Fleeting flowers of summer

The air is cooler at night now and the light is fading faster.  I can't believe that soon summer will be behind us.
I do love the summer.  Everything seems easier and more carefree. I could often be found sitting in my backyard under the gazebo working on my laptop. As much as I enjoyed my time outdoors, I can't help but hope that when fall is finally upon us I will find myself achieving more indoors and getting down to business.

The flowers in my garden may be disappearing but here are some flowers that I made with the "Petals" all-in-one CaBezel mold.

All of these were made using a base of white clay.After baking the clay I carved lines, added Piñata inks, carved some more and add more inks.  Very simple technique.

The Pixelated Retro Blend Cane

Wow!  A gorgeous and easy cane!
If you haven't seen Bettina Welker's tutorial for her retro cane yet, do yourself a favor and go take a look at it now by clicking here.
Last Friday I got together with some friends to enjoy a clay day.  We decided that we would make this cane.  I haven't done much of anything with my extruder yet, but on Friday I was having so much fun I made 4 different variations of Bettina's cane, (of course we stopped for a delicious lunch and a bottle of  wine in there somewhere. Claying makes you thirsty you know!)
Anyway, here are my versions.  I'm not sure what I'm going to use them for yet.  I'll show you when i have something made though.

Pendants and bracelets, oh my!

Susan White of Calgary has been busy creating with the CaBezel molds.

(The 3 Fab Focals 2 mold was used for these pendants)

 She has even incorporated the infamous "Stroppel Cane" into this pendant.  

Susan was generous enough to tell us how she made this faux metal cuff bracelet:
" The cuff bracelet is made over an aluminum blank.  I formed the outer layer with unbaked clay first then added the unbaked bezels to it.  I textured around them and baked.  Then inside of cuff was covered with clay, and baked. I covered the whole outside rim of the cuff with tls, and I used my extruder to get a narrow ribbon of clay. I make sure the ribbon is in good contact with the inner and outside clay layers, and bake. Then I filled the bezels with a veneer I had made, and did a final bake.  After sanding, I used a couple of colours of gilder's paste, was attempting to make the cuff look like hammered metal.  Not sure I succeeded, but was happy with the result."
(The Organic mold was used for the cuff)

I know that this one would look soooo good on my wrist!!!
(The Organics mold was used here)

She used leather cord for this one and knotted it in between.  What a great idea.
(Frame- It  was used for this bracelet)

Thanks Susan!!!!

  

Tips for other Guilder's Paste addicts

By now, those of you that read my blog know just how much I love using the Guilder's paste!
About the only thing i didn't like about them was having to open up the tin every time i want to see a colour.
Of course i have an idea of what each colour looks like (after reading the name on the tin), but i usually need to SEE the colour next to the project i'm working on before i can decide which colour i need.

That used to involve opening up several of the tins first but not anymore!

I had some small stickers laying around (probs from a dollar store), so i decided that i would rub each of the GP colours onto a sticker and then apply them to the top of tin.

Now when i'm choosing my colours, all i have to do is glance inside the drawer beside me and pick up the appropriate tins.
No more opening and closing!
You can get Guilder's Paste here.

                                                   This is a great waterless hand cleaner. I keep it next to me so that when all of my fingertips are covered with GP i can just squirt a bit onto the ends of my fingers and wipe it off with a cloth. It saves having to jump up and wash my hands several times during a working session. (besides, soap and water doesn't really remove the GP anyway).
It has a nice citrus smell to it and even though it says it contains natural ingredients  (i'm sure it also contains some not so healthy ones as well) it is a bit rough on your hands after a while so use it sparingly (it contains pumice).
 This stuff is also great when working with dirty old steel wire.  It takes the carbon right off my hands so that i don't make everything else that i touch black. (I think this big jug came from a Canadian Tire store.)

Awwwwww

 

I just couldn't resist sharing this cuteness!

Dragon's eye, Petals and Triad. They're here!

As promised, I have created some samples for you to see with the All-In-One CaBezel molds. 

All 3 of these new designs are available today at Shades of Clay. 

                              Dragon's Eye   

This shape has many possibilities as it can be used both horizontally and vertically. Think polished and elegant or magical, mythological and scaly. (Pair with "Entwined" texture stamp as both can have a scales and serpents theme). 

This cabochon is 2⅜" long and 1" wide. It sits inside a square customizable bezel. Outer dimensions of the square are 2½"x2½". 

The cabochon was made from white clay.  Once baked, I added some yellow Pinata ink. when it dried i applied liquid and re-baked it.  I usually use Kato liquid clay so as soon as it comes out of the oven i hit it with my heat gun until it is crystal clear.
The bezel was just scrap clay that i covered in Guilder's paste.  This time i mixed 2 colors together: Patina and Iris Blue.. I made the steel links and components myself.

                                 Triad 

This equilateral triangle has rounded corners to soften the look and make it more elegant. 

The height of the cabochon is 1½". It sits inside a square customizable bezel. Outer dimensions of the square are 2½"x2½"

I did a transfer on white clay for the cabochon.

For the bezel i kept it the full size. I used my "Entwined" texture stamp.

                                 Petals 

Who doesn't love flowers enough to have them around all year long? 

This cabochon measures 2" across at its widest point and sits inside a square customizable bezel that is 2½x2½"

I haven't had a chance to play with these too much so far but watch for some more ideas from me on how to use them!  OR even better, send me some pics of how YOU use them .  I'd love to put them on the blog.

Click here to see these and my other designs too.

My first tutorial is up on Etsy!

With so much to do and create around here I have totally ignored my Etsy shop. ( Ok, so it's been years since i've done anything with Etsy and even then i only listed a few items and i let them expire!)
 I hope to change all of that.  I got my mojo back and I'm raring to go!


I've just listed my first tutorial for sale and if all goes well, I may even start to list some of the jewelry I make as samples for the CaBezels.  A girl can only wear so much jewelry herself you know!


This Tutorial is called "Windows to my Soul" 
It uses scrap clay (of course!) combined with Viva Decor Inka Gold paints, Pinata inks and the Blocks and Dots CaBezel mold.

Take a peek!
https://www.etsy.com/listing/102792991/windows-to-my-soul-a-tutorial-using.

I have 2 more tutorials started, they are actually quite time consuming to create (ask my sister, she's the one that put it all together for me .  Thanks Sue!).  Hopefully I'll get them done sooner rather than later.
If you have any questions regarding the Tutorial feel free to email me here.