Polymer Clay Lizard Earrings

I bought a set of two little stamps recently, each has the same lizard but pointing in opposite directions.  I made my first pair of earrings with them and am sending this pair to the shop in Leeds which is taking some earrings and brooches in November.
I love them so much that if I could wear earrings I'd keep them!

I've decided to make more of this design.  I plan to do them in different colourways, with different beads, different wires etc, they are just too cute not to repeat!
They will cost £14 and will be put on sale in all my shops.  If you would like a pair let me know and we can discuss the colours you'd like.

Charm Bracelet

Look what turned up in the mail this week!  I won a giveaway (yes again, aren't I the lucky one).  This came from Putting On The Charms who had a giveaway on her blog.
This gorgeous charm bracelet is what I won.  She had several to choose from and it was really difficult as they are all beautiful.

I love it, and it fits me perfectly!

A Monthly Make 2011 - January, part one.

If you look down the right side of this blog you will see a badge that says A Monthly Make 2011. It's being organised by The Felt Fairy.
I only found out about this a week or so ago and it's nearly the end of January, so I need to get a move on!
I made a start today, and mixed some colours of polymer clay.  I plan to make a set of different canes with the colours, and use them to make some jewellery.  I make jewellery anyway so it feels like a bit of a cheat to use it for my monthly make, but I haven't had time to think of anything different.  I will try to make something that isn't jewellery some months though! 
If you scroll down you will see my post about colour.  I still haven't found a way to print out my colour swatches from the Kuler website but I based my colours on one of them, taken from a photo of a coneflower/echinacea.

Over the weekend I'll post a photo of the beads I make, I don't know if I'll have the jewellery made before the end of the month but I'll try.

Artfire Collection

I have managed to get a few more items listed in my new Artfire shop. You can shop right here on my blog!  One of the features of Artfire is the collections.  They are a little like the treasuries on Etsy for those who know Etsy. Unfortunately Folksy doesn't have that facility (maybe in the future...)
I have been very fortunate in the short time that I've had my Artfire studio to have had items featured in several lovely collections.
This is the most recent, it's full of gorgeous blue items and my polymer clay pendant necklace is included. I'm very grateful to the curators of this and the other collections I've been included in. (You may have seen them posted on my Facebook page)
 

The Many Hues of Blues

Curated By: BewitchingDre...

ArtFire.com

Unique Gifts

Folksy Friday Shop Feature

I haven't done a Folksy Friday blog post for a reeeeally long time!  I have decided to feature one shop that I have recently discovered and love.
It's Kilo Lemur Lampwork .  Kaye makes lovely lampwork beads, and sells them at a very reasonable price.  I have bought some that I plan to use to make myself something beautiful but plan to buy lots more in the future to make jewellery for my shop.  
I've  loved the idea of making lampwork glass beads ever since I first saw some a few years ago, but me and a very hot flame is not a good combination at all!
Here are some of the beads she has on sale at the moment - I want them all but can't buy any more just yet :(

Opus Terra beads, only £18 for all these beads!

 Three cute skulls,

Bijou Crystal Beads  The colours on these are gorgeous!

Aunt Dotty Bead Set  Pretty spotty beads.

There are more, go and see for yourself, if you make jewellery I defy you not to buy any!
If you don't make jewellery yourself, Kaye also makes jewellery as Triple Moonstar, so I'm sure she would make you something with the beads of your choice. 

Some new beads

Here as promised on Facebook,  are some photos of my latest project.  I'm really pleased with it.  I've made a necklace and earring set for the winter exhibition at Arteria's Gallery 23 in Lancaster.  I'm working hard to make a decent amount of jewellery to leave with them before I go away at the end of September.  The exhibition runs from 26th October until 8th January.  I'll be back early November and hopefully I'll have made some more jewellery while I'm away in case they want any more.

I've rolled out a sheet of black clay and covered it with slices from assorted canes.  I've used a variation on a technique I found on a great website, How to make beads from polymer clay .
I used her technique for some pillow beads I made, and some beads Amanda from Chicita Gimme That Thing has used for some of her lovely wire wrapped rings.

I'm sorry the photo of the necklace isn't too good.  I was lazy and just took one photo since I'm not listing them on Folksy.  I will have to take a better photo of it, the light tent I ordered has just arrived so I'll try that out later. 

New Ideas

At the moment I'm experimenting with some new techniques in jewellery making - notably polymer clay.  It's great fun and easier than it looks to achieve beautiful effects.  It's also easy to make a muddy mess!  I'm sure I'll find a use for all the scrap clay.
This was my first effort

 These beads were made with a jellyroll cane.  It's very simple, made by layering 2 colours of thinly rolled clay, and rolling it up, then cutting it up.  I made some of it into a triangle shape, and used up the leftover bits by making a few bicone beads (at the front of the photo)
As you can see, I had some trouble varnishing them - I did it eventually by making another cardboard stand with narrower spaces so the pins stayed put. 
I realise now,  from Maxine Veronica,  that I need to get cocktail sticks or toothpicks, and use some of that scrap clay for a stand to hold up the sticks.
I've also since discovered some rather clever wax polish that buffs them nicely and is a good alternative to varnish.
I've posted this batch of beads off to my 9yr old granddaughter who also likes to make jewellery.
My next attempt wound up looking nothing like the picture in the book but ended up looking really nice so I've made those up into a necklace.  I'll post a picture of it later, and will keep you up to date with my efforts.