A model for my jewelry

I’ve been wanting a more realistic display on which to model and photograph my jewelry, specifically for earrings and necklaces that I intend to sell online. I was looking at photos on Etsy or ArtFire . While the photos with models visually show better how items might look on oneself I’m a little turned off by the fact that I would essentially be getting a second-hand pair of earrings that someone had placed in their piercings. I know they can be cleaned with alcohol, but for the same reason I wouldn’t buy second hand undergarments, or bathing suits, hats or shoes, I just don’t know where they have been or what they were exposed to, sweat, head lice, bacteria, viruses, STD’s, ugh. The same can be said about telephone booths, restroom toilet flush handles and money. Small example and I digress, but… at least I have some control over what I will offer my customer which will be brand new jewelry previously modeled by a plastic model.
I searched online, but none of the ‘reasonably priced’ mannequin heads held great appeal to me. One may have a nice face, but the shoulder looks like a Thalidomide victim and others while a part bust and shoulder would be nicer for a necklace, the face and make up are just not very appealing, nor could a longer necklace like a lariat be modelled on such. And then there are the many headless half torsos. I suppose I could have gotten a head for earrings and a torso for necklaces and I do have a hanger type, but it just doesn’t look right to put a necklace on a headless body. The only head on a torso I could find was one with sculpted hair and that was a ‘no go’ for me as I wanted to give my model real hair.

I had my eye on my mothers full size mannequin which she used for her sewing career but that had been retired to storage, but she wasn’t ready to let her go and she would have taken up too much space in my little studio anyway.
So I was pleased when something came available to me right here in town. I can’t say that I’m pleased that one of our local shops is closing (actually there are 3!!) but when I saw ‘her’ and asked if she would be for sale and the answer was yes $10… I kind of hesitated. No, not at the low low price, but her earlobes had no holes and I wasn’t sure if I could drill them. She’s pretty heavy duty, not lightweight plastic. Being completely white, not a smidge of make up, bald and nekid! Um, would I be able to turn her into a model? I dunno, lol, but something in me kept saying ‘you’ve been wanting one…so I said ‘YES, deal!’. I’m glad I did because the shop owner could have sold her many times over when I came to pick her up two weeks later.

I kind of wish I had taken ‘before’ photos as I can’t find anything remotely like her in Google search for Images, but basically put the last too photos above together. She has nice shoulder caps like that and just a bit more of the torso. I kind of like the fact that her nose isn’t perfectly straight, lol. I used make up with a paint roller applicator no less. No, I’m not using it on me, I’m not a wall, lol. After that dried a bit I did a second coat. I should have chosen a darker shade, but oh well, she has alabaster skin. I then used PMYII as a fixative. I painted her eyes brown, gave her eyeliner, eyelashes from the Dollar store, bronzer, and lip paint (pan pastel along with acrylics) and another once over with PMYII (preserve your memories II).  I notice I have to paint the nostrils still. I had a wig in my collection of Halloween stuff, a hairband to tie it back so her ears can show, a scarf to wrap her modesty and voila…my model. My autistic daughter named her Thea! I was tempted to give her freckles or a mole…the doll, not my daughter…

Hopping into Fall

In the blink of an eye, where o’ where did Summer go... Leaves already falling and spiders busy creating their webs. I was busy (and still am) which is a good thing these days, yet I’m still finding time to create a few slightly lavish pieces, such as this bead collar.
My drop pendants are made with my “New Crackle” technique. All my pendants have daisy bails, it has become a sort of signature for me. As a change-up I have added Peridot sparkly resin drops to the daisies centers.

I knotted a cord with Japanese Kumihimo, I then embellished it with Japanese triangle beads and Czech glass.  The little heishi flower beads on the Cord are Polymer Clay, inset with Swarovski crystals,and are alternated with pewter heishi flowers.

The cord ends are also done with polymer clay. I created the “Bead Cord ends with Personality”  tutorial especially with these thicker types of cording in mind. They are so popular now, but I would rather add ends that coordinate or match the piece better. One could create them in all sorts of styles and colors to blend in with the rest of the work.

In other news, I’m participating in another Blog Hop called “My Bead Table” which Lisa Lodge of Pine Ridge Treasures created. She sent 30 participants a bead kit consisting of beads and miscellaneous items, from her bead/work table. She carefully selected ‘equal’ amounts/value of beads in a variety of sizes, shapes and colors. Kits were randomly assigned, so we had no idea of whom received what kit. The actual Hop will take place Saturday, October 13th. The objective is to use as many of the beads and may include beads I will currently have on my bead table. Here is what I received…

It’s going to be a good challenge since I rarely work in those colors, but those red Lampwork beads are gorgeous and the red leaves have me thinking.
Here is what is currently on My Bead Table…including one of my orange starfish and resin pendants. I do have a lot more in my stash…

You’re probably are wondering what is on My Polymer Clay Table, lol. Not much, but here it is…

Told ‘ya! I had just cleaned it up after making some Buttons for a small order to a Knit shop. Soon enough it’ll all be… really… messy again! Not sure if you want to see that…

Window Ornament Swap

This was our first International Polymer Clay Swap on Facebook. I was excited that 20 Artisans decided to participate, from Australia, Belgium, Canada, Italy, Slovenia, Spain, and the USA.
I thought Window Ornaments would be fun and a bit of a challenge and it was! I think we’re more used to creating Wall or Tree Ornaments, but challenges can be good for the creative mind and the results were pretty amazing!
I paired up people randomly as best as I could as most were willing to ship internationally. My partner was Kimberly Idalski. Kimberly is a multi talented jewelry designer. You can see her post about this swap here.
She did a lot of research about the Province where I live. British Columbia’s provincial flower is the Dogwood and the bird is the Stellar Jay, a cocky Bird that loves to hang out at Beach Parks and wait for the bread crumbs to fall. Actually feeding these birds in Provincial and National Parks is prohibited, but this doesn’t stop them from coming to your backyard!

I love these birds and I think Kim did a pretty fine job representing them. Beautiful, isn’t it! I’ve got it hanging in my studio against a back drop of Cedar which happens to be my view from my little window.

Look at the fine detail! Kimberly double sided the flowers so when they turn on the chain, front and back look the same and the encapsulated crystals can sparkle.

Love it! Thanks so much Kimberly.
I sent Kimberly something she likes which are Butterflies. As I mentioned…go visit her blog if you want to see what I made for her.
Here are some of the other participants’ blogs…

Alenka Obid http://pepita-handmade.blogspot.com/2012/08/window-ornament-swap.html
Kimberly Idalski http://kimisjewelryandgifts.blogspot.ca/2012/08/artisan-polymer-clay-swap-window.html
Vanessa Betcher http://vanessasclayadventures.blogspot.ca/2012/08/window-ornament-swap.html
Leila Bidler http://www.lbidler.com/apps/blog/show/18400894-facebook-swap-organized-by-tina-holden-
Anne Roncalli http://leboudoirdanne.canalblog.com/archives/2012/08/27/24975703.html
Nadia Gennari http://easywom.blogspot.it/2012/08/international-polymer-clay-swap-la-mia.html
Manon van Kempen: http://www.manonvankempen.com/1/post/2012/09/window-ornament-swap.html
Ilenia Moreni: http://leggendesegrete.blogspot.it/2012/09/international-swap.html

Good to the last drop

We usually say that about coffee, but here I actually mean that about resin. Not the UV resin you’ve heard me talk about so many times before, but the Little-Windows.com resin. Yes, it’s definitely my new love! It’s a 2:1 ratio resin rather than a 1:1 ratio that most other resins use for combination of Resin and Hardener. I find I just can’t go wrong with this one. I posted a little about it back in April. I’ve tried 1:1 ratio resins but sometimes ended up with beautiful but unusable tacky pieces which I sadly had to toss. And UV resin, while it has great uses, the annoying thing is that you can’t mix opaque stuff into it. And for the LW resin, I don’t have to wait for the sun to shine (here in the North, haha), or plug in my Aluminum foil lined Lunar Excursion Module (LEM) UV oven. Blablabla…ok here is a little idea with a bit more blablabla attached, lol. Notice the teardrop ends of the beads? I’m entering these in the 52 earrings a year which I have fallen behind in. I’m planning on catching up!

I normally use these cute silver little headpins with the round ball ends or the plain flat hammered end ones which I have so many of. Then this idea hit me…why not make some!!

When done working with a batch of resin, as instructed you can wipe the cup with a paper towel to then being able to reuse the cup. But now I make use of those last few drops before wiping it. Well,in case you’re wondering how I then cure them…here they are…

I just used Scotch Tape and taped the pins onto the shelf above my head. They’re not drippy at all, but you could place a sheet of printer paper underneath just in case you have your coffee there or whatever, lol.

Mine are black because I used Fran’s magical black powder that is used with her Dichro tutorial (the video of which you can watch in my April link above). You could also use glitter or colorful embossing powders.

Stay tuned for asap…

German Bead Soup

It’s time for the Bead Soup Blog Hop and our 2nd Reveal for August 11th! There was one a week ago and the last one a week from now. It was split up because there are 400 participants!!
A few weeks ago I blogged about all the wonderful things I received from my Partner Stefanie Teufel of Germany. Here is a recap of what she sent.

She knew I like Copper so she included some chain, a Toggle and Focal Heart in that metal which I used as the basis for this necklace. I didn’t use all the beads as I only had so many copper bead caps and wasn’t sure how else to pull off the larger beads or how to incorporate the odd smaller beads work with the large, but I think this one works!

Here is another view. The focal with the Green Agate bead



I used the Jade and Coconut beads for these Earrings…

I filled the little glass vial with sand and all the small beads that would fit in and used the green jump ring to hang from a simple necklace that has African frosted flower beads.

So I was able to use most of the beads.

Our Wonderful Hostess, Lori Anderson, Pretty Things

Summer Bracelet Fun

I’ve been making and selling a few bangles and none received more compliments than the one I chose to keep for myself. So I’ve decided to share it, in the form of my latest tutorial.

This tutorial is fold as in 2 parts. First I show how to create the crackles and craze with the full tutorial of "New Crackle", then second, how to create round and flat round elasticized bangle bracelets. The tutorial will shows a modification of the crackle. Nothing gets wasted when you use the crackled veneer for other projects and then use the left over bits to create these types of bracelets.

The Bangles are unique in that the 2 halves interconnect with elastic. You can also create these bracelets with other veneers such as Mokume gane, milifiori canes or my Batik technique which I think is a lot of fun.

This 15 page tutorial has more than 40 photos as guidance with the detailed step by step.

I’ve listed it in my Etsy, ArtFire and Zibbet, so one can choose their preferred Market place. There is a bit of a bonus with a percentage discount on ArtFire (Comment and Patrons). The other markets don’t offer this yet.

Ok, but what about if you already have the ‘New Crackle” Tutorial? Well, you could just create your own bangles I suppose, lol. I was thinking of offering just the bracelet as a project part, so one can use their own technique along with it and just learn my tips and method, but it gets to be a bit confusing when listing. This was the case with my Batik Flower tutorial, where I offered a tutorial with the technique and the project and then the project alone. I sold very few of the project alone that I stopped offering it.

I could use some opinions on this…

Busy Bee

And how to keep up with it all. I’m buzzing like a bee, both mentally and physically…back and forth from item to item, things to photograph, chores to be done like laundry, things to be written up and tagged, my turn cooking dinner, appointments, and some days I have that sense I didn’t get much done even though I really have when I look back. It’s been almost 2 weeks since I posted and meant to much sooner. It’s become too easy to use Facebook, but am realizing THAT part is becoming almost too overwhelming. For a while I got added to a whole bunch of different Groups and there are so many for polymer clay now. I mean how much can you handle and keep track of!? I decided to stick with a couple, but needed to go ‘no notification’ just for a while. I’m almost afraid to be left out of the loop!…but just don’t have the time and energy to social network as I’d like to. I know it’s good PR, but something has got to give. I also belong to a Beader’s Cafe since I also do beadwork. And the swaps I’ve participated in. I really enjoyed those and they really help renew that creativity. Just mailed my last item. I hosted a Polymer Clay Swap on the Facebook Group with the same name. Window Ornaments is or was the Theme. I can’t show you yet as my partner Kimberly hasn’t received hers yet, but soon!! August 15th is the deadline and we’ll be doing a blog hop then.
Anyway…this past week I spent a lot of time making these!!

…not enough! I need another batch this coming week, lol. If you feel like making these, I have a series of tutorials . And here are other things I’ve been making to turn into earrings and pendants…Maybe you’re familiar with my Batik and Shimmer (also found on ArtFire). I have two tutorials for this technique. A lot of people I meet ask me how I make them and when I describe it, it seems way over their head, especially for someone never having worked with polymer clay before. But…the occasional person will say “ohhh, is that like Fimo?” YES!! and that makes me feel excited in a good way. People don’t call it Philo or Filo anymore!! you know…that pastry stuff, lol. Used to get that a lot. Not anymore. Yay!

I’ve also made a few other pebbles for jewelry. Maybe I should just sell the beads…


There are many other things non-polymer clay but more resin in nature…


I could show you more things I made, but that would mean taking more photos. Next time! Tomorrow is a reward day. A visit with an old friend I haven’t seen in a few years and then a couple of hours at the Lake!! yay…see you soon.

Soup’s on!

Now that my partner Stefanie has received her Bead Soup mix I can reveal what I have sent her. I sent a big variety. We’re supposed to send one Focal Bead, a nice Clasp and Coordinating beads that must be used in at least one piece we create. We must at the very least create something with the focal bead and the clasp.
I decided to send something Canadian since Stefanie sent me something German…Chocolate…mmm… and Gummy Bears…mmm. I love Gummy Bears, lol.  Ok…well, I didn’t send edibles, but beads such as Metal Totem Beads (Orca, Pookmas, Thunderbird and Eagle), a really nice quality of flash Labradorite rondelles, Hematite and BC Jade.

The Focal Bead I sent, well, I sent 2 because one can be used as a Focal or as a clasp. I made this one from polymer clay and resin and the other one is a swirl lentil polymer clay bead.

These are the Coordinating beads I sent, although there is another clasp, a fold over magnetic one which I really like. I included some of my handmade faux coral, Lampwork, chevron trade beads, a Nepal bead, spacer beads and African glass.
 
And there is more! I wasn’t sure how much or how little to send. On the left are some of my pink handmade polymer clay flowers, more pink polymer clay beads, blue African glass, green African sinter glass, Turquoise nuggets, Czech glass stars and pink crazy lace agate.

I blogged in my last post what Stefanie sent me, but have to admit I am having trouble with some of the beads as any one of them could be a focal since there aren’t really any pairs for the larger ones, so the obvious choice seems to be the copper heart as a focal, along with the chain and of course the copper clasp. I’m too spoiled making my own beads with polymer clay and I’m not sure what to do with all the single little beads yet either as I tend to work symmetrically or with pairs. The challenge is ON!! I will make this work as these are some of my favorite colours! The  green jade discs might work for some earrings.Oh boy, what did I get myself into!!! haha. Helps creativity! yes it does.
There is also this extra little pack of stuff…what to make, what to make!? Again…what did I get myself into!!! lol…I know I will do something with these. After all it’s a create challenge too, right?

I’m looking forward seeing what Stefanie will create with all the beads I’ve sent and I’ve been checking her blog, but she hasn’t updated since May so hopefully she will soon as we’re supposed to share not only our finished creations, but about the bead soups themselves.
Anyway…it’s Sunday, I’m going to make some Coffee and get busy. Help!!! lol

Summer blog hops, birthdays and gifts

While many are wishing for some rain and cooler weather, our summer has been unseasonably cool and when the sun does come out it gets foggy and you guessed it …even cooler! Just on the other side Vancouver Islanders have been enjoying some Hawaiian Winter temperatures. Well, maybe next month we get some here…I can only hope.

Not that it really matters. I’m having to work and so it’s been difficult to maintain my blog. Even the 52 Earrings a Year, while I’m making many earrings right now, I haven’t had much time photographing anything before it’s packed in a box and being sent away. I have to try and pause a little to photograph more! Over the last couple of days I made 160 polymer clay starfish, sand dollars and scallop shell Earrings, 40 pairs of gemstone earrings and taking a breather to write this, lol.  So how do I make myself have some fun? It can’t be all work and no play right? Yay! Lori Anderson’s Bead Soup Blog hop…I received my beads from my partner Stefanie Teufel in Germany who hopefully will soon receive the beads I sent her. Come on Canada Post! Hurry up!! Here is the Bead Soup Stefanie sent me, including some of my fave real fruity gummy bears and Fine Dark and Peppery Chocolate. Imagine, pink pepper!! Surprisingly decadent! Among the copper chain, heart and clasp are some Turquoise and Jade disc beads, Agate, some lampwork, Indian Clay beads and a crochet bead.

Wonder what I’ll be making…but here is also a second set that might make a cute charm. I like the filigree button. We’re supposed to create something with at least the focal and clasp…so stay tuned for the reveal date…August 11th.

My Father in law was visiting for a few days. We helped him celebrate his 83rd birthday  and I made him this pen holder which he was quite happy about. Here he is with my daughter and a yummy chocolate cake my husband made. I may be crafty, but I suck at making cake, lol.

The penholder made with my Orinendo Technique, in case you are curious about it. This one I made a sort of turquoise green mix. I actually made this whole thing in a hurry because my husband decided that maybe we should have some gifts along with that cake. I had about 2 hours to come up with something before he would arrive in town. I got it done just in time. To cool it faster I plopped it into a bucket of cold water…

So much more to tell you about…but it’s early morning and I better go to bed, haha. Stay tuned for more soon. I promise I won’t let this blog hang another 2 weeks…