Mandala Wall Art

About 3 weeks ago I was contacted through my Etsy shop about making one of my polymer clay mandalas. Now, most of my work is small scale. I like to start and finish a project within a short amount of time. That way I can move on to my next project. But I was asked if I could do something bigger. Of course I can (have I ever said no?!)

And so it began. The customer not only wanted it bigger, she also wanted it to be domed. Hum, that got me thinking....what could I use as a base that was round, about 10" across, oven proof, and domed. Think, think, think......I think I'll go to the thrift store and have a look around.

 An old pot lid should do the trick! A few turns of a screw and the handle is off.

I was given the color scheme and made a few canes.

Next step, covering the entire lid with a pale, off-white and then starting in the center with a design.

Nope, not enough negative space. Time for a do over.

Nope, wrong shade of green. Try again.

Making progress.

A few more changes.

Finished!

After about 3 weeks, many e-mails back and forth and lots of changes I was able to create something that both the customer and I were happy with. I hope it adds an interesting and colorful element to her bathroom wall. Something that will be enjoyed for many years! 

The Great Cover Up

Every January finds me wanting to clean up and reorganize closets and drawers. Well earlier this month, while doing just that, I found a sack full of old beads....I'm talking A LOT of beads! Ugly beads I made years ago when I first started learning and experimenting with polymer clay. (Admit it, every beginner has them.) Well, I questioned what I would ever do with them all. I certainly didn't like them any more (and I'm pretty sure no one else would) and I couldn't just throw them away! Then I remembered......some famous artists, like Picasso and Van Gogh, painted over, or covered up, some of their original paintings. Whether they felt their first attempts were failures or they just didn't have the money to buy more canvas, they persevered and kept painting. So with that thought in mind, I took out a couple dozen beads from that sack, feeling pretty certain I could do better this time around.

This was a pretty messy job and a lot harder than I thought it would be.

I wanted to change the shape of the beads and was hoping to be able to cut them clean in halve but that didn't happen. Polymer clay is tougher than I thought! I don't know if it was me, the knife, or the brand of clay. Some cut fairly easy while others chipped and crumbled. But none of them gave me two perfect halves.

Once I had several halves I experimented with covering them in different ways. Some I covered with slices of a skinner blend bullseye cane and I added texture using rough sandpaper. For some, I covered them with a thin layer of solid blue clay and then imprinted lines around them. And for others I used some dry, chopped up clay much the same way I used to make some ring dishes last year. (You can find those instructions here).

They remind me of something you might find washed up on shore somewhere!

After they were cured (and a little white paint added to the blues) I was pretty happy with the results so I decided to make a few more, using some more of my "ugly" beads in various other shapes. 

So much better, don't you think? I really love the organic look. I'm so glad I decided to keep on trying! I'll be listing these soon in my Etsy shop. I don't have time to make them into jewelry. I have more beads to cover up!

February Highlights

As promised yesterday, I'm going to play catch up on things that I have created this year. And so that brings us to February.

February, I think, is my least favorite month of the year so thank goodness it's also the shortest! It's usually one of the coldest too. I'm pretty sure when February rolls around, many others feel the same way I do. They're tired of the cold and just want Spring to hurry up already!

February found me making a few new items. All of which were fun, bright colors, in the hopes of curing the winter doldrums.

I started with keychains! Flowers, butterflies, fish....yeah that felt like spring.

Then I moved on to earrings. They may be small but they are bright!

I even tried my hand at thumbtacks. What a cute way to pin up notes, reminders, recipes, or whatever!

A new item I started making this year is dread beads! I really like making these single, large holed beads. Wear them in your hair or string them on some thick cording, the choice is yours!

Anticipating warmer weather, I made these hair ties. I wear my hair back all the time and thought these would be a fun way to dress up that ponytail!

 

And finally, I made these fun refrigerator magnets!

That's about it. Although it's no longer winter these fun, cheery items for you, your home and office will always brighten your day. Some are still available in my Etsy shop. I invite you to stop by and take a closer look!

Buttons

I love buttons! I'm not really sure why though. I don't sew and really have no use for buttons...well, other than the ones that come sewn onto my shirts, pants, jackets, etc. Maybe it stems from my childhood. My Mom always had buttons....and zippers, fabric and threads. She was, and still is, a top notch seamstress and quilter. So I guess that's why I love these things today.

I've made quite a few buttons in the last couple years. Unique buttons that you just can't find in any fabric and notions store. But my attention turned towards other things in my creative journey and buttons were put on the back burner. That is until yesterday! I'm thrilled with how these latest ones turned out. Take a look at how they came to be......

I first made a Klimt cane (the small square thing on the tile with my blade) with these colors then decided to make one long thin string with the remainder of the clay.

First step, choosing and blending colors. Then rolling the colors into sheets, cutting out circles, stacking the colors in random order and pushing them through the clay extruder (not an easy task!).

After I had a long thin strand of clay I began making coils and placing them on a sheet of clay. Doesn't look very exciting at this point, does it?

What happened to all my colors?  The orange ? The yellow?

Next came the tricky part. Shaving away the top of the coils, careful not to cut too deep. This requires both a sharp blade and lots of patience!

There they are! Hidden inside the coils.

I was so happy with the way it turned out. So happy, in fact, that I almost hated to cut it! But finally I just did it having faith that it would work out.  I strategically cut out different sizes. I didn't want to waste any more of this design than I had to. I placed my buttons in the oven to cure, giddy with excitement about the way they were looking....

Then came the next step......sanding! Ugh, I hate sanding!!! I despise sanding!!! I loathe the thought of sanding!!! Okay, you get the picture..... but, it had to be done.

Blah! Did I mention I HATE sanding!

A rare glimpse of me. Sitting at the bathroom sink, SANDING!

Here's the result!!! Oh, and what the pictures can't show is how they feel. So super smooth, I could just hold them in my hand and rub them!!! I know, that sounds a little weird, huh? But all of that sanding makes such a difference!

The 4 large ones are 1". There are 5, 3/4" ones, one 5/8" and the smallest one is 1/2".

These, along with some other newly made, equally fab buttons, will be listed for sale soon in my Etsy shop. I have plans for some other, totally different, BIG buttons too. So be on the look out for those soon. If you're a button lover like me, you won't want to miss them!

Wallflowers

Here's the post I promised last week. An introduction to a new product I made that I'm calling Wallflowers.

These came about due to the fact that I had made too many patterned clay sheets (I must confess, they are sooooo much fun for me!) but I had no plans for them. I would make them and store them away for another day. Well, it was getting to the point where I had to do something with them all.

This is just a few of my sheets. Some were leftover from other projects. Others I made while experimenting with scraps.

I took out my small tear drop shaped clay cutter and started punching out petals.

These were the first in the making.

 I added two more petal shapes to the mix and made these.

Here they are on my wall. Aren't they fun?

I made coordinating flowers in groups of 3 or 4 for each pattern/color. They are all available on-line.

But of course they can be used for other things, not just as wall decor.  Here are a few other ways they can be used: decorate scrapbook pages, attach them to a headband, turn them into refrigerator magnets, decorate a picture frame or mirror. Maybe you can think of another use! If so, let me know in the comments.

That's about it for now. Until next time.....

Checkerboard Klimt Buttons - How do you do that?

Just last week I received a custom order for a set of buttons. I thought I would take some pictures of the process and share with you what is involved. So here we go.....

First I blended the colors that the customer wanted.

Then I ran each color through the pasta machine to flatten it out. I took a 1/2" circle cutter and cut out 12 disks of each color.

They look kind of like candy wafers, don't they?

I stacked all of the pink together in a random order, and gently smooshed (yes, that is a technical term) them together. This is just the right size and shape to fit into the barrel of my clay gun. The same thing is then done with the yellow disks.

Now I have a 12 inch long pink square snake. Then it's time to clean out all the remnants of the pink clay that are stuck to the inside of the barrel so that I can make a yellow snake.

I lay both the yellow and pink snakes together next to my ruler and cut them evenly in half.

Those two halfs are then stacked on top of each other and slightly stretched and squeezed until the 6 inch piece is now 8 inches long. Then I cut it into quarters.

Now I have 4, 2" pieces. These are then combined into a square.

And this is the final result. By now the clay has softened from all of this handling and needs to rest. So it is set aside until the next day.

THE NEXT DAY

In the next step of my button making process I roll out a sheet of yellow clay. Then I cut very thin slices from the end of my cane.

The slices are laid side by side on the yellow sheet and I use my acrylic roller to adhere them and stretch them just a bit.  It's rolled through the pasta machine so that it is of a uniform thickness. I roll out yet another sheet of yellow clay, lay the patterned sheet on top and make sure there are no air bubbles between the two sheets. This is placed on a ceramic tile.

My customer wanted 3/4" buttons so I get out my 3/4" circle cutter, cut them out and remove the excess clay. I poke small button holes in each button with a sewing needle.  After the buttons cure in a 275 degree oven for 30 minutes the next step is wet sanding. I like to make my buttons smooth on both sides and around the edge.  Then I drill the button holes bigger with my Dremel.

And there you have it! A custom set of buttons ready for use!

Do you have a project that needs some buttons? I would love to hear from you! Or take a look in my Etsy shop at the ready to ship buttons available. Until next time.......put a smile on!

What's in Store for 2013

We are less than a week into the new year. Have you broken any resolutions yet? Me? I don't make resolutions. But I have made plans, goals if you will, for me and my Etsy shop. Ready to hear about them?

First up......Macrame!  I love macrame!  I remember when I was a kid in the 70's my Mom made a couple of macrame plant hangers and a handbag. But I never learned the knots back then. It was when my daughter was a preteen wanting to learn how to make friendship bracelets that I taught myself some of the knots.  In order to teach her I had to learn it myself!  I've been knotting off and on ever since. There is still a market for macrame hemp jewelry and I have decided to start making a wider variety for the shop. I ordered 12 different colors of hemp and have made a number of bracelets. My goal is to learn a few more knots and try to offer something a little different than just the basic jewelry. And one of these days I'm going to make my own hammock chair too!

12 spools of hemp!

One of the bracelets I made. It's knotted on memory wire!

Next I'm thinking about offering my polymer clay canes for sale.  I love making canes but then I have trouble using them.  I get bored with them quickly and then I'm ready to make a new one. I ordered this set of discs to use with my clay gun a couple of months ago. I love the repeating patterns and the geometric shapes used in quilt blocks.  This should be fun and I have been itching to get started.

          And I finally did!

The first of many!

And just this week I rediscovered Shrinky Dinks! Remember those? Another throw back to my 70's childhood. And once again I have my daughter to thank for this! I was cleaning out some stuff that she left behind when she moved out and found this book. It still had some of the plastic sheets too!

Shrinky Dinks Book!

I sharpened my colored pencils and started drawing. I've made some mistakes, learning what works and what doesn't. I'm not sure where I'm headed with this but I have some ideas in my head. So only time will tell.

The 2 on the left are too dark. The other 3 aren't bad but could be improved.

So what do all of these things say about who I am? I have no idea! I hope to find a way to incorporate everything I enjoy into one cohesive shop. That's one goal that may take me a little longer to reach. But so far this year I've had a blast revisiting some things I haven't done in a while and stretching my imagination.  I am looking forward to what this year has in store for me!