YaYa Bracelets

I just made it in under the wire but the bracelets are done and winging their way to Texas.  Heather left this morning and will be back in 10 days.

Click on the photos for a closer look.

Shirley likes purple so I went through my bead stash and picked out an assortment of beads with purple as the dominant color.

Ginny likes anything weird or unusual, her taste is similar to mine.  While sorting out beads for Shirley's bracelet I ran across these little mirror image charms, they are a little weird so I thought they would appeal to Ginny. Thanks to Erl for suggesting a charm bracelet.

Babs love Hearts..... so I made her a heart bracelet.

Heather tells me Jeannie likes sailing..... this pattern reminds me of the ocean... rough waters before a storm... time to head for shore.

Nancy likes anything to do with the ocean so I picked these whirly beads with a "waves dancing in the moonlight" feel to make her bracelet.

Meg like dragonflies so I added a cane work dragonfly to the translucent leaf tile to make her bracelet.

Beth likes African prints and cats so I combined the two for her bracelet.  Joining the tiles with jump rings was a PITA but I'm pleased with the way it turned out..... just hope I got all the jump rings closed properly... Heather took a set of tools with her just in case.

That takes care of all the YaYa's... except Heather... fortunately she got a pretty bracelet from Moe ....which she made off with before I got a photo... I "borrowed" a photo of it from Moe's blog.  I will take a photo of Heather wearing it when she returns. As you can see Moe is a more talented "braceleteer" than I am.

That's it for today.  If you have any comments or questions I would love to hear from you.

Thanks for stopping by.

Mixed Media Whirlwind Necklaces

I know I am suppose to be making bracelets but I got  new toys last week and couldn't resist playing with them.  I was surfing Amazon looking for hardware to make a "bracelet buddy" when I spotted this multi-mandril set.... looked like fun to me so I ordered one. There's a handle and four shapes, triangle, oval, round and square.

Click on the photos for a closer look.

I used the triangle to make the first necklace.... along with polymer clay beads and goldstone beads.

This is probably not the intended use for the mandrils but it popped in my head the minute I saw them. I like the whirlwind effect.

Back view showing how I finished the back of the pendant.

Close up of the wire work.

Hanging on a display.

The second necklace is burgundy wire and glass beads. I used the oval mandril this time.

I love these beads, I have them in several different colors.  The red looks pretty with the burgundy wire. I made a woven wire hook for the clasp.

Hanging on the display. I may have to keep this one, I really like it.

Now I am heading back to the clay room to work on..... bracelets!!  I haven't finished a single one..... and I have more new toys. A cool tool set and cabochon molds from Penni Jo, the Swellegant's from Christi Friesan and the nylon cutter sets and texture sheets from Shades of Clay.  At the rate I'm going the YaYa's may end up with necklaces this year.

Thanks for stopping by.

Translucent Leaf Cane & Leaf Bracelet

I'm killing two birds with one stone.  I am frantically making bracelets for the YaYa's... why do I put everything off to the last minute?   and it just so happens that the theme for  "Discussions from the Claypen" chat  tomorrow is "Translucent".  You should stop by and see all the pretties we are making.

 So, using Translucent Pardo Art Clay and my extruder I made a leaf cane. I know it looks like a heart but trust me... it's a leaf.

Click on the photos for a closer look.

I arranged the leaves on a backgound of silver leaf tinted with alcohol inks on green clay.

Then I cut a shape I liked and put it on the side of a jar to cure in the oven.

When I took it out of the oven I immediately plunged it in ice water being careful to keep the curved shape.

When it cooled I "painted" a thin layer of Kato Liquid clay on the backgound , put it back in the oven, when it came out of the oven I hit it with the heat gun to clear the liquid clay. Now I need to do a little sanding on the back and edges and it will be ready to make into a bracelet.

I have 4 bracelets in different stages...have 3 more to go..... any suggestions?   I don't make may bracelets so this is a bit of stretch for me.   I better get busy!!


Thanks for stopping by.

Orange Extruded Canes & Air-Filled Beads

I found this marvelous Air Filled Beads Tutorial by Page McNall on Flickr and I had to give it a try. I am very pleased with the results.  A very BIG "thank you" to Page for sharing.

First I used my extruder to make a couple monochromatic canes in Orange.  Mixing the colors was not easy, I kept adding a little more red.. no no, now it needs yellow, yikes maybe a touch of black... or maybe brown.... arrrrgh... I wanted the oranges on the paint sample..... after about a zillion tries I finally settled for these although they are still not exactly want I wanted.  Good thing orange is in this year cause I have a pile of it setting on my table!

Click on the photos for a closer look.

I was attempting a polka dot cane.... this is the best I could do.

Now for the exciting part.... the air-filled beads! They are a little different from Page's, I didn't cut out holes, instead used them as part of the design.

Aren't these fun?  I am going to make more in different shapes.

I even ordered sets of seamless nylon cutters from Shades of Clay to make larger ones.  Now I am tapping my toes anxiously awaiting the arrival of the package....  I ordered a couple new texture sheets too.  I need more texture sheets like holes in my head.... but I couldn't resist.  They do have marvelous textures from very talented artists. The postage from Canada was a little expensive, but not to bad.  Postage is soooo expensive everywhere.

Again a BIG "thank you" to Page.  It was very generous of her to share.  If you find any cool tutes,  or would like to share one of your own, please let me know.

That's if for today.

Thanks for stopping by.

Scotty Border Cane

First of all I must tell you what a THRILL it was to have my Border Canes featured on Polymer Clay Daily.  The response was amazing, I usually get 50 to  100 hits per day on my blog.... it's just a little blog that I do for myself, my family and friends.... so it was very exciting to see close to 5000 hits in one day.

Wednesday morning started like any other day, I fed the cats and the birds, I got my coffee and toast and settled in front of the computer to make the morning rounds... our Etsy shops, Polymer Clay Central, Facebook, Flickr, the newly added PCAGOE Forums and then my blog. What the heck!!   I almost choked on my toast when I saw all the comments on my blog,  I scurried over to Facebook where a friend had posted a link to MY BORDER CANES on Polymer Clay Daily..... I checked my email and the activity was mind boggling..... WOW!!  I returned to the blog and began reading all the lovely comments out loud to my feline friends, they were as impressed as I was.... I'm pretty sure I saw new respect in their eyes... well at least Fritz, he cocked his head to the side and gave me one of those "way to go" looks ( I suspect he thinks he's a dog) .... Corny, not so much.... she doesn't hang out in the clay room with me like he does,  she doesn't have a clue how much work goes into making a cane...it is beneath her, she has more important things to do.... her response, as she opened one eye... was more like "what are you babbling about now?"  She is really quite a snob!

The real fun began when my daughter arrived, she can read and talk...... and I don't have to bribe her with cat treats.... although an occasional cookie comes in handy.

In case you missed it here is a link to Polymer Clay Daily

Border Cane Tutorial on Polymer Clay Daily

When things calmed down I took a photo of a few beads and a bracelet I made using the Border Cane in the tutorial.  It's almost YaYa time .... this year I'm giving the ladies bracelets.

Then I made a Scotty Border Cane.  This was an experiment, the next one will be better. I'm not satisfied with the background, I should have kept it simple, maybe a marbled look would be better plus there are a couple booboo's on the Scotty.  With the top Border Cane I didn't run the row of scotties through the pasta machine but I couldn't resist.... the lower Border Cane shows the elongated scotties after going through the pasta machine.

I still play in the yard every day. The lilies are now in bloom. They are so pretty, I just wish they lasted longer.  Orange ones are under my clay room window.

Yellow ones in the side flower bed, they look pretty with the hydrangea,  I can see it from my window too.

My son gave me this pretty glass birdbath for Mother's Day. Right now it is sitting by the gazebo, it looks pretty under the hanging basket but doesn't show up well from a distance so I think I will move it to the back garden.

I gave the gazebo a trim, those trumpet vines grow really fast, it looks much better now.

Corny kept watch from her favorite spot inside the gazebo, she pretended she didn't know I was taking her picture... she is such a stinker!

That is it for today.... time to play with clay.

Thanks for stopping by.