It was overcast today -- not from clouds but smoke from the forest fires -- so thought I would pop outside and take some photos of our new CaBezel beads. I wanted to share a few more ideas of how they could be worn. There is a snap embedded into the back making them interchangeable so they can easily be switched out and worn many different ways or change out the large pendants for a different design or color.
We add a special clip to the snap base making it easy to interchange from a necklace chain or cord to a scarf bail. These clips are available in our jewelry supplies of our online store and the snap bases to create your own interchangeable jewelry pieces are in our DIY snap supplies section.
I also want to thank Sage Bray for featuring of our interchangeable beads and Wendy's CaBezel jewelry molds on the Daily Polymer Arts Blog. If you haven't yet discovered The Polymer Arts Magazine, it is worth subscribing to. I prefer going paperless and love how you can subscribe digitally. And I should mention that we are having a Flash sale on all of our snap supplies and in case you missed it, we have extended it for a few more days ending midnight August 13!
When Wendy Orlowski first told me about her new CaBezel mold idea she asked if I wanted some to play with and try out I said yes of course! I have to say they were love at first sight! Each shape is so unique and I love the hole as it gives them even more character! She was trying to come up with a name that might be different than just calling them donuts and I was just joking around and told her the only thing I could come up with was "Holy CaBezel!".
This is just the bezel part -- still needs to be filled
As it turns out she decided she liked it (and why not have fun with a name!?) plus added another name in front of each of the six designs after six important women in her life. I just love it and Wow!!! I never had anything named after me before so that makes it even more special!!! So I am excited to let you know that she now has her new CaBezels available at Shades of Clay! If you are already a fan of her CaBezel molds, they you are just going to love these! There are six unique designs and each mold comes in 3 sizes!!! So this is the one that is called Carolyn Holy CaBezel Jewelry Mold: (Click on the photo to see it at Shades of Clay).
I was quite pleased to see she had named this shape after me as it is my favorite. I do like them all but just seem to be more attracted to this one in particular for some reason.
I haven't received the smaller sizes yet but they should be here soon and can hardly wait to play with them too. I will keep you posted on my results. You can see more samples of what I created so far and how they are mounted on an interchangeable snap in a previous post here. If the CaBezel molds are new to you, check out this post here for more information and hopefully answer some of you questions. Wendy even has a great video (click here) to show you how easy it is create your own original pieces with these molds. In the meantime, you will find all of the CaBezel molds at Shades of Clay (click here).
Launching our new interchangeable jewelry line is one of the most exciting things I have done since discovering polymer clay. I am always receiving compliments on whatever pieces I am wearing (usually a necklace, bracelet or ring -- even hair barrettes) and love seeing their reaction when I pop one of the "snap" art beads out to show them how they interchange!
The next exciting thing I did was write and publish my tutorial to share with you. We have received a lot of positive feedback from other polymer clayers who are just as excited about this new concept and the wave is growing and getting bigger!
My tutorial is available in two parts. The first part is creating the actual "snap" art beads. I show several methods for this as well as other tips and tricks so you can be creating your own snap designs in no time! The second part is creating your own snap bases from clay. This is especially cool for those who don't want to use a lot of the commercial type snap bases and would like to create their own unique look. You can also purchase both parts 1 and 2 together at a reduced price available in our Etsy shop (as an instant download) or in our online store which is sent out by e-mail but perfect if you are from Europe and do not want to pay that extra VAT tax.
If you are curious about the new "snap" jewelry and how you can use it to create your own polymer clay designs but still not quite sure about it yet, my friend Wendy Orlowski from Shades of Clay made this video that gives you a bit more information and a short little demo to make a simple "snap" cabochon.
We have received another large shipment of snap supplies and our online store is fully stocked up again along with a few new items. Thinking of buying some of the supplies but still not sure what to get yet or probably need some more? Be sure to sign up for our newsletter to receive updates on new items, sales and special savings! (click here)
You will notice a difference in the two shawl pins shown. The one on the left was made by impressing the clay from the texture sheet. The one on the right was made from an inverse texture sheet I made from the original. I discovered that the inversion texture created an "innie" that when antiqued with acrylic paints afterwards gives the more tooled leather or carved wood look.
I am finally getting around to listing some scarf jewelry pieces in our online shop. These scarf charms are a new design made from a mold I created using a combination of several findings. I love the bling effect of the Swarovski Rivoli crystals and to securely hold them in place, they are actually embedded into the clay behind the front textured sheet creating a bezel around it.
The texture I used for the all clay bail is a favorite of mine and one of Wendy Orlowski's designs called "Feather Boa".
I hadn't played with Wendy Orlowski's CaBezel molds in a while but had some fun last week making some new cable necklaces. These pieces and a few more in other colors are now available at Chum 'N Luba's Unique Boutique as an addition to her new spring collection of clothing and accessories.
I love these nylon coated steel cables that come in a variety of colors. We prefer to cover the metal screw type clasp which gives a more finishing touch to the necklace as well as making it more comfortable to wear around the neck, especially for those with metal allergies.
You can cover the clasp right on the cable as they are generally safe to bake in the oven at the typical clay temperature. The other option is to cut the screw end off the cable (see below) so you can remove the clasp. After covering the clasp with clay (C & D) and replacing it on the cable along with your pendant or beads, a new screw end (A) can be reattached.
(B) Make sure you use heavy duty or memory wire shears to cut the steel cable or you will ruin your good jewelry wire cutters.
(C) Roll a medium thin sheet of clay out and trim to the same width as the screw clasp.
(D) Add and rub in a little liquid clay on the clasp before wrapping in the clay. Make sure the clay fits nice and snug around the clasp so it does not slip after baking. Bake your clasp.
(E) Replace the clay covered clasp onto the cable and then finish the cable end off with a new screw end piece by crimping tightly with pliers.
Just an update as to where to buy these cables. They are available in Black at Shades of Clay (scroll down a bit on the page).
We like to put our logo on the pieces we create using our signature stamps. Sometimes it is difficult to add it during the "building" process without damaging the front of the piece before baking or sometimes I would simply forget so I have found a way to add it later.
I do this by first running some clay through a very thin setting on the pasta machine. You want it thin enough so it doesn't stand out much on your piece but not too thin or it will tear when it is stamped.
You may need to use a mold release of some sort such as lightly dusting the clay sheet with some cornstarch or spritzing with water. Make an impression in the clay with your stamp. I sometimes do several at a time or you may have to do a few for practice until you get one with an even impression that you like.
Cut out around your stamp using a shape cutter.
Add a little bit of liquid clay to the back and position it onto the reverse side of your piece and rebake.
Ever since I took Julie Picarello's workshop 2 years ago, I cannot stop playing with her mokume technique and creating all sorts of lizard tails. The same goes with Wendy Orlowski's CaBezels. So what happens when you combine the two? You can come up with something like this -- my new Lizard CaBezel Collar Necklace.
I used Wendy's latest CaBezel (3 Fab Focals "Two"), to create the Bezel and cabochon with some mokume using Julie's technique. I now feel some more new designs coming on and can't wait to put them into clay!
