Tuesday, May 13, 2008

What's that smell ?

Apoxy sculpt..... I really hate the smell. It almost makes me gag . It reminds me of rotten fish or stinky socks. It is great stuff though !

I am just in the process of making some bear noses and thought I'd share. I am almost finished that bear that was a near disaster the other day. In the end I think it will turn out nicer than what I had planned with that grey fur. So, maybe it was a good thing to have the fur rip.

Back to noses......


I use two mediums:
1)polymer clay like Fimo or Sculpy (which you need to bake at 265C for 25-30min.
2)unbreakable 2 part apoxy sculpt (Which air drys in about 3-4 hours or 24 hours to totally cure. This stuff can be drilled and sanded without breaking.

I also add a wire loop in my noses to allow them to be securely sewn onto the bears face.




1) For the Fimo/Sculpy just kneed to soften and insert the wire , then shape the nose. Finger marks can be removed with a tiny bit of rubbing alcohol. Bake as directed above.

2) For the Apoxy mix equal parts of A and B together. It may be sticky so let it sit for an hour. Then add the wire and shape. Let it air dry . The apoxy I bought is a natural color so I add paint when I mix the parts together. It is messy, but I had no luck painting the finished noses. The paint chipped off, although many people tell me it shouldn't.

Hopefully I can add a nose to my bear tomorrow so he can stop and smell the roses.

3 comments:

Joanna Mallory said...

I'll never take a bear's nose for granted again. They're works of art. And that rose photo is perfect. The rose is a work of art too.

Anonymous said...

Ooo, cool! Thanks for sharing your nose process. I'm assuming you embroider the noses on your mohair bears but use these sculpts on your real-fur bears. (I think I'll let you work with that Apoxy stuff...ugh. :-) )

Tammy said...

Glad you both enjoyed the tutorial.

Debbie, you are right I embroider the mohair bears noses. I just prefer the sculpted nose on my fur bears.

Joanna, I agree a rose is a work of art. I was having fun capturing it's beauty with my new camera. This little miniature rose is about the size of my thumbnail. I didn't even notice the water drop until I enlarged the image !