Extruded Soutache Technique Part 1

OK. It's finally done.  Part 1 that is. I'll try to finish the rest this week end but no promises!

I would promise but who knows if Windows Live Movie Maker will play nice.  I spent hours editing Part 1 and when it was time to save it, it WOULDN'T!!. I kept getting an error message saying that there was a corrupt file!!! OMG, you have NO idea how frustrated I was.  Yikes. But I finally won in the end.  There are a few blips but nothing too major (i hope)

Using the extruder is soooo much fun.  When I extruded my first strands i fell in love AND I also came up with an idea for a beautiful bracelet.  Once this video tute is complete I'll go back and play with the bracelet some more and  share my results. 

Now available!

The last 3 of the All-In-One CaBezel designs have arrived! 

Just some ideas of what I've done with them so far:

As always, my molds are available at Shades of Clay 

Scroll waaay down to find the new designs.

Don't forget that I'd love to see what you've done with my molds or textures. email me here with your pics!

Polymer Cafe on stands now!

The latest issue of PolymerCAFE is on the stands now!

Check it out for lots of inspiration!
You can see my tutorial on how to make "Caned Bezels" too!

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.