Thursday, September 29, 2016

Clay Play Time and Some New Snaps

My friend Joanne stopped by yesterday and we decided to play with our clay and experiment more with some of the techniques we learned in Bettina Welker's workshop.  We had fun trying out some new color combinations and then made some of the designs into snaps for our interchangeable jewelry.





The maple leaf snap shown below was made by Joanne.  I just love how the colors came out and is so perfect for autumn!



For the larger (maple leaf and heart) snaps we mounted them on the blank flat snaps.  They work really well on snap bases that are plainer such as the simple snap pendant or some new lapel pins that just arrived!




Thursday, September 22, 2016

Interchangeable Snaps with the Retro Extruded Pattern

So here is another new pattern idea for the interchangeable snaps.  I was digging around in my clay stash and found some Extruder Canes we made a while ago in a variety of colors.  They are fun to make and even more fun to wear!

Interchangeable Snaps in Assorted Colors
Leather Bracelets with Interchangeable Snaps

Spiral Necklace with Interchangeable Snaps

Snap Button in Retro Pattern

Snap Buttons in Retro Pattern and Interchangeable Snap Jewelry

Wednesday, September 21, 2016

New Scarf Slide Buckles

These are our new scarf slides that we created.  They were a big hit at the Lake Country Art Walk and will be available in our online store soon.  They can be worn several ways and we found some gorgeous linen scarves as a compliment.




We also created a "snap" version by adding a snap base so the decorative snap buttons can be interchanged.  We made them in assorted basic colors.



Scarf Slide in Navy with Interchangeable Snap Base and Decorative Snaps


Scarf Slide in Purple with Interchangeable Snap Base and Decorative Snaps


Scarf Slide in White with Interchangeable Snap Base and Decorative Snaps


Monday, September 19, 2016

Lake Country Art Walk 2016 Review

It was another great Lake Country Art Walk this year and was nice to catch up with returning customers as well as meeting new ones. 

There were plenty of new items available, some of which we have not even shown here on our blog or in our online store yet, but I will be revealing them to you over the next while.






This is a sneak peak at one of our new scarf accent designs - a scarf slide or buckle that can be worn in several ways.  We found these gorgeous linen scarves in a wide range of colors that worked beautifully with them.  The buckle shown here was created using a texture sheet by Helen Breil which is one of my favorites, and of course has a genuine Swarovski crystal embedded.




We were fortunate to have live music performed by various artists across from us which was really nice.



We try to meet our fellow artist neighbors around us but were so busy that we only managed to connect with a few.  This is Angela Hansen who does encaustic art as well as work with acrylics and polymer clay.



This is a 3D piece she created combining encaustic wax with polymer clay which I think was amazing.


Karen Palmer was also across from us who works with regular pottery with such unique designs.  I especially liked how she combined natural wood as handles for some of the pieces.



There were so many other great artists at this top notch show and is a real thrill to be a part of it.  We are already looking forward to next year!

Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Final Review and Clay Recipe Links for the Pantone Fall 2016 Fashion Colors

Here is the final review of the Pantone fall 2016 fashion colors.   Click on the photos below to see the clay recipes using Kato polyclay.  If you would like to see more clay recipes for the past Pantone fashion colors, go to the color recipe page at the top of our blog.












Monday, September 12, 2016

Pantone Fall 2016 Fashion Colors Lush Meadow, Spicy Mustard and Bodacious

The last three colors in the Pantone fall 2016 Fashion Report are fun and vibrant.  Lush Meadow is a rich almost emerald-like shade of green.  Pantone describes Spicy Mustard as a spicier, zestier yellow than other seasons.  Bodacious is a bright rich purple with a hint of pink.  When I first mixed up this color, I found it to be quite similar to Radiant Orchid but with more Violet and less Magenta.

I think combinations of these colors would all work together but you could combine any of these with Aurora red as well.

So here are the last three clay recipes using Kato clay for the fall fashion colors:



Lush Meadow
10 parts Kato Green
1 part Kato Blue
1 part White Mix # 1-2 *


Spicy Mustard
9 parts Kato Yellow
1 part Kato Gold
1 part White Mix # 1-2 *



Bodacious
4 parts Kato Magenta
3 parts Kato Violet
3 parts White Mix # 1-2 *

* Note:  These clay color recipes are created using Kato Polyclay.  Any of the base color "mixes" used are from my Clay Color System.

Saturday, September 10, 2016

Pantone Fall 2016 Fashion Colors Dusty Cedar and Potter's Clay

The Pantone Fall 2016 fashion colors Dusty Cedar and Potter's Clay are quite similar to each other.  They both have a copper undertone, however, Dusty Cedar is more pink similar to a dusty rose.


Dusty Cedar
3 parts # 4-5 Crimson *
2 parts Kato Yellow
2 parts White Mix # 1-2 *



Potter's Clay
2 parts # 4-5 Crimson *
2 parts Kato Copper
1 part White Mix # 1-2 *

* Note:  These clay color recipes are created using Kato Polyclay.  Any of the base color "mixes" used are from my Clay Color System.

Friday, September 9, 2016

Pantone Fall 2016 Fashion Colors Aurora Red and Warm Taupe

I am not a fan of the color Taupe as it does not look good on me at all,  I do like a rich red, however, and one of my favorite shades is the Pantone Aurora.  If it seems familiar to you that is because it was one of the Pantone fall colors in 2014.  It is the color I like to use to mix up my Faux Red Stone using the same technique as in my "Fabulous Faux Turquoise" tutorial.
Faux Red Turquoise Stone "Snaps"
Necklace with Faux Red Turquoise Stone "Snaps"

So here are the clay recipes using Kato clay:


Aurora Red
8 parts Kato Red
1 part Kato Gold



Warm Taupe
4 parts Kato Brown
1 part Kato Silver
3 parts White Mix # 1-2 *

* Note:  These clay color recipes are created using Kato Polyclay.  Any of the base color "mixes" used are from my Clay Color System.

Thursday, September 8, 2016

Pantone Fall 2016 Fashion Colors Riverside, Airy Blue and Sharkskin

I thought I would start out with sharing the clay color recipes for three of the Fall 2016 Pantone Fashion Colors that are somewhat similar where mixing is concerned.

Riverside is a cool and calming yet strong shade of blue.  Airy Blue is a lighter version of Riverside and Sharkskin has a slight edge with a hint of blue yet considered neutral.



Riverside
2 parts Kato Blue
1 part Kato Violet
2 parts Kato Silver
2 parts White Mix # 1-2 *



Airy Blue
1 part Kato Blue
1/2 part Kato Violet
1 part Kato Silver
7 parts White Mix # 1-2 *


Sharkskin
1 part Kato Blue
1/2 part Kato Violet
6 parts Kato Silver
1 part White Mix # 1-2 *

* Note:  These clay color recipes are created using Kato Polyclay.  Any of the base color "mixes" used are from my Clay Color System.