Right, now it is February it seems like a good time to talk about what I was up to over the Christmas period! ;-)

This year I decided to try to make some of the prezzies I was giving. However I didn’t just want to limit this to drawings or paintings, I figured this was a great opportunity to try something new that I had been meaning to try for a while.

I have been admiring some of the miniature food jewellery made by crafters from polymer clay. People such as Petit Plat and Shay Aaron are able to make mouthwateringly realistic miniature tarts and cakes and I really fancied giving this a go. Also I thought I could see a way to replicate some actual size beads of the sweeties I loved when I was young (and still do if I’m honest). I figured these would make good prezzies for sweet toothed friends and teenaged relatives alike.

The photos here show all of my first attempts at making these sweet little treats. they are all made from polymer clay (Fimo or Sculpey), some glitter, some varnish and a few ready made jewellery findings. I haven’t made anything from these materials since I was quite little and I had always thought of polymer clay as just a way to entertain small kids but having made these and having had a look around at what other artists are making, I was surprised at how versatile a material it is and what beautiful things can be created with it.

The materials available have become a lot more sophisticated too, you can now get semitransparent and liquid clays with which you can achieve some great effects.

I am quite pleased with how they all turned out especially the dolly mixtures and jelly beans. I might even have a go at putting together a collection to sell. What do you think?

Some of these were quite fiddly to produce. The sugar coating on the jelly tot dolly mixtures and the icing on the cupcakes for example sent me quite cross eyed. As you can probably tell from some of my artwork I tend to like getting lost in the tiny details of a piece of work but this was the first time I have really felt I could do with a magnifying glass.

It’s not just my eyes either. I ended up so hunched over each bead that after a while my back and shoulders hurt too. In short this is a sure fire way to make me feel old before my time ;) but fun all the same! :)