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

Halloween Black Cat Necklace to Brooch Jewelry from Polymer Clay

Of Halloween ghosts and goblins........ black and orange cats. Halloween merchandise in already in stores so I thought it was the perfect time to create an orange and black  Halloween cat pendant necklace that converts to a brooch. He's crafted from artist-quality polymer clay and decorated with *canes. His "cat like" eyes are made from a "brain cane" and he has brush bristle whiskers.  There is a innovative finding on the back that allows it to be worn as either a brooch or a pendant. His devilish smile reminds me a lot of one of our beloved black cats who used to take great delight in welcoming Trick or Treaters. The piece  was a featured item September 16, 2011 at CraftGossip.com 

*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.

Halloween Cat shown worn as a necklace pendant

Halloween Cat shown worn as a brooch

This Halloween Cat comes with clever finding that allows the piece to be converted from pendant necklace to brooch.

This versatile feline is also available as a magnet

                                  All the Halloween goodies are for sale at MelodyODesigns at Etsy

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.

Autumn Leaves Monarch Butterfly Necklace from Polymer Clay

Autumn Leaves, Monarch Butterfly and ladybug necklace from Polymer clay. 
This necklace currently for sale at MelodyODesigns at Etsy 

"Autumn, a second spring where every leaf is a flower." Albert Camus

I love to pick colorful autumn leaves to press, but the colors of THIS polyclay version will never fade. The leaves and acorns are made from PREMO polyclay using vein impressions made from real leaves and a mold made from a real acorn. The leaf color formulas contain some fluorescent clay to make the colors “pop”. All are tinted with a powder made from crushed soft artists pastels before curing. The butterfly wings were from studio made polymer clay canes*.

The  butterfly has a PC body, wire antennae, and seed bead eyes. The butterfly wings are attached to a  thin black butterfly-shaped aluminum sheet that allows the wings to be repositionable. The individual components are attached to a collar made from sewn macramé cording. The ladybugs were made using PC and acrylic paint. 

*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. See a photo of raw Monarch cane below. Each tiny component of the entire complex Monarch butterfly is made by laying individual long rods of clay lengthwise and bundling them together with other tiny rods, so the Monarch image you see is actually made up 100's of tiny rods of clay.

A special thanks to Leigh Ross who, with husband Stephen, runs the Delphi newsgroup PolymerClayCentral. Her excellent leaf tutorial originally inspired me to make polymer clay leaves many years ago and got me excited about working with PC. Her lovely work and wide body of  PC knowledge continue to educate and inspire new generations of PC fans.

The "made from scratch" caned Monarch Butterfly is adhered to a thin aluminum backing so that the wings can be repositioned.

Un-reduced Monarch cane  made from old  PREMO polyclay

           

The Monarchs have landed in Cottonwood!

To see the Monarch Butterflies on a Blue Morning Glory necklace please click here: