Pearls of polymer clay

Tags

art bead, Art Charm Swap, Cate van Alphen, handmade beads, kanji, mica powder, pearl, perfect pearls, polymer clay

I recently discovered that some mica powders (e.g. Perfect Pearls) have an added resin which means they do not need to be varnished to seal. WOOT! I love the shimmer, but I have been avoiding using them because I find varnishing such a hassle – all that washing brushes and waiting for it to dry…

Since then I haven’t been able to stop myself adding pearlescent powder just about everything.

Kanji pendant by Cate van Alphen. The symbol means “friend”. It is available in my Etsy store.

Blueberry frit beads by Cate van Alphen

These are Stroppel round Natasha beads. See my free tutorial for how I made them.

Yes, I only have one colour of mica powder at the moment, but I have ordered a few more… so watch this space for more pearls of polymer clay.

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In other news, I have received my Art Charms 🙂 but you will need to wait till after the reveal on 14th November 2014 to see my treasures as I want to include some of the artists’ inspiration.

Bead Soup Blog Party Giveaway Winner

Tags

art bead, beads, embroidered, giveaway, handmade bead, pearl, polymer clay, polymer clay beads

The winner of the “embroidered pearl” polymer clay beads from my Bead Soup Blog Party post is Becky Pancake. Congratulations!

The soup I sent

Tags

bead, Bead Soup Blog Party, crystal, pearl, pendant, polymer clay

The bead soup I sent has been received by my partner Wendy Chamberlain, so here are some clearer photographs 🙂

I had intended to put together a soup starting with a chunky toggle similar to the one I made for the Art Bead Scene challenge back in August 2013, but after seeing Wendy’s work I kept thinking about this polymer clay pendant I made a while back. It has a funky back too…

I already had the co-ordinating purple pearls, teal crystals and green lucite flowers. All I had to do was find a dainty clasp.

Remember the blog hop is 3rd May 2014, so come back then to see what everyone makes with their delicous bead soups.

Space Rock and UFOs

Tags

bead, crystal, focal bead, handmade, necklace, pearl, polymer clay

Because the babies don’t leave me much time to clay, I have been working on “quick win” projects like earrings, and completing some of my UFOs (unfinished objects).  A while back, I experimented with diy expanding foam as a core for polymer clay. At the time I decided to wait and see if there would be a reaction between the polymer clay and the polyurethane foam – that was now nearly two years ago (:o) and so far all is well.

I call the focal bead “Space Rock Creature”. I used a mix of glass beads, crystals and pearls (faux) to string it, and I found a home for some of the beautiful stone oval beads sent to me in the Bead Soup blog party back in 2012.

Bead Soup Reveal

Tags

bead soup, beads, bracelet, coral, earring, handmade, mermaid, necklace, pearl, rock pool, shell, stone, yarn

Welcome to my reveal for the 6th Bead Soup Blog Party. This is the second of three helpings of beady loveliness. My partner Dorota Żerańska sent me a super generous selection of wonderful beads. Here is an overview photo, for more details see my earlier post.

The first beads I unwrapped were the large white ones (I think they are coral) and they reminded me of a shell focal that has been waiting in my todo box for years. I knew I wanted an all white necklace and it was to be called “Mermaid’s Purse”. I was intending to make faux shells and coral from polymer clay, but then I unwrapped actual shell beads, and white stone disks. If that wasn’t enough confirmation the final bead I unwrapped was the mermaid herself!

Now that the mermaid had her bling (and a matching pair of earrings) it was time for me to consider where she herself would be at home. I noticed that the stone chips had beautiful flashes of blue which matched some blue ribbon yarn I had. I used some tiny red seed beads that matched the mermaid’s colour to make some branched dangles and created “Mermaid’s Rock-pool”.

I then noticed a tiny bunch of grapes on the toggle Dorota had sent and realised that the colour of the pearls reminded me of the velvety shimmer you get on black grapes. I used one of my polymer clay focal beads which had a vine-like filigree pattern and made a multi-stranded choker and a pair of earrings.

I also made two bracelets.

And a third pair of earrings. Dorota even sent me ear-wires!

I still have many wonderful beads I haven’t managed to use yet (including two focals) so I’ll be busy until the next Bead Soup Party! Have a look at all the other participants (scroll down to Reveal #2) especially my partner, Dorota who does amazing things with seed beads. Thank you Lori for sharing this event with so many of us. 🙂

To celebrate this party I’m offering a 20% discount in my Zibbet shop until the next reveal date (25th August 2012). Enter coupon code BSBP6.

Also there may be a free surprise gift available if you are willing to pay it forward.