Gingham and Buffalo Plaids

I really like my buffalo plaid tunic style shirts and leggings I purchased last year.  I practically live in them during the winter months as they are so cosy.  I usually wear them open style with different colored shirts underneath.

These shirts inspired me to make some buffalo plaid inspired jewelry pieces.  These all coordinate and as they are all interchangeable, can be worn a variety of ways.  Any colored pieces shown here are all in the Pantone Fall 2021 Fashion color Fire Whirl and Black.

Large interchangeable "snap" on a cork "snap base necklace"

Buffalo Plaid interchangeable "snap" on a cork bracelet and necklace

Buffalo Plaid Post Earrings

All the interchangeable snaps and jewelry pieces shown here are available in the Shuswap Artisan Market in Sorrento BC, Shear FX Studio in Chase BC and in my online store.

Sweater Print Snaps for the Holidays

I can hardly believe how much time has lapsed since my last post.  Right after I had urgent eye surgery.  I had another hole in my retina repaired -- this was the second time but this time in my other eye.  I had to be careful for 3 weeks after -- no stooping, hanging my head down, bending over or lifting anything more than 5 lbs -- which meant I couldn't really do much.  I did manage to rest up which was a good thing.  Right afterwards, however, I ended up with an intense pain in my arm -- mainly my elbow.  Today I am finally feeling a bit more back to normal but babying that arm so as to not aggravate it any more than I have to.  I am discovering that aging really sucks and wish I could trade a few body parts in for some new ones!

So I did manage to finish off some items which will be delivered to the Artisan Market in Sorrento and Shear FX Hair Studio in Chase later this week -- that is as long as the weather cooperates.  We have had some huge torrential rain storms resulting in major flooding in our part of Canada.

Where I live (interior BC) is fine, however the flooding destroyed all of the highways between us and the coast.  This means that there is only essential travel to the coast and supplies are being transported through at a snail's pace.  Canada Post put our area on a yellow alert which means that the mail service will be very sporadic and extremely slow for a long time.  So if you are planning on ordering anything from my online store, please allow an extra week or so for delivery. 

So here are some Christmas sweater themed pieces I created using more silkscreens from Tonja Lenderman.  I really love the sweater designs which were fun to create with.  All of these pieces are on a snap so they can be interchanged.

I have added some of these pieces to my online store.  The necklaces shown in the above photo are cork in (off) white and available in many different colors.

More Silkscreens by Tonja on Pantone Fall Fashion Colors in a "Snap"

I have been busy finishing off more new pieces in the Pantone fall fashion colors.  These pieces have been screen printed using the silkscreens from Tonja (see previous post here) and the Pantone colors, Mykonos Blue and Fuchsia Fedora.  They are not completely finished as I still need to add a snap to the back so they can work with my interchangeable collection.  I create all my pieces this way so they are more functional.  This way they can be worn as a necklace, or snap them onto a scarf cinch or shawl stick, etc.

Pantone Color Mykonos Blue
Silkscreens by Tonja Lenderman

Pantone Color Fuchsia Fedora

Swirling Vines Silkscreen by Tonja Lenderman

I have a tutorial lesson on how to adapt your polymer clay patterns into "snaps".  It is a fun way to create a unique line of interchangeable jewelry.

Right now I have my lesson, "Snap Decisions" * on sale until this Sunday (no coupon needed).  There is a bonus offer if you purchase both parts 1 & 2 of my lesson -- a personal and permanent coupon code for 25% off any purchases from my DIY snap supplies categories.

Combining Pantone Fall Fashion Colors with Tonja's Silkscreens

I created some new polymer clay pieces in the Pantone fall colors with more silk screen patterns.  I was wanting some new designs so ordered several silkscreens by Tonja Lenderman.  She has some really unique patterns and I selected the ones that would work well on smaller pieces of clay such as earrings and snaps.  Many of the silkscreens out there have quite a bit of open "space" and  work best when creating larger items.

The colors here I started with were in the Pantone Fall colors Pale Rosette and Spring Lake.

Snaps in Pale Rosette & Spring Lake
Silkscreen prints by Tonja

The silkscreen below is called Zen Waves and is fun to work with.  I used the Pantone color Spring Lake and printed it in white. 

Silkscreen by Tonja
Printed on Snaps in the Pantone Fall color Spring Lake

Large (unfinished) "Snaps"

I really like the Mini Gingham - Hound's Tooth pattern.  I wanted to experiment a bit first without using too much clay so I positioned the silkscreen in the center of the clay sheet and printed a partial section of each side.  A little sheet of clay can go a long ways when making snaps, earrings or other small jewelry pieces.

Pale Rosette
Silkscreen Mini Gingham-Hounds Tooth by Tonja

Cork Bracelet with Interchangeable snaps in Pale Rosette

I mixed up a third clay color of my own -- a rich autumn gold that matches the cork jewelry pieces that are my own design and create.

Cork Necklace with matching clay "snaps"

This is another tip for saving time and clay with your silkscreen project.  Sometimes I will roll out clay in two different colors.  I will butt them up together to create one complete sheet and then silkscreen over the entire area.

Pale Rosette and Autumn Gold Clay
Swirling Vines Silkscreen by Tonja Lenderman

The Scalloped Lace silkscreen is really elegant.  I did the same with creating a half sheet each of the same two colors.  The design is very intricate and works really well for my small jewelry snaps and earrings.

Pale Rosette and Autumn Gold Clay
Scalloped Lace Silkscreen by Tonja

I have a few more silkscreens that I haven't played with yet so will share my results a little later with you.

Clay Recipe Cards for Pantone Fall 2021 Fashion Colors

So here are is a review of all the Pantone Fall Fashion colors for 2021.  Click on the photos below to see the individual recipes and inspiration ideas.  If you would like to see more Pantone clay recipes from the past, click on the tab at the top of this blog.

Illuminous & Ultimate Gray

Mykonos Blue, Spring Lake & Rhodonite

Fuchsia Fedora, Pale Rosette & Fire Whirl

Root Beer, Soybean & Adobe

Leprechaun & Olive Branch

Fall Pantone Colors Leprechaun & Olive Branch

The last two clay recipes I need to share with you from the Pantone Fall Fashion colors this year are the greens -- Leprechaun and Olive Branch.  Personally Olive Branch is my favorite shade of green, however,  Leprechaun is a rich vibrant hue that, surprisingly, I quite like.

Olive Branch is actually one of the Pantone neutrals and has a real earthy tone so both greens are quite different from each other.  Mixing up the clay, however, you will notice that both of them contain my Olive base (recipe #7-8) from my Color System.

So here are the recipes using Kato clay.  I will have the recipe cards ready to download tomorrow.

Leprechaun

6 parts Kato Green

1 part Olive # 7-8 *

Olive Branch

8 parts Olive # 7-8 *

1 part Kato Black

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

Fall Pantone Colors Root Beer, Soybean and Adobe

Browns have not been a popular color for some time now (I hardly sell anything in brown) and so I was surprised to see two shades this season.  They do combine well, however, with the other seasonal colors in this new palette.

I filled these stainless steel buttons with clay in the fall Pantone colors.  They have a linen-like texture and look similar to the post earrings I also make.  They are sold individually in my online store for mixing and matching.  I also have the empty button frames available in the DIY section of my online store here.

These buttons are in a small size making them very suitable for baby or children's knit or crochet wear and will also work on a man's shirt or ladies blouse.  They can be placed in a washing machine or dryer but do not dry clean as the chemicals are too harsh and can damage the clay.

So here are the recipes using Kato clay:

Root Beer

5 parts Burnt Umber # 3-2 *

1 part Kato Pearl

Soybean

4 parts Ecru Base # 2-7 *

1/2 part Kato Yellow

1 part White Mix # 1-2 *

1/2 part Kato Silver

Adobe

1 part Burnt Umber # 3-2 *

1 part Kato Brown

1 part Ecru Base # 2-7 *

1 part Kato Gold

1/2 part Kato Magenta

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

Pantone Fall Colors Fuschia Fedora, Fire Whirl and Pale Rosette

I really like Pantones' fall color selections this year as it has a nice mix of soft, neutral and vibrant.  Fuschia Fedora and Fire Whirl are both rich vibrant shades where Pale Rosette is a soft velvety pink.  I made these post earrings by filling the stainless steel bezels with the fall Pantone colors and gave them a linen-like texture.  They are in my online store here.  If you are into making your own earrings, I also sell the findings in my DIY supplies section here.

Stainless + Clay Earrings

I also created some Earring Charms in matching clay colors.  I came up with the earring charm idea several years ago.  They are a fun way to add a dangle to any post or stud style earring simply by replacing the backing behind the ear with the charms instead.

Rondelle Earring Charms

Post Earring with Earring Charm added to the back of the ear.

I used the small rondelles in the photo below to make the earring charms.  I will use the larger ones as accents in my other jewelry pieces.   I share my secret tips and tricks on how to make these fun style beads in my tutorial here.

So here are color recipes using Kato clay.

Fuschia Fedora

4 parts Kato Magenta

1 part White Mix # 1-2 *

Pale Rosette

10 parts White Mix # 1-2 *

1/2 part Kato Magenta

3 parts Ecru Mix # 2-8 *

1/4 part Kato Yellow

Fire Whirl

10 parts Kato Red

1/2 part Kato Gold

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

Pantone Fall 2021 Fashion Colors Mykonos Blue, Spring Lake and Rhodonite

I never thought I would ever say I looked forward to fall but this is one of those years!  Between the drought and extreme heat wave that broke records and lasted a good part of the summer, the more than 300 forest fires burning at one time over our province of British Colombia, and dealing with the heavy smoke from living in the center of it all, the rain and cool weather is a great relief.

So it has been very soothing to take my mind off things by mixing up the Pantone Fall colors and creating some new pieces with them.  I love these new colors as they are a lovely combination of fall, warmth, neutrals and rich, vibrant hues.

Silkscreened Buttons in Illuminating and Ultimate Gray

I already shared with you the clay recipes for the Pantone Colors of the year, Illuminating and Ultimate Gray.  You can find those in my previous blog post here.

These are extra color chips I made for myself in a larger size.  They work nicely for color inspiration, mixing and matching.  In my previous announcement, I will be doing a pop-up at Kelowna Yarn & Needlecrafts this coming Friday.  The owner, Cheryl, really liked my color chips and asked for a set for herself to use for dying her own yarn.  I realized that others might appreciate a set as well so I now have them listed in my online store here.

Polymer Clay Buttons in Mykonos Blue (left) and Spring Lake (right)

I thought I would start with the clay recipes for the three blues:  Mykonos Blue, Spring Lake and Rhodonite, which is actually a blue-based purple.  If you have been following my blog and the Pantone color recipes for some time, you might recognize the Mykonos Blue from several years ago -- Fall 2013 to be exact.  I am not sure what happened, but I have recently purchased a new updated set of the Pantone color chips and while matching this color I noticed quite a difference.  I really like the original color from earlier but also like this new updated shade as well so I have labelled this one my new Mykonos blue.

So here are the color recipes using Kato clay.  I know a lot of my followers out there have jumped ship and given up on using Kato clay.  It is still the main clay I prefer to use, at least for now.  I have started experimenting with the Cernit clay and considering reworking my recipes using it.  I will see how it goes and keep you posted.

Mykonos Blue

4 parts Kato Blue

1 part Kato Turquoise

1 part Kato Pearl

1/2 part Kato Black

Spring Lake

1 part Navy - Recipe # 9-7 *

1 part Kato Silver

3 parts White Mix # 1-2 *

Rhodonite

1 part Purple Base # 10-2 *

1 part Navy - Recipe # 9-7

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

New Mini Snaps

I am excited to announce the new addition to my Snap Decisions Collection -- our mini size snaps and mini snap base earrings.  These snaps are smaller than our regular-size snaps and can be interchanged with our wide selection of our own unique designer snap earring bases.  And if you like to create your own, we have already added supplies in our DIY snap section.  

These are already available in several locations:

Shear Fx Studio - Chase, BC

Shuswap Artisan Market - Sorrento, BC

And of course in our online store (shop here)

And I will also have my whole line available at the Pop-up this coming Friday at:

Kelowna Yarn & Needlecrafts

Pantone Fall 2021 Fashion Colors + Pop-up Show

I seem to be finally catching up with things and my Fall Pantone fashion colors are mixed up and ready to go!  I will be sharing the clay recipes with you very shortly, so stay tuned.

One of the stores that still sells my work is Kelowna Yarn & Needlecrafts. And now that I have moved to Kelowna, I am only a few minutes drive away which is so awesome.

One thing the owner, Cheryl, and I have in common is the love for color and an appreciation for the Pantone Fashion colors.  Making buttons and jewelry pieces in the latest colors keeps things fresh and vibrant.  These buttons were created in the Fall Pantone colors and will be delivered to the Kelowna Yarn store later this week in time for their anniversary celebration the following weekend.

I will also be at the Kelowna Yarn Store for a pop-up next week Friday, Sept 24 and will have a wide range of accessories for knitting/crochet as well as my Snap Decisions Collection.  There will be a door-prize and bonus gift with a minimum purchase so stop on by if you are in the area.