October 31, 2011 Happy Halloween

Handmade Halloween!

Desktop: October 30, 2011

I made the little faces and cured them. Now I'm trying another Christmas light design. I was thinking a Santa head but now I'm thinking about using the new canes I made, while watching Halloween shows! You can see a little of the new palette.

Desktop: October 29, 2011, Christmas polymer

I started to play with wrapping a light sheet of clay around the end of the bulb and a shaped paperclip as a hanger. I did wrap it and used enough clay to fashion a hanger of sorts. I pulled it apart because while it would hang securely, the whole thing was just too heavy. Back to the drawing board.

Here, I was getting a shot of the beads I had in progress and ended up with a shot of the Christmas light bulb cured. Still don't know how to hang it. Even wrapping wire around it seems visually clumsy. Maybe a cold solder technique? Anyway, I did fill the bead baking rack and ended up with Christmas colored lot of beads. They still need to be finished.

You can see the green beads w/ blue lines in the first set of beads. I really like the color. It was truly a break from the red and green palette I've been working with the last two days. I've started loading the baking rack with matching simple blue beads.

October 25, 2011: Desktop Figured It Out

I devised a make-shift stand to support the Christmas bulbs while I work on them. The gold face, leaf burst, blue bulb lost a little definition in the face while I worked on it. You can see the little face is a little flat in Sunday's post. I was thinking I would make some faces first and cure those to apply to the bulb and work around it. In the meantime I am using canes I have made for this Xmas season while I think about faces. Here you can see my progress on the bulb and the ingenious "stand". Why is it ingenious? Cause it works. :-) LOL

Desktop October 24, 2011

Spent the whole day on-line. Argh! Tomorrow in the studio!!! I did select work on etsy for a Craftcult Team Treasury. I like doing team treasuries, it helps me familiar with members. I usually look for the handemade...quality handmade if available. Handmade by the artists! http://www.etsy.com/treasury/NjgwMDM3MXw5NTY1NDAxMzA/craftcult-handmade-treasury

Desktop: October 23, 2011

I finished all the little Christmas polymer clay ideas I had floating around in my head. I have a few yet to tweak but I'm just done tweaking for a few days. I've been puttering around the house today. Y'know, clean a little this, put away that while I let ideas float through my mind. Did a little drawing before I experimented with the Christmas bulbs and polymer. Wasn't sure about any application or techniques, let alone if they bake. This is today's adventure. The polymer adhered perfectly to the surface of the bulbs. I can consider some more ideas. I wonder how I can hang them?

Desktop, October 21, 2011: Little Bottles!

The last two rainy days have been productive studio days, as you can see. Maybe a bit too engaging cause we're eating Mom's vegetable beef soup! I might take time out from my work table tomorrow to do the dishes and make home made drop biscuits to go with. I love big pots of soup or chili on rainy, chilly days. It's Octobery, right? Hope you like the new little bottles. I might not be done claying with little bottles, I have four more. They just walked into my studio the other day, go figure.

Desktop October 19 2011

Made another little bottle today. I have baked/cured all the previous projects and am ready to do a second round of building on those as bases. This is going to be a new experiment, adding embellishments that will require a second cure. I wanted to see how rich I could make this year's Christmas explorations. It's the jeweler in me from a past life that is wanting to gold leaf everything, literally. I'm thinking little gold oak leaves. I'm just going to go with the experimental embellishing and have fun with it.

Desktop: October 18, 2011

Having my second cup of coffee, studying yesterday's work. I've decided to cure the bottles before I add, if any, embellishments. I'm learning that I can add small details after the first cure (bake). We'll see how well that goes later today. I,also, want to do more with the big beads. The first round I finished all the detail on the beads. It worked fine but I want to try doing the extra work on a hard base instead of having to watch for every print I might leave working on an uncured base. I pulled two tube beads out of my "What am I gonna do with these?" stash. I'm considering cutting them up to string on a cord. Hence the bunch of red beads to match...a work in progress, I hope it's progress. LOL

Not the Desktop: October 16, 2011

Went to the mountains today! What a beautiful day!

Desktop: Oct. 15, 2011. Happy Birthday,Sweetheart!

I am whelmed thinking about my daughter today. If she was still alive she would be 40 years old. I really didn't understand how long I would miss her so deeply...everyday, 6 years later. Anyway, she would be into the birthday festivities, regardless. We loved having October be a birthday month AND Halloween. Best reason to decorate when the kids were home. So, since then, my definition of party has changed. Having said that, I have been having a grand ole time claying this evening. My work table shows the remnants of my poly clay adventure tonight. I decided to use the Christmas canes, featured recently, to cover a little glass bottle. I'll bake it tomorrow but, here's a peek. I think it's the "Angel Face Bottle"...just thinking.

Desktop: Mid Day, 10 13 2011

Stopping by to show off my new pasta machine, "Bertha". And, after taking stock of my packaged poly palette or the colors I have left in unopened 2oz. packages, I realize I have no Emerald Green. Oh, I have plenty of green, just no Christmas green. Placed an order for 3 packages of emerald green. :-)

Desktop Oct. 11, 2011

Today, I baked polymer clay. Figured out how to weight a jar with rocks to balance the ornaments in the oven. Had to take out the shelves and set the jar on the oven floor. I left the ornaments on the metal rods and standing like flowers in a vase. The armature beads barely but did fit on my bead rack. I, also, added a round "face" bead and an ACEO I made late last night to the baking process today. An ACEO is an artist trading card, an original piece of art the size of a playing card, 2 1/2" x 3 1/2". Now, that the curing, baking, is done I need to sort of digest these new objects. What do you think?

Desktop Oct. 10, 2011

I totally indulged today by using parts of all the new Christmas canes I made recently. I covered three glass ornaments I stashed last Christmas. They were getting dull with age.
Anyway, I thought I would share today's polymer covered ornaments before I bake them tomorrow. Just in case I burn them or they explode, I'll have a record of my efforts. LOL
Three Ornaments, Three Beads

Desktop Oct. 9, 2011

Worked on the two armature beads I made yesterday. I suppose they are done. Happy or not I just can't see them getting better. They remind me of the size and weight of tree seeds...like an avocado seed. I think I'll call them Christmas Tree Seeds. Could give my misguided experiments an umbrella identity. So this is "Christmas Tree Seed I and II. From my chaotic desktop comes the seeds. LOL

Desktop 10/8/2011

Today was a taking care of business day. I did manage to make another bead. I don't really like it and might have to let it sit...till I decide it's worth working on or experiment with it and bake it. Or both! I'll post that when I get my camera back from my son. LOL

I, also, took a quick look around my work space. Like I said claying is very absorbing. This blog, which I'm trying to make a habit to do, set my camera on a studio tour. What did I discover? I need more emerald green and I still have paper batiks to finish for Christmas. Okay, turn around, out of site, out of mind.

Desktop 10/7/2011

I've been online twice before and didn't get anything done. Better make a plan before I go to bed. Well, I'll sure think about it. LOL I clayed all day with my polymer. I get so mesmerized by it I get totally zoned out. It's like coming up for air to post tonight.

Anyway, I've been experimenting with something I read about, making an aluminum foil armature to cover with polymer clay. I started with a 5" piece of aluminum foil and crumpled it up, burnishing it into a tight, smooth ball. I pierced the center with a tiny dowel and proceeded to lightly cover the surface with an evenly applied thin sheet of white polymer. And happily got out all the Christmas canes I made yesterday! Here are my first two armature beads.

Desktop 10/6/2011

Stopped claying long enough to realize I was getting tuckered out. So, I took a moment to look at the days work. Started the day deconstructing my pasta machine. I won't go round anymore. It was a year old, inexpensive cause it was my first, I simply wore it down. Ordered a new one online, for $10 more dollars than the first. Will that last two years? I can hope, right?

I been making canes. I've been making canes, red, green, gold and white. Knowing exactly what I need made creating a variety of canes today was fun. Before I log out tonight I want to post my desktop and a detail of the millefiori cane line up.Posting by midnight. WooHoo!

What's up?

My work table is full of green, red, gold and white polymer scraps. Plenty of room for art and etsy. Made a sale...Christmas cards...so it's getting closer. I'm gonna go watch Ghost Adventures while I work with my polymer clay! That's right, livin' the dream! ;-)

Wrote this on FB tonight. "Been making red, green, gold and white millefiori canes most of the day. Having a great time. Busy little hands. I've got 7 wrapped in plastic wrap now. I'd take a picture but my son has my camera for a special dinner out. I want to stockpile Christmas theme canes so I can make ornaments for this years special gifts. Christmas 2011 item. I'm looking forward to getting started on the ornaments. Tic Toc."

Desktop 10/4/2011

I'm bored with the etsy routine. Y'know, Checking threads, circles, activity feed, forums, stats so, I am putting my necessaries for conducting etsy business in a compact pile over here. The worktable will now be the scene of Christmas making polymer cane building. Gotta start somewhere with the red, green and gold! I'm thinking about ornaments, even saved back a few from last years decorations. Clever girl, right?

Anyway, it's late. You can see Chelsey Lately playing in the background, and a screen shot of this blog. Yeah, this is spontaneous picture taking and posting here. Getting ready to go to bed and here is the state of the worktable tonight. Half polymer and half business.

New template

Finally figured out where my sidebar went...it disappeared when I switched to the new "Dynamic" layouts. Y'know, the "See our new...". Of course there is no way back to the old layout. Hrumph.

So until I get the opp to add a side bar my funky etsy gadget will be buried in posts. AARRRgh.

Sunday, Sunday

I've been trying to figure out how to turn my blog layout back the way it was before. As usual, I look to see what the new layouts are all about...not knowing I would lose the layout I had. So much for look and see, right? While I consider how to go about the fix I'm taking some time to work with my hands. Lately, all this computing has eliminated artwork and I'm jonesing for some pure studio time. Thought I would share the state of the work table with you.