

The Polymer Clay Smooshers Guild on ArtFire is having a Space themed Challenge! I just love doing these challenges- I tend to try new things I may not have thought of otherwise.   The first two things to come to my mind when I think of Space are aliens and stars.  I've been making trinket boxes lately and  wanted to incorporate them into the Space theme in some way. Of course I had to make something using glow in the dark clay!  I decided to try my hand at sculpting a space ship with an alien for the lid.  I recycled an empty steel mushroom can by shaping polymer clay around it in the form of the spaceship. It measures 6 inches tall (to the top of the alien) and 7 inches wide at the widest point. I used a combination of regular blue clay and glow in the dark clay to decorate the flying saucer. The lid of the trinket box features an alien sculpted from glow in the dark clay. He has pebbly skin and large black eyes. You can tell he's friendly because of the smile.
And this is what it looks like glowing in the dark.


For my second entry I decided to make a pair of glow in the dark Moon, Earth, and Stars Celestial earrings.

For the moon and stars I used glow in the dark clay. For the Earth beads in the center I swirled shades of blue and green clay together. I stamped the center of the stars with a sun stamp, and after baking I painted the moon and stars with glow in the dark paint before sealing with high gloss glaze. This causes them to glow even more brightly in the dark. These earrings have silver posts and measure 3 inches long. Fire polished blue green glass beads hang between the moon and stars for added sparkle. Day or night, these Celestial earrings are beautiful!  And here's what they look like in the dark.

There are lots of great entries in the Space Challenge, and you can check them all out at The Polymer Clay Smooshers Guild blog.  And while you're there you can vote for our next Challenge theme.  Thanks for stopping by!
-Michelle of CreativeCritters

I got my Certified Handmade Seller Artifact!

CreativeCritters is now officially a Certified Handmade Seller!

This week Artfire.com opened the Certified Handmade Artifact Application Process for members who voluntarily commit to keeping their ArtFire offerings entirely within the Handmade and Fine Art categories. I'm not the only one who's been waiting for this one! All of my work has always been created with my own two hands, so filling out the application was no problem. Everything in my shop is listed under Handmade or Fine Art. My studio meets all the requirements, including being a PRO member of ArtFire for at least 60 days (I joined ArtFire in Feb 2009), being in good standing with ArtFire (I have a Karma score of 10), having a complete studio with a banner, avatar, studio policies, and bio with picture, and having good product photos. I make sculptures, dolls and plush toys, catnip toys, jewelry, and more and had to explain my creative process for each (that part probably took the longest). I also had to include pictures of my work space (which is always cluttered -LOL), as well as a picture of a work in progress. This lead to the creation of Remus Critter. Since I had just finished my project I had to start a new one in order to get some WIP pictures. This really wasn't asking too much because I'm always working on something. I was in the mood for something fun, and Remus was perfect. There was no actual "plan" for creating this critter, I just sort of came up with him as I went along. He's inspired by A Critter With Heart from Dinko Tilov's Creating Fantasy Polymer Clay Characters. I actually took pictures of the entire process (just for fun, and for later projects). Of course the hard part of the whole application process was waiting to receive the artifact! I know I'm not the only one who was checking her studio every so often during the day, just waiting for that beautiful blue hand to show up! And when I got my approval email I just had to do a little happy dance. Now everyone who enters my shop will know that I'm a Certified Handmade Artisan!
I'm very proud to have earned this particular artifact!
And just for fun, here are some of the pictures of the creation of Remus Critter.

Thanks for dropping by!
-Michelle of CreativeCritters