Extruded Soutache

I'm having fun playing with the "Soutache" technique!

It  showed up in our polymer clay world recently and when I saw it i just knew that I had to experiment with the technique using the All-In-One molds,  The molds lend themselves beautifully to this technique.

Other than an a-i-o mold and your usual clay kit you just need an extruder and some seed beads!
It's so easy!



I used the "Ellipse" mold for this pendant. (i also threw in a "Mini" faux turquoise cabochon/bezel combo that i had lying around)
                               

            Watch for a "How to" video tutorial of how I made this one.

I web cam-ed the making of this  and as soon as I get around to editing it, i'll post the free video tut here and also on my YouTube channel.  (I guess now that I've said it out loud I better make it happen!)

The final 3 shapes in the All-In-One CaBezel mold series will be available very soon.

                                            Here's a sneak peek

"Crescendo"

"Crest"

     As always, you can find all of my products on-line at

 Shades of Clay.  

                    " Ellipse"

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Working with color

I finally have control over my clay!!

                color recipe  index cards 

Well OK, maybe not completely but I've at least tamed the color beast!

There has been a lot of talk lately on one of the polymer clay forums about getting our studios organized.  I recently spent over a week  purging my space. There's nothing like the beginning of the new school year for inspiring so many people to get organized and sorted.

 I was a doll maker before coming to polymer clay full time and even though i know that I will one day get back to using up some of my fabric stash for doll-making, I needed to let go of some things.  Luckily I have a great friend that was willing to take a lot of my stash off my hands( the rest of it went to Good Will).
I now had empty shelves in my workspace so I couldn't wait to get in  there and play.
But then all of this talk about getting organized had me wanting to get my clay stash in order as well  and I was suddenly reminded   that i indeed had a way to do that.

It was last February when i received a great tutorial from Carolyn Good of 2goodclaymates for doing just that.
I was thrilled when i first read through it but like many other things in my studio, it got buried and I just forgot about it.
I am happy (and proud) to say that this past week end i worked my way through most of the 61 page tutorial. I have almost all of the recipes made up and now I'm a changed woman!  No longer will i just rely on my few favourite colors. There will be a plan! (and a recipe!)

With this tutorial when you mix up a color, you use a round cutter to make a sample for your index cards.(i immediately placed the color in the appropriate spot on my  card so I wouldn't lose it.  When 2 cards were filled i baked the samples right ON the card.  When cool enough to handle I glued those suckers in place!)

I went one step further and  made myself a larger square sample as well. I wrote the color mix number on the square and placed it on a tile. When my tile got full i baked it. Now when i am trying to come up with a color scheme i can pour them out onto my table and see which colors prefer to play with each other that day!

I still need to do my Custom Color Wheel Charts but for now I'm sooo thrilled with what I have accomplished so far! Baby steps.
It really is a great tutorial. 

To find out all of the details go about Carolyn's Clay Color System go here.

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!