Pantone Color Combination Samples plus CaBezel Tip

I have been working on new pieces using the Pantone Fall 2018 fashion colors in various combinations.  I love creating with the CaBezel molds that Wendy Orlowski at Shades of Clay designs and the new Holy CaBezels are my absolute favorites!  When working with them, I find it best to create my bezel frames first, add my snap and bake them so they are ready to fill when I need them.  I like to do them in my bolder or neutral colors like black, navy, dark green, etc. and in a variety of shapes.

To keep them handy, I have a peg board above my clay work table and I organize them all by color in bags and hang them on the pegs.

So here is a little peak of two that I did using a combination of four of the Pantone Fall 2018 Fashion Colors:  Martini Olive, Ceylon Yellow, Valiant Poppy and Russet Orange.

I will share a few more samples on my facebook page so don't forget to click the like button every so often so my posts will stay in your feed or facebook will consider it unimportant and hide them from you.

New CaBezel Snaps in Winter Colors

I haven't been too active here this month as we've had our nose to the grindstone -- or more like the clay pasta machine!  Many of the stores that we sell wholesale to turn in their fall orders and it seems September is our month to get them all finished and sent out or delivered.  I am happy to say I see a little light flickering at the end of the tunnel but is still a little ways away yet.  The good news is that we have been making some new creations and will try and share them as they are finished off and photographed.

Here are a few of our new interchangeable snaps in fall colors.  The crimson red and grey are a variation of the Pantone fall colors that also have a more winter feel.  I think, however, they will compliment outfits in black or neutral gray quite nicely.  I used three of the Holy CaBezel jewelry molds for the pendant beads below.  Left to right:  Carolyn (named after moi),  Lorraine, and Sue.  These were all created using the largest of the three sizes in the set.

We recently brought in some new snap base bracelets and will have some available in our online store soon.  Most of these will be going to the Silhouette Fashion Boutique with some other new fresh items for fall.  I am quite excited about them opening another store.  The latest one is in Vernon (Village Green Centre) so our Snap Decisions Collection is now available there as well as the downtown Salmon Arm location.

New CaBezel Designs in a Snap! - mini tutorial

I love working with the CaBezel Molds that are created by Wendy Orlowski.  It is such a unique concept where you can create a bezel frame from clay and then a clay pattern cabochon to fit inside -- thus the name Cab -- (Cabochon) -- Bezel.

These molds are sold through Shades of Clay and there is a wide selection of shapes and sizes.  I have just about all of them and now, Wendy has created some new designs -- CaBezels with holes which will be available at Shades of Clay very soon!  Wendy sent me some to test out and play with and I had fun creating some new stuff.  Apparently she is working on some smaller shapes that coordinate with these and I can hardly wait until they are out!

I have been wanting to incorporate the CaBezels into our Snap Decisions Collection and finally worked it out.  I don't know what took me so long as frankly, it was a lot easier than I expected and so want to share it with you as an addition to my published tutorial.  And in case you missed it, my tutorial is on sale for this month which you can read more about here.

One note is that it works best with Kato clay as I have tried this with both Premo and Fimo clay and found they were too soft.  So here is how you can add a snap to the back of your CaBezel design to create a piece that is interchangeable:

Step 1 - Place your clay onto a ceramic tile and stick it down really well so it will not move.  Spray your clay with water (for a mold release) and burnish the CaBezel (Bezel part) until you get a nice deep impression.

Step 2 - Trim around the outside of the Bezel with a scalpel or sharp blade.  This is where the ceramic tile comes in handy as you can turn it as you trim.

Step 3 - If you want the hole in your design, trim out the center portion as well.  I will be showing here 2 methods - with the hole and filling in the hole.

Step 4 - Smooth all the outside edges of your shape, if necessary.

Step 5 - Now slide your tissue blade under your bezel to remove it from your tile.  Pick it up and place it back into the CaBezel mold, placing it face down.  Here it is shown face up so you can see.

Step 6 - To add your snap, make sure it has been prepped first using method A (page 4) in my Snap Decisions tutorial and then add some liquid clay to the inside.  Push the snap firmly into the back of the clay bezel.

Picture A shows the bezel without the hole and I am inserting a snap with a bezel and picture B is with the hole and I am inserting a flat snap.

Step 7 - If you need help pushing in the snap, you can use a small shape cutter that fits just inside to give you more leverage.

Step 8 - The snap should be well embedded into the clay and flush with the back of the bezel as shown in the photo below.

Step 9 - While the clay is still in the mold, you can texture the back with a sponge, sandpaper or whatever you prefer.

Step 10 - I also like to add our signature stamp at this point as well and then you can clean up the edges by pushing against the side with your tissue blade.

Step 11 - Carefully take your piece out of the mold and poke a few holes with a needle tool into the clay above where the snap is to release any trapped air when baking.  Bake the piece flat using the snap support boards shown on page 21 of my tutorial.

Step 12 - Make your cabochon part of the CaBezel with your clay pattern by following the same method as in steps 1 - 4.  If you are filling in the center, you can use a solid color of clay or here I am saving the piece that I cut out and using that.

Place your clay design into the Cabezel (add liquid clay first) by following the CaBezel instructions.

Step 13 - To fill the hole and (A) to measure the size for the center, place the Bezel portion over the clay and lightly burnish to mark it.  Cut it by using the inside lines as a guide.  (B) Turn it over (right side facing down) and cut a shape out of scrap clay slightly smaller and place it in the center.  (C) Turn it over and with your finger, bevel the edges all the way around.  You can round the corners by pushing a blade up against them.  (D) Add some liquid clay to the Bezel center.  (E) Place your piece into the center and smooth the inside edges.

I decided I wanted the center to pop a bit more so added a Swarovski crystal before baking.  Bake again using the  snap support board to keep it flat.

And here are my finished pieces, added to a snap base on a cord.

Or you can add it to the chain style necklace shown in my previous tutorial here.

The beauty of creating your pieces on a snap is that they can be worn so many different ways making your design very versatile!  Imagine wearing them in other ways such as a brooch, on a shawl stick or even in your hair!

And here are a few more pieces that we created using the CaBezel molds with a snap:

Pantone Spring 2015 Fashion Color Classic Blue

I decided to go out of order and skip over to the Pantone color, Classic Blue, for this post.  Classic Blue is similar to a royal blue and, according to Pantone, will serve as an anchor to the Spring/Summer 2015 palette.

Pantone suggests pairing this Blue with Marsala.  We created some patterned sheets of clay using Julie Picarello's technique in the color combination of Classic Blue, Marsala and Aquamarine.  The clay sheets were then formed into focal beads which I will share how they were made at the end of this post.

Here is the clay recipe for Classic Blue using Kato clay:

Classic Blue

8 parts Kato Blue

1/2 part Kato Black

1 part White Mix #1-2 *

* This clay base color is found in my:

"Clay Color System" tutorial

available as an instant download

in our Etsy Shop

or manually sent in an e-mail

from our Artfire Studio.

Now I will share with you how I created the above focal beads.  To create the veneer, using the technique from Julie Picarello's book, we used one stack of clay with a thin layer of Marsala and a thicker layer of Aquamarine and the other stack consisting of a thin layer of Classic Blue and a thicker layer of Aquamarine.

The shapes were formed using some cabochon molds called the "Almond Bezels and More" by Penny Jo.  Wendy Orlowski created the Bezel molds to coordinate with these cabochons which we made for the above beads in the Marsala color.  I am very familiar with Wendy's CaBezel Molds and have almost her entire collection.  These Bezel molds work the same way as her other CaBezels and she has several tutorials out on how to use them which you will find here.  This was my first time working with the molds from Penny Jo and was really impressed with how easy they were to use.  The Bezel and Cabochon molds are sold separately or you can purchase them together as a set at Shades of Clay.

Step 1 - To create the cabochon, I pressed some clay into one of the mold shapes.  I could have used scrap clay but in this case I wanted the color to show through the holes in the veneer as a background so I used some of the Classic Blue.

Step 2-3 - With your rigid tissue blade slice off the excess clay using the mold as a guide.

Step 4 - The cabochon easily pops out of the mold leaving a really smooth surface.

Step 5 - Lay the veneer sheet over the cabochon shape.

Step 6 - Flip it over and press it back into the cabochon mold.  I took the veneer sheet that was hanging over the edges and folded them onto the back of the cab which is optional.

Step 7 - Repeat the same method as in steps 2-3 by slicing off the excess clay.

Step 8 - Pop the cabochon out of the mold and it is ready to insert into the clay bezel.

These were so much fun and I really love the results so can't wait to play with this set even more.

Faux Green Turquoise CaBezel Necklace and Earrings

I finally finished off the necklace with the Faux Green Turquoise CaBezel beads.  I shared the new green turquoise clay color recipe a while ago and you can find it here.

I used the "Lemon Egg" CaBezel mould to create the beads in this piece.  The ribbon is velvet and is not only extremely soft but completely washable and colorfast.  There is something unique about the earrings shown below.  I will share the surprise and how I made them with you tomorrow.