Why change is good

Hey all I just wanted to say how sorry I am for letting this blog collect dust for about 2 months. A lot have happened in those two months that I will go over in the this and in the next post. In this post I used my unicorn  cards to explain change and why its so important. Hopefully you won't be scared off my by new agey ways haha! Anyway enjoy and I hope this post helps anyone that is struggling with changes in their own life.

♥ A message from the unicorns and myself ♥

This started a few years back. I was only 18 and was at a cross road on what to do with my life. I always wanted to be a game designer or something of that nature because of my love for videos games, design and art. At the same time, in my heart of hearts I had something else pulling at my soul, being humble in maintaining my life through a self made business. A way that I can work with my hands, be happy and make others happy too. Its was hard to think of this as a career choice because I learned that it was hard to accomplish, and that I had no clue where to start. But over a matter of thinking and believing in the law of attraction I figured it was worth my life to achieve something that I truly wanted.

Since then things have happened to help support my efforts in my dream of a self made business. I named this new company of mine "The Candy Sanctuary" (the link takes you to the blog) and its been my heart and soul for many years. Everything I did was solely for that one purpose, to see it prosper and to see myself as a self made success. Yet things have been going against my favor for I have gotten caught up in many many opinions over the years. Not to say that everything I did was wrong or that it wasn't meant to be but my heart and brain wasn't in sync. My brain wanted to be the most hippest, different, and cutting edge "clay sweets and kawaii" company of its kind. I fell into the trap of following what I see to steer me into a place where only my heart could take me.

You see, even though I wanted to be the above mentioned things a big part of me just wanted that simple aesthetic of being myself. However my brain told me that I had to fit into certain roles to achieve success like the other crafters I was seeing. I had to have a certain "look" and "feel" that will attract my target market. I also had to think about cheaper prices then I wanted to be paid for because of the economy. All these things and more truly dug into my skin and made the back bone that I relied on to succeed.

In the recent year I woke up a bit to what I was doing and decided to change my style. I made it more "me" but kept in mind what my company was about. I have gotten into communities that did the same things as me and I learned from that also. I learned to be a little more truer to myself but things were still missing, things still needed to change, and I was still holding on the same basic handles of "reality".

 The biggest mistake I made in this was being overly personal with my "brand" and "identity". I was like a mother that wouldn't let her child roam free with the other kids. I kept my brand close to me and didn't do anything that might meant failure or a "rocking of the boat" sort of speak. I felt that this was my very blood and flesh, I didn't want to do anything to tarnish its name because it will directly reflect on me. When I made social accounts for TCS like twitter and facebook I didn't do anything out the box. I wanted to go by my own rules and not do anything that I felt like was "trying to hard". I didn't want to seem like a flake and over advertise my brand as well. It all was something in truth that I was deathly afraid of.

I didn't want to fail in someway, I didn't want people to think ill of me or my products, I didn't want to seem like someone that wanted something so bad. So bad that I would run over other people to get it.

This is just my wake up call that its okay to be outwardly passionate about my crafts. Not just show them to other people but to want to get paid for them. To be a true business and to be true on behalf of my heart, to really strive and take "risks" to get there. I made this journey way harder then it had to be because of me wanting something so bad but not going far enough to get there. I also still relied on the handle bars of reality to make me a success where only my true unlimited self can take me. I know this now and its yet again, time for change.

When I say change, I want to start over again and to build The Candy Sanctuary from the ground up again. Instead of changing the shell I'm changing the concept, the soul of it into something that was "me" from the beginning to end. No exceptions, no outside opinions, no compromises for anything or anyone. I'm making this into something I truly love because I know that I will be loved for being true to myself and my beliefs in life. I have to lead so others can see what "being your truth" means. Not disregarding other people but having enough faith in yourself that your not looking for the answers outside of your heart. You must spread your own wings and fly to your true destiny because that is the only way to get there.

Other people's wings won't work for you, those wings isn't your true desire. :)

Unless you want to wonder why things don't work for you no matter how hard you try.

So now I want to personally ask the unicorns about change and why its so important, since they told me my decision of my change was a great idea. (In fact that reading was the very reason I started this article haha)

The cards that I drew was:

♥ Let Go of stress!

♥ Best Friends

♥ Decide

So here is the unicorns perception of change:

The reason why we say that change is so good because it is happening in everyday life. Everything changes everyday, even your body changes every second of every minute. If you're feeling bored, angry, or sad, you need change. A change in thoughts and a change of feelings.

Change is what keeps us moving forward even if it's as sacred as a person's dream. The very first desire that you wanted to achieve maybe very different from the one you get to, simply because you changed. Something didn't work or something better came along and you changed your desire into something better.

Don't not be afraid of change, its a welcoming force that wants to take you in every moment of its moment. It guides us to make better decisions, it challenge us to see the truth and it makes us into the people that we are now.

If your afraid of change of any kind tell the unicorn kingdom that you need help. We are always there for everyone that need a change of any kind. If you want to move then this is your wake up call that its okay to want that and change.

Change is good, change is required and is open to everyone that wants it. If you resist the changes in your life yes, things will get very difficult and more unpleasant but with an open mind you can make these changes in your life work for you and anyone that you want to see as a success.

Trust us, we had to change too and it was the best decision that we all chose to make. Be strong all of you because a lot of change have been happening, take our hands (or hooves) and you will be guided into your own utopia through change.

Take care and lots of love,

                                    The unicorn kingdom    

New Hobbies

Hey there my sweets!

I just wanted to give you all an update on my crafting status. Lately I haven't done any sweets deco but I have been looking at new hobbies that I've been interested in like gel candles and soap making! They recently caught my eye in the last few weeks and I've gotten great beginner books for both. The soap book is called "soapy love" and the other is called "Gel Candles". When they came in the mail I was pretty excited and even more thrilled to see how easy it was to make both gel candles and soaps. I have been more interested in bath and body products so I think this is a great start on a new road for me. So that I can expand my love of sweets into these mediums.

I also gotten a pretty decent watercolor book called "Dreamscapes". I've wanted that book since the day I saw it years ago but I never brought it. When I saw how cheap it was on Amazon I had to have it haha! Having it in my hands and getting a chance to read it, I'm really eager to try watercolor again. If you all don't know, I'm in artist and have been drawing since I was born! I made the blog graphics and that little character down there is myself. If you want to see some of my work you can check out my Deviant Art page! Getting back on track, I've been wanting to try out a lot of mediums in my art so when I saw this book I knew this was the one. I've tried water color before but it didn't last long since I had no clue what I was doing haha. Now that I have a great solid book that can show me the ropes, I know that I can master the great medium of watercolor! 

Oh and I have some very thrilling news! The great JesseSaphir on DA so kindly made an edible raver's cake for her family! You can click on the picture to take an better look at it up close. Its so good looking and has layers of flavor, marzipan, vanilla, and peach juice! How good does that sound? Even better the next cake she want to make is my Chocolate Mousse Cake, I can't wait to see how that turns out! 

 :D

One last thing I want to mention is my new angel reading blog: Follow Your Inner Child Readings. I made another one a while ago but decided to start over to suit my tastes more. If your interested in angels, unicorns and other beings and want to have a reading of your own, come and stop by! :D 

Thanks for visiting, take care! 

My Birthday!

After two days of recovering I've finally got enough energy to talk about my wonderful birthday! It was a long day so I didn't put everything down.

This was by far the best birthday I had since childhood! I went to Atlantic city, New Jersey with my friend Brandon. We left out early and got the Grey Hound bus around 8:30AM and got there around 10-11AM. We got off at the Trump taj mahal and got our ticket price (20 dollars) back in casino money.

The first thing we went to do was get something to eat, after plenty of pit stops of course. I got some crystallized ginger from a boardwalk candy shop. Oh my god its SO GOOD! Ginger is my favorite spice so when I finally saw the chance to get some crystallized ginger I hopped on the opportunity! It has the sweetness of sugar with the heat and spiciness of the ginger. Brandon wasn't a fan of it so I had the whole bag to myself haha! Brandon have gotten some caramel covered marshmallow squares for him and I. I haven't tried mine yet since I'm not a caramel nor a marshmallow fan. But Brandon went back at the end of the day and gotten about 5 more of them and ate them all while we were at the beach.

We headed to the mall and I wanted to visit a jewelry store that was like my dream home, its called "Michal Negrin". The window display was so gorgeous and the inside of the store was like heaven to me. Little angels adored on the selves, gorgeous fames, tiny multi colored chandeliers, and jewelry to match. If I could make my house look like anything it would definitely be like this store. The jewelry was expensive but I just love to look at everything and to drink in the aura of the store. When I came there a second time that day I asked the cashier if I could take pictures of inside the store. Even though they were not allowed to, they said yes and I took these awesome pictures of the inside of the store. 

I wanted to eat at a restaurant since it was my birthday so we went to the top floor of the  mall to check some out. On the way there we went to the BEST candy shop ever! Its call "It's Sugar" and it has every piece of candy there ever was. Candy from the 50's up till now, its amazing. It was crowed every time we went there so we didn't buy anything, however I got some really great shots of the store!

So we were on the top floor of the mall and had some restaurants to choose from, I choose Buddakan, the asian restaurant. The food was amazing! All the food that we had have a natural, earthy taste from the herbs that they garnished the dishes with. Brandon had fried octopus and beef lo mein while I had the lobster dumplings with the hot and sour scallops. Everything was done perfectly and tasted better, even the water haha. Me and Brandon joked about how the water is actually from the mountains like all the bottle water companies claim. The inside of the restaurant was amazing as well! They had a long table leading up to a huge Buddha statue. The ceiling looked like the night sky even though it was the middle of the day. The restaurant was completely cut off from the rest of the world. It was a great place to eat and just have that quiet time in a busy mall.

After we ate we had a seat in the front of the window that overlooked the beach. The little seating area had chairs and sand to mimic the beach. It was so lovely I could of taken a nap in the chair. When I was getting anxious to start moving again, I looked in a hand made soap shop. It smelled awesome in there and I loved the products but everything was really expensive so I skipped out on the thought of buying anything.

We left the mall and walked down the boardwalk to walk off the food. After we made our way back up Brandon spoiled me with ice cream and other snacks. We looked in more stores then eventually made our way to the Ferris wheel which was Brandon's idea. It was pretty fun, though I was scared as crap at first since it was going a bit fast for my liking. The view was awesome and I loved seeing the ocean from way up.

While we were going back up the boardwalk we went back to the beach for the second time. It was so lovely seeing and hearing the ocean waves crash on the sand. It was late, almost sun down so the tides were rougher. Me and Brandon took turns going to the water's edge to get our feet wet. The water was super cold at first but after you got use to it, it was fine. I had the greatest time just standing there connecting with nature. Seeing the ocean's power up close is always awe inspiring to me, this time was not different. Feeling the water going over my feet and ankles was nothing short of awesome. I totally felt at home! One time the water came in so fast and high that it splashed on some of my pants. Luckily it wasn't that cold outside so I was fine. Brandon got some of his pants wet too. It was great just to get out there and really be around the beauty of the beach. I even felt sad coming home later on because I would miss it so much.

After we got our fill of the beach we went into the casino to get out of the cold. I convinced Brandon to play some penny slots with me. We both went on our first slot and won money AT THE SAME TIME. After a mere 3 or so turns I won about 27 dollars while Brandon won 67 dollars and some change. I was so happy because I made a lot of money without even spending anything.

After the first wave of the slots we went back outside to get some get some funnel cake and fries. The funnel cake was SO GOOD. The larger parts of it was very soft and warm. The only part that sucked was the powered sugar went all over my face when I was outside haha. The wind totally blew a whole bunch on me, even my glasses had powered sugar on them! I treated Brandon with some fries that were super yummy without the crappy ketchup that was on them. The old bay seasoning with the thick, warm, and soft insides of the fries was delicious! 

I went off to play some more slots and won a little over 20 more dollars overall. Brandon followed suit about 15 minutes after and didn't win as much haha. After we both spend the 20 dollars of the casino money we went on our way home. When we got back to Philly it was raining cats and dogs no sooner we got to our stop. It was late but we manage to get on a special bus that took us to my neighborhood. When we got home it was after midnight and I was greeted with 2 birthday cards and balloons!

This birthday was beyond anything I could of imagine. I barely spent any of my birthday money besides the ticket since Brandon paid for everything. Brandon that day was so kind to give me a My Little Pony toy that lights up that just made my day. 

I also got tons and tons of happy birthday wishes from friends and even random people online. I feel like the whole world totally revolved around me and gosh did it felt good! So many people made my birthday the best and I want to thank everyone for that. I hope the rest of my birthday and everyone else's birthday can be the same.

Thank you all for reading!

Take care!

Three inspirational sweets deco den blogs

Hey all, I just wanted to show you my favorite deco den blogs. I bookmarked a lot of blogs over the year. Yet, there are a few that I love to look at for inspiration, ideas, and just to lift my mood. All three sites are in Japanese but have pictures and crafts that are just to die for! The colors and materials they use is nothing short of amazing and I would love to be as good as them one day!

The first blog is the one and only Sweets Circle! The number one reason I love this blog is not only the great fake sweets but the tutorials and advice given on them. When I first stumble upon this blog I was amazed at all the tutorials and tips this person gave you. A lot of which is hard to find since deco den not overly popular in the states yet. Time and time again I found this blog not just inspirational but very informative as well, my favorite combination in any blog!

Candy Colored Ticket is my most recent favorite! If you want to see great sweets deco den work with resin then this is your blog. It never cease to amaze me how wonderful and creative her work is. It really pushed me to work with resin and other materials along with clay. The way she uses the clear resin to show off the bright colorful sweets in her accessories is nothing short of amazing! I'm always excited to see what she makes next and I follow her on twitter for her updates. Unique, colorful, and sweet is just the tip of the ice berg with it comes to this blog. You will be on her site for hours on end looking at her creations!  

Last but definitely not least Rainbow Cream! If you love looking at those small realistic details in sweets deco then look no farther. This is by far one of my top 5 favorites! It combines everything that I want to see in my work, detail, realistic look, and drop dead color!  I didn't know such sweets deco exists till I saw this blog. The first time I saw the blog I was looking through it for hours, I couldn't even help myself, I just had to see more! The part that I love most about Rainbow Cream's work is the realistic detail in it. The ice creams looks amazingly good as well as everything else. I was floored to know that it was fake and it was possible to achieve that level of realism! This is definitely the type to level and skill I want to get to in my own work. Making my sweets as real as possible was always on top of my list since I first started. Now seeing this blog gave me even more inspiration and respect for the sweets deco craft. 

 Rainbow Cream also has a twitter which you can follow here.

This was just the few of the many sweets deco blogs that I love to look at. I hope that this will bring even more inspiration to your crafts as it did mine. Thanks for reading and I hope you all have a great day!

Polymer Clay Icing for Donuts!

 (edit: if the text formatting it wonky near the bottom then blogger must of exploded on me. I tried to fix it with no solutions)

Hey there! Another week has passed so that means a new posting. Before I go into it you will notice that I changed the design of my blog! This super pink design is to celebrate the cherry blossoms and the coming of spring! I decided to "simplify" my graphic design style and do something more simple and clean. I loved how it turned out so I hope you all enjoy it to!

I want to show you my experiments with donut icing. I don't make donuts often or often enough, but I know there are several way to make icing for donuts. I'm a perfectionist so I always want my clay food to look as real as possible. I want to achieve that icing that's smooth, thin and well, perfect haha. I never went through all the ways I knew how so when I was looking at all my naked donuts I thought "This is my chance!".

The three donuts that you see are the three ways that I did it. I wanted to find a sure fire way that I can make that donut icing perfect all the time. That and just expand the ways I can make icings and glazes.

Before I go to the method that obviously worked I want to talk about the other two. The first method that I tried is what I normally use. I took a bit of some already made white icing made from white polymer clay and TLS. I revived its "icing" texture again since it was like a super soft clay texture from not being used and being dried out. From there I used a brown chalk pastel to color it, I didn't want to thicken it up again so I didn't use brown clay to colorized it. I used a small knife to shave as much pastel as I wanted in the clay then mixed it up. After the color was completely mixed in, I got a tooth pick to start laying down the icing on the donut. By the time the whole donut was covered with the icing I noticed that the icing was too "stiff" and I added more TLS to thin it out. It was easier to try to smooth over but again the icing was too stiff. So I did what I could to make it look nice and called it a day haha. Needless to say unless you like the "cake look" icing on your donuts I would skip this method for donut icing.

The second method was a really out there one that I wanted to try for about a year. This is more of a chocolate "glaze" look rather then an "icing". I took some Liquitex Gel Medium and added the same chalk pastel to it. I mixed it in really well since it got a little lumpy. After I mixed it all in I put the gel on top of the donut and try to smooth it out with a tooth pick the best I can. The end result when it dried was pretty good! It wasn't the perfect icing look that I wanted but I love how nice of a glace it turned out. Doing this specific experiment have open my eyes to the gel medium!

The last and best way to make donut icing is the same method I explained in the first process. But instead of using old icing clay, I used all TLS with "maybe" a tiny bit of clay to thicken it up. I just got some TLS and added the pastel. Then I mixed both up till I had the shade I wanted. Then I used a tooth pick to lay it on. I spread it around to all the areas till I had it the way I wanted. Since this was my second technique at the icing, I had the unbaked donut sitting around. So I the icing dipped down more while I was working on the other methods. So my tip here is once you get the icing the way you want it throw it in the oven asap! Or the icing will pour down onto the surface of whatever you got it on.

Overall, I learned a lot from this experiment and I'll definitely will be using my last method to sweeten up my donuts every time. I hope this was useful to all of you as well.

Before I go I want to give you all a sneak peak at some new rings that will be on sale soon. I like to call them "Yummy Rings" haha. I used some unused waffles and other clay pieces and made them into rings!

I hope you all enjoyed this post, take care!

Blog Shop Grand Opening! Plus Resin Test Charms!

Hey all! This post is a special post because now my blog shop is open!  

I just posted all the ordering details, pictures, prices and everything that you can possibly imagine! Just check the TCS shoppe page on the top left of the blog. Actually I'm pretty scared and very excited for this all at the same time! Its been my dream for a long time and now its in the flesh!

As far as what's in the shop I only have my cake cell phone charms but as time moves on I will post more items of all kinds! If you have any questions you can comment here or e-mail me at candysanctuary@hotmail.com! I also just posted a feedback page as well.

I'm really excited guys, wish me luck!

Besides that I have some really great pictures of the resin charms and a upcoming post about icing on clay donuts. For now you can take a look at the first resin charms I made a month ago!

 All of them in their glory! My favorite is the lollipop!

 If you look closely you can see the blue sparkles! 

 For this batch I use a bigger blue glitter. I love all the colors that you can see from it!

I added too much pigment to the pink resin so if you warm this charm with your hands enough it will become flexible. Live and learn right haha?

 I love the blue blotches in the back of the heart! I wish more of those showed in the front!

 This one reminds me of a nebula

 I really like this one, it reminds me of a fancy chocolate!

 Thanks for looking and don't forget to check out the shop in the TCS shop page! Tell all your friends about it. See you all soon!