Merry Christmas & New Scarf Rings

I finally seemed to outgrow my trusty laptop computer and had to bite the bullet and get a newer model with more capacity and speed.  Unfortunately transferring all of my important files and getting things functioning properly has been a slow process.  I guess this is one of my poor excuses for not keeping up with my blog.  The other is that I have just been extremely busy with Christmas shows, the Shuswap Artisan Market, delivering product to the stores that sell my work and clay production in between.  I am actually relieved to see the Christmas holidays as I can finally take a few days out just for myself, which does not happen very often.

In the meantime, I have listed some new items in the store which are very exciting.  I know many of you love scarves and are always looking for new ways to add your polymer clay beads or accents.  I have now added some new scarf rings/slides to my shop that have a snap base.  These are available in three different styles.

These are perfect for adding your own snap designs for interchanging.  You can add a regular size snap:

Scarf Ring with Interchangeable Snap in Resin with German Glass Glitter

Scarf Ring with Interchangeable Snap in Art Deco Design

Or be more creative and add a larger size piece with a mounted snap for interchanging:

And many of you have asked where you can purchase some nice scarves.  Well I have now added some to my supplies category and the good news is that if you have your own personal "Snap" discount code, it will now also work in the Accessories & Jewelry Supplies category as well.

If you have purchased my Snap Decisions Tutorial (both parts 1 & 2) and do not have your own personal discount code and would like one, please contact me and it can be arranged.  Since it is now the holiday season, I might not be able to have it for you until after New Years, so please be patient.

So I would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!  May you all have a fun and inspiring holiday season!

Huge Sale on Snap Supplies!

I can hardly believe that winter is starting to set in and that Christmas is just around the corner.  My first Christmas show for the year is already this Sunday.  I will be at the Kamloops Craft-a-Fair in the same location as the past 8 years.

If you are working on your Christmas shows or thinking of making your own gifts this year, I am having a huge Flash Sale of 35% off all my Snap Supplies! -- but hurry as this does not happen often and it is only for a few days!  Sale ends Friday, November 2, midnight.

* Use Coupon Code:    SNAPS35OFF

at the checkout in my online store.

* Prices are in Canadian currency

* Shipping is a flat fee --
-- no matter how much you purchase!!

* Free shipping with a minimum purchase

(after any discount codes have been applied)

If you haven't purchased my Snap Decisions Tutorial but have been thinking about it, that is on sale right now too!  The price has already been reduced so no coupon code is necessary.  As a bonus, if you purchase the Parts 1 & 2 tutorial package, you will receive your own personal and permanent discount code for 25% off anything in our snap supply section.

Notice:  If you have purchased this tutorial and never received a permanent discount code and would like to receive one, contact me with your request.

Holy CaBezels in Faux Turquoise Stone

I finally managed to find some time to work up large batches of faux turquoise in various colors thanks to our new assistant, Linda.  I have been teaching her how to mix up batches and create large veneer sheets.  She not only enjoys it (says it is one of her favorite clay techniques so far) but has a real feel for it as well.

I wanted to create some interchangeable snaps combining the faux stone colors along with the CaBezel jewelry molds.  I really love how the two work together so well and will have more colors to share with you later.

These ones were created in our typical Arizona blue turquoise.  I share this clay color recipe in my Fabulous Faux Turquoise tutorial along with how to create your own clay veneer sheets and roll your own faux turquoise stone beads.

These interchangeable snap pieces were created using the Holy CaBezel jewelry molds.  Left and top center is the Carolyn design and on the right is the Sue.  The one in the middle was made using the smallest shape to show you the size comparison.

And here are more in our green turquoise stone.  I developed this clay color later and you will find the clay recipe on our blog here.  These pieces all have snaps on the back for interchanging as well.  I couldn't add the snap onto the back of the smallest size if I cut out the hole so instead I filled it which gives them a unique look.

Left to Right:  Carolyn, Lorraine, Sue -- CaBezel Jewelry Mold shapes

These are all on the same Softglas cord necklace with a snap base.  I show how to make them in an earlier blog post here.  The top set of pendants are the small size with the filled in hole.  The bottom row are the large size with the hole cut out.

And here is a three piece set that I pulled together.  All the pieces can interchange of course and I was just starting to play around with the various shapes, sizes and styles to create different arrangements.

I will share more ideas using the smaller shapes soon and in more turquoise veneer colors.

Make Your Own Interchangeable Snap Bracelet

We have these cool bracelet clasps in our DIY Snap Supply section of our online store that have a snap for interchanging.

I suddenly realized I never did a tutorial on how to make your own bracelet with these and even though it is quite simple I thought I would give you a mini tutorial here with a special bonus offer!

These clasps come as a two piece set.  The main part with a snap base for interchanging your art snaps and a slider that keeps the bracelet closed while wearing.

To create your own bracelet, you will need some cord that is 6 mm thick and 14"-16" long, depending on your wrist size.  15" (36 mm) is good for an average size wrist.  I have a small wrist and so my cord length is 14" (34 mm) and you can cut it 16" (38 mm) or longer for a larger size wrist.

Fold your cord in half and slide on the slider piece.  Slide it up towards the folded loop making sure that the ends are even.

If your cord has a seam, make sure the seam is to the back or bottom of your bracelet so it is hidden.

All that is left now is to glue the ends of your cord into the snap base.  I like to use a gel type super glue.  The Loctite brand is exceptional as it is quick drying and holds really well!  So add some glue directly to the inside of the snap base end as shown (rather than on the cord as it is less messy this way).  Insert your cord ends and hold for a few seconds until it is secure.  Note:  Because this glue is fast drying it is good to make sure your cord ends are already straight and lined up ready to insert before adding the glue.

Once the glue is dry, your bracelet is now ready to wear!

A - open the loop by pulling back the slider
B - place the loop over the snap base and fit it in the groove
C - Push the slider up to hold it in place
D - Snap in your art design and wear!

We also have Necklace magnetic front closure clasps with a snap that take the same size cord and you can create a matching set.  My tutorial to create the necklace is here.

And for a limited time, we have a special bonus offer.  Purchase some of the snap base clasps and receive some cord at no extra charge to make your own bracelets or necklace.  This cord is a super soft Ultra-suede in black with a copper brown heart pattern.  You will see the bonus packs in our DIY Snap supply section in our online store.

Displaying our Larger Size Snaps and Other Items

We are always asked how we display our work for selling in stores or for shows.  Many are surprised when we tell them we make all our own cards and print them on our computer.  We find this method the best as we can make them in any size or shape and as many or few at a time.  Now we create even more complicated ones that are cut out with our Silhouette Cameo machine.

But you don't need a fancy machine to make your own cards and this is our latest method used for selling and displaying our interchangeable art snaps.  These ideas not only work for snaps but can also be applied to other pieces such as brooches, earrings and even buttons!

You can see a previous post here where we showed how we display our snaps using the display cards that are available in our online store in the DIY Snap Supply section.

These cards work really well for the regular size snaps and when selling them in groups of three or in pairs but what to do about those irregular shape or larger size ones?  We have found several ways we like to keep them organized in our studio and displaying in shows.  A simple way of organizing is using jewelry trays with dividers.  You can fit quite a few snaps in a tray and additional trays can be stacked.  This looks really nice when putting them out at a show and doesn't take a lot of time with packing and unpacking.

But since we started selling our decorative snaps to several stores, we had to come up with another way to not only display, but also for merchandising.

For this purpose, we designed some simple cards just by using the Word program on our pc computer and then printing out on a heavy card stock.  The simplest way for this is to create a "Table" with squares in the size you want.  Here I fit 8 to a sheet and made them longer so they can fold in half with the fold at the top.

After cutting them out, they are folded in half.  We punch a hole at the top for hanging (optional).  We then punch a hole in the center for inserting the snap.  This hole has to be the right size or the snap will fall out if it is too large.  After a lot of searching, we finally found a hole punch in the correct size (3/16") to fit the snap.

Punch the hole through both thicknesses so the snap is more secure on the card when hanging.

Another cool thing is how the card can turn into a mini stand for display as well!

Here are some extra large snaps we made on larger size cards.  We made them the same way, but with only 4 cards to a page.  They show off nicely when standing up.

You will notice that our cards are very simple and plain looking and for a good reason.  We feel the card is only a background or support for the art piece which is what we really want to show off.  A busy pattern on a card can be very distracting and not show your pieces off very well.

You can also store or display your carded items in trays (or drawer dividers shown here) which is also quick and easy for packing and putting out at shows.

And if you aren't into making your own cards and want something already made, we have some new cards available in our online store in the DIY Snap Supplies section.  These cards are a soft plastic with a plush velvet background and a center hole ready to hang.  Snap jewelry is printed in silver on the front of the card and you can always add a sticker with your name on the very bottom or on the back.  The cards are 1-1/2" wide and the larger snaps on the cards shown below are 1-1/8" and fit quite nicely on them.

If you are still considering adding a snap to some of your clay designs to make them interchangeable, our half price offer is still on for a few more days and ends on Friday, June 30th.  Receive both Part 1 and Part 2 of my Snap Decisions tutorial for only $10!  Plus receive your own personal coupon code (no expiry date) to use later for 20% off your snap supply order!

Creating your pieces in a snap are so much fun and versatile!  Just think of all the possibilities you can do with them!

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: