Polymeri Online 11.8.12 | Polymer and mosaics, Silver and polymer, Incense stick holder and Child head tutorial

This week I decided to dig into my list and feature some of the older fav I've bookmarked myself to post here, this list contains all my future posts and is being collected slowly with every polymer piece I see online -

Polymer Clay and Mosaic

Nataly is a mosaic artist born in Russia but currently lives in Israel.
All crafts and mosaics helps her unwind from her work as a neuroscientist in the hospital research laboratory. She started to create as a way to lose weight, because she wasn't able eat in evening as part of her diet. Mosaic helped her.
As a neuroscientist she knows that creating has so many good health effects and this is also part of the reasons to keep doing it.
Nataly's work is usually created using small stones, mosaic/glass tiles but occasionally she uses polymer clay as a free form decoration along with all other tiles.
In this piece - a tree in bloom, she used mosaic tiles, small stones, glass beads and polymer clay. It was made as a 72 birthday present for her mother.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/45526512@N07/4376852162/
Check out her fish clock using organic glass base, decorated with mosaic and air-dry clay.

Polymer Clay and Silver Brooch

Krista Breckman works with silver, copper, metals and.. polymer clay.
Her work with polymer includes techniques like mokume gane and  metal leaf and the addition of silver bordering makes it so elegant.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kristakile/3044266127/

Polymer Clay Incense Stick Holder - Prince Frog

Italian Leila Bidler made a super cuter incense stick holder for a swap back in 2009, the swap theme was fairy tales and she decided to create a frog prince with a golden ball.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gom6699/4183808471/
A incense burner is super easy to make, all you have to do is find your main piece and pierce a hole for the stick (make sure it is far enough from the clay to avoid polymer burning).

Glow in the dark Incense Holder

Here is another example by RedPebbleArt (Valerie Marousek) - A lotus burner made with glow in the dark fimo which is great for the total atmosphere.
http://www.etsy.com/listing/80077300/glowing-water-and-lotus-incense-burner

Polymer Clay Tutorial -
Sculpting a Child Head

Sculpturing was never my strong point, therefore I admire every person who has a talent for this part of art, Lewis Goldstein posted a tutorial for sculpturing a polymer clay child head. After taking a look at the photos, I think I can do it too. Looks so easy when you see all the steps - right?
More of his(her?) work and gallery - here
http://www.lewisgoldsteinartanddesign.com/DollTutorial.htm

Have a great weekend! 

Join my classes on CFCF Conference | Feb 2013, Maryland USA

One of my favorite ways to kick start my creativity is by meeting people. 

There’s nothing like the power and support of a group and fellow artists to enhance creativity, tips sharing, revealing new secrets and brain storming about polymer clay crafting.

Cabin Fever Clay Festival 2013 will be our special opportunity to meet.

I'm coming all the way from Israel to Maryland, on February 2013 to teach 2 special classes and share my knowledge with you.
I would love to meet you there!
We may have a chance to share a cup of coffee!

What is "Cabin Fever Clay Festival"?
Cabin Fever Clay Festival (in short, CFCF) is the most comprehensive hands on conference for polymer clay in the US east coast, takes place annually in Laurel, MD.
This is it's 6th year and the conference is one of the biggest seen!

CFCF 2013 will take place on Feb 15th - PreConference workshops and Feb 17th-20th Main Conference - This event hosts a great selection of polymer clay artists offering intriguing classes in many fields.

Following by the increasing demand for unique hands on technique classes, I am exited to offer CFCF students a fresh breeze of workshops with new, original, popular and exciting projects & designs - The Skyscraper Technique in a 8 hours master-class and The Brocade Hemisphere Purses in a 4 hours class.

These leading projects were featured at Staedtler's FIMO "CreativeWorld" trade show in Germany; on "ThePolymerArts" magazine cover and on various books and websites, based on my top sellers tutorials and brought especially to you for CFCF.

My workshops on CFCF 2013 will feature learning and implementation, knowledge and creation of a final product - Brocade Hemisphere purse, Skyscraper pendants and DiscChic earrings, a real treat and an amazing project to brag about once you return home!

So - Clean up your pasta machine, sharp your blades and get ready for 5 amazing days of learning, improving, enhancing, refining and elevating your polymer skills! 

In my classes, each student will receive a special BONUS CD as handsouts portraying these techniques, including PDF files and videos to watch again any time in the future.

So, what will you get when you come to CFCF 2013?
You'll ask your questions, directly;
You'll learn all the little (and big) secrets & details to create a professional piece;
You'll enhance your techniques & abilities;
You'll go through all the steps in a super detailed process;
You'll experiment with new materials you haven't used before;
You'll create mixed media designs;
You'll review alternative variations for each design;
You'll finish your workshop with a finalized project;
AND you'll be able to brag to your friends when you return home!

Enroll now!
Give yourself a gift of creativity, boost your polymer clay skills with innovative techniques to create endless variations, meet new friends and colleagues, discuss polymer clay 24/7 -

Join CFCF conference by clicking the following link -
http://polymerclayfests.wordpress.com/2012/07/29/cfcf-2013-planning-for-another-year-of-talent-and-fun/

Places are limited and filling up quickly!

=========================

My classes schedule on CFCF 2013

On Sunday, Feb 17th 8:00AM
Pre-conference 8 hour class - The Skyscraper technique and Flakes Technique;
Students will create a Skyscraper pendant and use my popular DiscChic blanks to create an earring set.


On Monday Feb 18th 1:00PM
or
On Wednesday Feb 20th 8:00AM
Conference 4 hour class - The Brocade Hemisphere purses;
Students will create a Brocade Hemisphere purse from start to finish.

=========================

All the details, registration forms, classes description and general information can be found at the event website - http://polymerclayfests.wordpress.com/2012/07/29/cfcf-2013-planning-for-another-year-of-talent-and-fun/
You can join the blog mailing list to be informed of our special announcements, gifts and prizes for the attendees.

Feel free to email me with any question, thought or comment to imishly{at}gmail.com

Hope to see you there!
Iris :)

Polymeri Online 29.7.12 | Polymer IPOD case, Mokume on glass, Poinsettia and flowers, Before and after paintings

Polymer clay ipod case

Eten-Iren, mentioned several months ago made this colorful ipod case on a base plastic case - isn't this cool? I wonder if she made the roses, cured and then adhered them to the base case or placed it in the oven? I'll have to try curing some plastic cases and see if they are heat resistant :)
http://www.etsy.com/listing/104768347/ipod-touch-4-case-free-shipping-ipod-4

Mokume gane on glass

Mokume on a glass - Larissa Joonas from Estonia is using a glass as a surface for "shaving" off the mokume gane pieces. That is one option for creating this special effect.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/eutrapelia/7396278886/
She has several pictutorials in her flickr gallery -
http://www.flickr.com/photos/eutrapelia/sets/72157620458176437/

Polymer clay flower sculpturing

Liudmyla Heggland is a bead and polymer clay artist, creating flowers seems to be a natural talent of hers, here is a yellow poinsettia brooch and another flowery neck-piece, this necklace won 2nd place on 2010 Fire Mountain Gems contest.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mila-heggland/5251998374/

Polymer clay jewelry with paints - Before and after

Adding acrylic/oil paints to a texture can upgrade any design. Take a look at ToutEnCouleur before and after photos: a dots texture with paints addition.

Here is the "before" - http://www.flickr.com/photos/toutencouleur/4236945660/in/set-72157622994730063/
and "after" -http://www.flickr.com/photos/toutencouleur/4236168315/in/set-72157622994730063/
She is working with polymer, resin, paper and carton, I also liked her tourbillons beads, they remind me of flying skirts...

Everyone is talking about the heat all around, I am officially waiting for the winter, I think the clay will also appreciate it, have a great cool day!

Polymeri Online 21.7.12 | Fantasy dolls, Creepy wall art, Embroidery inspired brooch and Wedding cake replicas

Polymer clay doll

SandraArteagA is a spanish doll maker artist. Her dolls are not the traditional ones you would expect when thinking of a "doll", they are all born in Sandra's heart and have a fantasy character of their own. Each with it's own special  design.
Sandra's dolls are made of polymer clay or paper, dressed in fabrics and cloths.
In her polymer clay creations she sculpts over a strong armature covered with polyfil, allowing repositioning some parts of the body.
http://www.etsy.com/shop/SandraArteagA
http://sandra-arteaga-dolls.blogspot.com

Polymer clay creepy wall ornaments

CreepyStuff creates revamped weirdness, creatures, monsters & Halloween goodies. All their creepy witches, devils and zobmies are handmade without molds and are hand-painted. Halloween is getting closer!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/CREEPYSTUFF

Polymer clay embroidery brooch

And to a totally different look - The ClayLoft are a polymer clay sculpture shop dedicated to purposeful jewelry & colorful accessories. Their soft colors and pleasant designs are "an emotional eye therapy", here is one of them, a vintage embroidery inspired brooch.
http://www.etsy.com/shop/TheClayLoft

Polymer clay wedding cake replica

Jessieraye is a polymer miniature food expert, she can take a photo of your wedding cake and create a matching replica!
This is a wonderful wedding/anniversary gift :)
There is a LOT of sugar in Jessie's Etsy store, take a look around.
http://www.etsy.com/listing/95373590/your-own-custom-miniature-wedding-cake

Polymeri Online 15.7.12 | "Not for the serious" jewelry, Simple truths pendants, Millefiori house cane tutorial, Crochet cabochon and my new rug in process

Polymer clay "Flip my pages, Honey" Bookmark

Nelli Kivinen from Helsinki Finland says her jewelry are for the not so serious people, she creates a world of cute polymer clay animals - penguins, bears and other adorable animal earrings, she is also working with recycled paper.
Take a look at her polymer clay bookmark in a speech bubble comic geek text - "Flip my pages, Honey!"
http://www.etsy.com/shop/NellinShoppi

Polymer clay "Make a wish" pendants 

TesoriTrovati is the creator of "Simple truths" - pendants and charms carrying an inspiration message or an image. Something to think about when wearing.
I love inspirational quotes, they are all so touching and true :)
http://www.treasures-found.blogspot.co.il/p/simple-truths.html
You can see her process - working with white clay and painting with alcohol inks -
http://www.treasures-found.blogspot.co.il/2012/07/simple-truths-celebration.html
and her Flickr gallery - http://www.flickr.com/photos/tesoritrovatijewelry/

Polymer clay millefiori house cane tutorial 

This website was spotted at the Israeli guild website - A fun colorful and abstract house millefiori cane tutorial made into a beautiful bangle and pendant -
http://www.livemaster.ru/topic/93495-sostavlenie-risunka-iz-polimernoj-gliny?msec=1?

Polymer clay crochet pendants

Crochet cabochon in polymer! Pilar created a wonderful design using extruded strands wrapped around a polymer clay millefiori bead, how lovely!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/amatista/7378880288/

My crochet "sheet" rug

Speaking of crochet, I took several days off polymer to create a crocheted rug using old colorful bed sheets of mine, it's a fun project and everyone in the house is complaining about the noise I am making when tearing off the sheets into strands. These strands are connected into a big "sheet-yarn" ball and crocheted like regular yarn. I will keep you updated on my final project when I am finished.

Have a great week!

Polymeri Online 8.7.12 | DIY Millefiori Slicer, Glow in the dark house, Leather-Polymer cuff and Orchid flower tutorial

Millefiori Slicer!

I saw this upgraded cane slicer at Randee M Ketzel flickr, this is her solution for thin and stable millefiori slicing. 
According to her, this tool makes slicing a whole lot less effort, and much more consistent and your blade won't wobble. worth a try!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/8989180@N02/7178789968/

Polymer Clay House Brooches

Spanish megustafimo (Laura) posted a picture of her recent project -150 small, colorful brooches. The house windows are "glow in the dark" fimo.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/megustafimo/7500437692
You can get the idea of their size in this photo
b.t.w - Megusta in spanish means - I like :)
her blog - http://megustafimo.wordpress.com/
Here is another one of her posts creating Cala pins, shown here inside a plant pot, I am not sure if they are supposed to be cloth pins or pot decorations but it sure is a great idea to use it for both.
http://megustafimo.wordpress.com/2012/04/24/primavera-por-todos-lados/

Patty Barnes Polymer-Leather Cuff

I had to take a second look at Patty Barnes leather bracelet - Leather or polymer? checking the small indentations and faux zipper made me 99% certain it's polymer - what do you think?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pattybarnes/7510962882/
Then Patty posted this photo and I got my answer!

Polymer Clay Orchid Flower Tutorial

Here is a polymer orchid flower tutorial taken from Kutatic russion blog.
I liked the petal holders: rolling a stapled paper and placing under. Kutatic is mostly working with metal parts but posting about her polymer clay work from time to time.
http://kutatik.blogspot.co.il/2011/06/blog-post_29.html

Have a cool and nice day!

Polymeri Online 1.7.12 | Polymer clay fish ponds, Fun jewelry and accessories, Miniature 3D painting and Plant pot tutorial

Polymer Clay Fish Pond - Suzanne Baer

I have been seeing lot's of polymer clay fish ponds lately :)
Here is one by Suzanne Baer, according to her It is an underwater world inside a jar. It took quite a while to create but she enjoyed every minute.
This pond will be shown at an exhibit at the Drahtzug on September 6th 2012.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/seefeldsu/7421532428/

Polymer Clay Fish Pond - TinyStuff

TinyStuff also posted her polymer clay fish ponds in her flickr gallery, take a look at her cool looking polymer clay cuffs.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tinystuffs/sets/72157623362533263/with/5263006862/

Polymer SailBoat ribbon

Speaking of sea and fish ponds, Creashine store sure looks like a fun summer visit at the beach. The live colors, sailboat ribbons, seagull flying ring - so cute!
I love Stacey's use of the metal elements embedded in the clay!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/CreaShines

Miniature 3D Paintings

Sheryl Retener Contridas is the owner of "Sugared Lipz" creating small kawaii miniature painting and adorable accessories, these tiny creations always makes me wonder if these artists have a special pair of miniatures hands...
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sugared-Lipz/146530078766341

Polymer Clay Plant Pot Tutorial

Get your mellon scoop ready for another miniature project - a plant pot tutorial!
This cute decoration doesn't need too much space and will color your desk or shelf with a touch of nature :)
http://transientexpression.com/tutorial-tiny-polymer-clay-plant-pots/

Lot's of tutorials (most non polymer) are offered in Transientexpression blog.