Quernus Crafts

Here be dragons

2012-01-29T18:07:00.000Z

Valentine Dragon, b. 8 February 2011

29th January 2012
I don't know much about the Chinese Calendar, but I do know that this is the Year of the Dragon, and it began on 23rd January! So here are a few Quernus dragons to welcome in the New Year.

The first dragon I ever made was this Valentine Dragon for, perhaps unsurprisingly, Valentine's Day! Loosely based on a Welsh dragon, this one is just a little bit more friendly. I tried a new technique for the wings, which I have used many times since - I discovered the joys of Dip It Fantasy Film!

This is amazing stuff, which I remember vaguely from when I was younger, making simple flower shapes out of wire and then dipping it in this magic stuff that hardened and formed a skin to make the petals. So I was delighted to find that you could still buy it (I buy mine from Fred Aldous in Manchester - they do postal orders too), and I have since gathered quite a collection of colours. (If you do buy some, remember to buy the thinner too - it makes it last a lot longer.)

Shaping the first wing was fairly easy. Shaping the second one to match was rather more challenging. Ideally I would have made a small jig to get the shape right, and this is on my to-do list (which seems to be growing longer by the day). In the end, I made up quite a few before I made one that matched.

Orange Dragon, b. 13 December 2011

When I was asked to make my second dragon (and a big thanks goes to Lynne Little of Druantia Designs for that commission), I refined the technique a bit so that the spines of the wings were a bit deeper and further apart. By this time, I had been making fairy wings for the mice, moles and kittens for quite some time, so I had developed a technique of shaping wire using a combination of my fingers and pliers. However, I still had to give it several goes before I made a matching second wing :)

Sleeping Dragon with Tiger Plush Toy, b.17 January 2012

My most recent dragon was this rather cute curled up sleeping one, who will be heading off to the States in the next few days, accompanied by some Sherlock Holmes Mice (more on that story later). Because the fixed element for this year is water (I believe), I wanted to make this dragon reminiscent of water, and so I used tinted translucent clay for the body. This created quite a soft-focus effect, which brings the tiger plush into stark relief. I do love this piece! You'll also notice that because this is a baby dragon, he only has three spines to his wings, not four as the adult dragons have.

Rainbow Dragonfly, b. 23 September 2011

OK, so this fella isn't quite a dragon, but he wanted to tag along! He was commissioned by Marcia of Krafty Max Originals because she loves rainbows and she loves dragonflies! I came up with the idea of creating different millefiori canes for each of the body segments, and the whole piece has a wire armature, and is mounted on a wire plinth. I made all four wings from a single length of wire, and I used the crystal clear Dip It Film. I love Dip It Film!

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T20:29:00.000Z

1st January 2012
I don't know about you, but the last year has flown by! It feels like no time at all since I wrote my last New Year post just a shade under a year ago - the mice have definitely grown up a bit since then, if these wee mites are anything to go by!

I've had a wonderful year, and I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has supported Quernus and the wee creatures - whether by having fun on Facebook and Flickr, adopting a few wee creatures, or commissioning a special Quernus creation of your own. All that has really made the past year a lot of fun and very enjoyable - I have met a lot of wonderful people, and it's great that there are so many of us Quernophiles out there (and I do count myself in there - the wee creatures have captured my heart completely!)

I have to say that I'm very excited about 2012 - after the whirlwind that has been the past few months in the run up to Christmas, I'm going to be looking at ways of working differently so that more wee creatures can go forth and bring giggles to people all over the world! That will free me up to spend more time on unique commissions and collaborative pieces (like this amazing Nutcracker Ballet piece I created for the lovely Liz Holdsworth with the uber talented Glenda Bennett).

So keep watching this space! One of my New Year resolutions is to update this blog more with information about some of the wee creatures I've made - I'm looking forward to the Wild Beasties post in the next few weeks!

Thanks once again to everyone, and I wish you all good things for 2012!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-24T20:49:00.000Z

See you in the New Year!

Wee Sophie (b.10 November 2011)

2011-11-11T14:21:00.001Z

11 November 2011
It's been a while since I wrote about how a creature comes into being, and so I wanted to share with you the process I went through to make Wee Sophie. Sophie is a beautiful Shih Tzu who lives in Australia, so she's kept trimmed because of the heat. A huge thank you to Kristy who commissioned a miniature version of her beloved pet (along with a couple of mice for her parents!)

First up were the raw materials. Sophie is pure white with pale fawn markings on her back, and she has fawn ears. I used Fimo Soft for the white, and Fimo Classic champagne, tinted paler by mixing with white, for the fawn markings. (I use a glass work surface protector (hence the rather worrying references to dicing, chopping and slicing!)

After conditioning the clay, I created the basic body shape, and added the front legs which are strengthened with wire armature. I made the head separately and added the eyes and shaped the mouth, before joining the two together and securing them with a clay collar which I blended with the side of a knitting needle.

I then worked on the face. Because Sophie is a very fluffy dog, I used lots of thinly rolled logs of white clay, using thicker logs for the fur above the eyes. I lined the mouth with black clay, and added a tongue made with translucent pink clay. The eyes are hand painted glass eyes from Mohair Bear Making Supplies.

After finishing the face, I added the ears. I used triangular pieces of fawn clay, slightly bent in the middle to create more shape. I then added tiny logs of curled fawn clay for the fur. Once the ears were added, she really started to take shape! Whenever I'm creating a creature, whether it's a mouse or a pet commission, I keep a very clear picture in my mind about what the finished creature will look like - that helps me to see how the clay wants to be, and it's more like uncovering the shape that's within the clay.

Next, I worked on the body. To create the impression a lots of fur, I built up the shoulders, chest, chin and rump using balls of clay that I'd pressed out flat. I didn't have to worry too much about blending these smooth, as they would be covered with yet more clay. However, it was important to blend the edges a bit so there weren't any 'steps' of clay which interrupted the smooth line of her body.

The next step was to add the body fur. I added the fawn markings first, and because Sophie is so fluffy, I used short strands of clay which I curled at each end. Then I filled in the rest with white clay, using the same method. It took me about 4-5 hours to get to this stage.

The next step was to 'fluff' Wee Sophie's fur - I use a doll-making needle, which is much longer and a bit thicker than a normal needle (it's one of my favourite tools). To create more of a fluffy effect, I scored the fur quite deeply, and I followed the direction of fur on the real Sophie. Because I was using Fimo Soft clay, it was important not to touch her too much or I would lose the definition in the clay created by the needle, so I placed her on a small glass coaster which I could hold in my left hand and turn easily to score the fur all over her body. I paid special attention to her face, and used much finer and light strokes there.

And here's the finished Wee Sophie! In total, Wee Sophie took about 7 hours to make. And the very final step was of course the most important one - to make a miniature version of her favourite toy, Piggy. Piggy (or Wee Piggy, I suppose we should call him) is small. Very, very small. He's 1.8cm long and 1.4cm tall. Did I mention that he was tiny? This is Wee Piggy next to a 1p coin.

And last, but by no means least, here's the real Sophie - isn't she cute?! Many thanks once again to Kristy for asking me to create her beautiful dog in miniature form!

Halloween Special 2011

2011-10-19T12:54:00.001+01:00

19th October 2011
I have to say that it doesn't feel like a year since I did my last Halloween Special post. (Well, technically speaking, it's not quite a year, but let's not quibble about it.)

And so the Quernus menagerie has evolved over the past year, and they have taken playing with accessories to new extremes. So I'm delighted to introduce this year's Halloween creatures!

First up are the Witchy Moles. I do love how they look furry - I've developed a millefiori technique to create this fur effect, and you can read about the early development of the technique here. I made the hats by rolling out a thin sheet of black clay and cutting a large circle in it. I cut the circle in half, and then rolled it into a cone shape. By pressing the edges out between thumb and forefinger, I made the brim of the hat. The broomstick is made from a trusty cocktail stuck topped with extruded brown clay.

After making the Witchy Moles, I had in my mind the thought of a mouse flying on a broomstick. As you do. I had to work out how to make the mouse stand up and holding the broom and looking like she was flying. It's all engineering, you know! Getting the angle of the broom handle just right, strengthening the hind paws with wire, and making sure the front paws were attached to the handle - all clever stuff!

Halloween wouldn't be complete without a Wee Bat, and this is a first for Quernus! I cut small circles from thick clay for the wings, and then attached them to the body with a piece of wire for strength.

This wee mouse was spotted trundling away with a large pumpkin of his very own.

The Witchy Mice have found a way of giving you a fright with this Boo! flag! I created a JPG image which I then printed on glossy paper and laminated with tape, before fixing it to another trusty cocktail stick. This wee chap has proved very popular on my Etsy shop, having appeared in 20 Treasuries since he was listed a few weeks ago. He's also available in brown and white on my Folksy shop.

I found these brilliant little resin cauldrons on eBay (they're about 1.5cm tall). A trainee Witchy Mouse immediately wanted to make up a tasty brew, but the wee frog had other ideas! I made the large wooden spoon from (you guessed it) a trusty cocktail stick, to which I added a clay 'bowl' at the bottom, and a clay knob on the top. The mouse is fixed to the cauldron with liquid polymer clay. (That stuff is just wonderful). I have two more cauldrons left, so more Witchy Mice will be listed soon. Probably with different creatures in the brew.

Last but not least are the Wee Pumpkin Mice. The tiny pumpkins are made by Louise of Dinky Delights, who is now Chief Supplier of Mouse Treats. The pumpkins are very small - about an inch high. Working out how best to add mice to them was a lot of fun! For the brown one in the middle, I used a wire armature for his tail to support the pumpkin lid. You can see more of Louise's amazing work on her Facebook page.

Happy Halloween!

Mice Anatomy

2011-09-17T10:52:00.001+01:00

17th September 2011

The Quernus mice are good wee souls at heart. Many of them have found their way into the caring professions, and I have to say, I'd be very happy with one of these wee mites came to look after me if I was poorly!

I have just found out that Louise of Dinky Delights is a new grandmother to Cassie Louise, born last night to Michelle, and both mother and baby are doing well! To celebrate, we follow the mice as they might have managed this labour.

Paramedic Mouse

First to the scene is Paramedic Mouse, commissioned by Karen as a present for her boyfriend. I think he's rather a hunk :) His uniform is from the South Western Ambulance Service, and he's holding his green NHS bag, ready for anything! I create the badges using tiny spots of clay which I manipulated with a scalpel blade. I think these were the smallest badges I've made so far.

Surgeon Mouse

When the patient arrives at hospital, she's checked in and then seen by the midwife and surgical team. Surgeon Mouse is scrubbed up and ready for theatre. His grown is pristine, and has little ties at the back.

The surgical team also has a Haematologist Mouse on standby. This Mouse was commissioned by Christina in Glasgow, complete with oversized safety glasses, blue nitrile gloves and a couple of tiny pens. I made the glasses by wrapping cotton thread round a black wire frame. The blood in the test tube is liquid polymer clay (Fimo's Deko Gel) mixed with some black and red pastel chalk dust.

Haematologist Mouse

There are always plenty of nurses on hand to look after the patient...

These two mice (along with Dr Jeremy Mouse who we'll meet later on) were commissioned by Kate. I made the bandages using Sculpey Bake 'n' Bend clay, which bakes to a rubbery finish. I rolled the clay out to the thinnest setting, which helped to create the frayed edges.

And after several hours, a baby mouse is born!

Thank you to Sam who commissioned these lovely mice to mark the start of her midwifery degree!

After the birth, both mother and baby often go and visit Dr Jeremy Mouse at the surgery for a check up.

Dr Jeremy asks one of the nurses to measure the baby to keep track of her progress.

This mouse was commissioned by Clare as a thank you gift for a nurse who helped her lose weight for her wedding. I made the tape by creating a JPG image using a DTP programme, and then reduced it to the right size before printing it out.

And Mummy Mouse always knows that if things start to get on top of her, she can always go and visit this kind soul to talk things through.

A big thanks to Lucy for commissioning these two mice. The couch was hand carved by Glenda, the talented lass who makes the stables for the Mouse Nativity. I made the clipboard from a rectangle of cardboard, again with a miniaturised JPG image for the notes.

All the mice in this post are between 4 and 5cm tall. No mice were harmed in the writing of this post.

The Alternative Legal Profession

2011-08-16T23:53:00.001+01:00

16th August 2011

It took me quite a while to pluck up the courage to make some creatures decked out in the garb of my former profession, but once they started appearing, there was no stopping them!

First up is Mortimer the Barrister Mouse, whose inspiration is Rumpole of the Bailey. Standing at about 3.5cm tall, his diminutive stature is no indication of his prowess in the courts.

The same goes for Humphrey Poddington. Mr Poddington is a rising star in the legal firmament and is tipped to be the youngest mollusc to take silk. Here, Mr Poddington (pictured, far right) is in conference with three of his colleagues. Conferences tend to last a very long time.

And last, but by no means least, is Dave. He's currently doing his pupillage for Mortimer (which he finds a bit embarrassing), and is frequently seen with a bulging file of papers tucked under one arm, tied with the traditional pink ribbon. Mortimer did have words with Dave for taking time out from his errands to pose for this photo.

Overall, I have to say that I much prefer dealings with these legal creatures than those from my formative career. I rest my case :)

Wee Teddy (b.7 February 2011)

2011-07-16T23:53:00.001+01:00

16th July 2011

I'd love to introduce you to Wee Teddy. Wee Teddy was a very special commission for a very special boy's birthday. The commission was from Tracy of Ruby Spirit Designs and Kev of Dig the Earth, two extremely talented and lovely people who just happen to be married to each other! (And in actual fact, I own works of art created by both these lovely people - do pop along and visit their websites when you get the chance :)

Back to the commission. Teddy is a much-loved bear who has been in the family for many years. As a result, he is a little the worse for wear, but has been expertly patched by Tracy, and he now wears his love-wounds (as opposed to war-wounds) with pride.

I very much enjoyed making a wee version of Teddy for Tom's birthday, and this was the first time that I'd recreated a toy into clay form. There was something very special about being able to immortalise in clay form something that held so many happy memories and meant so much to the family.

I started off by creating a foil core for the body. This ended up being a fairly large piece at about 7cm tall, and so the foil core helped to keep the weight of the finished piece down a bit. Once I'd shaped the foil into a cylinder, I covered it with a base layer of clay, blending it carefully into all the nooks and crannies so there would be no air pockets which would expand when curing the piece.

I shaped each of the legs, the one arm (poor wee mite) and the head, and assembled these using wire armature to strengthen each join. Tracy had sent me lots of great photos of Teddy, so I was able to work out the proportions and general shape of each part of Wee Teddy. (Getting the proportions right is the key thing to focus on when sculpting from an object like this.)

Next up was adding the embellishments - his handkerchief tummy, eyes, nose, scars, etc. Thin strips of clay formed the stitches on his tummy, and you'll see that I gave him a line of stitching where his arm had been lost.

Teddy has a blue and yellow checked ribbon, and so I created a 'tartan' cane to create the same effect. I found a very good tutorial for tartan canes (called plaid in the States, I believe) on the blog Dora's Explorations and followed the principles set out in that to create the right effect.

Lastly, I wanted to include the writing on the bear's right foot. I rolled out very, very thin logs of brown clay and then carefully shaped them to spell out the word 'cuddles'. I love the way it turned out.

Thanks again to Tracy and Kev for asking me to do this lovely commission - I'd love to make more wee versions of treasured toys - you know where to find me!

Three Blind Mice (b.5 January 2011)

2011-06-19T11:02:00.001+01:00

19th June 2011

Another stroll back down Memory Lane as we revisit a fun piece I made just after New Year as part of my Fairy Tails series.

The nursery rhyme, Three Blind Mice, bears repeating in full, and it has a very interesting story behind it.

Three blind mice, three blind mice,
See how they run, see how they run,
They all ran after the farmer's wife,
Who cut off their tails with a carving knife,
Did you ever see such a thing in your life,
As three blind mice?

It has been suggested that the farmer's wife refers to Mary I, King Henry VIII's daughter, and the three blind mice to three Protestant bishops whom she had executed during her 5 year reign. However, the three bishops were burnt at the stake, rather than blinded and dismembered, and a version of the rhyme only appeared some 50 years after her death. The current version was first published in 1842.

I created three pairs of glasses using jewellery wire and then filled then with black polymer clay. The sticks are painted and cut down cocktail sticks, all with red tips and black handles. Two of the mice have lost part of their tails - the third is determined to hold on to his tail, and is waving his stick about to ward off the farmer's wife.

The farmer's wife had to be a cat (of course), and I get her a wonderful miniature meat cleaver I had bought on eBay from Beautifully Handmade. It has a metal blade and a wood handle - marvellous!

This set has now gone off to live with a lovely couple I met at Harlow Carr Gardens at the end of April, but there will be many more pieces in the Fairy Tail series soon!

The Glenfiddich Gang (b.13-16 February 2011)

2011-05-17T11:10:00.001+01:00

17 May 2011

It definitely feels like the right time to revisit these six characters, which were commissioned by a professional poker player for his team, The Glenfiddich Gang! It all started with the Mole in the centre of the shot - the poker player's nickname is The Mole, and when he saw the Moles listed in my Folksy shop, he asked if I could make a Mole Card Protector.

A card protector (and I had to look this up) is like a paperweight which sits on top of discarded cards during a game, so they are not accidentally brought back into play. So these card protectors needed to be a bit heavier than polymer clay normally is. Solution? Put something heavy inside! I ended up using these large nuts that I found in my local hardware store (yes, they do still exist - and yes, I could buy these individually!) Each nut is 2cm wide and weighs about 20g. Perfect!

The Mole told me the characteristics of each of his team mates, and I came up with designs for each of them. I also had some miniature green bottles to which I stuck tiny JPG images of the Glenfiddich label (I even coloured in the cut edges of the paper black - attention to detail is indeed my middle name!)

So first up was the Mole. I put scrap clay in the middle of two nuts, laid the first one flat, and balanced the second one on its edge. I added more scrap clay to build up the mole shape, and then added thin slices from a mole fur cane. Blending the slices was a little harder than usual because the mole shape was fixed because of the nuts. For the glasses, I shaped these using black wire which I then dipped in fantasy film.

The Grumpy Wasp was next - this was more of a challenge, but I enjoyed it! I started with the abdomen first which I shaped from yellow clay, and then added black stripes, shaped to create the impression of segments. I used plain black clay for the thorax, and to this I attached the legs and wings. I encased wire with black clay for the legs, and the wings I dipped in clear fantasy film. It took a little while to work out the best design for the head, but I focused on the most important part - the eyes - and built up the facial structure to create a cross expression. The antennae are flower stamen with the white stem coloured in black. I'm not sure wasps will be appearing in the Quernus range any time soon, but I certainly enjoyed the challenge!

I was back on safer ground with the Squirrel, and the main challenge with him was getting the size right, because he was much larger than any of the other Squirrels I've made before.

I have to say that I'm very fond of the Turtle! It's all in the expression - he definitely looks like he's been partaking of the amber nectar already!

One of the team mates is a great Family Guy fan, and apparently also looks a bit like Peter Griffin. I had a great deal with fun with Brian - it's always a wonderful challenge to create a three dimensional representation of a two dimensional illustration. The last time I did that was when I created Turtle, and the trick is to bring the character to life in your mind, so you can then see what he looks like from every angle.

Last up was the Wide-Mouthed Sheep. I left him till last because I couldn't see clearly in my own mind for a while how he would look (and I have to be able to 'see' the design before I can make it). When it came down to it, and as so often happens, the clay suggested what his smile would look like, and he came together really quickly after that. This is a very cheesy grin - I love it!

To give you an idea of scale, the miniature bottles are 4cm tall, so you can tell that these creatures were quite a bit larger than my usual ones, and at least twice the weight because of the embedded nuts. And I understand that the team were quite delighted with them - you never know, these wee guys might appear on Poker.tv one of these days!

Coco Chanel Cat (b.8 April 2011)

2011-04-22T17:11:00.001+01:00

22 April 2011
After introducing Scott of the Antarctic Cat, I thought now would be a good time to shine the spotlight on Coco Chanel Cat. Requested by the same lovely person who commissioned Scott, I enjoyed the same process of researching a historical figure with a very striking and recognisable style.

Coco Chanel from this blog

I found a wonderful catalogue of pictures charting Coco Chanel's life on a blog (you can visit the post by clicking on the link above). I used this picture as inspiration for the sculpture.

First of all, I created the underlying cat shape using Fimo Puppen, a flesh-coloured clay generally used for making dolls. It bakes to a lovely translucent finish, although it can be a little hard to condition compared to other clays. I created separate legs (I know! cats with legs!) by using a wire armature for extra strength, and at this stage, I hadn't yet attached the arms and tail at this stage.

For the skirt, I rolled out a thin sheet of black clay and cut it to size. I left a small slit at the black, which you can just about see in this photo. For the top, I created a simple striped cane using black and dark gray, which I then cut into thin slices and positioned at 45 degree angle to each other.

Coco Chanel definitely had attitude, and I wanted to convey this in the piece. So I positioned the legs so that one foot was slightly further out than the other, and curved the piece so that she was standing quite belligerently. Of course, having hands on hips helped with the attitude too!

As for her accessories, I made the strands of pearls from tiny individual dots of pearl clay fixed in place. For her belt, I used a strip of black clay and embedded a length of thin chain, which always formed the handle of her handbag. For the belt buckle and the decoration on her beret, I coiled thin wire into a spiral and hammered it flat. For her hat, I embedded a glass seed bead in the centre. I just love getting the tiny details right in pieces like this! It's a little hard to see in these photos, but I created a diamond pattern on her handbag by pressing netting into the side before curing it.

The tail was one of the last things to be fixed one, and I had used a length of wire wrapped in clay (just the way I create the mouse tails) and bent slightly to create a tripod effect. It makes the piece very stable and makes them more realistic (as far as a cat made up to look like Coco Chanel can be said to be realistic!)

Many thanks again to Liz for this lovely commission - and we're going to be working on a very exciting commission for Christmas soon involving a mouse-filled ballet scene! I can say no more, but I'm looking forward to it very much!

Scott of the Antarctic Cat (b.18 February 2011)

2011-03-25T17:02:00.001Z

25 March 2011

I thought I'd leap forward in time a little bit and take a look at a more recent creation. Scott of the Antarctic Cat is one of my favourites, and a big thank you to Liz for commissioning him for her sister's birthday.

Liz wanted this cat to be as historically accurate as possible (so far as a 2 inch tall polymer clay cat can be said to resemble a famous explorer), and she send me some very helpful photos to work from. I did some of my own background reading and research, and the story of the doomed Terra Nova expedition of 1910-1912 is really fascinating.

Liz was able to tell me that Scott's outer clothes were pale olive in colour. I used this picture to model the cat on, and I decided that, for the first time, one of my character cats would have proper legs! (I got the idea from the Valentine Skiing Mouse I made recently for my good friend Jo.) I made the skis from small wooden lolly pop sticks tipped with polymer clay which I painted a dark brown, and the ski poles are cocktail sticks painted black, with polymer clay handles at the top and baskets at the bottom.

Scott of the Antarctic Cat would not be complete without a provisions sled! I ordered one from Beautifully Handmade, one of my favourite eBay shops for miniature accessories, and it was just perfect for the job at about 10cm long. I piled some scrap clay on top and threw a thin sheet of clay for tarpaulin over the top, securing it with navy cord.

I attached thin cream ribbon to the (clay would have been too fragile) and set it up so that the ribbon could be attached to Scott using a glue dot at the end of each ribbon. This meant that he could have a rest from pulling the sled when he got tired. Scott is secured to his skis with a strong epoxy glue (which gets everywhere if you're not careful), and I used several slices from a millefiori cane to make his walking socks. Well, he had to keep warm out there!

I have to say that I'm very fond of this particular commission - there's something of an anguished expression on his fact, and I've since made more cats with legs, so that's definitely going to be a feature in character cat commissions going forward! Many thanks again, Liz :)

If you want to find out more about Scott's doomed expedition, you can read more about it here.

Wee Bandit (b.15 September 2010)

2011-02-27T17:23:00.001Z

27 February 2011

I'm delighted to introduce Wee Bandit to you - I met the real Bandit in photographic form back in August 2010 when a lovely lass called Gemma (who had just adopted lots of wee cats from my Folksy shop) asked if I could make up a Wee Bandit for her mum's birthday. And could I incorporate his favourite ball, Big Red, as well? Of course!

Bandit's got great bandy front legs, and Gemma was keen for these to be captured if possible. She also suggested that he had his paw possessively on Big Red - this was the first time I had incorporated props into a sculpture, but I was more than happy to give it a go!

I created the body as usual from a single piece of clay, and then I added both front legs which were strengthened with a wire armature. I created a millefiori 'fur' cane, and then cut thin slices from this and rolled them into thin logs which I used to cover the clay body and legs. The cane was made up of a number of different colours, which helps to create a more realistic effect, rather than using a single colour. I then scored the logs using a fine needle to create the fur texture.

Bandit is apparently very taken with Wee Bandit, and he seems to recognise himself and Wee Big Red! And unlike many of my other canine models, he hasn't yet tried to eat Wee Bandit, mistaking him for a biscuit!

Bandit is such a sweet wee dog, and very clever as well. He has his own blog, and he helps his mum run a successful dog walking business in Congleton, Cheshire - you can find out more at The Happy Pet Sitting Service.

I've since got to know both Gemma and her mum, Karen, very well and it's been a real pleasure to chat with them and come up with more ideas - the latest one was Wee Bandit with his nose in a flowerpot, with a butterfly perched on his tail! Many thanks, both of you!

Turtle (b.20 June 2010)

2011-01-29T18:32:00.002Z

29 January 2011

I can't believe that it's been over six months since Turtle was born. Oh my. Well, I think that means that it's about time I told you the whole story...

Some of you may know about It Belongs To Turtle. Some of you may also know that I am Turtle's Biggest Fan. Turtle is the genius creation of a lovely lass called Elki, and so when she contacted me last summer to see if I could make a three dimensional version of Turtle, to say I was completely chuffed is something of an understatement.

This is Turtle. I have always felt a great affinity with Turtle, probably because his favourite drink is tea. It is worthwhile finding out more about Turtle's background, which is rather surprising in parts. You can read more about Turtle and his friends here. I particularly love Giraffe.

Recreating Turtle in three dimensional form was a lot of fun. I based the design on the banner from Turtle's blog.

The fun part was making Turtle's neck thin enough where it joined the body, whilst still keeping it nice and strong. Of course, you've probably guessed what the answer was - wire armature!

And once Turtle was made, I couldn't resist making his little friend, who I believe still remains nameless. Well, that just happens sometimes.

To get an idea of Turtle's character, and to see see him in three dimensions, this brilliant short film made by Elki says it all. Enjoy! Right, now where's that cup of tea...

Turtle links:

Folksy shop - http://www.folksy.com/shops/ItBelongsToTurtle
Etsy shop - http://www.etsy.com/shop/itbelongstoturtle
Blog - http://itbelongstoturtle.blogspot.com/
The Piccalilli Post - http://itbelongstoturtle.blogspot.com/p/piccalilli-post.html
Join Turtle's Tea Army - http://itbelongstoturtle.blogspot.com/p/turtle-s-tea-army.html
Facebook page - http://www.facebook.com/ItBelongsToTurtle?ref=ts

Wee Dinosaur (b.6 October 2010)

2011-01-11T12:01:00.002Z

11 January 2011
As part of my meanderings down Memory Lane to look at creature commissions I've made, I want to share with you the making of Wee Dinosaur.

A lovely lady called Jane contacted me back in September 2010 asking if I'd be able to make a wee dinosaur for her boyfriend's birthday. Now, I hadn't made one before, but you know me well enough by now to know that I love trying out new designs, so I was delighted to accept the commission.

When I first started, I had an idea of what he would look like - Jane was happy to leave it up to me which particular dinosaur to make, and although there might have been easier ones to make, it seemed that a Wee T-Rex wanted to be made.

I started off with the head. I made the top half first of all, and shaped it carefully so that the eyes and nostrils were in the right place. I added half circles of clay to the eyes to give him that sweet, dopey expression! I made the lower jaw separately, and then added teeth using small amounts of off-white clay. I made sure that the teeth in both jaws fitted around each other, and then I joined the lower jaw to the head using a length of wire and liquid polymer clay.

I next made the body next using a single piece of dark green clay with a pale green panel along the belly, which I marked with lines made by the blunt side of a tissue blade. I then attached the head with a length of thick wire to create a stronger join. The hind legs came next, which have a length of wire running through them, bent at the top to join the legs to the body. I did the same with the two stubby front legs.

It took a bit of trial and error to get the back legs in the right position so that he could stand up safely, counterbalancing the weight of the head against the weight of the body and tail. I think he looks as though he's sitting back on his tail, which adds to his overall laid-back quality!

The finishing touches were the claws and the spikes down his back. For his spikes, I mixed up a dark green and then cut out a number of triangles of decreasing size, and I fixed these to his back using liquid polymer clay (what would I do without it?!) Once he was baked, a coat of satin varnish gave him a nice finish.

He's one of my larger creatures, standing about 6cm tall and 9cm long. Using wire armature is a super way of strengthening a piece, particularly at the joints where the piece is most vulnerable. I use different gauges of jewellery wire, depending on the piece - it means I get to use up materials I bought ages ago but never got round to using! Nothing is ever wasted in a crafter's house...

One thing I'm really enjoying is doing more sculptural designs. It's possible to maintain the simple design but marry it up with some structural engineering which really helps bring them even more to life! And one thing I'm learning about myself is that whatever creature I make, it always seems to come out looking cute :)

Grrrrrr!

Happy New Year!

2011-01-03T22:25:00.001Z

4 January 2011
For the first post of 2011, I thought it would be nice to look at all things New, and what better new things are there than babies? Not just any babies, of course, but baby mice in particular :) For those of you who visit my Facebook page, you may have seen some of these before, but this is the first time they've been gathered altogether in one cute bundle of fun.

These two baby mice were the first two I made and aren't they just super cute?! I love the one rolling around on her back (what makes one male and one female? Who knows.), and on an impulse, I dug out some old alphabet cube beads I've had for at least ten years, and thus was born (!) the idea of wee baby mice to celebrate the birth of a new baby, with the baby's name spelt out in baby blocks!

The next job was to put the wee mites in nappies - twin baby girl mice here, going for a bit of a crawl. To give you an idea of scale, they are both about an inch long, and just over an inch tall.

And here are the original two, the girl has a blankie, and the wee boy (who looks as though he's had a bit too much milk) has got a tiny teddy bear. (How much do I love what I do?!)

Then when they got all tired out from playing, the sleepy wee mice appeared - I made the blankets from a very thin sheet of clay, cut a small rectangle and then draped it so that it created folds and looked more realistic. The little girl mouse seems to be snoring, and the little boy mouse is sucking his thumb.

When the mice get a bit older, they do like to be creative by drawing and painting! These mice were made as a special commission for Zoe Platt of PiPO. She is a very talented lady who's motto is "Head, Hand and Heart", the motto of the Arts and Crafts Movement. These mice were my mousey interpretation of this motto to reflect Zoe's own passion for paper (PiPO stands for 'paper in paper out', for those who like to win at Trivial Pursuit). And the scissors held by the Hand Mouse do actually work - I found them on eBay sold by Serendipity in Halifax. I made the colouring pencils from polymer clay - a simple bullseye cane which I reduced and cut into short lengths, and only once they were baked did I sharpen the ends to create the point. The drawings they've done are all their own work :)

The spate of baby mice started me thinking about other baby animals, and as I had already made The Mole Family (which I had embellished somewhat in later incarnations which you can see here), Moles seemed like a good place to start. So here are three Baby Moles - the twins (boy and girl) are a little older than their tiny sibling, who is still in nappies.They're not too old for their blankies, though...

And lastly, given that New Year's resolutions will no doubt be at the forefront of everyone's mind, here's a Gym Bunny who can go to the gym instead of you! She even comes with a healthy snack (and you can adopt her from my Folksy shop).

Lots more to follow shortly about the mice, and The Mouse Nativity in particular, in my next newsletter. If you haven't signed up for it yet, you can do so here.

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T11:52:00.000Z

Wee Bunnies - A Retrospective

2010-12-21T14:18:00.001Z

21 December 2010
It's been such a long time since I wrote about bunnies, that I thought it was about time for an update. Things have moved on quite a bit since I came up with my first bunny design way back in July last year - so without sparing a thought for my blushes over my early work, here is the Evolution of the Quernus Bunnies.

My first ever bunny design was the scary Bunny Head design, born 29 July 2009. The essentials were all there - beady eyes, Bugs Bunny teeth, floppy ears - there was just something a bit disconcerting about the 'floating head' idea. There is a white clay bobtail at the rear, but perhaps we should move on...

The next bunny incarnation arrived at the end of August 2009. They have a certain naive charm about them, and the addition of the feet helped to ground them slightly more, but they were still alarmingly rotund.

I then had a break of several months when I was greatly exercised by various cat designs, and trying out millefiori techniques. I developed the 'fur cane', based on a technique outlined by Donna Kato in her book, The Art of Polymer Clay Millefiori Techniques. I used this technique for my first bunny commission from Laura, Wee Smudge, in March 2010. Definitely getting more bunny shaped.

A month later, Wee Honey was commissioned. Honey was a more traditional brown and white rabbit, so I had the chance to try out yet another style of design. I used wire armature to strengthen the ears.

The last of a hat trick of commissions came in June 2010 in the form of two wee white rabbits, Miley and Oliver, commissioned by the lovely Sam Halliday (who went on to commission a Wee Slow Loris - of course!) I used blue beads for these eyes, and added a tiny core of black clay for the pupils.

By this time, my appetite for bunnies was whetted once again, and I returned to the quest to find the Quernus Wee Bunny. I still enjoyed doing commissions based on actual bunnies, but I was keen to come up with a general bunny shape that could be part of the Quernus range. And in July 2010, these three wee bunnies were born! They were definitely looking more Quernus-y.

The next development was to add arms - yes, arms! - to the bunny design! And I used a grey fur cane for this wee guy.

The combination of seeing Wee Grey Bunny and Police Mole proved too much for Gemma, who has had a thing about Police Bunnies for many years. And thus Police Bunny was born in August 2010.

In September 2010, there was an interesting diversion from my usual style of bunnies when I was commissioned to make a complete set of Fruits Baskets characters. For those who don't know, Fruits Basket is a Japanese manga story based loosely on the animals from the Chinese Zodiac. I'll write about the complete commission at a later point, but here's the Rabbit from the set. (And if you really can't wait, you can see the rest of the set here.)

There then followed another couple of bunny commissions in the run up to Christmas. First up was Betty Boo, a large rabbit for whom this fur car worked remarkably well, commissioned by Debbie Todd of Angels & Butterflies for a good friend of hers...

...and then Bramble the bunny commissioned by Clare Blackledge of Original Art by Clare. Wee Bramble was the first bunny I'd used the scoring technique to create the fur effect - the way that I do with wee dogs and wee cats. Bramble has the most amazing markings, so it was a challenge to make sure they were all present and correct!

This meander through bunny heaven would not be complete without paying a quick visit to Wee Widget, commissioned by Anna the Bunny Maker, and the slightly mad genius behind Widget the Sock Bunny. Anna asked if I could make a Wee Widget, and Widget himself travelled all the way to Leeds to come and model for me in person. And a few weeks ago, Wee Widget made an appearance! You can read about both Widgets' return to the Warren here, and I'll be writing a separate post about the Making of Wee Widget over Christmas.

And so we come full circle. After a slow start, the Quernus Bunnies have come into their own, with both more life-like commissions and the more traditional Quernus look. All Quernus Bunnies (which you can buy on my Folksy shop) come with their own wee carrot to nibble on the journey home.

The Wee Bunnies can also be found on The Handmade Bunny, a fantastic website dedicated to all things bunny-related, which helps raise money for the Rabbit Welfare Association. A most worthwhile cause!

Alonso the Armadillo (b.5 August 2010)

2010-12-16T20:19:00.001Z

16 December 2010
Meet Alonso, the Christmas Armadillo! Well, OK, p'raps not, but I promise there will be a Christmas Armadillo next year :)

You may find Alonso's shell a tad familiar...

Yep, it's the same cane I used for Alonso the Snail, who was adopted quite a while ago from The Snail Emporium. And in fact, this pattern has also made an appearance on a cat...

But back to the Armadillo! Alonso the Armadillo was a commission from Laura, who wanted to give him as a present to her mum. I hadn't made an Armadillo before, but as you know by now, that's never stopped me before :) So I decided that he had to be standing upright, and I attached his arms, legs, ears, head and tail to the body using wire armature for strength.

For the shell, I cut thin, even slices from the cane and laid them out on to a thick sheet of scrap clay, and then cut a large oval shape by hand to curve around his back.

I then cut a smaller piece for his head.

I had a bit of a dilemma about whether to put his eyes at the side of his head armour, or on top. And he had to have little claws too, which aren't at all scary. I finished his shell off with a couple of coats of gloss varnish.

Alonso the Armadillo is one of my favourite commissions, and his photo even ended up in a German blog dedicated to Armadillos! So I'm looking forward to the Christmas Armadillo next year, and in the meantime, I think I'll have to have a go at an Aardvark. Or indeed any other animal starting with 'A'. Anteater, anyone?!

Micicles!

2010-12-02T16:17:00.003Z

2 December 2010
Some of you might have noticed that we've been having a bit of snow lately. Well, the mice haven't seen snow before, so here's the story of one Wee Santa Mouse, called Wee Mousie, who decided to brave the wintry weather and venture outside...

Wee Mousie was starting to get a bit worried that he might be out of his depth. Thankfully he had his cozy scarf and Santa hat on, so he felt confident he would manage.

But after a little while, the snow kept on falling and Wee Mousie decided that he had to have another think about things.

Now, Wee Mousie is a clever wee thing, and he managed find a shiny red sledge in the cupboard under the stairs. He couldn't find his snow shoes despite searching high and low, but a sledge was just the perfect way to get about...

Wee Mousie whooshed from here to there...

...and swooshed from there to here. He had a wonderful time! After a little while, he decided that he wanted someone to share this wonderful snow with. So he built a Wee Snowman.

Wee Mousie was pleased with the Wee Snowman - he had a carrot nose, and button eyes, and nice black hat, but something was missing. Wee Mousie thought very hard for a moment....and then he realised what he had to do.

He built a Wee Snowmouse! Wee Mousie was delighted with his new friend - he loved his little orange button nose, and the stripey scarf that Wee Mousie had lent him from his large scarf collection. And he had a very fine hat indeed, with room for his ears to poke through.

What fun they had! They played hide and seek (Wee Mousie usually won)...

...and when they were tired out from all the snowball fights, Wee Mousie and Wee Snowmouse sat side by side in companionable silence and watched the snow falling gently on the trees. But Wee Mousie, being a kind-hearted wee mouse, felt sorry for the Wee Snowman, sitting there all alone, with no one to play with.

So Wee Mouse went to fetch Wee Snowman, and the three of them played together in the snow for the rest of the day!

"Wee Mousie and the Wintry Day" is now available to buy

Wee Mousie an...

By Kirsten Miller

Book Preview

The Mouse Nativity Part 2 (23 November 2010)

2010-11-25T10:19:00.001Z

25 November 2010
To follow up on my last post, I am delighted to show you the beautiful stable that a good friend of mine, Glenda, has made for the Mouse Nativity! It's just incredible - so much attention to detail, and so utterly perfect! She's going to make these as part of the Mouse Nativity set which will go on sale early next year, and will be sold a piece per month so you can collect the set in time for Christmas!

The stable was bare..

You really have to see this stable up close and personal to appreciate the attention to detail. From the thatched roof (made from fine broom bristles), to the log panelling, the straw on the floor, and (my personal favourite) the little raised lost platform with ladder that is just perfect for Wee Angel Mouse to sit on!

I will be displaying the full Mouse Nativity with Stable at the Victorian Christmas Craft Fayre at Rotherham Minster this weekend - I can't wait to show it off! All that's missing is a star, so I will make one in time for the weekend.

Glenda is a genius at all things creative, and has published a couple of books on Celtic woodcarving (which you can check out here and here). She also paints, draws, makes cards, and just about everything in between. And now she makes wee stables for Mouse Nativities!

More news to follow shortly for those interested in buying the Mouse Nativity.

The Mouse Nativity (11/12 November 2010)

2010-11-18T14:35:00.004Z

The Mouse Nativity

18 November 2010
First of all, I want to say a huge thank you to Ruth, a lovely lady I recently met on Flickr after being introduced by another lovely lady, Janet, who I met at the Saltaire Makers' Fair in September (don't you just love the internet?!) It turns out that Ruth is a great fan of my wee mice, and after some creative exchanges, I went off and came up with The Mouse Nativity!

I started with Mary Mouse - I knew she had to be white, with that lovely blue cloak which gives a lovely contrast. The tricky part was cutting the right size of blue shape for her cloak. I rolled back the top to create a shawl effect.

Mary, Joseph and the Baby Chees-us

Joseph Mouse was a little bigger and I created his stripey cloak by layering several thin sheets of different shades of brown and tan clay together, and then cutting thin slices from the resultant cane to create the 'cloth'. I then cut an oval shape by hand (again, this was quite tricky), and rolled out a thin log of black clay for the headband.

Baby Jesus Mouse is very small - all the characters are about 3cm tall, so they're not exactly huge, but to create the right shape for his head was quite challenging! I rolled out a thin sheet of white clay for the swaddling clothes, and his manger was made from a shaped piece of scrap clay coloured with thin slices of a straw-like millefiori cane.

Sheepishly tending their flock

Next up were the three Shepherds. I wanted to make sure that they were all different but still clearly part of a set of three. I did this by having a blue-theme for their head scarves, although each was with a different 'fabric'. I made their crooks up cutting a length of cocktail stick, and then adding a crook shape in tan clay to the top, blending it carefully so that it looked like one piece of wood. The wee sheep is just over 1cm tall and 1.5cm long - he's more reminiscent of the kind of sheep I first made many years ago :)

Pass the parcel

For the Three Kings, again I wanted to make them all different, but still be seen as a threesome. Because of their royal lineage, I used slices from several millefiori canes to create their rich cloaks, and each one has a different crown. I made up the cask carried by the right hand Mouse King by covering a tiny cube of clay with a wood-effect cane, did the same with the lid, and used a 3mm gold plated bead for the clasp. The gold offering carried by the middle Mouse King is a larger gold coloured bead.

Awww!!

Last but not least is Wee Angel Mouse. She is one of my favourite creations so far, and is made up in several stages. First of all, after making the basic mouse shape, I added her halo, which is an 8mm gold plated jump ring, held firmly in place by liquid polymer clay. The halo is perfect for attaching a thread to for a tree decoration.

For her wings, I shaped thin gauge wire into two wing shapes, using my index finger as a guide to get the same diameter for each side. I have found this wonderful material called Fantasy Film, which is a thick resin you can dip wire into which then hardens to create a thin film - I used a crystal clear resin for the angel wings, and then left it to dry for 24 hours before I attaching the wings to the body. A small cream bow finishes them off.

I made the harp by cutting thin strips of gold clay, tapering each end and then curling it into a harp shape. On the reverse side, I attached three short strands of thin gauge wire for the harp strings. Then I tuned each harp to make sure that they were all in the key of D. (Just kidding. Or am I?) The harps are 1.5cm by 1cm.

I'm planning to offer The Mouse Nativity on a part-work basis, where you can buy one piece a month so that you have the full collection for next Christmas. More on that story later.

If you would like to buy Wee Angel Mice, please contact me - I am making them up to order. Last order date for posting in time for Christmas is 15 December 2010.

Trevor the Snail (b.28 July 2010)

2010-11-10T01:13:00.001Z

Trevor the Snail

9 November 2010
It's been a while since we've had a Snail guest-starring on the website, and so I thought now would be a good time to introduce Trevor.

Trevor was a special commission request by Debbie, who had previously commissioned Mr Sparkle the Gnome Cat, so I knew that imagination would not be in short supply. This Snail was to be a special present for her husband, Trevor, on their anniversary. The only guidance was that Trevor was into gardening and growing vegetables, and would that help in coming up with a suitable Snail?

The idea of having a Snail with a vegetable patch on his shell came to me one morning just as I was waking up (I have some of my best (some would say maddest) ideas at that time of day). This grew into creating a lawn for his shell as well, and I did this by layering thick sheets of green with thinner sheets of darker green to build up a cane. I then cut thin strips from this cane and covered a cylinder of clay which I shaped into a cone and rolled into a shell shape. Keeping the stripes straight was quite tricky.

Add caption

For the veg box, I extruded some thick strands of brown clay to look like furrowed earth. And then I had lots of fun creating miniature carrots and a lettuce :) I think this was the beginning of my creature accessorisation, a malady which has grown exponentially to this day...

Trevor the Snail was well-received by the eponymous husband, and he and Debbie uploaded photos of Trevor in his new home to The Snail Emporium's Facebook page. It's lovely to see the Snails in their new homes! Thanks to Debbie and Trevor for making me giggle!

Big Trevor wondered where his corinader was going - found the culprit naughtly little Trevor

Trevor noooooooooooooooooooooo!

Of Mice and Treats

2010-11-04T15:39:00.001Z

4 November 2010
I've been busy with Wee Mice of late. I first made them back in May, which is scarily about six months ago. I'd been wanting to make Wee Mice for a while, and that was the time they decided to appear! These wee cuties are pretty small - the stargazing ones are about 2.5cm (1") tall, and the sugarmouse ones are about the same size in length. They come in all sorts of colours (white, gray, fawn, brown, dark brown), but what I have been enjoying most of all has been making up wee treats for them!

I started out with a slice of Swiss cheese. It seemed like the traditional way to go, and the mice seemed happy enough. I cut each wedge separately out of pale yellow clay using a triangular cutter, and then poked random holes in them using different sized poking implements. This was all well and good and worked very well for quite a while.

But then, the mice started making special requests. First, there was a request for more cheese choices. So I made up a round of brie for the more discerning mouse.

Would you like red onion relish with that, sir?

But the mice weren't happy with just one choice of cheese. Could they try another kind as well?

Ba-ba-ba, ba...you know how it goes

So out came the Edam. To get the red wax rind, I rolled a ball of yellow clay, and then cut out a large circle of thin red clay. I placed the yellow ball in the centre of the red disc, and then shaped the red clay around the ball, cutting off the excess corners to make sure the outer layer was all the same thickness.

The mice were content for a while. After all, they now had a choice of three cheeses. But a few of the more rotund mice had sweet tooths, and wondered if I could possibly offer them something as well. So I made up a chocolate Swiss roll.

Mmmm, yum!

I made this using a simple jelly roll cane using two sheets of clay, one brown and one white, laid on top of each other and then rolled into a cane. Once I had reduced the cane down to the required width (being mouse-sized Swiss roll diameter), I varnished the unbaked clay and then rolled it firmly in salt. Salt has the appearance of sugar, but doesn't melt when baked.

Well, the mice were very happy with their selection of four treats, but then I started to come up with some other ideas. First of all, I made some charantais melon for the more health-conscious mouse...

...followed by New York baked cheesecake, because after all that healthy eating, the mice would probably want a bit of a treat.

The cheesecake was very popular

I made the chocolate sprinkles by finely grating brown clay using a tiny grater (probably used for garlic or nutmeg in another life). Tip: chill the clay before grating it to stop it sticking together.

Meanwhile, I'd been toying with the idea of Battenburg cake after several chats with Helen, a lovely lady who has become a serial adopter of Snails. At first, I wanted to make a Battenburg Snail (well, you would, wouldn't you?), but then I realised that this particular cake would be much better suited as a mouse treat.

But things didn't stop there! This time inspired by Steff of DreamsUntold, who wanted to give a wee mouse to her mum in Germany, I decided to make up a Black Forest Gateau. This was the most challenging treat to date, but so much fun to do!

The mice eat better than we do!

The trickiest part of this cake was to create the little dollops of cream, which all look as though they've been piped. And the outside of the cake was made by rolling the entire cake in grated brown clay. I only varnished the dark cherries on top, which made them look very juicy.

And thus rests the quest for mouse treats, although there are plenty ideas in the pipeline. And suggestions are always welcome for what the mice would like next!

But there is a footnote to this merry tale (or should that be tail?) For Halloween, certain special mice wore witches' hats and had their very own wee pumpkins.

And of course, now that we're coming up to Christmas, Wee Christmas Mice have got in on the act with their Santa hats and Christmas Puddings!

You can adopt your own Wee Mouse and have your pick of a treat for £6 plus P&P at my Folksy shop (you can also order them on Etsy), and the Wee Christmas Mice will be going on sale very soon.

Happy Squeaking!

Halloween Special

2010-10-24T23:03:00.002+01:00

Three Witch Cats

24 October 2010
As it's not too long till Halloween, I thought it would be an appropriate time to take a look at my scary Halloween range of wee creatures. Actually, they're not scary at all - even the ones I tried to make a little bit scary still ended up looking pretty cute :)

So first up are the Three Witches - Hilda, Freda and Esmerelda (and thanks to Helen for naming them!) I made the hats by cutting large circles from a thick-ish sheet of black polymer clay, and then cutting the circle in half before rolling one half into a cone. I made the hat rims by cutting a large circle, with a small circle cut out of the middle, and then slipping the resultant 'donut' over the top of the cone and blending them carefully so the join wasn't too obvious. Freda has a little spider hanging from the top of her hat - I threaded some waxed cotton through a small spider (not a real one), and threaded that through the hat, making sure the knots for both ends were neatly caught in the clay.

The broomstick is a cocktail stick with brown strands of clay attached, and Esmerelda's wand was made with a short length of thick gauge wire and a small star on top. (Esmerelda's my favourite one, but don't tell the others.)

The Three Witch Cats are currently for sale in my Folksy shop, complete with a small metal cauldron for their witches' brew. Yum.

Slugs and snails and puppy dog's tails?

Next up, here come the Snails (which really needs to be sung to that annoying tune from the current Boots advert). Thanks to a suggestion by Leigh about spider webs, Ariadne and Phaedra were born, together with their travelling companions, Charlotte and Shelob.

Ariadne and Charlotte

Phaedra and Shelob

I made the cobwebs by extruded some white clay, and then (very carefully) laying it out into a cobweb shape. To create the slightly 'baggy' look of the strands, I used a clay shaper to gently stretch the horizontal strands. They have proved to be remarkably robust. Both Snails can be found hanging out at The Snail Emporium.

Back to cats now. Skeleton Cat was inspired by Pat of PatsParaphernalia) - I have a great time on my Quernus Facebook page bouncing ideas around, and in one thread when we were discussing Halloween ideas, Pat come up with the idea of dressing up cats as though they were going guising, and thus the idea of Wee Skeleton Cat was born.

Now you see me...

Now you, err, still see me...

I used glow-in-the-dark Fimo for the bones, chops and the tip of his tail. He just looked fantastic when the lights went out! He's only about 5cm tall, so making the bones for his paws was a bit fiddly, but definitely worth the effort! He's now taken up resident with a very good friend of mine, Jo, who has becoming something of a serial adopter... :)

And now to the smallest residents of the Quernus Halloween Collection - Halloween Mice with Pumpkins! I've been having a bit of thing with mice of late (no, not like that), and so the thought of Wee Mice in witches' hats with their very own tiny pumpkin proved too much to resist!

Anyone for pumpkin pie?

And last, but in no way least, we can't forget the Wee Pumpkin Cat! This wee mite first made an appearance back in September 2009, and hasn't changed substantially then. You can find out how to make your very own Wee Pumpkin Cat in the autumn issue of the UK Handmade magazine at page 24 - there's even a very fetching shot of my left thumb, so you can't argue with that. Wee Pumpkin Cats were joined this year by Morgana the Pumpkin Snail. Both Morgana and the Wee Pumpkin Cats are available on my Folksy shop (Morgana decided to drop in for a cup of tea).

Pumpkins galore

Happy Halloween, peeps! I'll be at Samlesbury Hall Farmer's Market and Craft Fair on the day itself - the Hall is reputed to be haunted, so I'll let you know if I hear anything strange and spooky on the day :)

Toucan Brooch (b.25 April 2010) and other jewellery

2010-10-06T19:59:00.004+01:00

Toucan Brooch

6 October 2010
I have so many draft posts waiting to be written (72 at the last count) about what I've been making over the past six months, that I've decided to have a different approach. I'm now going to dip in and out of these draft posts and pick ones at random, rather than go in strict chronological order.

So I'd like to introduce you to a Toucan Brooch I made up back in April this year. I was at the Keighley Sheep Fair (very cute lambs were in evidence that day) and about 10 minutes before the end of the market, a lady come up to me and asked with a note of desperation in her voice whether I had any toucans for sale. At that time, I didn't, and in fact, I still don't have any toucans, but I said I could make up a brooch for her and drop it off to her when I was next in Skipton.

What I particularly like about the brooch is that I've created free-hanging tail feathers, which are attached by jump rings.The brooch is about 5cm wide, and I just love the bright colours!

And some people have asked whether I've ever made other sorts of jewellery. Well, yes I have, but it's certainly not my main line. I have made some millefiori heart pendants for a jewellery designer over in Southport (some of you might recognise a few of the canes here), and that led me to making some small stud earrings (made with sterling silver posts and butterflies), which I'm very fond of but haven't got round to selling yet. So if anyone would be interested in seeing more of my earrings, please let me know :)

Heart pendants with 'Alonso the Snail' pattern

Large flower necklace. Won't be making one of these again.

Early heart pendant designs. The one on the far left uses 'Sophie' cane.

Butterfly heart pendants. The butterfly has since found its way onto Alice's shell.

An example of the stud earrings I've made.

Daisy heart pendants

So I've had fun playing around with jewellery designs, but my first passion will always be for wee creatures!

Wee Belle (b.27 May 2010)

2010-09-30T10:29:00.001+01:00

Wee Belle

I've been making up so many wee dog commissions of late, I thought it might be interesting if I showed you some of the steps I take to create one of them. Each wee dog is very different, but some of the techniques used here I use for other breeds. I made Wee Belle back in May, so my techniques have evolved a bit since then - for example, I now create more defined legs, rather than just the impression of legs. I'll do another tutorial about a more recent wee dog soon (must remember to take photos!)

The real Belle

Wee Belle is a lovely wee Scottie dog I was asked to make by Eberth of Olinda Jewellery for his son, Tiago. Belle doesn't live with Tiago, but is an adopted dog, and so Eberth wanted a wee reminder of her for Tiago.

Stage 1 - the raw materials

So, let's start at the very beginning - which is a very good place to start :) Here are the basic materials - some Fimo white (classic), a smidge of beige Super Sculpey, a roller, a tissue blade, scalpel and clay shaper.

Stage 2 - creating the basic shape

Once I've conditioned the clay, I then created the basic dog shape, moulding by hand and getting a feel for the right proportions. Because polymer clay is quite stiff to work with, it was important to keep a light touch as far as possible so that the rounded shape of the head didn't get squashed.

Stage 3 - building up the face

I added the eyes next, and then built up the face using logs of white clay. I have also created the mouth by cutting out a shallow triangle with the scalpel, and lining the cavity with black clay before replacing the triangle. And of course she needs a shiny black nose, and those cute wee ears with pink bits inside!

Stage 4 - 'fluffing' the face

Once all the strands were in place, I used a scalpel to lightly 'fluff' up the strands to make them look more like fur. This was quite time-consuming - it's important to make sure all the strands are blended out, so the scalpel strokes have to be pretty close together, and I usually go over the strokes again to make sure they are well blended.

Stage 5 - 'fluffing' the body

Once the face was done, I then went over the rest of the body to create a fur effect. This took quite a lot time. Oh, and I forgot to mention that before I started this process, I added a short tail, which I strengthened using a wire armature.

Stage 5 continued

For all that Wee Belle was only about 5cm tall, there was quite a lot of clay to 'fluff'...

Stage 5 continued....again...

The finished Wee Belle...at last!

Once I'd finished Wee Belle, I cured her in my table top oven for 45 minutes at 130 degrees C. I didn't varnish Wee Belle, apart from her shiny black nose.

Et voila!

The Big Green Festival, Beningborough Hall, York - 25 & 26 September 2010

2010-09-23T09:53:00.002+01:00

Beningborough Hall and Gardens, York

After the success of the Makers Fair at the Saltaire Arts Festival a few weeks ago, I've been working flat out to make more stock before this weekend's two day festival!

Quernus and the Snails are taking part in the National Trust's Big Green Festival at Beningborough Hall and Gardens, near York this weekend. It sounds as though it will be a great weekend out if you're over in that neck of the woods - it's a celebration of all things green for greener living.

Here's a sneak preview of some of the new wee creatures that will be on sale this weekend.

Rainbow Scarf Cats

Esme and her twin Snailets

Millefiori Cats and Sophie

True Love Cats

Monique quadrupled

Wee Penguins!

Wee Love Cats

Eddie and the Millefiori Cats

Max (short for Maxine)

Moles!

It's been a bit of a rainbow week, with added purple, as you can probably tell :) And the work continues - I'll be making a few special green creatures in honour of the Festival - pictures to follow shortly!

In fact, there's a lot of exciting things happening with Quernus and the Snails just now - I'm working on a new website, as well as a lovely new logo. My wee creatures are now appearing in a number of new outlets - these are very exciting times indeed!

Hope to see you at the weekend!

Saltaire Arts Trail - Makers' Fair 11 & 12 September 2010

2010-09-10T17:37:00.000+01:00

Quernus and the Snails will be at the Makers' Fair at Victoria Hall in Saltaire this weekend! I have to say I'm really looking forward to it - it's been over a month since I last did a craft fair, and I've been busy making up new stock, dreaming up new designs, as well as working on commissions.

Here's a sneak preview of some of the set pieces I will be unveiling at this event, along with the usual suspects of Moles, Wee Sheep, Wee Highland Cows, Rainbow Cats, and many more!

Sergeant Pepper Cats

Hilda, Esmerelda and Freda

Garden of Eden Cats

Braveheart Cat

Four Seasons Cats

Snail Lulu

Wee Pumpkin Cats and Snails

Ariadne and Phaidra

Alphabet Cats

And just because we haven't seen them on here for absolutely ages, here are some Piglings for old times' sake :)

Piglings!

Look forward to seeing you at the Makers' Fair!

Wee Holly (b.13 May 2010)

2010-09-03T01:49:00.002+01:00

Meet Wee Holly. She's one of my favourite wee dog commissions, and I have Steph Keegan to thank for this. Holly (aka Big Mama) has been a dear friend and companion to Steph for many years, and she wanted a little keepsake of her.

Holly

With Holly, it was all about capturing her expression, which was slightly serious and a bit worried. I can imagine that Holly is a very loyal friend. It was also about getting a suggestion of her being a little overweight, which I managed by keeping the head slightly smaller than usual.

Otherwise, I wanted to retain the simplicity of shape, with only the merest suggestions of her legs. As always, her tail is strengthened by a wire armature.

Thanks again to Steph for commissioning Wee Holly - she's just such a serious wee dog, and a complete cutie!

The end

Oh, and just one more picture because it's the epitome of cuteness...

Blossom Cats (b.5 June 2010)

2010-08-26T18:49:00.002+01:00

Blossom Cats

It seems like an appropriate time to introduce the second bunch of Flower Cats I've made, rather than keep to the strict chronological order of birth of my wee creatures! These Blossom Cats were a very special commission for a very special person - Anna Stassen of Sakura Jewellery.

Anna is half Japanese and has a special love of blossoms ('sakura' is Japanese for cherry blossom). So when she saw the pictures I posted of the Flower Cats, she asked if I could do her three Blossom Cats based on peach, apple and cherry blossom. She was very excited about them and wrote about them at length here.

I could picture how the five petals of the blossoms would work really well, and I also felt it was important to have the flower stamen showing too, because they are such an integral part of blossom. I also decided to make sure the heads were roughly the same colour as the centre of each blossom, which meant blending the green 'stem' with the coloured 'centre'.

I cut the petals from a fairly thick sheet of clay, and added leaves underneath for extra support. I used gold-plated head pins for the stamen, which I bent slightly to create a more natural shape, I secured each of them with a spot of liquid polymer clay.
When it was time to cure them, because the petals were curled upwards, I created a paper collar (very Blue Peter) to keep them in that shape - otherwise, the petals would 'wilt' as the temperature increased. The paper collar worked very well, and was easy to remove once the Blossom Cats had cooled down.

To see the Blossom Cats in their new habitat, check out Anna's lovely blog post about them here. Thanks again, Anna! There are many more Flower Cats just waiting to sprout up :)

Flower Cats (b.11 May 2010)

2010-08-23T11:57:00.001+01:00

Flower Cats

After I sold the original Daisy Cat at one of the Ilkley Arts Markets, I decided to make another one. Which led on to two, which turned into three!

I wasn't sure whether to keep the body colour the same as the flower centre this time, and so I decided to make them a little differently. Using green as the body colour helps to make them look more like flower cat sprites, than cats in fancy dress (at least, that's what I think!)

Sunflower Cat

For SunFlower Cat, I used a millefiori cane to create the speckled seed head effect for the flower centre, and then I cut out lots of petal shapes from a thin sheet of yellow clay and attached two layers of them, the top layer overlapping the bottom layer, to a thin collar of green clay. It was important to create enough strength in the petals because otherwise the petals would 'wilt' during the curing process.

Rose Cat

Rose Cat is my favourite Flower Cat - because of the shape of the petals, I had to make the head a little narrower than normal, which make her look very odd before I added the petals! I cut large oval petals shapes from a thin sheet of red clay, and then trimmed them at the bottom once they were added.There are three layers in total. Once the petals were on, I added the small leafs around the collar.

I'm keen to experiment with other types of Flower Cats - not quite sure how I'll do a Foxglove Cat, but I'm happy to give it a go!

The Birthday Party (b.11 May 2010)

2010-08-17T22:55:00.000+01:00

The Birthday Party

I made this to celebrate my birthday back in May - it seemed like the thing to do! And it was one of those pieces which just seems to grow arms and legs (although not literally in the case of my cats) as I went along!

I started out with the idea of having a cat in a party hat - and a fancy one at that, with stripes, a fluffy rim, streamers and a green bobble on top! And then I decided that he needed a party whistle, which I made from some of the striped clay with a short length of wire inside to keep it strong.

After that, it became obvious that the cat couldn't celebrate my birthday on his own - so I made him a wee friend, also with a party hat. And then they got hungry, so I made a birthday cake with a candle in it, and I gave them each a slice on small paper plates. You can tell I had quite a lot of fun :)

The Birthday Party has now taken up residence with Gemma, along with a number of my other wee creations, to celebrate her birthday. I love that kind of circularity!

Fireman Cat (b.10 May 2010)

2010-08-13T01:18:00.000+01:00

I seem to be on a bit of an occupation theme here :) Fireman Cat came about when I was at the Ilkley Arts Market on 8 May. A lovely woman called Hilary asked if it would be possible for me to make a Fireman Cat for her friend, and straight away I could picture how he would look.

When I got back home, I did a bit of research as to what a fireman's outfit looks like these days. They've done away with the traditional outfit and now I think they look more like policemen with bigger helmets. So I decided to stick with Fireman Sam as my inspiration for the design.

For his axe, I used a millefiori cane to create the wood effect, and then made up the head using metallic red clay, with a silver tip.

I used silver clay blobs for the shiny buttons, and for his helmet badge. The important thing with making accessories for the cats, I've found, is not to skimp on proportions. Go large. I applied this principle to Police Mole, and now to Fireman Cat. As a result, their helmets actually do look as though they fit them properly, and aren't just a blob of clay balanced on top of their heads. It's a fine balance to achieve, but it's worth the extra effort, as it helps the design to gel together more and look more cohesive.

Another thing I've noticed looking back on these designs (I'm writing this in the middle of August) is how I've definitely become more enamoured of cats with arms. It's interesting how your tastes and style changes over time, even though the fundamental style is still undeniable Quernus :)

Paramedi-Cat (b.6 May 2010)

2010-08-08T12:14:00.000+01:00

Who wouldn't want this handsome Paramedi-Cat to come and look after you?! Many thanks to Glenda for commissioning this wee guy. I think his white tee-shirt has a certain 'Levi ad' appeal, if you know what I mean ;)

Wee Curum (b.1 May 2010)

2010-08-04T13:39:00.000+01:00

Wee Curum

Curum was my sister's dog. Curum is Gaelic for 'cuddle', and she was a very handsome dog. Sadly she was put to sleep in April this year, at the age of 10 years. I made Wee Curum as a memento for my sister - it was quite poignant making it for her. I didn't know Curum well (my sister still lives in Scotland and I don't get to see her often), but I know how much my sister and her two girls loved her. It was a sad day when Curum went to sleep for the last time.

The top photo shows Curum as a much younger dog. As she got older, the black markings on her forehead faded away. To get the black of her muzzle fading to tan, I used a Skinner blend and then shaped it carefully over her muzzle. I used part of the Skinner blend for the inside of her ears, and also applied small triangles of black clay around her eyes. For her body markings, these were a mix of black, and black/tan. I made up the latter using the fur cane technique and cut the shapes out freehand.

I finished off Wee Curum's tail by having it curl round her body - I added some of the fur cane as well. Curum was always a bit mad, but was fiercely loyal and my sister loved her.

The Happy Couple Part 2 (b.30 April 2010)

2010-07-31T11:33:00.000+01:00

Hiking Cats

The second part of the commission for wedding cake toppers was for a pair of hillwalking cats, the bride and groom being keen hikers. And the exciting part of this was that these cats would be next to a tent created by one of the animators from Nick Park's team (he of the supremely wonderful Wallace and Gromit, Shaun the Sheep, et al)! OK, so I wouldn't actually get to meet them, but at least my wee cats would be in close proximity to Greatness - to say I was chuffed was a slight understatement!

The brief here was for boy cat to be brown, and the girl cat to be white. I used glitter white for the latter, as it has a softer appearance than ordinary white clay. I had lots of fun coming up with the accessories for them - from woolly walking socks (made from slices of cane), to walking poles (cocktail sticks painted black with clay handles, discs and straps), to rucksacks! The leather boots even have laces :)

I wanted the rucksacks to be as realistic as possible, so I hauled our rucksack out of the cupboard for a guide. I'm particularly fond of the hand at the top, and the way the 'elasticated' pouch at the front isn't flush with the rest of the rucksack. The piping around the edges has helped to I imagine he's got a rather battered Mars Bar in there for when he gets peckish!

I love the girly rucksack - the white piping helps to give if that 'high street' look, and I get the impression that she's not really a serious hiker :) But then, with a Nick Park-designed tent, who am I to say?!

Living happily ever after in a Nick Park tent!!

The Happy Couple Part 1 (b.30 April 2010)

2010-07-30T09:39:00.000+01:00

A former colleague of mine from work asked me a few months ago if I could make up a wedding cake topper for her son's wedding. In fact, she wanted two couples - one for the formal cake, and another couple for a second cake - more on that story later!

The brief was for flesh-coloured cats, an ivory dress and purple/lilac flowers and lilies for the bride, and a morning suit for the groom. Oh, and they had to be exactly 4.5cm tall. No more, no less. Well alrighty then!

I made the groom up first, and went for as much detail as possible. From the stripey trousers (don't you just love pasta machines?!) to his waistcoat buttons and a cute wee button hole. We had a bit of a 'hat-on-hat-off' dilemma, as the top hat took him a few millimetres above the required height, but I'm glad to say we managed to resolve that without too many tears.

I had so much fun making up the bride! From her wee ivory shoes, which have a purple seed bead as decoration, to the bouquet of white lilies and purple flowers. She also has a veil - I shaped some thick silver wire into a semi-circle and threaded on a small square of netting. I added some seed beads to either side, and then shaped the ends of the tiara to create a front decoration. It was fiddly work, but I love the effect! I secured the tiara and veil to the cat using liquid polymer clay.

For the back of the wedding dress, I created a confection of loops from a thin strip of ivory clay, and of course, the cats had to have their tails curling towards each other :)

Police Mole (b.14 April 2010)

2010-07-23T11:26:00.000+01:00

'ello, 'ello 'ello, what's all this then? This is Police Mole, that's what! Police Mole came about as a commission request through the website from Laura, a friend of Eloise, who had seen Dr Mole.

I spent quite a bit of time researching the shape of the helmet, and making sure it was as accurate as possible. Ditto the shield on the front, which I made up with metallic silver clay. For the truncheon, I used brown clay with a wire armature inside to keep it strong, and of course it had to have a wrist strap :)

Evenin' all!

Star Wars Cats (b.7-11 April 2010)

2010-07-13T22:27:00.001+01:00

Thought it was time that I got round to writing about my second batch of Star Wars Cats - and here they are! These came about through a message (or convo, as I believe they're called) on Etsy - a lovely American lass wanted to commission three new characters to add to their quirky Star Wars collection.

As you can see, the request came in for an R2D2 Cat, a Princess Leia Slave Girl Cat, and a Han Solo in Carbonite Cat. I could see how the first two would work straight away - R2D2 must have feline blood in him somewhere! - but I needed to give some thought to Han Solo.

I tackled R2D2 Cat first, and I went for a look that was as close to the original as possible (excepting the ears and tail, of course). It was actually quite hard to find a picture of R2D2 from behind, so I ended up watching one of the films - ah, the sacrifices I make for my art :) Turns out, all the fun stuff happens on his front, but at least I'm happy that the wee mite is a pretty good representation of the real thing. I even managed to put the orange rubber tubing on his feet :)

Next up was Princess Leia Slave Girl Cat. Now, I had some misgivings about this one. The costume is positively indecent! Couldn't have one of my cats letting it all hang out, even if it was for a good cause! But in the end, I overcame my qualms and got on with it. Again, I went for detail and took sketches of the bikini design. I used thinly extruded gold clay to form the pattern and a thin sheet of deep red clay for the fabric. It felt a little strange to be using a flesh-coloured clay, but I think the overall effect works out quite well. I even plaited strands of extruded brown clay for the hair. Now that's dedication.

And then came the fun part! Now, I had given quite a lot of thought as to how I should embed the Han Solo Cat - resin? clay? I wasn't sure, but I picked up a plastic mold when I was last in Manchester. And then I decided to just go for the simplest option - plaster of Paris.

Before I got down to all that, I made up Han Solo Cat himself. I used scrap clay for this and gave him arms with outward facing paws (a precursor to my recent Cats With Arms range!) I also dressed him with an open necked shirt and trousers. I baked him first, and when he was cool, I placed him in the bottom of the mold and had to prop him up with some wedges of clay so that the front of him would poke out of the clay. That was actually quite a tricky part because he kept rolling around in the bottom of the mold. (I resorted to Blutack in the end.)

I've never done plaster casts before, and I can tell you now that it's messy stuff. Still, I managed to get it to the right consistency, and then came the tricky part of pouring the plaster into the mold whilst keeping the cat in the right place. Once I'd poured the plaster in, I let it dry for about 30 mins, and when it was tacky I used a small ball of rolled up kitchen foil to mark the top of it. I also 'painted' a bit of plaster over the front of the cat so that none of the original clay showed through. Then came the tedious bit - waiting for him to dry. It took a full 3 days, despite me sitting him on the window ledge (it was quite sunny in April), and tucking him under the radiator. Still, he eventually dried out, and then I could paint him.

I put an coat of black acrylic paint on, and then applied an antique wax coat in a gunmetal grey. And do you know what? I'm really, really pleased with the way he turned out!

The Snail Emporium (8 July 2010)

2010-07-12T10:39:00.001+01:00

Well, I guess it had to happen. I have opened a new shop on Folksy devoted to Snails, so I am delighted to unveil......The Snail Emporium!

I had a huge amount of fun designing the banner for this new shop - I used Serif PagePlus (my DTP programme that I downloaded free a couple of years ago) to draw the snail freehand - luckily, the program managed to convert my spiderly scrawl into something approximating my design. There then followed about an hour of colouring in on Paint. I've used a font called Farewell which I thought was suitably snail-like, and of course, there had to be a snail trail in there too!

Some may say that a shop entirely devoted to gastropods is just a bit too specialised. But no, says I. There's always a time in your life when you need a snail. A cute one. One that doesn't eat your lettuces. And so now you know where to find them :) They all have names and stories, and they all come with a signed certificate. Can't say fairer than that.

So if you know anyone who is in need of a cute snail, send them to The Snail Emporium. Plenty more Snails will be appearing soon - watch this space! And as always, if you have a particular request for a Snail, just get in touch - there are infinite mollusc options available :)

More Snails! (b.6 July 2010)

2010-07-07T15:58:00.000+01:00

I have just been having THE BEST time making wee snails! I would even go as far to say that these are my favourites, although obviously I have to say that very quietly in case the rest of my wee creatures overhear me...

Rather than describe the step-by-step process for each snail, I thought pictures might be more appropriate, given that the snails have been multiplying quite rapidly :)

Naked snails!

Fully assembled and ready for the oven!

Very Laura Ashley :)

I love the pattern on these - very Elmo the Snail :)

I'm seeing spots before my eyes...

And of course, it had to happen....Rainbow Snails!

And here are a few more I made over the weekend!

Watch this space for many more snails to follow - I have started listing them on Folksy, and will be putting them on Etsy too. And of course, if there are any special snail requests, you can get in touch here!

Rainbow Snails (b.1 July 2010)

2010-07-02T11:39:00.000+01:00

I'm very excited about my new range of Rainbow Snails! I owe a HUGE thanks to Christine who asked me a few days ago through Folksy if I could make up a Wee Snail for her. 'Of course!', I cried, my mind whirring with possibilities. (Christine is a big fan of my wee creatures, and a veritable herd has already made the trip to Northern Ireland to start a new colony there :)

I had a clear picture in my mind of how Wee Snails would look, so I got started straight away. I tried out a few designs using scrap clay, and figured out that the best way to create that gorgeous spiral was to roll out a cone of clay, pointy-ish at one end, and much wider at the other. Once I'd curled it into the shell shape, pinched out the wide end to make the 'skirt'.

I next made the body, deciding to go with a neutral colour for all of them to keep a consistent look. The feelers are flower stamen (usually used in sugarcrafts) which I've had kicking around the place for years and years - they've come into their own now! I've been looking on eBay and apparently you can get every colour possible, so I'm going to experiment to see which deelyboppers work best! I'm quite fond of the fuchsia pink, I have to say...

Once I'd got the basic design sorted, it was a question of what colour to make the shells. I started off with plain colours, then tried out some swirly ones, and then it dawned on me that the shells would work very well with millefiori! I had quite a lot of cane left from making up lots of Klimt Cats recently, so I used the orange/red colours, and I have to say I think he looks rather natty :)

I also had a sheet of pink and purple stripy clay left over from a heart project (I will be writing about these at some point), so I tried out a few snails using this - again, I just love the effect of the stripes going along the spiral! I've used two coats of gloss varnish (or (s)nail varnish, as I like to call it ;) to make the shells really shiny, and have left the bodies unvarnished. The shells are attached to the body with a good dollop of liquid polymer clay.

So I'm looking forward to making up LOTS of Rainbow Snails in the weeks to come!

This is a very exciting time for me - business is booming with lots of commission requests, I've got a couple of exciting events coming up (including Craft Candy on 17 July, and the Big Green Festival at Beningbrough Hall near York on 25 and 26 September). And I'm also in the process of building a brand new website with the help of Lorrie Whittington of Illusio Creative, and I'm working with Jo Askey on a new website banner - things are really taking off! I'll post more once there's more to post, and in the meantime, I leave you with...

...The Snail Parade!

Wee Jack Russell (b.31 March 2010)

2010-06-30T01:22:00.001+01:00

This wee Jack Russell was lovely to make up, and thanks very much to Karen for commissioning him. I have a very soft spot for Jack Russells having owned one when I was a lot younger. Jack (as he was imaginatively called) was a very hardy wee dog - my dad used to take him hill walking every weekend, so I can't imagine the number of miles he got under this belt! He was a little barrel of muscle and had mad half hours where he zoomed round the livingroom, much to our amusement!

Back to this wee Jack Russell. He has the most adorable heart-shaped markings on his face, with darker fur above the eyes. I made up a 'fur' cane to create the darker fur which was a lovely blend of tan and darker brown. I used a plain tan for the face markings as well as the markings on his back.

What I love most about creating wee dogs is being able to match the shape of the face and the markings to the canine model. I've become a keen observer of dogs when I'm out and about, and Jack Russells have quite an elongated, dainty face which has a rather fox-like quality. And those ears! Well, they are so perky and flop over so obligingly that they are a joy to make!

I used a wire armature to reinforce the tail, and created the impression of crooked "Queen Anne" front legs (although I don't tend to define the legs to any great extent). I so enjoyed getting to know this particular dog, and next on the agenda is to make a miniature version of Jack, my old dog. Watch this space!

I'm a Featured Seller on Folksy! (22 June 2010)

2010-06-23T01:27:00.001+01:00

Oh my word! I just found out that I'm a Featured Seller on Folksy! This is A Big Deal. Folksy have been running for quite a while now, and have featured four sellers every fortnight since they started, and these sellers appear on the front page of Folksy, and forever remain in the Featured Seller pages. They also pop up randomly in the right hand side bar when you land on the Buying and Selling tabs. There have been 144 Featured Sellers since Folksy began, and I feel very honoured that I've joined their ranks!

I only found out about it when I had a nosey round the forums and saw that Elki (the genius behind It Belongs To Turtle) had posted a lovely message about Turtle whom she'd commissioned me to make. (Elki has graciously agreed to help my campaign to have 'quernus' added to the dictionary, meaning to make something small and cute (esp. animals) even smaller and cuter. Petition your MP to make this happen.)

Another fellow Folksyan, DreadyDerry said that she'd spotted Turtle in the featured bits, and I wasn't quite sure what she meant. So I went and had a look at the Folksy front page, and there I was! To say that I am chuffed to bits is something of an understatement :) I remember when Lynsey of Swirlyarts was a Featured Seller on Folksy back in November last year (click here to read all about it), and I was SOOOO impressed and thought it would just be amazing to be a Featured Seller! And again when Pat Longmuir of PatsParaphernalia was a Featured Seller, I was envious of her for getting to those giddy heights!

So this really is a big thing for me - take a peek at my Folksy shop when you have a chance (I have recently added Wee Black Sheep and Roly Poly Rainbow Cats to the collection) - I'm off to have a celebratory glass of wine now :)

Mr Sparkle the Gnome Cat (b.30 March 2010)

2010-06-17T00:04:00.001+01:00

So, we have here Mr Sparkle the Gnome Cat. Mr Sparkle the Gnome Cat came about in an interesting way (as you would expect from such a character). I have Debbie Young to thank for this particular commission, and when thanking Debbie, I must also thank her cousin, Gemma, who made the introduction.

Gemma, you may recall, was the first person to ask if I could make cats wearing certain 'outfits'. This was back in October 2009, and first of all I was a bit alarmed by what she meant. Turns out she wanted a 'Pirates vs Ninja' theme, and I was glad to oblige! You can see the cats which started the ball rolling here.

Gemma then came back a few months later and commissioned the Wizard of Oz Cats - and so when I received an email from Debbie, saying that she loved the cats I had made up for Gemma, I didn't really know what to expect!

Debbie explained that she and her husband are cat lovers (being owned by four of them), and a little while ago she bought her husband a gnome. (Bear with me here.) However, after paying Mr Gnome less attention than he deserved, Debbie kidnapped it and sent him on his travels. A Facebook page was set up documenting Mr Gnome's adventures (current membership: 52) and fun was had by all as Mr Gnome went round the world.

Debbie's request was simple. Could I make a cat in a gnome hat as an homage to Mr Gnome? Of course, I cried (not literally). The cat model in question was Sparkle (see, it's all beginning to make sense now).

And so, in my own homage to The Fly, Mr Sparkle the Gnome Cat was born. However, I declined to perch him on a bicycle (realism isn't everything, you know). Mr Sparkle the Gnome Cat is, however, sporting a natty red gnomey hat, green coat with gold buttons, blue trousers and brown boots. And let's not forget that fine bushy beard. Now that gives me an idea for Brian Blessed Cat... ;)

Wee Mavis (b.23 March 2010)

2010-06-14T22:10:00.001+01:00

This is Wee Mavis, the miniature form of Mavis, who is owned, loved and who slobbers over my friend Becky of Bright Paws. Mavis is a Dogue de Bordeaux, a wonderful breed with a big heart :)

Becky very much wanted to honour Mavis's fangs, as these are what she fell in love with when she adopted her.

This is perhaps not the most flattering picture of Mavis that was ever taken, but you'll see what I mean about her lower teeth - they are rather prominent!

It was important that I captured Mavis's wrinkles as well, and I did this by creating the basic head shape, and then blending in thin ropes of clay around her muzzle. I shaped her lower jaw separately and then added some small teeth and her fangs made out of white clay.

This is one of my most clay-intensive models to date, as Mavis is a large dog. Being able to convey this in Wee Mavis was important, and adding a chunky colour helped to complete the look (yes, that's a little silver bone on the collar!) Wee Mavis is 5cm tall and 7cm long. Thanks again to Becky for commissioning her!

Wee Ernie (b.23 March 2010)

2010-06-08T01:40:00.000+01:00

Meet Wee Ernie. Ernie is a rather old, creaky golden retriever, and I was introduced to him (well, a couple of photos of him) by my good friend, Becky. Becky is the powerhouse behind Bright Paws, a wonderful holistic canine therapy business based in the north east.

As you can probably tell by the nature of her business (which she is completely devoted to), Becky is completely in love with all things dog-related, and in particular, the three dogs she owns. She commissioned me to make a Wee Mavis (a Dogue de Bordeaux), as well as a Wee Ernie for her friend, and I'll be writing about Wee Mavis in a couple of days. That's a tale worth telling :)

Ernie belongs to Becky's friend, and she wanted to surprise her with a miniature version of him. I have to say that Wee Ernie is one of my favourite commissions - I love retrievers at the best of time, but there's something very endearing about an old, faithful dog who's going a bit white round the muzzle.

I modelled the body shape first of all out of a pale golden/tan clay I'd mixed up. Then, to get the right effect for Wee Ernie's muzzle, I made up a Skinner blend of white and the golden tan I used for the rest of the fur. After blending the two colours together, I rolled the sheet out as thinly as possible, and then began the tricky task of applying a 2 dimensional sheet to a 3 dimensional shape.

Once his 'face mask' was applied, I tore the clay carefully rather than cutting it, as this makes it easier to blend in without leaving lines. Once the Skinner blend sheet was positioned and blended in, I was able to finish him off.

Whenever I see a dog these days when I'm out and about, I immediately go straight to sculpting it in my mind. It's great to really look at a dog and see it for what it is, rather than just let your mind label it 'dog' and move on. They are lovely animals, each with their own quirks and personalities, and I always love being asked to make up a new wee dog. I'm hoping to make up most of the dog breeds out there, and with time, I believe I will :)

The Glamourpuss Girls (b.22 March 2010)

2010-06-03T21:01:00.000+01:00

Hot on the heels of Bedtime Kitten, here are the Glamourpuss Girls! Another commission from Michelle from Across The Pond (along with Wee Duma), I sent these three debutantes (can't get the Sheila's Wheels tune out of my head) off to paint the town red in Boston!

Michelle wanted the three wee cats to be exactly the same as the first Glamourpuss I made for Kate Fife's eponymous jewellery business, Glamourpuss Jewellery. However, I couldn't resist tweaking things a little bit :)

The main differences were in the tiaras and the feather boas. Glamourpuss The First had a polymer clay tiara and the boa was glued on. For these sassy gals, I made the tiaras out of thin wire, which was a bit fiddly, but very much worth the effort. For the feather boas, I plaited three strands of fluffy pink wool together, tied the ends together so they wouldn't come apart, and then draped them round their shoulders, securing them with a jump ring. This means they are adjustable and removable. Well, whatever next!

What I love most about them is that although the intention was to make them all the same, each one still managed to have her own personality (not to mention shoe colour) - the one on the left looks a bit haughty, whereas the middle one looks like the kindly one. The one on the right looks like she's ready to go out and have a good time! Do you know, these wee creatures never cease to amaze me - so much personality packed into 5cm of clay!

Bedtime Kitten (b.21 March 2010)

2010-06-02T10:08:00.000+01:00

I had so much fun with this wee kitten! She was one of those ideas which kept on building and building, and it all started from taking part in a Fashion Night in Ilkley on 26 March.

I had been contacted back in November by the organiser of this fashion night, asking if I wanted to have a stall at the event. It was an evening affair, and was being run for charity. So I was happy to give it a go and see how it went. Part of the arrangement was that stallholders were to donate a raffle prize for the evening.

The event was billed as a 'Girls' Night In', with an invited audience of women. So after toying with the idea of making a cat in full fashion gear, I decided to go with my idea of what girls wear when they're having a night in!

The cat on the left was the first one I did - there had to be a face mask, curlers, dressing gown and, of course, rabbit slippers. However, the face mask didn't work out quite as well as I had hoped (Zombie Cat, anyone?!), and so I made another cat without it. I love the terry towelling effect on the dressing gowns - I used a stiff wired brush to imprint the clay whilst it was still a thin sheet (the same brush I used to create Wee Ella's coat).

I donated both these cats to the charity event as the raffle prize, but couldn't resist going on to experiment further, and Bedtime Kitten was born! As well as the dressing gown and rabbit slippers (I have fond memories of those from my childhood), she had to have a tiny teddy bear and a hot water bottle.

The teddy bear was probably the most fiddly to make - bear in mind (no pun intended) that Bedtime Kitten only stands 5cm tall - but I was glad that I had tiny black beads for his eyes to keep with the Quernus look (by comparison, Bedtime Kitten had 3mm black onyx beads).

The hot water bottle was a little easier, and of course it had to be a furry one :) Bedtime Kitten was sold at the Ilkley Arts Market on 10 April, and I have to say I was a little sorry to see her go - she looks so cozy and snug, and there may just be a hint of self-portrait in her!

Wee Jet and Wee Tater (b.20 March 2010)

2010-05-31T21:22:00.001+01:00

Back in March (it is now the end of May - I am so behind in posting about my creations!), I received an order through my Etsy shop for two custom wee horses. When I received the photographs of Jess and Tater from Carianne, I nearly jumped up and down with delight! I had another chance to make a Wee Appaloosa horse, and a leopard appaloosa to boot!

Because of his white coat, Tater's spots (particularly on his body) had a dark brown centre, which faded to paler brown. This gave me a chance to try a new technique (I like it when that happens!) I made up a bull's eye cane using brown at the centre, and then wrapping this in a thin sheet of translucent clay which I'd coloured with a pinch of the same dark brown.

Overall, the effect worked pretty well, and for the other spots, I just used tiny dots of colour, which I could spread out into random shapes using a clay shaper.

But what to do with the leftover canes?! Because I used spots of varying sizes, the canes that were left had varying diameters. This is because it's often best to keep a cane intact and just reduce down a portion of cane to the desired size. So I was left with a number of lop-sided canes without any real prospect of making a wee leopard appaloosa in the near future. I decided to have a bit of fun, and made up this random sculpture using the leftover canes and the extruded clay from the mane and tail (Tater had unusual colourings for both). I'm not quite sure just what it is, and (in the words of Tom Paxton's The Marvelous Toy), I guess I never will!

Wee Lily (b.18 March 2010)

2010-05-24T02:03:00.001+01:00

On 10 March, I got a message through Folksy from Lucy Westwood of The Sleep Valley Co, where she sells her own handmade gorgeous soaps and bath bombs. The message title was most intriguing - "Can you quernus my beagle??" I'd never seen Quernus used as a verb before, and I loved it!

And when Lucy sent through pictures of her gorgeous beagle, Lily, I loved her too - she's the gorgeously doe-eyed pup ever, and I'm sure she knows it!

I made up a special fur cane for the patches on Lily's back mixed up with nearly black and a darkish brown, and also blended a lighter tan colour for the markings on her face and her ears. I drew sketches of where the markings should go, and for the darker patches, I cut thin slices from the cane, laid them out into a sheet, and then cut the markings in one go, to help keep the fur looking smooth. As usual, I made the tail with a short wire armature for extra strength.

For the head, I repeated the process with the tan clay, and then added those wonderful long floppy ears. However, there is a sad tale to tell about these ears. As explained in her blog post, Lucy tells how when she was

photographing Wee Lily beside Big Lily (and the photos are just gorgeous), Wee Lily became quite attached to Lucy's elbow and sadly ended up on the floor. As a result, Wee Lily's left ear became less attached to her head. However, an express trip back to Leeds resulted in some remedial surgery, and Wee Lily's temporary deafness was swiftly reversed.

It's well worth checking out Lucy's wonderful Folksy shop - she very kindly sent me some lavender soap as a thank you for fixing Wee Lily's ear, and it's just lovely stuff! And all entirely handmade with only natural ingredients. Mmmmmm!

Duma (b.16 March 2010)

2010-05-22T21:45:00.000+01:00

Quernus seems to have a bit of a fan base on the side of the Pond! I have some amazing friends over and they have been very kind about spreading word about my wee creatures. And as a result of that word-spreading, Wee Duma came into existence!

Michelle from Boston contacted me through the website saying that she'd just spent the last 30 minutes on my site, and could I please make her up some cats if she sent through pictures? So she sent through some pictures of her gorgeous cat, Duma.

Because of Duma's wonderful stripes, I tried out a new technique using a fur cane and pastels. I covered the clay core with thin slices taken from a fur cane I made up based on Duma's colouring, blended the slices, and then I made up the cat as usual. I baked the cat, and once cool, I brushed on stripes using powdered black pastels. I then varnished the pastels to seal them, and the end result turned out quite well.

However, I am still on the quest to perfect the fur technique for stripey cats - I am still very fond of making up the stripes by mixing up the appropriate colours, resulting in a swirly impression of stripes, rather than a realistic representation. Somehow, the cats seem to have a bit more charm with the swirls, but that could just be me :)

Scientist Cat (b.16 March 2010)

2010-05-18T02:57:00.001+01:00

Scientist Cat was a special commission for Alison, who's daughter is graduating this summer with a science degree. Alison contacted me through the website, and when she outlined what she was looking for, my mind when into overdrive!

I decided to go for the 'mad scientist' look, with a mop of white hair, a bit like Doc Brown of Back to the Future fame (or Professor Heinz Wolff of The Great Egg Race). And of course, he had to have glasses, a lab coat, with a bow tie - he's actually got a pink shirt on too, but you can't see it very well on the photo. In his hands, he's carrying a test tube and a beaker.

I made the test tube out of a green bugle bead, on top of which I put a small ball of translucent clay.

I made the beaker using a round green bead, which I then covered with a very thin sheet of translucent clay. I also made the beaker stem with clay too, although that was a bit fiddly, particularly as translucent clay is very soft and hard to work with (ie it squishes very easily) - not a good quality to have when trying to attach a paw to it...

Scientist Cat stands 5cm tall.

Jess and Cinnamon (b.14 March 2010)

2010-05-15T10:46:00.000+01:00

Meet Wee Jess and Wee Cinnamon! Commissioned by Andy as a gift for his parents, Andy got in touch with me through the website, emailed me some pictures, and I got started!

Wee Jess is a gorgeous black and white cat, with a white bib and partially white nose. It was just a case of getting the markings in the right place. For the bib, I applied a thin sheet of white clay cut to shape, and then blended the edges out to create a fur effect.

Wee Cinnamon was a little more challenging as she has the most incredible markings on her back.

I had to imagine what Cinnamon's markings would look like from above so I could translate that into clay form. I sketched out the markings based on all the photos that Andy sent me (thanks Andy!), and then plotted those on an overhead view. It was like piecing together a jigsaw!

Bobble Hat Cat and Rainbow Scarf Cat (b.14 March 2010)

2010-05-13T00:11:00.000+01:00

Do you know, it's been a while since I blogged about some of my more 'mainstream' designs - looking back, I've only tended to write about the commissions I've made (and granted, I've had a lot of those :) So I thought it would be fun to reintroduce a couple of old favourites (and when I say old, I first made this design back in October, so they're hardly about to draw their pension!)

I've recently discovered a new way of making stripy scarves that I'm rather pleased about. When I first started making Rainbow Scarf Cats, I took two thin logs of contrasting clay, twisted them tightly together and then rolled them sideways on through the pasta machine. Then I trimmed the two long edges and hey presto, the scarf was made. There were some limiting factors to this method, although on the whole it worked very well. Firstly, it was difficult to use more than two colours, and sometimes the resulting scarf wasn't wide enough after rolling the twisted log through the pasta machine.

I got the idea for the new stripy scarf from the wedding couple cats I made a few weeks ago in May (I'll be writing about them soon when I've caught up with the backlog!) I made up pinstripe trousers for the groom by layering black and grey sheets of clay together, cutting them in half, stacking the halves on top of each other, and reducing the cane down so the stripes were very thin. I applied this same technique for the stripy scarf using lots of different colours of clay, which resulted in lots of neater stripes of as many different colours as I wanted!

Rainbow Scarf Cats and Bobble Hat Cats are available for sale in my Folksy shop - click here to see the full range.

Wee Mice (b.7 May 2010)

2010-05-10T12:51:00.000+01:00

To continue honouring the rodential theme of the last few posts, I'd like to share with you my Wee Mice. I've been thinking about them for a while now, and they finally came into being at the end of last week! I started out with the traditional 'sugar mouse' pose, but then some of the wee mice wanted to look up at the sky, and thus the 'star gazing' pose was born. It was the same with colours - I started off with the grey mice, and then a brown one put his wee paw up to be made, and of course then I just had to make some white mice so they wouldn't feel left out.

I used the fabulous Super Sculpey for the inner ears, nose and tail, and once they were made, they all told me they were hungry. So I made them a wee piece of cheese. However, a few of them have eaten far too much of it and are getting a little tubby...

The tallest mouse (the white star-gazing mouse) stands very tall at 2.5cm, and the shortest one is about 1cm tall. They made their debut on Saturday 8 May in Ilkley and proved to be most popular (they were very happy sitting on their very own display shelf - more on that story later!)

I'll be listing the Wee Mice (each one comes with his own lump of cheese) on Folksy this week!

Wee Cookie (b.10 March 2010)

2010-05-08T20:34:00.000+01:00

So here's the last of Laura's commissioned wee creatures - Wee Cookie, a Roborovski hamster (or Russian hamster, as I've always known them).

Because this type of hamster seems to spend a lot of time sitting on its haunches (probably so that it can see better before it's so tiny!), I decided to make the miniature version in that pose as well. Making the body shape was relatively straight forward, and I spent most time working on the fur effect. You can see from the picture that Cookie has quite distinctive markings - the fur on his back is black/brown, and he has a white underbelly. He also has white eyebrow points. I made up a 'fur' cane combining dark brown and a paler brown, and once this was ready, I cut thin slices from it and made up a large sheet of 'fur'. I blended the slices together to make a continuous sheet, and then cut out the markings from this. I've found that this is a better way to create markings, rather than applying cane slices individually.

I made up quite sturdy feet for Wee Cookie, and then used 4mm round black beads for his eyes. This is the largest bead size I have, and I only use them for Piglings (for wee piglings and cats I use 3mm beads, and for wee horses, moles, etc I use 2mm beads). Although it felt weird to be using such a large bead, it definitely worked because the real Cookie has huge eyes!

Wee Cookie is 3cm all round, so he's probably nearly life-size compared to the real one! Thanks again to Laura for commissioning him - it's just so much fun to meet new wee beasties!

Wee Jellybean (b.10 March 2010)

2010-05-06T10:20:00.000+01:00

Along with Wee Smudge, Laura wanted miniature versions of her two hamsters, Jellybean and Cookie. Laura describes Jellybean as a "Me, me, pick me, love me" sort of hamster - having owned a hamster in the past myself, who was more of the "Come near me and I'll bite your hand off" sort, it was a pleasure to meet one of a more congenial bent, albeit in photographic form only!

Jellybean is not a good model. She won't sit still for a minute, as you can see from this action shot. As it happens, Wee Jellybean probably ended up more life size than miniature - she measures 5.5cm long and 2.5cm tall!

Wee Jellybean was fairly straightforward - it was more a question of getting her markings in the right place, and getting the shape right. I also wanted to include wee paws for her, as these are more evident with hamsters than rabbits. I made her ears from the wonderful Super Sculpey beige to give a translucent effect. And after positioning the sandy patches on her body, I blended the edges so that they merged more with the white body - helps to give a more furry effect.

Next up is Wee Cookie - watch this space!

Wee Smudge (b.10 March 2010)

2010-05-04T22:42:00.000+01:00

Meet Wee Smudge, the first rabbit commission by Quernus. Many thanks to Laura Schofield for commissioning a miniature version of Smudge, along with Cookie and Jellybean (her two beloved, if hyperactive, hamsters). I'll be writing more about the hamsters next.

Laura was already acquainted with the Quernus menagerie after her friend, Steph, commissioned me to make up four wee horses for Laura back in December (click here for the original post).

Smudge was a standard sooty fawn rabbit with wonderful floppy ears. He's no longer with us, and Laura wanted a reminder of her wee bunny. This was one of the first times I used the refined fur technique, which is based on the Starry Night cane (click here for more details). After mixing up the clay and rolling it through the pasta machine several times, I tweaked the technique a bit. Once I'd stacked the slices together, I shaped the cane into a square and then reduced it until it was about 20cm long. I cut it into four equal lengths to stack them back together as a square cane. However, instead of lining up the sections so that the strands were perpendicular to each other, I had them all lined up in the same direction. This meant that when the slices of the cane were applied to the clay body and lightly blended, this created quite a realistic fur effect. And I just love his wee bobtail!

Wee Eva (b.10 February 2010)

2010-04-25T11:54:00.000+01:00

Wee Eva was actually the first Wee Dog I made, way back in February at the request of Carey, that lovely lady from Harrogate, who had commissioned a whole menagerie from me. Wee Eva was destined as a birthday present in April, and so this is the main reason I've waited until now before writing about her.

The real Eva is a Hungarian Visler, a gorgeous dog who is apparently very hyperactive but very sweet with it! My main challenge was getting Eva's character while retaining the Quernus look, and I have to say that it took several attempts before I reached a design I was happy with.

The thing about dogs is that they are far more diverse than cats, and therefore it's really not possible to do a generic dog design, in the same way as I can with, say, the Rainbow Cats. So I focused on what Eva's primary characteristics were (her gorgeous ears, smiley mouth and long tongue) and brought them out in Wee Eva. I used Super Sculpey for her tongue (which is what I use for cats' noses and mole paws, and I finished off the look with a lovely black colour, complete with dog tag. Wee Eva's tail has been strengthed with a wire armature.

Thanks once again to Carey for setting me on the wee canine path - I have to say that I just love making up Wee Dogs now!

Luna and Maru (b.6 March 2010)

2010-04-21T12:55:00.000+01:00

I'd like to introduce you to two beautiful Siamese cats, Luna and Maru. They belong to a dear friend, Anna, who not only designs and makes the most exquisite jewellery under the name of Sakura Jewelllery, but she is also the tireless editor of UK Handmade magazine.

This was the first time I'd made up Siamese cats, and I very much enjoyed the challenge. Luna has a slightly more rounded face than Maru, and Maru is a little bit smaller. I made the body shapes more streamlined than my usual cat shape, and then cut the face markings out of a thin sheet of dark brown clay. Because the cats have a lovely dusting of darker fur on their backs, I did this by applying a light covering of pastel dust, and then sealed it with varnish.

There are a few sad stories attached to these wee cats. When I first posted these cats off to Anna, by recorded delivery post, the parcel went missing. It still hasn't turned up. And the galling thing about this was that I had included a surprise extra gift of a Wee Shadow, a black Staffordshire terrier who belongs to one of Anna's good friends. So while I was able to replace Wee Luna and Wee Maru without too much trouble, Wee Shadow remains lost in transit, and the only evidence of him can be found here.

But the much sadder news is that in recent weeks, from the beginning of April, Maru has not been at all well. She has chronic renal failure with suspected pancreatitis, and so Anna and her husband have been doing their best to look after the wee mite. She's not out of the woods yet and is on special medication, but she's a fighter and hopefully she'll adapt to this new reality. You can read more about Maru's journey here.

Wee Ella (b. 6 March 2010)

2010-04-11T19:08:00.000+01:00

I'd like to introduce you to a very special wee dog. This is Ella, who belongs to a good friend, Susie of Lynwood Jewellery. Susie is totally devoted to Ella, who by all accounts has a huge personality completely out of proportion to her diminutive size.

To make the miniature version of Ella, I used a new tool which I recently bought from Craftwise in Leeds (this is a wonderful, rambling craft shop with all manner of things - well worth exploring). This was a stiff-bristled spiral brush which is primarily designed as a ceramics tool. However, it works perfectly well on polymer clay.

I have done quite a few experiments to create a fur effect, most recently with Wee Dog using a scalpel. With this marvellous tool, I was able to try something else, which worked perfectly for Ella's curly fur.

After creating the basic body shape, which included adding extra 'bits' for the ears and creating the mouth, I rolled the bristles over the body pressing pretty hard because the Sculpey Premo white clay can be quite hard to work.

Once I had covered the body with curly 'fur', I added the eyes and tongue, which is one of the cutest things about Ella!

And I have to say a few words about Susie here. Susie is one of the most amazing people I have met - not only is she a very bright individual with tonnes of business savvy, she is also incredibly talented and makes bold and beautiful jewellery which really enhances the precious metal and stones she works with. And if that wasn't enough, she is also so generous with her time and support of other artists and crafters - she's an inspiration! I have the privilege of working with her as part of the UK Handmade team, and have been blown away by her energy, organisational skills and her ability to get things done. It's definitely worth reading her blog - click here to visit. (Susie also wrote a lovely post about Wee Ella here.)

So I will finish this post with a picture of one of my favourite pieces from Susie called "I am finding myself becoming more and more abstracted" - visit Susie's website here and feast your eyes on some more beautiful jewellery.

Smudge and Boots (b.4 March 2010)

2010-04-08T20:40:00.001+01:00

Another couple of custom kitties, this time courtesy of Donna of CuteDesigns. And we have NiftyKnits to thank for getting us together!

NiftyKnits posted a comment about my Wee Frog saying that she'd just seen another frog on CuteDesigns' blog (click here to see the frog in question - incredibly cute!) So I mosied on over to CuteDesigns' blog and discovered a world of cuteness! I 'hearted' her Etsy shop, which is filled with wonderful things, and then Donna got in touch with me to ask if I could make up a couple of custom kittens as a Mother's Day present! Ah, the wonders of the internet!

Wee Sam (b.4 March 2010)

2010-04-05T22:00:00.000+01:00

Gemma (she who commissioned the Wizard of Oz Cats and Liverpool FC Scarf Cat) also wanted a gift for her other boss. Her boss is an optician and has a black labrador. So what better gift that a wee black labrador with glasses?!

Wee Sam was fun to make - labradors always seem such happy animals, and Wee Sam looks as though he's about to wag his tail (which he does A LOT, apparently) and jump up on you to give you a lovely slobbery kiss!

Wee Sam has front paws, so is a bit similar to my wee cat designs. Again, I used a short length of wire to strength his tail, and I added a collar using a thin strip of red clay. I'm getting quicker at making glasses and these perch quite happily on his nose!

Wee Moles and Tiny Moles (b.1 April 2010)

2010-04-03T12:08:00.000+01:00

I normally write about my creations in date order (and I have about 25 to catch up on for March!), but I am just so excited about my new moles that I had to share them with you!

After the fun of making up the Mole Family and Dr Mole, I went a bit mad and made up lots more moles! Not only did I make up another Mole Family (this time with props - love that little Baby Mole!), but six Wee Moles and seven Tiny Moles are now proud to join the Wee Beasties range!

I have pretty much perfected the millefiori cane fur technique. In the food processor, I chopped up a selection of grey and black clay, and once this was finely chopped and mixed, I rolled it out and cut it in half, stacking the halves on top of each other. After repeating this process three times, I then formed a square cane and reduced it down so it was about 20cm long. I cut this cane into four equal lengths, and then stacked the four pieces into another square cane.

The difference this time was that I made sure the strands of clay were all facing in the same direction (previously I have set the strands at right angles to each other). I flipped the four lengths over a couple of times so that the strands weren't uniform, and then I reduced that square cane down again.

Once I had the cane made up (and that took just over an hour), I made up small balls of clay of differing dimensions and set about covering them with very thin slices from the cane. Once the slices covered the ball of clay, I rolled it carefully in my hands to blend the slices without distoring the pattern too much. Then I shaped the clay into that gorgeous mole shape!

The feet and paws (and noses) were shaped from beige Super Sculpey, which gives a great translucent quality. Wee Moles are 3cm tall and Tiny Moles are about 2.5cm (although I did make a few that were 2cm tall - just too cute!)

You can buy Wee Moles and Tiny Moles in my Folksy shop, and they will also be making their debut at the Easter Crafts Festival at Duncombe Park in Helmsley on 4 and 5 April 2010! (I'll be there too, of course...)

Liverpool FC Scarf Cat (b.3 March 2010)

2010-04-02T00:12:00.001+01:00

Hot on the heels of the Wizard of Oz Cats, the lovely Gemma also wanted to know if I could make up some presents for her two bosses, who are both opticians. One of her bosses is an avid Liverpool FC fan, and so the Rainbow Scarf Cat seemed an obvious choice for her, with some modifications.

I did a bit of research to find out what the Liverpool FC scarf looked like. I had no idea there were so many designs out there! There are away scarves, Carragher scarves, County fan scarves - you name it, there's a scarf for it! So I followed Gemma's instructions and made a red scarf with LFC lettering on it. I also added the white tassles using extruded clay, as that seemed more 'footbally' for some reason.

I also made up a small Liverpool FC badge for the kitty - this was a tad fiddly, but if you squint just a little, you can just about make out the dragon/wyvern shape in the middle! (And I apologise now if I've got the species wrong - I have no idea what's supposed to be in the middle of the LFC crest!) And because the cat was destined for an optician, of course he had to have a pair of glasses too!

Next time, I'll be introducing Wee Sam, the black labrador, which Gemma wanted for her other boss.

Wee Dog (b.1 March 2010)

2010-03-30T19:12:00.000+01:00

After thoroughly enjoying making Wee Niko (and another wee dog I can't mention yet - Wee Eva, a Hungarian Visler, is for a birthday present!), I wanted to try out some more wee dogs. So with a lump of scrap brown clay in hand, I decided to make up a wee Scottie dog.

Wee Dog is a bit smaller than my usual creations (I didn't start out with enough scrap clay!), and he only stands about 4cm tall. Once the basic shape was modelled, I gently pinched the side of the nose to create the beard. I also added a few tiny logs of clay above the eyes to create the eyebrows. Once all the extra bits of clay were blended in, I added his eyes and shaped the ears. I shaped the tail around some strong wire for an armature. I then took a scalpel to him (sorry - it really didn't hurt him, honest!)

I created the fur texture by making tiny shallow cuts with scalpel. This was quite time-consuming. It was also important to keep the strokes going in the right direction to give a more realistic result. For example, I created a parting over his nose, and did upstrokes for the eyebrows and ears.

I have to say that the end result made all the effort worthwhile - I love the way his wee head is slightly tilted to one side, with an ear slightly cocked. I haven't got a name for him yet, so if you've got any suggestions, I'd love to hear them! I now just need to find a way of creating the same effect in a less laborious way...

The Wizard of Oz Cats (b.27-28 February 2010)

2010-03-29T01:48:00.000+01:00

The lovely Gemma, who started this whole character cat thang off with her request for Pirate and Ninja Cats, got in touch with me once more in January asking if I could make up four Wizard of Oz Cats, as this was her favourite film. And so the journey to creating Catothy Gale, Tin Cat, Scarekitty and Cat-ardly Lion was begun!

I started with Tin Cat, making him out of silver clay. I referred to stills from the original film to get the general ideal - the most obvious features of Tin Man were his raised collar, and the funnel on his head. I added rivets to the body by rolling tiny dots of silver clay and applying them to thin strips of clay.

The Scare-Cat was next, and I made him up in a number of different layers. Because he had brown trousers, I made up a body of brown clay. Next I added a green tunic which sits over the trousers, and then I finished off the look by adding a sheet of clay over the head - those aficionados of the film will be aware that the Scarecrow had a bag over his head, tied at the neck with string. So I extruded some rope-coloured clay and twisted two strands together to create the rope, which I then placed around the neck, the waist and around his floppy brown hat.

Dorothy Cat came next - she was similar in some respects to Princess Leia Cat in that I used a flesh-coloured clay for the body, and then 'dressed' her with a blue pinafore dress. Her ruby slippers were made from metallic red clay shaped to a point. I made the hair from extruded clay which I then loosely gathered into sections to create a more realistic style. Wee Toto is only 2cm high and made from black clay - next time I'll put him in a basket!

Last, but certainly not least, came the Cowardly Lion. It seemed a bit daft to make up a lion to look like a cat, and so I decided to use my existing Lion design, with a few modications of course!

The most important change was giving the Cowardly Lion some paws so that he could hold his tail in a rather cowardly way. I also made his mane more curly, as the Cowardly Lion in the film had definite ringlets (which I always thought was a little bit suspect). He also had a red bow in his hair (which did nothing to alter my opinion), and a couple of well-placed flicks of the scalpel gave a rather scared expression to his face.

I so enjoyed making up these cats, I can't wait to start making up some more - and I particularly enjoy making up character sets, like these ones, and the Star Wars Cats. I have plans to make Dr Who Cats (with Tom Baker (of course) as the Doctor, K-9 and a Dalek Cat) and Robin Hood Cats (with Robin Hood, Maid Marian and Friar Tuck). And that's not to mention the Cat-ivity Scene I plan to make up closer to Christmas! Oh, so many ideas, so little time - and once again, many thanks to Gemma, who makes beautiful jewellery under the name of Cosmiceden, for setting my feet upon this path.

Liberal Demo-Cat (b.23 February 2010)

2010-03-26T08:49:00.000Z

Lowri was one of my first customers. Way back in October last year, she ordered the Ultimate Rainbow Cat from my Folksy shop. And then in February, she bought a Custom Character Cat and asked if it would be possible to make up a Politician Cat, as her boyfriend was a great Liberal Democrat supporter.

As soon as I got Lowri's request, I could immediately see a cat in a suit with a yellow rosette, holding a placard, and Liberal Demo-Cat was born! (Unfortunately, I cannot take credit for coining the name - that honour goes to Greg.)

I do like dressing my wee cats up! For the suit, I rolled out a thin sheet of grey clay, and then cut it into a strip about an inch wide, using a tissue blade to make it curved. This is because the body is slightly conical, and cutting the strip with a curve in it (like a slightly ironic smile), allows the 'fabric' to lie flat on the body. I cut out the lapels

and a thin strip for the collar, finishing off with small white triangle for the shirt, which I tucked behind the suit. A smart tie and shiny brown shoes finish off the look!

For my next trick, I worked on the placard. I made up the basic shape by cutting out two thin squares of black clay and then sandwiching them together with a yellow lollypop stick in between. Next for the logo. I really like the Lib Dem logo with its simple shape and elegant curves. I wanted to replicate that as closely as possible, so I rolled out some yellow clay very thinly and then cut tiny strips for the component parts of the design. Please bear in mind that the placard is only 2cm square, and so the logo itself was about 1.5cm square. Just as well I like working on a small scale!

To attach the placard to the cat, I added a paw and lots of liquid polymer clay. Liberal Demo-Cat stands 4.5cm tall, and is 3.5cm at his widest (too many constituency lunches).

Thanks again to Lowri for commissioning Liberal Demo-Cat - in the interests of fairness and impartiality, I will now make up a Cat for each political party.

This ends the party political broadcast for the Quernus Party.

Mole Family (b.28 February 2010)

2010-03-24T02:53:00.002Z

I have a confession to make. I have fallen in love with Dr Mole. I love everything about him - the rotund shape, his moley paws, his furriness, his wee pink nose - basically, I am just a big fan of moles!

After making Dr Mole, I had quite a lot of the fur effect cane left over, and so I went a bit mole-mad and made up a whole family of them. And of course, being me, I wanted to see how small I could make them!

The largest mole stands 4cm tall, whereas the wee baby one (who is clearly very fidgety and just wants to go out and play) is just under 1.5cm tall. Making the paws for the smaller moles got quite fiddly, the beige Super Sculpey is just perfect for mole paws.

I took the Mole Family to the Ilkley Arts Market on 13 March, and sold them that day. I'm looking forward to making up the next batch of moles - they are just too cute not to be making a regular appearance!

Wee Spiderpig (b.21 February 2010)

2010-03-21T09:05:00.000Z

Laura, who had commissioned me to make Wee Niko, also wanted me to make up a Wee Spiderpig. Spiderpig is a very cute black and white female guinea pig, and I believe she is what is known as a Dutch guineapig.

I had never made up a guinea pig before, but that's never stopped me! I do love creating a new wee creature, and I could see how its shape would lend itself very well to polymer clay. So I made a start by conditioning a piece of white clay, and then I rolled out a thin sheet of black clay.

Cutting out the markings from clay for my wee animals is a bit like cutting out a pattern for making clothes. From the photographs, I try and work out how the markings will look when laid out in two dimensions - it can be quite taxing sometimes, and I have (rather disturbingly) been known to draw out an aerial shot of how the animal would look if skinned! I always to make the markings in a single piece, rather than join together sections of clay. This makes for a much cleaner, smoother finish.

For Wee Spiderpig's ears, I used the Super Sculpey beige clay which I use for my cat noses (I also used it for Dr Mole's paws). I then added a thin layer of black clay to the shape, leaving a portion of the pale clay showing. I used the same beige clay for the nose as well.

Then I was faced with the 'feet or no feet' conundrum. From my experience of guinea pigs (and I did own one about 20 years ago - Barney was his name, although 'Wheep Wheep Wheep' would have been more appropriate for the all the noise he made), they don't often show their feet, and so I decided to follow suit with Wee Spiderpig.

Wee Spiderpig measures approximately 6cm long.

Wee Silly and Wee Molly (b.17 February 2010)

2010-03-19T15:14:00.000Z

Carey, that lovely lady from Harrogate, asked for another couple of wee horses to add to her growing menagerie. Silhouette, whose stable name is Silly, and State Legacy, or Molly, belong to Carey's good friends and she wanted to surprise them with a wee gift.

Silly, a Skewbald, is Molly's mum. Molly is a bay, and both are just gorgeous horses. Molly has just had major surgery, so fingers crossed that she makes a full recovery.

I do enjoy making up piebalds (white with black markings) and skewbalds (white with any other colour marking). I've found that the coloured markings are often in similar places - large patches on the haunches, often with small patches at the belly, and also large patches on the chest. The mane and tail are often bi-coloured, as Silly's is.

To get the patches looking as natural as possible, the trick is to roll out a sheet of coloured clay very thinly, and then carefully tear out the required shape, bearing in mind that the clay will flatten out a bit when blended onto the body. The two colours in the mane are usually quite clearly defined, whereas the tale is often two-toned - Silly had a black core to her tail, with cream hair on the outside.

Thanks again to Carey for introducing me to these lovely horses!

Wee Bessy, Wee Ginny and Wee Sox (b.17 February 2010)

2010-03-16T08:00:00.000Z

Back on 12 February, I received a message through Folksy from Beth, who wanted to know if I could make up three Wee Horses based on Bessy, Ginny and Sox. Bessy, a black filly, is jet black and very affectionate. Ginny is a bay mare who can read Beth like no other person can - Beth has been owned by Ginny for 16 years all told. And Sox - well, Sox is a buckskin appaloosa.

Wee Sox was a little more challenging than some others wee horse commissions I've done before. And I loved that! Not only was this a breed I hadn't made before, but Beth asked if I could do a future Wee Sox, based on what he'll look like when he grows into his adult coat.

Appaloosa horses are best known as an American breed and have been featured in many Westerns over the years. They have a very distinctive coat and were bred to enhance the wonderful spotting pattern which covers the body in varying degrees. Although pictured with a chocolate coat and (to quote Beth) a Tina Turner mane, once he grows out of his foal coat, he will be more of a sandy colour with a black mane and tail. The black spots, which aren't clearly visible just now, will become more pronounced.

So I set about creating the future Wee Sox! I started with creating a tan/sandy body by mixing up some clay, and then I worked on the black spots. These are quite wide-ranging over Sox's body, stretching from his hindquarters up to his neck, and they also come in a range of sizes. So I rolled out a very thin sheet of black clay and tore off tiny patches of black, attaching them randomly over the body. Then I gently rolled the body to blend the clay, and I repeated the process with white clay, although this was concentrated mainly on his flanks. So in fact, although it felt like it would be a complicated make, putting it altogether was quite straightforward.

There was no crystal ball-gazing when it came to making Wee Ginny and Wee Bessy - these are beautiful horses, and for Wee Ginny, it was more a case of making sure I mixed up the right shade and conker brown. To get the rich colour, I used the Fimo copper effect clay, which has stood me in great stead for wee horses. It brings a depth to the colour, as well as a great sheen - it's one of my favourite Fimo clays.

For all three wee horses, I placed their manes so that they were lying on their right. Rather than just lay strands of extruded clay flush against the body and neck, I first of all laid two strands of clay along the line of the neck, and then curled the strands of clay over it, which created a ridge where the neck would be. I think the effect works pretty well.

Thanks again to Beth for commissioning these three gorgeous wee horses - she was delighted with how they turned out, and I'm looking forward to finding out whether the real Sox will bear any resemblance to Wee Sox in the future!