Craft Test Dummies

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 in the store!

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 for my sister. Her baby son will turn one in a few weeks, so this is a special time for her. I designed a bracelet using sterling silver alpha beads, Swarovski crystals in his birthstone color, and sterling spacers and clasp. Love it! Hope she does, too.

Well, I’m thrilled to say that we are going to be making these fab-oo bracelets at Grand River Beads in the merry merry month of May. The first class will be offered on May 1 (Thursday, 6 PM) and the on the last day, May 31 (Saturday, 1:00PM.)

I’m stoked to do this one because A) I love to make beads to match my outfits, and B) this is a simple way to learn how to use Artistic Wire. It come in a rainbow of colors, and it very high quality. Eva is going to teach the part using the coiling gizmo while our beads bake. I think folks will be amazed at how quickly this bracelet comes together. Fun, fun, fun!

If you are interested, just check out the GRB site… they now have it set up that you can register and pay online. How easy is that?

So I’ve mentally committed to doing RAKs…Random Acts of Kindness for my CPS Yahoo group sisters. So far I’ve made bookmarks, altered bobbins, felt needle cases, and now I’m on to charm-y thingies. I just mailed out my April goodies, which consist of a hand-made paper bead w/ Chinese characters on them, Chinese coins, and red beads for good luck. I’m not sure what the recipients might do with them, but I figure they would be fun on an art quilt, shrine or assemblage. I was in my paper-bead making frenzy, and I thought they would be fun.

I’ve also started my May ones, and now I’m on to bottle caps! (Of course, I’m testing some ideas out for a new class, and I needed to play a little.) Here’s what I got so far, but I intend to poke some holes and hang some danglies. Ohhh, they are so fun!

I’m really loving these, and for this batch I just used Paper Glaze…. but I’m beta-testing liquid polymer clay for a jewelry application.

But back to the RAKs…. maybe I should mount these onto tags, or 3X3’s, or maybe make them into little dolly people. Anyone have an idea? I’m up for comments!

Yesterday I attended my first-ever Ohio Beaders Yahoo Group Gathering.

Wow. These wild women blew me away - with their talent, generosity, and big, big personalities!

I had the fortune of facilitating the make-and-takes, and I did a version of polymer clay nametags. This is what 6 fearless beaders come up with:

They belong to Cat, Evelyn, Jody, Shelley, Laura, and Diane respectively.

We also had a swap, and I got a fabulous green and copper wire bracelet from Tanya. Thank you, thank you! It’s fabulous!

And here are some pics of me taken my Eva and Signe….the first I call “Jenny as Vanna!” and the the other is in full-on teaching mode. Note how the hair HAS to go up in a bun! (Some sorta rule…..)

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 more cuff/bangle style instead of just stringing them. I hadn’t found a design I really loved. Until I saw this one!

I got out my Coiling Gizmo, my box of Swarovskis, and my polyclay beads and got to work. This was my first attempt:

I really liked the bead combination, and the way it fit together, but the coil seemed to be out of proportion. I then realized I needed a smaller coiling mandrel - duh! And after a quick consult with Eva at Grand River Beads, I needed some smaller wire for the outside coil as well.

So I got it all straighted out, and got on a roll. No pun intended! I love the way they are turning out, and I’m all jazzed up to do this as a class for GRB. If you are liking the design, I encourage you to pick up the May 2008 issue of BeadStyle and try it out for yourself. The instructions were clear, easy to follow, and easy enough for an experienced beginner. You need a Coiling Gizmo and need to know how to make it work, as well as crimping and wire wrapping.

(The original design was for lampworked beads as the focals, but the polymer works just as nicely. And if you don’t make polymer clay beads, you can pick some up at my Etsy Shop for a song!)

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!

Well, here we are, Easter is over, and now we have copious amounts of those annoying plastic Easter eggs. (Well, actually we’re down a few because Ginger the cock-a-poo has discovered their charms!) But anyway, even if you don’t have scads on hand, they’re on sale everywhere for cheap, cheap, cheap! So here’s a coupla good reasons to get crafty with ‘em….

Make your own Egg Rattle Snake complete with rattler! If you’ve got a dremel or drill handy, this is made only with eggs and some stretchy cording. This site has full step-by-step instructions. What little tyke wouldn’t enjoy this? (My cute nephew Ben would!)

Here’s a great idea using your eggs as molds - making your own egg-shaped sidewalk chalk. You simply mix powdered tempera, water, and plaster of paris and then pour in into the eggs. Wait till it sets up, and voila! Egg-shaped chalk. And now that spring is springing, it’ll be time soon to get out there and decorate the driveway.

My personal favorite is making Rhythm Egg Shakers. I’ve made these in my career as a music therapist with folks ages 3 years to 90. Really. If found a nice link for explaining how to decoupage with Mod Podge, if you’d like a refresher, but really the process is simple.

Pick a “fill” material for your eggs. I like to put out bowls of rice, sand, lentils, popcorn, cheap plastic beads, paperclips, wood beads, etc. Part of the fun is seeing what things sound like inside the eggs. Have a sonic experiment! What sounds high? What has a “chunky” sound? Which fill is louder/softer? After you figure out what sounds best to you, close up your egg. You can give it a temporary seal with some masking tape.

Then you do your decoupage. Rip up 1-2 inch bits of tissue paper, wrapping paper, printed paper napkins, etc. (I use lots of leftover Christmas tissue.) Smear a thin layer of glue or Mod Podge over the plastic, and start laying down pieces of your tissue. Cover the whole egg, using a brush or your fingers to smooth the layers down. Make sure the tissue overlaps, and I recommend 2 layers to make sure the egg won’t break open if dropped. I like to put the eggs in a plastic egg carton to dry. About 2 hours later, flip the eggs over to make sure they dry on all sides.

Lastly, I like to do some surface decoration. I’ve used glitter paints, sequins, beads, micro beads (the ones with no holes) and glow-in-the dark fabric paints. I especially like glitter/fabric paints in the squeeze bottles. They make it easy to decorate! Make swirls, flowers, or other designs of your choice. Roll them in beads. Tap in sequins or rhinestones. Go crazy! I have a basket of egg shakers on the piano, and my kids love them for the different sounds, textures, and colors. (I kept the bead-y ones away from the toddlers- they like to bite them!)

You can decorate your eggs for different holidays, or make a rainbow of them and use them in different music games. Too much fun! Here’s a pic of mine:

Oh, my mailman has been busy! Among the many goodies that came yesterday was a package from CPS swap hostess Rachel, containing tie bag purses from Diane and Cindy. Whoo-hoo!

I really love how everyone put their own spin on them. Diane constructed hers using the long skinny end on the back as a pen holder, and included a little composition notebook.

Cindy used the middle section of the tie as a handle, and beaded it up with these cute pressed-glass flower beads. How fun!

To see my tiebags for the swap, click here.

To see the post with the original instructions from Sulky, click here.

And for another site of great inspiration, check out the Artful Ties blog. She has some great links there, too, and eye-candy. FUN!

We had a blizzard here the past coupla days, so we hunkered down and stayed cozy and safe. I decided to play a bit more with my new extruder, and my brain is buzzing with possibilities. Unfortunately, I was so over-stimulated that I forgot to mind the clay oven, and I scorched a number of pieces. However, with some of them I don’t mind, and I’m going to “make it work” as Tim Gunn would say!

Actually, the top left pendant in the picture got a little toasty brown, so when it was cool I rubbed the entire thing with bronze rub-n-buff. It looks much more like ceramic, I think, now. The piece on the top right was glazed with 2 coats of TLS.  I’m not crazy about how it turned out. You lose all of the detail. Oh well.

I really dig the ball beads, too. The one on the left is “naked”, and the one on the right is glazed with Future. I think I like the extruded clay unvarnished the best. This is a first for me, because usually I like things shiny and glossy!

This is my fav, though, so far. Reminds me of swirling waves. it has a diagonal hole for stringing.  I’m calling it “Sea Swirls.” And while it doesn’t show up in this photo, there is a light brushing of interference blue Pearl-Ex on it. Yummy!