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.......

Introducing TooAquarius

beautiful rose beads........

TooAquarius AKA Elaine is an extremely talented Artist,Business woman ,teacher and computer wiz from Canada.

round floral beads.......

I have admired Elaine's Millefiori talent since we met several years ago on PolymerClaycentral.com 's message board. She has a wonderful ability to capture floral beauty in her cane work. I have bought and used many of her polymer clay floral canes in my own projects from her shop http://TooAquaris.Artfire.com .

Lentil beads......

In her shop you will find a huge amount of awesome canes and finished beads to use in your own creations....Her color pallet is beautiful as is her work take a peek at her shop I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

leaf cane.....


floral slice beads....

TooAquarius is a proud member of Polymer clay smooshers guild of ArtFire.

What is a Polymer Clay Cane?

When people see the things I make they often think the patterns are painted on. I explain that they are made by applying thin slices of " polymer clay canes ". Then they look at me and say "what is a cane?" if you have ever had the same question here is a quick simple explanation with visual aids.

A polymer clay cane is made by blending contrasting colors of clay and forming them into a pattern. I know; it's still confusing....I'll use this simple flower cane to illustrate.

Photo #1
I took the following colors green pearl/blue pearl/white pearl and blended them together to form the striped pattern for a single flower petal and I wrapped it in a sheet of pearl clay. Then I "reduced" it; [squeezed it to make it longer] , and cut it into 8 equal lengths.

Photo #2
I took each of the 8 pieces and shaped them like a flower petal. I took the 8 petals and arranged them around a yellow center to form a flower shape.

Photo #3
I took translucent polymer clay and "packed" or wrapped it around the flower shape to help everything hold it's place during reduction.

Photo #4
I took the 3 inch wrapped and packed cane and redused it buy squeezing ,pulling and rolling it until the tube measured about 1/2 inch around and then cut it into 6 2x1/2 inch canes ready to use on projects. Just like the Pillsbury cookie dough at the store the flower pattern goes all the way through the cane.

That is how a polymer clay cane is made....Have I further confused you? I hope not; I hope I have intrigued you enough to learn to do it too.....

I want to kick my cat's butt!

I have a long haired orange cat named Rupert and I love him dearly but this morning I really wanted to kick his furry little butt.....Why?

Last night I was working on a beaded project when I got tired and decided to finish it this morning. I had 2 large organizer boxes filled with crystals and gemstones that I had been picking beads from for my project on my worktable. I figured they would be fine as they were closed . Welllll that's not exactly right.

I got up this morning went to kitchen to make coffee and all of the sudden I heard a huge CRASH! Apparently Mr. Rupert launched himself off my desk and on too my worktable sending the 2 boxes of beads flying onto the floor where they opened up emptying and mixing 36 different compartments of beads and gemstones....OMG! What a pretty mess!!!
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Above I posted some photos of another one of my polymer clay and glass tile pendants. I strung this one with some nice spring time beads. I think I'll post it in my Etsy shop later.....

Finding new things

Etsy has a lot of wonderful supply sellers and it is great fun to look through their shops. I have found some awesome things to spice up my polymer clay jewelry.

Lately for me it has been vintage and Victorian styles that have been calling to me. I am also loving antique copper and brass. Today I got a bunch of beautiful copper and brass findings that I will be using for some awesome earrings I have planned.

I found the pretty pendant mounting while shopping around Etsy and built this necklace around it. I made the pearl peach floral beads and strung them with pale peach freshwater pearls. Click on photos to get a better view. I listed it in my shop tonight; http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=20201211 . I am getting my spring collection ready for the spring shows and I think this will fit right in if someone doesn't buy it before then.

On my work table now.... earring earrings and more earings....

When Polymer clay meets glass.........

I have been experimenting with new styles and techniques. Here are some examples of my twist on the glass tile pendant.

Glass tile pendants are a trend on Etsy and I love the clean look of them. The original versions use beautiful papers and original art work as the subject of the tile.

Instead of paper I have been using my favorite medium polymer clay. I think the glass tile and polymer clay are a perfect match. Click on the photos to get a closer look and I think you will agree the it's a fun combination.

I enjoyed making these and now that I know where I want to take these; I will be making some beautiful floral tiles for the spring. I have a lot of new things I have been working on and now that the busy holiday season is over I will be posting a lot more regularly.

on my crafting table today........Valentines candles, and a floral bead woven bracelet.

I like to experiment .........

One of the reasons I love polymer clay is because the possibilities of what can be done with it are endless and I love to experiment. I am always trying to find new ways to incorporate polymer clay into all of my crafts.

Here is one of my little experiments.....
If you shop Etsy you know how popular the little scrabble and glass tile pendants with the pretty paper decoupaged on them are. I think they are cute but I don't want to make the same thing as others. I like the clean look of the glass and I thought it would make a great way to showcase some of my cane work. So I thought I would experiment with one of the tiles and a retro cane I had laying around the craft room. I like the way the glass slightly magnififys the cane work and how the light shines from the sides to catch the sparkle of the pearl and metalic clays. Soooo I ordered 40 of the tiles to experiment with to showcase some really pretty pattern ideas I have. I know there are millions of these on Etsy but mine will be one of a kind and I think will do well at craft shows paired with some of my handmade beads. I am going to keep this experimental one for me but will be making several when my tiles come.

The other 2 photos are of some bracelets that I made yesterday with some polymer clay cabs I made. One is made from a retro cane and the faux opal with foil one is Polymer clay too.

Another long festival over!

The Parke County Covered Bridge Festival is a 10 day county wide craft show held every October.

This is the 4th year I have done it and I really enjoy it. It is one of my favorite shows of the year but 10 days is a long time; by day 7 I am ready for it to be done.

Sales were down this year for everyone but it still was a profitable show. I sold 98% of the necklaces I brought and about 75% of the bracelets as well. I started the show with 89 candles and brought home 8 and sold many bars of soaps and soap sets as well as pillar candles and other misalliance items.

So needless to say my shops are looking kind of sad. I have been ordering a lot of supplies so that I can make new inventory for my shops and the 2 shows I have coming up in December.

The next couple of weeks I will be making new beads for jewelry , soaps and candles. While at the show I crocheted a bunch of pretty new wash cloths ,soap bags and bath puffs to pair with some soaps for nice gift sets. I also demoed polymer clay canes so I have a bunch to use for my new beads and to list in my shop for others to use.

Before I can start all the fun creating I need to clean up this messy house. My loving spouse is a "Spoiled Latino King" who's sweet Mom never made pick up after himself and he still does not. He's a great Hubby but damn he's spoiled of course after 21 years I ought to know better then to expect anything different. ( random rant over).

I am so excited to get the new oils I ordered so I can get started on the 20 lbs. of olive oil soap I am planning on making next week ; my curing racks will be jam packed with beautiful soaps. I ordered a bunch of fall and winter scents like Orange Spice , Zanzabar Clove, and Pumpkin Pound Cake. I'll also have some Shea butter soaps ready for listing next week and maybe a couple of bars of Pumpkin Spice Honey Soaps. I ordered 18 new scents so there will be loads of new wonderful smelling goodies going into my shop over the next few weeks.

I have a bunch of cool Christmas Ornaments in my gift shop and I am offering a 25% discount to my blog buddies. If you order them and put "blog buddy" in the notes to seller I will be happy refund the 25% to your pay pal account.

Well it's time to go mop the floors ............ OH JOY!

Love/Hate relationship

Have you ever made something that was so challenging that you had a love /hate relationship with it? Well that's the case with this necklace. I am glad I finished it because I like how it turned out.

The reason this was difficult is that I am a design as I go kind of creator instead of a pattern follower. Usually that works well for me but not this time. I redid the beading several times before I got it to a point where I could put it down.

The diamond shaped focal I made with polymer clay using one of the awesome canes I got in trade with Nat from Belgium and the seed beads I got at the Chicago bead show a couple of months ago.

I am working on some earrings to go will them and I have one done and it worked up so much quicker and easier the the pendant thank God.

I've been busy

I haven't posted in a while because I have had a lot of things going on and I have been playing catch up.

This week end I officially opened another new web shop my URL is http://GingerbellsBathShop.Dawanda.com . Dawanda is a European based web mall much like Etsy in that it is for hand crafts. It has some nice features that Etsy doesn't that I like. For instance there is a section to make comments on individual items . I have often seen things on Etsy that I have wanted to tell the maker how much I liked it and why. I like that much better then the heart system on Etsy. I'll load a couple of items every day and see how it goes.

I have been back to work at my clay table this week end. I have been making a bead embroidered and polymer clay pendant that has been kicking my ass. I have been designing it as I go, at this point I don't know if I love it or hate it.... Tomorrow I will start on the 3 strand necklace I am making for it. With all the hours I have been putting into it I hope it comes out ok.

I haven't been able to work as much as I would like because of some problems with my back; some days are good and some are bad. I am learning to do what I can when I can. From what the Dr.s are saying is that I am going to need some rods put into my back to support my spine because it is deteriorating. Whoopee sounds like fun huh.

Well I am going to do what I can to help with the pain with out drugs. Step one is I have went back to Weight Watchers to see if I can get some of the lard off my butt and that will help. Also I am trying to find some way to strengthen the muscles in my back that support my spine. Maybe if I can make them stronger that will help relieve some of the pain. Who knows if these methods will work but I would like to try to do as much as I can with out surgery or to much drugs. We'll see what happens.

The new photos are 3 new soap scents...blushing jasmine-blue sugar-rice flower and shea.
Next are some cute little polymer clay bobby pins.
Last is a new bracelet.

Well it's almost time for Big Brother ....so I gotta go.

Polymer clay cane swap

I belong to a awesome group of polymer clay- aholics at Polymer Clay Central. Polymer Clay Central is kind of like my online guild. It is filled with wonderful caring and sharing artists.

One of the cool things we do there is swapping. Last month Linda Weeks hosted a geometric cane swap. I joined one group I sent in 4 canes that I made and Linda sent me back 4 canes from other artists . It's always fun to open the box when the swap items come back because "it's like a box of chocolates.. you never know what you are gonna get." { sorry Forrest Gump I couldn't resist}

I got some lovely canes in return all of them are in colors that I never use so I was excited to be challenged to work outside of my color comfort zone. I am finding that I like working out of my color box and I would like to share the first item I made using one of my swap canes.

I believe the person who made the cane is Nancy Welch, I apologize if I have the name wrong the writing on the wrap was smudged. It is a beautiful Kaleidoscope cane made in golds greens and brown.

I used the cane to make inlays for a the gold bracelet in the photos. The pattern in her cane is so delicate and detailed she did a very nice job. Thank you Nancy..

I would like to thank Linda Weeks she was a wonderful swap host and I would recommend any one to join a swap hosted by her