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!!!

Frame It

Here is a preview of the next CJM to be released soon.  It's called Frame It and it works along the same lines as Get To The Point! does. It should be available soon at Shadesofclay. I'll tell you more when it about it when it is.

Yummy! A different take on the CJM's

I just love seeing what others are doing with the CJM's! This pic was sent to me by Sylvia Rollins and I just love her interpretation of the cabezels. She has just started her own blog too.
You can take a look here.

Coming soon!

Here is a peek at one of the new shapes soon to be released! This is part of "3 Fab Focals" I'll let you know when the are available at Shades of Clay

If you are new to the CJM's you may find the instructions in this PDF helpful

Holy Cow! Where has January gone?

I don't know about you, but I'm having a difficult time believing that January is almost over! It seems like mere days ago that my family and I returned from a fabulous trip in the Riviera Maya!
The first image was taken from the beach front at the resort. The next photo is of the ruins of Tulum. We had a wonderful time.The food was amazing (it always is when someone else cooks it !) and the people were even better.
 I found myself  in vacation mode for at least a week after our return but then it was back to work as usual. Funny how when you're away there's always more than enough time for everything, but once you return home there's never enough time to get everything done.  I spent the first week of the new year just cleaning out my closets and getting rid of things that I haven't used in ages.  It seemed that I just needed to purge and un-clutter my space before I could be creative.  I re-decorated my computer room. I love the look of white painted furniture so that is what I finally have in there now.  Everything feels so much calmer now.  I had been avoiding my computer before but now I enjoy being in that space so I'm getting so much more accomplished now.  I finished one article for Polymer CAFE, (It will be in the April issue so I'll tell you more about it when the date gets closer.)  and I'm already working on another one. I may even be done before the actual deadline!! 
I'm not big on New Year's resolutions so the only one I made is to keep my work areas free of clutter.  I want to put things away as soon as I'm done working with them.  So far so good.   Oh, I guess there is one more resolution that I have made. I just haven't spoken it out loud yet. It is to be kinder and gentler to myself.  I'm finally starting to realize that I can't possibly do everything myself.  I'm a  bit of a control freak when it comes to doing most things, but now I realize that I'm the one that loses if I don't delegate.   I need to let go of some of the control.  Things might not get done exactly the way I'd like them to be but that's OK (at least that's' what I'm' telling myself) Yep, I'm finally realizing that if I spend so much damn time doing the things that just NEED to be done that there's not enough time for me to just enjoy.  Yep, this year I am go to try to enjoy the art of doing less. 
I really do enjoy simple things.  Like watching the flames in our fireplace and I enjoy lighting candles, curling up and reading a good book.  This year, I will feel less guilt about the "nothing" when I can actually accomplish the "nothing" if even for a moment.  Enjoy your life and all the little things that come with it.  So many of the simple things go unnoticed as we rush through our days to get to the destinations.  Enjoy the route that you take each day to get there.   I know that I'm going to try.  Ahhhhh, gentle is good.......