It's Summer Time!

We are about half way through Summer and it's time for a post featuring some hand made products that evoke the feeling of Summer.

 Here are some items from the members Blogging Again Ring  on FaceBook that remind me of Summer.

Summer time is a time when we all need a new tote and this Extra Large Earth Tones Coffee Bean Burlap Tote by HevVinDesigns  is a perfect bag to bring along to the farmer's market or the beach.

Summer is the perfect time to adorn yourself with new jewelry.  This Show Your Soul Stacking Bracelet by TL Yarn Crafts will show your style, as well as your soul.

You can never have too many earrings and these Organic Green Ruffled Leaves Dangle Earrings by Fantasy Clay Store  are the perfect compliment to your summer time wardrobe.

Summer time is a time when the countryside is full of butterflies.  These Butterfly Wine Glass Charms by Pottery Heaven would be lovely gracing your wine glasses at your next outdoor gathering.

Since summer is a time when flowers abound and run riot through every yard and field, I had to include this Hand Drawn bouquet of Flowers Polymer Clay Brooch Pin by Valerie's Stuff  to satisfy my floral fix.

So go out and enjoy you Summer and don't forget to bring something hand made along with you!

Gorgeous Beads

Most jewelry designers include some sort of beads in their work.  These range from tiny seed beads to, large and in your face,  focal beads.  Since I work, a good deal in polymer clay, I often peruse the works of some of the talented artisans from the Polymer Clay Smooshers Guild on Art Fire.

Some of these artists make and sell individual groups of beads for others to create with.  Some create intricate canes, which are  cylinders raw polymer clay that depict a myriad of designs including faces, flowers or abstract designs.  Others make beads to use in their own work.  But whatever reason, these beads can be beautiful,  wonderfully silly or striking.     

I've chosen a few to feature here, for all to see.

This bracelet is a striking mix of polymer clay flower beads and hammered copper.  It was created by Flower Childs Artsy Jewelry  and is a gorgeous blend of metal and polymer clay.

 

This lovely focal bead necklace by Creative Sisters  features a lentil swirled bead with a tiny flower atop a bed of leaves and comes with a rayon ribbon and waxed cord necklace.

This Euro style large hole bead by Blue Morning Expressions  is an example of a polymer clay bead made using cane work.  The attention to detail is amazing!

This set of 11 leaf beads by Prescence  would be wonderful on a charm bracelet or a necklace.

This necklace featuring watermelon beads by Kael MiJoy  is fun and funky and perfect for your next cook out.

All in all, the Smooshers are a talented group, creating wonderful pieces of jewelry art work that anyone would be proud to wear.

Mokume-Gane In Polymer Clay

Mokume-Gane is a mixed metal laminate with distinctive layered pattern, in which sheets of metal were stacked and heated to form strips that could be forged and carved to increase the pattern's complexity.  Developed in Japan in the 17th century. it was mostly used for sword fittings until a decline in the katana industry forced artisans proficient in this art into making purely decorative items.

The mokume-gane technique can be used with polymer clay.  The technique consists of different colored  sheets of clay that are stacked, then textured using a variety of tool and cutters.  The resulting block of clay is then thinly sliced to reveal the interesting pattern created.  These thinly sliced pieces can then be used as a veneer on any polymer clay piece that you choose. 

Another method is to roll out sheets of  different colors of polymer clay on the thickest setting of your pasta machine.  Then applying different materials, such as, gold or silver leaf, acrylic paints, mica powders, or alcohol based inks.  You let these applications dry, then press them together firmly and top the entire stack with an unpainted sheet or polymer clay.  Then you texture and slice the block, using the same method as mentioned above.

I've never had much luck at this technique.  I think I need a new and sharper clay blade to make it work but the following artists from the Polymer Clay Smooshers Guild on Art Fire have mastered this intricate technique.


 Greystone Pink Layered Polymer Clay Pendant Necklace by Art Asylum

Polymer Clay Mokume-Gane Pendant by Sharp Art By Dawna      

Stars and Asteroids Art Bracelet by Drunkenmimes

The Art Of Cane Work (Millefiore)

I have always been intrigued by those polymer clay pieces that use thin slices of a intricately crafted polymer clay canes.  The technique was originally used in making glass making and is called millefiori, which , in Italian, means thousand flowers.  Pieces of this detailed glass work have been dated to  ancient Roman, Phoenician, and Alexanderian times.  The technique was lost by the 18th century but rediscovered sometime in the 19th century.

I don't know who first tried to reproduce those beautiful glass beads using polymer clay, but they were a genius.  The process is long and involved, using rods of conditioned polymer clay in a myriad of shapes, round, square, triangular, and so on.  These rods are then wrapped with thin sheets of polymer clay and stacked together to form one unit.

Once the image is completed, the entire piece is rolled, squeezed and manipulated  until it is the desired size.  The messy ends are cut off to reveal a miniature masterpiece inside!  Then, thin slices are cut and applied to the base piece of polymer clay.

I've tried my hand at making some polymer clay canes.  I have never been too successful.  Most of the time my slices get distorted, smeared or are of varying thickness and are useless for the project I envisioned.   I keep trying, though, because I am fascinated by the process.

Some of the polymer clay artists from the Polymer Clay Smooshers Guild on Art Fire have mastered this difficult technique.  Below are some pieces from those talented artists.

This Flat Modcane Pendant by Dream Weaver's Designs  is a wonderful example of the intricate pattern you can achieve using a relatively simple cane.

This Set of Purple Flowers on Yellow Clay Beads by Blue Morning Expressions  show the delicate beauty of these purple flowers using this intricate cane.

This Black and White Wine Bottle Stopper by Amy Crawley is made with extruded clay.  I'm not quite sure how that works, I'll have to research it, but it produces a bold and striking pattern.

Another piece using the extruding method is this lovely Red and White Extruded Rounds Necklace by Flower Child's Artsy Jewelry

 

These gorgeous Green Web and Orange Tigerlily Focal Beads by Art Makers Worlds  use the traditional method of cane making.

The Black and White Zentangle Cuff Bracelet by Second Sister At Moark Jewelry  fascinates me.  I just recently discover the Zentangle method and I am itching to try it, both on paper and in clay.

After seeing all these wonderful items, I suggest that everyone run out, buy some clay and start smooshing!