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minnichi

clay is squishy
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It's been... 4 years since my last journal entry. (The one ranting about gloss on figurines and the enlightening Ice Resin xD) Where does that time go? 

It's also been 4 years since I've had an actual summer break without classes!!! On the outside, I've become a nerdy nursing student, but on the inside I'm still an even nerdier clay-prodder who wants to hang out on dA :nerd: 

I think it's finally safe to say I can actively be crafting and updating my gallery again. *Dusts off Etsy page* If anyone's down for a commission or trade request with me, sure why not? :B My fingers are just itching to craft something, anything. I've been deprived for too long! 

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Ice Resin.

4 min read


I feel like I should just write out my revelation in case any other polymer clay-fanatic stumbles across this. 

So, as a lot of you know, I use a varnish to glaze all my projects called Varathane (polyurethane, water-based, etc. etc.) It totally beats the 'clay glazes' they sell out there, because it was meant for wood and sometimes furniture and stuff. It's very resilient and protects paint very well. 

However... I've finally come to realize that Ice Resin is what it'll have to be now. (Jewelers grade.) Varathane Varnish can stain. It may accumulate dust if you're not careful (you can clean it off, but that's still annoying), and it can lose its shine over time if exposed to a lot of friction. It's the greatest glaze I know, but it still has its imperfections.

But now I see it: Ice Resin is...perfect. It's that which protects the figurines that go into my snowglobe, designed to defy water for all eternity. It's what you just  *won't* scratch naturally. Because it's literally like a  layer of insanely hard, crystal clear plastic you're putting on your clay. It can make a little strand of clay hair, or maybe a dangling scarf, suddenly unbreakable. SO. It'll be more expensive, but I'm happy to tell you that from now on, I will be glazing all of my projects with Ice Resin. Some reviews about it have been negative I noticed, but that's because 1) Mixing it correctly is very easy to miss and 2) Some people don't like the container's design. For me personally, though, it works like no other.  It's smoother than my varnish will ever be, only takes one coat to be thicker and more protective than my varnish will ever be, and will not ever cause dirt/dust to "stick" to it.  Just like any natural plastic. The way keychains should be!

Just a ramble I wanted to share as I work on my latest snowglobe piece (with Ice Resin) :D I figured that if this project gets such great stuff for coating, heck, why not just apply it to all my charms? Here's to higher quality commissions for everyone!


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Summer and Etsy

3 min read


After a really long and tiring school year, life finally begins again for me. So yeah, this here's just a heads up for all of you waiting on my dead etsy store. It's open again :) And yes, all the usual items in my gallery will be offered - pony charms, Slendy, and probably some of the newer items as well. If you see something you want available from my gallery or a custom, just let me know and I should be able to arrange it ^^

Well now that that's settled, I'm really excited to get back into art after being forced to cut it off for school this whole semester. I did well and whatever, but studying is just so draining. I feel like these times are when I'm truly happy, getting back into clay - and now I'm even signed up for community illustration classes! I figured that whatever I want to explore in art, I've just gotta do it and not care about the academic red flags and the "you don't have time" warnings anymore. I'm just going to spend this summer for myself, screw science!

Anyhow, commissions and etsy shenanigans will all be fun this summer, but I'm just  glad to be able to return to my crafts, no matter what I'm making. Oh art, how I've missed thee! <3

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Etsy Store | Commission Information

(Figured I needed a new journal entry anyway, considering the last one was about reopening my etsy for two weeks...in January...)

Contests are lyke, my thing. Not because I expect to win them, but because they give me an excuse to craft wildly new things with wildly awesome designs. I love trying out OC designs, really! It gets tiring sometimes to run an etsy that's based entirely on fandoms and known characters, ya know. And oh, trivia time! Did you know that when I craft an OC for a contest, I actually send it to the host for free regardless of the winners? Like I said, I honest-to-God just want to craft something new.

Except there's a problem that I'll encounter with 99.9% of deviantart contest hosts. There'll be a lovely set of rules with tons of details every time. 'These are extremely important rules,' they say. 'These should answer all your questions,' they say.... NO. It does NOT answer my questions! Actually, it's just one question every single time. And they overlook it pretty much every single time. "Do you accept any medium of art for this contest?" Hey, I know that the universe decided I should be better at sculpting than drawing, and that drawing unfortunately is the preferred medium for contests the vast majority of the time. But *how hard* is it to say "drawing only," people? :nirvana: It's already difficult enough for me to find a contest that actually wants artisan crafts - but on top of that, I even have to scan the contests that only talk about drawing, and ask if they'd accept my stuff based on my *prediction* that they just forgot to mention that any medium is fine.

Today, I was going through that whole search-and-ask cycle again. But y'know, I have too much homework right now, and I decided I just don't have the time to search anymore. I wanted to find some contests that I could dive into for Spring Break, which is in a week for me. Usually I'd have to plan which ones right around now...

(Sigh) SO. Anyone want to do me a favor? OC contest. With artisan crafts allowed. If such a thing exists and *specifies* that it exists, please...let me know. If by some miracle I actually have several options to choose from, I'll mention that I don't have a preference for what kind of OC's to sculpt; I've done fine before with both humans and creatures B-) However - more for your sake - try to avoid a design with long, skinny limbs that can't be adapted to a pose in which they don't stick out. Chances are, they'll break off not too long after I send it to you ^^" (you = potential contest host, of course).

Anddd I think that's it for today! Hoping to have something to compete for in a week or so...yep. Any ideas?

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Etsy Store | Commission Information

See the link above to go check it out! But anyway, yeah... I've been a little out of it (lazy) since I got out of school for the holidays, and suddenly I only have 2 weeks left until I'm forced to go back! But I figured I should do some good-quality sculpting while I still can! The infamous items have returned to the listings in my etsy, including the Rainbow Dash and Rarity charms. I've missed doing made-to-orders... So bring it on! :D

As I do realize how badly school kills me though, my etsy will cease to exist again once the semester starts in two weeks. Those of you interested in commissioning me before, I encourage you to ask me now while I have time xD Otherwise it's just going to be pushed until the summer giveaway. (Yeah, I'm probably going to throw out another freebie when my semester ends... Starting to become a routine :P)

I'll update my to-do list here for any of you to check on progress:

:bulletblack: Remake of Pabu Charm order (Because the post office totally mutilated my charm last time I tried to send it off -_-)
:bulletblack: Rainbow Dash charm from free giveaway (sorry it's taken me this long to get started)
:bulletblue: Fix Royal Couple snow globe to send off (Minor issues, but I've been stalling...heh)
:bulletblack: Gunter/Ice King Keychain for :iconarriku: (Because I felt like it)
:bulletblue: Art trade Snowglobe and Appa charm for :iconnazgullow: (His character designs are going to be fun to make 8D)
:bulletblack: Another Pabu charm order
:bulletblack: Pabu charm v2 order
:bulletblack: Rainbow Dash charm order
:bulletblack: Slendy charm order

:bulletblack: Pinkie Pie shadowbox order
:bulletblack: Twilight Sparkle shadowbox order
:bulletblack: Another Twilight Sparkle shadowbox order
:bulletblue: Beemo keychain gift request

Well, let's get started then! :D (Flexes sculpting fingers)

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Featured

Finally Returning to Artsy-Life! by minnichi, journal

Ice Resin. by minnichi, journal

Summer and Etsy by minnichi, journal

I want to join a contest... by minnichi, journal

The Etsy is Completely Open Again! ...For 2 Weeks! by minnichi, journal