from start to finish, a sugar skull

This is Martinas super adorable mutt, Lola Bean. A while back Martina came to me with an idea for a sugar skull of her corgi chihuahua mix.  She sent me this picture as a jump off point and I couldn't wait to start the process.

Every custom is a little different but when making something new there's usually a bit of research that needs to be done. Any picture sent my way helps feed my brain much more than descriptive words can so it was nice to see Lola in the exact angle I needed.

First I had to figure out what a dogs skull really looks like...

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...turns out not very dog-like. Lolas ears, her most distinct feature, might not be part of a skull but they were a must in order to have it even slightly resemble her. I still had to gather some more reference photos before I could start, some noses and flowers mostly.

Sketches are usually more for my eyes and not the greatest but Martina was able to pick out what she liked most from the ones I showed her. Luckily she has an imagination and is already familiar with my jewelry or else this might've scared her away.

From there the polymer clay part slowly came together. A quick test of a flower was made and the skulls shape had changed from the sketches but that's always for the best... I must have painted and re-painted the eyes 3 different colours before settling on brown. I'm good at driving myself crazy about the small things.

Just a few more steps and her sugar skull was done and ready to be shipped out. Soon afterwards Martina surprised me with this photo of Lola sporting the new necklace <3 I love it so much it had to be added to the gallery section

Some custom orders require more trial and error than this one did but its always nice to be challenged to make something new... especially after making brains every week ^_^