Some New Art Deco Designs and Shapes

I have been on an Art Deco kick for a while now and is my favorite technique since discovering it.  We had piles of containers of scrap clay that I was saving and just couldn't bring myself to mix up and planned on using to make Natasha beads one day.  That pile is finally being reduced, freeing up some of the containers, but we still have so much more to play with.

The fun thing with this technique is that the pattern in the cane changes making each piece totally unique.  For instance, it is hard to believe that the snaps shown below are all from the same cane. 

As I sliced the cane, I noticed that at one end the colors were more a combination of purple, green and blue and when I sliced it from the opposite end, the colors were mainly deep pink with little bits of teal green and blue.

Occasionally you can end up with several pieces that are close enough to pass as a matching set which work really well for items such as earrings.

Most of our Art Deco is being made into buttons for the quilt and yarn shops and snaps for our interchangeable jewelry.  I have also been playing with new shapes like these earrings.

And some round beads which will be made into a bracelet.

So I am off to play some more and see what other shapes I can come up with.  Have a great summer long weekend!

Get on Board and and Vote for our Village of Chase

Everyone in our town of Chase is extremely excited!  They have been trying to raise funds for a skate park and entered the Kraft Heinz Project Play Contest.  Our community is one of 4 finalists and the only one from Western Canada with the chance to win $250,000 for this project.  Now it is up to the Canadian people to vote and we need your help!!!

Voting begins on Monday, July 25 at 9:00 am PST and goes until the next day (Tuesday) 9 am.  Open to vote for 24 hours only and you can vote as many times as you want!  There is no limit.

  

Working With a Blank Flat Snap to Create Interchangeable Jewelry

In my tutorial, Creating Interchangeable Polymer Clay Jewelry, in a Snap!, I show how to work with a blank metal snap that has a bezel frame.  Recently we have come across some new snap findings that are instead flat.  These work really well for mounting onto irregular clay shapes or larger designs.

Larger Textured Designs Mounted on Blank Flat Snaps

Textured Snaps and added to a Snap Base Necklace, Snap Base Bracelet
and Multi-functional Brooch (Sweater Guard)

These snaps are available in our web store along with other snap base supplies for interchangeable jewelry making.  When working with these snaps, prep them first the same way as the Snap Bezel A (see page 4 of my tutorial - Part 1).   Cut a thin clay circle that is the same size as the inside of the snap.  Apply liquid clay first into the snap and then add the clay circle working it under the folded metal edges.  Make sure there are no air bubbles trapped underneath or polk them with a thin needle to allow the air to escape.

The snap is then ready to be mounted onto the back of your clay design.

Back of Snap Design

I love working with these new flat snaps and finding more uses for them all the time.  These larger snaps work really well on the simpler or plainer snap bases without adding too much bulk or thickness.

Shawl/Hair Sticks with Snap Base and Larger "Snap" Art Beads

Multi-functional Snap Jewelry Available at Intwined Fibre Arts

To go along with our multi-functional snap jewelry (see my last blog post here), we have been creating some new snap art bead designs in a slightly larger size.  These snaps also have genuine Swarovski crystals to accent the deep jewel-tone colors and add some bling.

These work really well on our multi-functional brooches as well as our new shawl sticks with the snap base.

We are happy to announce that a selection of these new snaps, shawl sticks and multi-functional brooches are also now available at Intwined Fibre Arts in Salmon Arm.

Althea of Intwined Fibre Arts

Intwined Fibre Arts is a colorful store packed full of a wide range of yarns.

Althea and store mascot Gus

There are also lots of beautiful knit pieces on display for plenty of inspiration.

Althea loves color and besides the yarn, she also sells high quality chalk style paints from The Fat Paint Company made right here in Canada.

Multi-Functional Snap Jewelry Available at Knit 2 Yarns

We have been building up our "Snap Decisions" jewelry collection and our latest pieces we have been working on is our multi-functional magnetic brooch.  We are happy to announce they are now available at Knit 2 Yarns in Kamloops.

It is basically a metal snap base with a clip for attaching a decorative charm to wear as a brooch.  It can also be used as an eyeglass holder just by switching out the charm with a large ring.

You can clip it to the stainless ball chain (included), to wear as a necklace.

You can even combine two brooches and add a chain connector to wear as a sweater guard!

Knit 2 Yarns is a quaint yarn shop that just opened earlier this year.  You can follow Carla on facebook or her blog to see what she is up to with her quilting as well as her knitting.

Music at the Lake in Chase BC

Our little Village of Chase in BC is a wonderful place to live.  It is right on the Little Shuswap Lake and surround by scenic mountains.  We have a lovely park in town at the lake with a boat launch, children's playground, picnic area, new pier and amphitheatre.

This year the Village of Chase joined the Music in the Parks program with live music held each night in a different location in the Shuswap area.  The Music on the Lake in Chase takes place every Tuesday evening from 7 to 8:30 all summer long.

Last night was the 2nd week starting out with the Checkmates from Lee Creek to warm up the crowd.

Checkmates performing

Checkmates from Lee Creek

The main act was a fabulous rock band from Kamloops called Shattered Blue.  Their music was upbeat and had a lot of people tapping their toes and dancing.  This band had just finished opening for the Sam Roberts Band the night before at Sun Peaks Resort.

I belong to the Chase Women in Business group and for a summer project we are sponsoring the Green Room by providing refreshments for the performers each week.

Last night Barb Paquette of Tree of My Heart Healing, (below, far left) and myself were in charge so was also a great opportunity to meet the musicians.  Beside me (2nd from right) is Ali Maki, one of our town councilors and heading up the Music on the Lake and far right is Natalie of One Love Photography.  You can see some blog posts on a photo shoot she did a few years ago here and here.

I am already looking forward to more great music right here all summer long!

Heart N'Sole Quilts and Cherry Tree Quilts

We are excited to announce two new stores here in B.C. that are now selling our work.  We met them both at the Salmon Arm Quilt Show last month and I was kicking myself for not taking more photos but we were too busy to think of it!

Catherine & Rod of Heart N'Sole Quilts

One of the stores is Heart N'Sole Quilts in Grand Forks.  They now have a nice selection of our handcrafted buttons as well as our scarf jewelry which will be featured in their upcoming "Quilts in the Garden" show this Friday and Saturday (July 8 & 9).

Flower Scarf Necklace

 

Grand Forks is a quaint little city right at the Washington, U.S. border.  We are hoping we will make it there sometime this year since it is one of our favorite places to visit and we now have two reasons to go!

The other store is Cherry Tree Quilts in Summerland.  They have recently expanded into more space and have added a wide range of giftware.  Along with our handcrafted buttons, they are also now selling jewelry from our Snap Decisions Collection.

We are looking forward to a possible visit in the fall and teaching some classes there.