Orange Tabby Ginger Marmalade Tangerine Cat with Blue Morning Glory Collar Necklace

I just finished a new necklace featuring a light tangerine orange cat in a garden of blue Morning Glory flowers, leaves, buds and vines with ladybugs dancing on the leaves. As I was writing the listing and trying to figure out what color/breed to call the cat I started reading up on orange cats and the various names given to them. Who knew there were so many kinds and so many names for these gorgeous cats?

From what I've been able to figure out, it seems that the Orange Tabby cat can be any breed and has a coat that is considered reddish, yellowish or orangish. It's the tabby coat PATTERN of darker spots, blotches or stripes again light yellowish or orangish coat that causes them to be called Orange Tabby cats. They are most likely to be male, as there is average ratio of 80 males to 20 females. They are also known as Ginger cats or Marmalade cats, like the cat made famous in the Broadway show,  "Cats". Then there are also the sub-headings for the various specific patterns........but let's not go into that!

So, my cat isn't an Orange Tabby, Marmalade, OR a Ginger cat after all. Guess I'll just have to call her a rare Tangerine cat!

Edited: Sorry, she's currently sold out, but has lots of other friends available at MelodyODesigns at Etsy

Pink Poppy Polymer Clay Necklace and the fabric that inspired it

Pink Poppy and Monarch Butterfly Necklace inspired by Poppy floral designed fabric

I love to re-construct new clothing from vintage fabrics. I purchased a vintage dress in a VERY large size that was made from a lovely Pink Poppy and floral design fabric and re-made the fabric into a new skirt. Then I set out to try to capture the essence (though not the actual color palette) of the fabric's stunning floral design in PREMO poly clay.  Some of the flowers were tinted before curing with Sennelier and Unison artist's pastels that I made into powder by grating with a knife and were applied with a paintbrush. The ladybugs were made with PC and acrylic paint. Click to read info about the  caned Monarch butterfly

The individual components were attached to a collar base made from hand-sewn macramé cording.

Pink Poppy Floral Fabric that inspired the necklace

Pink Shirley Poppy from my garden that served as inspiration for the poppy on the necklace.

Entire Pink Poppy Ensemble

For a post about another necklace that was inspired by a textile, this time a vintage embroidered skirt, please click. Some of my other butterfly jewelry is available for sale at my online shop MelodyODesigns at Etsy

Monarch Butterfly with Blue Morning Glory Necklace from Polymer Clay

Monarch Butterfly and Blue Morning Glory Necklace is currently for sale at MelodyODesigns at Etsy 
(*October 27, 2015, SOLD OUT, Because of interest from customers I'm in the process of making a few new copies of this necklace to sell at my Etsy shop with the intention of having them finished and listed by the end of November, 2015. If you'd like to be notified when they are ready please send me an email. Contact info link located on main page "view my complete profile".)

I love Monarch butterflies and the blue Morning Glory is my very favorite flower in the morning garden. I wanted to make a necklace that would combine them both and capture the joy of my garden so that I could remember the beauty of my garden in the depths of Pennsylvania winters. The dancing ladybugs were added as a whimsical afterthought and have become my shop logo. The Morning Glories, Monarch butterflies, stems, buds, curliqued vining and ladybugs are all made from artist quality polymer clay.

The Monarch butterfly was made from thin slices of a polymer clay cane I constructed. Once cured, the butterfly wing slices were added to a body and applied to a thin aluminum backing allowing for the wings to be repositionable and making the butterfly seemed poised and ready for flight. Caning is a labor intensive construction technique borrowed from glassmaking similar to making jelly rolls, where colored rods of clay are laid horizontally forming a complex pattern from which a thin slice is cut allowing the pattern to be seen. 

           The raw un-reduced Monarch butterfly Cane

The flowers were tinted before curing with Sennelier artist's pastels made into powder by grating and pounding and were applied with a paintbrush. The veining on the leaves was made from molds I made from real leaves. The ladybugs were made with polymer clay, liquid polymer clay, and acrylic paint. The individual components are attached to a collar made from sewn macramé cording.

Please click to see a blog post of the Monarch Butterflies on an Autumn Leaf themed Necklace.