Showing an up coming tutorial another way to insert eye's I use this for ball jointed dolls

Wanted to share something here with all of you and tried hard to get a real clear pic but its so cloudy here. In this pic Im trying to show you a couple of things. One is another way I set eyes in and is basically a way I will do ball jointed. Second I wanted to show in the picture the foundation I used and what it looks like. Around the eye is raw clay and I thought you could see the difference in color. I will have a tutorial on this technique if you don't have an air brush. The way I applied it is somewhat different then my other way.

Think outside of the box

I wanted to share something with many of you back in art school my teacher gave us a project once a month and it was called Think outside of the box... She would put up a picture of us to all look at and we were all to write an essay and it had to be in story form and instructional of what idea we thought of. This was the biggest eye opener for me and to observe all the different idea's and thought patterns we all had over the same picture. Then the teacher picked the one she felt would be a great challenge for all of us and we had to take the idea and create it. It was also amazing to see all the different ways everyone created. Some were alike and many were different. Then the teacher said something that stuck with me and till this day I carry it on to others. She said now you see a picture and you all were to have thoughts about it. Then you were to go and create it. The question is do you feel you own your thoughts? Do you feel your the only one that can have a creative thought and no one else can have your thought. And if someone had one of your creative thoughts would you then feel like they took your idea? Well hopefully we all the know the answer to it all we really don't own any thought its already out there.
Today giving a class we had think out side of the box. Now I can't wait for all of us to play the game. Even me too!!! This is expansion and growth in your own self and art. I have taken many class's along time ago and sadly to say many teachers in a class just teach what your going to make. They don't go beyond the project and find the story form.. I found with great teachers that went further and outside of the project we learned so much and more then if we were to just sit there and watch the teacher show the steps and then you follow. I want to thank my students for giving me the opportunity to expand with myself.

New video how to make a wig cap and create a wispy hairstyle for your polymer clay dolls

Hope you enjoy will be making more video's on different hairstyles.  Please subscribe to my art channel its free and I show you the whole process.  Come and join in on my Facebook Fan Page would love to see you there and what your making.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5-xvME_-iE

View pictures below. This wig was made for my commission fashion doll tutorial and I will have the tutorial on my youtube art channel soon.

I wanted to share something with my youtube followers. It was back in the early 2000 when I had been an active seller with Ebay. At that time polymer clay dolls were getting noticed and at a rapid pace. I feel very blessed I had fallen into an era of time selling my work and becoming noticed to my buyers. As I was making my dolls I was taking a lot of what I had learned with porcelain dolls and applying it to polymer so things went relatively easy for me. There were some techniques and products that everyone seemed to be doing and using but I wasn’t comfortable and I was having to figure out how to do things different and feel good and secure with my own way and one of them I want to share with you is applying hair to your dolls. It bothered me so much to be taking hair and just sticking onto the dolls head. I just never liked the technique and felt it was a sloppy job.. I even took a dolls head and I drilled tiny holes throughout the whole head and then inserted small strands of hair into the holes. It worked wonderfully but took forever lol. So, I went back to gluing the hair back onto the dolls head. Every time I did I felt again it was sloppy and I need to do it different. So, I made a wig cap and I sewed strands of hair onto the wig cap and then glued it all on to the dolls head. It took some time but I felt much better but I didn’t follow through with every doll. Sometimes glued then others I made the wig cap and sewed the hair on to the cap.
I had an auction up and I had several new buyers email me and they were asking how I was applying the hair. Well the doll I had up was one that I made a wig cap and I told the buyer the truth it was hair sewing on a wig cap and then glued on the head. I also mentioned sometimes I just glue the hair to the dolls head with very good glue. She said this to me and it’s when I decided to go with a way that felt right to me and I had been on a right track. She said, many dolls she had purchased the hair was falling off by strands and she didn’t want to buy anymore dolls if their hair was glued onto the head she wanted the hair to be secured better. I totally understood what she was saying and at that time many people were coming into sculpting and selling and they were using glues that weren't holding up so that caused a problem with buyers trusting the product. So, that alone made me think more and I realized again that my thinking had been leading me with a better product.
There are many different ways to making wig caps and rooting but you just need to practice and see what is more interesting and enjoyable to making. And many of you may always use glue and that is what’s comfortable to you not saying here it’s wrong. For people that are new to this world of sculpting just make sure if you choose to apply hair strands with glue your using very good glue.

How I smooth my clay

Okay everyone thank you to my utube subscribers for your beautiful and many emails. So, your liking the tips. Alright here is one for today. Since I work with a very firm clay I don't have as much smoothing ability with my clay as most people do. Here is a tip that I truly cherish so much. View the pictures they will explain then decide if you would like to try it. If you don't like it then cook with it I love it and its so healthy. Also I use it for and eye cream and face. My hands to because the polymer clay tends to dry my hands out a lot. So, when I go to bed is when I use it not the day Im sculpting. Only if Im needing to smooth my clay.

Yes there is white resin urethane you can make your eye from

I didn't realize this until receiving many emails from my youtube channel. A lot of people weren't aware of white resin urethane .. So, I thought I would put the information up for those of you that are considering making doll eyes and you can use white for the eyeball. Check it out and see if its what your wanting. Hope this helps.

http://amazingmoldputty.com/ProdDetail.cfm?Category=Casting+Resin&Name=Alumilite+White+%28Amazing+Casting+Resin%29

Here's a tip that helps me out with sculpting a face

Here's something I do a lot and thought I would share it. When Im sculpting a face and going by a pic. I take a picture of my head in all different angles and then I take the pic Im using as a reference and I cut out the parts and place them on my dolls face. This will show me where Im off. This picture is just an example of when I was making a Marilyn Monroe. Back then I didn't have as good of a camera as I do now. But you get the idea. Use your software when sculpting. At first it felt awkward but now I can't do without.. Thanks to a very good friend who really pushed me to keep trying this Technique. Also by doing this in my software it expanding to where I can take the whole face and break it all down in planes. Take all the pieces and sculpt each one. Then its just putting the puzzle pieces together. I will have a tutorial this year on this Technique

How other people (artist) can play a role in our lives does this fit you?

This could be interesting for many... How other artist play roles in our own lives. 

Someone wrote to me and I really thought this one over whether or not to post it and I decided I would because I think it will hit home with many. She thanked me for sharing all my ways and not holding back on things because someone has said you can't do a certain thing. She stated that she's been making dolls now over 10 years and when she was first learning she was so excited and was sharing everything she was doing and she got hit hard. She found many artist were telling her she couldn't do a lot of things. She listened and went back to her sculpting table and started to do it the way they said and things weren't working out. She shared in groups with other artist that she took there information but she was having problems now what can she do. She was amazed because they pretty much ignored her which that was confusing because they were so helpful in the beginning but now they weren't... She went off to herself and sat at her table and just cried and felt so alone. What did she do to loose interaction with others? She kept visiting the groups and she would reply on something but no one seem to notice her not like before. Now it had become depressing and she stopped sculpting. Her heart felt empty and lost.. She had a lot going on at that time because one of her children was diagnosed with leukemia and the sculpting was giving her a place to take her focus off of her fear for awhile during the days. It had been two years she never touched the clay but she got through the days with her daughter due to a very good friend of hers. One day she was telling her friend how she loved playing with the clay and what happened. Her friend said something to her that clicked. Friend said, the experience was only for her and not to focus on what she felt they did to her. To only focus on what she thought they did only stopped her from doing something that felt good. So, the lady goes home and picks up her clay and has a nice talk with herself. And from that moment on she has been sculpting ever since and she stays to her self and never will join a group again. She, now only has a handful of real close artist friends and they share everything. Her daughter is in remission and she is playing sports and loving school. She said there's not a day that goes by that she is so grateful for her friend being there for her and saying some magical words that brought her back to herself and is sculpting her heart and soul out to the world.

When I read this letter it brought tears because I could relate somewhat of what she was saying. My story didn't play out like hers The way I played it out was all the negativity from others pushed me to only find myself through my art and I didn't give a hoot what others said. If I did then I needed to view myself only and see why it bothered me so much. How did I judge and how could I see that person in a different light. Now after reading this ladies letter to me I have another true artist friend that I can join in with her other artist friends to be totally open and share just a god given talent, art....

If any of you have a story or something you would like to share feel free to state it here. Its an open discussion and something you may say might help someone.. How many people new this lady here her daughter had leukemia. We never know whats behind a closed door and when we are honest and caring we don't need to know the details but we can enter through there door just as far as they can let us in. Why not the choice is ours...

Question taken from my art channel mail

Question; I have been experimenting with face foundation and I wanted to write you and thank you for sharing. I love it and your so right about just giving off a tone of color. It looks so natural. I do have a question my daughter has a foundation that is thicker then the Loreal I use for myself. I wanted to try my daughters just to experiment and see if there's a difference. I want to just thin it down a little and I was wondering if you ever thin makeup and what have you used? I did try a little baby oil but I didn't like it at all.

Yes, I do thin it down sometimes because I do a lot of blending so sometimes I need thicker and then thin. I have used a little bit of coconut oil or almond oil. These two work so well but you only use a tiny tiny bit.

Taken from my youtube channel and sharing here

Question I love making my own eye's and your tutorials have given me so many different ways to see what works for me. I want to thank you for that. I have a question and I make very small eye's 2mm and 3mm. After I color the iris sometimes its like a tunnel and the color is just all blurred. Then I try not making the hole so deep but when I do I end up with a flat iris and I don't like that effect do you have any suggestions?

I know what your talking about and making that small of an eye your going to run into that problem with certain colors least I did. I found when making them that small I had to place in the iris more high lights I just couldn't do very dark colors like on a larger eye. Just keep in mind that when working on something much smaller it takes less detail and you only put in an illusion.