Glow-in-the-dark polymer clay can be a lot of fun to use, especially this time of year. But it can be difficult to show off the cool results online. Whether you want to sell your creations on Etsy or just show them off to your Flickr contacts, here are some general guidelines for getting good photos of your glow-in-the-dark creations:

• Use a tripod and your camera’s timer function (if it has one). A little shakiness can really affect photo quality in low-light, long exposure photos.
• Turn off your flash. (Seems obvious til you forget to do it! <g>)
• “Charge up” your glow-in-the-dark creation by keeping it in a bright place for a few minutes before the photo. This will ensure it’s glowing brightly.
• Find a very dark place for your photo. This is easiest to do if you can shut off all the lights except one lamp beside you. Put the object to photograph in place (preferably against a dark background such as a black posterboard), focus your camera, and get ready to press the button as soon as you turn off the light.
• Want to take matching daytime and nighttime shots? Since the nighttime shot will be the trickier of the two, take it first. Once you have a shot you like, leave the object in the same position and turn on the lights for your daytime photo. (I didn't do this for my photo above, thus the differences in angle and position.)

Tips for Camera Settings

Let me start this part by saying I'm not a photography expert. These are some of the things I've tried that seemed to give me good results. Any of you who actually know what you're talking about, feel free to correct my mistakes in the comments.

Now that that's out of the way...

Specific options for your camera will vary. Read the manual and experiment to see what gives you the best results. Here are some of the things I recommend changing:

• If your camera has the option, increase the contrast of the image by selecting Contrast +.
• Change your ISO sensitivity. A larger number (such as 400) is good for shooting in dark locations.
• If your camera has setting selections for white balance, try the daylight setting. This is (somewhat ironically) a good setting for nighttime photos.
• Select a slower shutter speed. A setting of 10-15 seconds will usually work. Your camera may indicate seconds with a ” mark, as in 10” or 15”.
• Open the aperture wider. The aperture is indicated by F numbers (i.e., F2.8 or F5.6). The smaller the F number, the larger the lens opening. And the larger the lens opening, the more light reaches the image capturing device, resulting in a brighter image of the glowing objects.
• You may also be able to manually adjust your camera’s exposure by changing the EV settings. I selected +2.0EV for the brightest photo.

Good luck — I'd love to see what glowing things you're creating!

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Ever since I saw my first calaveras at a local Mexican restaurant, I've been intrigued by Dia de los Muertos, or "Day of the Dead." Celebrated throughout Mexico at the beginning of November, the holiday takes a festive approach to death. Families remember loved ones who have passed away through personalized altars, parties, and picnics. The belief is that, as long as a person is remembered, they never truly die. The calaveras (decorated skeletons) that adorn the holiday have a humorous look, not spooky like Halloween skeletons. They're more like caricatures of the person, featuring clothes and hobbies that the person enjoyed. I think it's a neat way to celebrate the lives of those lost.

Since I've been wanting to try making Dia de los Muertos crafts using polymer clay, I was a little surprised to find that there's a book featuring both things... and it's been out more than a year! Day of the Dead Crafts by Kerry Arquette, Andrea Zocchi & Jerry Vigil, is a fun and crafty introduction to the imagery of this holiday.

The Book

The book starts with a history of the Dia de los Muertos holiday, which dates back to the Aztec Indians and evolved over time. The intro also talks about the meaning behind the various symbols. I like the personal emphasis: it's folk art, so it's okay for it to be raw. There is no right or wrong ways to create these pieces.

The book includes tons of examples of different styles of work. I love that these examples are great for sparking new ideas. However, the photos are mostly from a Hollywood festival. I would like to see more photos from Mexico to get a more authentic sense of the holiday.

The Projects

The subtitle says there are more than 24 projects (does that mean 25??) in this book. It seemed like many more, though, since they include detailed information for various examples, which can be almost as good as a step-by-step project. In addition to the polymer clay projects, there were also projects or detailed examples from the following media:

• Paper Mache
• Paper, photo & collage
• Paint
• Gourd
• Baking (sugar skulls recipe)
• Bottlecaps
• Microscope slides
• Printmaking / linoleum block print
• Craft metal embossing
• Glass painting

It's really a cool variety of techniques. The downside is that, with so many projects, there's only room for 2-4 pages of instruction per project. This means the instructions sometimes seem lacking. If you already have some familiarity with a process, you'll be fine... otherwise, you might need to do some Googling. Still, it's perfect for a craft dabbler, someone who's interested in trying their hand at a variety of projects.

There are 8 polymer clay projects, including:

• Polymer Clay Calavera
• Dressed Male Calavera
• Dressed Female Calvera (includes hair instructions)
• Marigold Beaded Necklace with flower cane and checkered beads
• Three Oriniginal Charms (painted polymer clay)
• Fabric Jewelry (polymer clay pendant with decopaged fabric on top)
• Marigold & Skull Pendant
• Photo Transfer Necklace

Sculpting the skeletons from clay is an important part of the book, and I think the instructions are pretty decent. It introduces the idea of proportion, including a handy chart showing correct ratios for body parts. It also introduces armatures, though I think more in-depth information on armatures would be useful.

The polymer clay sections have limited instructions, though if you're a regular reader of this blog, you're probably knowledgeable enough about polymer clay to do fine. It did bother me that they primarily used Super Sculpey, then painted the baked pieces, instead of using colored clay. One spot in the book even said that "most artists prime their baked polymer-clay creations with a coat of neutral-colored paint" first — a statement I take issue with. Still, there was some good information for the clay newbie, such as the "Dealing with Disasters" sidebar. It talks about the common problems that can occur with polymer clay, and how to fix them — things like fingerprints, burning, broken pieces, etc. This kind of section would be a good addition to most books.

My Results

My calavera incorporates ideas from various photos in the book. I pulled inspiration from examples with glasses, hair curlers, and dogs, then I followed the basic instructions for a dressed female calavera. I will note, though, that I felt I needed to reference other books for parts of my sculpture. The Day of the Dead Crafts book said only to "pinch small pieces of clay to form the hands," then they have you detail the bones with a paint pen. If you want to sculpt individual fingers, as I did, you may want to get help from another source. I used Maureen Carlson's How to Make Clay Characters for its hand instructions and for clothing details.

The skeleton I made is based on my grandmother, who passed away earlier this year. Click on the photo for more description.

Summary

• Title: Day of the Dead Crafts: More than 24 Projects that Celebrate Dia de los Muertos by Kerry Arquette, Andrea Zocchi & Jerry Vigil
• Price: $13.59 plus shipping
• Pros:
  • Good info on Day of the Dead with lots of photo examples
  • Large number and wide variety of crafts.

• Cons:
  • Most of the photos are from a U.S. festival, which makes one wonder if the examples are authentic or Americanized
  • Project instructions are sometimes bare-bones (sorry!), forcing you to find other sources for more advanced information.

• Who It's Good For:
  • Anyone who wants an approachable introduction to the Day of the Dead holiday and its imagery
  • Crafters who enjoy trying projects in different media.

Reviewed Materials Source Disclaimer: I purchased this book. No compensation was received for my review. I always strive to be honest and unbiased in my reviews, but your results with the product may vary.

Posted in: Reviews | Comments (3)

Tired of using the same old Halloween decorations year after year? Come make some new ones at my DIY Glowing Skulls class in Oklahoma City. We'll talk about the Dia de los Muertos tradition and learn to make festive skulls out of glow-in-the-dark polymer clay. Use your skulls as jewelry, magnets, puppets, and more. Here are all the details:

• Class: DIY Glowing Skulls
• Location: OKCCoCo in Downtown Oklahoma City
• Date: 4-7 p.m., Saturday, October 24th, 2009 (we'll walk over and watch the big Ghouls Gone Wild Halloween parade after class)
• Cost: $20
• Registration details here.

Check out a few more skull pics here.

Oh, and a teaser... I've got some exciting news to share, but I'm waiting til it's officially official before I post details here. If you're curious, here's a big hint.

Posted in: Currently Working On... | Comments (3)

Hubby and I knew we wanted to instill a love of reading in our little one. After the second or third time we'd read Sam all the books on his bookshelf, though, we decided it was time to visit the children's section in our local library. But where to start? I realized pretty quickly that I didn't know much about children's book authors. Sure, there was Dr. Seuss. But how did one discover other good books and authors?

I decided to do it the old-fashioned way... alphabetically. I picked a row in the library (the S's, oddly enough) and started checking out one book from each author. I did a similar thing back when I was a teenager. If I remember correctly, I started with the A's and didn't make it past B or C (of course, those were much longer books). Anyway, if Sam and I like the book, I make a note of it and get more books by that author. I don't know how realistic it is to imagine we'll make it all the way through the alphabet, especially once Sam is old enough to have his own book preferences. But I'm enjoying the variety. The best part about it is feeling that I'm discovering authors. It's pretty clear (and a little sad) that some of these books have never been opened before, much less checked out.

I tell you all this because yesterday's book was a real gem.

The book is called What to Do? What to Do?, and it's by Toni Teeven. The story has all the charm of a classic fairy tale. I'll give you an overview here, though I think it's worth a read even if you don't have kids. Basically, the main character, Sophie, was very lonely. Her attempts to feel appreciated by baking bread for the birds almost lost her a chance to find real friendships. She was doing something she loved, but the recipients didn't truly appreciate her gift. She was too busy baking for birds to recognize a better opportunity when it came along.

She cleverly solved her problem, which allowed her to open a bakery for people who appreciated it. But there was one extra detail in the ending that I loved:

Sophie hung a sign in the village:
ALL WELCOME FOR BAKED GOODS
MONDAYS AND FRIDAYS ONLY.
OTHER DAYS: STOP BY AND VISIT,
BUT BRING YOUR OWN BREAD.

How-do-you-do's were asked and told.
Tea was served and bread was sold.
Friends were made as good as gold.
And Sophie was never lonely again.

Did you catch that Monday & Friday thing? I love that the character safeguarded herself, making sure she wasn't constantly baking bread, making sure there was time for her to develop friendships. She could have made more money by selling bread every day, but instead she stuck with her priorities.

As fall's craft shows lead to winter's holidays, how are you setting limits? How will you ensure you don't miss big opportunities because you're too focused on the daily busy work? (After all, a "yes" to one thing means a "no" to something else.) How will you be sure that you're not spending your holidays making last-minute gifts for strangers instead of treasuring time with your loved ones?

This is an issue I struggle with, so I would love to hear your thoughts. Have you figured out a balance that works for you?

"Loaf" photo courtesy of Wordridden

Posted in: Inspiration , The Business of Crafting | Comments (3)