AiMail - the launch! (and a peek)

/Edit.

Silly me has forgotten to add this important condition for the promotion. Free worldwide shipping will apply only to orders amounting to at least SGD20.  Please forgive all the hiccups with this first issue of AiMail!

*if your bigcartel order is less than SGD20 but you want to commission me so that total order is at least SGD20, the promotion will still apply. Please write me an email before 6 Jan, so that I can make a special listing for you!

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It's the last hour of 2011! But can I admit, I'm a lot more excited for AiMail than I am about 2012. :)

So I finished sending out all copies of AiMail to all subscribers once it hit 31st December 2011, and since it is the very first issue, I think I should show everyone else what a copy of AiMail looks like. 

Of course the discount code is exclusive only for the subscribers so it was left out of the copy here. I will only send out AiMail to last-minute subscribers till 5 Jan 2012, so email me or click here now if you want to enjoy free-shipping!

-cue slow, sappy music for emotional rant ahead.

I have always wanted to give back to all of you lovely supporters of AiClay, and I want to do it before the year ended. 2011 was a year when I dived into AiClay full-time and devoted my time and energies into building it. When I'm not sculpting, I'm taking miniature photoshoots, or checking my website statistics, or playing Bejewelled discussing with my customers about their miniature commissions.

Maybe you comment on my Flickr photos, or read my blog posts, or check in my store for updates, or a first-time visitor wondering who is this girl who has giant fingers and makes everything look tiny (what a scam tskk). For all of you, I wish for the very best new year ahead of us, in happiness and health. I felt that the best way to show my appreciation for your support during this year is to give free worldwide shipping! I think a part of me feels like for a while, we could pretend we were all next-door-neighbours and forget if we are separated by sea and mountains. I hope I'm making sense haha.

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I worked really hard at the design of AiMail and love that it has my happy colours in there, but there are many more improvements I can see in future issues. I would definitely include more exclusive, personal AiClay information inside, and hold a variety of promotions for different issues.

I have forgotten to include that free worldwide shipping INCLUDES tracking, so while that is going to burn my wallet, I would rather be assured that my customers receive their packages safely.

So please keep the subscriptions coming, AiMail will only get better! and a happy new 2012 to YOU! ♥

P.S All subscriptions that I receive after 5 Jan 2012 will qualify to receive the second and future issues of AiMail.

December . white rose on silver band.

I've always thought December was a month of relaxation and fun and savoring the last weeks before the new year swings by.

But I thought wrong, obviously. As we get closer to the end of December, the things I have to do are just piling up a lot faster than I can finish them. And there are useless pursuits I keep succumbing to like Bejewelled and lazing in bed. Very bad joce, very bad. :(

I was whirling with fulfilling all the Christmas orders before I flew to Bangkok, and then it was JY's birthday and then christmas gatherings and more orders and I have an unfinished book to return to the public library by.. (searches for loan receipt and realises the due date is today)

So..

The white rose on a silver band, is quite like what my initial impression of December should be -

serene and calming.

 

I know this isn't a food miniature, but once in a while I do love to sculpt non-food items (not too often though). Plus it's always good practice for commissions like miniature cakes with fondant flowers on top. ♥ 

I really like the ring, and would definitely sculpt more next time. Maybe a different flower, a different colour. Some have expressed interest in earrings with the flowers, which I think would look as awesome. 

By the way, it's an adjustable silver ring, so it fits all ring sizes.

 I hope your December has been less hectic as mine, and you get time to reflect and ponder about what you've done in 2011 and what you wish to accomplish in 2012.

As for me, I'm off to get in a game (or five) of Bejewelled before bedtime. :)

Squawk! (penguin macarons)

Move over, plain flat round macarons! Animal macarons are all the rage now.

 

Personally when it comes to real foods, I avoid buying foods with faces. Because I don't think I could ever bear to bite into them!

Wow, just noticed it's past 3am (again!) and I really don't want to delay my bedtime any longer.

So I'm going to let the photos do the talking. :)

If you follow my twitter/facebook feed, you'll know that I've been going a tad crazy working on the christmas orders. 

This is so that I can get all the orders packaged and sent to my customers before I leave for Bangkok for a short trip till 26th December! All mails and orders will be attended to then, but I promise to try to check my mailbox everyday while in Bangkok. ♥

A last announcement, the launch date for AiMail would be on New Year's Eve - 31st December 2011. ♥

Which means that gives you exactly two more weeks to subscribe!

the start to a crazy week. (apples)

I wish I was over-exaggerating.

But let's see, from now till Sunday, I have 

1. four orders due for completion ( totally not complaining about this ♥ )
2. gatherings with friends
3. a Wicked musical
4. a miniature cookie workshop
5. and a movie event where I get to be Santa's elf haha

That's a lot happening within 7 days. At least to me.

And then I have to pack, ready to leave for Bangkok come early morning on Monday. That, I'm pretty excited! ♥

Maybe I should write less and just jump to the photos then. 

Here is an order for a variety of miniature apples I sculpted in 1/3 scale, fits SD-sized (50-70cm) dolls.

with a bite. perfect & whole. bitten to the core. shrunken & wrinkled.

Bambi is helping me with modelling the apples again, her glum expression tells me that I might need to hire someone larger instead. Hm.

Monday is beckoning. Goodnight everyone, I wish all of you a fulfilling week! ♥

It's a Christmas month.

Everybody knows Christmas isn't just a one-day affair. Or twelve days.

It lasts a whole month. Once December 1st hits, christmassy songs start playing on radio, the artificial trees go up in malls and you see gingerbread men everywhere.

Okay so the last one is probably true only here at AiClay.

Lately, I have been receiving many orders for these little guys, and people are requesting them to be made into everything - earrings, pendants, even brooches.

Thankfully I really like making them. ♥ Certainly on my top 3 favourite things to sculpt.

Lastly, I still want to thank all of the incoming subscriptions to AiMail, definitely want to get it out to all of you for the new year sales.

And another thing is that I would be travelling to Bangkok in exactly two weeks, can't wait because I do miss that place. ♥

What pretty feet you have - macarons.

Try saying the title to anyone and you will probably get a puzzled look.

But when you tell that to a tired baker who is bringing out her 294th batch of freshly baked macarons and praying madly they turn out okay, it all makes sense. 

I've read enough horror stories online about baking macarons - shuddering tales of shells sinking in the middle, uncooked in the middle, cracked collapsed weird lumps. (google 'macaron fail' and you'll know what I'm talking about)

So I'm sticking to baking miniature macarons. Thankfully they have always turned out picture-perfect so far, hooray!

 

Everytime I make miniature food, I try to make some kind of miniature packaging for it. Sometimes they are little grocery bags, sometimes burger boxes, this time though it was just a simple white box. I decided that the macarons were fanciful enough to just sit pretty in their clean boxes.

This batch of lavender and rose macarons has a diameter of about 1cm, and was sculpted in 1/4 scale and fits MSD dolls. They are already on their way to Finland, but if you would like your own, just click on the Shop link on the tabs above!

Or if you're lazy.

In other news, thank you everyone for the subsciptions to AiMail! I squeal everytime I receive a new subscription, it is that exciting for me! Please keep them coming, there's still time before the first issue in December! ♥

Crunch. (Cookies in a Jar Pendant)

And so I can't believe I've never blogged about this before. I keep checking over and over again before I post this, because I feel like I must have shared the photos with all of you, but nope, if I did it was probably in a dream. 

Which means I must be going slightly nuts and AiClay-obsessed to be doing work even in my dream! Which is probably another story for another day. 

I digress. 

Chocolate chunk cookies always remind me of the Christmas tradition of leaving out a plate of cookies for Santa when he comes swinging through the fireplace. (Not practised in my country, by the way. Most of us don't have fireplaces and if there are Santas they are probably taking the elevator.)

And here is the pendant I am ashamed to have hidden away for so long. I do like the thought of receiving this in a Christmas stocking, just a piece of Christmas memory encased in a little glass jar.

Available in the store.

Oh yes, did you notice the panel of tabs at the top of my website? Now you can hop to shop in the shop, find out about workshops available, update about your AiClay order, subscribe to AiMail.. So go click-crazy!

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Announcement: AiMail is here!

Bambi is helping to show off what each issue of AiMail will be arriving with. ♥ It is a monthly issue so do not worry about me bombarding your mailbox, I hate spam as well. All email addresses will be kept hidden from other subscribers.

How to subscribe? Just click on the 'Subscribe to AiMail' tab on the top of this website, and leave your email address in a comment there! Alternatively, send me an email to buzz@aiclay.com using your working email with 'I want to subscribe to AiMail' in your subject header.

Just a note about the FREE SHIPPING coupon codes, they will be exclusive to AiMail subscribers. ♥

Lastly, if you like my work and photos, please support AiClay and subscribe! ♥

A fast food war.

My little doll hardly has any toys to play with, so she went a little mad playing with her food (and mine).

That's a real life burger by the way, along with a miniature 1/6-scale burger I handsculpted.

The silly girl feels short-changed at the vast difference in size of burgers.

Hope these brought a smile to your faces! Happy Tuesday! ♥

The last time you made something.. ( SMU Artdicted Workshop 2011 )

.. can you remember when? 

As the world grows severely dependent on technology and gadgets, we are leaving behind the most traditional (and sometimes, most fun) ways of making things.

Now when we think of how an item is made, what comes to mind is sweatshops in a rural part of China, child labour and whirring machines. It wasn't always like this.

Since working full-time on AiClay, I have had the opportunity to create with my hands everyday. Looking at the world around me, I wanted to remind people that our hands aren't just good for clicking mouses or punching keyboard keys.

Therefore, I was really psyched when an arts club (Artdicted) at one of the local universities (SMU) approached me a few months ago, and asked if I was willing to teach a miniature food workshop for the students, as the last event they're holding for 2011. I was more than willing, in fact I was tending much towards the extremely honoured and excited end of the spectrum. ♥

So after much bouncing around in excitement, I got down to planning and shopping for my very first big workshop. Logistics was pretty crazy, and I was still buying brushes and needle tools on the day before the workshop! There were 12 students who turned up, a huge number in my books! 

Brought down my pasta machine, along with the supplies I usually use and some miniatures to show them the unlimited possibilities of the craft. The students were so cute, they started an orderly queue for the pasta machine even without any instructions from me. :)

I must admit my throat kept closing up and there were some butterflies in my stomach in the first half hour, but we all soon warmed up and the participants were well on their way on making their own basket of miniature bread! 

Some of the proud bread-bakers, snapping photos of their first miniature foods. ♥

I also had my good friend D (blue-shirt lady below) and my boyfriend JY come down to help me out and they were amazing! JY had to drive me and my crazy barang (toaster oven, luggage filled with supplies) down despite being on a tight schedule himself. And D, she was kept busy with setting up the many worktables and sending miniature breads for baking in the oven. Both of them also took turns taking photos of the workshop. ♥ 

I handed out feedback forms at the end of the workshop, and when I got back home after a celebratory dinner and pool session with JY, I got to reading all of the feedback. And they were all terribly heart-warming, so many of them who took time to write a good long paragraph.

There were those who learnt a lot about what goes on behind creating miniature foods, those (the guys) who were surprised at how much they enjoyed it and that crafting wasn't just for girls, those who wanted to eat their own creations (lol), some who were just thankful for the crafting intervention in their otherwise busy lives.

I would be putting up some of the testimonials on the workshop tab (yes notice the tabs at the upper column?) soon! 

If you've attended SMU Artdicted Workshop 2011 with AiClay, I need to thank you for joining me and being a part of this great milestone for AiClay's workshops. And the Artdicted team, and my lovely assistants. ♥

Lolli. Pop.

Part of the order already packed and travelling en route to France. ♥

This is a miniature lollipop, sculpted with casting resin and polymer clay in 1/3 scale. 

Lesson learnt, it was a lot easier said than done to mold a circular shape, but with rare determination I shall proclaim that this wouldn't be my last lolly. In fact, I'm hoping to build a mountain of miniature multi-coloured lollies, ala chupa-chups.

Tied on a little bow on the lollipop stem and gave it to Bambi for modelling.

If she looks surprised, it's because the lolly is a lot bigger than she expected. Well, it's hardly her scale so I don't blame her.

{She's a Fairyland Pukifee Bonnie, fits 1/6th and 1/12th miniatures)

I swear in the next post, I will be showing you guys photos from the SMU workshop (and that the next post happens within this year). Die procrastination, die!

Oh yes, I'm also deliberating on setting up a commission progress list, where all my customers and those interested in commissioning can see the progress on their items, and also the length of the waiting period. Anyone else thinks it's a good idea? 

Have a sweet Friday, everyone! ♥

Are you a burger-lover?

If you're shaking your head in reply to the title, let me apologise in advance.

Because there will be many burgers appearing in this entry. I warned you.

Ahem.

Cheeseburger, hamburger, fish burger. Go ahead, pick a favourite.

They are all handsculpted in 1/6th scale. {For BJD-owners, they fit pukifee, lati yellow, yosd-sized.)

 How can a burger be without its box?

Imagine this last photo in an old newspaper advert for the newest burger joint in town, and you'll appreciate the graininess. Otherwise, I'll just have to admit that I got a little enthusiastic with the grain meter in photoshop. :)

I still have some miniature cheeseburgers to show but I think I'll allow you guys to digest this first eh?

A rare day of Halloween sewing

Carve a pumpkin, give out candies, wear a scary mask.

This can only mean Halloween's here! Sadly I didn't do any of the above, I passed on all of these Halloween festivities due to the SMU workshop which happened last Friday.

But I was quite determined to do at least ONE halloween-y thing this year. So, armed with thread, some green felt and a whim of spontaneity, I set about to sew a Halloween outfit for Bambi.

I snapped the photo below while making her boots, borrowed her foot for a while haha. 

 

 Remember when I asked you to guess which animal outfit I would be making?

A few guessed a frog, but there were some who were right. It's a turtle! ♥

Wish I had time to sculpt a miniature pumpkin, or some halloween candies! But I'm dedicating all the sculpting time to fulfilling all my commission orders instead.

It was refreshing to be crafting in a whole different area, aside from sculpting. Absolutely loved the fact that I didn't have to care about dust and madly clean my fingers every 5 minutes. (Yes I do that when I'm sculpting!)

Here's Bambi blowing kisses to all of you.

Happy Halloween! ♥

Two hours away.

SMU workshop begins in 2 hours! 

Oh shucks my transportation is here, so I really have to run! 

But here are some photos I snapped of all that I've prepared, that's a lot of stuffs all packed in boxes! 

(I never knew I was a polkadot lover too)

No time for captions too, but you guys should be able to tell what these are! Wish me luck! ♥