Making your Own Polymer Clay Stamps/Molds

One of my favorite recent projects was polymer clay related.

While I was playing with the silicone molds, I made some molds and stamps with my own designs.

First I made a small sketch of what I wanted for the design with pencil.

Next I rolled out a little slab of clay.  

I laid the design down on the clay and burnished it with a ball tool to transfer the design to the clay.

Then I used my clay tools to  trace and make the design.

I decided not to add the word to this one.

Doing it backwards on the design would make it backwards once stamped.

Bake your mold in your toaster oven according to the manufacturer's directions.

Then I began stamping away.

You can use your stamp over and over again.

You will notice, however that the stamp starts to soften a bit as the mold absorbs some of the oil from the clay.

No worries.

Just pop the mold back in the oven with your next batch of beads and you are good as new.

My daughter wanted me to make her a thresher shark.

So my husband found an outline online. 

 I could not shrink it enough with my computer so I had to make my own sketch from it.  

You can see my erased first attempts.

I followed the same process for transferring the design and tracing the shape.

My daughter has not seen these yet but I like the way they turned out.

I hope she does too.

Next I wanted to play with just different textures.

It is not my favorite, but I do like the idea.

I can utilize different parts of the mold depending on where I press the clay on it.

I saved my two favorites for last.

I did a tree.

I love how they symbolize life and family.

I intentionally tapered the edges of the mold down towards the table.

Check these out!

How cool are they?

I made a ton of beads and pendants from the tree mold.

I ended up making bigger ones for pendants and smaller ones for possible earrings.

My favorite mold was actually the first one I made: a nest.

Also a symbol of family, birth and renewal.

There is something so satisfying to seeing designs come from something that came originally from your own head and hands.

I could not get enough of playing with this mold.

Big chunky pendants...

In a variety of shapes.

Some pieces that I gently curled up to be three dimensional nests.

Some with bails...

Some just the eggs....

I can't wait to start playing with the finishes.

Thanks for stopping by....

Linking up with these great blogs.

Disk Bracelets...

In the Spring 2014 issue of Belle Armoire Jewelry,  Gaea Cannaday made some inspiring polymer bracelets.

I fell in love and began pinching and making my own disk beads.

Piles and piles of them.

My husband looked puzzled as I filled the tray to bake them.

After they were baked, I colored them in all sorts of ways.

And then the knotting began.

In an evening, a little pile of bracelets grew on the couch arm beside me.

I was in love.

And then I started wearing them and realized they were more comfortable than you can imagine.

The two I wear all the time are rustic stone looking and rustic redware looking.

I am thinking I may need to adopt a big pile of these pales and brights as well.

I have come to prefer my own hand forged clasps.

They add to the look I want and they are really easy to maneuver by yourself.

Worn, beachy blues...

I may have to keep this one...

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Linking up with these great blogs.

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.

Some Favorite Pieces from the Pages of Belle Armoire Jewelry Magazine

On newsstands now is the Spring 2015 issue of Belle Armoire Jewelry.

I am so pleased to have some of my favorite pieces in the magazine.

This piece can be worn as a necklace or a wrap bracelet.

The beads are hand crafted, as are the clasps and loops.

The silk strips are repurposed from silk blouses and then overdyed.

I love the verigated color of the silk.

This bracelet is one of my all-time favorites to wear.

The silk is wrapped around and between the beads and adds a very bohemian gypsy vibe to the piece.

I love the muted color palette in this bracelet.

It goes with almost every outfit I put on.

The bird bead adds a touch of whimsy to the bracelet.

The very last piece from the article, actually was gifted to a very dear friend so I cannot show it to you now.

Thanks for stopping by....