Window Shopping Wednesday

Another Wednesday.  Now to show you the work of another of my favorite artists here on the web.  I hope you are enjoying these trips to visit websites.  I hope you like these artists so much that you begin to follow their work as I do.  So, here we go....
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Christine Alvarado makes the most beautiful and delicate dolls I have ever seen.  She obviously loves what she does.  Her dolls are exquisite. To visit, just click on any of the images and you will be taken to her site.

Please visit her site and look at all the beauties she has made.  These are just a few.

Spring and summer bring bugs and bug bites!

 With warmer weather comes the urge to be outside and play out of doors.  Great fun!  But when you come inside for the night you may find you have unwanted side-effects.  The great outdoors abounds with chigger, fleas, mosquitos, and many other blood-sucking insects who are just as pleased to see you come out of the house as you are to be outside.

Nobody likes to scratch and itch all night.  Maybe you could try to make several of these easy bath bombs to have on hand.  After a long soak with this in your bath, you may find the relief you need to get a good nights rest.

I'm all for anything that helps stop itching and promotes healing, so I will be making a batch of these soon.

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Bath Bomb - Insect Bite Relief

Materials needed:

• 1 1/4 cups cup of Baking soda or Bicarbonate of Soda
  1/2 cup of Citric acid
  2 -6 tsp of Almond Oil or Apricot oil
  1/4 cup of Dried Basil
  1/2-2 tbs Water
  5 drops of Food coloring
  (optional)10-15 drops of calamine lotion
  Makes 7 medium sized Bath Bombs

Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl and stir until well mixed.
Drizzle in the almond oil and stir until mixture is moistened. Add more oil and fragrance and stir until well mixed.
If the mixture is crumbly then add more oil or a dash of water.
Roll the mixture into a ball using your hands or press it into a lightly oiled mold. Use a bath bomb mold or a chocolate mold.
Let it slip out from the mold and then put the ball/shape on a sheet of wax paper and leave it to dry till it is hard. It make take several days.
Store them in a airtight container.
Use 1 Bath bomb per bath.

Source: Craftbits.com

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Wired Women Pins

Here's a quick and easy polymer clay pin to make when you need to have a quick gift.  I love working with polymer clay and the colors are all so beautiful.  I think if you try this project you, too, will become hooked on working with polymer clay.  These are simply too cute!  But they are fun to make, too!

I found this project on the Sculpy.com website.  There are many others there for you to try.  Remember that Mother's Day is just around the corner and I can't think of a mother who would not love one of these.

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Materials:
* 20 gauge wire (about 18")
* Artistic Wire 22 gauge wire (about 8-10")
* Artistic Wire Premo Polymer clay in 3 colors of choice
* Wire cutters and round nosed pliers
* Sculpey Super Slicer Pasta machine, acrylic roller, or straight sided Glass jar
* A tie tack or clutch pin


Directions:

The Wire Body:

Cut 18" of 20 gauge wire from the spool. · Starting at one end, form a loop for the head so that a 1/2" tail crosses the wire at about 3" from its end. Twist to secure.

At the "neck," bend the wire 90 degrees to one side to form the first arm. Measure 1-1/2", form a small loop, and bend back to the opposite side.

Repeat for the second arm.

Bend the wire straight down to form the body. Measure down 2" from the twist at the neck, form a small loop, and bend the wire back up.

Wrap the wire behind the neck, and then bend it back down to form the second leg.

Form a small loop again, and bend the tail end of the wire up again, making sure the legs are even.

Using the pliers, bend the loops at the ends of the arms and legs upwards to form the hands and feet.

Cut two pieces of 4-5" of a contrasting color wire. Bend each piece in half, and wrap them around the top of the head tightly to form "curls." Use the round nosed pliers to curl the ends.

The Clay Dress:

Condition all of the clay by rolling it into a cylinder or snake. Roll between your hands or on your work surface until it is long enough to fold into thirds. Fold it, twist it together, then roll it out again. Repeat this process two or three times.

To make a jelly roll: Roll two colors of the clay to small, flat sheets to less than 1/8" thickness. Cut out a rectangle of each color that is about 1-1/2" wide and 3" long.

Lay one rectangle on top of the other, carefully pressing them together from one end to the other. Then, beginning at one narrow end, roll up.

Gently reduce the size of the jelly roll by rolling back and forth on your work surface, pressing down and pulling slightly until it is the diameter you want.

Roll another sheet of clay very, very thin, less than 1/16" (#4 or 5 on a pasta machine). Cut paper thin slices of the jelly roll cane, and lay them on top of the surface of the clay sheet.

Smooth the surface with your roller, or roll through the pasta machine again.

Cut one strip, about 1/2" wide, from this very thin sheet for the dress top. Cut another strip 1-1/2" wide for the skirt.

Gently stretch the skirt piece, so that it ripples, but be careful not to tear it. Use your fingers to push pleats or gathers along the top edge. Then, wrap the skirt around the figure's waist (where the arms and legs intersect.

Push the back seam together with your fingers.

Lay the dress top piece across the front of the neck, and use your fingers to arrange it around the body top.

Cut the excess clay off in the back.

Before baking, push a tie tack through the back of the dress top so that the point sticks out the back.

Here's the link to this particular tutorial

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Window Shopping Wednesday

I think I will begin to use Wednesday's posting to showcase some of the blogs and websites I frequent routinely.
To visit the particular site just click on any of the pictures to go there.  I hope you enjoy these sites as much as I do.

Here's some pictures from Pumpkinseeds Folk Art :

Alice in Wonderland Dolls by Cart Before the Horse Etsy Shop

Here is an article I found about one of my favorite doll artist couples.  I visit their blog regularly and am always pleasantly surprised by the work available for viewing there.  They certainly are talented and really enjoy what they do.  Whimsy and fantasy abound in their collective imaginations.  Please visit them and tell them I sent you.

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Contemporary Folk Art Dolls



Here's the link to the original article 

By: Katie Cordrey (Rockstar) Apr 11, 10
Oregon-based Etsy Artists Dylan and Jo make one-of-a-kind contemporary folk art pieces which they sell in their Etsy shop, CartBeforetheHorse. One of their creations is a set of Alice in Wonderland dolls. The contemporary folk-art set comes with Alice, her pink flamingo, the Queen of Hearts, and the Cheshire Cat. It is made-to-order through the couple’s CartBeforetheHorse shop on Etsy.
Alice in Wonderland dolls are just one set in the couple’s joyful, quirky collection of contemporary folk art pieces.


Source: thecartbeforethehorse.blogspot
Readmore: etsy

Making Paper Beads for fun

Here's a tutorial on how to make paper beads.  I think we all may have made these before as children, but they are still fun to make and can actually become very beautiful jewelry or accessories to crafts.  Besides, they are all unique and handmade by you!  Enjoy.

How to Make Paper Beads

Make Paper Beads

Kate Pullen

Paper beads are simple to make and a few rubber stamping techniques are all that is required to make beautiful and unusual beads. The basic technique can be adapted in many ways to achieve different effects. This is also a good way to use up odds and ends of paper. Even the most unpromising looking paper can make striking beads.

Template

You don't need to follow a template, however a simple template is attached if required. The template has been designed specifically for rubber stamping. Instead of tapering to a point, there is a small strip that is just wide enough to display some rubber stamping. By varying the size and shape of the paper, very different bead designs can be created.

Beads in the Picture

From left to right:

• Bead created from paper that has been stamped, with a row of glitter glue dots along each edge
• Bead created from a scrap of paper that has been colored with alcohol inks and over stamped
• Piece of scrapbooking paper that has been stamped in a complementary colored ink
• Basic paper bead created from a piece of stamped paper
• Bead created from scrapbooking paper and vellum that were stamped and stuck together before rolling
• Bead created from paper used as packaging

Supplies Required

• Paper
• Rubber stamps, inks, embossing powders, glitter glue and any other embellishments
• Scissors
• Craft adhesive, any adhesive suitable for paper will be work well
• Thin knitting needle or cocktail sticks
• Diluted pva glue to seal the beads (optional)

Paper Bead Projects

• Paper Bead and Glass Bead Necklace - make a few paper beads and intersperse them with glass beads to make a striking necklace
• Halloween Paper Bead Earrings - these earrings can be adapted for any occasion
• Paper Bead Star - this paper bead star make a pretty ornament
• Paper Bead Ornament - make a large paper bead and use this to hang ornaments from or as a decoration in its own right, you could also make a few and string them together to make an unusual garland

Paper Bead Template

Paper Bead Template

Kate Pullen

To print the template, simply click on the image above to open the full size version of the template. Then right click on that image and select 'Save Image' to save onto your computer. Print as required.

See the following pages for instructions explaining how to make paper beads.

Stamp and Decorate the Paper

Stamp the Paper

Kate Pullen

Stamp and decorate the unprinted side of the paper. This way the printed lines will not show. A rubber stamp with a detailed and intricate design will work well. Repeatedly stamp the rubber stamp over the page to build up a dense design. Cut the bead shapes from the paper.

Tip: Ink the edges of the paper. This will emphasize the design of the bead and give a more 'finished' effect.

Roll the Paper

Roll the Bead

Kate Pullen

Glue the back of the paper and carefully roll the bead. I use a thin knitting needle to roll the bead around, this helps to give a consistent result. Cocktail sticks or other thin and round implements would work equally well.

Seal the Paper Beads and Finish

Paper Beads

Kate Pullen

Make sure the end of the paper is firmly attached, add an extra dab of glue if required. Leave the beads to one side to dry. I like to seal my paper beads with a coat of diluted pva glue. This adds strength and gives the paper beads a slight gloss. They could also be finished with a coat of clear varnish, embossed with embossing powders or even coated in resin. Other ideas for sealing the finished beads include coating the beads in melted UTEE or adding a coat of nail varnish.

Add any other finishing touches such as stick on jewels or other embellishments. Have fun using the beads!

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I joined another online class--making art dolls!

I am a member of several Ning groups and on one I found a class to learn how to make these really cute prayer dolls.  They are hand made out of Sculpey and then painted with acrylics.  So, I trundled myself off to Hobby Lobby and bought a big block of Sculpey and today I made these!

I still need to paint them, but they were so much fun to make.  I can't wait to make more.  I know, I know.  I still need to finish my painting and I will, but this is such a lovely diversion.