Angels Among Us....

First,  I have to give a huge HOLLA BACK to Julliana  at Juls Beads 

for the BEST lampwork beads ever!!! 

If you like what you see here go check out her blog and etsy shop.

This is the treasure that she made me when I purchased 

her special half-day of lampwork deal to help her with her little sick doggie. 

You know you want it, you know you like it....Neener neener...!!  

Not only am I amazed at how much she got done in a half day 

but I let her choose what to make and I never 

could have dreamed up such a fantastic assortment of colors and styles

Oooh Aaaah I can't stop touching them and admiring them, 

so lovely, so precious!! 

She will notice that there are some missing above!!

That's because I made a set yesterday with the other focal and matching beads.

Is this bead not the most gorgeous thing you have ever seen?

I am naming it Angel's Heart because it looks to me like

a loving aura that most certainly has wings and can fly! 

You really put your best into your beads Juls!

Thank you again for your beautiful creations.

Speaking of ANGELS...

I have been wanting to create my own wings

so I finally conditioned a ton of polymer clay;

white, translucent and pearl mixed together.

I did my best to shape two wings and baked them for just 15 minutes.

Then I carved away at them with clay tools until they looked like this.

Thanks to my dear Doll Making Friend Fran ( you can convo her on etsy)

I have a two part mold making mix that is incredibly fast setting 

and remains flexible so that I could get all the fine details.

And Voila!! 

Now with a little pearlX powder the wings are ready for my Worry Dolls 

that are graduating to Angels.

The lovely head is made in steps.

1. The thumb pressed ball of clay gets stuck with a toothpick.

(Yes, like childbirth the process is a little painful)

2. Bake

3. Press clay into face mold and adhere to bald head.

(plastic surgery is needed to keep the face from distorting too much)

4. Cover the toothpick with clay, 

angels must have beautiful smooth necks that fit into their body snuggly.

5. Extrude clay for hair and create hairdo.

(This is a day at the spa for the angels)

6. Dust with pearlx powders to give the skin a fine glow.

7. Bake 

(My pictures end here but the process continues, 

I just need a good night's sleep before I continue)

8. Make-up: apply a modest amount of colored chalk, xtra fine tip eyeliners 

and lumiere paints for the eyes and spray with archival spray to make them permanent.

 For the Body 

1.  Texturize a sheet of clay and wrap it around

(this is quite humiliating for angels) 

folded and rolled toilet paper.

This supports the walls of the body while it bakes so that it becomes a hollow vessel.

A dusting of pearlx powder will make her feel better 

2. Before baking line the neck opening with some extra clay so that it is very sturdy

and be sure that the covered toothpick will fit in the neck hole firmly

(unless you want your angel to be a bobble-head)

3. Bake

4. Surgically cleanse the body after baking to remove the toilet paper by pouring water 

into the body and pulling out the softening and dissolving paper with tweezers.

I call this the esophoscopy!! 

5. Make arms and legs, poke holes for hanging and dust with pearlx powder.

6. Bake

7. Drill all holes for connecting body parts.

8. Assemble body parts with jewelry wire, 

beads may be added to give your angel some extra bling. 

PS I haven't quite figured out how I will attach the wings to this doll yet.

As soon as I do I will let you know. 

I love making these dolls. 

Each one seems to have it's own personality and they whisper their names to me.

Have you been visited by angels lately?