We are so excited to introduce these Hand Painted Safety Eyes in Colors Inspired by the Stars, Nebula, Galaxies, and the Imaginary Belt of Heaven. Zodiac Birth Signs are now available for Birthday Crafts and Fantasy Art. Use in Sewing, Crochet, Amigurumi, Needle Felting, and More. Use for Teddy Bears, Dolls, Plush Animals, Fantasy Arts, and Birthday Crafts Use for Hand Crafted Birthday Gifts, Dragons, Dinosaurs, Kitty Cats, Plush Animals, Fantasy Creatures, Monsters, Arts & Crafts.
0 Comments
Jerry and I recently had the pleasure of meeting James Sizemore on Zoom. James is the man behind Wonder Goblin Toys and Vinyl Wonder Toy Paint. He has used some Plastic Safety Eyes from GlassEyesOnLine in certain monsters he designs. We discovered his unique toys on Instagram and his website and he agreed to discuss how he creates his toys and the paints he uses in the process. James creates Sofubi toys. We weren't familiar with Sofubi so we did a little research and learned that Sofubi (ソフビ) is soft vinyl production started in the 1950s that became a popular method of toy production in Japan, ranging from Kewpie dolls to robots. Our friend, David grew up in Japan in the late 50's and early 60's. He did not recognize the term Sofubi; but when we showed him photos of some of the toys made in that time period he immediately recalled playing with and collecting them as a young boy. He reminisced with us about playing with his favorite toy "Godzilla". More photos of Sofubi Toys from this time period are included in Don "datadub" Kratzer's What is Sofubi ? Presentation Sofubi production was expected to die off when China became the main plastic manufacturer in the 1990s. What saved Sofubi according to toy experts was the rise of what is known as "Otaku" Culture. In the 1970s and 1980s there was a rapid growth of both the manga and anime art forms—manga referring to Japanese comics, and anime to the animated characters. These industries inspired clubs, gatherings, and massive fan conventions. These fans started addressing each other as "Otaku", an honorific form of “you,” to convey their shared passion for anime and manga. Sofubi Toys are highly collectible and still in production. You will probably find them for sale when you attend a Comicon or Designercon Event. James designs, sculpts, and prototypes his monster toys by hand. He then ships the wax prototypes to sofubi artisans in Japan where the metal molds are made. The artisans cast the figures in soft vinyl and ship the pieces back so that James can paint and assemble them. The Vinyl Wonder Toy Paint Company was born while James was developing paints that contain more pigment and stronger chemical bonds for his vinyl figures. His specially formulated paints are now available for vinyl toy designers, custom painters, mixed media artists, or sofubi hobbyists, looking for a high quality artist-grade paint that properly bonds to vinyl. James has begun posting Vinyl Painting How to Videos on his Vinyl Wonder Youtube Channel To learn more about the equipment needed and process James uses to paint his Sofubi toys you won't want to miss this youtube video Build Your Own Paint Studio. James and his father recorded their step by step process of creating his paint studio out of an old shipping container and recycled materials that is a must see! During our zoom call, John gave us a virtual tour of his personal collection of toys created by some famous artists. Below are photos of a small sample of his prolific collection. Just in time for Halloween, James has Pocket Pals "Candy Corn Edition" to start or add to your toy collection. Follow wondergoblin on Instagram and sign up for his newsletter to get notices of "DROP DATES" and lotteries for his Wonder Goblin Toys. They sell out quickly. Want to learn more about Sofubi? Check out the Links Below.
Sofubi 101: https://sofubiki.com/en/sofubi-101/intro What is Sofubi: https://www.pechakucha.com/presentations/what-is-sofubi Medicom Toy: https://captivated.com/collections/medicom-toy I started thinking about Valentines Day back in December and connected with Chelsea Bloxsom @loveandasandwich to special order some of her adorable hand crafted Love Yeti's with Jerry's Hand Painted Limited Edition Spring Color Safety Eyes. Watch our Reveal of the Love Yeti's barfing hearts we recorded on Zoom recently. Love Yeti's by Chelsea Bloxsom are available at LoveAndASandwich Etsy Shop. Jerry is camera shy but we were able to get him to reveal in the video below TWO NEW COLORS that will be included in the 2021 Spring Limited Edition Colors. These Hand Painted Safety Eyes are available in 8 Colors in time for your Spring Crochet, Knitting, Amigurumi, Sewing, Felting, Arts & Crafts Projects. Spring 2021 Limited Edition Hand Painted Plastic Safety EyesTwo New Colors are added this year. Jerry chose a Chromatophore Grey called LAMBS EARS and an Illuminating Yellow called DAFFODIL YELLOW to round out the Spring 2021 Limited Edition Colors available at GlassEyesOnLine.com Looking for some Pinspiration for Spring Craft Projects?Check out these Pinterest Boards Valentines Day Crafts Saint Patricks Day Crafts Crafts for Spring Mothers Day Gifts It's the time of year again for reflecting and planning. 2018 was a busy and productive year at GlassEyesOnLine. I use my blog, the newsletter, our social sites and data about sales to guide me as I begin planning for next year. Below are some of the highlights of the past year and some plans for the year to come. 2018 The Year For New Styles, Sizes & ColorsIn 2018, Jerry introduced new styles, sizes, and colors of Glass Eyes and Plastic Safety Eyes. Do you remember the Spring 2018 Limited Edition Colors? The Spring Colors were a huge hit and customers continued to request these colors after they were discontinued in August, 2018. Look for the Spring Limited Edition Colors to return in February with the addition of at least one new color in the Collection. Jerry also introduced a new line of Safety Eyes in Chromatophore Colors in August. He hand paints the Chromatophore Colors on Clear Safety Eyes. You have a choice of Ten Colors inspired by wildlife found in nature with shifting skin and eye color. Plans are already on the painting board for a Fall 2019 Limited Edition Color Series and a new line of Glitter Colors that are Amazing!! Needle Felters, Polymer Clay Sculptors, Wood Carvers, Doll Artisans, and Jewelry Designers were asking for Cabochon Glass Eyes with and Without Pins. Jerry started and expanded the line of Cabochon Glass Eyes to include size 8mm to 20mm in many colors and styles. The Styles of Glass Doll Eyes is now expanded to include the Paper Weight Glass Doll Eyes. Jerry continues to add new sizes, colors and styles of Glass and Safety Eyes, and Noses throughout the year. Sign up Below for our Free Newsletter to get updates on New & Featured Products. 2018 Sales & Give AwaysWe tested Viral Sweeps for six months with Random Giveaways. This helped us expand our newsletter subscriber base and increase social followers. The Giveaways were opened to customers World Wide. While reviewing data about International Customers in Viral Sweeps and ShipStation we came to the realization that we need to grow and support our International Customer base by building relationships with creative businesses in other countries. Read More about Building an International Dealer Store Locator Page. In 2019, with the help of our current customers, we want to continue to increase our social followers. Joy and Emily will be posting Give Aways on our social sites throughout the year so make sure to follow us on Your Favorite Site and Share Posts with your creative friends and family. We love to see finished creations that used our products and will continue Sharing and Reposting your creations in 2019. Our 2018 Christmas in July Event included weekly give aways and a portion of profit from sales to benefit Alzheimer's Association. We started planning in March and posted announcements at our social sites beginning in May. I learned how to make Youtube videos during My #The100DayProject with a goal of promoting this event and sharing what I learned about Alzheimer's Disease. Sales increased 13% from the previous July and I learned so much about making videos and the work involved in hosting an Online Event. The Black Friday to Cyber Monday Sales were well received with sales increase of 27% in 2018. We also collaborated with Charlyn from The Cheerful Chameleon and Berta Cohen from In The Round Ami Magazine for the 2018 Holiday Critter Crochet A Long Contest and hope to be involved in a collaboration like it in 2019. 2018 Newsletters In response to your request for more articles about artists and crafters; we invited Guest Writers in 2018. Fabulous artists and entrepreneurs shared their stories and creative projects in our monthly newsletters. They gave us tips and suggestions for marketing and running a creative business. We received some rave reviews so we are planning to do this again next year ! The Call is Out for Guest Writers in 2019. If you are a creative and want to be a Guest Writer in a Future Newsletter, we want to hear from you! We'll help you every step of the way to publication. Contact Carolyn or Joy at [email protected] to find out how you can be a featured Guest Writer in 2019! 2018 Conferences Trainings & Creative Business VisitsAt the start of 2018, I set a goal of attending 4 business conferences / craft shows through the year. Joy attended the Comicon Show and Craft & Quilting Fair for us and shared photos on Instagram. I took a free Online Course through Youtube to learn more about making videos. We visited Living Felt in November and finally were able to meet Marie and her crew in person. I really hope to have more time to visit more creative businesses and attend more shows and conferences in 2019. Youtube Creators Academy Comicon: Dover, Delaware (photos on Instagram) Craft & Quilting Fair: Sydney, Australia ( photos on Instagram) Chihuly Glass Exhibit at Biltmore: Asheville, North Carolina Living Felt: Austin, Texas 2018 Customer Reviews & FeedbackWhile reviewing the year; I keep being reminded of our customers and their creations with our products. So many of you shared photos of your creations on your favorite social sites. We are grateful for your business and thrive on the positive feedback and suggestions for improvement you sent throughout this past year. We look forward to continuing our efforts to improve our products and services. We are excited about plans to collaborate with other creative businesses in 2019.
We wish you, Our Readers, Followers, and Customers a Prosperous and Blessed New Year ! Carolyn @GlassEyesOnLine.com
Over time we have received some e-mails from customers asking for advice on how to paint glass eyes and plastic safety eyes. Some customers like to purchase clear eyes to paint in colors that coordinate with their creations. Jerry originally painted the clear glass eyes for decoy carvers. Gradually he expanded his painting to the clear plastic safety eyes. He enjoys working with a variety of colors and occasionally experiments with swirls, patterns, and three color eyes. For Jerry, painting eyes requires focus, patience, and attention to detail. Over the years, he has developed some techniques that help to avoid smudging, dripping, uneven dispersement of color and other problems resulting while painting eyes. He has two different approaches to the eyes depending on if they are glass or plastic.
For plastic safety eyes, Jerry uses acrylic paints. In order to have better control of dispersement of paint on the small surface of the back of the eyes; He pours the paint from large bottles into small open tip squeeze bottles. He applies the paint in a circular motion as he rotates the eye holding the stem with the tips of his fingers. He removes bubbles that some times occur using the tip of a wire to pop the bubble.
For even drying of the plastic eyes; Jerry uses two kinds of boards. For the small plastic eyes; Jerry created his own peg board using a clear plastic sheet he purchased from a hardware store. He drilled holes into the plastic sheet for holding the 6mm to 8mm size eyes. For the 9mm and larger size safety eyes, he uses a regular peg board that he also purchased at a hardware store. After the plastic eyes are painted, he places the eye upside down in the hole so it is flat for even drying.
Jerry paints the backs of the glass eyes on wire with enamel or acrylic paints. He uses a paint brush to paint the back of one glass eye and attaches the wire to a magnet so the painted side of the eye is facing up for drying. When the eye is dry, he paints the eye on the opposite end of the wire and attaches it to the magnet facing up to dry. You can purchase Glass Eyes On Wire and Plastic Safety Eyes in many colors, sizes, and styles at https://www.glassEyesOnLine.com
Do you currently paint eyes for dolls, teddy bears, carvings, sculptures or other mediums? Do you use certain tools or have a particular brand of paint or color you prefer to use when painting? We'd love to have you share your ideas, tips or tricks for painting eyes for your creations. |
Archives
July 2022
Categories
All
|