What a bummer, and a relief in some ways. :)

Hi all! :) I've just been alerted (thanks Stephanie!) to the fact that my comment-box isn't working! EEKS! So that would explain why I have been having 0 comments on some entries!

I'm still trying to search for a better solution, but for now, I've switched it to a pop-up comment form. So to all readers, do try that out (it might take a while to load!) and tell me if it works!

Much love! :)

Fresh fruits, anyone?

I would kill for a window view like this, overlooking mountains and clouds.

while munching on the goodness of fresh fruits.

The angle's slightly awkward here. :X

All fruits are sculpted out of polymer clay by me. They are miniatures in 12th scale, the average strawberry measuring at 0.5cm across!

I'm becoming more productive nowadays, and blogging more! Yayyy, let's hope I get something new listed in my Etsy shop soon too! :)

Itsy-bitsy fondant hearts!

Roll out miniature fondant, press in miniature cookie cutter. Repeat 482 times.

Presto, miniature fondant hearts! :)

When you've got a dozen fondant hearts cut out, place them in a heap in a glass bowl.

Keep them in the fridge to keep them cool, and for use in further baking sessions.

okay, actually i haven't made fondant in real life. So I'm just guessing that's how you would store them! :P

Any experienced real-life bakers out there, do advise me!

Miniature cookie cutters, in assortment of shapes.

They are handmade by me entirely. It took me ages to finally grasp how to make them, and to find the material, so it's a secret for now! :X

But I can reveal that it isn't perfectly hard all around like regular cookie cutters, instead they are of a softer material, but you will still be able to cut out shapes with them!

I actually used the heart-cutter pictured to cut out these heart fondants.

The smallest heart-cutter measures 0.4cm high and 0.3cm in width, and is suitable for 12th scale miniatures!

 

 Missing a miniature heart.

 whoops!

a random but delicious spread. :)

My lucky cousin got himself a DSLR that day, and because we were having a family gathering afterwards at my place, he tried out the macro on my miniatures.

and WOW. these are his (and my other cousin's) works.

 I know, I'm not a big fan of the grey background here too, but I'm loving the lighting and the focus!

 and the focus here isn't on my miniatures, but rather the tiny sugar pot. but the clarity is still amazing!

oh well, just gushing for now. Can't afford such a luxury yet, but thankfully my reliable Sony DSC-T70 has a pretty powerful macro, so that would do for now. :)

let's put a hole in it and call it a dough-nut!

at least that's how I think doughnuts (now donuts!) came into existence. :)

I've been fussing over sculpting these miniature donuts for a day,

here are some pretty photos to show them off! :)

Crullers and chocolate donuts straight out of the baking tray!

Yummm, piping hot, and dripping with warm chocolate!

A stack of assorted donuts.

My favourite is clearly the one with a little chocolate heart, as you will see in photos below. haha.

Unglazed crullers, in a high heap.

i like my donuts simple. plain, with just a light brush of glaze.

This would look fitting in a miniature dessert spread.

Playing around with photobucket again. :)

the matchstick is out for scale reference!

these miniature donuts measure approximately around 0.8cm - 1cm in diameter. :)

and here's a picture that deviates a bit from the rest, in all its melancholic sadness.

I would be popping some of them into my Etsy shop soon. :)

It's dinner time here now, and I'm hungry for some of them donuts!

En route to France

Yesterday, I posted my very first Etsy sale (2 actually, but they were to the same lady. :)) to faraway France!

Merci beaucoup, Marie!

 

It was all very fun to decide what kind of goodies I should include, as this first sale was really special. I even created little plastic packaging for the individual items (oranges), but I would show photos some other time, as there's a bit of an orange overload on this blog now eh? hehh.

a little sneak peek though! :)

Oh, and I hope you like the newly revamped blog template. I'm in love with it! :)

Oranges. Assorted!

I know I know, I've featured orange sculpts here before. Oops. :)

But I've been kept busy with the commissions at the Etsy shop, so apologies for the lack in new sculpts!

BUT, everybody loves photos right? Haha, so here are some new photos of new oranges I sculpted for an Etsy commission! :)

 

The orange sculpts here are pictured with a regular matchstick to show the scale!

-love, joce!

1/12th Scale - Salmon Sushi

I can't stand seeing the blog so bare of photos. So here's a photo of my latest item for sale at AiClay - Salmon Sushi! (I'm very lucky that my first item sold very quickly to a fabulous lady!) It's a re-shoot of my previous photos, and I'm loving the salmon color. :) It reminds me of the Friends epiode where Ross searches for his pink salmon-coloured shirt, any of you guys remember??

And Happy (Belated) Mid-autumn (not that mid-autumn has much significance in one-season Singapore :( ) to everyone celebrating it! I've been planning and researching on ways to make that perfect mooncake in miniature, but the custom-made items list just kept growing and now the actual day has passed and I haven't sculpted that out yet! :(

I will get that sculpted and take photos SOON though, so look out for that! :)

For the non-Chinese readers, Mid-autumn festival is a celebration which falls on the day when the moon is supposedly the biggest and roundest (i forgot to look out the window this year!). And it usually means eating lots of mooncakes (pretty little cakes with fillings), sipping Chinese tea and carrying candle-lit lanterns around neighbourhoods. :)

This brings back so many fond childhood memories of this festival. :)

VERY IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS

VERY IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS


[in a nutshell version]

Play-withclay is now AiClay, and the site has moved to http://aiclay.blogspot.com/, so edit your favourite folders now! :) I will be updating there instead!

Why the change in site name? Well, AiClay is more personally relevant than Play-withclay (which I have always felt was pretty generic) as Ai is part of my chinese name, and it means 'love' in Mandarin too, which is really quite apt in describing how I feel towards my creations. :)

My Etsy shop is now up and running, under the name AiClay too. I am really excited about this! For the less informed, Etsy is a WONDERFUL marketplace filled with lovely handcrafted items, and teeming with talented and inspirational artists. 

HOP OVER THERE NOW! :)

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[the long version]

Now for the very much less condensed version of updates. :)


Firstly, I know I haven't been updating with any creations at all, but I have been busy busy busy sculpting though! Custom orders have been pouring in (somehow they always arrive together! :)), and I am trying to sculpt as efficiently as I can, rushing after the many deadlines!

Here are some of the custom orders that I had have time to photograph. :)

Secondly and MOST IMPORTANTLY! I have just set up my own shop at http://www.etsy.com/. If you don't know about this site yet, you should head there NOW (okay after the end of my post would be better heehee.). Etsy is a marketplace of QUALITY handmade items showcasing a wonderful variety of mediums (fabric, clay, metal, paintings etc etc!).

My shop is at http://www.aiclay.etsy.com, or just search AiClay under Sellers in the Search bar at the top of the Etsy site.


This brings me to the FINAL point of this entry!

Which is to announce that Play-withclay is now officially AiClay! I've been scratching my head about whether I should change the name as I know fully well all the repercussions it can bring (change in store banner/packaging/email template, domain change, confusion for customers ETC). However, I have honestly never really felt connected with Play-withclay as my store name.

AiClay is alot more apt since Ai  is part of my Chinese name, and I love that the name has that bit of me in it. Of course, it also means 'love' ( 爱 as a noun and verb) in Mandarin. How appropriate since I am wholly in love with the process of sculpting and the clay medium. :)

THUS the store is now renamed to AiClay! And this calls for the change in blog address, to http://aiclay.blogspot.com!

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[important links]

http://www.aiclay.blogspot.com/ --> for updates on my creations and inspirations!

http://www.aiclay.etsy.com/ --> to purchase my items directly!

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