Jul
1
Polymer Clay Newsletter
July 1, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Did you know Craft Gossip sends out a weekly newsletter from your favorite blogs here on the network? Why not take a moment and subscribe to the Polymer Clay newsletter so you don’t miss a bit of the fun!
To sign up click here.
And speaking of Craft Gossip, check out the juicy new Craft Artists Life interviews with Jennifer Perkins.
Jun
30
Low-Tech Tools
June 30, 2008 | 2 Comments
One of the things I love about polymer clay is that there is no fancy equipment needed to create beautiful work. Aside from a pasta machine, tissue blade and toaster oven here are some low-tech tools I can’t live without.
1. Mini Drill - I picked it up for a song from Harbor Freight and have to say I don’t know how I got along without it. I like things low-tech, this is easy to use and gets the job done for my smaller beads.
2. Knitting needles - I love these for poking larger holes and as a sculpting tool. (Look for the double pointed in the thinner sizes.)
3. Old playing cards - I used these as disposable palettes to mix up small batches of liquid Sculpey.
4. Rubber gloves - I roll all my beads one last time with rubber gloves to get rid of any finger prints, seriously cuts down on the sanding.
5. Handmade bead mandrels - I cut 6″ lengths of thick gauge copper wire as larger bead mandrels.
5. Wet-dry sandpaper and my blue jeans - I give my beads a quick once over with the sand paper and buff them on my jeans.
6. Cardstock -it’s my work surface of choice.
7. Acrylic rod - great for shaping canes and rolling out thicker slices of clay.
8. Two little mirrors - used for making lentils and flattening beads.
That’s it, my whole beadmaking studio in a nutshell. What tool can’t you live without?
Jun
27
A little bird told me - crafty links
June 27, 2008 | Leave a Comment
This week’s little birds come from JooJoo’s etsy shop. I love her simple and delightfully whimsical style. And what great photography, I could see these as note cards!
And now some links from the craftiest bloggers around:
The Impatient Blogger
Madge reviews a fabulous new metal clay book by jewelry making expert Tammy Powley. If you’ve ever been metal clay curious, this is the book for you!
Polymer Clay @ Craft Gossip
Learn the anatomy of a polymer clay bead this week.
Layers Upon Layers
Have you ever wanted to try creating an abstract work but found it too intimidating? Come and try it anyway!
Crafty Princess Diaries
Get a free metal clay project over at the BeadStyle blog. This downloadable project shows how to make some super easy metal clay beads!
Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at a crafty world
Kick off summer with a chance to win a copy of Making Designer Mixed-Media and Memory Jewelry, check out some beautiful handcrafted dolls, a free crochet hacky sack pattern and a how-to on making a recycled denim pillow with a bird appliqué.
Aileen’s Musings
This week Aileen offers 2 fun tutorials: Phenomenal Paper Flowers & Wee Flower Fairies. Both are sure to inspire you and make you smile!
About.com Cross Stitch
Stitchers - Start Your Stockings! It is never to early to start on holiday projects, but don’t wait too late.
About Family Crafts
Browse through photos of home-made greeting cards and submit your own.
Jun
26
Magazine Sale at Polka Dot Creations
June 26, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Lisa is having a huge magazine sale at Polka Dot Creations and boy does she ever have the selection. There is a wide range of bead, clay, doll and craft magazines all at a deep discount. Stock up on some of your favorites for a new dose of inspiration!
Jun
25
Digital Collage Meets Polymer Clay
June 25, 2008 | Leave a Comment
I’ve been admiring the work of multi-media artist, Katherine DuBose on etsy for a few months now. Her digital collage pendants are just little works of art! The surreal color palette and mix of old imagery with the hand tinted feel adds a dream-like quality to the work that has me captivated.
Jun
24
Anatomy of a Bead
June 24, 2008 | 6 Comments
I read somewhere that no matter how big you make your cane, it’s never big enough!
I designed this cane inspired by a William Morris textile last year and finally had to create another one. I took some photos and thought I’d share the process with you. Here is the cane in the beginning, a handful at 3″ wide and 5″ long. I do believe this is the largest cane I’ve created. Usually I work with smaller canes, but as my business has grown so has the size of my canes!
After it’s worked and stretched out a bit, I use my acrylic rod to start shaping it into a square log. I turn it a 1/4 turn after a few passes with the rod until it starts to shrink.
Here you can see it’s 2 feet long! Now it was time to cut it in half and reduce part of the cane to the next size.
Still using the rod, I have the cane reduced and in two sizes. I cut it up into smaller chunks and wrap them in wax paper. They are then stored until I need them.
Here is a collection of beads made using the cane.
And in case you are wondering, I sketch out my canes before I make them, breaking them down into what shape is needed for a design. I write any notes that I might need to recreate a design in the future. I also like to keep the last slice of a cane, baked and saved in a little collection for prosperity.
(Please respect copyrights)
Jun
22
Belle Armoire Jewelry Packed with Polymer Clay
June 22, 2008 | 2 Comments
Belle Armoire’s Jewelry edition never disappoints me. Along with the beautiful photographs and creative ideas, they always have the best polymer clay projects.
Two notable ones that caught my eye in the summer issue were Lynn Davis’ image transfers and Marcia Palmer’s mokume gane project. There were others, at least 3 or 4 more!
Along with the polymer clay, this issue is filled with some especially beautiful metal clay and metal work. All good techniques to add to your polymer clay mixed media bag of tricks!
Jun
20
A little bird told me - crafty links
June 20, 2008 | Leave a Comment
This week’s little bird comes from one of my favorite polymer clay artists, Gabriel Studios. Please visit her flickr photo albums to see more of this amazing artist’s work. I love the color and design, all seem rooted in mystery and hint of a story. If there is real magic, I think there is some of it stuffed into the corners of these polymer clay creations.
Now on to this week’s batch of craft links from some of the blogging world’s most creative designers!
Aileen’s Musings
View Aileen’s Textured Deli Wrap Journal Tutorial
Craftside- A behind-the-scenes peek at a crafty world
Coming down the isle at Craftside are announcements, party favors and containers, jewelry and ribbon work all with a wedding theme but easily transformed for any occasion or special event!
Crafty Princess Diaries
Thinking of submitting your craft designs to magazines? Do your homework first! Here is lesson 2 on getting your crafts published.
Cross Stitch at About.com
Stitch a Hopeful Quote from Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time.
Polymer Clay @ Craftgossip.com
Bangles, cuffs and dangles - it’s a plethora of polymer clay bracelets!
Stefanie Girard’s Sweater Surgery
Check out another vintage Craft that repurposes old labels and buttons into something with a purpose
The Impatient Blogger
Join The Impatient Crafter™ Margot Potter in this fun filled video lesson where she shows you how to make inked and collaged pendants. Oo la la!
Jun
18
Bangles, Cuffs & Dangles
June 18, 2008 | 3 Comments
The bigger the bracelet the better this season. With polymer clay you can add volume without weight. Here is a collection of some bracelets from flickr to get your creative gears turning.
Polymer clay can stand on it’s own as a bangle, in tiles for a large cuff, pair up with other beads, as a focal or dangles. You can’t go wrong with a little polymer around the wrist.
A few bracelet tutorials:
Here is a cuff bracelet project
And a wire wrapped dangle bracelet
Flickr photo credits:
1. spiral bracelet, 2. DSCN2130, 3. Yellow Rose Garden Mucha, 4. Cab bracelet–skull, 5. Polymer bracelet, 6. bracelet breloques, 7. Turquoise Feather-cane Bracelet, 8. P1010062, 9. Bead embroidered cuff, garnet colorway, 10. Translucent Layered Polymer Cuff, 11. Untitled, 12. jingle bangle, 13. armreifen bangle, 14. Tree Cuff Bracelet, 15. Pulsera All-Sorts
Created with fd’s Flickr Toys.
Click on the photo to see the image larger or on the links to see an individual photo.
Jun
18
Nature Inspired Designs
June 18, 2008 | 3 Comments
Polymer clay is a clever chameleon, here are some recent finds that showcase this medium’s amazing ability to copy what we see in nature.
I’m so smitten with this new cuff bracelet from Kim Cavender featuring lotus pods. From her flickr description it looks like it will be one of many more to come.
I love the leaf necklaces from Charmed by Nature. Look, there is even a little ladybug on this one!
No this isn’t a real orchid, it’s a very convincing copy from the very talented sculptor, Elizabeth Bonura. This is one of a series of flower rings that she has created.
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