Valentine's Day Necklace from Polymer Clay

I wanted to capture the romanticism of the vintage Victorian Valentine’s Day cards I loved as a child. The white “collar” part was made from a very thin sheet of Kato Pearl poly clay and constructed in five individual pieces attached together with “articulated joints” so that it’s flexible and moves with the wearer rather than being stiff and bulky. It was impressed with a texture sheet made from a rubber stamped doily design. The leaves and roses were molded from PREMO poly clay and accented with gold “Rub ‘n Buff”. The edges of the doily were accented with a Krylon gold leafing pen. The collar was then loosely tacked (hand-sewn) to a backing made from sewn macramé cording to give it more strength. The ladybugs were made from PC and acrylic paint.

Embroidered skirt with Necklace from Polymer Clay

I re-constructed a lovely vintage black embroidered circle skirt (probably  from the 50's) that I  had purchased and then set out to see if I could recreate the vintage embroidery design in a polymer clay necklace to wear with the skirt to complete the ensemble.

The necklace is constructed of various PREMO polymer clay floral components attached to a base of hand-sewn macramé cording. The ladybugs are made of PC and acrylic paint. By command performance after the fact (thanks Cat and Sue C) here's a photo of the ensemble together.

To read a post about a pink poppies floral necklace that was also inspired by vintage fabric please click.

Faux Wood Necklace from Polymer Clay

This was indirectly inspired by a Navajo Squash Blossom Necklace. Faux Wood is a mixture of Sculpey Ultralight and PREMO polymer clays. Beads are made of the same clay mix, cured, dipped in Crafter's Ink and then embossing powder and heated with a crafter's heat gun.

Cottonwood Leaf Necklace from Polymer Clay

We recently moved to Cottonwood, AZ and this is my tribute. Thin layers of a mix of Kato Liquid Polymer Clay, Pearl Ex and Genesis heat set oil paints were applied to cured PREMO poly clay leaves. Each layer is set individually with a crafter's heat gun. Veins are individual tiny lengths of 24-26 gauge brass wire laid onto 1st liquid PC layer. 4 coats of glossy Varathane were applied with a slightly moistened makeup sponge. Ladybugs are made made from PC and painted with acrylics.

For an updated post on this necklace when it was featured in "PolymerCafe" Magazine Cottonwood Leaf Necklace.

This shimmering and sunny necklace has been newly re-designed and is available for sale at my on-line shop
MelodyODesigns at ArtFire.  There will also be matching dangling pierced earrings available just as soon as the special surgical steel earwires I ordered arrive, sometime around July 2, 2012.

Mosaic for CD cover from Polymer Clay

My husband is a composer and he asked me to create an album cover for his new CD entitled "Mosaic"- music for piccolo. I decided I wanted to create an "anatomically correct" piccolo in handmade polymer clay mosaic, so I sat in rehearsal one night and sketched my section-mate's piccolo during the rests. In order to facilitate my visualization of the actual scale size needed for the eventual CD cover I worked on the mosaic almost at final scale using a 6" unglazed terracotta tile as the base. Those are mighty tiny pieces! The CD has been released and I sent the original mosaic to the piccolo player who recorded the CD as a surprise gift.

Holiday Bauble Necklace from Polymer Clay

A little late in the season to be posting this, or else VERY early. It was inspired by festive holiday ornaments, but I wanted to make the colors such that it could be worn all year. The balls are made from cured "Ultralight" poly clay painted with a mixture of Lumiere paints, Jacquard Colorless Extender, Pearl Ex, and Varathane and are attached to a triangular base made of crocheted gold crochet thread stiffened by being glued to a sheet of PC of the same size. This piece was featured at "Polymer Clay Daily"

http://polymerclaydaily.com/2010/01/20/seeing-spots-brandon-and-bohmer/

Sunflower Collar Necklace

I've always loved sunflowers. We used to grow many kinds in our garden and their sunny faces never fail to make me smile. I thought it would be fun to create a sunflower collar-type necklace that would make the wearer's face into the sunflower's "face".

The petals were made from PREMO poly clay using a mold for the veining I made from real flower petals. The cured petals were antiqued with acrylic paint to accent the veins and were attached to a base of hand-sewn macramé cord. The seeds were made from a PC cane. The ladybugs are made from PC and acrylic paint. 

You might also enjoy viewing my  

Sunflower Pendant Necklace

Crazy Kitty Necklace

Kitty's face was adapted from a polymer clay cane by PC artist Susan Turney. The body was made from Kato poly clay and is decorated with various tiny cane slices. The leaves are slices of Skinner Blend green to yellow bull's eye cane shaped in a various molds. All components are attached to a collar necklace base of of hand-sewn macramé cord.

EDITED April, 26, 2012 The kitty above is the first generation of kitty pendants and necklaces.
To see the TRANSFORMATON of the newer generations, please click below:
2nd generation Orange Cat
2.5 generation Black and White Cat
3rd generation Halloween Cat
3.5 generation Crazy Cat in Garden Necklace
4th generation Christmas Cats/Angel Cats

Kokopelli Necklace from Polymer Clay

This necklace was made as a gift for an Arizona flutist who loves the Kokopelli image. The pendant was made with PREMO poly clay, cured and wet sanded on a piece of flat glass till totally flat. Then the image was rubber stamped and overpainted with  "Brilliance" brand archival pigment graphite black ink. I wanted to create an "ethnic" primitive look so the design on the cured white beads was made by using a Speedball linoleum cutter with #2 V-gouge blade (a process which ended up requiring small plastic bandages on several fingers). The designs were antiqued with a mix of black acrylic paint and a little Varathane.

This particular pendant is no longer for sale, but I do have several other forms of Kokopelli for sale at my online Etsy shop including a necklace that incorporates a small amount of real Sedona Red Rock into the design and a hanging holiday ornament. Please check out: MelodyODesignsatEtsy

Hot Air Balloons from Polymer Clay

I was playing in a backup orchestra for the popular 70's pop group "5th Dimension" who had a hit song called "Up, UP, and Away" and they were using a hot air balloon as their promo logo for that particular concert tour. I thought it would be fun to create some hot air balloon pendants to wear to rehearsals and a black and white one to wear with regulation black orchestra garb. They are all made from polymer clay and there is a little "woven" wicker basket at the bottom to ride in. 

Site Under Construction

My PC goal for the New Year was to get all of my things photographed and to set up a website. Our labor of love is commencing. Please check back to see how we are progressing. Thanks to all the kind folk who have offered advice.