#286

Here she is! Arms and size included.
I was asked to show some reference to size, and I hate it when people use money, as I have never seen most of the world’s currency to know how big it is. I couldn’t think of anything else that would be internationally the exact same size, so I opted for a good old tape measure, with inches and centimetres on it.
I also wanted to share a tip when placing eyes. Get some pearl headed pins, it doesn’t have to match, or be perfectly the same size, but choose two roughly similar to the eyes you want for your figure. If you want, you can put beads on regular metal pins, or pin buttons for larger models. This way. You place the pins where you want the eyes, and can play around with placement without any commitment. Once you’re ready, either sew on the button where its pinned, or pull the pin out, just enough for you to stitch the actual eye either side if where the pin is coming out. Hope that made sense, headaches aren’t the best when explaining. You can also use pins through limbs to place them on tiny bears and figures. Just be sure to put the pin where you want the pivot point in the shoulder or hip.
I also just broke my first needle. Hopefully got all the pieces, or I’ll walk around barefoot until I find it

Tip #6

Use bluetack as a kneaded eraser. Its cheaper, works better and you can use it to pick up bits of glitter or embossing powders easily.
You can lighten drawing by rolling it over the sketch.
Im not sure if they call it bluetack in all the countries- the sticky, moldable stuff you use to stick up posters. Its pretty awesome.

Tip #5

Stamping tips!
When using clear stamps and dont have a stamping block handy, sometimes you can use the lid of the ink pad, or for larger stamps use the clear front off an old cd case. The plastic on this is just flexible enough to push down the centres nicely.

Put craft foam or an old soft mousepad under your stamping. I haven’t done this a lot, but it seems to help, and have seen a few recommendations around for it.

Use baby wipes to clean stamps, but if it needs more of a scrub, use a cheap toothbrush and stamp cleaner, which sometimes comes with stamp sets.

Make your own stamps with fun foam. Cut or die cut a shape and glue to thick card or bottle caps. Use as normal.

Im still figuring out a nice storage solution for my stamps. I’ve seen a few to trial, such as putting them in card sleeves in a binder. Apparently its hard to buy 3 ring binders anymore.

Tip #4

Buy airtight containers for your paints. You can either buy paints like this or get large tubes and put a bit in the container as you need.
I find I use my paints a lot more when I dont have to wash palettes and saves wastage when you put out more than you need.
Also you can keep them in clear view on your desk without bulky tubes and tubs cluttering the place. 🙂

Tip #3

For temporary storage, (or you can cover with contact to extend its life) cut the top off a tissue box, and put a line of tape to keep it together.
I use this for sorting or keepinf things together on the desk. Its a good size, and cheap.
You could even paper mache it for a sturdier box with a personal touch.

Tip #2

Buy clear or silver gems and colour with sharpies or copics (alcohol based inks) and you’ll get an intense coloured gem to match your project 🙂

Tip #1

I like having everything sorted by size shape colour and what not, but recently I’ve made one small box a bit of everything. For those times you dont know what you want. Maybe you want a certain colour or shape of something (or maybe you knocked all your beads together and don’t wabt to sort them.)
Either way, I like looking through this box for ideas. Maybe two objects that you wouldn’t have thought together have found each other in the box.
I’ve found it rather handy at times.
I tend to call it my bling box.