Beads In Polymer Clay

Polymer Clay lends itself well to bead making.  From large and elaborate focal beads to the tiniest of beads, if you can envision it, you can create it from polymer clay.  the polymer clay artists from the Polymer Clay Smooshers Guild on Art Fire have mastered the art of bead making to the max.
Here are a few examples I found while perusing the Guild's list of artists.
Hope you find them as beautiful and breathtaking as I do.


Polymer Clay and Gemstone Necklace by Dragonfly Serenade

Pandora Style Jack-O-Lantern Beads by Just Jewelry by Joan

Pink Polymer Clay Tube Beads by Prescence 

Mystical Green and Purple Star Pendant by Drunkenmimes 

Green Translucent Web Beads by Art Maker's World

Pink Floweer Pillow Beads by Blue Morning Expressions

Sculpture In Polymer Clay

Polymer clay lends itself well to sculpting a variety of items.  I've never sculpted anything out of clay that needs a kiln to fire it, so I'm not sure how different that would be.  But I do know that for smaller items, like those below, polymer clay is a wonderful medium.

Polymer clay comes in a number of colors and can be easily mixed to get just the right shade.  It can also be fired in a oven over and over again so that you may add different elements to your sculpture.  It can be painted with acrylic paints, tinted with shiny mica powders, and antiqued to give it an aged look.  Then it can be wet sanded and buffed or coated with an acrylic sealer like Future floor wax to give it a nice shiny finish.

The artists below have obviously mastered the art of sculpting with polymer clay.  I've including there Art Fire shop link so that you may see other items by these talented people.
HarrisonHollowDesigns
Roly Poly Santa Ornament by Harrison Hollow Designs

QuernusCrafts
Teacher's Pet by Quernus Crafts

Kimi's Jewelry From The Heart
Bear With Blue Roses Necklace by Kimi's Jewelry From The Heart

Fantasy Clay
SteamPunk Dragon Pendant by Fantasy Clay

Art Vision
Sculptured Bird Necklace by Art Visions

Creative Critters
Ooak Lighted Pixie Oak Tree House by Creative Critters

Amazing Designs
Cymbidium Orchid Refrigerator Magnet by Amazing Designs

Amy Crawley
Grey Tabby Cat Ornament by Amy Crawley

Let's Welcome Autumn

After the horrendous summer, with scorching heat, debilitating drought, and hurricanes, I think almost everyone is ready for Autumn.

To me, Autumn conjures up visions of cool, crisp days, apple picking, the scent and sight of vibrantly colored leaves, and of course, Halloween!

I've searched through the Polymer Clay Smooshers Guild on Art Fire and found some amazing pieces that depict the essence of the Fall season.

This Golden Fall Leaf Necklace by Strange Whimsy 
evokes the golden colors of Autumn.

The Orange Clouds Cuff Bracelet by Valerie's Stuff
reminds me of the mountains in Fall.

Happy Jacko Halloween Tea Candle Holder by Harrison Hollow Designs
is perfect for my favorite holiday!

Fall Leaves Votive Candle Holder by KKSPolymerClyArt
is a gorgeous way to bright the glow of soft candlelight to your environment.

This Autumn Copper Necklace and Bracelet Set by Flower Child's Artsy Jewelry
is both dramatic and beautiful with it's vibrant copper and black coloring.

I could go on and on but I think I've chosen a good representation of what these amazing artists at the Smoosher's Guild can produce.

Have a Smooshers Halloween!

Mummy Pin by Fantasy ClayNow that that summer is coming to a close, my thoughts turn to Autumn.  The changing color of the leaves, the crisp bite to the air and, of course Halloween!

Halloween is my favorite holiday,  In pagan religions, it is the time when the this world and the next is thinnest, allowing departed spirits to visit this world.  for those that fear those spirits, mankind has come up with all kinds of spooky, scary items to scare the visiting spirits away.

Here are some of my favorites from the Polymer Clay Smooshers Guild on Art Fire.  Some are scary, some are cute and others are just plain goofy and make you laugh.

Hope you enjoy my choices.

Here's a pair of Skull and Crossbones Earrings from Michelle of Creative Critters.

This frighteningly adorable  Mummy Pin by Fantasy Clay 
makes me want to grab some old bedsheets and makes myself a mummy costume!

This spooky, funky Halloween Octopus by Creations-In-Clay
is a real imagination in its subject.

I thought it would be easier to find Halloween items from the Smooshers but I think I've chosen some fun and funky ones to highlight.

Goodsmith.com

So I joined a new selling site a while ago, Wyvern Designs on Goodsmith.com and finally set up my shop the other day.  I, also  list on Art Fire and I have an Etsy shop, although I've let everything expire there and I'm not sure if I'm going to keep my shop open.

Goodsmith.com is fairly new and there are still some bugs that need to be worked out, such as the fact that the photos of some product get cut off at odd places.
Niamh the Forest Fairie

The second photo in the listing is cut off at the head and the knees.  It makes it look like I'm selling doll body parts!

But they are working on a fix and they've posted some tips on how to deal with the photo problem until they they fix it.  

They seem very responsive to sellers needs and questions and hopefully the good communication will continue.

There are no listing fees and until sometime in 2013 the fee once you sell something is 2%.  It will go up to 2.5%  in 2013.

I would recommend this site, especially to those who want to try selling on line but don't have the cash to start their own website or pay a monthly fee.

http://www.artfire.com/ext/shop/studio/Wyverndesigns 

Caty Ann's Creation - Featured Artist

 Cathy of Caty Ann's Creations started designing jewelry for fun.  Her early pieces were mostly for herself, her sister and a few close friends.  Some time after beating stage III breast cancer, a friend sent her a link to her new website where she was selling her own handmade jewelry.

Cathy decided to do some research towards opening her own on line store.  After a week of research, she decided to market her designs on line.  She started with an Art Fire shop, then added Zibbet to her sales base.  After a few sales on her basic accounts, she upgraded her shop to premium and was on her way. 

 She recently added crochet items to her Zibbet shop as she recently rediscovered her love of crochet.

 I love these  Lollipop Swirl Earrings

Purse Charm

Luscious Lime Delight Also has a swirl element.  I'm sensing a trend here.

She also has a place to store your earrings.  Jewelry Frame

Besides Art Fire, she can be found here at her blog  Caty Ann's Creations

 Her website  Caty Ann's Creations

http://catyann43506.wordpress.com/

Swirls and Whirls in Polymer Clay

I love the swirl effect that you can get working in polymer clay.  I found a tutorial on line for making swirl lentil beads but, as my husband just installed a new operating system on the old PC, I lost all my bookmarks and, for the life of me, I can't remember who the author was.  I guess I'm having a "senior moment".

I have seen some wonderful swirl beads.  I haven't quite mastered the technique so that the beads come out as I expected every time.  But as we all know, when working with polymer clay, even "mistakes" can be beautiful.

Here is a gorgeous Swirl Necklace with Leaves and Flowers by Creative Sisters

 
Here's another pendant by Dream Weaver's Designs
This one reminds me of the vibrant color of Autumn leaves.

Here are some Iridescent Swirl beads by Prescence

This unique state shaped necklace by Harrison Hollow Designs
features stamped swirls on a Mississippi shaped sheet of clay.

Swirls in polymer clay are both versatile and lovely.  These are just a few of the examples I found while searching the Smooshers Guild on Art Fire.