Monday, February 21, 2011

My two newest designs are finally here !!!

My two newest designs are finally here and available at Shades Of Clay.

The first new mold is called 3 Fab Focals. Pretty self explanatory I think.  These shapes look great on their own as a focal point or combine them with smaller beads as well.  If you are in to bead embroidery these cabochons would be a great jumping off point for you. (sighhhh, i wish I knew how to do that.)

I gave this bezel a bit of texture and then applied some silver pulver.


The other mold is called Frame It!
It was designed for creating tile bracelets just like Get To The Point!  I knew that once  I came up with a good design for a bracelet all I had to do was repeat it several times in a perfectly straight row. This means that the mold only has to be used twice to produced enough tiles (cabochons and bezels) to make a bracelet and because each tile is placed so close together it means less cutting too, therefore saving time and effort!


I used it here as a focal point in one of my grommet- bead collars.
These earrings were made without the bezel. So smooth and shiny.
I haven't had a chance to make a tile bracelet yet so this is as close as it gets for now. You can picture how a whole bracelet might look.  I do have lots of ideas. One of  my ideas is to use these frames to record some memories from our recent vacation in the Mayan Riviera.  I have a sister out in B.C. who loves to get my jewelry (does she have a choice??) so maybe I could choose a great scenic shot and turn it into a pendant for her. Or maybe transfer a picture of one her dogs onto the cab. She's crazy about her dogs!
I have also been thinking that this would be a great way to do a swap at a guild meeting or retreat. Let's say the workshop is on caning.  We know that everyone will use different colours and the results will be magical. A swap is often done. So why not have everyone make a specified number of Frame It! CaBezels and swap the finished product.  I know that i would love a bracelet or necklace where I could display other artist's work. 

This mold might also be a great way to display all of those favourite techniques that we learn over time.  How many workshops have you attended to learn something new?  How many of those techniques have you actually displayed in a finished piece?  (I'm guilty too)  I may just go and bake myself a series of Frame It! bezels. That way when I learn my next new technique or make my next cane I can immediately make a cabochon for one of my baked bezels and when I have enough different techniques gathered I'll turn them into a bracelet!!!