Itching for Halloween

Polymer Clay Witch Fingers by Marie Young Creative @2012

It is starting to look a lot like Halloween at the Young house. I whipped up a big batch of these witch fingers from one of my favorite translucent polymer clay recipes. I love working with translucents coupled with alcohol inks because of the depth of color that you can get in the finished piece. In this case the combo makes for an eerie skin tone.

The finished products become earrings, necklaces, and even polymer covered ink pens!

Some of these are headed to customers who placed custom orders and a few have crept into my store. If you want to get your fingers on one, check out the Halloween Shoppe at my online store:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/YoungCreative?section_id=10419107

Vintage Valentine Day Pop Up Cards

Family Heirlooms: German Valentine's Day Pop Up Cards

Like so many of us, my great-grandmother saved her favorite Valentine's Day Cards from friends and loved ones. I'm lucky enough to have four of her vintage cards in my own keepsake collection. They are pop-up valentines that were manufactured in Germany.

I'm not sure how old they are, but what amazes me is that the construction techniques are those still employed in card-making, except now we have the added benefit of home die-cutting machines.

I found a wonderful online tutorial that shows you step-by-step how to make vintage-inspired cards like these ones. If you aren't a fan of music on blogs, you'll want to turn your volume off before you visit her site: http://joli-paquet.blogspot.com/2009/01/valentine-pop-up-card-tutorial.html

Recipe Scrapbook Project

Recipe Scrapbook

So many of my favorite memories revolve around food:

• rooting in the “candy cupboard” at Grandma’s house
• sitting at the 50s Formica table sampling Great-grandma's egg custard
• learning fractions with Mom using recipes to make math more fun

Many of those memories found their way into a recipe scrapbook that I gave to my Mom as a gift last Christmas. The book highlighted the women in my family (they do most of the cooking!) and the recipes that tell my family story.

As my mom leafed through the pages on Christmas morning, her eyes welled up with tears. For a moment I felt bad that I had made her cry, then I realized she was touched by the memories. It is going to be a hard gift to top.

I started the project during Art Every Day Month last November, but I never shared the finished product here on my blog. With the Christmas gift-giving season almost upon us again, I thought it would be good time to give you a closer look at the project in case you want to make one of your own.

Great-Grandma and her Fried Fudge

The Project Overview
Each page or two was dedicated to a different woman beginning with my great-grandma and ending with my niece and nephew. Okay I cheated a little and included a couple guys: my nephew and my brother. Here's a look at the elements I chose to tell each of their stories.

Family Photos
Old photos played a big role in the scrapbook. I scanned in my favorites and printed them out so that I could cut them out in interesting shapes. I’m not fabulous with PhotoShop so I did everything “old-school” scrap-booking style.

Recipes
I also scanned in some of our recipes, like the old ones in my great-grandma’s handwriting. I typed up other ones that weren’t so visually interesting.

Heirlooms
Family heirlooms made up the other major visual element . My sister and I each photographed things we had inherited that were iconic to us, things like Great-Grandma’s china, a Pillsbury Doughboy doll, and the plastic Kool-Aid Cho-Cho-Cherry mug we used at Grandma’s house.

Stories
Written memories along with the visual ones accompanied each woman. I typed up a little blurb including favorite food related memories.

Including the Kids
My sister staged a photo shoot with the grandchildren baking. We included a “recipe” that my niece wrote in her 6-year-old handwriting. Of course the kids didn’t know why they were doing it because kids have a hard time keeping a secret.

Next Generation of Bakers: my niece and nephew

It took a lot of thought and planning, but everything combined beautifully to make a wonderful gift.  I hope this inspires you to try your own. What handmade projects have you given as a gift?

Devilishly Simple Halloween Card

Emily, Lord of the Underworld

Happy Halloween Devil Cat Card
Directions for this project have been moved to my new site: http://marieyoungcreative.com/devil-cat/

Merry Christmas!

Hope everyone found what they wanted under the tree!

Photographing the Season

Today we had our first snow of the season. It was the light, delicate type that makes you feel like you can almost hear the music from “A Charlie Brown Christmas” playing softly in the distance. It was also my first chance to take some photos of our Christmas lights with a coating of snow. Tonight I’ll try some night shots.

Photographing holiday lighting is a tricky thing. I decided to read up on the subject in the hopes of improving my odds. Here are two great articles from New York Institute of Photography that I found particularly helpful.

How to Take Photos of Holiday Lights

Digital Photography Tips - Winter Photography

Do you have a great holiday photography tip or some fabulous photos to share?

Creating a Hand-Stamped Christmas Ornament

Step 1. Choose a photo and coordinating stamps.

I’ve used a photo of my niece, Jessie. For the stamps I picked out a pine branch and a ribbon bow. Large simple objects or long border stamps work best.

Step 2. Prep the clay.

Soften a small package of polymer clay by kneading it in your hands. Roll out a slab of clay large enough to cover the stamp. You can use a clay roller, a rolling pin, or an old pasta maker.

Step 3. Create the frame.

I find you get the best impression if hold the stamp in your hand and press the clay into it and then peel the clay back to reveal the pattern. Trim away the excess clay. Repeat until you have enough pieces to create the frame. Add a piece of clay with a hole in the top for the hanger.

Step 4. Bake the clay.

Place the frame on a baking tray covered with parchment paper or a light sheet of cardboard. If you want some dimension in your finished frame then add some small pieces of tin foil wherever you want to add curves.

Loosely cover the tray with some tin foil and place it in a cold oven. Set the oven temperature to 270 degrees. Heat the clay pieces for 10 minutes and then turn the oven off. Allow the clay to cool in the oven.

Step 6: Add a sealer.

The clay frame can be used right out of the oven, or you can add a finish to make it shiny. It you want to use sealer, make sure it is approved for use on polymer clay.

Step 6 Assemble the ornament.

Cut out a back slightly larger than your photo out of card stock or felt and glue the photo to it. Glue the frame to the front and you are done!