My muse is on holiday so I cleared up and photographed my workspace

[miniproject]

My bedroom has morphed into a little fimo and minis workshop that vies for my attention with a couple of other projects. Lots of my stuff has been acquired through the generosity of my dad, and a surprising amount of what I find useful, I simply found on the floor while out walking. I have the most amazing marble table to work the clay on. It had been standing outside the house for a couple of years, neglected. It was a happy moment when I realized how perfect it would be for working the clay on, and after the struggle of getting it upstairs, it scrubbed up pretty well.



Under the table are boxes of random junk that I collect "just in case" I need to make something. It never hurts to have a big stash of materials in all kinds of shapes, for when you want to cobble together some doll house miniatures. Every now and then I pare it down and throw away the stupidest things I save. I'm definitely a collector and I guess I'm also a hoarder, which provokes little bursts of spring cleaning. Thank god I don't have a lot of money!



A lot of these little bits were found on the ground outside. I always keep my eyes peeled and have a compulsion to pick up interesting pieces of metal and plastic. Metal is especially good because you can incorporate it into the minis, like I did with the tv and radios, and bake them right into the clay. So I collect bits I find anywhere I can, and dismantle old mobile phones, mp3 players, cameras, and the like, to harvest the tiny parts. I love pondering the potential.



And organizing things according to their size, shape, and intended use. Square things in one drawer, round things in another. In other drawers go magnets, odd shapes, chains and springs, beads and hanging things, and suchlike. Then, when I get an idea to make something, I can usually locate what I need. Bits I have an idea to make something with lie all aclutter in the wooden bowl on top of the drawers. I might do something today, actually..



I guess I just take too much pleasure sometimes in the collecting and organizing, heh. Here are my bottle tops. I meant to make a mountain of little pies and so far I only made one. More later. No really! And all those gold tops are from my favourite drink - lambrini sparkling perry. *hic hic hiccup*



To make good looking miniature plates, and many other things, you need clay cutters. I refuse to shell out money for what I can make myself from things I find lying around. Anyone who plays around with fimo will tell you it doesn't take as much money as the hobby stores would like you to believe. Any round metal or plastic object with firm, preferably slightly sharp edges, and two openings (so you can push the clay out without deforming it) can make a good cutter. This is all the stuff I play around with to make different plates and bowls.



And these are my favourite cutters. The big ones make great plate and cake bases, and the little ones are good for toppings.



All you need to make some mini plates are uniform thick pieces of clay, some cutters, and maybe some nice textures for the edges, like this watch face and button I found to be the same shape as my cutters. Keeping an eye out is a sure-fire way to find so many cool things you can use. (The above bits came from things I owned and was willing to dismantle: a part of a fancy pen, the top of a perfume bottle, a bullet case that was on a keychain, a lipstick case, and some little pen nibs).



To measure equal amounts of clay for small items, like cupcakes, donuts, or toppings, you can use small items from household packaging. No need to pay for fancy measuring tools.



On a single day I might pick up all kinds of junk off the floor! Haha. I am a bit odd, but I love amassing more mini "wealth" for free. I collect it, keep it around for a while, realize some of it is just useless tat and throw it out, and end up refining and eventually using things - sometimes a year later! Weird hobby, I suppose.



I love rummaging through my little boxes of bits though, and envisioning bits and pieces as buttons, handles, switches, pulleys, or bases of different things. It's a way to keep the imagination alive. :)



These are little "buttons" harvested from inside mobile phones and other gadgets and jewellery bits. I don't know when or what they'll be for, yet..



Some of my favourite bits and pieces come from inside vintage watches. I love the look of circuit boards, too, and plan to make some jewellery combining them with clay.



So I've been collecting circuit boards from inside phones and dvd players the neighbours have thrown away. Getting the circuit boards out of the larger things seriously cut my fingers up, so I'm determined to make something out of those, to make it worthwhile.



Here are some "texture molds" I have been experimenting with. Using the same colour helps you recognize them by eye. Red is bold so I copied another clay-a-holic in making it the colour of all my molds. Anything is fair game for a texture mold. You just spray the clay lightly with some water, push the object you want to duplicate into the clay, pull it away... and viola: after baking, you have an indentation into which you can push clay to duplicate the original shape or texture.



And textures, like cutters, are all around you. Anything with a deeply impressioned surface makes a super texture for polymer clay.







A lot of this stuff was bought cheaply in second hand shops, or found in the house or even on the ground outside.



Peppercorns make really good textures for the surface of mini foods.



And you can use all kinds of things as inclusions, like glass, pencil shavings, crayon wax, embossing powders..



And even spices and herbs!



Jewellery findings can be attached to a rod with superglue so that you can stamp a trademark flower or star or any shape you like into your clay creations, underneath, or create patterns and designs.

And last but not least, here is my tool box:





With the essentials!



And even some tools I cobbled together myself. I haven't paid for a single clay tool.



The clay is expensive enough if you ask me!

And now that I have barraged you with photos and blathered on about the potential of it all, I feel pretty motivated to turn something out. Maybe my muse was just an excuse. Time to get busy!




Warning: MANY photos.