New Palomino horse necklace unveiled and Sedona Red Rock pendants get a new look

 

For several years I've been having fun making Sedona Southwestern jewelry and ornaments for my shops using a faux red rock polymer clay base that includes a bit of "magical" Sedona Red Rock Dirt in the mix. A customer (now an Internet friend) asked me to design a pendant to pay homage to her beloved Palomino horse, "Sunshine", and I thought it would be a great time to shake things up in the collection and update some of the pieces while I was at it. Out with the old and in with the new for 2014 (just a little bit early)!
 
My raised applique Southwestern Sedona faux Red Rock pendants are now shaped like a disc, measure 1/4" (6.3mm) thick and are a substantial 1 7/8 (4.7cm) in diameter.  They look a lot like real Red Rock. They now have an 8mm jump ring at the top that allows for the cord chain to be removed so one can substitute their own chain if they prefer. The entire Southwestern Sedona Ornament and Jewelry collection can be seen at MelodyODesigns at Etsy.

The following studio photos show some of the equipment and supplies I use to make the raised appliqued pieces. The photos show the older style of pendant. 

The value of Listening to Customers (and the customized softball jewelry market)

Listening to Customers can sure be well worth the time and effort! Earlier this year I designed a collection of baseball jewelry and softball jewelry with the "hook" that they could be special ordered with most colors of beads on the beaded chain and a fake scribbled player's "signature" to make them unique.

As I mentioned in a previous post on the softball jewelry, it was originally a softball mom who saw my baseball necklace and asked me if I could make a softball necklace version (i.e., 25% larger with Dayglo yellow softballs) who was responsible for inspiring me to design the softball collection.

Recently a prospective customer contacted me looking for an "economy version" of the softball necklace, something that would be affordable for the tweens/teens on their teams. That's how the new softball pendant necklace version came about. Then a prospective customer got in touch with me wanting to know if the softball pendant necklace could have his daughter's name written on it instead of the fake brand name I had used on the bat. I said, "sure, GREAT IDEA, thanks!" The very next day another prospective customer from a different selling venue contacted me wanting to know if a team name could be written on the bat instead.

Light bulb moments! People seem to like customized items with names, especially when they are to be given as gifts........and I think particularly if a child/teen is involved. There appears to be a market and it's not that hard to do with my trusty Sakura MicroPerm pen. No brainer, so I edited the softball listings at my shops to reflect the customized personal name or team name option for the bat.

I'm so grateful for the creativity and imagination that my customers share with me. THANKS!

Softball bats under construction

Varnished Softball bats on drying rack

The items in the baseball and softball jewelry collections are all available for sale at MelodyODesigns at Etsy

New Hound Dog Necklace joins the Cats and the angst of his prototype birthing process.

The various Hound Dog pieces are available for sale from MelodyODesigns at Etsy

A winsome French blue and lavender Hound Dog pendant necklace that converts to a brooch is the newest addition to our polymer clay jewelry menagerie. After making cat jewelry and ornaments for many years, it only seemed fair that the doggie segment of the population should be honored as well. I've tried numerous times over the years to make a dog companion for the kitties and had always failed before. I think that was because a cat is pretty much a cat, but there are so many breeds of dogs in all sizes and configurations it's hard to make a generic dog. What I did this time was to design a fantasy dog with no particular breed in mind and components of many breeds all mixed together to make him a real Heinz 57 special. What I ended up with was a French blue and lavender pup with long floppy ears, a big nose and a soulful expression that sort of looks like there might have been a bit of Hound, Beagle or Spaniel in his heritage. For some unknown reason, it seems to me that this dog loves jazz, eating hot dogs off the kitchen counter, the New York Yankees and of course, his new prospective owner. 

Hound Dog Pendant Necklace converts to a Brooch

He and I had a some quality time together getting to know each other during the two 15 hour days in my studio it took to design him and get him ready for production. In a discussion about inspiration someone recently asked me how long it usually takes me to complete a design from first kernel of an idea (or dream) into production and then into my shops. My answer, not really meant to be flip was, "As long is it takes to FINALLY get it right". The ideas usually come quite easily, but the technical demands of actually constructing the design can be very challenging. It's frequently an extremely time consuming process to overcome problems and make the design actually work. My mind can visualize things, but figuring out how to persuade the polymer clay to DO IT is an entirely different matter! I make numerous mock ups and samples........ and my trash can constantly filled and overflowing. I save my "almost" samples and give them to the Boy's and Girl's club arts and crafts program, so at least I don't feel like the "oops learning experiences" are totally wasted.

Some of the raw materials and tools needed to make Mr Hound Dog.

I mention the time it takes to go from idea, to prototype, to reality for several reasons. People trying their hand at using polymer clay for the first time often seem to get frustrated because they can't create what their mind "sees" on the first try. I think one of the most wonderful things about polymer clay is the versatility of medium, but that characteristic also makes for a wide learning curve. It can takes a lot of trial and error to learn to make the clay "comply",....... and even then its more like the artist learning to compromise and come to grips with accepting what the clay actually WANTS TO DO on its own and make it a collaborative effort instead.

Customers who see a completed item and price tag often have no idea how long it might initially have taken to design the item, or how many prototypes hit the trash along the way. That's one or the reasons I've started to include behind the scenes studio photos with many of my shop listings. I'd like to try to help educate the consumer who likes buying handmade, but may not understand why things may cost more than the mass produced "Made in China" competition.

Hound Doggie in beaded chain version

Angel Hound Dog Hanging Ornament

Happy Early Valentine's Day in Polymer Clay to Cat Lovers and a Tribute to Cats!

As an early Valentine's Day celebration today we are paying tribute to cats and their adoptive "parents". Many years ago when I designed the very first cat in my Cat Collection it was just a whimsical cat pendant necklace (no wings or halo) intended to pay tribute to all the cats and cat angels who were important members of our family over the years, especially the departed and much loved black cat named Stormy.

Stormy in mom's loving arms

Then, several years ago, I needed an angel for the top of a cat themed Christmas tree for our local animal shelter, so I embellished the existing at cat pendant necklace with wings and a halo and it become the prototype for the "Angel Cats" hanging ornaments that eventually became part of my Cat Collection. Since then I've been so gratified to find that Angel Cats have brought comfort to dozens of grieving "cat parents" who hang them as a remembrance of their beloved kitties who have passed over the Rainbow Bridge to Catnip Heaven. Customers have written that they have hung them on Christmas trees, on houseplants, in windows, suspended them over computers, hung them on special metal ornament stands on their desks and one was even included in a special "remembrance shrine", all in memory of their special feline friends and the love of their lives.

The following are three stories of my Angel Cats ornaments that I especially treasure; stories of REAL angel cats and their "people".

Bonnie shared her life with a VERY handsome gold tiger cat named Booboo who had been her best friend for almost 20 years. He talked to her non-stop all day, especially when Bonnie was talking on the phone trying to carry on a conversation.

He always had to sit on her desk whenever she was working on the computer and Booboo would hold Bonnie's thumb when she was using the mouse.

Bonnie adopted Booboo on Halloween and her Angel Cat ornament is symbolically black and orange. She handmade this lovely "remembrance shrine" for him from polymer clay, complete with his favorite rubber toy balls. If you look at the top right you'll see his Angel Cat.

Jay had a beloved cat and constant companion named Blackie. Jay was actually the person who bestowed the name of "Angel Cat" to the ornaments and he was the first person to request a custom made Angel Cat to honor his Blackie. His black and white Angel Cat is suspended over his desk where it grins at him constantly reminding him of his much loved departed companion who is now, "resting off the edge of the patio with a marker of an angel with a cat in her lap that says, "Always in our Hearts".

Of Blackie Jay writes, "Blackie would sleep beside me until he discovered my pillow. I had to buy king size pillows so he would be comfortable. Many times I would wake up with a paw on my face with him still sound asleep. If I was still sleeping when he got hungry in the morning(6AM), he would tap me on the cheek as if to say,"Wat cha gotta do to get some grub in this joint?Animal abuse. SPCA."After breakfast it was like, "Not bad if that was all you had." I still wake up sometimes and check the pillow to see where he is. He would sit behind my head on the recliner to watch TV. Many times he would put his paw on my shoulder or play with my ear. Got bored watching TV. I miss him so much. I'm glad he let me live with him. He's out of this life but still very much in my heart."

Sara designed and created this lovely Christmas tree decorated with different colors of Angel Cats for her sister who had recently lost two of her beloved cats. I was told that her sister liked it so much that, " She kept it on the whole time she was here." I can see why!

The Valentine Angel Cat hanging ornament and a Valentine Cat pendant necklace that converts to a brooch are both available for purchase at MelodyODesigns at Etsy

The angel cat ornament was featured at: Jillys Handmade Heaven

FYI: Our cat, Stormy, (pictured in my arms near the top of the blog post) wrote a book with assistance from my husband, Sy, called "Life Is a Hammock". All the profits from the book sales benefit the Kreutz Creek Library (PA) and the Adopt For Life Center for Animals in Cottonwood (AZ). It is illustrated with photo cartoons that make for delightful light reading and is the perfect gift for any animal lover. The book can be purchased at MelodyODesigns at Etsy


Sy has made the book available on consignment at cost to animal shelters around the country to use as a fundraiser. For information on the consignment program please click on Life is a Hammock and read the info down the right side of the home page.

Christmas Cat Jewelry and Ornaments from Polymer Clay and Studio Photos

Here in Arizona the temperature was over 100 F. until just a few days ago, but holiday merchandizing and gift buying have already started. So lately, being a cat lover,  I've been spending many hours in my own version of Santa's Workshop surrounded by hues of bright red and green as I designed the prototype pendants, brooches and tree ornaments for the our holiday Cat Collection. I thought it would be fun to show photos of my workshop as I unveil the photos of Mr. Christmas Cat, himself.

First I conditioned a whole lot of artist-quality polymer clay with a dead blow hammer and kept two pasta machines busy as I made a large selection of canes using different colors, and color combinations. Then the canes were then reduced to of variety of different diameters and shapes. Caning is a labor-intensive construction technique borrowed from glass making similar to making jellyrolls, 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 next step was slicing up a whole passel of thin cane slices cut with a tissue blade.

(My favorite tissue blades are those sold by Carolyn Stearns  at Carolyn's Clay Creations)

 

Then the body and head pieces were cut out of sheets of various clay thicknesses using an oak tag template and a craft knife. The body is 2 dimensional, but the head which is eventually attached to the body is gently coaxed into 3 dimensional features by the addition of tiny logs and balls of clay on the back side of the head. Then the contours of the face are gently sculpted with rubber shaping tools and fingers encased in rubber gloves.

I also use one of my favorite tools made from ball bearings glued to a piece of bamboo to help with the sculpting process. I use the 1/4" end to help with the eye sockets.

And now for the moment you've all been waiting for.........Drum roll please............ta da........here's Mr Christmas Cat. The version below is that of a pendant style necklace that easily converts to a brooch by removing the satin cord. He and his friends come with either a red or green body in various jewelry and Hanging Ornaments in several styles and  colors are now available for "adoption" and gift giving at MelodyODesigns at Etsy 

To read more about the making of the ornaments please click Ornament Blog Post

Mr. Green Christmas Cat

Worn as Brooch

Clever jewelry  finding that converts from pendant to brooch

Orange Cat Polymer Clay Pin Pendant Necklaces

 Orange Cat convertible pin pendant is my new ArtFire avatar.

 Introducing our colorful, cheerful, charming, polymer clay Mr. Orange  Cat who is proud to have been chosen as the avatar for our new ArtFire studio shop.  He and the other bright and cheerful cats in our Cat Collection  were created to celebrate the joys of being owned by a cat. Except for the realistic whiskers, all the components of the pieces were made using PREMO polymer clay. Cane slices were applied to the raw PC body before it was cured using Liquid PC. The whisker are from a "faux natural bristle" hair brush and were made by curing the face  with small wires in place (the relative diameter of the hair brush bristle). After curing, the wires were  removed and the bristle was glued in the tiny hole with a tiny dap of "Zap-A-Gap" cyanoacrylic glue. The cats eyes are made from a "brain cane" reduced to a very small size. They are made entirely from artist-quality polymer clay and have a clever finding on their backs that allows them to be converted from a pendant to a brooch by simply removing the silky rayon cord. Mr. Orange Cat will be hanging out  at ArtFire along with a bevy of other colorful feline sidekicks waiting to be adopted and is for Cat Collection. (EDITED: Mr Orange Cat and some of his friends now hang out at MelodyODesigns at Etsy)

Convertible pin to pendant shown from the back.

Black + white cat necklace made from Polymer Clay

Close up of Black and White kitty necklace made from Polymer Clay.

Black and White Cat with Czech bead chain necklace.

For much of my working life my wardrobe has been BORING regulation black orchestra garb, so  I decided that I needed to make a series of small discrete black and white jewelry pieces that I could get by with wearing to work without raising the ire of the "orchestra management wardrobe police". The necklace is made entirely from PREMO poly clay, except for the wirework connecting the PC beads. The iris edges are cut from a brain cane of greens/yellows, and fluorescent yellow that was reduced to a really dimension and the pupil is cut from Kato PM #8 or #9. It was inspired by the orchestra's delightful principal 'cellist who likes cats, jewelry, and the color black. The original protype necklace now resides with her. It is also a tribute to Stormy, our first Arizona cat (1968-1983), a stray who arrived smack in middle of a monsoon rainstorm while I was doing the laundry and announced in his piercing half Siamese voice, "Hi Mom, I'm home. What's for dinner?" 

My cat pin/pendants, magnets and ornaments are available for sale at: MelodyODesigns at Etsy 

Faux Talavera Pottery Frog Pendant from Polymer Clay

EDITED: A New updated version of this pendant with the frog on a lily pad is now available for sale. Please click here to read about it: Frog on lily pad

I fell in love with a 2 foot long vintage pottery frog from Talavera, Mexico the first time I saw him and he now lives on our back fence (shown below). His name is Raúl and he was the inspiration behind my 2 inch version. My mini frog (Raulito) was first sculpted in Kato polyclay and then a mold of the cured piece was made from "Amazing Mold Putty", a bakeable silicone-based molding compound. "Kato Liquid Polyclay" (Kato LPC) was poured into the mold to make the final frog. 

EDITED May 4, 2012: FYI both NEW formula Kato clay and NEW formula Kato Liquid Polyclay may no longer be compatible to use with Amazing Mold Putty. In my recent experiments/experience I have found that "Amazing Mold Putty" would not set up when creating molds from pieces that had been sculpted from Kato clay, but would set up when molding pieces made from PREMO. 

ALSO, I recently found that  new formula "Kato Liquid Polyclay" (well mixed) that was poured into molds made of "Amazing Mold Putty" consistently did not cure normally. They all cracked while still in the mold and were extremely fragile, even with samples cured at a variety of different temperatures (275-310F.) for up to 2 hours.  Mold pulls made with old formula "Kato Liquid Polclay" cured normally. I believe that the "new" formula "Kato Liquid Polyclay" can be identified by K1 or KL printed on the label located above the bar code. Mold pulls made from "Translucent Liquid Sculpey"(TLS) cured properly. 

*Note: I realize it is possible that I got a defective bottle  of NEW "Kato Liquid Polyclay". To be sure of the results , I will have to try identical  experiments with another unopened bottle, but the contents of my current bottle worked fine for other typical liquid clay applications

Once cured, the frog was painted with a mixture of 8 parts Kato LPC to 1 part "Genesis Heat Set Oil Paint" and dried to touch with a crafter's heat gun as I worked (not too close and continually moving the heat gun to prevent burning). Once painted,  PC appliques were added using the Kato LPC as "glue". Then the entire frog was cured (tented) for only 15 minutes at only 275F (to prevent browning of the light colors).

Two coats of Kato LPC were added to mimic ceramic glaze, each coat heat gunned, then oven cured, then heat gunned again.  Then three VERY THIN coats of glossy Varathane varnish were applied using a slightly moistened foam makeup sponge that had been dipped in water and then gently wrung out. Each Varathane coat was heat set at 205F. for 5 minutes.

The "rock" base was made with Sculpey "Utlralight" poly clay and covered with a thin veneer made from thin torn sheets of black PREMO (PM#3) with inclusions of grated transulucent and white PC and white embossing powder.  The raw clay was textured with very coarse sandpaper. Because of the light weight of the "Ultralight",  the entire piece only weights 2 1/2 oz, much to the surprise of people who pick it up.

Sunflower Pendant Necklace from Polymer Clay

The optimistic sunflower is one of my favorite flowers. This necklace was originally made as a gift for a friend who lost almost all her possessions when her house burned to the ground.  I wanted to make her something hopeful. It is handmade, entirely from PREMO polymer clay. 

 The pendant was constructed on a "sandwich" base made of two identical flat circular 1 1/4" diameter pieces of pieces of clay (a thickness of 5/64" or Atlas PM#4) containing portions of the broad ends of the three heart-shaped leafs to hold them in place.  A channel was formed formed horizontally between the two pieces near the top of the pendant to act as a channel for the stringing wire by curing the pendant base with a straight piece of 20 gauge wire that was coated with ArmorAll and to be removed after curing. The two pieces of the base "sandwich" were then "glued" together with liquid polyclay.

A petal shaped plug of golden yellow clay was hand-formed and then thin slices were cut off to create the petals. Once the raw petals were thinned at the tips, the characteristic sunflower veining was added by drawing them on with the tip of a piercing pin and the tips were pinched together they were added to the cured base.

Dozens of "Bulls-eye"canes were made of of browns and golden yellow and then reduced to tiny diameters. Once reduced, they were combined together making a round tubular cane to mimic the brown center of the sunflower which eventually becomes  the delicious sunflowers we love to eat. A thin slice of this “seed cane” was added to the center of the flower and the pendant was cured. The ladybugs were studio made with polymer clay and acrylic paint, dabbing on the tiny dots with a "used up" Micron .3 pen tip (and a 3X magnifier!)

 The handmade cobalt colored beads range in size from 4mm to 15mm. Some of them were appliqued with thin slices of a sunflower cane based on a design by Sue Heaser. The canes were meticulously smoothed onto the beads using a 1/4 inch acrylic rod. After curing, the beads were sanded through four grits of sandpaper, then two-part buffed and four coats of heat-set varnish were applied, all making for a shiny glass-like finish that mimics Italian Millefiori glass beads.

Copies of the newly re-designed necklace and matching earrings are available at my on-line shop, MelodyODesigns at ArtFire 

You might also enjoy viewing my Sunflower Collar Necklace.