Waterfall Necklaces with the New CaBezel Molds

I've been having fun making pendant pieces using the new CaBezel molds by Wendy Orlowski.  These ones have a hole in the center and I just love the new shapes.  They will be available soon at Shades of Clay and also in several sizes for each shape.  I can hardly wait and really excited to create with those as well.  I am thinking the smaller shapes would make great earrings to match the pendants.

I like to create the Bezel parts of the molds first so they are ready to fill with our various designs.

So all of these pieces that I created are interchangeable with a snap embedded into the back.  I shared a mini tutorial on how to do this in a previous post here.  The nice thing about making them interchangeable instead of adding a bail is that they can be worn in a variety of ways.  Every person has different preferences when it comes to wearing a necklace including size, color and even style.  With this method, we can create the art and the customer can decide how they want to wear it. 

I was photographing some of these pieces to list in our online store and made a cool discovery.  When I added them to our snap base with a chain tassel I noticed the chain would fit through the center hole of the pendant piece creating a cool waterfall effect!

No matter which shape I used, the chain fit through the hole and was perfectly balanced!

If you would like to create your own interchangeable snap necklaces we have several findings available in our Supply section of our online store (click on the photos for more info) with several items on sale until the end of the week or while supplies last.

Basic Snap Base Link with 2 Loops

Basic Snap Pendants

Snap Base Pendant With Attached Tube Bail

And to get you started, check out my Interchangeable Polymer Clay Jewelry in a Snap tutorial.  I share lots of tips and tricks on working with the metal snaps such as adding your clay creations, baking and finishing.

My tutorial (part 1 & 2 combined) is 25% off until the end of the month and you will receive your bonus personalized coupon code for 20% off your first purchase of snap supplies!

New Snap Necklace Pendants

We have some new items listed in our online store that I thought I would share with you. We have been adding new items on a weekly basis and you can keep up to date by checking our "new items" page in our online store.

These are some gorgeous new snap base pendants we recently added to our snap pendant section.  They all have our original clip clasp bail for interchanging onto various necklace chains or cords. 

These pendants are shown with our new deluxe twisted rope necklace chains.  They are stainless steel plus a mixed gold plated stainless steel making them hypoallergenic and tarnish resistant!   They are available as an upgrade when purchasing one of our snap base pendants or also sold separately in our necklace chains section.

Right now until the end of May (midnight Wednesday, May 31), take 20% off any of our snap base pendants by using the coupon code shown below:

Left-over Mokume Made into Interchangeable Jewelry Pieces

After making the buttons for my new sweater coat from KLA Originals (see my previous blog post here),  I had some mokume patterned clay sheets left over from making the buttons so I had to make a few jewelry pieces and snaps to coordinate!

From the same mokume stack I ended up with an end piece that had more of the navy and golden bronze and another sheet with more of the turquoise green.  I made a pendant out of each of the sheets to create two different looks.  I mounted a snap on the back so they can interchange on the snap pendant (with tube bail) on a braided leather cord in navy blue.

I could have made a separate pair of earrings to match each of the pendants but since my earring beads and ear wires are all interchangeable, I decided a set that was reversible would be best.  I can interchange them on several different ear wire styles and just flip them around to the side I want to wear.

And of course a navy clutch purse to add some interchangeable snaps finishes off the whole ensemble.

From Art Deco to Art Nouveau

I have been sorting and cleaning up more of my "scrap clay" piles and creating new designs from them.  All of our clay "left-overs" go into containers that are either sorted by color or color combinations.  I had picked out enough combinations that I thought would make some good Art Deco patterns using my new technique that I now have published in a fun and easy tutorial.

When I mixed up one of the combinations, I was quite pleased with the results and how the overall pattern was much softer and had more of an art nouveau look rather than the brighter art deco.

Teal and lime green are two of my favorite colors and when I saw the results from this batch, I had to make a set of snaps for myself to wear!  The cool thing about this technique is that you can make up lots of beads, snaps and even buttons to create a coordinating theme, yet each pattern is completely unique and one of a kind.

If you look closely, you will see there is some mirror imaging involved.  If you are one of those who can not slice your clay perfectly even or have one of those expensive or fancy slicers, you do not have to worry about that.  We do not have a cane slicer of any kind and slice all our canes by hand.  In my lesson I have some tips on how to create perfect mirror images, even if your slices are not all evenly sliced!

You can now purchase some of our best selling findings like the gorgeous rhinestone ring with the snap base (above) and snap base pendants and bracelets (below) in our snap supply section of our online store. But hurry if you want some as we only have a limited supply and will be several months before we can get another shipment in!

And don't forget to use the coupon code to receive a discount on your total purchase from our online store. 

Just a Happy Customer

Here in Canada we don't have too many places we can purchase our jewelry or polymer clay supplies.  It is difficult at times to order south of the border and even though there are companies that offer huge discounts, the cost in shipping and U.S. currency exchange can end up being more in the end.  We are very fortunate to have Shades of Clay as our major supplier of Kato clay as well as so many other tools and items at a very reasonable cost right here in our own country. Even though they are more than 5000 kilometers (3000 miles) away from us, they are still a Canadian company and we don't have customs and high shipping costs to deal with.

Shades of Clay has been around for quite a few years and last year Wendy Orlowski took over the company from Margaret, the previous owner.  Wendy continues to give the same excellent service and is working even harder to build up a wider selection of cool items for us.  The latest news is that they will be bringing in some of the Pebeo Fantasy Prisme paints and zentagle markers which I am very excited about.

So why am I telling you all this?  I am not being paid to promote Shades, but just a happy customer and wanted to share that with you.  We are also both Canadians and therefore we like to support one another.  It is wonderful to find a supplier that you can work with directly and can supply so many items that we need.

Anyhow, I cannot write a blog post without showing you at least one picture.  Here are some new flip flop sandals we are working on for this year.  The flowers are from the new canes I showed you earlier (you can see them here).  Since we live at a beach (lake) and there are many lakes with beaches surrounding us, our flip flop jewelry is generally a big hit at the summer shows.  We decided that this year was time to come out with a new look and this is just a sample.  The cords on these pendants are a type of "buna" called "softglass" which is available here.

It is already warm here and is nice to be wearing summer clothes and flip flops again!

Favorite Flowers

We went mainly with a summer floral theme for this year's Shuswap Festival of the Arts.  Here is a sampling of a few more pieces that are available in the gift shop which is open until this Sunday July 22.

Lapel Pins

Brooches / Pendants

Kaleidoscope Designs

I have always been fascinated with kaleidoscopes and admire some of the beautiful kaleidoscope canes others have created in polymer clay.  I always wanted to give it a try and never got around to it until now.  It was a lot of fun experimenting with different techniques until I figured out a method that worked best for me.

Now that we have our new logo stamp (see our last post here), I managed to finish some of the pieces.    Here are a few pieces that can be worn either as a brooch or pendants.  I used some of my left over cane pieces and color blends in the Pantone Spring 2012 colors of Tangerine Tango, Cabaret and Solar Power combined with my favorite olive green.

Need Your Input

We've been experimenting with some mokume gane techniques as well as new color combinations and pendant shapes.  Perhaps you could help settle a bet between Dave and myself.  Can you tell us what you see here?  Give us your best description and you can comment here or on our facebook page.

Fabulous Faux Turquoise Tutorial

My tutorial, Fabulous Faux Turquoise, is finally finished and available in our Art Fire studio as well as our Etsy Shop.

In this lesson I share with you exactly how I create my faux turquoise, including my own color mix recipe using either Kato or Premo clay.  Afterwards, you will learn several ways to use your turquoise mix to make your own beads and other jewelry components that will look like highly polished gems that will last forever.

Silver combines beautifully with turquoise and as a bonus, I have included several ways to combine your turquoise with metal frames or bezels.  You can use your own handcrafted frames made from wire or metal clay or ones purchased from a craft supply store.  The ones shown in the lesson are available in our ArtFire Studio.

Time for a Give away!

Earlier this week the list of followers on this blog passed 400!  I mentioned on our facebook page we would have a give-a-way to celebrate but was so busy finishing up my color tutorial, I didn't have time to get around to it.

The One World One Heart Event will be starting January 30th this year.  It is the fifth and final year for this and we will be participating again for our third time.  But as a special thanks to all our regular followers, we are having a "Pre-Valentine Heart Give-a-Way".

We will be giving away this handcrafted heart pendant.  The texture was made from antique lace and then highlighted with mica powder pigments in a deep teal and lavender.  There is a teal Swarovski crystal embedded into the center and it is hung from a silver plated bail on a nylon coated steel cable with our "signature" barrel type clasp.

To win this pendant, all you have to do is leave a comment here on this post and just a little mention as to what country you are from and how you met us or found our blog (if you can remember).  You have gotten to know us and our work through this blog, this is a great way for us to get to know more about you, our followers.

The cut-off for this give-a-away will be 9:00 pm Pacific time on Friday, January 28.  We will make the draw on Saturday from the list of comments placed here and announce the winner that day.  Remember to make sure there is a way to contact you if you win or we will have to draw another name.

Good luck and we are looking forward to hearing from you!

Carolyn and Dave Good

Designer Pieces for Myself

I'm taking a break away from the salmon for a bit and hoping we put enough stock out the other day to last until the 24th of October.  If it doesn't, then I guess I will be back to making more which I don't mind at all.

One of the greatest perks of being a clay-jewelry artist is that I get to go shopping for new clothes and then make as many jewelry and accessory pieces for myself as I want that match so I can show them off!  I'm really into the matchy thing and so when I create a piece for myself I have to make a whole set that coordinates which usually includes a pendant or beaded necklace, earrings, watch bracelet and hair barrette.  I might even make matching buttons for a blouse or sweater.  I'm working on some new belt designs as well which I will show you later when they are finished.

Here are two sets I've completed over the last couple of months.   The pendant and earrings in this set were from my first attempt with using Helen Breil's Radiating Lines Tutorial.  When I created the texture sheet for this one I used a finding for the centre impression and then did the remaining part free-hand with my sculpting tool.  I had some rivioli crystals I purchased for these new designs and of course had to use a green one since it is my favorite color!

I have a rich velour jacket in a deep teal that sets everything off perfectly.  The beads on the watch bracelet are the double-sided textured in the Funky Swirl design combined with my own pearl rondelles in teal.

I used the Bezel part of the CaBezel moulds for the pendant and bracelet links in this set and then filled the centers with textured pieces accented with mica powders and Swarovski crystals.

As you can see,  I love working with all kinds of textures and mica powders and so both sets were made using these.  I usually use the new prototype designs I make for myself as a springboard for our pieces to sell and so I'm now working on some new sets for our Christmas shows that will be starting soon.  Will hopefully manage to have some pieces listed in our ArtFire studio as well.