Welcome Poppy!

As a very young child I became a lover of Beatrix Potter books. One of my favorite stories was of Mrs. Tiggywinkle, my first introduction to hedgehogs. I always found them fascinating and they continue to be one of my favorite creatures to sculpt in clay. My husband (ever patient in my love of animals) gave me a baby hedgehog for my birthday. We named her Poppy, inspired by the prickly poppies that we discovered growing wild near our home. Our Poppy has a coat every bit as prickly as her namesake...well, maybe not quite THAT prickly.  Although she's prickly she's a cuddler too. I'm amazed at how quickly we've become friends. She loves to get up next to my skin and snuggle up, smoothing her quills back so she doesn't prick.  She actually reminds me of a tiny little dog. She will look up at me with her dark eyes and then tuck her little head into my hand and yawn, sticking out her long pink tongue.  I've learned that when I want to hold her, I wake her up by calling her name and giving her a little time before picking her up, now she's easier to get going than my own daughter is!

My Own Private Garden

Every time I see a thick green piece of moss, the first idea that pops into my head is TERRARIUM.   I once saw a show when I was a kid, I don't remember what it was called...Hodge Podge or something of that sort.  I remember they used to do all sorts of outdoorsy crafts....it was my kind of show.  They made this beautiful terrarium with a moss that I just looked up, British Soldier Lichen .   So I hauled out my huge jar, but apparently the lid did not survive our move.  I've found that Target has the most wonderful jars for terrariums, like this one here.  I like to start my terrariums with a layer of sand and gravel.  Aquarium gravel works great or landscaping gravel works too.  Then I put a level of activated carbon which you can find in the aquarium section of the pet store. Next I put a layer several coffee filters, but sphagnum moss is even nicer. I didn't have the moss but did have the coffee filters so that's what I did.  Then you put a nice layer of potting soil, I'd put at least 2-3 inches.  After that you are ready to add plants.  I like to start with a layer of various mosses. You can find them in shady, slightly damp areas.  Try not to totally clear an area but take small patches from several areas.  Ideally what you want is low growing, moisture loving plants (at least for this type of terrarium). I found some plants growing near the moss...they had these little darling four petaled flowers so I've added them, although I've had yet to figure out what they are.  Also I found sticks with lichen growing on them and one with a shelf mushroom.  I also added some seeds to this terrarium, I've chosen Royal Carpet Alyssum .  We will see how well it does! I'm also making little terracotta creatures for them.  I've taken one and coated it with a mixture of honey and vinegar. Then I rubbed it with a dry piece of moss. I'm hoping I can get it to grow on the hedgehog's back.

Mold Making and Hedgehogs

I've been working on making some more molds to use for my raised relief type beads. I've been using polymer clay to take impressions from all kinds of things such as leaves, twigs, and sea urchins. Now I'm working on ideas for frogs and hedgehogs. I love both, especially hedgehogs. I've also made some ceramic clay hedgehogs. Really excited with how they've come out. Should be getting a new kiln in a few weeks so this gives them lots of time to dry out before firing. I just love the color this clay is supposed to fire to...a nice speckled brown. I used to make glass frog beads--so fun to make and each had a different character. I'm really hoping my idea works for making these molds. I could always get a little plastic frog and press it into the polymer clay, but I'm hoping by sculpting the original it will give them more character.