Polymer Clay Pen & Twinchie Swap

We just finished the latest International Polymer Clay Swap on Facebook, The theme for this one was "Polymer Clay Covered Pen & a Twinchie"   For those of you who don't know what a "twinchie" is (like my friend Moe)  it is like an "Inchie" only bigger.  An inchie is a 1 inch square tile and a twinchie is a 2 inch square tile.  The way they are decorated is up to the creator.

I used my scrap cobblestone cane to make the pen and twinchie for my partner Paula.

I made two twinches, couldn't decide which to send so I sent both..... along with matching beads so Paula can make a necklace if she wants to.  Here is close of up the first one with the beads.

This is the second one. I also used strips of a simple border cane on this one. It's a little funky, but I like funky.

And this is a close up of the pen.

Here is the gorgeous pen and  adorable twinchie I received from  Paula.   I love the Delft colors and design.

I have a cup of coffee when I first get up but the rest of the day I drink tea so the teapot and matching cup are perfect. Isn't it charming? I love it. She even has tea pouring from the spout.

And here is a closer look at the pretty pen.

The "International Polymer Clay Swap" group have  had 5 one on one Swaps  so far. I participated in 4, I missed the first one but you can bet I won't miss anymore.  It has been great fun to see what everyone makes, so many talented artist...  and it's been a joy getting to know folks from all around the world.

The theme for the next swap is "Fantasy Vessels &  a Twinchie".  If you would like to join in the fun  all you have to do is join the group and sign up for the swap.  For more information click here 

Heather and I have been hard at work planting flowers.... she does all the digging and I do the hard part... telling her where to dig.  I'm a darn good supervisor. My yard is looking good... yip, I will be posting photos soon.

Thanks for stopping by.

Polymer Clay Beads

Here are some of the beads I made before our trip to Kansas.  I finally got around to editing the photos.

I have 100's of canes and I am running out of room to store them so I thought it a good idea to made beads....


This is a simple border cane I made with my extruder.  The colors are lime, charcoal gray and black.

Click on the photos for a closer look.

I trimmed the ends and used the scraps to make these beads.

I will use them with this mirror image tile to make a necklace.

I used the scrap Cobblestone cane to make these, the top three are textured with sandpaper.

Layered square beads made from a Cobblestone cane.

Back of the square beads.

This cane was a little crumbly.... so I gave up using it for beads.... I will try softening it with liquid Kato before I attempt more beads. I love the colors and the stained glass design.

It's good to have a ready supply of black and white beads.  I made these with a black and white cane.

I made tube beads from one of my favorite canes. I love these colors together. I used one of my Tiny Peg Stamps from Meer Image Stamps to stamp the little turtles on each end, aren't they fun? Steven  has an abundance of wonderful stamps, if you are not familiar with his site, give yourself a treat and check it out.

More beads from the same cane. I made a bracelet with the tube beads....I am pleased with the way it turned out.... so is my daughter, she glommed on to it before her sister saw it.  I will take photos soon.

I am making more beads from my cane stash. Plus, I am working on this mixed media necklace. The center of the pendant is made of layered and folded polymer clay framed with woven wire.  I created asymmetrical wire and bead components  on each side and will finish with either a hand made chain or  silk cord.

Okay, that's it for today..... I have to water my flowers and then back to making beads. See you soon.

Thanks for stopping by.

My Aunt Betty

I wasn't able to post on my blog last week.  My dear sweet Aunt Betty was critically ill and we made a quick trip to Kansas to see her before she passed.  We arrived tuesday evening, she had just been brought home from the hospital and was under the care of Hospice, It was a blessing to have time  with her, she knew who I was and I'm pretty sure she was pleased to know I was there.  She was surrounded by her loving family and went to meet her Maker the next morning.  I  know she was joyfully met by the love of her life, her handsome husband Gene.

Aunt Betty was a special person in my life.  She was my Mom's younger sister.  My Dad died in WWII. I was just a toddler and my brother was born 6 months after he died. My mom was devastated and Betty came to live with us. She was a great help to Mom and I bonded with Betty like a baby goose bonds with what ever it sees first. I followed her everywhere, I adored her and felt safe when she was near. That feeling has lasted throughout my life.....   We haven't seen each other often for many years but we always kept in touch by letter, phone and lately by email.  She was 82 years old and the computer gave her fits.... but she gave it the old college try.  Her daughter, Gina, tells me there are many emails meant for me that accidentally ended up in her draft box.

I know that she is in a better place but I miss her.

I love this picture of me.... about age 4.... and my beautiful Aunt Betty

Latest Cobblestone Canes & Beads

I made a couple more Cobblestone Canes.

First I made bullseye canes in a variety of colors. The first one is light gray and black. The others are mustard yellow, purple, rose, peach and turquoise. I put a band in a darker shade of each color around each of the center colors, then a band of light gray and a band of black.

Click on the photos for a closer look.

Using the extruder I made 3 sizes of each color and cut them into 2" logs.   The center disk came with the extruder, the other 2 sizes are washers that I bought at the hardware store.  The clay has to be the right consistence to work well in the extruder so I mix Kato and Premo.... 

Here are all the finished logs.  That pile in the back on the right are scraps..... the really fun stuff. I was itching to get my hands on those. 

After sorting through the scraps I put this cane together. 

I can't show you the final cane as I used it to make items for a swap.... I'll post photos once my swap partner receives the package. 

For the first Cobblestone Cane I used the  colorful bullseye canes, rose, peach,  purple and turquoise, a touch of mustard yellow along with some green from a previous project....  none of the black & gray. 

I used the end pieces of the above cane to make Cobblestone Beads. 

Close up of the beads.  I like these beads, they are happy beads, they make me smile. 

I used the black & gray bullseye canes along with all but the rose bullseye canes to make this Cobblestone Cane. 

I then used the above cane to make these. I resisted reducing them down to make kaleidoscope canes, instead I will cut 4 slices and make tiles with a kaleidoscope pattern.  I was determined not to over reduced this time!!

More canes from the large one above. I will make tiles and beads with these too.

And finally this is a pendant I made from the scrap end of the scrap cane above.... I do love my scraps!! The background is black textured with sandpaper.  It measures 2 1/4" x  2 1/4" 

My next project is making beads.... lots and lots of beads. I have loads of canes and I need to use them, or at least some of them, before I make more canes. I am out of storage space for canes. If I get enough beads made I may open another shop on Etsy... just for beads.  I'll have to think of a shop name, that is always the hard part. 

That's it for today. 

Thanks for stopping by. 

Textured Cabochon pendants & more

I know, it's been a while since my last post.  Several folks emailed they were getting Malware warning when they tried to access my blog.... I've had it checked and nothing was found so hopefully the problem was solved. I removed the link to Polymer Clay Etc, which was said to be the source of the problem.  I will give it a try and see what happens.

I made a couple more Cobblestone canes but first I want to show you the pendant and brooch  I made by using the bottom of a FUZE bottle to form the base. I have a gazillion texture sheets but I still get a kick out of finding "found items" that make cool textures and shapes. I will post the cobblestone canes tomorrow.

Click on the photos for a closer look.

My daughter brought me the bottle, she thought the design on the bottom would make interesting cabochons.

Here is a close up of the bottom of the bottle.  It makes a dome shaped cabochon with radiating dots going out from the center.

I used eyepins, glass beads and chain to create the center of the pendant on the left and headpins and tinted cultured pearls for the center of the brooch of the right. I highlighted the raised areas on both with PearlEx

 I have also been playing a bit with Premo tinted translucent clay.

I made a pendant in green and air filled beads in peach.

I made a thin sheet of green with gold flecks, #7 on my pasta machine,  I folded it over, gathered it on wire, added goldtone seed beads and chains. I will complete the necklace with matching chain. As you can see the clay is a little singed on the left side, I started to trim it off but I kinda like the way it looks.

The air filled beads are an experiment. I wanted to see if the design inside could be seen.
Not sure how... or if, I will use these.

I will post the Cobblestone Canes tomorrow as soon as I get the photos edited.

Thanks for stopping by.

More fun with Cobblestone Canes

Before I show you the new canes I made I want you to see the beads and a pendant I made with the last cobblestone cane.

I cut a fairly thick piece of the cane, ran it through the pasta machine a couple time to get the shape I wanted then added the end of the cane and dots of textured black clay highlighted with bronze PearlEx.

I used bronze chain that compliments the bronze accents of the dots to completely the necklace.  The back is a solid black.

I used a triangle of the cane to make beads.  First I made black beads and covered then with slices of the cane.

I used two slices on each bead.  I cut them a little thicker than usual to give a more textured look to the beads.

I am not going to sand them. I may buff them a bit but I like the matt finish.

I made the next cane much like the first one, only this time I controlled myself and did not over reduced.  Three cheers for me!! Rah, rah, rah!!  This time I used olive green, mustard yellow, orange and grape for the colors.  I'm not sure I like the orange.... maybe I should have used turquoise or a lighter orange...

The two square canes are made from the triangle cane.  I am liking the orange better now.

I had a pile of  bullseye cane ends from the extruded canes I used in the cobblestone cane, when I put them together this is the result.  It's not a very long cane but  I should be able to get several nice slices.

And of course I had to make at least one mirror image tile from the scraps.

I love this cane.  I use the same colors as the one above but I added 3 sizes of bullseye canes in gray and black, I am  thrilled with the result.

Here it is before reduction

After reduction.... and once again I did not over reduce!!  Yeah!!

I made a slender border cane in gray and black to use with it.

This is the first pendant I made... it has not been cured or sanded yet. I has a bit of a pinwheel effect.

And here are all the new canes together.  Be sure to click on the photos for a closer look.

I have more pendants in the oven.  Lots of possibilities with these canes !!   Plus I need to make more cobblestone canes in different colors.  Monochromatic might be nice.  That's it for today.

Thanks for stopping by.