New Beads on the Work Bench this Wednesday...

I have spent a great deal of this spring creating my own polymer clay beads.

After purchasing Statci Louise Smith's Tutorial, I was bead obsessed.

My beads were everything I always hoped to create....

They are textured and glossy and just the way I wanted them.

Some had a wonderful, primitive, organic look.

But then my friend came for a workshop and brought some of her beads.

They were so different than mine.

  And so very lovely.

So I started playing with different finishing techniques. 

I used one she did but mine did not turn out like hers.

So I tried a few other things.  

I got some neat new looks.

I liked them in the pan.

They sat there for days.

I loved the blingy shine.

Which was so different than my other beads.

I was not sure what they would be.

One afternoon,I sat down and began knotting.

I am a huge fan of waxed linen cord for knotting.

And before I knew it, this sweet beachy wrap bracelet came to be.

Like I said, it is a change from my other beads.

And I am loving it.

I am also loving my hand forged clasps.

I love how substantial they are.

This bracelet is a double wrap.

I have a couple single wrap bracelets that I wear all the time.  

They are actually very comfortable.

What do you make?

Thanks for stopping by....

Faux Bone Necklace for Sculpey

I am so very proud to have one of my necklaces featured on the Sculpey website.

You can see the full tutorial here.

I took a ton of photos before I sent the necklace.

It is one of my favorite pieces.

I took photos with different tops.

To me, it has a primitive, bohemian quality.

I worked on coming up with a fox bead I liked.

This one was one of my favorites towards the end of the development phase.

I think the necklace takes on an entirely different tone with this coral top.

I personally would wear it with denim.

The faux bone technique is easy and addictive to make.

I also started playing with a white background for photos.

I used to have a light box in the house my husband made me that had tissue paper sides for diffused light.

It always had a yellow cast to the photos that I did not like.

I like these much better.

My very favorite were the photos I did in natural settings.

I feel they really suit the piece.

This one on the stone by my pond is the one Sculpey chose.

I am glad I did not have to choose because I liked so many of the natural settings like this one.

And this one.

Lucky for me, it was overcast for about 30 minutes when I did most of these photos.

I cannot wait to play some more with this technique.

What are your thoughts?

Thanks for stopping by....

Linking up with these great blogs.

Polymer Clay on Workbench Wednesday

Welcome to the workbench today....

I have been obsessed with making polymer clay pieces.

I started by buying Staci's tutorial here:

Staci's Polymer Tutorial

It took me a month to gather and buy the supplies she recommended and actually get ready to try it out....

Now, a month later, I am in love with the process and look I can achieve here at home.

Each batch of beads can take up to a week to make, but they are totally worth it....

These are just out of the oven....

These are painted with the first coat of color.  For some, one coat will be enough.  For others, they may get up to several more layers....

These are part way through the process.  For some reason, I just love when the beads are all mixed together...

When they are finished, you get these:

To see some of the pieces assembled in finished works, check them here in our newest Etsy shop:

Artistic Elite

Well, time to go paint some beads.  See you soon.  Thank you so much for stopping by.  Come again....