Summer Bloom Inspiration

Here is a new pair of earrings I made just this morning. They're composed of lucite and plastic flower components, Swarovski crystals and a silver-plated beadcap/earring wires. The creamy orange, bright fuschia, and juicy citrus yellow are perfect colors for summer - which is right around the corner. No polymer clay in this piece, but they're still quite unique.

Regretsy!

OK - maybe I'm out of the loop. A few of my friends already knew about this site and I can't believe I've missed it for this long! It's a blog called Regretsy and it highlights some of the wacky, crappy, tacky, and just plain horrible things for sale on Etsy. We've all seen them. Recyclable fabric toilet "paper". Pendants in the shape of vaginas. Dessert foods that look like poop. Well, now they're all in one place and accompanied by some of the wittiest, most hysterical commentary by the woman who runs the blog, "Helen Killer." Her repartee has made me laugh out loud more than a few times. She also posts bizarre Alchemy requests, like one for "cornhole bags." WHAT?! Please - go check it out!

Image Transfer Inspiration

Recently I found these really pretty floral file folders (tongue twister alert) from the dollar bin in Michael's. I loved the pattern so I made a color copy and did an image transfer onto thin white drop-shaped cutouts of polymer clay. I poked holes in them, baked them, varnished the cured pieces, and finally, attached earring wires. The result is these floral drop earrings. They're super light-weight and have nice movement.

For those of you interested, here is my image transfer process:

1. Start by printing your desired image onto plain white printer paper using a color laser printer. Lay a sheet of clay onto a tile before cutting it into the shape you want. You will bake the clay on this tile. Now cut your paper to size. (For these earrings I used my drop-shaped cutter to not only cut out the clay pieces, but also to trace the outline on the paper. The clay pieces and paper turned out the same size so I could line them up easier).
2. Next, lay your paper carefully onto the clay (image side down) and burnish lightly with a bone folder or your finger. Don't burnish hard enought to indent the clay; you just want to bind the clay and paper.
3. Put the tile in the toaster oven at the recommended temperature for 5 minutes.
4. Remove the tile and peel off your paper. I use a craft knife to gently lift the edges of the paper in order to peel without touching the clay.
5. Your image should now be adhered to the clay. Continue to bake your pieces for the remainder of the recommended time.

* If you're making earrings, don't forget to poke your holes before you apply the paper. * To make sure your edges are clean, sand them if needed. * You'll also want to protect your piece with some kind of sealer or varnish. I prefer Delta Ceramcoat varnish in gloss.

The Bead Goes On...

I'll be donating 5 of my Funky Chunky Flower beads to the Toledo Museum of Art for their "The Bead Goes On" project. They are working on a bead curtain to be installed in the museum itself. It will be composed of 10,000 handmade beads from craftspeople all over the world! Can't wait to see it. If you're interested, click here for more information and the submission form. The beads must be handmade, non-perishable and no bigger than 4" long by 1&1/2" wide. You can submit a maximum of 5 beads. The museum is accepting submissions until October 2010.