New Work

I've spent quite a bit of time working on projects the past few days.  The pendants in the picture were a lot of fun to create!

I bought a bag of decorative glass thingys.  They were really cheap, but they are all turquoise blue.   I played with them a little bit and this is the result.  I think I may have to buy more  in different colors, even if I can't find them as cheap as these were.


I haven't decided yet how I want to string them, so I'm going to think about that a bit.


I also finished three necklaces and a bracelet; and I'm working on two more necklaces.  I'm hoping to have them uploaded to my Artfire Studio later this week.  I need to photograph them, but I need a sunny day.

And, I actually did a little painting today!  I've been working on the same dang painting for almost two years.  I need to finish and move on.  As well as paint, more consistently . . .

Baby It's Cold Outside!

I'll be the first to admit, I'm a wimp when it comes to cold.  And it's been really cold here all week.

This is a snapshot taken looking out my workroom window. I'm glad I'm inside and all that snow is outside!

Now the garage is a very frigid 36 degrees.  Great for chilling champagne, not so good for working on anything in the garage.


I need to antique some copper wire in liver of sulfur so I can finish the "Tree of Life" necklace I started for the Art Bead Scene November Challenge.  I suppose I could turn a heater on out there, but like I said I'm a wimp when it comes to cold. 

I also scorched another batch of beads this week and I'm wondering if it is because of how cold the garage is.  I'm wondering if the oven I'm using runs hotter if it is cold? 

Maybe I'll put on a couple of pairs of long johns and some sweats and venture out into the garage.  Or maybe I'll hide under the blankets until spring. . .

Spring!

It's 5 degrees Fahrenheit (-15 Celsius) out and I just can't help myself.  I'm thinking of spring!  I know, it's not officially winter yet and Thanksgiving is tomorrow.  But, what the heck! I thought I would take a look at the Pantone spring color forecast for 2011.

And I'm thinking the Coral Rose and Regatta colors would make some vibrant jewelery!  I'm wanting to play with some color mixing with the Kato polyclay and I thought I could use some of the 2011 spring colors for a little inspiration.

And while I'm thinking of spring, here is a cute little girls dress by A Green Dress  on ArtFire.  I know, it's a little early, but it is a very cute dress and it is on sale.


A couple of reminders:

The Polymer Clay Smooshers Holiday Scavenger Hunt is still on!  Runs through November 29.

It's not too late to enter the November giveaway at the Shops With Less than (10) Sales Blog.  Leave a comment for a chance to win a $15.00 gift certificate for VaBeachQuilter's ArtFire Studio.

One more thing - I'm offering free shipping at my ArtFire Studio through December 31.  Additionally, I'm offering 15% off all jewelry price $18-$34 until November 30.  Use the coupon code ROSIEDOG at checkout for 15% off.

And one Final thing:
HAPPY THANKSGIVING everyone!

Color Recipes for Kato Polyclay

Some time ago, I made faux bones from polymer clay.  I have used up most of those faux bones making jewelry and need to make more.  And I forgot how I mixed the color for them, so I had to go searching.

What I found was a  page of Kato color recipes  And a color mixing chart as well. And then another page of Kato recipes!  Although I think most of the recipes are the same on the two pages.

I'm thinking of gradually working through some of the recipes and making some color charts. 

Oh, and the bone is 1:1 white and ecru (on the Kato color recipe pages) that is then layered or rolled into a cane with translucent.

I'm going to have to flex some muscle and get out some special equipment to condition the Kato clay. . .

A little of This and That

Premo is Doing What?
Polyform announced on their Facebook page some color changes that they are making to their Premo polymer clay. They are adding some new colors and discontinuing some others. Included in the colors being dropped are the primary colors zinc yellow and cobalt blue. And things are getting lively over their if you want to go look.

I'll probably be using more Kato Polyclay anyway. The new Hobby Lobby carries it, so it will be much easier for me to purchase without having to order it all the time.


Getting Ready for Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving approaches - I did a kitchen experiment today. I know, scary!  I tried out a vegan pumpkin pie recipe. What I ended up with was more like pumpkin pudding, but it tasted pretty good!  I can have a pumpkin dessert on Thanksgiving! YAY! I haven't had pumpkin pie in years (allergic to eggs; can't tolerate dairy anymore).



Featured Studio
Jewelz Creatives is the featured Studio for "Shops with Less than 10 Sales", one of the guilds I belong to on ArtFire.  She has some whimsical cat toys for the discriminating kitty!  These are all filled with her own organic catnip.  She also has squeaky dog toys (don't tell my dog, Rosie), grocery bag storage dispensers and other fun items in her studio.  Her catnip toys really make me smile! 

Squiggles the Zombie Kitten

Organic Catnip Toy Egg

Blue Snowflakes Christmas Stocking Catnip Toy

November Challenge

Each month Art Bead Scene has a challenge based on a specific piece of artwork.  This month's particular piece is Tree of life, Stoclet Frieze by Gustav Klimt.

I'm fairly pleased with how the pendant looks, and I'm thinking of making a couple more.  However, I'm a little stuck on putting it together.

I'll give it a bit of rest and look at it with fresh eyes in a couple of days.  Looking at some of the entries, I'm a little intimidated. But I can't let that stop me! I'll never get anywhere if I let that sort of thinking control me!


The other thing big on my mind right now is Thanksgiving - I've go a lot to do between now and then; cleaning (ick, yuck, bleck) and cooking.  So if I go a bit AWOL from my blog it's because of that.

Here is the menu for Thanksgiving:

Ham (for the non-vegetarians)

Stuffed acorn squash with molasses (with soy sausage)

Stuffed acorn squash with molasses (with rice)   

Wild rice with apricots, figs and walnuts (vegan)                   

Baked beans (vegan)             

Broccoli casserole (for the non-vegans)

Broccoli and mushrooms(vegan)

Mashed potatoes (regular)

Mashed potatoes (dairy free)

Bourbon sweet potatoes (vegan)

Stuffing

Cherry delight (for the non-vegans)

Vegan pumpkin pie

Champagne

Port

Triple berry liqueur

Lets see, there will be four of us, so I will be making food for about 20 people.

And I probably won't cook again until sometime next year. . .

Holiday Scavenger Hunt

The Polymer Clay Smooshers, One of the ArtFire guilds that I belong to is hosting a holiday scavenger hunt.  And we are giving away some cool prizes! 

See this cute little guy? All you have to do is find him in as many of the Smooshers' shops as you can. 

If you go to the Smooshers Blog you will see a list of Guild members.  Just click on the member names to go to their respective shops.  There are also more details on the blog.

Look at all the cool prizes there are to win!

Good luck and happy hunting!

Craft Store Crawl

I went to the grand opening of the new Hobby Lobby. Nice store and really busy!  They have a nice selection of polymer clay.  On sale no less!  Need to check my inventory first and go back in a couple of days.

I do hope they are getting in more oil paints; the selection was a little sparse. 

I did buy a couple of things.  I'm thinking the table easel will be nice for working on smaller paintings. And it looks like I'll have to do some table rearranging.

I also stopped at Michaels. Just for laughs, I thought I'd check the polymer clay. I've had a rain-check for black Premo polymer clay for about a month now and they still don't have any. 

The only thing they have there that isn't at the other craft stores is Windsor Newton oil paint.  And the only way I'm buying it there is if I have a 40% coupon and I'm in desperate need of a specific color.  Otherwise, I'm ordering online.  Interestingly, the W/N oil colors are in a locked case.  They have gotten that expensive. . .

And of course I stopped at Craft Warehouse.  Bought a couple of things there as well.  I wanted the little metal paint tray for polymer clay.   I plan to use it to bake pendants to give them a convex shape.

And the itty bitty canvases are so cute.  I'm thinking abstract painting pendants.  However, the quality of the canvases is marginal at best, so I only bought 2.  I could make something of much better quality if this works.

Finally Broke in my Extruder

I've had this for a couple of months and finally got around to using it this week.

There is something I've been wanting to try for a while - a technique that gives a crackly appearence.

 It's explained in this tutorial (in French):
 http://paroledepate.canalblog.com/archives/lecons_en_images/p110-0.html  It's about 2/3 of the way down the page with the title "ça craque".

Now, I took French in high school and college. And I have to say I don't remember any of it. Somewhere, some place there is an English translation.  And of course I didn't bookmark it.  The pictures tell most of the story anyway.  The one thing I think I remember from the English translation is something about alternating conditioned and un-conditioned clay.

My beads didn't come out as crackly as her's did. I used Premo for these.  My second round, I didn't condition at all and still not as crackly. I'm wondering what kind of polymer clay she is using?  I don't think I could ever get un-conditioned Kato through my extruder.  I'm wondering about trying Fimo with this technique.

I don't have any Fimo, so I guess I'll have to go shopping! Yes, and the  new Hobby Lobby opens tomorrow! I could do a Kennewick craft store crawl (like a pub crawl, but no beer till I get home) - Joannes, Craft Warehouse, Michaels, Hobby Lobby. (Hubby's at work, he will never know - I just don't let him see my blog)

Here is more of her work - again, all in French, but a picture is work a 1000 words: http://domicreative.canalblog.com/
Here is the link for the website where I found the tutorial:
http://paroledepate.canalblog.com/
And one more cool French polymer clay blog:
http://fimotifimota.canalblog.com/

Fifty and Counting!

Woo-Hoo! I hit fifty items in my ArtFire Studio! And now I'm working on the Second fifty. This blue necklace with blue and gold pendant is item 51 in my studio.

Getting one-hundred items listed is taking me far longer than I anticipated.  It would have been better if I had built up some inventory and then opened my studio.   But, I'm plugging away at it one item at a time. And I will get there.

Only 49 more to go!

Catching Up - NOT!

Well, I'm pretty far behind on this project.  I've frogged (unraveled) it  once already.  I'm knitting it for a KAL (knit along) at the Jane Thornley group forum over on Ravelry. 

The KAL started Oct. 1 and runs till Nov. 30.  I have a little over two weeks left and most of a top to knit!

Well, there are only 24 hours in a day and I'm not going to stress over it.  My tax preparation class won't be meeting for two weeks, so I hope to get some things caught up.  Things like digging out the poor dead squash and tomato plants out of the veggie beds.

Baltic Amber Necklace by Aussen Wolf Designs

And now on to a totally different topic - amber!  Here is
another beautiful necklace by Aussen Wolf Designs. This Baltic Amber pendant is gorgeous!   It is strung with three strands of amber chips accented with silver beads.

***Santa, please note, I've been mostly good this year.  I'll get the veggie beds cleaned out, I promise!

Miscellany

I have little pile o' finished stuff.  I plan to get my ArtFire studio updated over the next few days.

One thing to note, it took me more time to create the freeform bracelet than all the other items put together  in this picture!

In other news, Polymer Clay Smooshers has announced that they are going to host a scavenger hunt beginning November 15th.  More details as they become available.

As you are out traveling the blog-osphere, take time to stop at the blog for "Shops With Less Than 10 Sales". Leave a comment and you will be entered in a chance to win a $15.00 gift certificate for VA Beach Quilter's ArtFire studio.

Besides beautiful traditional quilts, she has a lot of other fun and unique items such as this Pittsburgh Steelers table topper.

And while you are at the Shops With Less Than 10 Sales blog, meander over to this weeks featured shop, Aussen Wolf Designs. She creates very lovely hand crafted jewelry.

I  Think this necklace of hers is adorable!

Well, I guess I better go get to work!

Purple Freeform Bracelet

Finally done! Took too long, but I'm pleased with how it turned out.  I'm thinking of doing one in white and silver, but I better get some other things done first.

Aside from creating stuff, I need to get the business portion a little more organized.  Having a little trouble wrapping my brain around it.


Yesterday, I went to a local crafts show.   Something I think I would like to try eventually - selling at a craft show.  But, right now that seems a bit overwhelming.  Tables, displays, VISA, oh my!  It looks like a large quantity of work.  I'm thinking once I get my shopped filled up (I'm almost halfway to 100), I can start on building inventory for shows. 

Any way, there was a  nice variety of wares.  Even bought a few things; handmade soap, Christmas cards and a couple of random ceramic items. I love handcrafted ceramics!  Wish I could afford a kiln. Maybe someday.  I'm pondering taking a ceramics class in the fall (and accounting), but we will see.

One final thing - I think every blog needs a blog dog.  Here is Rosie my blog dog.  She also doubles as garden dog when the weather is good. She's displaying her best sad cute doggie face.

Beach Necklaces Restrung and Listed

The three necklaces I blogged about needing to restring, are done. Yay! And listed. Double yay!  I'm up to 46 items in my ArtFire studio - that's a little over 2 pages full.

It's taking longer than I planned, but I'm plugging away at it.  The last couple of weeks it seemed like I was making hardly any progress.  I know last week, the tax preparation class I'm taking sucked up a lot of my time.

I'm nearly done with the free-form bracelet I'm working on.   That bogged me down a little bit as well. 

I still feel I'm not quite organized like I should be.  I'm still trying to get my mind around promoting my ArtFire Studio.  I definitely don't have that organized like I should.

But, I 'm plugging away at it and learning as I go. 

The Joy of Smooshing!

The joy, the sheer unbridled exuberance of creating.  There is something about polymer clay - it just has so many possibilities!  So much of ourselves goes into each and every piece.

Here are three pieces by fellow Polymer Clay Smooshers guild members for you to enjoy! And it was really, really hard to pick only three!

First is Sunface Kachina by Renaissance Gal of San Antonio.  This is a fun piece full of bold color.

The Bronze and Green Textured Disk by 11 Bold Street, is rich with subtle warm color and alive with wonderful texture.

Goddess of the Winds by Laughing Moon Arts is so full of life. The swirls give so much movement to the piece.

Freeform Peyote Beadweaving

I keep debating whether to add this necklace to my ArtFire Studio or not. It was really, really time consuming to make. It would be the most expensive item in my studio.

And I'm a little blah about it.  It's not horrible (I think), but not the best either.  I don't know, maybe I'm my own worst critic! 

I have to think on it some more.



This purple and gold bracelet feels like I've been working it on forever.  I hadn't done free-form bead peyote for a couple of months and I had forgotten how time consuming it is!

It's nearly done, and I'm pleased with how it's turning out.  I need to finish it and move on! I'm not getting much else done.  This is what happens when I give the muse free reign!

These are really fun to do.  Some turn out better than others.  But, boy they take me forever!

Necklaces to Fix

I did these three necklaces sometime back.  I should be pleased with them, but there is something wrong with each one of them. Now, it's nothing that can't be fixed, I just have to restring them.

I like how they look (for the most part) and you can't see the problems from the picture. Maybe no one else but me would notice, but it bugs me.

Starting with left and center necklaces - I stained the beads with pthalo blue acrylic paint to highlight the textures.  But, I failed to let the beads dry long enough after staining.  Now the cord has a faint blue stain.

The necklace on the right is strung on waxed linen cord.  As a matter of fact, it's more wax then linen. It feels nasty!  What was I thinking?  Bought the waxed linen at coughcoughWalmartcough.

So today's lessons are:

1. Wait for the paint to dry and give the beads ten minute in the oven. 
2.  Only buy bananas and T-shirts at Walmart, and never ever buy beading supplies.