Dust...

Lots and lots of toxic particles of dust have been filling my creative space of late.
Sounds delightful hey! Nah really, it's not so bad. It's the sanded residue created from my latest hobby.

Resin

So colorful, mysterious and sweet.

I say mysterious as for years, resin is a medium I have longed to work in. But the chemistry and technical aspects of it all has...well..it has scared the hell out of me.

Many times I circled the resin course in my C.A.E guide only to chicken out last minute or to struggle to find the cash to pay for the course.

But finally... a decade later, I have done the resin course and it was amazing.
I have come out with my head spinning. My mind racing a million miles an hour contemplating all the possibilities of what I could make.
Somewhere in there, in the middle of the class, the penny dropped and it all made sense.
I had read so much, touched and examined so much, but to have the experience of learning the craft in a practical sense is just so empowering. Like a springboard for creativity to flourish.

Hence I seem to have misplaced the last few weeks of my life in a flurry of resin making.

Now, it would seem I was not a duck to water with my longed after medium.
I have made molds with bubbles, (not ideal) I have had my pretty papers float away from where I wanted them to be, I have overfilled my bezel and sanded my bloody finger....

But persistence is my new best friend and I was determined to get a range out of it. No matter how small.
I just had to finish what I started.

So after too many hours of sanding to admit , I have put together a little range of resin delights.

Now once I calculate the hours spent sanding, they work out to be ...... $3000 dollars a piece.

O.k maybe a slight exaggeration. But I now have an amazing amount of respect for resin artists and I formally apologize for ever thinking that a resin bangle at a hand made stall was not worth the money.

I get it now. I soooo get it.

They do not come out looking like that guys, one side is pretty the other is ruff as guts and it takes hours to make it look as pretty as the other side!

If you've ever wanted to learn resin yourself, I highly recommend the course run by Dominic at the C.A.E
You don't just pour into pre made molds, you make the molds, you play with different types of resin, different pigments and you learn quite a few techniques to create really individual pieces.

Never to old to learn some new tricks.
Jay xx

Birthdays galore...

It's been party central round here of late with Ty, Finn and Kierah all celebrating the great feat of being another year older. They are all a week or so apart, so each weekend has been balloons, family, friends, presents and lots of cake...

The theme for Kierah's party was 'Gnomeo and Juliet' as we took her and her friends to see the movie in 3d.
The idea was to make cupcakes that looked like spotty mushrooms and top them with a little Gnomeo and Juliet.
Considering the movie was brought out by touchstone and Walt Disney I thought the merchandise would be out in full force and that finding figurines would be a no brainer.
Alas...it seems we were a bit too early for the merchandisers and had to make do with finding a boy gnome and a girl gnome that we could paint to look like the movie characters.
Luckily I did find a lovely pair and they came out looking quite cute once finished.

Mr Finn got a slide from us and an amazing handmade sandpit built by grandpa. Creating a nice little adventure playground in his own backyard. Everyday since he has been outside, digging, sliding, and really enjoying the great outdoors.
Such a nice change from his previous YoGabbaGabba obsession.

With Ty turning 30, Finn turning 3 and Kierah turning 11, it's some pretty big milestones we've hit.
I do think it's a great number for each of them. Becoming more of the person they were meant to be each day.

Although none of them were too grown up for sparklers...

Miss kizzy has also had a friends party thrown into the craziness of the last 4 weeks. With the theme of 'come as your favourite Tim Burton character'. She could have been Alice or corpse bride or any other female lead..but no, she chose Edward Scissorhands.
Must have been something about his masterful skill with scissors(like mum hehehehe) and his fragile gothic appeal.

The centre pic is a less gothic representation, the chosen outfit for her own party. Looking every bit like the 11 year old she is.

The actual birthday is today, yes...International Women's Day. So we'll be having the family party tonight.
Our last candle lit cake for a while.
My hips shall be grateful!

Hope you're all well.
Jay xx