Millefiori Butterfly Pens

Item of the week: Butterfly Pens

These butterfly pens are the perfect summer accessory
Made to Order, each pen is truly OOAK (one of a kind)
Each pen features a number of brilliant blue butterflies flying lazyily on a background of blue 'marble' clouds
The butterfly wings come from a Premo polymer clay cane designed and created by me (see below) The cane was stretched and reduced to the desired size, and then sliced to give repeating butterfly wing patterns.

Butterfly pens are available for purchase in my Artfire Shop and in my Etsy Shop

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Sock Monkey Bookmarks

Item of the Week: Sock Monkey Bookmarks

This weeks featured item is.... MORE SOCK MONKEYS!!
I just love sculpting these cute little faces. The sock monkey bookmarks featured above are a flattened version of the sock monkey trinkets for sale in my Shop


Available in a rainbow of color choices, these monkey bookmarks measure approximately 3 inches in length (8 cm), perfect for slipping between the pages of your favorite book between reads. These bookmarks can be purchased in my Artfire Shop and in my Etsy Shop

Tiny Challenge: Teddy Bears

After last week's Tiny Sock Monkey Challenge I have decided to challenge myself to sculpt a number of additional tiny animal series.

This week's challenge: Tiny Teddy Bears

The goal: Sculpt a number of teddy bears Under ONE INCH TALL!
Alas, teddy bears come in so many colors, I opened my drawer of clay and was instantly lost (I own a few hundred bars of clay in about that many colors)
So I posted a poll on my Facebook Page asking for Teddy Bear color suggestions

The first vote came from KatersAcres for Brown and Blue Bears. I sculpted a warm-up pair measuring 1 inch and 3/4 inch tall


After the 'warm-up' pair I was ready to work my way down. The majority of votes called for Pink and White Teddy Bears. My translation: Marbled teddy bears in red and white for an overall 'cute' pink look. Instead of the common 'twist' typically seen in marbled sculptures (where 2 colors of clay are twisted together for a fun, but somewhat boring pattern) I created the marbled effect using a technique I invented and coined the 'crazy cane' technique. This allows the marbled colors to show through in a 'crazy' pattern blending and twisting in every direction

Here are the Results

Bear sizes from left to right: 1 inch, 3/4 inch, 1/2 inch, 1/4 inch
That's right, the smallest bear is just ONE QUARTER INCH TALL

But of course, after sculpting all these pink bears, blue started calling to me, so I gave in and followed up with 2 tiny blue teddy bears

The blue teddies measure 1/2 inch and 1/4 inch.
And JUST IN CASE you're not convinced of the size yet (my camera did well this time) here are some reference photo shots:




These tiny teddy bears can be purchased in my Artfire Shop and in my Etsy Shop

I've enjoyed these tiny challenges immensely and am ready to take on yet another tiny critter challenge, yet there are SOOO MANY CHOICES...

What tiny creature would you like to see next?

Post your suggestions in the comments below, or on my Facebook Page
Some suggestions that crossed my mind: Owls, bunnies, chicks

Sock Monkey Rainbow Collection

Item of the Week: Rainbow Monkey Collection

This weeks featured item is an improvement on a popular rainbow monkey set from last year. I redid the 'style' on these new monkeys so that while they are still the same height (a tiny half inch) they are slightly chunkier, with brighter smiles making them appear (in my opinion) younger and cuter

New Set

Older Version

These Rainbow monkeys can be found in my Artfire Shop and in my Etsy Shop

The Tiny Challenge: Monkeys

I enjoy sculpting on a small scale. I love it when a people view my work and say

OMG! that is SO TINY

I am often asked: But HOW do you work on such a small scale?
The truth is, it takes ALOT of patience, lots of leaning over the table (my poor back), lots of squinting (perhaps I should get a magnifying monocle) and my trusty sculpting tools.
My "special" sculpting tool set consists of nothing more than a converted sewing needle, converted tapestry needle, converted X-Acto blade, and the ink barrel of a BIC pen.

I recently sculpted a set of monkeys sitting just 1 inch tall

But perhaps I can sculpt smaller

I have challenged myself to sculpt a 'tiny' monkey at 3/4 inches tall

But perhaps I can go smaller

So I sculpted a rainbow monkey set sitting just over HALF AN INCH!!

but...

CAN I STILL GO SMALLER??

This week I pushed myself to sculpt creatures that measure UNDER HALF AN INCH!! Each tiny detail is carefully sculpted using colored clay. No paint was used on these monkeys

1/3 inch baby blue monkey (1cm)

1/4 inch baby pink monkey, that's right ONE QUARTER INCH!!

(blink and you'll miss it)

I now offer these tiny monkeys as Custom MADE TO ORDER in my
Artfire Shop and in my Etsy Shop

Stay tuned for the Micro Teddy Bear Challenge coming next week. Have YOU ever seen a teddy bear smaller than your fingernail?

Sock Monkey Dollhouse Miniatures

Introducing: Item of the week

As a private educator, my day job at Leah4sci revolves around the schedule of my students. While this means a slow tutoring season in the summer, it also means a busy sculpting season for MagicByLeah
I have set a personal goal to increase my shop inventory to 300 items by September first in preparation for the upcoming holiday season and look forward to sculpting up a storm.
I also plan to sculpt a few more magical creatures in the process for all you fantasy lovers out there

So join me on this magical journey as I introduce at least one new item in my newest weekly blog feature:

MagicByLeah - Item of the week

And what better way to start an 'item of the week' feature, then my introducing yet another version of my favorite sculpted creature, the sock monkey. I just love this little guy and hope that you love him too.

My first item of the week set is the Rainbow Chunky Monkeys. These little guys are slightly larger than the sock monkey miniatures previously offered in my shop. They are chunkier, and sit approximately 1 inch tall.
(click on the monkey set to view it in my shop)

What's special about these monkeys, is that they not only resemble the beloved sock monkey doll; Their 'skin' even has a sock-like appearance. Peer closely and you will see the tiny embedded fibers in the granitex clay.
Actually, there was an ulterior motive behind sculpting these rainbow monkeys (other than the fact that I love sculpting monkeys) Most of the monkeys offered in my shop are made to order upon request. Yet 'describing' the color is not enough as we are a visual generation and prefer to see things with our own eyes
And so I sculpted a set of monkeys in the 7 Granitex colors offered, allowing you to visualize, not only the color, but how it looks on a monkey.
(click on the rainbow set to purchase individual monkey miniatures in the color of your choice)

A chunky sock monkey will look great on your computer, desk, or in your dollhouse. And they also make a lovely gift for any sock monkey lover and collector.

View my full line of sock monkey gifts and treasures in my:
Artfire Shop and in my Etsy Shop