Polymer Clay Smooshers Scavenger Hut.

How would you like a chance to have fun, do some shopping and take a chance to win a prize? You would...well great.

Here is what you need to do......
Go to the world famous Polymer Clay Smooshers Guild Blog http://polymerclaysmooshers.blogspot.com and follow the instructions for our Christmas Scavenger Hunt....There are several ways to win one of the awesome prizes donated by guild members.

Good luck on your hunt; have fun.........
Check out the beautiful prizes you might win..

Water as an insperation.

Star Fish earrings by EmilyClaireCreations

I grew up in Washington State on the beaches of the beautiful Puget Sound. I spent many many days watching the ebb and flow of the tide looking for the treasures the reseeding tide would reveal in the tide pools. I was at once awed and inspired by the Sea Stars clinging to the rocks and docks,the sand dollars that appeared on the sand and the tiny rock and sand crabs that skittered everywhere. Still today the most calming sound I know is the crash of the waves and the call of Seagulls as they sailed on the salt air looking for a meal.

Sea Star pendant by Beachcomber

I am so often inspired by the beautiful memories of the sea and love to use the colors and textures in my artwork. Today I thought I would share the artwork of fellow polymer clay artists that are inspired by water too.

Sweet wall hanging made by Fantasyclay

All of these awesome projects are made by Fellow members of my Artfire Polymer Clay Smooshers Guild ... http://polymerclaysmooshers.blogspot.com/

The colors of this necklace by HaffinaCreations scream water to me.

If you enjoy the water and or polymer clay art as much as I do please visit our Smooshers blog http://polymerclaysmooshers.blogspot.com/
or check out the shops of the featured artists in this article
http://Emilyclairecreations.artfire.com
http://Fantasyclay.artfire.com
http://beachcomber.artfire.com
http://Haffinascreations.artfire.com

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.

Introducing CatsWire

Cat's Wire is a very talented artisan who describes herself as a "Bookworm by day, crazy cat lady and hooked on wire in the evening!" She lives in Southern Germany with her Husband and 4 cats.

She is very talented with wire and incorporates polymer clay along with gemstones and beads to make some awesome wearable wire sculptures.

She also is a talented miniaturist and sculpter who uses my favorite medium Polymer Clay to bring her designs to life.

Cat is a proud member of the ArtFire Polymer Clay Smooshers Guild and sells her lovely creations at http://Catswire.artfire.com she writes a very interesting blog http://catswire.blogspot.com/ Check out her sites you won't be disappointed.

The 12 days of Christmas in July Sale

Many of the shops on Artfire.com are having Christmas in July Sales.....My shop is having one as well.
July 11-25th.
FREE SHIPPING!!! on all jewelry items
or
BOGO!! Buy 3 bath and body items or candles and get 1 FREE!!!!! feel free to mix and match
go to my shop at http://Gingerbells.ArtFire.com and check out what's new in my Studio.


I still have a few Holiday items in my shop if you want to get started on your decorations early.


So if your ready to start your Holiday shopping; I know I am Artfire is the place to start for a Handmade Christmas

Meet EmilyClaireCreations

Valerie of Http://EmilyClaireCreations.ArtFire.com is a wonderful Artist from Ohio who is inspired by nature and her environment. She is the stay at home Mom to her 2 adorable daughters whom she has named her shop after.

In her studio Bio Valerie says:
"Making jewelry makes me supremely happy. It is a one true medium where I can express myself. I follow my bliss. I believe it shows in my designs. Jewelry should be something anyone can wear no matter what size, shape, age or color you are, it is a statement to accentuate your personality." I like how she thinks and I agree it shows in all the beautiful items in her shop.

I have picked several of my favorites to share

I really like the style and composition of this piece. I think it looks like a piece of treasure that's been around for a long, long time.

I absolutely love this acorn that she has sculpted it's classy and whimsical at the same time. So if you like her style as much as I do check out her ArtFire studio where she is running a Christmas in July sale offering a 15% discount coupon.

Valerie is a proud member of the Polymer Clay Smooshers Guild of ArtFire.

Meet Sassy Clay Creations

I would like to show some of the lovely things made by Dori of Http://SassyClayCreations.artfire.com .
I really like pretty things that are useful like this candle holder. I would love to have this as part of my Fall decor.

When I saw this mask in Dori's shop I fell in love with it. I love the whimsical style of it.

I love the texture in this Star and moon pin she made. I think it would make a great piece to add to any jewelry collection.

Not only is Dori a talented lady she is a sweetheart who has organized the Friendship round Robin swap box for our Artfire Polymer Clay Smooshers Guild .

So if you are looking for a unique gift for someone or a special treat for your self I recommend checking out her shop http://SassyClayCreations.artfire.com

Featuring Colt Pixy

This beautiful Beetle is handmade with polymer clay by the talented artist Star Edwards of http://Coltpixy.artfire.com . She made it for the resent "Bug Challenge" held by the Polymer Clay Smooshers Guild of Artfire.

Above also is the whimsical piece she did for the "flight" challenge

If you like miniatures you will love the beautiful tiny baskets she weaves with polymer clay take a peek at her Artfire shop you'll be glad you did.

Not only is she a wonderful artist she is also the tireless guild master of the Smooshers guild who spends a great amount of time and energy promoting her fellow guild members.

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.