Potpourri Infused Polymer Clay

The theme for the March PCAGOE challenge is "Texture." I thought and thought, trying to come up with something unique and different. I didn't want to do an embossed or stamped piece, because a lot of the entries will probably feature stamped or embossed pieces.



As part of getting back to basics in an effort to discover where my muse has been hiding for the last month, I decided to revisit techniques I hadn't done in awhile, and while adding inclusions to polymer clay is nothing new, adding an image transfer to the mix is, and I love the results.

I scanned my parents' 1958 wedding invitation, which my mother, a paint artist, hand colored 52 years ago. She framed it and it has hung in her foyer for years. I love it because of the personalization. She added a sketch of the church where my parents were married and one of the orchids from her bridal bouquet.



What I hoped to achieve was a piece that looked like handmade paper. I was concerned whether the colors and text would transfer well, especially to the textured surface created by incorporating the potpourri. The potpourri mix is composed of French lavender buds, Egyptian chamomile, sunflower petals, mauve pink bouton rosebud petals, and red rosebud petals, which I dry and preserve myself for floral arrangements. I have blended tons of it on hand.

The natural perfume from the lavender remained even after curing the piece. My studio has been magically transformed into a French meadow.



Texture is one of the PCAGOE team's favorite themes, and we are sure to have many beautiful and interesting entries, and we hope you will vote for your top 3 favorites at www.pcagoe.com between March 1 and March 7. You could also win a prize. 5 lucky voters, chosen at random will receive one of these beautiful polymer clay prizes created by our talented member artists!



1st Row, L-R: StudioSChiek, PolymerClayCreations, ClayCenter, KDollDesigns
2nd Row, L-R: NKDesigns, RenGalSA, AshPaints, BeeTreeByMe
3rd Row, L-R: 11BoldStreet, AlisonEKurek, RiverValleyDesign, LaurelSteven
4th Row, L-R: Juliespace, JanGeisen, ClayHappy, SCDiva

Faux Jade, Part III - Gettin' There With The Red and White

I am having such fun with the faux jade. I worked on improving the red and white colors yesterday. I am still tweaking the recipe, but I am making progress!

My Faux Vintage Simple Beauty Brooch Featured in a New Treasury!

My friend and fellow PCAGOE member, Linda Riopel, a/k/a NKDesigns, created a new Etsy Treasury this morning and included my Faux Vintage Simple Beauty Brooch.

Linda has a way with Treasury titles and her Treasury collections are always beautiful. This one is no exception. She titled it "Classy Vintage PCAGOE" and included several of my favorite PCAGOE member artists. Check out Marcia Palmer's to-die-for earrings! Aren't they gorgeous?


Faux Vintage Simple Beauty Brooch

Thank you so much, Linda!

Lifeus Interruptus

I intended to get in the studio and stay there all weekend, but several things happened to prevent me from being able to do as I planned. I did make a few new vintage look floral pendants and brooches, and I finished a custom order for a client. Since the styles and techniques are so far apart, it was a little jarring to go from one to the other, and it took me a few minutes to wrap my mind around what to do for the client.

Several months ago, when I first started experimenting with using embossing powders for texture, I made a series of beads I called "Gunpowder and Gold". They were made from Black and Gold clay, and I rolled some Gold snakes in black embossing powder to make this little pendant, which measures about 1 1/2" by 1". I made myself a necklace from it, and my friend Catherine saw it, she asked me to make a necklace for her with a bigger, more squared pendant in the same pattern.

This is what I came up with, after my mind shifted gears from image transfers. I hope she likes it.

These are the image transfers I cured Saturday, and sanded and buffed yesterday. I think I am going to have to take a course on flower names, though. Does anyone know if the purple blooming flower is really a delphinium? That is what I have been calling it.



Tangerine Lily Pendant











Burgundy Carnation Pendant











Watercolor Butterflies Series - Red Gold and Blue Black

Friday Favorites May 1, 2009

I cannot believe it is May already. The year is speeding by too fast for me. I need a few more hours out of each day. I realized I have not posted a Friday Favorites lately, so here are my pics for today, all Polymer Clay Art and Artists I discovered on my jaunt through Etsy the other day to check out my favorite Sellers' newest works. It is not by chance more than a few depict image transfer techniques.

Lynn Davis is one of my favorite polymer clay artists. I purchased a Carpe Diem Heart from her ExpeditionD shop a couple of weeks ago (she also sells under her name), and it has quickly become one of my most prized treasures. It is definitely the tiniest piece of art I own, at 1" by 1", and evokes so much emotion every time I look at it.

Bethany Cooper's Copper Clay Tile Pin grabbed my attention the first moment I saw it. It is awesome, and the next thing on my "buy" list. You would never guess it is made from polymer clay. That frame looks like real, aged copper. It has a touch of verdigris, which you know I love.

EyeOfTheTiger's Heavenly Cherubs On A Cloud Brooch is an exquisite example of image transfer onto polymer clay. I absolutely love the cutwork detail, which is extremely hard to do and not botch. Trust me, I've tried.

And I am a huge fan of Shabby Chic/Cottage Chic decor, and MenagerieStudio's Shabby Chic Heart Charm really appeals to me. This piece is deceptively simple looking, too. There are actually several techniques evident in this piece: Image transfer, embossing, aging and crackling. It is really stunning. I am going back to drool over more charms from this Seller.

Here is a link to all the Art and Artists featured. Please visit their shops for more examples of the versatility of polymer clay. The possibilities really are endless!

SteamPunk Heart 22 - Leasttreasures

Owl Necklace - Two Elements

Triangle Silver Flower Pendant - dinolover77

Heart Wing Strings - ExpeditionD

Three Of A Kind -Lynn Davis

Copper Clay Tile Pin - Bethany Cooper

Ava's Brooch -Avacreat

Vintage Angel in Clouds Earrings - threecatsgraphics

Heavenly Cherubs on A Cloud - Eyeofthetiger

OOAK Beautiful Artisan Bead and Pendant Set - Bijoullery

Wild West Pendant - MichellesClay

Shabby Chic Heart Charm - MenagerieStudio

My Sage Bird Featured On Pip's Blog

My sage little Sage Bird Pendant is featured today at my friend Pippa Chandler's blog.

Pippa lives in the United Kingdom and is a gifted and supremely talented Polymer Clay artist. She and I share a love hate relationship with sandpaper. We are admitted sanding and buffing addicts. Yes, we've never seen a piece of polymer clay we haven't sanded and buffed to a glassy shine!

I adore Pippa's work and am so glad to be able to call her a friend. I think she must have a perpetually sunny disposition. If she ever has a bad day, you'd never know it from talking to her.

Pippa, you are a sister of my heart, even though you don't talk with a drawl or have bigass hair, and you really are THE BEST! Thank you again!

Pay It Forward!

UPDATE: MAY 29, 2009 I HAVE ONE SPOT LEFT FOR PAY-IT-FORWARD! THE NEXT PERSON WHO COMMENTS ON THIS POST AND POSTS THE PAY-IT-FORWARD BLURB ON THEIR BLOG WILL RECEIVE SOMETHING I CREATED!

THANKS!
LYNDA
I love the idea behind Random Acts of Kindness and Pay It Forward. I've been the giver and the recipient numerous times, and nothing makes you feel as good as doing something nice for your fellow hooman beans. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this idea, which comes from Christi at 2ifbysea. Thank you, Christi.

Okay, here we go:

Creative people are adventurous! So, if you would like to participate, please send me a comment and the first five people will receive something from me in the mail. Here are the rules, and happy posting!

This offer does have some restrictions and limitations so please read carefully:

1. I make no guarantees that you will like what I make. This is an adventure!

2. What I create will be just for you with love and good wishes. It will be made of actual materials, not of cyberspace.

3. It will be done this year (2009).

4. I will not give you any clue what it’s going to be!

5. In return, all you need to do is cut and paste this text on your Blog (from "Creative People are..." and create Five things for the first 5 people to respond to your post.

6. Send your mailing address after I contact you.

IMPORTANT: This offer is null and void if you do not post on your own blog to pay this forward.

Thanks so much!
Lynda

Bird Beads: A New Chapter

I have had a productive weekend so far. I made 25 new pieces and only two sailed into the "Butt Uglies" jar!

I wanted to see what I could do with some of the larger bird images I purchased. I was cruising around Etsy Friday afternoon, checking to see what was new in some of my favorite Sellers' shops, and I stopped at Marcia Palmer's store.

Marcia Palmer is a polymer clay artist from Atlanta, although she works in other mediums besides clay. I admire Marcia's work tremendously. She has been a huge inspiration to me since I started working with clay almost two years ago. I think our sense of color and composition are similar, although she may not like the comparison. Her combination of warm, earthy colors and bold and exciting patterns and rich detail are what I strive for in my own work. I visit her shop and drool. Everything is so beautiful.

I purchased some background patterns a few months ago and haven't been able to come up with a way to use them until this weekend. I looked at the larger bird images and realized they would be perfect against the brick reds, mustard yellows and burnt oranges in the patterns of the backgrounds, made even more vivid by black outlines. They are all distressed to look even more "vintage". You know I love that vintage look! I really like the way these turned out, and hope to complete a few more next week.

Think Green Today

Happy Earth Day, everyone! I have to admit, I have not been the world's best recycler in the past, but I am trying to do better. I watched Al Gore's documentary recently and it gave me the heebeejeebees. Now I'm using non-aerosol hairspray, I sort my trash into Paper, Plastic and Glass, I buy bio-degradable cat litter, and I take cloth totes to the grocery store. I also try to buy recycled paper products whenever I can.

As a life-long crafter, I've used found objects practically my whole life, so I do contribute to sustainable art, although I'd like to do more. I recently "repurposed" some frosted glass, empty room freshener plug-in bottles and a couple of mini bottles (I didn't drink them, Ma, they were given to me) by covering them with polymer clay.

These aren't new works, but since today is Earth Day, I thought I would show off my "sustainable art". I just finished off a bottle of my favorite perfume, Ralph Lauren Blue, and I am really excited the possibilities of what I can do with it. It has a very intriguing square shape. I'll post photos when I finish it. All those corners would be a real test of the ol' image transfer technique, though.

Be good to your Earth. It's the only one you've got!

In The Zone

I spent the weekend surrounded by image transfers. I had big plans to work the entire weekend to get some Spring themed items in the Etsy store. I got up at 6:00 a.m. Saturday morning and started cutting and trimming a few hundred images, picked 50 of my favorites and dived in, only to come to a screaching halt when I ran out of Premo Pearl clay about halfway through the first batch. So I had to stop, take a shower, get dressed, put on makeup, fix my hair (I don't go anywhere without hair and makeup, people. I would scare small children!) and make the 215 mile, round trip from the boonies where I live to the nearest craft store, a Hobby Lobby, only to discover their inventory of Pearl was hard as a brick. I bought 2 small packages anyway and some Premo clay softener, which I had never used before, and crossed my fingers it would work.

It worked, but put me behind about 6 hours, so I ended up pulling an all-nighter Saturday night. I'm sure you know how it is...when you get on a roll and forget time and food and the doorbell and phone...you're in THE ZONE.

It took me awhile to get my momentum back, but I ended up making 30 new pieces brooches and pendants and bird beads from my new collection of vintage book illustrations of flowers and shells and Japanese postcards. I ended up going to bed about 5:00 a.m. Sunday.

The only bad thing about making so many new pieces at one time is that they all have to be sanded and buffed, which I normally don't mind. In fact, sanding is very cathartic, but 30 pieces took all day Sunday to complete, but my elbows and arms feel like lead weights this morning.

You can see more of my weekend efforts at my flickr photostream. And I ordered several one pound blocks of Premo Pearl this morning with express delivery, so I should be good to go again by Thursday! Next up, those vintage shells on ephemera backgrounds I didn't get to, and some historic places images!