Changes

Chocolate Pansy Bracelet.......
as usual I have been very busy making pretty things... But there have also been some changes going on at Gingerbell's.

White Rose and Violets bracelet

Christmas Candle

One change I have made is that after much thinking and weighing my options I have closed both of my Etsy shops. They were beginning to cost me more time and money then I was willing to invest for the return I was getting.

However over the last few months I have made my Http://Gingerbells.artfire.com studio my main shop and the efforts are paying off ; I am happy with the gradual steady pace. I am confident now that Artfire is out of beta and with the great improvements they continue to implement things can only continue to get better.

Another thing that has changed is that 1000markets where I had a shop has sold to another online retailer Bonanza.com. At first I wasn't happy because I really loved 1000Markets and my studio there. I wasn't going to open a shop on the other venue but I changed my mind and opened a shop there this morning http://www.bonanza.com/booths/Gingerbells . I figured I'll give it 6 months and see how it goes, sometimes it's better to go with the flow then fight the waves. Check out my new booth and let me know what you think.

And lastly I have my annual 10 day show that I have been preparing for. So if you love craft shows come check out the Parke County Covered Bridge Festival in central Indiana. It's a great county wide festival with lots to see, do and eat.

Well it's back to the work table for me.......

How to make a cuff bracelet part 2

So I finished doing all the stitching on the front of the bracelet and I think it looks cute so far now it's time to put it all together.
I sandwiched the front ,brass cuff form and suede backing together then I stitched them all together with a picot edging stitch.

So here is a top view of finished cuff

side view

close up side view

and here is the glamor shot of the finished bracelet cuff. It measures 2 inches wide and is about 7 1/4 inches long it can be adjusted to fit most wrist sizes even my fat little wrist.
The center cabochon is polymer clay,the butterflies are enameled with Swarovski crystals. The rest of the beads are Japanese seed beads and Swarovski crystals. the sparkle is awesome to bad that doesn't show up well in photos.

Over all I am happy with the end result of course like any other "artist" I see lots of thing I would do differently.

So there ya go this is my entry for The Polymer Clay Smooshers flight theme challenge........What do you think?

How to make a cuff bracelet

I wanted to do a work in progress post for anyone interested in making a cuff bracelet or just wondered how they were made. I thought I'd show how I made one.

I am not a great planner when I make something; I am more of a design as I go kind of Gal.

Making the cabochon is my first step because everything is designed around it. I made this garden Cabochon with polymer clay and mounted it in the center of a strip of stiff interfacing that measures about 2 1/2 x 8 1/2 inches. While the glue dried I picked out the beads I wanted to use to stitch the bezel. Then I stitched the bezel using a peyote Stitch.


I began to embellish the cuff band with some cool accent beads I had in my bead stash. This bracelet is for The Polymer Clay Smooshers "Flight" challenge so I thought the Swarovski crystal and enamel butterflies would be perfect for that theme.


I wanted to use the beads to show motion and start to create some flow...


I started to add some green crystals and crystal flower beads to bring in the flowers from the cabochon. It's a bummer that the crystal flowers don't show well in these photos I'll make sure they show better in finished piece photos.

As I'm working I like to lay it over the brass form to make sure it's flowing and laying in a visually pleasing way. So far I am liking how it's looking .

Now I need to spend some more time finishing this side of the cuff and then start on the other side. As I do I will take more photos and post them along with the finished piece for you.

I am looking forward to entering the piece along with all of my other guild mates project in Polymer Clay Smooshers Guild "Flight" challenge. You can check out our guild blog at http://polymerclaysmooshers.blogspot.com for lots of great polymer clay information and inspiration.

Wooden purses.

When I go to the craft store I always hit the clearance isle to see what treasures I can find. I found some nice wooden purse blanks a year or so ago at a good price so I bought several.



I use to love to do decoupage and collage projects when I was younger and making decorative boxes was always one of my favorite subjects. These purses are pretty much the same idea. So I spent this weekend painting decoupaging a couple of the blanks.

I really like the "Butterflies in the night sky" themed one best.

The paint finish is my favorite part, the colors are a pretty combination of pearl,teal,turquoise and purple. I used several painting techniques to give the painted surface lots of great texture.

To the surface I decoupaged really pretty water colored butterflies, moths and flowers along with 2 pretty B monograms. There is just the slightest touch of fairy dust on the cut outs to catch the light for a gentle sparkle.


The other purse is "I will always be a dreamer" themed purse. I love hot air balloons and I think the are a good way to symbolize my dreams.

The front side has the sun and it is for day dreams. The back has stars and the moon and it is about night dreams. I blinged it all up with 64 crystals.

These were fun projects that I enjoyed doing. Now what next? I think maybe some cabochons for some broaches I got the other day or maybe some candles; maybe both.

I have been neglecting my blog......

I have been neglecting my blog because I have been making some new things and because I have been burning to much computer time on Facebook.

Here are some photos of a few new necklaces I made over the week end.

I really love the way the blue and pink Kaleidoscope and pillow bead necklace turned out. I also really like the orange and blue butterfly patterned necklace. I just love what can be done with polymer clay.


So facebook is my new computer hang out. I really like it so much that I am dropping a few of my other social networking sites. Twitter has become one big promotion add spot for Etsy sellers, very little social interaction going on when every one is yelling "Hey LOOK at My Shop". So I'll be there a lot less. MySpace isn't for me it's mostly for kids not my cup of tea. So I will be closing that account.

What I like about Facebook is there is plenty of social interaction with my peer group. Lots of polymer clay addicts to share with and very easy to use, I enjoy the games too. I enjoy talking with people I admire from my favorite forum Polymer Clay Central; it's like hanging out with old friends.

on my work table.......
portable soap and body butters, they smell good and feel good too.

Pretty in Pink

For some reason I have been going a little Victorian with my jewelry designs, and pink has been the dominate color. Could it be my sweet new Granddaughter binging out the softer pink side of me.

The bold pink and gold bracelet is a perfect example of this style. I sculpted the center focal using my favorite medium polymer clay. This piece isn't for the shy woman it is bold and ornate. It looks heavy but it's not that's the beauty of polymer clay durable but not heavy.

The cameo necklace is a beautiful feminine piece I haven't decided weather or not to sell it or to give it to my sister in law who collects butterflies . I love the metal mounting I am glad I bought several; I will enjoy designing with them.

The other photos are of some of the soap I made this weekend. I made 8 different kinds of soap this week end. Soapmaking is such a satisfying craft. I love to make things that are pretty and functional. I will post some more photos of then in next post.

My blog needs some love

Well things have been busy in the Casa De Gonzalez lately and my blog has been really neglected. So I thought I would give my blog a little love and do a show and tell.
I did a trade with Nat of http://Natsbears.etsy.com she makes the most beautiful kaleidoscope canes and she loves my hand cream and I love her canes so we traded. I have been making some very pretty beads with her canes. yesterday I used some of the beads to make the watch and bracelet you see on my blog page. I will be showing you more of the things I am making with her lovely canes I have 7 different cane designs to work with. so if you are looking for some beautiful canes to use in your polymer clay creations I highly recommend this Belgium artist. She makes cool cane and she's a very nice person as well.
I made this awesome honey soap last night and I love it the combination of the honey and the orange/ vanilla scent is so yummy I am keeping 2 bars of it for myself. I used some of it this morning and I really enjoyed the scent and the rich lather. I like that it is sls and detergent free making it super nourishing for my skin.

I enjoy making beads..........

One of the reasons I began working with polymer clay is because I wanted different beads for the jewelry I was making. I live in a very small town with not alot to choose from for craft supplies and I wasn't on line at that time. I started goofing around with the polymer clay and fell in love with it. The things that can be done with it are endless.

I try to challenge my self by working outside my color comfort zone. I work very little with red and yellow so I was very surprised about how much I like the beads in the photo. I made 2 sets of each bead shape I put one set of each in my Etsy shop for others to use and then I made the bracelet and necklace in the photos above.

Polymer clay is fun and I highly recomend it to anyone who enjoys working with color.

I have a craft show coming up March 1st. in Clinton Indiana at the old High School Gym, if you are in the area come on by it is a nice show with tons of handcrafted items.

I am ready for spring!!!!!!

This is a compact mirror. The top is enbellished with polymer clay. I didn't use paint to make the design the butterflies are made with a techneque called milifori cane work. It is fun to create pictures using nothing but colors of clay. I usually make all of the canes I use in my work but in this piece I used a butterfly cane made by C.A. Therine she makes beautiful canes with high details. The bracelet at the top of the page is another spring themed piece I will add to my shop in a day or two. It is made from polymer clay tiles using floral canes that I made. Pink is a color I like to use for spring themed things.

Spring please come soon; I have a terriable, terriable cold and I need some sunshine and a warm breeze.........