Good Things Come To Those Who Wait

Like a beautiful pendant from my very good friend, Bonnie Lee Kreger!   

If you follow my Facebook Diva Designs page, you saw my post last week featuring some of the gorgeous faux pieces created by some of my customers who purchased my new tutorial, "Masterful Faux Made Easy."

Miss Bonnie created these beauties, and I just had to have the one on the top left.  She very generously mailed it to me, but because of the bad Winter weather we've been experiencing, it took awhile to get to my hot little hands.  I immediately knew what I wanted to do with it, and got out the beads and some of the faux turquoise disc beads I made a few months ago (a lesson on how to create the disc beads is included in the tutorial.)  

I bought a bunch of Regaliz Licorice Leather several months ago to create bracelets featuring polymer slides (how to create the slides is also included in the tutorial.)  I have a collection of leather pieces which are too short to use for bracelets, but I thought they would make pretty stations for a necklace.  I added Chartreuse Green o-rings, studded Copper rings, Green Chrysoprase rondelles framed in copper end caps, Copper Regaliz end clasps, Turquoise Howlite/Magnesite Rounds; aged, solid Copper round beads, and to top it off, a genuine, rough-cut Turquoise nugget which almost exactly matches Bonnie's gorgeous pendant.  

This is the result.  What do you think?  I love it, and this is just my style.  It is going into my personal collection.  I haven't made myself anything in ages!  

Check out my Diva Designs Facebook page to see some of the other fabulous creations made by some of my other customers. You will be amazed!  

Seeing my customers' creations is absolutely THE best part about writing tutorials!  Many of you are sending me photos of your faux creations, and I hope you will add them to my Flickr Customer Photo Gallery so I can show them off to everyone.  I am so proud of all of you!   

Thank you!

The new tutorial is getting great feedback from my customers, so I am breathing a big sigh of relief this morning.

I am always amazed at how many of you take the time to contact me and thank ME for writing the tutorials.

I am blown away by your encouragement and support.  

One lovely lady told me yesterday that that "not only is it concise and clear but it leaves room for my imagination to take over."  I almost cried.  That is exactly the feeling and excitement I hope you will have with my tutorials.  I want your imagination and creativity to take flight and soar!

There are a couple of things I wanted to mention from the feedback I have received so far.  

One customer did a search at polymerclayexpress.com for "chalk inks" and could not find any.  PCE's search engine is a little wonky, apparently.  The ColorSnap ColorBox Liquid Chalk inks are located here on their website.  Scroll down to the bottom for the re-fill bottles are at the bottom of the page, and are all in stock as of yesterday.  www.polymerclayexpress.com/products/inks/clearsnap/ink-pads If you cannot find the refill bottles, you may substitute the inked pads, but you won't get as much mileage out of them, and they do dry out quickly.

So, if you search for something from my source guide at PCE and cannot find it, please let me know and I will point you to the correct location.  I made sure before I published the tutorial that each component you need is available and in stock at the places I show in the source guide.  There is nothing more frustrating that not being able to put your hands on what you need when you want it.  

Second thing is, one customer asked whether I knew if the products used in my tutorial are tested on animals, or if they are cruelty-free.  I am sorry, but I do not know the answer to that important question.  If any of you have the same concern, I would direct you to the manufacturer's website.  I will check myself and see. I would hate to think any of them are, and if I do find out they are, I will try to find a suitable substitute.  

I am taking next week to get my tax information lined up, one more thing off my "to do" list, and then I am going back into the studio to see what new things I can come up with next!  

I hope all of you have a wonderful, joy-filled, healthy and prosperous new year in 2014!

The Wait Is Finally Over!

For awhile there, I was afraid I was never going to be able to say this, but... my new tutorial is finished and ready for publication!  Thank you to all my wonderful customers who waited so patiently for the debut of "Masterful Faux Made Easy", and to everyone who kept me going by sending me notes of encouragement and support.  I have the best friends and customers anyone could ask for, and I feel truly blessed.   Thank you so much, everyone!

I hope you all have a lot of fun with this technique.  In this tutorial, I teach you my method of creating veneers of realistic-looking turquoise similar to Carico Lake Turquoise, Fox Turquoise, African or Yellow Turquoise, Chinese Turquoise, Number 8 Turquoise, King Manassa turquoise, Kingman Turquoise, Pilot Mountain Turquoise, Purple Turquoise, Boulder Turquoise, Royston Turquoise, White Buffalo Turquoise, Dalmation Jasper, Orange Sponge Coral, Impression Jasper, African Jasper, Sonora Sunrise, Blue Lapis and Pink Rhodochrosite.  WHEW!  

Also included are suggestions on how to use the veneers to create beads, earrings, a slide and a pendant, with lots of clear, color photos; tips to help you be more successful and enjoy the creative process even more; and a source guide for all the materials used in the tutorial.  

And, as always, I am an email away if you have any questions or need assistance.  I love talking to my customers.  Seeing your lovely creations is the best part of writing a tutorial!  

Thank you again, everyone, for sticking with me on this one.  Your loyalty and support are much appreciated!  

Lynda