Sunday, May 27, 2012

Polymeri Online 27.5.12 | Mirror mirror, Miniature polymer art, Matching jewelry sets and Funky foam stamping


Iryna's Roses Mirror

Iryna (Eten-Iren) sinchuk creates romantic hair accessories using tiny polymer clay designs. Each rose, petal and flower is designed into a perfect final piece - in this case, a mirror.
Her work is so delicate and pleasant to the eye.

Miniature Polymer Clay Art by CartoLinda
Miniature art has always amazed me, how does someone uses his/her hands and fingers to work on these tiny tiny items?
CartoLinda's photostream is full of little flowers, charms, cakes and miniature food placed next to a cent to show how small they are. In this photo you can see one of her doll houses.

Isa's Matching Polymer Clay Jewelry and Outfit
Isa's french blog is something every fashion designer is heart and soul will relate to. She is all about matching her outfit and jewelry!
Every skirt/shirt/pants/dress she has (almost) gets the approproate attention with a perfect match of necklace, rings and earrings. Take a look at her posts, each one holds a new surprise :)

Funky Foam Polymer Clay Stamp by Grgalina
Grgalina is sharing with us an interesting lesson how to create a reverse stamp (raised) using funky foam and a rubber stamp.
The idea is to take the funky foam, heat it with a heat gun for 30 seconds and then stamp it with your stamp.
This may seem a shallow stamping, but according to her it is quite deep.
When finished you have a reversed stamp you can use on polymer clay.
She also tried the heating process with boiling water (careful!) and it turned out as well. She explained her process in detail on her blog, use a translator to read her entire post.
Another look at it can be seen here

Have a great weekend!

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Polymeri Online 17.5.12 | DIY Circles texture sheet, Poppies millefiori cane tutorial, Sunny pictorial tutorial and Copper patina meets polymer clay


Copper Patina meets polymer clay
Art Bliss Marilyn Girling explored many areas of mixed media, acrylics, colored pencil, bead work and more. In this link she is sharing with us the creation of a cigarette card (which I had to google to find out what they are!) using copper acrylic paints, black and patina. she uses tissue paper, sculpey and strong backing for this special effect.
http://lifeartcollide.blogspot.com/2011/06/copper-patina-meets-polymer-clay.html
Don't miss her polymer clay mosaic made in a hot humid day! I will be waiting for a humid day here to discover such an amazing piece on my studio wall :)
DIY Texture Sheets


Do-Yourself-Texture sheets - Italian artist Elisabetta used cut circles from one polymer clay sheet and placed them on a second sheet to create a cool texture sheet, inspired by Diffendaffer ideas.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hetheferes/6169378314
She has several more in this set, I also loved her totem inro
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hetheferes/5904508775

Poppies Millefiori Cane
The Polymer Clay Romania team published poppies cane tutorial in their blog, the original tutorial was published in kalinkapolinka website.
http://polymerclayro.blogspot.com/2011/06/tutorial-cane-mac-intermediate.html
You can find additional tutorials in their blog in this link -
http://polymerclayro.blogspot.com/p/tutoriale-si-cursuri.html

There is a passionate group of polymer clay girls team in Romania, I'd love to see more of their creations!
Ayarina's polymer clay buttons

Here is one I found - Ayarina's Etsy store with cute looking buttons!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/ayarina

Advanced Pendant Polymer Clay Tutorial
Another cool tutorial posted in the russian forum by Bobrotermit, photos only but you will see that it requires a lot of carving, back-filling and drilling to remove the un-wanted polymer clay.
A bit advanced but a challenge to understand how it is done using no text at all.
http://polymerclayfimo.livejournal.com/3779534.html 


My foot is healing well, now I can go back dancing in my studio! ;)


Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Polymeri Online 9.5.12 | Polymer clay jewelry, Bracelet mold casting, Translucent experiments and sleepless nights pendants



After a short break, we are back to PolymeriOnline links for this week -

I found a nice polymer PR in Hacklock blog - "featuring polymer clay as art". I loved Heather's comparison of children drawings vs. professional drawing, it is obviously the same with polymer clay, the more people realize this, the more our material upgrade it's position as an art medium and not a children material. http://hacklock.net/category/polymer-clay-artists/

Heather Blacklock Camera Pendants
You can see more of this Australian artist (Heather Blacklock) in her Etsy site
http://www.etsy.com/shop/hacklock

Del Moro Polymer Clay Jewelry
Among Meredith Dittmar, Shay Aaron miniatures and Pier Voulkus, she featured Del Moro which was featured here 4 years ago, He is a polymer clay designer, chemicist and technologist who works in various techniques and produce interesting designs you'd find yourself taking a 2nd look at. I specifically liked his polymer clay guitar collection.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30251473@N05/
You can find one of his tutorials in 2008's PolymeriOnline post -
http://img-fotki.yandex.ru/get/42/wrb.6/0_1d4d6_d0a7dcd1_orig

Polymer Clay - Mold Casting
Sweet Willow Designs's blog is full of useful tips and information.  She is creating mixed media jewelry and worked in many different mediums including paint, metal, fiber, fabric and what not. Her studio name, Sweet Willow Designs, is a nod to the many hours she spent under the willow tree in her grandparents' Haverhill, Massachusetts home.
I encourage you to take a look at her other posts, but chose this one to see her 2 steps bracelet mold making. I specifically liked her "saving material" tips on  placing a plug of scrap clay for the center of the bracelet to save on the amount of silicone rubber she'll need to use.
http://sweetwillowdesigns.blogspot.com/2010/01/experiment-resin-casting-part-1-making.html
http://sweetwillowdesigns.blogspot.com/2010/02/experiment-resin-casting-part-2-casting.html
And her Flickr gallery - http://www.flickr.com/photos/sweetwillowdesigns/

Garie Sim Transluecent Polymer Clay Experiments
Garie Sim shares with us his tips "how to improve the clarity of Translucent Liquid Sculpey (TLS)" adding unusual materials! clay softener?  Enamel Transparent Paints - Take a look.
http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/shop/clear_tls.htm

Marjana Polymer Clay Pendant
Last one for today is Marjana from Slovenia, her pendants caught my eye and when visiting her blog she tells us that they were a result of 3 sleepless nights (sick child) and when she decided to stay home (like a zombie), these were her new creations using paints, wood and fimo. I hope her child is feeling better :) I'd be happy to see more of her creations when everyone is healthy.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/48194773@N05/

http://vilinskisvet.blogspot.com/2012/04/prazniki.html



Speaking of health, not polymer clay related - after getting the beautiful Blurb photo album from our USA trip by the post messenger, (Blurb are great, b.t.w!), I was so busy looking at the photos while walking down the stairs that I.... fell. 
Lesson to be learned, don't look at photo albums when you go down your stairs.
Lucky me, I didn't break anything but now I am walking like a duck.

Sunday, May 6, 2012

Inspiring emails


From time to time I ask myself questions about my future as a polymer clay tutor.

These questions usually come when I am feeling overwhelmed by daily duties, missing some inspiration or just thinking what would life look like when I am 60 and my hands all wrinkled and won't look so great in my videos shoots... (please don't laugh) :)
When I  received Kathleen's touching letter, I knew I am on the right path.

Kathleen, one of my PolyPediaOnline students, wanted to share with me her story and struggle with polymer clay over the years, and how one of my classes "made a difference in her life" as she called it.


Here is a part of her email I wanted to share with you:

...." I have been a stagnant beginner in clay for a couple of years now, all my attempts at making polymer would end in disappointment.

All that I had gleaned in the last couple of years neither excited nor motivated me like your lesson's have. After no joy and so many failed attempts, I was near to giving up

I had seen your promo videos MANY times before but was certain they would be far too complicated & way beyond my meager skill set, so I continually passed them by.....but your never ending creativity & beautiful creations would beckon me, and I would come back time & again to ooohhhh & aaaahhhh over all your lovely creations & of course to see what new & exciting things you had dreamed up. 

It was your Skyscraper tuto that did it ~ one look at all that shimmer & glitter, and I was smitten........it was LOVE at first sight!
I had to try it, but we are on a very fixed income.
However as luck would have it, we received a very generous tax return, & my hubby said that I could have a portion of said tax return for "mad money".
He saw how happy your "Skyscraper" lesson made me, that he then allowed me to purchase several more of your tuto's.

Iris, your "Skyscraper" lesson went off without a hitch ~ I could not believe it!
My very first attempt was a success ~ Absolutely no disappointment, on the contrary nothing but bliss! It (I made your "Skyscraper" technique into a magnet for my first try!) came out Beautiful and Stunning ~ just as beautiful as your necklace...so much so that I could actually give the magnet as a gift (I sent it to my Sister! I was so happy & excited....I could not get that magnet wrapped up to post fast enough!)............and, I was so proud to be able to give my beloved Sister something beautiful that I made.

Kathleen's Magnet
So in the end, each tuto that I am so grateful to have purchased from you, I have understood. They make sense to me, and I am having such fun taking these lessons that you have so graciously taught to me, & then in turn create them into my own vision! 

Thank you also for offering these valuable lessons, Your tuto's are worth every penny & so much more, they are indeed priceless to me! I just wish there were more hours in the day, for it seems my work schedule (6 days a week) is never ending, and I have to steal away time to put your lessons into play.

I just had to thank you again for all you do ~ you have made such a difference in my life."

Kathleen H.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thank you so much, Kathleen, for your moving letter. I can not even express how this letter made me feel.
It gives me so much pleasure to see my students succeed and know that polymer clay and my classes gave them new energy, vitality and joy in their life.
Polymer clay made a difference in my life too.
If you ask me, After breathing, eating and sleeping it should be no. 4 in any list :)

I am taking this opportunity to thank all my students where ever they are, all around the globe, and "show off" their work, giving them the front row and credit for their hard work and creativity!
This post is for YOU!

Tanja Stump's brocade purse
First is Tanja Stump's brocade purse was presented in one of my blog posts in the past, a beautiful combination of technique and design. She has several more purses in her flickr gallery, you may want to take a look.

chicco47 Enchanted flower
Fimomaus Enchanted Garden Cane
Chicco47 also mentioned in my posts, along with her "mini competition" with Fimomaus entitled "who will be the first to create all canes from my enchanted garden tutorial" :)

Suzanne Baer Mosquito Necklace
Suzanne Baer made beautiful Mosquito jewelry with metal mesh, when we corresponded she mentioned that her country is so cold, no mosquitoes are around! lucky her! we've got plenty!

ranita2009 Backgroundless flower cane
Here is a photo of ranita2009's first backgroundless millefiori cane after following my tutorial. She said in her comment: "Now, I have so much respect and more appreciation for those that make millefiore canes. Sometimes, we don't appreciate all the time and effort that the person takes on making them." You are absolutely right, Ranita!

Montse Valle Brocade Collection Purse
singular1a1 - Montse Valle posted one of her brocade collection purses, made in various shapes, sizes and colors. She even made a flat plate/pendant out of the colored sheets!

bijoux cassandra SkyScraper Technique
bijoux cassandra also had great success in her first trial working with the skyscraper tutorial. Here are her first pendants using the technique.

PhiloKralen Brocade Purse
PhiloKralen sent along this photo of another brocade collection round purse made a little different, with millefiori bulzeye and spiral canes all over - every design is a hit with this project.

Angela Barenholtz Brocade Purse
Angela Barenholtz attended one of my "live" workshops in Israel and combined her mokume gane sheets in her purse. The result is wonderful.

Justin Conley Skyscraper Technique
Justin Conley shared the new beads (so many!) made in the Skyscraper technique on facebook, I am amazed by the productivity! wonderful!

Pascale Flores-Laurent Skyscraper Technique
Pascale Flores-Laurent from Belgium made a series of Skyscraper beads in vibrant colors and designs, I loved her focal bead necklace!

FloRaeMe (Joanna) Rose cane tutorial
UK FloRaeMe (Joanna) with her perfect rose cane tutorial, I feel like a proud mom! :)

Barbara's skyscraper bracelet
Barbara Poland-Waters posted a beautiful bracelet with the Skyscraper technique - http://flickr.com/photos/bdbear10/12727639155/


Eva Hartmann SeeThrough Technique
Last but not least, Eva Hartmann posted her "See-Through" Bracelet (or is it a napkin holder?) photo, what a wonderful addition to any collection!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/clay-variationen/5509008753/

I encourage all of you to send me photos of your creations, who knows, you might see them on my next post !:)

Take a cup of water, I hope you didn't dehydrate :)
Thank you for being here!