What A Week!

I have been having such a great time on Christine's course and am learning so much. It's funny, I thought I knew quite a bit about polymer clay, but honestly, the more I learn, the more there is to know it seems.

The other course members are a wonderful group of people. Loads of sharing, not just of our successes but our failures too, which helps everyone to learn and figure out how to do things better. Christine must be online 24 hours a day as far as I can tell, because she is always there to answer questions and offer advice.

I have made up all the beads I have made this week into necklaces or pendants and am happy with the pendants, but not sure still about the best way to string the necklaces. Something will come to me I am sure over the next few weeks.

The bangle was a last minute idea this afternoon. I needed a break from the course and to do something completely different for awhile. Cara ( see previous post) was wearing some beautiful bangles on the PPP weekend and they inspired me to have a go at making one. Really pleased with it and will definitely be making some more of these.

Hope you all have a great weekend.

Where To Start...?

It has been a full on two weeks since my last post. So much has happened that I am not sure where to start! So...just to be contrary - I'll start with now and work my way backwards!

I am taking Christine Dumont's online class "Hollow Beads" and I am having a Ball!!! We started on Saturday, and of course I was working at the Craft Fair, so had to wait impatiently until Sunday morning to start!

Making my first Hollow Bead (the middle Green and Gold one of the necklace) reminded me exactly why I fell in love with Polymer Clay in the first place. I have not had such a feeling of sheer joy (mixed in with utter surprise) that something that I made turned out so beautifully. I can blow the trumpet for this bead, because although I made it, it was Christine's vision, talent and wonderful teaching skills that helped me produce it. I could not have done it without her. I am just so happy to have produced it.

It is made with Kato clay, which for me, is a thing that I thought I would never happen. I tried Kato awhile back, but found the conditioning so difficult that I almost immediately gave up with it and stuck to my favourite, tried and tested, Premo. I think I have been converted! The new Kato formula is easier to condition which is good, but for the best results it needs to be leached to make it really firm which in turn makes it better to work with. I have rolls of clay in various stages of being leached in kitchen towel all over my work desk and window sills and any other available surface I can find!

I am fast becoming addicted to the Hollow Bead technique and all the possibilities it holds and am very excited to be a part of such a fantastic workshop. I have met lots of new polymer artists and a few old friends. There is a great atmosphere of sharing and encouragement and help - all online! What an amazing experience!

The conversion to Kato clay started started however on the brilliant Polymer Pamper Play weekend, in Portland, which I was lucky enough to attend. We had two fantastic teachers, Carol Blackburn and of course Christine who this time was teaching her amazing Butterfly Beads.

This was the first workshop I have attended and it was with some trepidation that I made my way to the reception area to meet with the other delegates. I need not have worried. I met some lovely people, some that I had "met" online before, particularly the lovely Cara http://surfingcatclay.blogspot.com/, please have a look at her blog - she does the most beautiful work! Some completely new to polymer, who then amazed and astounded me with their sheer talent and ability to take a technique and run with it to a new and unthought of place that was all their own. And obviously a large number of complete polymer addicts like me whose idea of heaven was to clay from 6.30 a.m. until 12.30 p.m. with just a couple of breaks for lunch and dinner (and even then we talked polymer!) One of the best moments for me was being able to look at and hold both Carol's and Christine's creations. I was blown away by Carol's work. Her finish is something to behold and to feel. The attention to detail was astounding. It was a huge inspiration for me. A level to reach for.

On the second day I was lucky enough to see not only Christine's amazing Butterfly Beads, but also her incredible Hollow Beads in person . Words cannot describe how they made me feel. Wonderful works of art. Tactile, Beautiful, they literally took my breath away.

A big thank you to Rebecca and Debbie for organising a wonderful event

Thank you so much - I had a really good time and came home inspired and not a little exhausted!! If you would like to see pictures please have a look here http://www.polymerpamperplay.co.uk/gallery.html. I can really recommend it. Rebecca and Debbie are already planning the 2nd event for next year! Can't wait!!

New Work

Just wanted to share with you my new range of work.

Tags and Buttons.

The tags were inspired by thinking about Katie's Birthday which is coming up next week.

I was wishing that I could find a really nice tag for her present, that she could keep as a memento. I had the lightbulb moment and have been working on and off on these all week. Of course, it is half term here in the UK, so not as much working on as I would like!

The buttons are just a natural progression - I make buttons to order, but have never done a range of them before. I have made 7 different types this week, but have only been able to photograph 1 set so far. I will try and post pictures on Flickr next week.

I will be taking then to the Cotswold Craft Fair tomorrow and I wonder how they will do. I am thinking of listing them Etsy as well.

If you have a minute, I would love your feedback on them.

Have a great weekend!

Oh My! I'm on Polymer Clay Daily!

My "Rome I" Necklace has been featured on Polymer Clay Daily! http://polymerclaydaily.com/

I am beside myself with joy and have still yet to come back down to earth from that very high cloud I have been floating around on since I saw the feature yesterday.

For those of you who are new to PCD, it is a wonderful site by Cynthia Tinapple. Everyday she features work by Polymer Clay Artists from all over the world. There is always something new, innovative, groundbreaking, or simply just breathtaking and beautiful to look at. It is probably the best Polymer Clay Site in the World, in my opinion. I have been following it for about 4 years now. It gets better and better each year and is my daily fix for inspiration and polymer eye candy.

When I first started visiting I used to wonder how I would feel if a piece of my work ever got featured - and now I know! I feel very honoured and simply over the moon!

Thank you so much Cynthia for showing my necklace. It has been the highlight of my year (and probably of last year too!).

Thanks to all of you who have left such lovely comments to congratulate me - it means the world to me!

I need to say a big thank you to Deb for getting the screenshot for me. Deb is a fellow member of PCAGOE (Polymer Clay Artist Guild of Etsy) and is a wonderful Artist, person and friend. Her shop is called Renaissance Gal of San Antonio, visit it here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/rengalsa. She is a blogging master and tirelessly blogs about the PCAGOE members and their work, as well as occasionally about her own exceptional work! Here is the link for her blog if you would like a look - I do recommend it: http://rengalsa.blogspot.com/Now I need to channel all this positive energy into something made of Polymer!

Ups and Downs - seriously picture heavy!!

Life has been full of ups and downs recently.



I have been very busy with caring for my wonderful Mum, and have had to squeeze about 30 hours of work into a 24 hour day. I am sure you all know that feeling!

But despite the stress and worry of looking after someone I love very much, I have had to work as well. Weekly Craft Fairs are a wonderful outlet and brilliant time to connect with other crafters when you work from home and feel a bit isolated, but I have to say I have been finding it really hard to cope with making enough stock these last 3 weeks. On the other hand - it keeps me grounded and stops me from moping and worrying too much. It makes me work - and I can eventually loose myself in the work and just be.

Happy times also inbetween everything else. My beautiful and wonderful daughter has just turned 14!

Frogs are her "thing" of the moment - so I made 24 Frog Cupcakes for her birthday tea!


We also had a wonderful day out with her best friend and my best friend and went for a girlie day out to London and visited Harrods where the girls got their ears pierced (after nagging us Mums for the past 7 years!).

Life is good - and worrying - and stressful, but I am so lucky to have my wonderful family and my wonderful life, for all its ups and downs.

So anyway - here is what I have been working on.

The picture at the top is a swirled lentil bead necklace with leaf caps. A "happy mistake" was made with the leaf caps - I didn't realise when I placed them that they would all line up perfectly like flowers,but will be making sure I do it again!





This is something I am really pleased with - hundreds of leaves all made into components that interlock. The inspiration came from a little cliosonne articulated fish that my daughter has. Loved making it so much I made a bracelet and earrings to match!



Here are the rest of the things - lots more phot0s but not too much of me whittering on!!

Enjoy!

Fish Focal Beads - Update!

Swimming Fish Focal Bead
Originally uploaded by Pips Jewellery Creation

Just to let all of you who have asked me, that the Fish Series Focal Beads are now up in my Etsy Shop.

I have added a link to my shop, over on the left hand side, here on the blog, so if you want, you can just click on any of the pictures and it will take you straight there to have a browse.

I will be putting up the listing for the Flower focals and the Tree Focals later today and tomorrow!

Thank you all for your interest and comments on these beads - it means so much to me to get your feedback - and I love comments!

Hope you all have a great week.

Lady's Slipper

Lady's Slipper Beads
Originally uploaded by Pips Jewellery Creation

One of the difficult things in this Polymer Clay Life, for me, is the balance between making pieces for my Craft Fair at Cirencester each week and Creating.

I want so much to create something new, something different, something that pushes the limits. I want to play. I want to experiment. I want to just see where the clay takes me.

Making pieces for my Craft Fair is wonderful work. I hope that each piece I make will connect with someone, that a colour will draw someone closer, that a pattern will intrigue. Often it does. My most satisfying moments are when someone wants to talk about what I have made, how it makes them feel, what they like about it, what they don't like. Making that connection - it's heady stuff.

Creating. It takes time, more time than I have to give, so I have to do it in little ways. A twist on something, looking at something from a different angle, a change of colours, a change of shape. Sometimes I am lucky and inspiration will come all in one go and I have the chance to run with it. Other times I have to be patient. But all the time I try and look at my work with new eyes and hope to see a way to move forward a little.

These Lady's Slipper beads are a twist on my cockleshell beads. Something a little bit different. A stripe instead of a circle. Little steps, building to new things.

How do you make the balance between what you need to do and what you want to do? Let me know, I would love to hear your views.

That Something Gorgeous!

Just a quick post to show you what I made with the Kaleidoscope Cane of yesterday's post.

This is probably my most favourite style of necklace. These square beads always sit beautifully when worn and the black and white will go with just about anything!

And a close up of the beads so you can see the detail in the pattern.

If this has inspired you in anyway to have a go, then please let me know how you get on! I would love to see. Have some fun!

How To Make a Complex Kaleidoscope Cane in Polymer Clay - It's Simple!

Kaleidoscope caning is one of my favourite techniques to use with polymer clay and lots of my beads are made using these canes. I thought it might be fun to show you how I make one.

First choose your colours, for this cane I have decided to go monochrome.

Condition your clay really well. You can use a Pasta Machine or a roller or your hands, whichever is easiest for you.

Here are my sheets after I have finished conditioning and I have put them through the Pasta Machine on a medium setting, about #4 on mine.

Next, make some interesting elements. Here I have made a Jelly Roll Cane, a Striped Cane and some plain "sausages". I have a couple of small sheets also.

Then combine them in whatever way you like, I try to keep them in a general right angle triangle shape, loosely speaking!

Then I reduce the cane, refining the shape as I go into a more recognisable right angle triangle - please note that this is not an exact science in my case!

When the cane is about 4 inches long I cut it in half and then combine the two halves, mirroring the image.

Now we have an almost square shape. Reduce the cane again, refining the square as you gently pull, squeeze, tug, smooth or whatever your preferred method of reduction is.

I then cut the cane into four equal lengths and again, mirroring the images, combine the four into one larger square.

One more final reduction and here is your finished Kaleidoscope Cane.

Of course, it does not need to finish there - you can reduce yet again and recombine, change the shape of the cane from a square to a circle for example. Add another cane , or several. Cut the cane in half and then cut lengthways and recombine. The possibilities are endless!

Here are my beads I made from this cane, cut, pierced and awaiting baking!

Now I just have to make something gorgeous with them!

Very Berry

I finished making two lots of Berry Beads yesterday and sanded and polished them up today.

They take a lot of work, but I really like the graphic element of the black and pearl canework against the soft shimmer of the beads. I have been playing with the idea of doing black beads with coloured canework, but have not tried it yet. Still not sure in my mind whether that would work or not.

Ihave also made a black and white Kaleidoscope cane and have taken pictures of the different stages of construction, which I will post later today - lots and lots of photos, but I thought it might be interesting to show a little of my process in cane making. Be warned though - my cane making is not an exact science, more of an organic process!

Harlequin

Harlequin Detail
Originally uploaded by Pips Jewellery Creation

I seem to be in a very colourful mood lately, as far as my beads are concerned, anyway.

These bright Mosaic Canework Beads are inspired by the work of my friend Jo of Muddle House Mosaics. I have blogged about her here before and I just love her work. I have been meaning to make a mosaic cane for a little while, and had envisioned it to be in various shades of soft green, but somehow the vibrant colours were just calling to me to use them instead. I am glad I did now, but will still make that soft green cane as well soon, otherwise I will never get it out of my head.

There are some more pictures of this necklace and another square one made from the same cane on my flickr site - just click on the flickr box on the left if you would like to see.

I have also been making some Berry Beads which I hope to finish tomorrow and will post some pictures then.

Polymer Clay Artists Guild of Etsy

I am a proud Member of the Polymer Clay Artists Guild of Etsy and have been now for nearly a year. Every month we have a challenge, which both members and non members of PCAGOE can enter.

It is great fun and helps to push me to try new techniques that otherwise I would probably never have a go at!

This month the Theme is "Canework". There are some really beautiful and amazing entries. Here are a few of my favourites and I have to say that I am glad I am entering this month, otherwise I would have a very hard time choosing just one to vote for! Just look at the beautiful detail on each of the flower canes on this suncatcher called "Sunshine and Rainbows" by Angela of Polymer Clay Creations. Her Etsy Shop is at http://www.polymerclaycreations.etsy.com/














This gorgeous necklace is by Laurabeestudios. Her Etsy shop is at http://www.laurabeestudios.etsy.com/. I love the delicate detail and subtle aged effect she has achieved.














There are three different prize packs up for grabs simply for voting!! Please come and vote, we love to have lots of votes - it makes everything very exciting and you will be entered into the prize drawings. So please go to http://www.pcagoe.com/, have a look at all the entries, be inspired, vote and then keep your fingers crossed to win one of the fabulous prizes!

Marriage

Marriage
Originally uploaded by Pips Jewellery Creation

Oh, I have been having some fun!

Here is my first marriage of the two mediums and I am really pleased with it.

An Art Clay Silver Disc, and a Polymer Clay Lentil Bead. I was showing my daughter last night the "magic" of the Art Clay Silver and made this little disc with the intent of putting it somehow with a polymer creation, but had not really planned exactly how it was going to look. Playing around with it this morning resulted in this pendant. I love the swirls of teal and green and pearl, the bright silver and the shine of both elements together seems well balanced to me. However, of course I am biased!

I now have about 6 more discs in the oven as we speak, drying out, and hopefully will have some more pendants to show you tomorrow!

Magic!

My Very First Attempt!...
Originally uploaded by Pips Jewellery Creation

I know the science behind Silver Clay, but I have to say, experiencing it for the first time was nothing short of Magic!

This little Scroll Heart is my first attempt at working with Silver Clay and I have to say I am really happy with the end result.

Now I need to work out how to marry it with my polymer clay. I have a lot of ideas, but will have to do a little trial and error I think, to see if they will work.

It is very, very different from working with Polymer. For one thing you have next to no time to actually work it, even with the slow drying clay. It is not elastic, as polymer clay is and it cracks very easily as it begins to dry out. The discipline of working with the two clays in conjunction is going to be quite interesting I think.

Can't wait for tomorrow to play again.

Purple Haze

Purple Haze Pendant
Originally uploaded by Pips Jewellery Creation

After clearing out my Clay Station/Desk/Area - wish I could call it a studio, but not even my vivid imagination can stretch to that - I put all the canes I had dotted about in various boxes, tins, drawers etc, in one heap and sorted through them.

I always keep a little of every cane I make, for future reference, and often to remind me how far I have come since those early cane making days where they resembled marbled messes rather than Kaleidoscope Canework.

Now all my canes are wrapped and stored neatly in one large box. When I say neatly, that is probably using a little poetic licence, but at least they are all in one place now and not gathering bits of dust and debris in the dark corners of my desk drawer.

This cane was one of those happy accidents, not so much an accident, but no planning went into it - just shades of purple and white, bundled together to see what happened. My favourite sort of caning!!

I made it about a year ago, so it seemed fitting to use some of it for a pendant and ring and a pair of earrings, on its anniversary. There is now only a tiny bit left to remind me what it was like!

The Beauty of Blossoms

Silver Shimmer Pendant with Navy Flowers
Originally uploaded by Linda-NKDesigns

Please take a moment to just enjoy this pendant.

The more I look, the more I am drawn into the depths of it.

The translucent flowers, in particular, call to me. The clarity achieved here is nothing short of amazing. And no, it is not made of glass!

This beautiful pendant was made by Linda of NK Designs, New York, from Polymer Clay and finished with Resin. Linda designs and makes every flower cane and leaf cane and then combines them to make the most stunning pendants.

If seeing is believing, then you must go and see her Etsy Shop: NKDesigns.etsy.com

And if you would like to have a go at making a flower cane like these then have a look at her brilliant tutorial on her blog:

http://www.nkdesignslindariopel.blogspot.com/

Just beautiful!