Birthday Boy

My son, Eli just turned 4, and let me tell you it was so much fun!  I love how excited a 4 yr old gets about every little detail of a birthday.  The presents, the singing, the cupcakes, etc. We're not having the actual party for over a week, but here are a few pictures of the gifts and from the celebration with just our family.

Morning of his birthday...just opened up some smaller gifts.

This year we decided, or more accurately "I" decided (since my husband rarely has a say in something once my mind is made up) to build my son a new rock table.  I love building things for the kids.  I've built them a mini fridge and kitchen complete with stove, oven, and mircowave, so I didn't hesitate to take on building a rock table.  And yes, I'm aware that most of these things can be purchased in stores...but where's the fun in that!?!  While it may not win any carpentry contests, I'm pretty proud of the finished product, and most importantly my son LOVES playing on it!  We've spent most of past couple days outside moving rock!

One happy 4 yr old boy!

Had to get him a nice steel Tonka dump truck to go along with the rock table.

Eli's obsessed with the color blue right now, he even requested that that be the theme of his birthday party this year.  More to come about that in a later post :)  So, I had to make cupcakes with blue frosting and blue sprinkles! 

First bite of his birthday cupcake.

My daughter diving into her own cupcake.

The aftermath!



Ballerina Princess Tea Party

I absolutely love making these sweet little ballerina cake toppers!  Something about them...so adorable with their little tutus and lace up ballet shoes. This one was made for a little girls 3rd Birthday.  The theme is "Ballerina Princess Tea Party".  So, she's fully accessorized with her crown, tutu, and slice of birthday cake (which sits on top a mini doily).
I hope the little princess loves her cake topper as much as I loved making it!  Happy 3rd Birthday!

May The Force Be With You

My nephew is turning 5 this month and wanted a Star Wars party.  Of course, my brother was thrilled and is more involved then ever before in the planning!  I offered to make him a cake topper for the big day.  So, what to make...after some discussion, we decided on a LEGO inspired Darth Vader.  Then, we decided that the cake might look a bit bare with just Vader.  Why not add a few more Star Wars characters!  Yoda and R2D2 were made next. 

One little problem.  My nephew has a sister (my niece :) and she might feel a little left out if she didn't get a Star Wars figure...so, I made a little LEGOish Princess Leia for her.  Problem solved!

So here they all are.  Can't wait to see what my nephew thinks of them!

Japan Earthquake/Tsunami Relief

As everyone knows, Japan has hit by devastating earthquakes and tsunami.  Like everyone else, I feel heartbroken over the damage and destruction that's taken place.  I wanted to do something to help...I started brainstorming and decided to create necklaces inspired by the recent events. 

These necklaces are now on sale through my Etsy store:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/70398734/japan-earthquake-tsunami-relief-tsunami
and
http://www.etsy.com/listing/70397501/japan-earthquake-tsunami-relief-necklace?ref=v1_other_2 .
The best part, I'm donating 100% of profits from their sales to GlobalGiving (www.globalgiving.org). 

I believe strongly in this cause!  So, please check out my necklaces and don't forget to tell your family and friends.  Japan needs our help!

Wedding Season is Fast Approaching!

I just finished a custom made clothespin wedding cake topper for a wonderful customer down in California.  She sent me numerous photos of her & her fiance, her wedding dress, veil, flowers, and cake.

Her ivory colored lace dress is beautiful, and I hope I did it justice with my mini version complete with a halter top and sash.  I also included the cathedral length veil similar to the one the bride will be wearing on the big day.  The base was decorated with grass, yellow & white flowers, and glass beads! 

As always, I sew/finish all edges of the outfits.  I'm a bit of a perfectionist, so I spend hours making sure that every little detail is exactly the way I want it.  It's definitely time consuming, but in the end I think it's well worth the effort.  I hope my customers can see how much love and time is put into these creations!

Additional twin flower girls were made as gifts for the brides real life flower girls as well.

Wedding season is just around the corner...for more information on ordering your own custom wedding cake topper, please contact me by email at craftywithasideofcrazy@gmail.com
or visit my Etsy shop at jadestone1.

Preschool Clay Day!

My son's preschool teacher asked if I would be willing to do an art/clay project with the class...it took me all of one second to say "I'd Love To!".  This was back in February, and I've been brainstorming what kind of clay project to do with 19, 3 and 4 year olds.  Luckily, they took turns at the "clay station", so I only worked with 3 kids at a time.  It really allowed me to give the kids some personal attention. 

Since the class was celebrating Dr. Seuss's birthday, we decided to have the kids build silly Dr. Seuss inspired animals.  His teacher read "If I Ran The Zoo" while I kneaded the clay and set things up.  When the kids were told they'd get to make their own clay animal, their eyes light up and smiles spread across all their faces!  It was so great to see them that excited.

Some jumped right in, while others were a little hesitant to really go for it!  But, after a while they all seemed to love it!  Even though their "animals" didn't turn out looking much like animals at all, they were so proud of their creations. 



Horses, fish, octopus, t-rex, cat raccoons, and more!



Working hard on her pink & purple bear!

My son...decided he didn't want to make an animal, so he made the Earth instead.

Custom Ballerina Cake Topper

This pretty little ballerina dressed in pink was custom made for a little girls 3rd Birthday!  She's holding a numbered sign and a present for her big day.  She even has lace-up ballet slippers...to cute!

Valentine's Presents for Preschool Teachers

 Since I'm so immersed in making clothespin dolls right now, I asked Eli if he wanted me to make some for his preschool teachers for Valentine's day...he said, "Yes!".  Another fun project...coming up with teacher accessories I could make out of clay.  Each teacher is holding a chalkboard with her name on it.  One teacher is holding a red apple and the other is holding a ruler & pencil.  Pretty darn cute! 

Princess Rocker Cake Topper!

This cake topper was made for an adorable little 4 year old girl that loves 2 things...princesses & music!  So, why not combine her 2 favorite things to make one amazing party theme....Princess Rocker!  This topper should fit in perfectly!  The Princess is wearing a purple gown with pink jewelry & tiara while rocking out on her purple & pink guitar made of clay & wire.  She's got a matching mic stand (also made of clay & wire) & an easel made out of popsicle sticks holding a concert poster.

This was such a fun project to work on, and I think it turned out pretty well.  I hope the little birthday girl loves it as much as I do! 

Miniatures Made of Polymer Clay - Fun, Fun, Fun!!!

I first started working with polymer clay to make accessories for my clothespin dolls...then I started thinking of all the other fun things that could be made.  I sculpted some miniature, teeny tiny sushi, take-out food, and fortune cookies.  Just adorable!

With the upcoming Lunar New Year, I decided I wanted to make something for my nieces & nephews.  I saw hotos of adorable clay ninjas from Lilley1's photostream on Flickr, and thought they would be great little gifts for the kids.  And, because I'm a little crazy, I decided I wanted to try making them myself.  Here's my attempt at these adorable little ninjas.  They're a little over 1" tall.  I plan to turn them into necklaces for my nieces & nephews.  Hope they like them!

Wedding Bells!



Custom Wedding Cake Topper



The newest additions to the clothespin family are my wedding cake toppers.  While they are much more time consuming, the end result is definitely worth the time & effort put in.  I just wish I had been making these 8 years ago when I got married.  These cake toppers will be custom made to resemble the wedding couple!  You can visit my Etsy shop for more details:  http://www.etsy.com/shop/jadestone1



A Major Milestone

I was checking my email last night, and saw that I had 1 new message...it was from Etsy.  Deep breath...and it was an order confirmation from Etsy.  I couldn't believe it.  My very first Etsy sale (my St. Patrick's Day doll).  It had been a little over 3 weeks since I first opened my shop.  Three long weeks of constantly wondering if I'd ever get a sale, would anyone want to buy one of my clothespin dolls???  I was so excited and I felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders. 

I shipped the doll out this morning and now I'm left feeling nervous and anxious.  Will she like the doll?  Will she leave positive feedback?  It seems I am a worrier by nature...

Kicking Out the Clothespin Dolls!


So, I'm still kicking out clothespin dolls like crazy!  I have a billion ideas for different types of dolls, and a very limited amount of time to actually make the dolls.  But, here are a few that I've made over the past week or so. 



St. Patrick's Day Doll



Hip Knitting Doll



Mother & Daughter Dolls



Doctor/Nurse Doll

Definitely feel like I'm getting more creative with the dolls and their accessories.  I'm especially loving the ability to sculpt miniature accessories out of oven bake clay!  So fun and adorable, I can hardly stand it :)

A Truly Beautiful Work of Art

I wanted Eli, my 3 year old to do some acrylic painting.  I had an pre-scretched canvas just laying around.  So, I thought why not let him paint on it.  He was so excited to use real paints, and have a "huge" (it was to him) canvas to paint on!  He tried out different colors, brushes, sponges.  I loved seeing him so excited.  He really felt like he was making something special...and it was exactly that, something special.

We immediately hung his beautiful work of art in our living room, and that made him so happy & proud.  He actually started doing a happy dance. 

This is such an easy art project to do with your kids.  Go to Michaels, Joann, or any other craft store and pick up a pre-stretched canvas.  They come in so many sizes.  You can find coupons or look for sales on them and it really is an inexpensive way to let your kids be creative and feel like they've made something really special. 

Eli called his painting "Forest Maze".  It's something we will keep forever!  That's the other great thing about doing this art project, it's not just a piece of paper that might get ruined, crumpled, etc.  I highly recomment giving it a try!