A bit of Dichroic Glass in Polymer Clay

I paid good money for fancy cat beds and my goofy cats much prefer a ratty old box.  I unpacked my order from Fire Mountain Gems, set the box on the floor and Fritz hopped in.

He looks scared cause he sees Corny headed his way. Sure enough she kicks him out, curls up and falls asleep.

Corny is a little things but soooo bossy.  I'm always amazed how she gets away with pushing him around, he's a lot bigger but he backs down every time.

Heather gave me several small dichroic glass cabs, I used one in this necklace.  It matched this pendant perfectly. I used matching beads and colored wire for the chain.

Click on the photos for a closer look.

A different view.

A close up of the pendant.

I also made more Julie Picarello beads, not sure how I will use them but I like the color combo.

Time for a nap..... thanks for stopping by.

Murphy's Law Necklace

This is my "Murphy's Law" Necklace, everything that could go wrong did go wrong... first I popped the back off one of the side tiles when I ran the wire through so I had to glue it back together, then I got glue on the tile so I had to take necklace apart in order to resand and buff the tile, then the hole in the black oval beads was to small for the wire and I couldn't find my bead reamer... I reorganized my studio  last month so things would be easier to find... yeah, right!  took half an hour but I finally found it in my new carousel organizer...  sitting there in plain sight!  The final straw was when I glued my index finger and thumb together with Zap-a-Gap glue... not just one hand but both hands!!  

How, you ask, did I do such a goofy thing?  One hand, sure, we have all done that... but both hands? Okay, see the black wire links with the pink and green beads?  I was concerned the wire wouldn't stay together on the large O rings so I put a tiny drop of glue where the wire ends meet. slid a bead over the glue and held for a few seconds until the glue set up. This went really well until I got to the very last link.  For some reason the glue didn't set so I moved the bead over added a little more glue slid the bead back waited 10 seconds or so, tried the bead and it still moved  so once again I moved the bead over added a tad more glue put the bead back and decided to hold it until the bead stayed in place.... I was watching one of my new favorite shows "Person of Interest"  so I settled back in my chair and held the wire in place until the next commercial. Several minutes later the commercial came on, I tested the bead with my middle finger and it was secure. I put the necklace down.... uh oh.. it was then I  realized my fingers were also secure...very secure!   Yip, the glue had run down the wire seeped between my fingers and thumbs and there I sat  with my hands looking like kissing rabbit shadow puppets.  

Now, I am here by myself so I try to come up with something that will unstick me.  I'm thinking finger nail polish remover... I don't polish my nails anymore but I'm fairly sure I have an old bottle somewhere, if I can just remember where I put it.  Okay I want you to hold your index fingers and thumbs together and go rustle through your cabinets and drawers.... see, not so easy! 

  Couldn't find the polish remover so I tried Dawn soap... works for almost everything, right?... does not work for Zap a Gap,  tried alcohol, didn't work either... I keep trying to pull my fingers apart and finally the right hand gives way... free at last... but the left hand in another story,  lots more glue and it is starting to hurt from so much pulling and tugging, I didn't know skin could stretch that far.

  I try all my cleaning supplies, Windex, Mr Clean, Kaboom.... anything I can find.... For a second or two I consider trying to cut it apart with a tissue blade but I'm left handed and not to steady with my right hand. I picture my trying to explain to the ER tech why I sliced off my finger tip.... and his/her head shaking and the "poor old thing" look in his/her eyes.  So I scrapped that plan.

 I could have called Heather but it was almost 10 o'clock...she is probably in her pj's. So as a least ditch effort I hold my hand under running hot water, hot as I can stand,  and continue to tug and pull and wiggle and tug some more... at last, the finger and thumb  pop apart.  What a relief!! My thumb is okay but my finger is sore, feels kinda bruised.  

Next day I did a little research.  Seems there is a "debonder" for super glues, found at most craft stores or finger nail polish with acetone works.... or the hot water method I stumbled on works fairly well.  Needless to say I made a trip to the store for nail polish remover, less painful than the water treatment.  I will  get the debond stuff next time I go to Michaels.  I am now prepared if the mishap should occur again... just in case I forget... I  put the nail polish remover on the back shelf in the clay room. 

Here is the necklace.... not sure it is worth the trouble.

Click on the photos for a closer look. 

from another angle.

I also made a Mixed Media bracelet with yellow and black tiles.  I don't make many bracelet, I rarely wear them, but daughter Patty does.  I used 18 gauge wire for the frame, 28 gauge wire with seed beads for the weaving.  

The wire can be adjusted to fit any size wrist and is sturdy enough to hold it's shape, I would like to add  a closure of some type just haven't come up with one as yet... any suggestions?

That's it for today, I'm on to my next adventure.  

Thanks for stopping by. 

Mixed Media Pumpkins

I love autumn.  The colors are stunning, the leaves are falling, the air is crisp, the birds and squirrels are fun to watch...... and the sound of the high school band takes me back to the carefree days of my youth.

Inspired by the autumn colors here is my Pumpkin Jewelry made with polymer clay and colored wire.

Pumpkin Necklace and Pins.

Click on the photos for a closer look.

A closer look at the Necklace

and a closer look at the pins. I haven't sanded them yet.

And I made a set of Mirror Image Beads

I hope you are enjoying the sights and sounds and smells of autumn as much as I am.

Thanks for stopping by.

From Caterpillar to Butterfly

I made a change to my Caterpillar Necklace.  Jay suggested it needed a butterfly, he was right.... so here it is.  Thanks Jay.

Click on the photos for a closer look... click twice for an even closer look.

I originally planned to back the butterfly with clay but it got a little busy. I like the look with just the wire and the beads. Here is a close up.

Short but sweet, that's it for today.

Thanks for stopping by.

Polymer Clay Beads

The Julie Picarello challenge on "Discussions from the Claypen" was a big success!  Most of the regulars showed up and many new folks popped in to say hello.  3 pages of gorgeous photos were on display.  Here is a link if you'd like take a peek.

http://gallery.gundo.com/gallery/album400

  Marlea was the winner of the beautiful pendant donated by Julie Picarello. Our next challenge will be voodoo dolls of Marlea...  lol, just kidding!


I used the recycled canes to make beads.

Click on the photos for a closer look.

I used a couple different canes to make this assortment.

I love these, I think they look like fern leaves.

Red and Grey

                                                       Mostly Blue with a touch of red and green

                                               I like the stained glass look of these.

                                                Blue and green capsule beads

  Mirror image hearts from the cane ends. I am making round beads from the canes. to use with these.

More beads to come. Thanks for stopping by.

A chance to win a Julie Picarello pendant

Would you like to win a Julie Picarello pendant?

This is an invitation to attend the "Discussions from the Claypen" chat on Polymer Clay Central.

Date: Thursday Sept 29th

Time:  11:30 AM  Eastern Standard Time

All you have to do is show up and your name will be tossed in the hat!

Every thursday a gaggle of polymer clay artists get together to share our latest polymer clay projects and discuss what is going on in our lives. It has given us the opportunity to get to know each other and become friends. We would love to have you join us!! We also submit photos of our latest work and our wonderful moderator, Jackie, has kept an album of all the past entries.....page after page of beautiful art...  that alone is worth a visit.

Because most of us either have Julie Picarello's book "Patterns in Polymer, Imprint & Accent Bead Techniques" or have attended one of her classes this weeks project is to make a piece using her Imprint Mokume Gane technique.  When Jackie told Julie about the project Julie very generously donated an original pendant  and may even stop by, time permitting.  That's pretty iffy, but being an optimist I am keeping my fingers crossed.

And more good news.... Anyone who submits photos of their Julie P pieces get a 2nd chance to win... how cool is that?

Now if you can't attend chat you still have a chance to win by submitting a photo. If you want to submit  photos of your Julie P pieces leave a comment and I will tell you where to send the photos.... the dead line is wednesday evening.

I spent the weekend working on my entries... now that I have the hang of it I plan to make more today....  this is fun!!

Here is what I made so far.

more from the same mokume gane stack

Now I am off to mix more clay and make another "stack".  

Hope to see you thursday.....

Armadillo & More Old to New Canes

Get yourself a cup of coffee... or tea... sit back and relax, I have a lot of photos to show you.  I've reorganized my canes, weeded out the old ones I didn't like and made them into new one I do like... only had a couple duds that ended up in the scrap bag.  I think I''m pretty much done making new canes from old.... at least for now.

First I want to show you my Armadillo pin... at least I think he's an armadillo, he just kinda crawled out of the clay on his own.... looks more like an armadillo than any other critter.

Back side of pin, I used one of the pinbacks with a bail so he can be worn as a pin or pendant.

Now on to the New from old canes.

Most of the new canes are about an inch  to 1 1/2" long, I can usually get a dozen or so beads from each cane.  I'm gonna make beads tonight and then start on a special project tomorrow... I will tell you about that later, remind me, okay?

The 4 smaller canes are from ones similar to the one in the middle.  These are made differently than the ones I made in the tutorial.   To make the two canes at the top I reduced the center cane into a 4" log then ran it thought the pasta machine on the No 1 setting.  Cut the strip into 1 1/2" pieces and assembled the canes.  I did the same with the two at the bottom only I went a couple steps further, I sliced them across from corner to corner.... like in the tute..  then cut the triangle logs in half and put them together... clear as mud, right?

The small ones are all from the big one on the left.  Adding black and white is always a good thing to do. 

This is a group picture...

The two square canes are from the round one... I think that was one of my first attempts at a flower cane... not sure what kind of a flower I was aiming for.

The square cane is from the striped checkerboard cane. 

Oops... more from the round cane above. I usually make fairly small canes but I had lots of that one!

The two canes at the top are from the bigger one at the bottom.

These are all from my attempt at  garden butterfly cane.... makes me cringe just thinking about it, it was pretty pathetic... but I like these.    That bottom one makes really cool beads, I'll show you when I get them cured.

I do not remember what I was trying for with the original cane.... it must have been so bad I blocked it from my mind.  The background color is strange but it kinda grows on you.... at least that's what I keep telling myself.  I sent a set of these to a friend... you know who you are... we will see what her reaction is.   Hopefully they will make nice beads.

Made from odds and ends.... except for the first one in the 2nd row... I showed it to you above.... don't know how it snuck into this photo too.  My cat was helping me.

More odds and ends..... except for the bottom on the right, showed it before... cat still helping.

and more odds and ends, the two at the bottom were made from the same cane.  If you are dying to see the original canes most can be seen on my Flickr page under "Polymer Clay canes".

Okay, that's it for today... thanks for stopping by.