Making Lucky Black Cat Beads

Black cat beadI’ve been planning a blog hop for this fall and wanted to make some beads to give away for it. The theme is “Superstition” and the blog hop reveal will be on Friday, November 13th. So, what better image to put on my beads than a black cat?

I considered quite a few different ways of making the beads, all involving polymer clay. The variation was in how to make the black cat, what shape to make the beads, and what color. The color and shape were the easiest to resolve. Making the cat part was a bit more challenging. Continue reading →

Jewelry Design Challenge: Zuni Bear

Layered necklace with featherWhen Moriah Betterly announced she was making more ceramic jewelry components and hosting another design challenge, I signed up. I didn’t know what the components would be, and that didn’t matter. I had fun doing the last challenge, and didn’t want to miss out on limited edition components.

Moriah officially stopped making ceramic jewelry components earlier this year to focus on other creative ventures. Luckily, she has decided to occasionally make small batches of components and continue to host jewelry design challenges through her Blu Mudd Facebook group.  Continue reading →

Jewelry Design Challenge: Polymer Clay

purple pink blue butterfly bib necklaceThe media for the Self-Representing Artists in Jewelry Design July challenge were metal clay and polymer clay. I went with polymer clay.  And kept going and going.

I got started creating with polymer clay as a substitute for metal clay. As in, I didn’t have the appropriate space for the tools used in metal clay, so I settled for polymer clay.

Over time, I’ve learned to love polymer clay for its ability to mimic the appearance of practically any substance, and it doesn’t feel like I’ve settled for a lesser medium. At all. Continue reading →

Firefly Art Jewelry Design Challenge

Firefly Swarm necklaceThe designers at Art Jewelry Elements chose “fireflies” as the theme for the summer art jewelry design challenge.  The challenge was to create jewelry, or jewelry components, inspired by fireflies.

I remember watching fireflies, or lightning bugs as some call them, flash at night in the summer. While the cicadas sang. They’ve been symbols of summer to me for as long as I can remember. Continue reading →

We’re All Ears Earring Challenge: Tidepools

Green Patina Starfish EarringsThe inspiration for this month’s We’re All Ears earring design challenge was a series of vintage illustrations of tide pools. The colors in the illustrations were muted and warm. Which is my happy place when it comes to color.

However, tide pools can also be bright and vibrant, depending on the critters in them. I was inspired to design earrings in both color palettes. And I played with some metal paints in the process. Continue reading →

Creating Collections in Your Etsy Shop

Find More in My Etsy Store comment balloonThis is a quick-tip post about how to use backlinks to create collections inside your Etsy shop. There’s no coding involved on your part, and you don’t have to know the first or second thing about html.

If you have an Etsy shop, you know you can assign your jewelry to shop sections. You also know there is a pesky 1:1 limit, meaning you cannot put the same item into more than one section. Continue reading →

Using Iced Enamels with Polymer Clay

Polymer clay and Iced Enamels

Supplies for my experiment: Premo polymer clay and Iced Enamels liquid medium and powders.

What happens when you mix Iced Enamels Relique Powders with polymer clay? I was curious so I did a little experiment.

Last month I needed to make some “resin and enamel” jewelry for a design challenge. I don’t own a torch, so I sort of cheated on the enamel part and used Iced Enamels. Iced Enamels are powders that you combine with a proprietary medium and cure with a heat gun. Then you seal them under a layer of resin (Ice Resin, by the same manufacturer, of course). Continue reading →

Jewelry Design Challenge: Enamel and Resin

Resin dangle earringsThe theme for the Self-Representing Artists in Jewelry Design challenge in May was “enamel and resin.”

I still don’t own a torch. A torch is an essential ingredient in enameling, from what I’ve read. I’ll get one eventually. When I decide I have space to store it and all the bits and pieces that go with playing with fire in your home. Continue reading →

Art of Awareness Blog Hop

Art of Awareness logo

The official Art of Awareness Hop badge.

When Lori Anderson announced she was hostessing an Art of Awareness blog hop, I knew I had to sign up. It sounded like a great way to promote a cause near and dear to my heart.

The idea is to choose a cause, get an Awareness Bean bead specially made by Heather Millican of Swoondimples, and create jewelry or something with it. The beads are called “beans” because, well, just look at them. Continue reading →

We’re All Ears: Tango a Rainbow

Rainbow earringsErin Prais-Hintz has come up with yet another unique inspiration for the We’re All Earrings monthly design challenge. For the May theme, she shared stills and video from a couple of dance troupes performing the tango set against a rainbow of urban backgrounds.

The dancers’ outfits match the colors of the walls behind them, and are constantly changing as they dance off screen and reappear. As Erin noted, the dance moves are at once fluid and filled with tension. Continue reading →