ShopDreamUp AI ArtDreamUp
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Hey guys!
Thought I'd make a FAQ since I've received the same questions over and over again. If there's anything else you'd like to know, comment here and I'll add it.
What materials do you use?
I use polymer clay and TLS (translucent liquid sculpey). I don't have a preferred brand, but I mostly end up using Sculpey III and Premo.
How do you color your clay?
I use soft chalk pastels to shade my clay. Any large, solid colors in the clay are just different colors of clay.
What paints do you use?
When I use paints (mostly for the faces on some of the charms), I use regular acrylic paint applied AFTER the item is baked. I then seal it with glaze to keep the paint from fading off.
I want to start working with clay! What materials do I need?
I have a basics guide here for those who are curious as to what you need.
How do you make your charms/miniatures shiny?
I use Triple Thick brand glaze. You can use any glaze you prefer, though. I do find, however, that the Sculpey brand of glaze tends to get dirtier quicker than the Triple Thick.
How long have you been working with clay?
I have been working with clay since March 2012.
Why miniature food?
I first became interested in miniature food when I bought several boxes of Re-ment from SuperCon 4 years ago from a vendor who was getting rid of their collection. From there I'd look online at Re-ment sets and eventually saw people making their own miniature foods - how cool is that? So on a whim I picked up a starter pack of clay and tools, and I have yet to set them down.
Where do you get your bottles/plates/utensils/stemware?
I buy all of my supplies online. Miniature bottles and jewelry findings are bought off eBay. Any miniature items are bought from an online wholesale distributor. I am working on adding miniature accessories (mostly stemware and utensils) to my Etsy shop. I can also try and find you a specific item if you note me.
Do you have an online store?
I do!
Why are your items so expensive? I see them other places for a lot less!
My items are priced to cover my time spent working on them, as well as to cover material costs. They are quality, handmade artisan items that are one of a kind.
How do I commission you?
Please read my commission guidelines here.
How long does it take you to finish your pieces?
This really depends on the complexity of the piece. Some can take under a 20 minutes, others can take several hours over the course of a few days.
What type of metal do you use for your jewelry?
All of my jewelry is made of nickle free silver plated metal. It won't leave weird green marks on your skin. All of my earring hooks/post earring backings are made from hypoallergenic surgical steel and shouldn't aggravate sensitive skin. I can purchase gold/sterling silver backings upon request. I can also turn earrings into clip-ons.
Do you negotiate on prices at all?
No, I do not negotiate prices. Making these pieces is my full time job and I need to be able to cover my costs, as well as try to make enough to help pay my own expenses.
What does your workspace look like/where do you work?
I work from home. I even have pictures of my workspace.
Do you only work in 1:12 scale?
No, I do not. I also create foods in 1:24 and 1:48 scale. I'm also branching out into 1:6 and higher scales as well.
What do you do with miniature foods?
Miniature foods are used to decorate dollhouses or miniature scenes. Some people who collect miniatures will buy them as well.
Do you make tutorials?
I have a few tutorials in my gallery.
I am no longer making any new tutorials since I'm working on a small booklet of them.
Why won't you tell me how you made a certain item?
For the majority of pieces in my gallery, I will either point you to a tutorial I used or tell you exactly how something has been made. Since I make a living from doing this, some techniques are trade secrets of mine, or they will be covered in an upcoming tutorial booklet.
How do you make your drinks?
Drinks are made by tinting resin. I use acrylic or watercolor paints to color the resin.
What brand of resin do you use?
I use the Castin' Craft brand of resin. It requires measurements of 50/50, which I find a lot easier to use than resins that require drops of harder to milliliters of resin base.
Where do you buy Resin?
Most craft stores will carry the brand I use. Amazon.com also has them as well.
How do you get the bubbles out of your resin?
I'm lucky that they clear themselves. I let the resin sit and the bubbles migrate out on their own. I've heard that you can use a hair drier to get rid of them as well.
Do you pour your resin in layers?
For tiny amounts (like in 1:12 cups), I pour it all in one go. For items like my ponds, I usually do 1-4 layers of resin per piece.
How do you get your resin so clear?
I don't really do anything special to it. I follow the directions on the package and go from there. You can't rush resin work, and if you do your results will show that. Go slowly and make sure your measurements are exact.
Are the fish/turtles/frogs/etc in your ponds real?
No, they are not. I hand craft each one from polymer clay.
Thought I'd make a FAQ since I've received the same questions over and over again. If there's anything else you'd like to know, comment here and I'll add it.
What materials do you use?
I use polymer clay and TLS (translucent liquid sculpey). I don't have a preferred brand, but I mostly end up using Sculpey III and Premo.
How do you color your clay?
I use soft chalk pastels to shade my clay. Any large, solid colors in the clay are just different colors of clay.
What paints do you use?
When I use paints (mostly for the faces on some of the charms), I use regular acrylic paint applied AFTER the item is baked. I then seal it with glaze to keep the paint from fading off.
I want to start working with clay! What materials do I need?
I have a basics guide here for those who are curious as to what you need.
How do you make your charms/miniatures shiny?
I use Triple Thick brand glaze. You can use any glaze you prefer, though. I do find, however, that the Sculpey brand of glaze tends to get dirtier quicker than the Triple Thick.
How long have you been working with clay?
I have been working with clay since March 2012.
Why miniature food?
I first became interested in miniature food when I bought several boxes of Re-ment from SuperCon 4 years ago from a vendor who was getting rid of their collection. From there I'd look online at Re-ment sets and eventually saw people making their own miniature foods - how cool is that? So on a whim I picked up a starter pack of clay and tools, and I have yet to set them down.
Where do you get your bottles/plates/utensils/stemware?
I buy all of my supplies online. Miniature bottles and jewelry findings are bought off eBay. Any miniature items are bought from an online wholesale distributor. I am working on adding miniature accessories (mostly stemware and utensils) to my Etsy shop. I can also try and find you a specific item if you note me.
Do you have an online store?
I do!
Why are your items so expensive? I see them other places for a lot less!
My items are priced to cover my time spent working on them, as well as to cover material costs. They are quality, handmade artisan items that are one of a kind.
How do I commission you?
Please read my commission guidelines here.
How long does it take you to finish your pieces?
This really depends on the complexity of the piece. Some can take under a 20 minutes, others can take several hours over the course of a few days.
What type of metal do you use for your jewelry?
All of my jewelry is made of nickle free silver plated metal. It won't leave weird green marks on your skin. All of my earring hooks/post earring backings are made from hypoallergenic surgical steel and shouldn't aggravate sensitive skin. I can purchase gold/sterling silver backings upon request. I can also turn earrings into clip-ons.
Do you negotiate on prices at all?
No, I do not negotiate prices. Making these pieces is my full time job and I need to be able to cover my costs, as well as try to make enough to help pay my own expenses.
What does your workspace look like/where do you work?
I work from home. I even have pictures of my workspace.
Do you only work in 1:12 scale?
No, I do not. I also create foods in 1:24 and 1:48 scale. I'm also branching out into 1:6 and higher scales as well.
What do you do with miniature foods?
Miniature foods are used to decorate dollhouses or miniature scenes. Some people who collect miniatures will buy them as well.
Do you make tutorials?
I have a few tutorials in my gallery.
I am no longer making any new tutorials since I'm working on a small booklet of them.
Why won't you tell me how you made a certain item?
For the majority of pieces in my gallery, I will either point you to a tutorial I used or tell you exactly how something has been made. Since I make a living from doing this, some techniques are trade secrets of mine, or they will be covered in an upcoming tutorial booklet.
How do you make your drinks?
Drinks are made by tinting resin. I use acrylic or watercolor paints to color the resin.
What brand of resin do you use?
I use the Castin' Craft brand of resin. It requires measurements of 50/50, which I find a lot easier to use than resins that require drops of harder to milliliters of resin base.
Where do you buy Resin?
Most craft stores will carry the brand I use. Amazon.com also has them as well.
How do you get the bubbles out of your resin?
I'm lucky that they clear themselves. I let the resin sit and the bubbles migrate out on their own. I've heard that you can use a hair drier to get rid of them as well.
Do you pour your resin in layers?
For tiny amounts (like in 1:12 cups), I pour it all in one go. For items like my ponds, I usually do 1-4 layers of resin per piece.
How do you get your resin so clear?
I don't really do anything special to it. I follow the directions on the package and go from there. You can't rush resin work, and if you do your results will show that. Go slowly and make sure your measurements are exact.
Are the fish/turtles/frogs/etc in your ponds real?
No, they are not. I hand craft each one from polymer clay.
Patreon Launch Giveaway!
Hey guys! It’s official - I’ve launched my Patreon page. :)
There are currently three tiers available, but I am working on creating more reward tiers in the future, as well as adding new rewards to existing tiers. Any support I receive through Patreon will allow me to focus on more intricate pieces, learning new techniques, and in the future letting me create a set up so I can livestream my work.
As a thank you to anyone who becomes my patron, I’ll be running a giveaway through the month of September! Any tier will enter you into this giveaway on top of the tier benefits. October 1st I will announce the winner. The winner
Etsy Shop Update: 7/29/18
Hey guys!
I'm having a shark week themed Etsy shop update tonight at 7pm EST (roughly around 2 hours from now).
I posted a look at the 8 new items going into my shop on Instagram and Tumblr if you wanted to get a sneak peak at what's going up. :) There are links to both those accounts on my profile!
Looking to Hire a Graphic Designer!
Hey guys! I’ve decided to go ahead with the name change for my business. I have a new name that I love and that has a lot of sentimental meaning to me. Now I just need to start moving everything over!
I’m looking for a graphic artist that is experienced in creating logos. I would need a new logo, watermark, and banners (for Etsy and Tumblr). I have a rough idea of what I would like, but I need some help polishing it up.
If you’re interested, please send me a link to your portfolio via comment here or email. I can be reached at bon.appeteats@gmail.com.
My first logo and banners were created by a follower and I love it. So I
Name Change
Hey guys!
So this is something I've been thinking a lot of over the last year or so.
Basically, I believe I've outgrown the name Bon AppetEats. When I first started, I told myself I would never do anything but miniature food since sculpting was hard. Well, that worked for a few years, but I got bored. So I branched out into other things (dragons, ponds, etc).
Here's the issue - now that I'm not really making miniature foods all that much, the name really doesn't make sense. People confuse my sculptures for food items. I feel limited by my name in a sense.
I do like the name. I am attached to it - after all, it's been my business identity
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Where can you purchase dollhouses/what brands best suit your miniatures? theyre so dang cute abd detailed but I don't know where to get a detailed dollhouse that would suit them