Jack-o'-lantern notes and me as Faora-Ul

Greetings!

We are close to Halloween now and a lot of people are making wonderful pumpkins and jack-o'-lanterns for the season.

I will not go into a full tutorial as you can find quite a few good ones out there. I though I would just note a few thoughts.

While there are a few methods of using air dry clay and polymer clay the main two will be using tin foil or a marble.

 

The tinfoil method involves lightly crumpling tinfoil into a  ball or oval, you can also use a corkscrew so that it is easier to remove the foil after baking.

 

The tinfoil method is better for making oblong shapes and this way you can create a solid pumpkin without having to glue two sides.

 

I still prefer the marble method myself. I think searching out different shaped glass marbles next year will be my style.

 

A large medium or small marble is covered with a thin layer of clay. 

 

In this shot I, I am using a thin layer of glow in the dark clay first then covering that with the orange clay.

 

When doing your "carving" you may prefer to indent your face first if you have trouble with symmetry or position.

 

But basically this method is the same, cut your face out, line a perfect circle around the entire marble and then after you bake you will remove off the marble and glue the two sides back together.

 

A little paint along the lines and edges to give it more depth.

 

These few here are just some quick scraps but you can see they are all hallow and decently sturdy.

 

You can add your little flickering lights to them.

 

Or as I did with a thin layer of glow clay, have them smile in the dark at you;P

 

I encourage you all to try making your own jack-o'-lanterns with these simple methods.

 

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Now time to be embarrassed for eternity!

 

...here you go NSA... and time to feed the trolls... enjoy :P

 

 

 

Dressing up like a big dork: Halloween for us fanaticus...s

Good day good folk of the globe!

Halloween will be coming around the bend for us here in the fanaticus household soon and I thought I would show you folks some of the geek..that I am.

Anywhooooooooo, My daughter chose to be Lagoona Blue from Monster high: shocker right? ;P

We bought this complete costume already and I will be making a necklace and a few accessories that did not come with the kit:

My husband and I are also going to dress up this year...OMG!

So we decided to fly our geek flags high and buy costumes from "Man of Steel" The new superman movie. My hubby will be Superman: The good guy

 

I will be Faora-Ul: The bad gal...Ohhhh geesh....

 

Let me tell you folks..this *bioootch* is skin tight! Needless to say I have been surviving on air, water and good thoughts for the last three days, just to have the gall to wear this bad boy!

The suit came pretty basic, what you see and what you get are not exactly accurate, the suit appears to have armor..but not really.. its printed to the SPANDEX FRIGGEN SUIT!!!.. yeah..spandex.

So in order to use my crafting skills and keep being a nerd.. I started to create armor like they do at Comicon. EVA foam..aka Craftfoam.

I just marked up some paper patterns, cut out foam layered and dented...and dappled them in steel paint and hot glued them to corresponding panels on the suit.

It turned out pretty badass< that right I said it!

I am going to wear it for three days/ events and parties, if my resolve holds..and I guess if the ass of the suit holds as well;P

 

Shall I post a picture of myself in the suit..to be immortalized in embarrassment for eternity?? Let see how much wine it takes to squeeze me into it:P

Minifanaticus Halloween Givaway: The winner is.

Good evening fine mini folk of the world! I hope you are all well in your lands and seasons and inspired with tiny things.

I submitted my Spring Fling and have taken quite a few pictures for the big reveal that will be on the 31st.

 

But today is the Halloween draw and one of you ladies will be getting a big package..plus a few things;)

I listed each name as was posted on the comments section asking to be involved and gave each a number :

1. Diane
2. Fabiola
3. Maria Ireland
4. Lisa T
5. Jenny Costa
6. Melli´s Hobby
7. Emanuela Valenza
8. NarinaNäpertää
9. Drora
10. Hannah
11. Indy_Poppy
12. Wyrna Christensen
13. malu2
14. 12Create
15. Plushpussycat
16. Susanna Zanchi
17. mcddiss
18. Alexandra
19. shaairah
20. Kabrina Dawn
21. PAKY
22. Keelin
23. Pippibär
24. Mandy Vlak
25. Eva - tatalamaru
26. Teruka
27. sognatriceabordo
28. Mª LUISA GARCIA RAMIREZ
29. Victoria Rocus
30. Mary
31. Kyle Lefort
32. Ana
33. Ascension
34. miniaturista

 

I was going to do a bowl raffle but my helper, "daughter" is in school... So I used Random.org for this draw: Closed my eyes.....and....

 

 

12. Wyrna Christensen you are the winner of this Minifanaticus Halloween Givaway!

 

Wyrna Christensen my fine friend, please contact me on email or google+  for the address to send your package...and extras ;)

 

 

Thank you all for participating, I hope to see you folks again for future swaps and the big reveal day for Spring Fling.

 

Hugs, Jane! 

Minifanaticus Halloween Givaway!!!! : *wink* The meaning of wink

Thanks right folks we have come full circle!

If you have been with my littlle blog here for the last year or so you might have seen the pattern of giveaways:

We had Christmas to be followed by Easter, one for the heat of Midsummer and now we are in the season for Halloween!

My original goal was to have one giveaway for each room of Holiday Inc: While the massive project sits on hold , I did keep half the plan ;P

So here we are, the last blast and the biggest give away yet! If you want to add a link to your blog you can otherwise just let me know to include you in the draw in the comments below.

Here is what you will receive in this draw..with a few surprises of course :)

As you can see we have a array of spooky, nice and of course sweet in this set:

 

The spooky:

A skeleton, a couple of drippy candles, gravestone, a creepy crawling hand, skull and jaw bone and of course a carved jack-o'-lantern.

 

 

The Nice:

Three pumpkins, Halloween wreath, shopping bag, white pumpkin teapot and a witches broom

 

The Sweet:

A candy filled treat bucket, couple of caramel apples, a bag of candy covered chocolates, some pumpkin jellies, wrapped hard candies.. and some nasty.. nasty.. candy corn ;P

 

I again will thank all you fine people around the world that have become friends and swap partners, I enjoy reading about your lives and sharing in this wonderful hobby we share.

 

We will do our raffle on this Friday the 18th.

 

best of luck to you all ;)

Ode to Halloween: givawayicus...halloweeniscus to you icus?

Good day good folk of the world!


Halloween prep is in full swing here at the fantaticus household! We have started to decorate the inside with goulish delights and will be doing our haunted best outside in the next couple of days ;)

Oh Halloween time how to I love thee!....but why ?

Not everyone celebrates Halloween, but you do know its Halloween when you see it.

I am sure a few of you will be creating scenes:

 

What do we love the most about this holiday?

 

Is it the decorations?

 

Or is it the candy?

 

 

Well I am sure there is more to it than just this....I guess we will find out on Monday the 14th *wink*

booo

Swap with Lisa of Miniaddictions: and Halloween prep *wink*

Good day fine folks of the world! How are your seasons?

My Swaps have started to come in from "Feeling Fall" and I got a awesome fall themed package from Lisa of Miniaddictions

Here are some pictures of the fantastic items I got from our swap!

Lisa was so kind to have sent me a array of items straight from this lovely season!

 

This awesome looking Halloween Basket is so lovely, think I might copy it and make one in life sized ;)

 

Lisa sent this great looking plate of Ghost Cooke's on a plate, even a black doily underneath, it the details of a mini that make you go wow!

 

and of course this AMAZING prep set for Carmel Apples! I know a few of you are going to be wayyyy jealous of this set..so Nahhh nahhhh ;P

 

As you can see she placed the apples on a waxed prep board, gave me a butter dish, caramels in a cup and of course the melting prep pot..I am drooling a little bit..excuse me ;P

 

Please have a stop over at Lisa's blog and add her to your circles, this lovely lady is certainly talented and as you can see very generous in her love of minis!

 

Thank you again Lisa for our fantastic fall swap!

Hugs! Jane.

 

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Ps....

 

You folks getting prepared for Halloween yet? I know its early. But, I certainly am *Wink*

 

Gifts from 3200 Miles away: Maria of pretty things Ireland sends me gorgous gifts!

Good day good folk!

I hope you are all well, how goes the little things in life?

I wanted to show you a few pictures of the beautiful package I received all the way from Ireland to NY.    (around 3,200 miles / 5 152 km)

Maria, as you all know, is a amazing lady. She was so generous to send me beautiful minis from her heart, so here are the goodies I received!!!

Maria made my day with these gorgeous wonders, as you can see she sent a array of handcrafted and sweet minis.

 

Here is one of her lovely beauty trays she posted about on her blog, I love this beautiful grooming set and all the little charms to make a beautiful ladies scene! A little lantern to flicker as well ;)

 

Here you can see a few of her wonderful knitted wares, a lovely girls dress, hat and nappy cover. The beautiful blanket and pillow and a few sewn baskets to fill with goods for holiday' scenes ;P

 

Here is a close-up of her amazing craftlady ship ;) So delicate and beautiful.

 

This set make me feel like spring again, even though I am heading into fall ;) But its always a particular season in Holiday INC!

 

This little gal is so lovely and so tiny, I love the pink colors she is magical looking!

 

And this last thing I received wraps it all up as a point for all of us mini folks and friends.

 

We are all over the world, some of us in corners where no other mini folk are to be seen for miles. Yet we all share this hobby for small wonders and share so generously!

 

I highly suggest we all try to send a post card like Maria did for me, I know I will be doing this for all my swaps and givaways from now on. ;)

 

How awesome to receive a postcard from across the world!!

 

 

Thank you again Maria for being a most generous, thoughtful and lovely mini friend!

HUGS!!!

Future..future Projects: "The San Franciscan" a gift from a fine lady

Good evening folks.

We have been doing a bit of work around the basement lately, we are organizing the space a bit more, separating the laundry room and workspaces and... we even put the gym equipment in a workout space!

I have decided to get back on the old elliptical horse again, since winter will soon be approaching and the ass just keeps expanding on my workchair..I figured I better make moves..literally!

I did a few mins on my elipical and I even gently pushed a few weights on the bowflex. GENTLY!

...as of today I do believe I have not only severed my spine but fully dislocated my hipjoint.. Maybe not really.. but it certainly feels like it...  ahhhhhhhhhhh getting older!

but I digress..

While downstairs I was reminded of a gift, during one of the fairs last year, a fine lady who owned a dollhouse asked me to take in her project as she could no longer work on it.

She gifted me a San Franciscan from Duracraft.

 

She has already done a lot of work on the shell

 

The space in this dollhouse is pretty grand the box states Mansions in Miniature, that it is!

 

If you have seen this kit you know it is a massive project but it also has a immense potential to become a grand house.

 

Of course this project is going to be a ongoing..er ...ongoing ...build.  But it is a fantastic one!

 

You know I like fantasy houses, I wonder if anyone has ever done something magical to these?

 

Have a wonderful and creative weekend ;)

Feeling Fall: Have we swapped yet? *candycornsarenasty*

Good eve, good day or goodnight!  < depending where you are ;)

Hello folks! How are you this September day?

The leaves are again starting to fall, my little one is back to school a lot of my ongoing projects are..always on going..

I went through my bins O plenty and with my projects I have LOTS of supplies and extras. I thought I would just throw a few together and I think they turned out pretty nice.

So lets swap shall we?

 

...to be fair, if we have not swapped already or I have not sent you gifts, and you are interested in this round: 

 

>Since shipping prices are F'in ridiculous!!! Let do three for three (3 for 3)< 

 

Cornucopia: ...yes those are acorns ;)

 

A candle centerpiece: Gold leaves and gems

 

Pumpkin Display: This is a small version of something I do in October on my porch.

 

I can do two this turn, so lets see who is interested Email, Google+ or comment to let me know and we will pick outta the hat ;) 

 

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Ohhh did I ever tell you I hate candy corn?..well I do.. I should just throw these..somewhere

*wink*

 

The cheese and squeek of it all: Miniature Rodents

Good day!

Are you all being naughty, trickery, mini boys and girls? You know the Pumpkin King is always watching *wink*

I thought I would try to make the smallest most frustrating thing I could ever do on the planet, mice and rats.

I am going to just copy and paste what I wrote in Greenleaf about the creation process here.. as it still applies to how they are made:

"Yes they are handmade, all my mini's start out the same ,a tiny lump of polymer clay. ......then, you drop the lump on the floor and curse to the clouds.. then you pick it up and fix it and attempt to attach the ears, they stick to your fingers.. so you curse some more..
 
But after that bake your pinkish lump, and attach some fine cut fur with tweezers and glue.. till most of the fur is glued on your fingers but some is still on the mouse..
 And TADA! You have some meeses and a rat ;P 

 

Pretty much ;)

 

Ok some more detail, You start with a translucent mix of pink white.. we all have tons and tons of translucent clay..right?

 

Some of you might want to create the body and then twice bake for ears/tail legs.

 

After baking you might want to apply a bit of watered down rose color for the nose ears and hands just to bring a shadow to them.

 

Then you will painfully apply bits of glue and a fine flock of really trimmed down fluff, make sure to curse up a storm throughout this process as it will be mandatory *smirk*

 

As you can see the rat is slightly bigger, than the mice but he is going to be for close ups. A few mice in the SF build and one or two are taking a trip *hugzzzz*

 

Maybe some time..when I have some time..and quiet ..I will try a video on this, I haven't made a video in ages have I?

 

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Monster High Dollhouse

 

My daughter picked out some scrapbook paper so we stared to apply that to the Monster high dollhouse, and We did some simple cusions for the couch chair bed, so far.

 

 

 

 

Have a wonderful weekend!