Look what I made!!

This last Mother's Day, Chopsuey took AlleyCat shopping at the local bookstore. He understands my love of books, and she knows just what my tastes are. Before their shopping trip was over, they had purchased half a dozen books for me. (Yes I'm a spoiled momma/wife).

The first book out of the batch that I read was White Cat by Holly Black. Wow. What a mastery of the written word this lady has. (IS that worded right? When I say this stuff in my head it seems okay but when I read it on the screen...not so much) I will admit that I was leary of White Cat because it was not a continuation of her Tithe or Ironside books, or the companion book Valiant, and to be honest, I wanted more. You see, Holly introduced me to a dark side of the fae. The side I had not known existed. I grew up thinking all fairies were sugar and spice and all that's nice, but that isn't so is it? I know there are other authors out there that write about the Seelie and UnSeelie courts, and some have even done so before Ms. Black. But you see, she was my first. She opened the door and for that I will always have a soft spot in my heart for her.

So anyway - I follow @hollyblack on twitter, and I couldn't wait for this new book to come out so I could learn what all this  #TeamCassel buzz was all about. I wanted to know if I could love this other world she created as well. I started reading the book almost as soon as they handed it to me, and stayed up late just so I could read the whole book. The world she built was here but different. The way she gave some of the characters these "gifts" of cursing others. How you could block a curse, or know if someone cursed you. I'm telling you - I'll never look at stones (gemstones or pea gravel) the same way again. When I was finished with the book, I  *signed up for #TeamCassel. *disclaimer - there really wasn't a sign up process or anything, but if there was, I would so be there in a heartbeat.

Here it is middle of September, four months later, and I'm still thinking of this book. I loved it. I couldn't get it out of my head. Then one day it hit me. Show my love for this book. Create something. So I did.

I call it "My Heart Has Been Touched By A Curseworker"

I think it turned out  nicely. What do you think? I want to list them on Etsy, with some other YA inspired goodies, so be on the look out for them. I'm on Etsy as cassidyfinn (I know. How original)

Thanks for stopping by, please come back again. And again.

Cass

Loving the Polymer Clay

Well, it has been some time since my last post. I have organized all my beading supplies for future use, and focused on Polymer Clay Canes. Canes are created by taking similar lengths of clay in different shapes and colors and combining them into a "log" to form a picture or pattern. This picture or pattern runs through the length of the log, but can only be seen at each end. You can then make slices through the cane resulting in many copies of the same image. Depending on the type of picture/pattern you are trying to achieve, the beginning diameter of a cane can rage from a dinner plate down to a quarter. The larger diameter, the more the cane will probably need to be reduced, which results in a longer cane with a smaller diameter. Some great resources for polymer clay canes, and polymer clay in general are http://www.glassattic.com/ and http://www.polymerclaycentral.com/ .When working with larger canes, it is recommended to let the newly formed cane "sit" for a day or at least several hours before reducing. The reason for this is the clay in the center is usually not as malleable as the clay on the outer edges that has been in recent contact with your warm hands. To reduce a cane effectively, the clay should be the same malleability throughout.

Now I'm known to be a bit hurried when trying something new, so of course I did not wait as reccommended, and my first few canes were not even worthy of a picture. I am very proud though, of my first "person" cane. I am a huge fan of mermaids, fairies and just about anything fantasy - so my first person cane was a mermaid. First I made a face cane (which I did not photograph the process and am continually kicking myself for). With the face as I reduced it, I would cut a section of the log and set aside so I ended up with several different sizes of a face log. I then made a mermaid tail log, and reduced it down to the size I wanted. From there I added hair, arms, body, neck etc. I then took all of my preivous failures and combined together and ended up with the color of clay surrounding the mermaid. (Never have to waste any clay!) I took pictures of the original cane, and one of my end canes, next to the telephone so you could get an idea of size. I ended up with about 1 1/2 feet of mermaid cane in various diameters. I then used the same face and made a fairy. I have taken slices of the canes, and ran them through a pasta machine (dedicated to polymer clay - not food) and then applied them to glass vases.

I also tried a couple of dragonfly canes. I have mixed some translucent clay, with some of the colors in the dragonflies, and if you insert a candle, then the dragonflies glow.

I'm hoping to document my next cane and go step by step on my blog.

Thanks for reading!

Cass