Carol Blackburn's Beaux Bangles Workshop

I have a very exciting time coming up. First of all we are off on a family holiday to Disney World in Florida (very exciting!!!) Then it's the Royal Wedding which I'm not really that excited about apart from the fact we get a lovely 4 day weekend and are off camping with friends. So I am afraid there will be little clay news for a while.

As if that wasn't enough excitement, in May,  in the same weekend I am catching up with my 2 best friends from school and attending Carol Blackburn's Beaux-Bangles workshop! The workshop has been arranged by the lovely Rebecca who was one of the organisers of Polymer, Pamper, Play so I am sure it will be superbly organised and I know Carol is a wonderful teacher.

hope you are all having fun too!

Cara

Tulips

 This one was a birthday present for my sister in law,  to go with the tiny tulip tile earrings she had bought from me already.

 And then I made a very simple tiny choker which was snapped up at my sale last Friday. Think I will have to make some more!

I've also had enquiries about making another set of cake forks, which I realise I haven't shown you, and worse I realise I didn't photograph! The first tulip set I made were for some dear friends who live in Holland as a wedding present and took hours so I am not quite sure about the price, I will have to make another one to work out the time it takes so I can cost them.

Monkey cake

My little girl was 5 today! Can't believe she's so old, I don't know where the last 5 years have gone!

She wanted a monkey hunting party so we had great fun at her party making binoculars from toilet rolls, hunting for monkeys (pictures of them only but that didn't seem to disappoint the children too much), finding sticks for a fire and toasting marshmallows.

Off course she had to have a monkey cake and as I was short of time at the end of the week (had 2 jewellery sales) decided to make a polymer clay monkey to go on top of a fairly plain cake (any excuse to play with clay!)

Here's the cake at the party

We sang Happy Birthday again to Daisy at home with what was left of the cake!

I was really pleased with how my monkey turned out, until I baked him. He's solid Kato clay and as I turned the oven on I realised I would of been better giving him a tin foil core or something similar as the clay was very thick! Needless to say he cracked. I was distraught until I stepped back and realised it didn't really show. I still think the cracking is often to do with lack of support but also wonder if it's to do with how on a thicker bit of clay the outside is cured whilst the inside is uncured still. Does the clay expand as it heats up or cures? Is the raw clay underneath cured clay too unstable to support it? Some more experimenting required I think as  I would really like to be able to be confident things won't crack!

Anyway hats of to those of you who sculpt with polymer clay - how on earth do you do it without squashing and disfiguring other bits all the time I don't know!

Feeling square

whilst at Polymer Pamper Play I made a square pendant and in one of those happy accident ways it came out of the oven slightly curved (it was baked on fibrefill). To start with I thought I might rebake it on a tile to flatten it then I realised that the curve was actually lovely. It gives it another dimension and means it sits nicely on the chest rather than sticking to you as a totally flat one might. Here it is

Slightly curved square pendant with the frayed demin pattern Carol Blackburn taught us.

I decided I wanted to replicate the curve but wanted to be able to control it rather than leave it to chance so I made myself a domed square curing block.

It seems to work, here are a couple of slightly curved square pendants

The black and white flower inspired by Toni's top again!

This one is in the colours from the Color Palette a Week group on flickr for week 10

The Color Palette a Week group week 10 palette is these lovely colours

I made my  items in the right week but didn't have time to sand and finish them. Here's the other piece I made

My almost entirely polymer braclet

I used the spare toggle set to make another new bracelet for me! There are some glass spacer beads, some tiger tail wire to hold it together and 2 crimp beads to fasten the tiger tail but the rest is polymer!

The discs are curved, partly to match the curve of the pendant with the same design and partly so that it fits the wrist better. I chose a cookie cutter that fitted over my hand and baked the discs on it. I then lay a sheet of clay on the back, cutting out 2 channels for the tiger tail wire and another sheet of black which I textured over that to enclose the channels.

It is very comfortable to wear, it's light and fits nicely, not too tight, not too loose. I think I shall be making some more like this!!

Polymer toggles

I have been thinking about making some polymer toggles for a long time now. I like toggle clasps I find them less fiddly than the lobster type clasps, especially for a bracelet when you only have one hand to do it up with!

I first thought about making them thinking about asymetric necklaces and using a decorative toggle as feature at the front of it, still haven't tried that yet but I will sometime!

I was asked by a friend who can't wear any metal to restring an 1930s necklace of her mothers so decided it would be the ideal time to try making a polymer toggle as it wouldn't cause her any problems.

The first set I made I made the bar too short and it fell out of the hole! So I made smaller ring and a longer bar and then had 2 pairs that work effectively (i.e. stay done up!). I made them so the tiger tail I was threading the necklace with would thread through them. I reinforced both the bar with a length of wire and the ring with a jump ring, on reflection I don't think the ring will need reinforcing. 

polymer toggle clasps

As you can see I textured them to save sanding ;) The necklace I was restringing is lovely and I have a half made polymer reproduction of it. Here is the restrung necklace - my only work in the addition of the seed beads to lengthen it and adding the polymer toggle. Not quite sure what the rest of the necklace is, to be honest it feels a lot like polymer clay but it's 80 years old and I am sure it wasn't invented then!

An old 1930's necklace, restrung and with a new polymer toggle.

New Jewellery designs being road tested

 These skinny bangles are designed to be worn together. They have been cured for an extended period to maximise their strength. I am waering them to make sure they are strong enough (it's a hard life the things you have to do ;)

off course I had to have a matching pendant!