Saturday, December 13, 2008

2008 Angels

Each year I make a few angels. I am not really into them as you can tell...they are a little rough around the edges, but they're kinda cute. I made a few others with other hair colours, but they're still 'cookin'. These will be for my sister and her friends.
I spent about five hours trying to come up with something "novel" but in the end, made some cutesy ones, which again, I am not really into.

I made the heads and hair in two steps, then added the body after the first curings. In the subsequent batch I made, I was able to streamline the procedure a little and actually did five heads on one knitting needle. That gave me some time to whip up some different hair colours and also some different "fabric" designs for the vestments.

Another thing I did when making them was incorporate the string right into the body, and there is a little wire in the body to provide a bit of an armature. But with the string where it is, it allows the head to turn or spin a bit, so the angel can face many different directions. No problem baking with the cord in either.

I hope the wings are strong enough...they are pretty thin but I used some strong Kato clay for them and added a little Perfect Pearls powder which I finished with a glossy coating after baking.

They are way too finicky to sand and buff. Besides, I have trouble buffing now with winter here. This year I decided to buff outside only to prevent the dust from collecting everywhere. I suppose if I had a vented duct to direct it outdoors I'd still do it inside, but for as much as I use the buffer these days, it isn't worth the cost of installation.

So much for the plan to use my anime faces for angels. I did some transfers, but they didn't look enough like "angels". Will use those heads for something else. I have made a couple of purse baubles with them and will attach a few of those to some of my packages.

Now to get busy on a few last minute "orders". Will the work ever be done?