Faux Rhodonite + Faux Chrysoprase Necklace from Polymer Clay

As I browsed through a “Fire Mountain Gems” catalog I was taken with the beauty of the gemstones Rhodonite and Chrysoprase.  I tried to recreate them in a faux version. The leaves, roses, and larger beads were all made from poly clay. The ladybugs were made from poly clay and acrylic paint.

Colour recipe:The faux chrysoprase is made from a formula containing  LOTS and LOTS of PREMO regular translucent  (not Frost, but the regular kind that plaques) with a tiny bit of green and and an even tinier bit of turquoise with some "inclusions" of frozen grated browns.  The Rhodonite is made from a formula containing  LOTS and LOTS of PREMO translucent with a  very small amount of alizarin crimson.

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.