From pendant to necklace

Here is the necklace put together from the pendant and beads that I made last week. I hope you enjoy the tutorial and try this technique for yourself. I do not wish to call this my own invention because it was the combination of techniques I've learned through my journey with Polymer clay and still, there is a lot to learn and explore.

I also made this Red necklace early this month. Shown, how I prepare the pendant and matching beads.

This necklace I sold to a gentleman who bought it for his wife. I sold 2 necklaces for another gentleman who also bought them for his wife too. They are all Red necklaces.

Now that I got this technique down to the science, it's time to explore a different one.

Here's what I am working on right now. Still, the technique needs to be refined but I've gotten a good result so far.

This one is a drawing from the book that my son gave to me as a present. It is a book with pretty photographs of the fishes and animals that live under the sea.

Sad to tell you that I bombed this pendant in the process, so it will sit in a jar until I figure it out what to do with it.

Oh, well, that's how we learn from our mistakes.

Questions & Answers

Q: What kind of rubber stamp sheet that I use?
A: I used Barbara McGuire's rubber stamp sheet. www.barbaramcguire.com She is also on ETSY, you can order her stamp from there. Her stamps have deep grove and thin lines, perfect for the technique that I use.

Q: What kind of varnish that I used?
A: If I am using Metallic powder on my beads, I put on one coat or two of Fimo Gloss varnish. I used to put varnish on everything until the customer asked if I can make it Matt, so I stop putting varnish on my beads. I don't sand and buff my beads, occasionally, I brush on a thin coat of Future floor finish.
Sometime I sand and buff my pendants. It depends on the design and the look that I want. Most of the time I just rub it on my pants, or a piece of carpet to make it smooth and has a little bit of sheen on it.

Q: If you have any questions and want to ask me, what can you do?
A: Feel free to email me with any questions that you have. www.silastones@aol.com I am on-line all the time.

Q: You want to buy my jewelry, how?
A: I have my jewelry on consignment at Lilly's boutique in Zionsville. I also sell at craft shows and art shows around town. If you see something that you like, email me. First come, first serve, because most of my works are one-of-a-kind. I am also trying to put more stuffs on my ETSY store. My friend also sell my beads at Intergalactic bead show.

Thank you
Hugs
Ponsawan

Pendant 101

I just post the tutorial on my other blog of how I made my pendant. You can see it HERE.
For the sake of the argument, many people had called it "Hidden Magic" technique. For me, there is no magic there because I was the one who hide the treasure underneath that Black&White sheet, so I know exactly what the result is going to be.
There are many different ways to do it and it is "Magic" because your will get the image that is unexpected, just like the techniques used by many French clayers.

***The rubberstam sheet that I used is from Barbara McGuire's. www.alteredartsource.com ***

What to do with a slab of Mokume Gane

I really like this technique of layering the different color clays together, poke it with different kind of objects, then slide it with the thin blade and hope for the good. Rule of thumb that I use is to alternate the darker color with the lighter color, for example; dark blue, pearl, dark green, then light blue. Also sliding it in an angle will give you the pattern that looks like waves with bubbles.

Now what to do with it.

For this slab, I make the cuff, which was part of the claypen project then I covered the Altiod box. After shaving it for a while, with the bottom layer, I got myself a perfect pattern for the pendant. So I got 2 necklaces out of it and probable 2 pair of earrings and a ring that i am going to make next.

This way when I do the show, I can group my jewelry into a set with similar design and color. Now that I have Blue&Green, next will be Pink&Purple, Red&Copper, Brown&Orange, etc.

Under construction part 2

The construction project is underway. I feel like myself again, walking through the construction site, checking the drawing, the dimension and picking out floor material, wall color and furniture. You can see the counter bar is taking shape, the liquor cabinet behind the bar with space for the big screen TV, the ceiling is ready for the track light and the floor is ready to covered with dark brown vinyl, wood look alike material which will prevent slippery when wet. All the materials used are soy sauce proof. You should see the contractor's face when he saw me pouring soy sauce on everything. LOL . After all, this is a Sushi restaurant and soy sauce do stains. Now, up stair will be the banquet room, I called it the "Red Room"

As you can see, it is RED, very red. I picked the color and love it. The dark brown color from ceiling and floor should tone it down. The utility pipe will be copper. A couple of Geisha paintings would definitely gave this room a talk of the town. I asked my boss if i can do Mural Painting upstairs. What do you think? We will cover the windows with Bamboo. My boss will visit Ikea next week to pick up the lighting and lamp shades.

We should have fun decorate the place. My boss totally trust me on this, which is nice. I hope we get it done in 3 weeks so we can have our New Year party in the "Red Room"

Recycled artwork

Inspired by the post on Polymerclaydaily, I was looking for the way to alter these discs that I painted sometime ago. Not that it is ugly, but not good enough for me. Throw them away or do something with them. I started out by wiping them with the wet paper towel, some paint came off but left the nice blend of pastel color. With the Speedball carving tool in hand, I started carving it. First, the leaves, then swirly pattern. Not bad, ha!

I still have a box full of clay pieces that I made and don't know what to do with them. Cut them into small pieces and cover a counch, not a bad idea either.

Here are some discs that I put the frames on them. The "Sunset on the rough sea" is leaving to Paris with my daughter. The other were send to Thailand to be auction off at the Class Reunion along with a necklace, a bracelet and more pins. All the money will go to the good causes.

Gingko box

More Altered Altiod boxes. This one I stamped the Black clay with Gingko stamp sheet which gave me a deep impression. I used another one of my Beauty Supply Store finds as paint.You are right! I was using the nail polish. The result is breathtakingly and stunningly pretty. Of course, inhaling the toxic fume from nail polish kinnda make me felt like I was using drug or something. :)

May be I should wait for summer so I can do this outside in the open air.

Deep Purple

This is another box I just finish. The color purple is so pretty in person, it is so hard to take a good photograph.

This is a result from the "Beauty Supply Store" find. It had become my favorite place to go, right across the street from my store. They start giving me discount because they like what I made with the eyeshadow.

Black & White Beads

I've, secretly, learn how to make cane. LOL. I always tell people that I don't make cane, just simple Jelly Roll. After helping "Cat" in her class at Bead&Button, I felt like I should give it a try. So, here they are. Just like most of my works, they look more "Graphic" than "Realistic". So don't ask me what kind of flowers are they. They are flower look alike.

Pearl Powder for Polymer Clay

Here's the "secret" that I 'd promised to reveal. The metallic powder, or the Pearl powder that I used are eyeshadows. I stumbled into a Korean Beauty Supply store and saw these small bottles of eyeshadow, so I bought a few. The results are stunning and if these powders are to be used on your face then they should be non-toxic, right. They come in a small bottle which allowed me to buy several colors.

If you don't have a Korean Beauty store near by, or do not have enough courage to go in one, I offer these powders on sale at my ETSY store @10 bottles for $20.00.

If you happen to have the beauty supply store near you, may be, you should venture out of your way to discover something new and different. Be creative and don't forget to share.

P.S. You can order the powder from ETSY now, I ment to put 5 sets on there not just 1, duh. You can also email me or send in the check. Thanks for asking

More boxes

2 more boxes, the Gold one is Rub N' Buff and the Blue one is made with the "Magic" Powder. :) Pretty, isn't it?

The Power of Mint

My new toy, the Altoid box. Just decided last night that should give it a try. I finished 2 boxes. Both using Barbara McGuire's rubberstamp sheet.

The silver one I used Rub&Buff and the colors one I used the "secret" powder. LOL. I will tell you soon what they are and how to buy them.

I've asked Matt if he would save me his Altiod box after he had finished it. He put his mint in a plastic bag and gave me the box. Later, he makes a joke about a bag of mint that make him looks like a drug dealer. So, Matt, this one for you.

Don't under estimate the power of the Mint and the empty tin box covered with Polymer clay. I think he will like it.

And I will have many, many tins to cover in the up coming year.

All the leaves are Brown

And the sky is Gray.

My leaves are Silver and Gold. :)

These are my new leaf pins with magnet backing. Simple to make but looks sophisticate, isn't it? Light weight but durable. Thanks to my private on-line tutor. Without your technical support, it won't look this good.

Hum, do you want to guess how I make those leaves?

The round pendant in the middle is the disc I painted. Just put the frame on it so it can be used as a pendant.

Back on the drawing board

This is just an update for my fans who might wondered if I am still around. Before I called myself a Polymer clay Artist, I was a beader. Before that I am a stay-at-home mom and a crafter. Before I quited my job as a landscape Architect to be a full time mom, I was an Architect. Now I am a book-keeper at the Sushi restaurant named Naked Tchopstix. I am making $10 an hour just like when I started working 20 years ago. No complain here, I am thankful for my second chance in life to go back to the workforce. Also eating Sushi everyday is not bad either. My boss want to expand the restaurant so I offered to draw a plan for him, now I am back on the drawing board.

I still pretty rusty, after all, the last time I was on the drawing board was 15 years ago.

I am the old breed of Architect who still draw with pen and paper. AutoCAD version 1.0 was the one I learn in college but I am pretty sure making a sketch by hand is a lot faster than using a CAD, for me that's it.

I still clay, but not as much as I used to, so I have to apologized. The construction will be done in a month, then I will go back to clay again.

Monet - Yellow Irises with Pink Cloud, 1903

Ponsawan - Yellow Irises on Polymer Clay, 2007