~THE BIG MAKEOVER! ~

Yes, once again the blog of Renata has shed its skin and come forth in new and brilliant colours!

Though that change is minor in comparison to others. For instance, we say goodbye and thanks for the memories to the name 'Nata's Little Place', and welcome in the new and exciting era of 'Renata Clarke Designs'. A tad more grown-up in looks and name I say.

With a new title comes a new heading picture, a photo of me taken a few years ago with my beloved pink parasole, which I have turned into a silhouette. Better, do we agree? I'm feeling this is a lot more me anyway.

I haven't been paying attention to this blog at all for months. I think the wrong name and the wrong look were throwing me off, and so I was just avoiding the place all together. In these months of ignoring my blog, I have been doing all sorts of crafty things, which I will update you on soon, lots of photos coming. I am intending to start up an etsy shop and begin selling my creations.

So stay tuned folks (assuming I haven't lost you in cyberspace thanks to the new web address :/ ), because this place is finally getting interesting.

xnata

Tiny Little Bowl of Tiny Little...

Fruit!

My second medium (which I love to use even more than the first) is modelling clay. I first discovered the love of it when I had to repair my church's nativity scene, in which a lot of the characters had lost their noses/fingers/etc, and I had to rebuild them and then repaint them. They turned out great, but I didn't take any photos. Next christmas when it's all out I'll go take a picture to show you.

But check this out...




I am beaming with pride about this one. This was my first try with making a set from the clay that actually hardens and then you can keep it rather than the stuff you just muck around with (or blue tac). I only finished it yesterday (painting and spraying each piece with varnish to protect them), and I love love love the finished product, so excuse me while I bore you to death with too many photos of them.

The banana...

The orange...

The pear...

The apple...

Aren't they adorable? Or am I biased due to them being my creation? I don't know and I don't care because I am nuts for them. My husband has already claimed this one to go on his desk at work (the man never eats fruit so I don't quite get it). I will be trying things like tiny cupcakes and lollies and a tea set soon, and I have so many other ideas too, like christmas decorations and a little tiny basket with little tiny easter eggs. I seriously could make this bowl of fruit a million times, so if you want one please let me know and I'll be more than happy to make one for you, it is so much fun!

Here it is in my hand to give you an idea of how tiny they are! It makes my hand look huge...actually it's causing me to develop a bit of a complex about my hands being too big. But it's so CUTE! Tee hee! If I was a barbie doll I would totally have that as a centrepiece on my kitchen table, and I would totally want to take a bite out of that apple.

Here it is again in a very artistically lit photo. It looks like it should be an oil painting doesn't it? Very old school still life portait-y.

I'm now going to go and fantasize about making other very tiny things...

xnata

A Pretty Little Dragonfly...

I am finally putting on my first few creations! I know, I procrastinate.

Making jewellery is so much fun, and has given me such a wide selection of jewellery at relatively little cost, some even tailor made for a particular outfit. However, sometimes while making jewellery my mind would wander and all of a sudden I'd look down to see I'd made something like this...

Wow, where did that come from? Okay it's not as accidental as I'm making it. This isn't so much a miniature of a dragonfly as a life size interpretation of one. I made this about...a few years ago I'd guess, and as you can see I often have it hanging from a piece of fishing line by a window, so that it's wings catch the light. Very pretty and serene.

I've made lots of other things like this over the years, a lot of which I've ended up giving it away because friends/family have spotted it and liked it and so I've given it to them. Butterflies, dragonflies, other winged things, flowers and little tiny men. I have a bunch of bead flowers that I'll post another time and one of the little men as well.

I'll be back shortly to show you another medium I like to make tiny things out of.

xnata