The Craft Gods keep sending me button goodness to share….must be some kinds of harmonic convergence in the crafty universe! I got online today and found this FAB-U-LOUS button coaster craft at CraftStylish for a button coaster. Wow! I LOVE the way it looks, and you could create all kinds of designs if you used different colors of embroidery threads and/or different colors of buttons. Just make sure they are of a uniforms size and you can get really creative […]
Button Crafts
I love buttons- both the functional, keep-your-sweater-closed variety, as well as purely decorative/design elements. Yup. Love buttons! So, since it’s National Craft Month in March I thought I’d share a few resources with you! Make a cute button-covered tote…I reposted it from Martha Stewart a while back. Great way to use up those funky buttons in the button jar and spruce up that boring market tote! CraftStylish offers step-by-step instructions on making a button bracelet– you need shank buttons for […]
Mokume Gane Wire-Wrapped Pendant by Eva
I’ve been making Mokume Gane pendants and beads, and my dear friend Eva (who owns Grand River Beads in Rocky River, Ohio) used one of my beads to wire-wrap for a group she’s in. Her group, Creative Wire Forum, is doing a “piece a week” project, encouraging members to make-yup, you guessed it- one piece of wire jewelry per week, often offering prompts or suggestions to spur creativity. Anyway, Eva posted this piece she made…and I’m so proud she used […]
New Mokume Gane beads…
I’m finishing up a new batch of Mokume Gane beads, and I fell in love with this one so much I stuck a “taco bail” right on it and started wearing it. I have a gazillion beads in this color way, so I took some over to Eva at Grand River Beads, and she’s going to sell them there. Which makes me just want to make more beads! I’m also going to teach a version of Mokume Gane in polymer […]
Wild Women Pins for CPS Swap
I’ve gotten back to the sewing machine- a little- and have made some pins for the ClothPaperStudio Yahoo Group swap. Our theme was “wild women pins,” but mine are more like sassy ladies. I started with my standard fiber fusion technique- layering batting, then fabric, and then sprinkling thread snippets, fabric scraps, yarns, and Angelina Fibers on top. I put down a layer of Solvy, then free-motion embroider on top to keep it all together. After dissolving the Solvy, I […]
More Breast Cancer Awareness Crafts: Pink Ribbon Pin
Ok, so here’s a quick and cute “pink ribbon” craft, using safety pins and seed beads. I know I have a million of these little buggers around, so I’m going to get busy. Surf on over to About.com’s family crafts, and you can get the full instructions. This is the basic grid…Â and I’m sorry I can’t share a finished product with you– couldn’t find an image of one completed on the internet, and I’m just getting started on mine. […]
Pretty Little Things… from Sally Jean
Most of you know that I love, love, love Sally Jean…. her artwork is fun and whimsical, and her soldering is top-notch. I had a pretty good month in July, and I actually made some cash from teaching my craft classes. So I bought myself a little somthing pretty, of course! This is what she calls her “knockers” (har, har!)- two sides of an acrylic hemisphere with artwork captured inside. What’s fun about these is that you get to choose […]
New samples of “Luscious Layersâ€
I taught my “Luscious Layers” class at Grand River Beads on Thursday night. We had a lovely turn out of 4 ladies, all new to my classes. They made great pieces! I was only prepared for 3 (we had one last-minute drop-in), so I had to use some scrap black clay for the base, instead of the usual white to do my demonstrations. I WAS BLOWN AWAY!!! I loved the black even more than the white. Here are a few […]
Luny’s Half-Moon Beads
As it is with most of us in the blogosphere, I do a fair amount of surfing other blogger’s sites. “Luny” is a polymer clay-er that belongs to one of my Yahoo Groups, and she had showed us some of her half-moon beads. I really liked them, and left a comment to tell her so. She responded by posting a how-to so that I could try making my own. How cool is that? So go visit “Luny” at TwistedKneads, too… […]
Impression Glazing Polymer Clay
So this is the technique that I’ve been most obsessed with lately- impression glazing. I stamped some polymer clay, baked it, and then mixed up some mica powders with TLS (translucent liquid Sculpey) and glazed over it. I wired it up and added some bead and glass danglies…. just in time for a special birthday gift! BUT…the recipient isn’t allowed to take it home until we have a class in June! (Sorry, lovey! You’ll just have to “quality control” it […]
Painted Pendants of Polymer Clay
I’ve been working on some enamel-like effects on polymer clay pendants, and I made these a few weeks ago. I love Lumiere paints- they are acrylics with mica powders in them, which make them metallic and shimmery. However, I had problems with them bubbling when I went to heat-set the glaze on top. Maybe I need to sand down the polymer bases so that the paints adhere better. I almost think that this technique won’t work for a class setting, […]
Mother’s Day Bracelet Gift
Mother’s Day really snuck up on me this year. Lucky for me, I’d gotten started on Mom’s giftie… can’t share it with you YET, as our Mother’s Day celebration will be delayed a week or two. And I purchased some hand-made goodies to give out, but I had to resort to (GASP) store-bought cards. Yipes. However, I did get to make one special gift that I can share. My BIL enlisted my help in making a special Mother’s Day bracelet […]
New Liquid Clay Creations
So, my friend Eva is showing my some new goodies she bought in Tucson – large focal components with glass enameling. As always, my snarky comment is “I bet we could do this in polymer clay.” Go figure. I’ve been playing in the studio, trying to find the right combo of pigment, glazes, inks, paints, and liquid PC to get the effect I want. I’ll be doing another set of more “scientific” experiments comparing 3-4 liquid clays and how they […]
Fashionable Medical Alert Bracelets
I read an article today in our local paper called “Medical ID Bracelets Become Stylish” and had a head-slapping-I-wish-I-thought-of-that moment. Of course! Who wouldn’t want a cuter, more stylish medical ID bracelet? After working in the medical field for many years, I know firsthand how important and potentially life-saving these ID bracelets and tags are. If you or someone you know needs a medical ID tag, here are some resources for jazzin’ those babies up! www.LaurensHope.com  This site offers […]
Razzle Dazzle Bracelets – Design by Caroline Conley
As I’ve mentioned before, I am a magazine junkie. Especially bead and papercrafts magazines. Well, right now I have a subscription to Bead Style Magazine, and usually I just leaf through it. This month, though, I saw the “Razzle Dazzle Bracelet” designed by Caroline Conley, and I knew I had to test it out! I love to make my polymer clay beads, and I’ve been working in sets. I’ve wanted to use them in bracelets, but wanted to make a […]
Gorgeous Paper Bead Necklace
I was doing my regular surfing, and ran across this GORGEOUS paper bead necklace from Mazel Tov Jewelry. Really transcends paper beads into high art. Tell me it’s not fabulous and I’ll call you a liar!
Is It Spring Yet?
Here in northeast Ohio, we are having a lovely blizzard today. However, it is already spring in my heart, and I’ve found a cute little beaded dragonfly earring project to keep me in denial. I think I’ll sit here and dream of hot, lazy Augusts, with a swarm of them buzzing around…..have fun!
St. Patrick’s Day Crafts – Sort Of
I’m gearing up for my favorite green holiday, St. Patrick’s Day. Since my birthday is only 3 days later, it’s been something of an extended holiday for me. (BTW, Earth Day comes in second as my favorite green holiday. Sorry.) Anyhoo, I always celebrate with cards for the family, dressing up the kids, sometimes even hitting the parade if the weather isn’t too crappy. I decided to try that new metal-leafing technique and make a batch o’ goodies. I ended […]
First Wire Wrapping Class
I had my first wire wrapping class today with Melissa M. at Grand River Beads. As you may know, I’ve gone off of the deep end with polymer clay cabochons using metal leaf and inks. So I figure I have to learn what to do with them! I’m so glad I took the class. I’d seen some tutorials online, but there’s no way I’d have gotten the bale to turn out if I hadn’t seen someone else do it first. […]
My First Hollow Polymer Clay Bead
So I took 2 cabs that I formed over the lightbulb, sanded them, then baked them together using TLS and my embossing gun. The result? My first hollow bead! I’m disappointed that I can still see the seam. Maybe a little alcohol ink over it to cover it a bit? Hmmm. More to experiment with…. Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.