Mica Shift Buttons and Snaps in Blue Raspberry Sorbet

We just finished making a large batch of our Sorbet Flower Buttons as a custom order for Heather's Fabric Shelf.  They will be used in a special kit that she is putting together for her store.  They were made using Dan Cormier's mica shift technique using his peeler which is such a helpful tool.

We had some patterned slices left over and were wondering how the mica shift would look as "snaps" for our jewelry so did a bit of experimenting.  We added some Swarovski crystals which gives a bit more depth and were quite happy with the results.

The cool thing with the interchangeable snaps is that any technique can be used for them which makes them so versatile.

We are slowly adding more snap findings to our online store and if you would like to know about any new items added, sales or events, you can sign up for our news letter here.

If an invite does not pop up when visiting our site you will find the form on the front page here.

Donna's Yarn & Craft and Heather's Fabric Shelf New Locations

We managed to drop in and see Donna and Elsie at Donna's Yarn & Craft Centre one more time before they reopened yesterday (Monday).  Was nice to see the shelves filling up and all their unique items finding spots in their new location.  I had to admire all those glass shelves and I admire them even more now after helping Elsie put this and another double tower together.  They took a lot of hours to put together (I only helped a bit) and one can only imagine how much work there is in a move such as this.

Shelves filling up with yarn at Donna's Yarn & Craft Centre

Part of the bead section at Donna's Yarn & Craft

Was nice to see the one rack with our handcrafted buttons was already filled and organized.  Yes there is even more of our items at the store.  In fact, Donna has the largest selection of our handcrafted items available.  We also do special or custom orders for large projects through her store as well.

2GoodClaymates' Buttons

The cool thing about Donna's new location is that she is now in the same Brock Shopping Centre and almost right next to Heather's Fabric Shelf who also relocated there.  We popped in to see their new store and was nice to see how spacious and well organized it was.   They also now have more space in the back for their classes and operating their "Long Arm" machine.

Heather's Fabric Shelf

Heather's Fabric Shelf

Part 2 of my Snap Decisions Tutorial is Now Available!

I am excited to announce that the second part of my "Snap Decisions" tutorial is now finished and available!  In part 1 of the lesson I show how to create interchangeable polymer clay jewelry that are mounted on snap findings.  Any clay technique can be applied to the snaps which is what makes it so versatile.

In part 2 of this 40 page lesson I show you how to create your own "snap" base findings from polymer clay.  You can make your own pendants, bracelet links and even rings from clay with a snap base embedded for interchanging your snap cabochons.  This is great if you would like to use less of the commercial findings and create your own look or style.

If you already purchased the first part of my tutorial, I would've e-mailed you a coupon code for a discount on the second part.  If you did not receive it, please contact us and we will get that to you.

If you have not purchased the first part of my tutorial we now have it available as a set of both part 1 and 2 at a discounted price.

All of my tutorials are available in our Etsy Shop (as an instant download) and in our online store (sent out direct by e-mail). 

Follow our blog for more inspiration, tips and ideas to create your own interchangeable snap pieces based on these two tutorials.  If you don't want to miss any of our postings, you can sign up and have them sent to you by direct e-mail (fill out your e-mail address on the top right hand side of our blog). 

Little Posie Snaps

These are our new little mini flower "snaps" for our interchange jewelry that we are calling our little Posies.  We made a small flower mold to form each posie in a consistent size.  Each flower is individually cut out and then placed on top of a "prepped snap bezel B" (see our tutorial on page 5) that was textured.  A Swarovski crystal was added to the center of each posie.

"Snap" Bracelet

"Snap" Bangle

New Store Location for Donna's Yarn & Craft Centre

Anyone following our blog and lives in our area pretty much knows who Donna is from Donna's Yarn & Craft Centre.  Donna, along with her mom Elsie, run a really awesome store on North Shore Kamloops that is packed full of yarn, sewing notions and jewelry making supplies.

Donna's Yarn and Craft recently moved their store from the Fortune Shopping Centre to the Brock Shopping Centre (Tranquille Road -- on the way out to the airport).  This move is a huge undertaking and if you know their store you would understand.  We paid them a visit and gave them a hand the other day.  We were really impressed with the new store and how spacious it is compared to their previous location so it will be even better.

Donna being her "shy" self!  lol!

Donna (above) and Elsie (below) are working hard and putting in long hours so they can be up and running again as soon as possible.  They should be open again by this coming Monday (17th).  They are having difficulty getting their phone connected so if there is no answer that is probably why. (Thanks to the wonderful Shaw company!).

I helped Elsie (above) build those glass shelves!  Was a lot of fun but hard work!

I will share some photos of their new shop with you once they are open again.

Winner of Part 2 Snap Decisions Tutorial Announced!

So we are now ready to announce the winners of our contest.  Anyone who purchased our tutorial, "Creating Interchangeable Polymer Clay Jewelry . . . in a Snap" was entered into a draw for a chance to win a free copy of part 2 of our tutorial, "Make Your Own Snap Base Findings from Polymer Clay".

We said we would draw 3 names out of the bunch and ....  (drum roll) ... here they are:

Sharon Robinson

Geri Johnson

Kendra Cookman

Congratulations!  We have already contacted each of the above winners.  In the meantime, everyone else who purchased my tutorial will be receiving a personalized message from us with a coupon code for a discount on our part 2 tutorial.

Now regarding our next tutorial.  It is still not quite ready to publish yet.  This is due to something special we are having created for it and has taken a little longer than expected.  As soon as it is ready the above winners will receive their copy by direct e-mail and we will announce when it is available.

Part 2 Tutorial

Coming Soon!

Pantone Fall 2015 Fashion Colors Final Review and Links

So here is the final review of the Pantone Fall 2015 Fashion Colors.  Click on the photos below to see each of the color recipes using Kato clay.

To see more color recipes from past Pantone colors, visit our "Polymer Clay Color Recipes" page at the top of our blog.

The clay base colors used in these

Pantone color recipes

are 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 online store.

Pantone Fall 2015 Fashion Colors Cashmere Rose and Desert Sage

The Pantone Fall 2015 fashion color Cashmere Rose is a muted shade of pink with a slight purple tone.  I am thinking it should combine well with the Desert Sage which as Pantone describes, "the ideal neutral".  Desert Sage is a classic silvery gray color with just a hint of green.  I ended up not liking it with the Cashmere Rose so much so decided to go with the blue tone instead.

These are some pieces we made using a Mokume Gane technique combining the Cashmere Rose with Reflecting Pond and Stormy Weather.  The Stormy Weather has a lot of metallic in it so I love the shimmer effect it has.

Button

Button

"Snap" Cabochons

"Snap" Barrette

"Snap" Pendant

"Snap" Earrings

The "snap" earrings were created with the double loop snap base findings.  We added the clear crystal bead and chain tassel to the bottom to give them more length and a different style.  We now have lots of the single and double loop snap findings in stock and available in bulk as well as in pairs or in the Starter kits.

Sample of the snap bases with loops made into earrings

So here are the recipes for the two colors using Kato clay:

Follow the color recipe for

Dusty Rose # 11-5 *

and add the following:

1 part Purple Base # 10-2 *

4 parts Kato White

4 parts Kato Silver

1 part Kato Yellow

* These clay base colors are 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 online store.

Tomorrow I will give the summary of the Pantone Color Recipes and will announce the winners of the Snap Decisions Tutorial Part 2 Contest (contest closed on August 5th)

Pantone Fall 2015 Fashion Colors Cadmium Orange and Oak Buff

Today I will share the recipes for the two Pantone Fall 2015 fashion colors Cadmium Orange and Oak Buff.  I was originally going to create something with both of these two colors together but after several attempts I decided they just didn't combine as well as I had hoped.  Cadmium is a muted soft orange shade which I quite like and Oak Buff is a rich golden yellow.  After playing with the different Pantone colors I ended up creating some mokume gane in a combination of Marsala, Dried Herb and Oak Buff.  I quite like the earthy tones and there is a deep shimmer in the mica particles in the Oak Buff from the gold and silver clays that are in it.  This is a button made from the mokume sheet:

And here are the recipes for the two colors using Kato clay:

1 part Orange Base # 5-2 *

1 part Ecru Mix # 2-8 *

4 parts Kato Gold

2 parts Kato Silver

4 parts Ecru Mix # 2-8 *

* These clay base colors are 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 online store.

Pantone Fall 2015 Fashion Colors Amethyst Orchid and Biscay Bay

The Pantone fall 2015 fashion colors Amethyst Orchid and Biscay Bay are two of my favorites for this fall.  When making our buttons and jewelry components, we make sure we have a good selection in purple and teal as they are best selling colors.  A purple and teal combination, however, is even better.  We created this interchangeable scarf necklace and earrings using these the Amethyst Orchid and Biscay Bay combination.

Interchangeable Scarf Necklace and Earrings

And with some of the left overs we made a few snaps:

"Snap" cabocons

"Snap" Hair Barrette

"Snap" Pendant

So here are the recipes for these two colors using Kato clay:

1 part Purple Base # 10-2 *

1 part Kato Violet

1 part Kato Magenta

2 parts White Mix # 1-2 *

Follow the color recipe for

Teal # 8-4 *

but reduce the pearl to

only 1/2 part (from 3 parts)

* These clay base colors are 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 online store.