Up All Night

Had an anxiety attack, and when that happens it takes my body a VERY long time to get back to normal.  Therefore, I didn't sleep a wink.  But you know what that meant?  An all night clay-fest!!! 

I got some molds in the mail, but I wasn't altogether happy with them.  It was partly my fault.  I didn't look at my measuring tape to see exactly how big they were going to be.  I wanted BIG.  Sadly, 25mm isn't really all that big.  And one mold was so tiny I know I'll never use it.  But also, one that was big has a floral pattern in it and the pattern is very shallow so it doesn't give the best impression.  Bummer!  I decided to make my own molds.  I dug and searched and hunted for any cabs I had and larger beads with an interesting shape, got out my mud clay and made me some molds.  I don't know why I didn't think of that before I spent the $27, but it was because I didn't know to make a mold from the clay itself.  'doh!

I played around with some colors, some translucent, some mud, some glitter and some powder pigment.  How can you go wrong with all that???  Making cabs, I discovered, will take some time to learn the nuances of; but I think I came up with some interesting things.  After baking some I sanded and buffed and some I didn't.  I coated them all in Diamond Glaze.  The only problem with that is that it left some eeny weeny bubbles.  Bummer again!  Could be my cheap paint brush too though.  Ok.  Here's what I made in my all night party of moi...

These were made from my mud from my canes the other day.

This I used some kind of brownish color, gold and a hint of red.

This was made with slivers of my cane from the other day covering a base of clay.

For these I used translucent and raspberry and glitter and threw them in an ice bath after baking.

These were interesting.  I used a translucent light blue, a royal blue and some blue pigment powder.  When I mixed them there were large streaks throughout.  After baking it looked solid blue.  But after sanding and buffing, some little details came through that I think are kind of cool.  Love the color!!!

This was made with a lot of translucent white and a little blue.  I threw it in an ice bath after baking.

There you have it!  My party for the night.  I am pretty happy with what I created, and my mind is already working out what I'm going to make with these babies.  I'm thinking the pink ones will be first up!  Oh, I forgot to say...don't pay any attention to the edges.  I didn't quite get the hang of nice clean edges, but it won't really matter anyhow because they'll be covered up with beads.

BASEBALL HIGHLIGHT!

Watch Matthew's great at-bat from last night's game.  We won, btw, 13-3.  Go Bulls!

Playing with clay

Don't laugh!!!  I'm a beginner!  I've got so much to learn, and this is going to be a real process.  I have been searching as much as I can on the internet on making polymer clay beads as well as checked out a couple books from the local library.  I've been working on some very basic things, and the ONLY reason I'm showing you these things...not because I'm so proud of them...but because I'm hoping for some guidance (maybe Marie? :)

The first thing I did was a simple jellyroll.  Matthew helped me late one night over the weekend.  We had fun together!  We picked red and yellow...good high contrasting colors.  My first lesson was all about translucents.  lol.  The yellow didn't look so yellow after being baked.  Ok, so I think we did all right on the jellyroll...except that I can't cut them right.  I watched videos and read and watched more videos and read some more.  I learned that the clay has to rest in between steps or it will become distorted.  Check.  I'm not usually a patient person, so this will be a real test for me, but I did let the clay rest, and even refrigerated, between steps.  But the clay just seemed to get so warm and soft so fast.  When I would go to cut the slices they wouldn't stay round.  I even rolled the cane a little as I sliced downward like I'd seen the pros do.  But mine still came out all wonky. 

Next I decided to try a simple flower looking cane.  I chose a gold, bright blue, black and a hint of white (which was such a "hint" that it altogether disappeared later in the process).  I got the cane all cut, let it chill, stretched it out, let it chill, and then went to cut it.  Same problem...lopsided slices.  grrrr.  AND by looking at the petals I realized I was twisting as I was stretching because the circles became distorted.  Even so, I was ok with my first attempt at a flower cane.

Decided to go a step further and make that cane into another cane.  cut the pieces, stacked them, wrapped, let it chill in the fridge overnight.  The next day I stretched and pulled.  I did a much better job of keeping the cane straighter as I stretched this time.  BUT I still can't cut a slice to save my life. When I did the slices some were thicker than others.  On the really bad ones I was going to put the clay in the "mud" bag, but decided to see what it would look like if I made the garbage into beads.  Kind of a nice affect.  Lesson learned...nothing is garbage.  Try different things and you just might get something interesting. 

This is the "mud swirl" made from garbage

This is a side-by-side progression of my canes

After I let the slices and beads chill again, I tried making the bead holes through them.  They became even more distorted.  *whimper, sniffle*  Still I carried on.  Next was sanding.  That didn't last long.  How in the world do you sand something so small???  I couldn't even hold onto them, let alone sand them.  I ended up putting the sandpaper on the table and holding it with one hand while rubbing the tops and bottoms with the other hand.  I wonder how long one has to sand in order to get that glassy finish I've seen the pros do?

Oh...I forgot.  I also did some wrapped beads by layering four colors of circles into the extruder, pushing out long snakes, wrapping a core bead made from mud (again, using the garbage), baked them and then started sanding down through the layers of colors.  Looked really cool on the video, but it seems the only color I could get to show through was the orange.  There was also yellow and green in there.  Still a fun bead to make, and I'll probably play with this one a little more in the future.

So that was my adventure in an intro to polymer clay over the weekend.  No masterpieces yet. lol.  No...that will take quite some time, I'm sure.  But I'll keep you posted on my progress.  And anyone who wants to chime in with any tips, I'm ready for it!!!  Oh!  I've got some molds on order that I'm hoping come any day now in the mail.  Got about 5 different cab molds.  It will be fun to swirl colors and powders and glitter together to see what happens!  Will post more on that later.

Bead happy.

Vintage Inspired

In addition to my clay hoard I just got, I am also working on my May Bead Journal Project piece.  I've got quite a ways to go on it yet, but I've been switching gears between 3 different things so it's getting worked on a little at a time.

The third project I have been working on is a themed piece.  Artbeads.com gave the assignment, and let me tell you...it was a challenge!!!  The theme is "What's Old is New Again."  In other words, take something vintage (or vintage inspired) and recreate it into a new, modern piece.  Have you ever seen me work in vintage, steampunk or anything like that?  No.  Why?  It's not my thing and I haven't a clue how to go about it.  Now I had to do something I just wasn't comfortable with.  Talk about stretching the creative muscles!  I think I have a sprain.

Let me start by showing you the things I got.  I started with 6 different antique brass chains in 1 foot pieces.

I had the idea of taking a bunch of old chains and reconstructing them into one new piece.  I really like the look of the antique brass.  It has a very nice finish, and all the chains are a very high quality.  They will not easily break or come apart!

I got two filigree links, also in antique brass.  They are so pretty!  I also got antique brass jump rings, and I had no idea they were such a thick gauge and so strong.  I was a little panicked at first because my idea was to put crystals on the jump rings and attach them to the chains.  But these jump rings were so thick there was no way on God's green earth that those crystals would fit on that wire.  I ordered 2mm Swarovski crystals in Dark Indigo.  Holy crow are they TINY!!!  I also got 5mm bicones in Mocca and 5mm round Swarovski pearls in Night Blue.  (Soooo pretty!!!  I couldn't capture the colors very well in the photos.  Sorry.)

But none of them would fit on those jump rings!  Uh oh!  What to do now???!!!  I had to make an emergency purchase at one of my local bead stores and pick up some alternate supplies.  I took the beads with me and I had to try the wires to see what gauge would fit through the beads.  For the 2mm, I had to go with a 24 gauge...not very sturdy. :(  For the other beads I could get by with a 20 gauge, which wasn't bad.  I then invested in a set of simple jump ring makers.

What a good buy!!!  I am now a pro at making jump rings, and I will never buy another jump ring ever.  Since the jump rings I got were too big for what I had originally intended, and I didn't want to not use them I decided to make a 7th chain from them.

For the pearls I made a simple head pin by making a bend in the bottom of the wire and pinching it completely up to make a little stop.  For the bicones I made a head pin with a spiral bottom and they both just had simple loops at the top.  For the tiny crystals I just made little jumprings and put them on.

I needed to also attach the chains together and to the filigrees, but I also had a problem with the jump ring sizes on those too because the holes were pretty small.  But I did manage.  Also, my snips are not a very good quality, so they didn't make nice, smooth cuts for the jump rings.  This made the edges where they close together not very tight.  To help prevent any from coming off, a lot of the time I doubled up the jump rings.  I figure one might come loose, but maybe not both.  In the end two of the chains did not make the cut.  I used 4 chains I ordered plus the one I made with the jump rings.  This is what I came up with.  I call it...

Links In Time

You can click for a larger view

With this project I have become a master jump ring maker, and I had more than my share of opening and closing the rings!  I've also become pretty proficient at simple loops and making those little spirals.   All in all, I'm pretty happy with what I came up with considering this is not my usual style.  The necklace is 17 3/4" and drops down from the top chain to the bottom the pearl dangles about 6".

Artbeads.com rocks.  I must have said it a gazillion times.  If you haven't yet visited them, you really need to because they have the supplies to make almost anything you want.

I hope everyone is having a nice Easter weekend!

FTC disclaimer:  Artbeads.com provided me with supplies at no charge.  I am not being compensated in any way for my true and honest opinions of their products.

The Day After

Wow!  I had an amazing day yesterday!!!  It all started with all of you who sent me such thoughtful birthday wishes.  Thank you all!!!  In reading the comments, I was so pleasantly surprised to find that so many of you agree with me that inexpensive beads are NOT a bad thing.  I have read some blogs where they really bash those types of beads.  Not my friends!  Nope...we're all on the same page!!!  :)

I'm going to give you a run down of my day and show you some pics of my haul.  First, after dh dropped the kiddos off at school he brought me breakfast in bed...a sausage egg mcmuffin with cheese.  i just love those things.  We started out at mid-morning and drove across town to Hobby Lobby.  Remember how excited I was about going there?  It turned out to be a big disappointment.  First off, their weekly coupon was for 50% off...sharpie markers.  That's it???  That's the coupon of the week???  AND they DON'T take competitors' coupons.  I have a hard time paying full price for anything when I don't have to.  I specifically went to Hobby Lobby, though, because they had the pasta machine I wanted.  I read reviews of lots of different ones, and this one seemed to have the best feedback.  Therefore, I ended up paying the full $24.99 for it.  Ouch.  That kills me.  I got 2 little packages of basic cutters in squares and circles and an extruder.  Other than that, they didn't get my money.  Very little to choose from.  And the bead section?  Disappointing.  Michael's and JoAnn's are much better.

On the way home we went to JoAnn's.  I went crazy in there!!!  Just look here at everything I got!

Ok, maybe it doesn't seem so impressive when I lay everything out, but I felt like I hit the jackpot of goodies.  I'm so dumb, though!  I got to the register and realized I brought the WRONG Michael's coupon and I could only use the one JoAnn's coupon.  Bummer!  I still saved over $25 with that one coupon!!!

By the time I got home I was exhausted.  I have a terrible time getting good, solid sleep, so I always sleep during the day for a while.  My usual sleep time was past due, and I was ready to hit the pillow.  After a good, long nap I woke up to do more shopping...online.  I went to Mad About Molds and bought about 6 different molds for my clays to make different sizes and shapes of cabochons.  That was fun!

THEN we went out to dinner.  I just realized as I started typing this post that I should have taken pics of our outing...dummy me!   We went to Souper Salad for a buffet dinner.  Was it ever good!  My son, Matthew, hit that buffet hard!  lol.  Sami had lots of vegetarian things to choose from, and they even had her favorite food group...fishy crackers!  You know those little fish-shaped yellow/orange crackers, right?  She looooooves those!  Sara didn't eat a ton, but she got her chocolate milk and had fun getting up and making all the kids strawberry shortcakes with whipped cream on top.  Jeff had loads of pasta, which he loves.  We had such a fun, happy time at dinner.  It was really wonderful.

When I got home I got ready to go out AGAIN.  This time I went to Michael's...with the right coupon this time!  I splurged on something I wanted but would not normally buy because it was really expensive.  But it was my birthday and I had that 40% off one item coupon.  I got a 12 jar set of pigment powder for my clay!!!  I saw this being used in a You Tube video once, and ever since then I wanted some, but I could never find any.  It was my lucky day though.  12 jars for just $14!!!  That was the deal of the day for sure.  I looooove the bright, beautiful colors and the way they totally shimmer in the light.  I can't wait to try them!  The colors don't show up nearly as vivid as they really are.  You'll have to take my word for it.  They're awesome!

I also picked up a few odds and ends...

In addition to the stuff in the pics, I also got a couple jewelry display forms for photographing my necklaces.  And the best part?  I still have a little bit of money left after all this shopping!!!  I am going to have a LOT of fun this weekend, that's for sure!

After all that shopping I then sat down quietly by myself and opened up my birthday cards...one from my kids and one from my husband.  The kids' messages inside were so sweet!  Even though the card made fun of my big milestone birthday number, it was still a great card.  The card from my dh brought tears to my eyes.  For real.  It was so sentimental and spot on.  I know he spent some time looking for this card because it was absolutely perfect.

And they bought me a giant Symphony chocolate bar with almonds and toffee bits!  So after everyone was sleeping I got into bed, turned on the tv and savored a few squares of that decadent, delicious chocolate.  What a way to end a fabulous day.

Happy Birthday To Me!!!

I'm 39!  Again!  Today is going to be a fun day.  My DH is taking me to Hobby Lobby to go shopping with the money my wonderful daddy put in my bank account today.  I am going to get polymer clay supplies, and I'm going to check out their beads.  I know there are those out there who would never dream of using "cheap" beads from places like Hobby Lobby, Michael's, etc.  But you know what?  For those of us on a budget, we can stretch our money and use our creativity to make those "cheap" beads into some pretty nice things.  What is wrong with some inexpensive things as long as they're pretty and you like them?  That would be like saying no clothes are worth buying unless they come from Nieman Marcus.  That would just be ridiculous.  When I get home I'll take some pics of what I get and post them in a day or two.

I also had a hard time deciding where I want to go for my birthday dinner with my family. Damned if I'm cooking on my day!  I was thinking Panda Express, but my DH says that adds up awful darn quick, and they don't have anything vegetarian for my daughter, Samantha.  Came up with a great idea!  Souper Salad!  What is better than a buffet for a family with kids?  They don't have to wait to eat, they can eat as much as they want, they get to make their own desserts, AND Sami can have her vegetarian food.  Win win win!

At tonight's baseball game my daughter, Sara, hit a HOME RUN!!!  She's the only girl on her team in the boys' league and one of the youngest on the team to boot.  She sure showed those boys!  Way to go Sara!!!

AND to celebrate my birthday with all of my readers, everything in my Etsy shop is 20% off today with coupon code happybday2011!

Introducing the Next Generation of Bead Artists!

On Saturday my daughter, Sara, was complaining about how bored she was.  I was sitting at the kitchen table working on a necklace and I asked her if she wanted to help me.  She sat down, eager and ready to learn.  I showed her a couple times how to do the spiral rope stitch and we worked on my necklace for a few minutes.  Then I asked her if she wanted to make a bracelet of her own.  Her eyes lit up and she got a great big smile on her face.  I got out all my color-coded buckets of beads and spread them out on the kitchen floor for her to see.  She started picking colors, and before you know it she had her color palette ready to go. 

I did the first 3 loops because getting started can sometimes be a little bit tricky, and I did the clasp.  A couple times the thread got tangled and I helped her get it undone.  But other than that she did this entire bracelet all by herself!!!  I am so proud of her.  What a talent she is already at 9 years old.  Can you imagine how good she'll be in a few years?  She's already anxious to learn another stitch.

She chose a 8/0 apple green color for the core bead, then red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple and pink for the twist.  The rainbow colors are size 11/0, except the green that is a 15/0.  She has decided to name her bracelet "Rainbows Over The Hills".  Isn't that a pretty name?  Here are some photos of Sara and her beading.

RAINBOWS OVER THE HILLS

 You can click on the photos for a larger view, too.

And the best part?  She says you can wear it with anything because it's got all the colors!  She's talented and practical! :)

She'll come home and ask me if anyone said anything about her bracelet, so don't be shy...leave Sara a message.

My Project Is Done!!! :D

What does this little daisy clip art have to do with my newest project?  Not much, except maybe that I felt like my latest project really "blossomed".  And, hey, I think it's cute.

Ok, on to my project.  I felt so good making this necklace.  That's what I find so gratifying about beading.  I get to be creative, and it makes me feel good.  It's great therapy.  This piece really flowed for me.  I didn't have to think about it...it just came together.  No forcing it, no second guessing it.  You ever have a great project like that?  I hope to have many more because it was so utterly enjoyable.

The centerpiece is a cab by Beth Evans of Bellesanbeaus on Artfire.  She does amazing work.  It turns out this cab was a little bit of a mistake.  I had asked for shades of blue, but she mistakenly sent me shades of green.  And it's a good thing she intuitively knew exactly what I needed better than I know for myself because the green cab is PERFECT!!!  I also used Nicole Campanella's wonderful-to-work-with Beadbacking.  It's so easy to work with when doing bead embroidery.  You don't have to worry about backing your fabric with lacy's or anything else.  You just bead right on it, you can cut around it in the shape you need, and it won't fray or stretch.  And it's acid free.  PERFECT as well!  You can get Nicole's Beadbacking from her Etsy shop, Beadwright.

Another awesome thing is that I used everything from my stash.  The only thing I bought for this project was the clasp.  The little green cabs Beth gifted me.  That was so nice of her!  Again, she intuitively knew what I needed.  I also mixed in some orange, which is not a color I normally work with.  I find it a very difficult color and orange and I don't play well together.  But this week we called a truce, and look how the orange just shines with the green.  I love the orange lucite flowers that rest near the collar bones.  (They're a little higher on my "model" because he's only 11 and a little smaller than a person it was actually meant to be sized for.)  But Matthew was a good sport and jumped right up when I asked him to model for me.  He's kind of funny because he's in his underwear only and he was real paranoid that I didn't show his boobies in the pics. hahaha.  Kids are fun.

I've never made a necklace where I did bead embroidery and had to put the pieces together.  I wasn't sure how to do that.  Then I remembered the wise words from Robin Atkins, the bead embroidery goddess..."Just do it!"  I don't know how other people do it, but my way seemed to work!  Yea!

Enough, enough already!  I know...let's get on with it!  Ok everyone.  Here are the pics.  I realize that this probably won't be everyone's cup of tea, but for me it's just stunning.  And I guess that's what counts.  Matthew doesn't want me to try to sell it, but he reluctantly said I could lol.  Someday it will find the perfect home.

I originally was going to call it Lush Green, but I just had the idea of Greenman in Springtime.  I've always loved the Greenman, so maybe it's fitting that I make a tribute to him.

Greenman in Springtime

Normally I take my photos in the daytime in a nice shady area to get the beautiful natural light, but I was too anxious to wait until tomorrow to show it off.  I also learned how to do a spiral rope for this necklace.  I was pretty happy with it.  It took the 3rd try to get the color combination I was happy with, and I'm pleased with the way it turned out.  You can click on the photos to see a larger view.  Isn't that face cab fabuloso!?! Comments anyone?

Mother's Day Giveaway

Artbeads.com is having another giveaway.  This time the prize is a big $100 gift certificate!!!  All you have to do is select your favorite item from their Mother's Day selection of suggestions and leave a comment on their blog on what you would do with that item.  To see the rules and links just go HERE.  I really really really want to win, but if I can't I hope one of you do so I can live vicariously through your purchases and projects.  :)

These are just a couple of the many pages of items to choose from.  Good luck!

What a Difference in a Day

Wow.  I have been experiencing two polar opposite ends of the spectrum these last 2 days.  I have been working on a necklace featuring one of Beth's face cabs that I always talk about.  I sat it on my table and started pulling out beads.  I am using some colors that I do not normally use.  That may sound difficult, but I am finding that this piece is practically creating itself.  I have been loving working on it, looking at it, showing my progress to my biggest fans (my kids :).  Matthew loves it so much that he said I have to keep it and not put it up for sale.  The beading has been effortless.  Well, maybe a slight hiccup.  I learned how to do a spiral rope and I had two false starts.  Not on the stitch itself but on the choice of colors for the core and stuff.  The third one was the keeper, but it wasn't even a big deal.  I stitched about an inch each of the first two combinations, so I'm just calling those 2 inches practice.  I can't wait to finish it up and show it off.  But I have to get a clasp for it first.  Could have sworn I had an extra gold-plated clasp in my box, but no.  Plenty of silver plated, but not what I need.  Bummer.

this is how i feel today.  huh?!?!

I went from that extreme of artistic and creative flow to complete and utter confusion.  I have to create something now that is totally not my style.  I've never attempted it or particularly cared for it.  And now I have to make something beautiful.  I have tried looking to my computer and the trusty old Google to find ideas.  I have scoured Etsy looking for inspiration.  Nothing.  Nada.  Blah.  So what do I do?  How do I come up with the perfect idea when I don't even really know what this style is supposed to look like?  I've been giving myself pep talks, telling Me that this is an artistic challenge and I'm stretching my boundaries, spreading my wings.  It's not working.

I know you amazingly talented artists out there in Blogland have had this happen.  I have a mental block and my muse is no where to be seen.  Actually, I think she is still hovering over the necklace I'm so happy with and doesn't want to leave it.  What are your suggestions, ideas, remedies, mental block busting methods of overcoming such a challenge? 

Finished a bracelet

Remember the Wrapped in Red netted collar necklace I did just recently?  I finished the bracelet to go with it.  I had it done except for the clasp for about a week, but I was procrastinating putting the clasp on.  I don't know.  I guess there's just not a lot of fun in putting on a simple clasp.  Had the netting part of the bracelet done in two days.  lol.  Oh well.  It's finally done and here it is... (and btw, if you are interested in the patterns to make my netted necklace or my hematite bracelet, I have them listed in my Artfire shop.)