Back to Pardo Art Clay

After my experience with the new Premo and the new Kato...... both brands were soft and sticky I found it very refreshing to work with Pardo Art Clay once again.  One pack of the white Pardo was a little dry and crumbly but I added a little translucent and after a few passes through the pasta machine it smoothed out nicely.  And there is no smell... I love that... the raw clay doesn't smell and it doesn't give off fumes when it is in the oven.

First I tinted translucent with a few drops of alcohol inks.  The cherry red beads are from a scrap that I had in my Pardo drawer. I think I colored it with Stewart Gill Byzantia paint.

Click on the photos for a closer look.

This is a two piece pendant made from the end piece of a cane and a round bead made from a striped cane. 

Pardo Art Clay Canes.  The lines are clean and  sharp and they reduce beautifully. They slice cleanly too.

The canes on the right and left are made from the center cane. 

This pendant is made from one of the striped canes above. 

The last necklace is an experiment. I over reduced a cane..... no big surprise, I just can't seem to stop myself.  So I cut off slices and ran each through the pasta machine to the number 5 setting.... fairly thin. I then baked the slices and joined them together with cute little brads that I found at Michaels.  I am going to wear it for a couple days and see how it holds up. The slices feel sturdy and they bend but do not break.  If they hold up well I will make more necklaces. 

This is the back of the necklace. 

I am going to take a couple days off from claying. The weather has improved, no rain or tornados the last couple days so I'm hoping to do a little yard work. Grandson Brandon moved the lawn today and Heather helped me pull weeds. I hope the weather says nice so I can start planting flowers. 

Polymer Clay Domed Necklace

I'm up bright and early this morning. I have this bossy cat that wanted food and she wouldn't leave me alone. I tried covering my head and ignoring her but nooo.... she wasn't having that. She can be a real PITA. We seem to be having a power struggle... I may be loosing, ya think?

Another set of tiles that have been patiently sitting in my "to do" box. They needed backs to cover the wire ends and holes drilled to add the "o" rings. I'm thrilled with the way it turned out, it looks great on. I'm keeping this one, I really really like it.

Click on the photos for a closer look.
Back of the tiles. Duh!

Marbled Deco Style Necklace

I'm a little cranky this morning... I dozed off last evening while watching Project Runway and woke up with a crink in my neck. I was hoping it would go away after a good nights sleep but no such luck... still sore. This reminded me of my granddad, it always amazed me how he could nod off in a sitting position when I couldn't fall asleep in a nice comfy bed, now I'm the one doing the nodding off.

So here is my latest creation. I made the tiles some months ago but couldn't decide how to join them together. Every now and then I would get them out, play with them for awhile and put them back in the "to do" box. I thought about putting loops on the backs and stringing them on waxed cord with knots in between but was concerned they wouldn't hang right. I played with the idea of loops on the back and then string on black rubber cord with "O" rings in between, again not sure they would hang right. I finally decided this would work and it does. I like the silver rubber cord better than black, don't you?

Click on the photos for a closer look.

When I see photos of jewelry I always want to flip it over to see the back side, so here is the backside.

Polymer Clay Mixed Media Necklace

This necklace has all of my favorite mediums. I made a striped snake in green and yellow polymer clay, slipped on a band of beads in complimentary colors, added tendrils of wire for a little pizzaz and finished it with satin cord adorned with coils of wire. I'm still experimenting with beading and polymer clay... I'm pleased with the way this one turned out. For a closer look click on the photo.

Autumn Flower Necklace ..& Quiche report.

Autumn is my favorite time of year I like everything about it. The colors are glorious, the weather is cool and crisp and the holidays are the best. I have such happy memories of Halloween. When I was a kid you didn't get store bought candy our bags were filled with candy apples (both carmel and red hot), popcorn balls, home made cookies (occasionally plain apples...boooo!) and all kinds of homemade candies. Moms and grandmas put a lot of effort into making special treats. Makes my mouth water just thinking of it. My grandma made the best oatmeal cookies, she used a secret ingredient that made them delicious, everyone said so.

So I made this necklace in October colors. The flower beads & pendant have a matte finish. The necklace is strung on a black rubber cord. I used coiled wire beads and black 'O" rings between the flower beads. The pendant has a coiled wire bail.
As you can see I did get my Quiche yesterday... couldn't wait, I took a bite before I snapped the photo... tried to hide it with the grapes. I also had the tomato, bacon and spinach salad. I didn't care for the oregano dressing, fortunately they serve the dressing on the side so I used my homemade ranch dressing. They put red onions on the salad... which I removed, don't like onions on salad, and it had grape tomatoes which I'm not crazy about but I ate them anyway. Oh, almost forgot, they serve little individual loafs of homemade bread, wheat or white, with the soups and salads, the bread is excellent. Tomorrow or friday I am going to try the roast beef sandwich and potato soup, I've had the soup before, it's good.

More Polymer Clay Brooches & Necklaces

Yes, more brooches. I am determined to put pinbacks on ALL the brooches in the "to do" boxes before I make anything new. The jelly belly kitty pin is one of the first things I made over 3 years ago and the poor thing has been sitting in the "to do" box patiently waiting for a pinback, now she has one... she is a happy kitty, I can hear her purring.That poor turtle has been sitting around for a while too... not as long as kitty... but over a year.
I like the 3-D flower pins in this photo. I like the others too, they are made with alcohol inks on gold and silver leaf then sealed with liquid Kato.
And I finished a couple necklaces too!! I used copper wire, faceted crystal beads and copper bead caps to make the links.
And last but not least a Mica Shift pendant. I'm a big fan of copper so once again I made the links with glass pearls & lacy bead caps, glass cathedral beads, copper wire and chain. The back of the pendant is pretty too... I forgot to take a photo... I'm old, I forget things, okay?

Beaded Cabochon Necklace

I had a good time going through the boxes of unfinished items... it was like Christmas. Some things I had forgotten and was pleasantly surprised to see again.... others I swear I have never seen before. Must have been that darn ghost in our attic. (Yes, we do have a ghost, I'll tell you about her sometime)

Truth is when you get old you forget things... no big deal. Some people find this disturbing, not me, I kinda like it. It saves me money on books and movie rentals. It can be annoying at times... like when I put something away in a "safe place" never to be seen again. I did find a 50 dollar bill in a book the other day, that was fun.

Back to the unfinished pieces. I've made a deal with myself... I must complete one item a day, more if I'm so inclined but I must complete at least one, before I can work on something new. So here is my item for yesterday. I used matching goldstone beads with seed bead spacer to complete the necklace. I'm proud of myself. I would pat myself on the back but I can't reach it anymore... arthritis .... so I'll pat myself on the knee.

Click on the photo for a closer look.