Art Bead Scene September monthly challenge

Tags

art bead, Autumn, earring, handmade bead, nature, necklace, polymer clay, SEP ABS

It’s a lucky coincidence that I have something for this month’s Art Bead Scene challenge. I’d just made a pair of earrings to co-ordinate with the Bronze Oddment necklace I made a while ago and, as I was uploading them to my etsy store, I realised the colours were perfect for this month’s painting.

View of the Pond at Charleston, East Sussex by Vanessa Bell
Oil on canvas, 79.8 x 84 cm

Here are the earrings. I used polymer clay beads which I made myself together with glass seed beads. They are attached to tiny brass washers I found in an old bracelet and bronze coloured niobium ear-wires. I like how the shards of polymer clay suggest the falling leaf motif of the curtain.

Oddment earrings by Cate van Alphen

And here’s a new image of the necklace they were made to co-ordinate with.

Bronze Oddment Necklace by Cate van Alphen

Magma bead necklace

Tags

art bead, bead, bead necklace, Cate van Alphen, handmade, macrame, magma, necklace, polymer clay, steampunk

I don’t usually find time to make much more than my weekly beads for the Spectrum Challenge, but I did manage to finish this micro macrame and chunky bead necklace.

Magma bead necklace by Cate van Alphen

It’s quite a relief to finally finish it as I bought the red accent beads to go with the polymer clay focal bead more than two years ago!

Magma focal bead necklace by Cate van Alphen

I also made a polymer clay and wire toggle clasp to complete the necklace.

Polymer clay toggle clasp by Cate van Alphen

I think it would look great with a steampunk corset dress. Although, sadly, I don’t have one to check ;).

Polymer clay challenge week 25 – bead

Tags

2015PCchallenge, art bead, bead, blue, Cate van Alphen, frit bead, handmade, polymer clay

This week, week 25 of the 2015 Polymer Clay Challenge, I made blue beads. I used the fragments from drilling the big beads last week to make some “frit” beads.

Water lilies, polymer clay frit beads by Cate van Alphen

I like the painterly effect created by adding mica powder unevenly.

Water lilies, polymer clay frit beads by Cate van Alphen

They remind me of Monet’s paintings of water lilies, so that’s what I’ve named them. 😉

Water lilies, polymer clay frit beads by Cate van Alphen

Another Oddment necklace

Tags

art bead, boho, bronze, Cate van Alphen, gold, handmade, lampwork beads, necklace, polymer clay beads, purple

I had so much fun making my Oddment necklace, I made another one in slightly different colours. This necklace includes polymer clay beads made by Rebekah Payne which I won back at the start of 2014. Can you spot them?

Bronze and Gold Oddment necklace by Cate van Alphen

I also included polymer clay beads that I made myself, glass lampwork beads and filigree metal beads which I reclaimed from jewellery that I found in the charity shop.

Oddment beads by Cate van Alphen

Here are a few more photos since the necklace looks quite different depending on the rotation around the neck.

Bronze and Gold Oddment necklace by Cate van Alphen

Some of the beads I used to make this necklace are currently available in my Etsy bead shop.

Bronze and Gold Oddment necklace by Cate van Alphen

I’m collecting up a few more stashes of beads so I expect there will be more of these necklaces soon 😉

Polymer clay challenge week 4 – beads

Tags

2015PCchallenge, art bead, bead, handmade, polymer clay, stroppel cane

This week for my polymer clay challenge I have been making beads. I made some spacer beads in different shapes.

Back in week 1, I made a Stroppel style cane using the leftover gradient mix from my colour block pendant. This week, I made a set of round beads using the cane.

And I also made a set of tile beads to go with the toggle I made last week.

Polymer clay challenge – week 3

Tags

2015PCchallenge, art bead, bead, brown, button, handmade, orange, polymer clay, retro, toggle

This week, for my polymer clay challenge, I have made toggles. I wanted to make a toggle to go with my retro beads from last week.

The decorative dot conceals the holes of the button. But it also caused some technical difficulties.

I ended up making three toggles because the first hole was too small to account for the bump on the button. So I made a new thinner button without the dot, and added a stripe of the patterned clay to the brown frame to link the two pieces.

Then the second toggle frame was too big and it got scorched in the oven so it’s now covered with mosaic made from scraps. Although the colours seem to be departing from orange, I think this one is my favourite. It just goes to show that  mistakes are often opportunities with polymer clay.

Which one is your favourite?

AJE December reveal

Tags

art bead, art jewellery, chirstmas, Diana Ptaszynski, snowflake, Snowflake ornament

I’m really sorry this is late, I have been so focused on my Fimo colour mixing I lost track of the date. Here is my Component of the Month reveal for December (and it includes the missing steps from my Art Bead Scene pieces). I received this beautiful snowflake by Diana Ptaszynski of Suburban Girl Studio.

Snowflake ornament by Cate van Alphen

I did think it was extravagant using an art bead to make an ornament until I saw this post. Think of it a s jewellery for the tree 🙂 I know Christmas is over, but when I was making this in mid December, I couldn’t resist.

Have a look at what the other participants have made:
Monthly Winners
Dana Hickey

AJE Blog Team
Lindsay M Starr
Linda Landig
Lesley Watt
Caroline Dewison
Susan Kennedy
Jen Cameron
Jenny Davies-Reazor
Melissa Meman
Kristen Stevens

Christmas gifts given

Tags

art bead, bead, Cate van Alphen, earrings, flower, jewellery, phoenix, polymer clay, polymer clay bead earrings

Here is a proper look at the polymer clay bead earrings I made as Christmas gifts this year…

Pharaoh’s flower necklace by Cate van Alphen

I made a pair of earrings to go with one of the first necklaces I made back in 2009 (dodgy photo is from then too!).

Pharaoh’s flower earrings by Cate van Alphen

Next I made a pair of earrings to go with the necklace I made for the May ABS Challenge.

Blue and gold earrings by Cate van Alphen

Finally I was commissioned to make a pair of earrings like my phoenix charms but with a black background. The front of the earring features a feather and the back has the phoenix.

Midnight phoenix earrings by Cate van Alphen

Art Bead Scene – December 2014

Tags

art bead, bead earrings, Cate van Alphen, DEC ABS, earring, handmade beads, monthly challenge, polymer clay

The earrings I made for this month’s Art Bead Scene Challenge may seem a little abstract because I can’t share all the steps I took to get there (yet!). The beads I used are handmade by me from polymer clay (other than the gold seed beads in the last pair of earrings).

Choir of Sint-Bavokerk, Haarlem 1635 by Pieter Jansz Saenedam
Oil on Oak Panel, 37.1 x 48.2 cm

Rustic sequin stack earrings by Cate van Alphen

Monochrome earrings – inspired by the geometric structure of the painting.

White stack and glitter bead earrings by Cate van Alphen

Earrings with gold glitter beads (because it’s Christmas). I thought I could get away with these because of the gold chandelier in the painting.

Offset stack bead earrings by Cate van Alphen

The last pair is a bit of a tangent away from the painting. I was worried the stacks of flat disk beads looked a little like electric power line insulators so I tried a pair with the holes drilled off centre. I discovered that I needed to drill two holes to prevent the beads spinning around inelegantly. I was trying to achieve a look of an impossibly precarious cairn. The idea is pretty much the opposite of the order and structure of the painting, but don’t tell the muse!

Snow is coming

Tags

art bead, pendant, snowflake, stoneware

I was lucky enough to be selected to work with one of the Art Jewelry Elements component of the month. Now I’m eagerly waiting for the snow!

Rustic Stoneware Snowflake Pendant by Diana Ptaszynski (Suburban Girl Studio LLC)

Hopefully the Christmas mail won’t slow it down too much. 😉

Come back on the 3rd January 2015 and see what I make with it.