Heart Shaped Wings for my Sleepy Valentine Goblin Fairy Baby

Even sleepy goblin babies need to look their best. And so, with the sculpting of my My sleepy Valentine’s Day fairy-turned-goblin baby (click here if you missed part 1) half the battle still awaits.

I’ve seen some beautiful wings created from Angelina film also called fusible film. Other than my desire to create something ‘awesome’ I will be ‘winging it’ through this unplanned experiment.

Preparing for the Wings

Angelina film or ‘fusible film’ is my most recent magical discovery from the Morezmore Estate. What starts out as a rather plain sheet of ‘plastic’ can be turned into magical wings that reflects a rainbow of colors.

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I assembled the supplies as follows:

Creating the Goblin Baby’s Wings

In keeping with the Valentine’s Day theme, I formed 2 heart-shaped wings using red craft wire. The long tail at the heart’s tip will allow for easy insertion into the goblin baby’s back.

I glued the heart-shaped wings to the an ‘Aurora Borealis’ colored film. Notice the reflection of color in the untreated film. What I particularly like about this is how the apparently simple colors will turn magnificent during the melting process.

Too little heat and the color remains dull. Too much heat and the entire film will melt off. The key, which I have yet to master, is to stop at JUST the right moment for that beautiful color combination.

I experimented by holding the wings a few inches above a lit candle, ready to pull the wings at a moments notice. Alas I wasn’t fast enough and melted the first set of wings right down to nothingness.

Trial #2 was more successful. I exposed the wings to just enough heat allowing for the rainbow to emerge, and a little more for that magical ‘hole’ in the wings. Hey, she’s a goblin, her wings can’t be perfect 😉

Once properly ‘colorized’ the film must be set to prevent melting down the line due to accidental heat exposure. I set the wings using pink crystal lacquer. While still wet I doused the wings with a combination of glitter and micro-beads in various shades of white and pink.

To ensure a proper wing-fit, I kept the goblin baby uncured through this entire process. Using a tapestry needle I placed 2 holes between the shoulder blades. The wing tips were trimmed and the wings adjusted to fit just right.

Baking the Sculpture

Satisfied with the wings, my baby was ready for the oven. This is always the most torturous part for me. When clay is in the oven, it gets soft, and soft clay is unpredictable. I planned for the bake by supporting the arms with strong wire, but I didn’t want to take any risks.

Enter my ‘amazing’ oven support discovery = PAPER!!

That’s right, a rolled up piece of paper has A LOT of strength as long as it cannot unroll. Couple this with the strength of an internal armature and voila… support!

I placed a roll under the baby’s arms to discourage them from sagging. I used my oven thermometer to support the baby from the side placing a piece of paper between metal and baby to prevent a metallic sheen (and increased heat/burning)

I set the timer, set my mental panic button, and began the scary wait. Luckily all went well. I checked the temperature every few minutes, and breathed a deep sigh of relief when the baking was over. But only after escaping the kitchen and clay-baking fumes.

I kept the fairy in the oven overnight to ensure a slow and even cooling process. This increases the long term durability of clay sculptures, and also prevents accidental breakages of the soft/warm clay.

Painting and Blushing the Goblin Baby

I blushed the goblin baby with my new discovery – Genesis Heat-Set oil paints. This is a special type of oil paint that doesn’t dry unless heated to a temp of 250F (oven temp). Unlike water-based acrylics, once baked the genesis paints will never wash off. To dilute the paint into a ‘runny blush’ I added a few drops of TLS (translucent liquid sculpey)

I ‘blushed’ the entire fairy giving the baby a ‘healthy’ glow especially around chubby portions like the thighs and belly, and areas like the cheek, fingers, and toes.

Back into the oven she went, and once again the goblin baby was allowed to cool before handling.

The Finishing Touches

I chose to use fine feathers in place of ‘hair’ for this special creature. I placed a healthy plume of pink feathers at the base of each heart shape wing, a few wisps onto the fairy goblin’s head, and a tiny feather on each of the eyebrows.

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Your Feedback Greatly Appreciated

As you can see, I had a lot of fun creating this little goblin, but my skill is always improving. And so, I will greatly appreciate any feedback or constructive criticism left in the comments below. A few key points that I already recognize is the disproportionate facial features (eyes too high, tiny forehead) but hey, that’s how my planned fairy baby turned into a goblin baby 🙂