Thanksgiving...or Christmas? And soft pastels

Guess what? Right. I went to Michaels again. So did Cali. We also went to the gallery and submitted more scenes/jewelry. But you know what's disappointing? I keep forgetting to take pictures before I submit them. Well, more like, I cook/glaze/finish them last minute and don't have time to take pictures. I need to stop that. It's sad. But oh well, there'll be more cool work in the future. Just not enough space...on our website. I'll work something out.
As for what I got, that would be...eight packs of clay, gold powder (funny story- Cali spilled most of hers today and now her floor is sparkly), and nature mini cookie cutters (Sculpey brand).
As for what we submitted, Cali put in three pairs of earrings and took two out (the ones with the old finishings and without glaze). She's already on Christmas stuff. I put in a double set of earrings, ghost studs and pumpkins. They're really not all that heavy, but they look like it. I also put in a scene, a fall/Halloween scene with a girl under a tree reading a book with a black cat. She's leaning against the tree next to the hay bale with a pumpkin on it. It took a while, which is why it's the only scene I brought this time. I used translucent for her skin instead of flesh to see the effect, and it looks like she's a porcelain doll. It's pretty neat.
So as for the holiday seasons, Cali and I are in disagreement over something. Now, I know the stores usually go like five seasons ahead with their decor, and she wants to start with Christmas stuff now (skipping Thanksgiving entirely) while I think we should do Thanksgiving now and wait until after Halloween do start doing Christmas stuff. What do you think? Should we be doing Thanksgiving...or Christmas? Leave me a comment telling me. What season are you buying for?
I still have the pumpkin tutorial up and Cali managed to make use of it (no one else has said anything about it, so does it work? Or not? If it doesn't I may as well take it down). I'm thinking of doing an actual video for YouTube, where all the other awesome tutorials are. That would be a good idea. I'll start experimenting. But there is one thing I need...time.
Now, since you've been so good at listening/reading so far, I will give you another idea. I've been watching tutorials on YouTube and I've noticed that one cool tool a lot of the sculptors use is...are...soft pastels. They're really good for subtle coloring. Great for mixing with TLS to make stuff like syrup (on pancakes) among other things. Buy them at Michaels and Hobby Lobby and other places that sell craft stuff. If you already use them, tell me what you think. I've just started using them but they're pretty neat.
So...bye for now! A bientot! (Yes, I'm taking French)

Michaels Haul, Art Gallery, and Fall!

I finally added the Codex to the sequel site, so if you've been waiting for those (not that you have) then there they are. I apologize about the lack of new pictures, but the storage limit is pretty close and we'll have to do some Fall Cleaning there.
I just went to Michaels again and got soft pastels, a carrying case, more colors, and more tools. Never can get enough of that place. I'll include a picture.
I used the pastels to do a little pancake project off of a tutorial on YouTube, and if you want the channel and all that, the link is...on the sequel site blog. Yes. So if you want it, you have to make a little detour. Hope it's worth it (it totally is).
So our work is now in the Market Street Art Gallery, and if you want details, check out the YouTube vid. Find me on YouTube under Firefox9799, or just search 'AwesomeClaySculpting'. We're pretty psyched about being able to sell stuff and all that, not that anyone will actually buy, but we're proud. We got some requests because of it, too.
Some of the scenes I included are the Pumpkins/hay bale scene (on Flickr) and the Graveyard Scene, which has yet to be photographed. Maybe I'll stop by and take a picture of it in the gallery to make it official. Cali included basically earrings, pendants, and a scene/figurine or two. I did two scenes, a simple Fall earring set, and a Halloween bookmark, 3 of which haven't been photographed yet because of time limits and their simplicity. I'll make better ones and take a picture. So, see you soon! Bonsoir and au revoir!

Store comparison

Now, I live in an area where the two closest craft stores (they're not really all that close) are Michaels and Hobby Lobby, and I go to each one for different reasons. Let me give you the run down. Michaels is good for keeping up-to-date with the latest Sculpey products, but Hobby Lobby has a lot more generic clay stuff that isn't Sculpey brand but is still awesome. More variety at Hobby Lobby, more reliability at Michaels. Hobby Lobby has more (a LOT more) cookie cutters in the clay section, while Michaels only has Sculpey brand cookie cutters (the mini ones that come in sets of 12). I myself got the basic ones, because the other ones...well I couldn't really figure out what they were, so they weren't really much use to me. As for powders...you know, to brush onto the clay before you cook it to give it a certain look...well, I have only experience with the Mona Lisa brand powder, but it works pretty well. I haven't tried any other, not even the Premo! Sculpey brand stuff (I tend to distrust things that look too brightly colored, it sort of looks childish, not serious like the Mona Lisa brand) but I would be willing to try the powders at Hobby Lobby, which come in great variety and quantity for nearly the same price. I suppose I'll get back to you if I do. One thing I do have to say, though, is that now Michaels is selling these really neat storage cases for $2 each which are great for storing beads, clay, anything. Just the other day I went and bought two and they serve me well. But I will say this: if you plan on transporting your clay, do not use these to mass-transport. Use a smaller container and pad it with stuffing or tissues or fabric or something. That is how I transport mine to my customers, and the more padding used, the less chance of it breaking. So now, I must get back to making my mini pumpkin patch. I may post a tutorial on here about how to make mini pumpkins, because I think they're adorable. Nothing I like better than sculpting mini pumpkins late into the night while watching The Muppets Treasure Island...:-)