Playing Around With Metal Pieces

I created a new line of chunky jewelry designs for my fall collection last year by combining large metal charms with snap bases.  These were not only fun to create but are so much fun to wear.  There is a snap base for interchanging the decorative snaps and the entire piece clips off the cord for interchanging onto different necklace chains or cords.

This year I decided to kick it up a notch and finally had some time to play around more with these large metal charms. There are so many things that can be done with them.  Here are just a few examples of which I will be sharing some tips on a little later.

Creating faux gemstones with resin:

Or filling in with a faux enamel look:

Adding smaller Swarovski crystals or rhinestones to the small bezels in the pieces.

For another look, back-filling the pieces with polymer clay.

And finally, creating a mold or texture -- then creating your polymer clay pieces from it.

I find the metal charms quite appealing but I am more drawn to color over the plain silver.  Working the design into clay completely transforms it!  And the sky is the limit to how you want to create.

I have a selection of these large charms available in my online store under the DIY supplies section.  Over the next week I will be sharing some tips on how to work with these beautiful pieces using various materials like polymer clay, resin and inclusions.

Art Snap of the Month and New Items

We are starting a new program on our website.  Each month we will have a featured art snap of the month.  With every $50 purchase from our Snap Decisions Collection you will receive one of our handcrafted art snaps as a gift for free!

For the month of July our art snap of the month is our popular multi-floral in a selection of six colors to choose from each with our signature lady bug!  There is no coupon code necessary.  After purchasing at least $50 (Cdn) from our Snap Decisions Collection, leave a comment at the checkout telling us which color of snap you would like and we will included it with your order.  With a $100 order you will receive two bonus snaps plus free shipping!

We also have added some new items to our Snap Decisions Collection.  Most are in our "New Items" section but here are a few examples:  (Click on the photos to view the items in our shop)

New Stretch Band Hair Ties with a Snap Base

New Snap Base Post Earrings with a Built in Clip.

No more fiddling around with little stoppers!

Waterdrop Pendant

Also available with our interchangeable clip bail

Faux Snake Chain Lariat

New Canadian Maple Leaf Necklaces

Canada is celebrating it's 150th birthday this year so we have been making special Canadian themed pieces for this big event.  Here we made some of our maple leaves in red and black on a snap and have arranged them on the softglass cord snap necklace that I showed how to make the other day.  I love how the leaves can be arranged in different ways and you are not permanently locked into only one necklace design.

I really love the look and feel of the softglass cord but if you have any sort of arthritis or difficulty with clasps, the plug type clasp can be a bit tricky.

For an easier alternative, the braided leather cord with the front magnetic closure is quick and easy to put on and take off.  Here is one in black with the same large maple leaf snap. 

These necklace cords are available in our online store in several colors.

If you would like to make your own, we have the clasps available in our DIY Snap Supply Section.  I showed in a previous post here on how to create your own necklace.

More Fun With the Ripple Blade Technique

These buttons were made using a stacked mokume technique.  We call these buttons "Moonscapes" and make them in a variety of colors.

After cutting out our buttons from the decorative clay sheet, we usually have some small pieces left over that are too nice to scrap but are the perfect size to make some snaps!

Snaps and Interchangeable Snap Pendant

We had some extra stacked clay sheets so I had to play a little more with the ripple technique and just love the results!

The ripple effect in these pieces are 3-D -- similar to a ripple potato chip.  This photo of a side-view here shows it a little better:

Naturally all of these pieces are mounted on a snap rather than adding a necklace bail or brooch.  The snaps are so awesome as the pieces can be interchanged and worn so many different ways.  I especially like them on the plain snap pendant with the tube bail that fits onto the thick buna cord.  Here it is on the frost white softglass cord from Shades of Clay.

Interchangeable Snap Pendant

Interchangeable Snap Shawl / Hair Sticks

We now have some of our snap base items and decorative snaps listed in our Etsy shop with a larger selection from our Snap Decisions Collection in our online store.

Textured Flowers for Rearranging

These flowers are another type of texture we like to work with.  Each petal is individually sculpted, textured, colored with mica powder pigments to give the metallic jewel-tone colors and then arranged into a flower.  They have a special finding on the back to allow them to be interchanged and used in a variety of ways.  We are still working on more prototypes and getting everything in order for our spring shows coming up in April and May.

Here the three flowers are arranged in a necklace ...

The same flowers can be worn in other ways such as a single pendant ...

...  as a ring ...

... or on other findings like this hair clip ...

It can even be added to a large bail to wear on a scarf ...

We are still working on some bracelet designs as well as other accessories.

More Flip Flop Sandal Jewelry

Here is another style of flip flop sandal jewelry pieces using the extruded retro square pattern.   They are a different look for those who are not into the flowers as much.

We will have a selection of our popular flip flop jewelry available at the Lake Country Art Walk coming up in September.  Each year there is a theme and this year's is "Shoes: A Step Forward".