Designer of the Week at Art Bead Scene!

A huge thank you to Art Bead Scene Editor Erin Siegel for choosing me as the "Designer of the Week" this week for my entry in this month's ABS challenge, my Faux Red Jade Polymer Clay Earrings embellished with carved floral sponge coral beads and antique silver pagoda frames.   

Erin loved the Pagoda frames, as do I.  I have two pagodas left and am still trying to figure out how best to show them off; but I am thinking of a beautiful shade of green faux jade, or maybe white faux jade?  What do you think?  

I love the ABS blog. No matter what medium you work in, if you are a jewelry designer, the blog is a fantastic source of inspiration.  

Thank you so much, Erin!  I am doing the happy dance again.  

Oh, Happy Day! A New Etsy Feature!

I received an email earlier this week from a captain at Etsy asking if I would like to join a team testing a new Etsy feature:  Direct download of digital files.  

Well, needless to say, I signed up right away and have been anxiously awaiting its debut.  Today, for the first time, a customer was able to successfully download one of my digital tutorials immediately upon completion of checkout.  Woo Hoo!   

I am beyond excited about this new feature.  I hope it means that it is available to all sellers at Etsy who offer digital items.  I am a buyer of digital files at Etsy images as well.  All my images I use in my work are digital images, and I sometimes have to wait 48 hours or more to receive a file.  I am a very impatient customer,  so I am doubly excited about this new feature.  

Imagine, if you purchase a tutorial, you won't have to wait any more on me, even though I try my best to deliver them within an hour or two of purchase.  I have to sleep at some point, and I have always felt guilty that someone ordering a tutorial at 1:00 in the morning had to wait until I wake up, usually around 10-ish to get it.  If I'm awake at 1:00 in the morning, I generally get it right out; but honestly, since I started working for myself full-time, I am not really the early bird any longer.  Those old worms are completely safe from me. 

And, I won't have to worry about crashing your inbox with a huge file, or having it "returned to sender!"  Yay!   Can you tell I'm amped about this?   I am doing the happy dance all over the house! 

I hope this new feature proves to be more convenient for everyone.  If you check out a tutorial and have any problems with the direct download, email me as soon as you can and I will still email it to you myself.  

The Back Story

I mentioned in an earlier post a few days ago that Jan Montarsi asked me to contribute to an article he was writing for the February issue of The Polymer Arts published by Sage Bray, who is a former guild mate of mine from my PCAGOE days (Polymer Clay Artists Guild of Etsy.)   

I received my digital copy of the magazine last night and was very pleased, other than a typo which was my fault, not theirs.  I do know the difference between "bear" and "bare," believe me!  My apologies for not catching that error before I submitted my part to Jan.   To err is human though, right?   

Many thanks again to Jan and to Sage for allowing me to be a part of this article.  Jan in particular was very patient with me and my nagging questions, and I really appreciate his patience and help. 

Finishing is one of the things I am best known for in the polymer clay world, and also the thing I am most passionate about when creating with polymer clay.  I often get on my high horse, as my Grandmother Nanny would say, about the subject; and I was gratified to see that it is also important to the other artists who contributed.   Finishing a piece nicely adds to the aesthetics of the piece, but also increases its value if you are an artist who sells your work.  It is just the professional thing to do.   Okay, okay, soapbox back in the corner for now, but I hope you'll read the article and decide to try finishing your work on both sides, too.  If you already do, BRAVO for putting your best work out there to be admired and enjoyed for all the time and energy you put into it!  

Sage published a couple of photos, of "before" and "after" pieces, and I thought I would post the other views in my Flickr photo stream so you could see them all.

I have already received several requests for my two mini finishing tutorials, so if you are interested in learning how to sand and buff and modify a Dremel Rotary Hand Tool or shape and refine edges and curves with  my Plexiglas tutorial, which are not listed in my shop separately, let me know and I'll list and reserve copies for you.   Both are included in my faux jade and faux bone/ivory tutorial, too, so many of you may already have the same information.

Jan also created a Flickr photo group for people to post photos of the front and back of their polymer work. You can see many more photos there than space allowed for in the magazine, so I hope you will check it out, too. 

Thanks again, Jan and Sage!  It was an honor to be included in such a fantastic magazine dedicated to polymer clay, the best print magazine out there for polymer people!  

Art Bead Scene February Challenge Entry - Faux Red Jade Pagoda Earrings

These earrings are my entry in Art Bead Scene's February challenge.  I've been saving these antique silver pagoda charms to use for something special.

I love the artwork which is the inspiration for this month's challenge is a 1941 woodblock print entitled "Heijinja" by Toshi Yoshida, which features a stunning orange-red pagoda with a slate gray roof framed by a blush pink cherry tree in bloom.

The beads in the center of the antique silver pagoda charms are faux red jade polymer clay beads, which I created using the orange-red faux jade recipe in my faux jade tutorial.

I embossed the beads with a Japanese cherry blossom texture sheet and continued the Asian floral theme with 10mm sponge coral beads carved with leaves and blooms.  I just love these antique silver pagoda charms.

I am checking with the editors at ABS to see if I can add a copy of the artwork for this month, since it is copyrighted.  I hope I will be able to add it shortly, because it is a stunning print, and one of my personal favorites.  There is a copy up at ABS you can see, and also a copy in the ABS Flickr challenge photo pool, where you can check out all the lovely entries this month!

Update:  Tari said I could use the artwork, so here it is!   Thanks, Tari! 

A Diva Designs Customer Gallery At Flickr!

I have wanted to do this for so long, and today, with the encouragement of my friend Kelly Feeney, I finally did!  I created a Flickr photo group for customers who have purchased my polymer clay tutorials.

I love seeing how you all take the lessons and put your own stamp on them, and so many of you have shared photos of your beautiful creations with me.  I'm a proud Mama and wanted to show you all off, so I hope you will join the group and post with me.  

The name of the photo group is Lynda Moseley/DivaDesigns Customer Gallery.  I've sent out a few invitations so far, and will be sending out more, but if you have purchased one of my tutorials and would like to join and show off your Diva creations, email me at Flickr, or though my Etsy shop; or leave a comment here on the blog with your Flickr username or a link to your Flickr photostream.  I will send you an invite or you can join right on Flickr when you pull up the group name.

Once you join, you may also open up a discussion thread on any clay-related topic you like.  It will also be a place I can give tips and share ideas, and I hope to also pick up some suggestions for future tutorials, so if you have a wish list, that's the place to post it!  

Thanks so much to all my wonderful customers!  I am so excited to get to showcase your marbled, faux and mica shift creations.  I look forward to seeing you in the new group!

Diva Designs Customer Gallery at Flickr

Lynda  

Art Bead Scene Challenge and an Update

I took a little time off after completing the Controlled Marbling tutorial to rest my tired brain and rev up the creative juices again.  My clay stock is very low, but the artwork which is the inspiration for the challenge this month at Art Bead Scene did its job, and I am totally inspired to create an entry this month.  

I was also very pleasantly surprised to find that Erin Prais-Hintz included one of my faux red jade focal beads in her Sakura Pagoda Etsy treasury, too!  Wow!   Thank you, Erin.  It is gorgeous collection sure to inspire.  It is already working wonders on my tired brain cells! 

I wish I could post a photo of the artwork chosen for this month's challenge, but it is copyrighted, so I hope you will visit ABS and check it out yourself.  This month's artwork is Heijinja by Toshi Yoshida, and features a color palette of orange-red, blush pink, soft gray and white.  Think cherry blossoms on a gentle Spring morning against the backdrop of a stunning scarlet red pagoda.  

And speaking of my Controlled Marbling Tutorial, the response has been tremendous since its debut last month.  Thank you to everyone who has purchased a copy.  Many of you have also sent me photos of your marbled creations, and I have received fantastic feedback letting me how much you are enjoying the technique.  I am thrilled to know you are having so much fun with it.  

I love creating these marbled pieces, too, and when Jan Montarsi asked me to contribute to an article he is writing on finishing polymer work for the February issue of The Polymer Arts, I couldn't resist creating a few marbled pieces to illustrate my finishing process, which, as most of you know, includes treating the back side of a piece with as much care as I treat the face side.

  

Jan, and Sage Bray, the publisher, decided to use a few of my photos in the article, and I hope you will get a copy and check out the article.  I believe the magazine comes out February 18th and the article will be "The Back Story."  I added a bunch of the finishing photos to my Flickr photostream, but here are a few "before and after" illustrating my finishing and sanding and buffing process.  I decided to create a pair of earrings and leave one of the pair completely unfinished.  The other one I finished as I normally do, so you can see the difference sanding and buffing make.