New Series - Southwest Landscapes Series Pendants and Earrings

Anyone who knows me knows how easily bored I get, even when creating.  I could never be a wholesaler.  It is very hard for me to make more than two of anything.  I work in very small batches of clay, usually enough to make 2 or 3 pieces from the same color batch, and that's it. 

Even a pair of earrings is a special challenge.  Don't laugh, it's true.  I have recently discovered though, that I love making polymer earrings.

This new series, which I am calling Southwest Landscapes, was inspired by the September Art Bead Scene challenge entry I created last month.  The color palette features some of my favorite tertiary colors:  Burnt orange, chocolate, tomato red, denim blue, turquoise, ecru; and more often than not, my favorite faux bone recipes, either showcased on the face or on the back sides of the earrings.

These are not really made from scrap clay, because the color palettes were deliberate, so it has become my "controlled marbling" technique, since I control the amount of each color added to the blend, and the colors themselves. 

I turned a teardrop cutter on its head to create the challenge entry for the October ABS challenge, just to be a little different.  I love the results so much, I may never go back to orienting the tip on the top of a pendant or earring.

I added some distressed finishes to a few, to give them that rugged, Old West look; and dressed up some with Czech glass and Chinese crystal, some of my recent finds at LimaBeads.  The Czech glass really lends itself well to these variegated color palettes because they have so many colors swirling around in their little bodies, too. 

I made these latest pieces while waiting for a shipment of bracelet blanks for one of the projects in the new faux jade tutorial (how is that for a tease?) and they are supposed to be here today, so it's back to the faux bone grindstone for the rest of this week.  Next time I write a tutorial, I'm going to keep my mouth shut about when to expect it until my sorry self has actually finished it!  Thank you again, everyone, for being so patient about it.  I promise, it won't be much longer. 

Here is some more stripedy eye candy to look at while you wait.