Thing a day challenge

http://polymerclaycentral.com is having "a thing a day" challenge. We are making 1 thing a day in Febuary featuring polymer clay and posting it to the website for all to enjoy.

My day 1 project was the teardrop shaped necklace and pendant. The pendant base and the accent beads are made with polymer clay.

Day 2 project is the beads and pendant base all made with polymer clay.

Day 3 project is the beaded pendant from day 2.....

So far I am keeping up, I have the Grandkids the next couple of days so we will see.

What is bead embroidery?

I am often asked act craft shows how I make my jewelry and I try to break it down to a simple general example. So I thought it would be fun to do on my blog too except it is more fun on the blog because I can use photos.

In today's blog I am going to talk about my favorite beading technique....bead embroidery.


Bead embroidery is a very useful technique to learn because with it you can turn a gemstone,shell,button,flat found object into a beautiful piece of jewelry. I love to use it to show off polymer clay pendant bases that I enjoy making.

To begin the pendant I glue the polymer clay base to a square piece of very stiff interfacing and while it's drying I pick out the beads I want to use from my stash.

After the glue dries with a needle and thread I sew on each bead developing the pattern. I'd like to say I start my projects will a clear vision of what it's going to look like but I don't. I usually design my projects as I make them and let the design develop naturally. [photo 1&2].

When all the base patterned beading is done I trim away all the extra interfacing and glue it to a piece of ultra suede backing hiding all the stitches and giving the pendant a a nice finished back. The next step is to stitch the 2 backings together and edge the pendant. Add a beaded bail and the pendant's done. [ photo 3&4]

Next I go through my bead stash find what I like and bead the necklace and TaDa a necklace.....

If you think you might be interested in learning more bead embroidery I recommend buying a copy of Bead and Button or Beadwork magazine and try one of the beginner projects or use the reference section to learn some of the basics to see if it's the technique for you.

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.....

Polymer clay and seed beads

I think polymer clay and seed beads are a match made in heaven. They play so nicely together.

I love good gemstone cabochons but they are so expensive and really drive up the price of the pieces I make. The cabochons in the hair pins are gemstones and were expensive so I will have to sell them at a higher price point then I would like. Had I made them with polymer clay I could knock about $10 off the retail price.

Another advantage of using polymer clay is I can create some awesome stone like cabochons with awesome colors and detail for a lot less then I would pay for a natural gemstone. Using my handmade cabochons allows me to spend more money on the high quality crystals and seed beads to give my customer a higher quality product at a reasonable affordable price point.

The necklace in this post is a beautiful example. The cabochon is one that I made with polymer clay,ink,mica and gold leaf; it's full of detail and pretty colors. because the cost to make it wasn't high I was able to use a generous amount of expensive high quality Swarovski crystals and delica seed beads. By making my own cabochon I am able to offer my customer a OOAK necklace at a very reasonable price. It's a win-win situation for both of us.

Here are some new pieces.....

It has been awhile since my last post as usual it's been busy at the Casa de Gonzalez....Some good things and some bad things.....
Let's get the bad news out before I get on to the good...
My beloved Father in law Jose Gonzalez Sr. lost his battle with cancer last month. He was a strong loving man who along with his wife of 56 years raised 5 awesome children one of whom is my dear Husband Jose Jr. He was a strong courageous man who over the last year dealt with learning of his illness,loosing the love of his life in February and the progression of his illness leading to his death. He was an example of grace and dignity, strength and hope. I loved and admired him very much and will miss him.

This year has been very hard for our family we have lost so much, both of my husband's parents and my Mom. But we have also gained through our losses. I have learned that above all else the people I love are the most important thing and that the love in my heart didn't die with them perhaps it has grown even stronger. I have learned that every second on this earth is a gift that I will never again take for granted.


Ok so now for the happier news......
My little Granddaughter Lexipoo turned 1 she is growing way to fast and has her Grandpa Jose enchanted.....
and...........
One day while Jose was out in the woods he found a little Chihuahua who had been abandoned deep in the woods he was 1/2 starved and lost a lot of his hair from a flea infestation. The poor little guy begged Jose to help him and he couldn't resist bringing him home.

We took him to the Vet the next day to see what he needed to get healthy and see if they could help us find out who he belongs to. The Vet said it was a good thing for him that we found him because he wouldn't have made it long the way he was. He needed food and de- flea-ed and he had ear mites. The worst thing is the vet said he had been abused and mistreated and that the people hadn't had him neutered and allowed his testicles to grow up into his belly. The Vet said we could have them removed in the future and that would help him a lot.

Well we never found his old owners and we have had him about a month now. We named him Chuy; he is happy has gained almost 2 lb's and his hair is growing in nicely, the fleas and ear mites are gone. He has a new dog house and plush bed in the garage that he like so well he spends a lot of time snuggled up in snoozing. He is such a sweet lovable little creature he likes cats and kids. I can't imagine why someone would have been so mean to him but he will never have to worry about that again.

The next hurdle for Chuy is the operation on his boy parts. After he has that the vet feels like he'll be fine. Right now one of the testicles is pushing on his bladder so he sometimes can't control his peeing so after it's done I will work on housebreaking him so he can come in the house. I have never had a dog before so this has been an experience for us.

also......
My 10 day craft show in October went really, really well so I have been working hard to replenish my inventory. I posted a few of my new pieces here on my blog.

also.....
I am having a sale in my ArtFire studio http://Gingerbells.artfire.com
10% off all items +
FREE SHIPPING on all orders over $20.00
this sale will run for the next week.

Victorian Poinsettia Brooches

I have always liked Victorian styled things around the holidays. I think these 2 brooches have a Victorian look to them.

When I started making them the other day I had intended for them to be pendants on necklaces. By the time I finished the beading and making the ruffles edges they were way to big for pendants. So.....brooches they became. In the end I think it worked out for the best. I'll take the beads I made for the necklaces and turn them into a bracelet and earrings.

The soft diamond one is my favorite. I like how the champagne beads and black opal seed bead ruffle frame the bezel.

on work table......earrings, earrings and more earrings......

Pretty Poinsettia set

These are my first holiday themed projects of 2009. I am very happy with how these turned out. This set is the ball point pen and the pill box key chain. Instead of offering them individually I will be selling these as as set.

The designs on each piece are not painted it is made with polymer clay. The poinsettia cane I used wasn't one of mine; this time I used a cane made by Cat Therin. I have been enjoying experimenting with other peoples canes.

I liked these so much I made a set for myself, I just love pretty useful things.


on my worktable.......poinsettia beads