EARRING SWAP - RIVOLI PENDANTS - FLOWER CANE

Let's start with the EARRING SWAP.  My clay guild had a swap and we wanted to do earrings but didn't want them finished so that people could decide if they wanted post or French wires or clip ons and everyone could finish them however they wanted.  Some of our members don't wear earrings so they could make bracelets or pendants or keep them in the bag and just look at them, tee hee hee.

I'm having a little camera trouble so I put both pictures up so you can see all the beautiful pieces.  I need to get my photo set up out and up soon so I can take some decent pictures.

RIVOLI PENDANTS

At our last clay guild meeting we had a demo on how to make pendants with Rivolis, I would have been better off making ravioli's.  I'm not even putting a picture of the one I made at guild on the blog.  I showed it to my husband and he said he thought it weighed 6 pounds so we won't put a picture of that on here.  BUT, I came home and decided to make a couple more but not with the rolled bail.  I used some old clay canes that I had and I love the results.

The pendant on the left has a black Rivoli in that's hard to see.  The one on the right has a peach colored Rivoli and two small, peach colored Swarovski flatbacks.  This clay combination was a mix left from last September from our retreat in Prescott.  I took scraps from people and combined them.

MORE GOLF STROKE COUNTERS

Had a request for more golf stroke counters and sold the ones I had that I was going to send to my sister.  Her golf league girls keep buying them for gifts for all their friends.  I made some canes out of leftover clay and did some extruder canes and put them together.  I also put some wood beads between the clay beads, the wood beads are really nice and quite a bit cheaper than the metal ones I was using.

I thought I had a lot of beads made for the counters but I think Rose took them to make necklaces. LOL.

FLOWER CANE

I've made many flower canes but they never looked like I wanted them to.  I was playing around with some left over clay tonight, had an idea I wanted to try and was very happy with the outcome.  I also used the Lynne Schwarzenberg method of reducing so I didn't loose much cane.  It didn't take long and it was really easy.  Going to try again this weekend with different colors and a couple different ideas.

Picture isn't very good but the flower is cute and kept it's shape.  YEAH!!!!!!!

LAST BUT NOT LEAST

This blog wouldn't be complete without a picture of one my favorite guys.  Booboo sleeping in his bed next to my work table in my studio.  If I'm there, he's there.  He will be 19 on Halloween this year.  Those are his rubber balls laying by him in the bed.  He carrys them around in his mouth and sings.  I picked them up and put them in his bed while he was sleeping and he never woke up.  He brings me a ball and I throw it and he goes and gets it.  My friends think he is part dog.  I wash those balls all the time but they never stay clean.  He still likes to eat toilet paper.  He did that when he was a baby and still does.

Goodnight Annie, you are a bright and shining star and we still miss you.

MORE IS MORE, LESS IS A BORE

Last week I was fortunate to spend Saturday and Sunday with Debbie Anderson in her classes.  On Saturday she taught us how to make porcelain beads and I have to say it was a lot more intense than I thought.  I had problems with my translucent clay, it kept breaking and I couldn't get it thin enough.  We had the oven on too hot for what we were baking and my first bead burned and cracked and the second one cracked but I decided to finish it anyway.

The concept was great but my pens and my translucent clay let me down.  The pens bled and the clay didn't clear.  I think it was the temperature but it was a good lesson.  I love cats and I love this bead so I smothered it in copper.  Will be trying this again.  I have some new pens and I'll be very careful about the time and temperature of the oven.

MORE IS MORE LESS IS A BORE

I think Lisa Pavelka coined that phrase but it's really really me.

This pendant was made using the Tina Holden Shimmer Batik tutorial but I did something weird to the top and didn't like it so I put some fine glitter on it and some Magic-Glos and wire wrapped it.  Now I like it.

INCREDIBLE CANES BY AMY GEBHARDT

Amy Gebhardt is a member of our clay guild and she does some of the most incredible canes I've ever seen.  She makes beautiful pods and interesting items.  I was fortunate to be able to watch her build some canes last year at our annual retreat.  I was amazed.  At one of our meetings Amy gave me two pieces of one of her canes which I carefully wrapped up and brought home.  I baked them, sanded and buffed them and let sit in front of me for months.  I thought what great inspiration.  I finally decided to do something with them.

One has curlies and one doesn't.  I like my earrings to be different.  People look twice when you are wearing two matching-unmatching earrings.

My pictures aren't very good tonight.  Had to take my photo set up down because my husband needed the table.  It's like having one car.  Drives me nuts, short drive.

SPORTY LOOK

Almost forgot.  I finished some more golf stroke counters today.  Tried some wooden beads on them to see if it would be more of a sporting look.  Kind of like it.

NEVER TAKE YOUR PASTA MACHINE APART AGAIN, I'M SO HAPPY

Last weekend I took the Debbie Anderson class and one of the women in our guild had a pasta machine that she sent to Mona Kissel http://www.monakissel.com/ to have it reworked so she wouldn't have to take it apart to clean it.  Now I don't know about you but I've spent many hours looking for the screws and wondering why anyone in their right mind would but a screw hole in under the knob that changes the width of the rollers on the pasta machine.  I've cussed the person out a million times who ever they are.  When I saw how easy it was to take the blades off and clean this machine I knew I had to have one.  I got it in the mail yesterday which was quick.  It's an Atlas 180 which means the roller base is almost 2.5 inches wider than the one I had and all I have to do to clean it is unscrew the little screw on the bottom, pull out the blade and clean it off and do the same thing to the other side.  I'm in heaven.  No more red spots on my white clay and no more garbage on my translucent.  Check it out.

Now my husband won't have to come looking for his Phillps head screw driver and his bent nose pliers.  Yeah.  Treat yourself and buy this new one or send your old one in and let them modify it for you. 

 IT'S AWESOME

NASTY, EXPLODING GLITTER

Last night I was doing clay and I wanted the black clay in the beads to have a little shine.  I put this Precision Cut Glitter in my clay.  Put the beads in the oven and when I took them out I was shocked.

The glitter had risen to the top and exploded.  Parts of the bead had separated and the pan was full of little pieces of clay and glitter.  You can see the package of Glitter on the top left of the pan.  It's a little bigger than most glitter and it's really pretty ( before it exploded).  Glad I didn't do 100 beads I would have been very very upset.

Be careful out there.

Got to baby sit for my friend Pat's Havanese (Sissy).  She's a really smart dog but also very dominant.  Booboo got up on the couch by me and Sissy jumped on my chest to protect me.  Booboo slapped her and missed and then hissed and walked away.  I think I heard Sissy laughing.

Poor Booboo.

Goodnight Annie, Shine bright.

IT'S DONE, IT'S DONE, IT'S DONE

I don't usually blog two days in a row but I'm so excited.  I have been teaching myself to bead crochet as you know from previous posts. I was bound and determined to do this no matter how much swearing was involved. Well, I'm proud to say I finished it today but not without trouble. I had it all done and attached a beautiful magnetic clasp to it only to find out that the magnet side of the clasp quit working after 4 openings. I got mad, cut it off and glued the ends so it wouldn't come apart without thinking about the fact that the needle wouldn't go through the glue when it dried. I really would have liked bigger end caps but didn't feel like running out so I used what I had and the beginning end where the trouble was is a little off kilter but not so much that an untrained eye would know. My next one will be perfect (LOL).

I love these colors and I'll have to make something to hang on it.  What I like about the crocheted rope is how slinky it is compared to doing peyote in the round or Herringbone.

STUDIO BY SCULPEY BEADS

I love making beads with Studio by Sculpey clay.  It feels like suede.  I had some leftover clay and made extruded flowers but cut them different than normal and with the other clay I made a spliced cane and made some beads.  Not sure what I'm going to do with them yet.  Maybe some golf stroke counters for Etsy.

The flower ones have a little shine because they have a little Premo pearl in them.  Studio clay does not shine after it's sanded unless you put Future or Varathane on it.  I like it just the way it is.

SHIMMERING BATIK LEFTOVERS

I made quite a few batches of Tina Holdens "Shimmering Batik" beads and pendants with her new tutorial.  You can find it on her website at http://beadcomber.blogspot.com/ or a place on her website where she will tell you that you can find it.  I had quite a bit of leftover pieces and couldn't decide what I wanted to do with the clay.  I did what I always do, make swirly, lentil beads.  I thought these came out quite nice.  Will probably put a hole in them and do some wire wrapping.

These have been sanded and buffed starting at 320 and working up to 3000.  I've heard and read that a lot of clay artists only do 400 and 600 and leave it at that.  I hate sanding.  I use my tumbler as much as I can.

AMERICAN FLAG BRACELET FOR SENIOR BOWLING TOURNAMENT

Sun City West is hosting a senior bowling tournament here the end of May.  All clubs have been asked to donate something to their silent auction.  I offered to make something from our beading club and what better than an American Flag bracelet.  Most of the people bowling in this tournanment have been through 4 or 5 wars and most of them are vets.  I thought this was pretty appropriate.

Well, off to a romantic dinner at McDonalds and back to making earrings for the guild swap.

EARTH DAY NECKLACE - FAUX PORCELAIN AND STAMP CLASS

MIRAME CREATIONS LITTLE TIDBITS

On April 22nd, Earth Day, I was the lucky person that won Mirame Creation's http://miramecreations.blogspot.com/  beautiful necklace.  This blog actually belongs to my good friend Lupe who makes gorgeous polymer clay jewelry.  I got the necklace from her this past Saturday when we both took a class from polymer clay artist Debbie Anderson whose work has been featured in Polymer Cafe, Polymer Clay Daily and many other polymer clay publications.

When Lupe gave me the necklace it came in this gorgeous box.

It was decorated on the inside and the outside and it's going to be my "Special Treasures" box.  Not only was the necklace I won in there but she also put another butterfly necklace in there.

Isn't the top of the box beautiful?  The necklaces have brought a lot of ooooooo's and ahhhhhhhhh's.

Thank you so much Lupe, I will treasure these and thank your daughter again for drawing my name.

FAUX PORCELAIN AND STAMPED BEAD CLASS

As I mentioned before and Lupe mentioned in her blog, our guild sponsored a class by Debbie Anderson from the San Jose Polymer Clay Guild.  It was a two day class.  The first day was faux porcelain and the second day was two sided bracelets with stamps or transfers.

Debbie is a wonderful teacher and so willing to help and share.  We really enjoyed the days.

These are the first two beads I did.  They need more sanding and buffing and I think the oven was a little too hot for the new soft Fimo Translucent that I used.

This was the last bead I did Saturday.  It was baked at a lower temperature and I took it home and sanded and buffed it before I wire wrapped it.  I'm very happy with this one.

These are some of the bracelets that we made Sunday.  Mine is the second from the top.  My Skinner blend didn't blend right or I blended it too much, not sure.  I'm not happy with the color but I'll try again on that one.  The other thing I didn't do was to line the tiles up when I strung them.  Going to restring it.

These are beads I made for the second bracelet.  The one on the left has been sanded.  Love those new clay squishers from Judikins.  I'll post the finished bracelet when I get it done.

Time for bed, got an early tee time tomorrow.