Lampwork and Clay Blog Hop Reveal

My piece features the focal and glass beads from Pineridge, all other materials, I added.

The focal is triangular so I tried my hand at capturing this shape by embezzling it in seed beads

Since the bezel worked, I added the glass faceted beads and the gold tone metal circles

I wasn't certain what I was going to make with this, but then decided to make a brooch (I have never made a brooch before) so I chose this cream colored leather (which was soooo thick and a bit complicated to sew)

I finished it by lining it with amber colored rounds and glued on the pin back

Please check out the other participants of the blog hop, Enjoy!

Your hostess:  Lisa Lodge, A Grateful Artist

Mary Govaars, MLH Jewelry Designs

Melissa Trudinger, Bead Recipes

Kathy Zeigler Lindemer, Bay Moon Design

Laurie Vyselaar, Lefthand Jewelry

Annette Rivers, MamaOwl's Mess

Karin King, The Sparkle Things Blog

Shaiha Williams,   Shaiha's Ramblings

Mimi Gardner, Baubles, Beads and Other Curiosities

Dee Alcalde, Agape Creations Jewelry

Kay Thomerson, Kayz Kreationz

Karla Morgan, Texas Pepper Jams

Lori Jean Poppe, Lorillijean Creative Corner

Eleanor Burian Moore, The Charmed Life

Leah Mifflin Tees, My Beady Little Eyes

Terri Wlaschin, Dances in Fog

Sharyl McMillian-Nelson, Sharyl's Jewelry

Jo-Ann Woolverton, It's a Beadiful Creation

Veralynne Malone, Designed by Vera

Linda Aspenson Bergstrom, TBD

Toltec  Jewels, Jewel School Friends

Judy Turner, Silver Rains

Gloria Allen, Gloria Allen Designs

Kathleen Douglas, Washoe Kat's

Connie Tipton, TBD

Christie Searle Murrow, Charis Designs Jewelry

Andrea Glick-Zenith, ZenithJade Creations

Michele Dotson, Star Jewels

Chris Eisenberg, Wanderware

Jennifer Clifford, TBD

Kathleen Breeding, 99 Bottles of Beads on the Wall

Molly Alexander, Beautifully Broken Me

Loretta, Loretta's Boutique

Carolyn Lawson, Carolyns Creations

Shirley Moore, Beads and Bread

Bonnie Coursolle, Jasper's Gems

Alice Craddick, Alice's Beads and Baubles (reveal will be delayed a few days)

Polymer Clay Play (Pt. 2)

I normally bead and rarely play with clay, though I attempted some pieces months ago and blogged about it here. However, I must admit that I had to throw away ever single piece because the glaze I chose to use turned them into a sticky mess :-(

I was utterly disgusted and went back to beading away, but I continued to research polymer clay techniques.  One that intrigued me was the image transfer method.  There was a plethora of videos and tutorials on the internet and so I was finding it hard to pick which I would try first.  I happened upon a video on Michaels website and something about the process clicked.  First it seemed super easy and fool proof, having the least amount of steps to follow.  Second, the instructor is actually demonstrating the process and the video was clear and the steps were clearly demonstrated.  Third, the timing of the transfer was short, it took about 2-3 minutes and lastly, it worked perfectly and the instructor had samples of previous transfer s that were a few years old, so I understood this method to be trustworthy.

The video is located here but I have also included the video below:

I tried this tonight using this image 

Elizabeth Caffey painting

And this is the finished transfer:

I used translucent Premo clay and the process took 30 minutes (this includes 25 minutes of baking) so the transfer took about 5 minutes.  The edge at the bottom is a bit chipped, but this due to me scrapping a bit of paper off with my nail- directions clearly state to use a cotton ball, which I did for all but this one spot....

I plan to bezel around this with beads or clay so I will cover up the mishap, other than that, I am throughly satisfied with the outcome.

In addition to this, I also experimented with the Mokume Gane process. I used a few canes that i purchased and just played around.  I didn't go too crazy but I was pleased with what I created:

I stacked the slices and created a bit of a 3D effect on top

Again, I think I will most likely bezel around this piece

Polymer clay has definitely got my attention again and I am so excited to expand on this image transfer idea.  It should be noted that you can transfer black and white images and paint them so that will most likely be my next adventure.

What to do with all these patterns....

When I first started beading, I went on a pattern buying spree.  I accumulated patterns and until I reached quite a large number, I realized that I wasn't actually beading any of them.

So here is a simple warning for all the newbies, or even those that just accumulate patterns....STOP. There is no need to buy a pattern if you are not going to work on it right away.  It is the equivalent to buying a dress that you think you may wear in the future.  Or even better, for us beaders, it is like purchasing beads, just because they are pretty.

One reason for this warning is that normally you will gravitate to creating your own designs, faster than you think, and then you will not want to just settle on beading up the patterns of another designer. But don't let that deter you from using the pattens you have purchased, you can always tweak a pattern and make it your own, or simply add your own personal twist to a pattern. Of course you want to give credit where credit is due, so mention the original artist, even if they were just the source of inspiration.

Beading is a great hobby, but it is also a business and of course businesses want to make money. So there is an influx of supplies for us crafters and many of us accumulate more than we can create. 

One way I have decided to deal with this dilemma is to actually take some time off from purchasing and actually spend more time on using up the stock pile that has been building in my office.

Therefore, I am going through all my saved patterns and I am actually beading them up, and guess what, I am having a great time learning new techniques and there is a bit of satisfaction I gain from knowing that I have not wasted my money.

In addition, I am also putting a pause on purchasing supplies....so much easier said than done, however, I am determined to not turn into a bead hoarder. No disrespect to the bead hoarders out there, however, I am a true believer in limiting waste and one good way for me to do that is to use what I have.

With all that said, I would like to introduce another Heather Collin design that I beaded up using some fabulous beads in my collection.  It is called Persian Tiles and I made a bracelet and a pair of earrings.

Each tile had to be constructed separately and then joined together

Since I had a couple of tiles left over, I made the earrings

This was a great project to finish and again, I was really overjoyed that I was able to complete this pattern that I purchased so many months back.  I am now moving forward with another project "Knot of Hercules" which is working up quite fast, so I will be posting that soon enough. In the mean time, I am also working on kits that I have purchased and so I am beading my way through a Beads East kit as well.  

There is more than enough to keep me busy, and I can't wait to show off my diminished bead stock in the near future.

Remember, less is more, especially when it comes to consuming!