New ArtFire Guild for the Polymer Clay Smooshers

The Polymer Clay Smooshers are back on ArtFire!  Be sure to visit at http://www.artfire.com/guilds/polymer_clay_smooshers.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!!

Mica Shift tutorial

It's been a while since I had time to update my blog.  The shows are finished for the year and I now can devote more energy on blogging and working on tutorials.  My first one is on my ArtFire site and I hope you all like it.

http://www.artfire.com/ext/shop/blog_post/DreamWeaversDesigns/3662/mica_shift_technique

Hello to November

I guess now, the countdown begins.  Seems holiday decorations have been out in some stores for a few weeks.  We had our first fall show yesterday and, though the crowds were not as we expected, we did pretty well.  The next, and last show of the year, is in two weeks.  Then the real fun begins.....Thanksgiving, decorating, buying presents, and preparing for the possible "bad" winter ahead. 

I've spent several more weeks working on my mica shift technique, and am pretty happy with how well the pieces are turning out.  Once I have more time, I plan to put up a brief tutorial.

Here are just a few of my finished necklace/earring combos;

I used Premo pearl clay and added cranberry Adirondak alcohol ink for this one.  I was actually aiming for a little darker color, as I couldn't locate my red pearl clay.  Still, I was pleased with the results.

I love this one, the color is so deep and rich.  The pattern is very prevalent.  I used Premo blue pearl clay and added some flat backed faceted crystals for a little bling!

This one was made adding Meadow and Bottle color alcohol inks to Premo pearl.  I also added some crystals for accent.









All of the necklaces were placed on silver plated memory wire and the earrings were hand made using nickle free silver plated 20 gauge wire.  For finishing, I embellished with some crystals and glass beeds.  Feel free to let me know what you think!

Snow day

Well, it's snowing in Maryland.  Gotta admit, it's beautiful with the fall colors on the trees, but I hope this is not a omen of things to come this winter!  Spent the day getting ready for a few shows that we are going to do in the next few weeks.  My dining room table is, once again, a mess.  But we are making some headway. 

I made a few snowmen pendants this past week and was able to finish them up today.  These were made from a tutorial from Cindy Lietz.  She is amazing.  She makes things so easy to learn; clear instructions, great video and her tutorials are short.

I also finished off a few pins.  I think mica shift and mokume gane are two of my favorite techniques.  Now that I am comfortable with mica shift, I may spend some time perfecting the mokume gane.  I'd like to play around and see what other elements I can incorporate.  I definitely need to experiment with different color combinations. 

Hope you all are having a great weekend!

Brown

This weeks Smooshers topic is brown.  Thinking of the holidays coming brings to mind a lot of brown.  Now, some of you may be thinking...brown??? what brown?  With colder temps, the leaves will be turning brown and falling in piles on the lawns.  Think golden brown turkey.  Umm, chocolate chip cookies are my favorite and a staple around Christmas.  And, some people love fruit cake.  {Yes, I happen to be one of them} This holiday, browse through the Smoosher's ArtFire shops for truly one-of-a kind, handmade items.  I'm sure you will find the perfect gift for that someone special.  I recommend you search early so you don't miss anything!

Speaking of leaves, check out AmyCrawley's shop to see more unique works like this light switch cover.

Cynthia Blanton Studio has several mixed media pieces.

May not be all brown, but how cute are these Christmas mice from QuernusCrafts!!

Don't forget to check out our ArtFire shops.  Just go to http://www.polymerclaysmooshers.blogspot.com/     Hope you have as much fun looking at all the wonderful, creative pieces that I did. 

Til next time, remember:

"Whether you think that you can, or that you can't, you are usually right."

- Henry Ford (1863-1947)

Halloween

The topic this week, for the Polymer Clay Smoosher's, is Halloween.  Thinking of this particular time of year makes me want to hunker down near a fire, with a good book and some tasty tea.  For some reason, no matter how warm October is, this day is always freezing!  I love the colors, fragrances {think apple cinnamon or pumpkin spice candles}, and yes, the decorations in preparation for trick or treating. For those of us that do craft fairs, the rush is on for upcoming shows in November.  There are so many wonderful artisans in our guild, take a look at some fun Halloween pieces.

How cute is this kitty and pumpkin by Buttonwilloe?

Are you into spooky wearable art?  Check out other pieces from Mortimer Inc.

What would Halloween be without The Raven??  Wyvern Designs has plenty of holiday themed pieces to choose from.

I hope you have enjoyed looking at some of the fantastic work from the Polymer Clay Smooshers.  Feel free to check out our blog, at http://www.polymerclaysmooshers.blogspot.com/, where you can browse all the artisans shops on ArtFire.

Til next time, stay safe and don't let the goblins get ya..

Time away

Getting ready to head south for a few days.  We are going to Big Stone Gap in Virginia, where my Mom was born.  Just love the mountains and can't wait to see the fall colors.  I'm hoping I can get re-inspired to get back to my clay work when I return, as we have some shows upcoming in November!

Hope everyone has a great weekend.  See ya on the flip side.

Autumn Rain

Welcome back to the Polymer Clay Smooshers!!!  Michelle, of Creative Critters, was gracious enough to take over the administration of the group, sooo, we are back.

This weeks blog ring is about Autumn Rain.  Seems like everyone loves this time of the year.  I wonder why??  Does it have anything to do with cooling off after a long hot summer?  Or maybe, it's the beautiful colors that pop up everywhere?  Oh yeah, maybe the sights, smells and sounds that are all around; think crackling camp fire, apple pie, children laughing and running in their colorful costumes during trick or treat, and the fragrance and sound of crunching leaves under foot.

Whatever the reason you love Autumn, you should love the look of the jewelry and other items that are being designed by the creative artisans in the smooshers!

Sharp Art by Dawna made this beautiful, and colorful, pendant. 

Just look how bright this brooch looks by Valerie's Stuff.

 

This is sooo cool!  Look at the detail on this sculpture by The Kraft Kottage. 

I would like to take the time to thank those of you who support all the handmade artisans out there. Handmade items can be unique, beautiful, useful, quirky, you name it and I'm sure you can find it.  Be it jewelry, housewares, soap, clothing or the multitude of other things that are made one at a time, your patronage means a lot.

Til next time, remember:

"Knowledge speaks, but wisdom listens."

- Jimi Hendrix

Happy Autumn

Ok, so it's not quite official yet, but, who cares.  I love Fall.

Football has started and already my grandson is a fan.....and sooo cute too.

I have buckled down and taken this week to start on my goal of perfecting one polymer clay technique before moving on to another one.  Thanks Star for the link to all those wonderful techniques! 

I decided to try my hand at mica shift.  For those of you who aren't familiar with mica shift, it involves using special metallic clay, run through a pasta machine multiple times to allow the mica particles to line up.  Once impressed with a stamp, the raised areas are carefully sliced off leaving an image of the stamp on the smooth surface.  After the clay is baked, sanded and buffed {or coated with a glossy medium} the result is a 3D effect that is hard to believe unless you see it up close and personal. 

I made a few pendants using several colors of the metallic clay.  Here are a few in a soft copper.

This really looks better in person!

I was attempting to show the gloss from buffing.

I hope you can see the 3D effect.

This one shows the glossy effect a little better.

Here is the one I did in silver.

The silver looks a little darker in this picture.

Once I get some better pictures with my light box or outside, I'll be posting these on my ArtFire site.

I gotta say, I really like this technique. It took several attempts to get the right amount of slice off the clay, but, that's OK, if you don't have success on the first go round, just start over.  With all the stamps available the design possibilities are enormous.  I can't wait to continue with this process in different colors. 

If you are interested in trying your hand at mica shift, here are a few links:

http://www.hobbizine.com/pcmicashift.html
http://www.polymerclaycentral.com/ms_texture.html

Til next time, remember..........

"Anything that is too stupid to be spoken is sung."

- Voltaire (1694-1778)

Gettin chilly!

What a beautiful, crisp, very cool Friday morning I woke to!  It's continued through the day and now it's a very cool Friday evening.  I'll admit it, I put my heat on.  Yikes, and technically, it's still summer.  I love the feel of fall and am looking forward to all the trees changing.  It's time to start working to get ready for a few shows in November. Don't really have anything planned for this weekend, so it may be a good time to further organize my work space and see what I have.  Then I'll be able to devote time to claying and creating.

The only problem with polymer clay is the multitude of uses and techniques there are!  So many great artisans have developed their own styles and there are so many different products that you can incorporate into your design, it boggles the mind.  Since starting my journey with clay, a little over a year ago, I have picked up so many tips, techniques and possibilities that it seems like I'll never have time to try everything.  Just when I think I have found one technique that I want to focus on, I stumble on another one.  As a result, I have many works underway and don't give myself the time to really master any one.  That is going to change.  My goal is to develop my skills in an area until I make pieces that rival those of the true polymer experts.  {I just hope I live that long!}

On another note, the Polymer Clay Smooshers Guild has closed.  I was not a member for that long, but really appreciate the time and effort the administrators put into keeping the guild up and running.  Through them I have become more aware of resources out there for promoting ones art and have had the pleasure of seeing other artisans beautiful and truly unique designs.  So, Star, I thank you and I wish everyone well. 

Till next time....Remember; Life is short and time is precious for us all.  Make sure you are happy in whatever you decide to do, take nothing for granted and, yes, take time to stop and smell the roses.  Take care of yourself first, then you will be better able to care for others.