What I've been up to

Well, besides work at my regular job, that is....  I've sent off applications for four craft shows coming up in the next few months.  We are doing our first county Ag center show in June.  I have never done this one and am looking forward to it.  I'm also hoping that the crowds are out and looking to buy!

A few months ago, I posted about torn water color beads I was making, as well as one of the necklace/earring sets I completed. 

I made several sheets in different colors to use and made many beads one weekend.  I finally got around to stringing the red and purple beads this weekend, and made additional beads in a light green.

Here is the red set.

I've been wanting to add ribbon to my necklaces for a while.  Since I recently found a local shop that carried the flat end crimps, I was able to stock up and put a set to use here.  I just love the color; the ribbon and swarovski crystals matched perfectly.

This is the purple set.

In my opinion, you can't go wrong with adding white glass beads to most pieces, and I try to add swarovski crystals, if I'm lucky enough to have matching or complimenting colors. 

I made another bowl and a ring thing to add to my stock.  I'm hoping they will be popular with the crowds, as I am seeing a lot of polymer bowls on pinterest and when browsing tutorials.

Here is my first attempt at polka dots!

And last, but not least, I wanted to use a new set of Wilton's Blossom cookie cutters I just bought, but also wanted a funky look.  Here's what I came up with.

I used two different sized heart cutters on the blossoms and used one of the smaller cutters to make the bottom piece.  I used the same clay sheet and baked it on a glass ornament to make the curved shape.  Then, I flipped it over and used liquid clay to attach the pieces and baked one last time.  My 14 year-old thinks it looks "neat", so I may want to make some more for the younger crowd!

Well, have to get back to my drawing pad and see what other ideas I can come up with.  I'll post the items above on my website later today.  If you're interested, just go to DreamWeaversDesigns.net.  Remember, I can also make custom bowls and ring things if you don't see something that suits your needs.  Feel free to send me a message!

Til next time, stay safe and be happy.

  

Redo

If you do any art, you may experience what most artists do, at one time or another.  After a day of claying yesterday, I woke this morning and gazed at the mod cane bowl I made.  I just wasn't happy with the way it looked.  I decided to add a purple background and feet to elevate the bowl.

Here is the result......

To me, the purple background makes the bowl a little more striking, and the feet give it a larger appearance.  I'm very pleased with this redo!

On a roll, I made another bowl using some leftover leopard cane I had.  This time, I added a brown background and round feet covered with the leopard print.  The shape is still free form and wavy, but a little more symmetrical.

I also decided to polish the bowls with liquid wax and love the shine!!

Til next time, stay safe and be happy.

Funky bowl

I can't believe it's mid April already.  The weather has finally improved, though we had temps in the high 80's to 90 last week.  Boy, it was hard to keep the air conditioner off.  Thankfully, it passed and this weekend has been gorgeous!

My daughter spent yesterday organizing my "craft room", which is in the middle of my kitchen.  I bought an 8 drawer rolling cart from Staples a few weeks ago and she straightened, stocked and labeled all the drawers for me.  What a great help!  Now I don't have to dig through a million boxes to find what I want.  I still have some things that need to be better organized {boy, you forget all the stuff you buy!}, but I finally felt like claying today. 

I found a new bead shop, not too far from us, and am thrilled to have some place to go where I can get the jewelry findings I need and thinner satin cording for my kumihimo.  I'm still working on home goods and am making ring things and bowls.

Here's my first ring thing.....

It's kind of hard to see in this picture, but the impressed lines have been filled with silver mica powder.  I have many ideas for this item and look forward to seeing them to fruition.

Here is my first funky bowl....

It measures approximately 5 inches in diameter.  The top layer was made from a cane I made with my Makin's extruder.  You can't see in this picture, but the back was a layer of black tinged translucent clay.  I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out, and like the ring thing, have many more ideas.

I hope to get both of these items listed on my web site tonight.  It's still a work in progress, but feel free to stop by.

DreamWeaversDesigns.net 

Till next time, stay safe and be happy!