These are some of my most used tools. One of the things not pictured is resin, of course ;-). I have every possible color of liquid resin dye, but have found something just as handy but much less messy: : powder dyes (the little jars pictured). I just add a tiny bit and mix. Other things pictures are my tweezers, toothpicks, clear tacky gel glue, Liquid Fimo, my beloved Kemper needle tool, chalk, tin foil, and clear epoxy from the hardware store (when I need something stronger than tacky glue), and baby powder which I dust on my tile and acrylic roller so nothing sticks. The second pic shows my ball styluses, different grades of sandpaper, Scenic Water (only for some sealed containers), the ubiquitous straight razor, and my Dremel. I've gone through two mini sized Dremels in the past and they were horrible (not enough power), so I got a regular sized one with the little attachment shown in the pic.
Hello Kiva!
ReplyDeleteMy name is Sara and I just want to say that I have been a fan of yours for about a year! I'm a beginner at mini food making and you are my role model. I hope to one day be as good as you are. Right now I am struggling to find all the right tools and to find easy projects to try. Thanks for this informative blog! Love your work!
Sara
Oh Sara, thank you so much!!! You are too kind :-)!! I'm glad that this helped you a bit! You know, I would love to be able to add a little side section with some tips and stuff but I haven't quite figured out how to do it. But if you ever have any questions, don't hesitate to ask!
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ReplyDeleteI meant to write liquid fimo! I have been having trouble with it, does it really take so long to work it into a smooth consistancy. I was making some quesadillas from your tutorial in a magazine I found but can't believe how hard liquid fimo is to work with. Any tips? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHey Sara, I won't lie- I practically break my frigging wrist sometimes in order to get it to that workable, smooth consistency! First I blend the cheese mixture, but what I do is add a bit of Fimo Mixquick to further soften the mixture before "whipping" it. This is partly because I use the firmest clays and it makes it easier. I use Fimo Classic and Kato clays, just because I prefer the firmer ones. I put everything in a cup and use a popsickle stick (or other super hard stirrer) to mix it. You can always add a bit more Liquid Fimo if it's still too hard to blend. When you have that done, just carefully spread a thin layer on one side of your tortilla, then when you cut it into sections, it will ooze out just a little bit on the sides, which is good! I carefully pick up a tortilla and use a popsickle stick to spread the layer on. Cover it with the top tortilla, then slice.
ReplyDeleteBut for the actual mixing, I use that popsickle stick and mash the mixture against the side of the cup, over and over again...then I end up straight mixing, very vigrorously. Just keep at it and you'll get the right consistency ;-).
Other things you can use Liquid Fimo for: making liquids, like pie filling, gravy, etc. But for tinting/coloring Liquid fimo, use a bit of OIL paint, never acrylic. So, if I want to make gravy, for example, I'd pour out a bit of Fimo, then take a toothpick, pick up some brown oil paint with it, and mix. Honestly, I use resin for that kind of stuff (gravy, beverages, etc.)though. It's just a matter of preference :-).
You might want to also pick up some bottles of transparent glass paint! You can use the red for cherry pie filling, for example. I use alot of amber glass paint for browning stuff. They look like this: http://www.dickblick.com/products/delta-glass-paint/
- I hope this helped, Sara! Let me know how it goes, ok?
I forgot: you can also color liquid clay with concentrated watercolor paint,inks, and powder pigments, not just oil paint. The concentrated inks and watercolors will give you a more translucent look than the other additives. I've tried Liquid Fimo, Liquid Sculpey, and the Kato brand. I prefer the Fimo because it seems to turn out more translucent.
ReplyDeleteThanks SOOOO much!!!! I am so excited now! I'm gonna get to work right away! I wish it was the weekend! I work at a daycare and I am student as well so sometimes its hard to find time during the week some to work on minis, but I try to make time! You gave me soo much help and advice, thank you a million! I'll post my work soon for you to see and I hope I make you proud! :)
ReplyDeleteSara
p.s. If you think of any other cool tips or anything please don't hesitate to let me know. Thanks in advance!
You're very welcome, and I'm glad this has fired you up ;-)! I look forward to seeing what you make! I'm going to post an old picture of grilled cheese sandwiches that I made. This is using the same idea with the cheese, just inbetween slices of toasted bread instead of tortillas. To get that browned toasty look on the bread, I used dabs of that amber glass paint. After you texture your bread and bake it, just pick up some glass paint on a paintbrush (you might want to wipe a bit off so it doesn't get globbed on)and lightly "pounce" at the surface here and there. You can lightly varnish the cheese part, too :-).
ReplyDeleteCOOL! I'll check that out!
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