My workspace and my new friend

When I first started my polymer clay journey I was working on the kitchen table. It was a pain having to get everything out and pack away again, often a few short hours later when my daughter was at preschool. Before the children were born I had a craft room, but it had become a playroom. Mention of the desire to move house so I could have a craft room again got my husband worried and we found a solution. We put my old craft bench back in the playroom with a set of shelves above and a chest of drawers below to store all my stuff. The kids don't mind because often they play clay with me!

Me and my children making polymer clay jewellery together

It is normally a chaos of half finished things and things I am not sure where to put, I am not the neatest person and I always seem to have something I just have to do which is more important than tidying up.Today I finally tidied up so I thought I had better take a picture quick before it gets messed up again! I still have a lot of organising to do of my jewellery making findings and beads etc but at least they are all in one place and tidied up. I will try and do some organising next week.

My work space - tidy for once!!

 If you look very carefully in the middle of the shelves is my new little friend (see him up close below). I have been admiring the cute creations of Quernus Crafts for some time, I couldn't take the cuteness any more and just had to buy myself one! I now have a little mouse to watch over me while I work, needless to say the children totally adore him too! Daisy likes to go and give him a kiss, so sweet (guess what she's going to get for her up coming birthday!)

My new little friend - made by Quernus Crafts 

Please feel free to pass on any tips about organising and keep your work space neat!

Latest pendant

I am getting ready for my next sale on Friday evening, in Fishponds. It's part of a foot pampering night organised by a friend of mine.

I will have some new jewellery to display including this pendant

New domed pendant on wire choker front

The back of the pendant

As you can see it has my new signature cane on, jewellery made from 1/2/11 will have it incorporated.

Birthday heart

We went out last night to celebrate one of my friends birthdays to an 80's club. I wanted to make her a funky piece of retro jewellery, which was why I started the whole rainbow thing but I couldn't show you this before in case she happened to read my blog.

So I have been meaning to try making hollow lentil beads but for some reason decided I was going to make a hollow heart. Probably not the most sensible idea as I have never tried the technique with the much more simple lentil shape but I like a challenge!

So I sculpted a heart shape from scrap clay to use as a mould.I then made some shells of scrap clay on the mould and joined them together incorporating a wire hanging loop - this is a hollow heart, curved on both sides

I made a sheet of patterned clay by cutting fairly thin slices from my funky rainbow striped jellyroll cane and laying them on a thin sheet of clay, you can just about see where I marked out roughly the size/shape I would need to cover the heart so I didn't waste to much cane.

I used another patterned sheet on the other side so it would be reversible. This photo was taken before I had smoothed the edge joins.

Here's the finished necklace! 

I was going to put it on a long black cord but just tried it on a choker and thought it looked cool so left it. It is rather large! It's 7cm wide by 8cm long! Being hollow it's not too heavy and when I tried it out found it comfortable to wear. I made the mould the size I wanted the heart but then made the shell from a thick sheet of clay and then covered it so it ended up a lot bigger (mental note to self remember a mould needs to be smaller next time!).

Happy Birthday Aly!

Choker necklaces and new pendants

Suddenly everywhere I look there are choker necklaces - and they look fab!  I wanted to make some but wasn't sure where to get them in the UK (did have a look on the bead supply websites but didn't find them).

At the London Polymer Clay Group meeting on Sunday, Rebecca Thickbroom  (who is one of the organisers of the Polymer, Pamper, Play event I am very much looking forward to!) showed some beautiful choker necklaces

Rebecca's beautiful choker pendants!

They were inspired by the amazing work of Helen Briel and made using one of her texture stamps

Even the back of Rebecca's pendants are beautiful!

Rebecca was able to tell me where she bought her wire chokers  in the UK and I ordered some.

So I was playing with my rainbow stripe jellyroll cane and planning on making a cabochon pendant with it. I decided to make a round one and use a large cane slice in the middle. I carefully firmed the first slice right in the middle and then looked at it and couldn't see how I could tidily cover the rest without any big black gaps or over lapping the middle slice, which I didn't want to do. And as happens with all the best pieces it just made itself.

 

 I loved the basic concept but was concerned with how I was going to sand it, I only wanted to sand the cane slice and I had smoothed it flush with the black. Also it was bulky - then I had a light bulb moment ;)

This is the first time I have used a light bulb to cure polymer clay in a dome shape, luckily I had put the last one that blew in my clay supplies for just such a moment (as you can see I was getting carried away with my rainbow jellyroll and signature canes)

So here is the end result of the lightweight pendant which drew inspiration from Rebecca's pendants above. I used a very similar textured back which is beautiful, professional looking and best of all doesn't need sanding - genius! Another opportunity to use my signature cane. I just love this, especially strung on the choker wire (so much easier than making up a cord like I normally do!).

I have a small sale in my local church hall (as part of a friends foot pampering night) next week and I shall be making some more along these lines to see if other people like them as much as me!

Phew! Think I am done for now. Thanks for sticking with it.
Cara x

(still not perfect but better photos at least)

Improved photographs - first stage

I am really proud of my latest jewellery and was thinking I must sort out the photographs show I can show you properly. Then today I was emailed some photographs by a friend to use on my blog (post coming soon), they are great photos and I just couldn't put them up against my poorly lit ones so the 'sorting out a photography set up' jumped up the to do list!

See why I need to sort it out...  Here's the rainbow owls photograph from yesterday, I took it on my work bench with my normal room lighting.

Original, just on my work bench, owl photo

Original photo cropped and colour adjusted in Picasa

I wanted to make a light box from a cardboard box (as demonstrated on Kate Tracton's Shibori Girl blog) but typically we don't seem to have any boxes kicking around today. Whilst researching how to set up jewellery photo shoots previous I seem to remember someone using a transparent plastic storage container so thought I would give that a go whilst I find a box.

I switched my usual light bulb to a full spectrum daylight bulb and tried lighting from the top.

Plastic box and daylight bulb lit from the top through the box

I thought it was quite good but my husband who is much more 'precise' than me pointed out that it was still dark at the bottom. So he adjusted the set up and...

Plastic box and daylight bulb light from the front photo - as shot!

Here's what the set up looked like

Better definitely but there is a bit of 'glare'. So my next step is to track down a suitable cardboard box to make a light box and another lamp (with daylight bulb of course) and try lighting from the side. So hopefully you will be enjoying some better photographs from now on.

Rainbow owl

Here's the first thing I have finished (because I don't sand them) with my funky rainbow jellyroll. This little owl has glow in the dark (fimo) eyes and a lovely rainbow tummy and one slightly long wonky ear - it's character of course! I think I might try and photograph my work and checking it before baking, it's amazing what you spot in a photograph that you don't always see in real life. Didn't notice his ear until now.

and have a quick look at his bottom, I am using my signature cane and I like it. I think I will be remaking an improved one with clearer flower sometime soon. 

I shall post some of my jewellery when I have sanded and strung it, hopefully in the next couple of days. I am going to move sorting out my photography set up nearer the top of my to do list so I can show you my work more clearly.

Thanks for stopping by

Cara

Rainbow stripe jellyroll cane

Rainbow stripe jellyroll cane
Originally uploaded by Cara Jane Contemporary Jewellery

I'm off to an 1980's nightclub with the girls at the weekend so I have been feeling rather retro. Time to go all rainbow!

I have a few special projects in mind, I'll share them with you soon