Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Magazine Pendant

I made this pendant out of magazines. Yep, magazines. I love the idea of recycling through arts and crafts and this was my first stab at it. Each round is made out of magazine pages (the large ones from 2 pages, the small from 1) that have been folded and coiled. I then glued them together to make an interesting composition. It took a lot of patience and even more glue. Now comes the hard part - attaching eye pins to it so that I can make it into a necklace.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

January Polymer Clay Jewelry

With the exception of the earrings on top, these pieces have all been made within the past month or so. From the top, #1 Wood Grain earrings, #2, Summer Sunset Mokume Gane pendant, #3 Pear pendant, and #4 Lotus pendants. The pear and lotus pendants were made with my own hand-carved stamps which were based off of original drawings. The "wood grain" effect in the earrings was also achieved by hand-carving a texture stamp. Mica powders were used to enhance the wood grain earrings and the lotus pendants. Acrylic paint and gloss varnish were used to enhance the pear pendant. The Summer Sunset pendant was made by me while I was teaching a friend how to do Mokume Gane. Diana, if you're reading this, send me a pic of your pendant and I'll post it!

January Polymer Clay Jewelry Part 2

Some more polymer clay creations (polyclations?). From the top: #1&2 Hot Lava Mokume Gane pendant (shown from front and side), #3 Helter Skelter pendant, #4 Green/Gold pendant (haven't thought of a snazzy name for this one yet) and #5 Earth & Sky earrings.

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Etsy Favorites

I love to cruise through Etsy to admire the work of others and charge up my inspiration battery. Here are a few recent artists that I'd like to highlight:Fringilla made this awesome romantic polymer clay heart pendant. You can tell that a lot of work went into this. I love the color palette on this piece - it has a very old-world style.
Image transfers on polymer clay can get real tacky, real fast. Restraint is necessary to avoid an eyesore. Miss Fickle Media has perfected the technique. This Bakelite-ish ring in particular is among my favorites. Visit her shop here.

Etsy Favorites Part 2....

There's this beauty from Stranded Treasure's "wearable hand-sculpted blossoms." Like many artist's, Sharlene takes inspiration from nature - specifically, flowers. Her creations are pure vintage; delicate and impeccable
This lovely bracelet is made by Amy whose Etsy store is named "The B-Line." Amy is a chemistry teacher by day and she makes these beautiful polymer clay creations in her free time. I love her signature "chunky" flowers which are so unique and elegant.