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!

Art Deco Buttons in Black, White and Red

Here are some more buttons I made using my new "Art Deco" technique created from left-over clay scraps.  In my tutorial, I share a simple method for framing your designs which can show off the pattern even more.

This is one of my favorite color combinations made from the scrap pile shown below.  If you are one that doesn't do very much cane work, other scrap clay such as left over blends also work well for this. No matter what, we always seem to have so much left-over scraps and always looking for more ways to use them.

Left-over cane pieces and "scraps"

A New Tutorial to Start off the New Year

The new year has been off to a slow start for us but we've been able to spend some time with family we hadn't seen in a while so that is nice.  I traded in some of my claying time over the holidays to do some baking and cooking up a few special meals instead which Dave has really appreciated!

We have accomplished a few things, however, this year so far though.  We've managed to list more items in our online store and I finally published my new tutorial, "From Scrap Clay to Art Deco"!

We always end up with so much left-over clay that we call scrap but it is never wasted.  We will sometimes mix it up to create new colors or use it as filler for beads.  We also love making Natasha beads or creating with Stropple canes and one day while playing around I discovered this fun new way to create bold and funky Art Deco patterns.

In my 16 page lesson I share my new technique along with a Kaleidoscope variation and tips on combining your scrap clay to achieve the best results.

Art Deco Kaleidoscope Variation

I also show an easy method to frame your designs to create buttons or jewelry pieces plus 2 full pages of photos for ideas and inspiration.

My new tutorial is now for sale in our Etsy shop as an instant download or if you do not want to pay the extra VAT tax, you can purchase it from our online store and we will e-mail it directly to you.

This is a fun new way to create new designs from your scrap.  We like to use the Art Deco patterns to create bracelet tiles, buttons, cabochons for our interchangeable "Snaps" and even create Tessellation patterns.

Bracelet Tiles

Tessellation variation

Interchangeable Fashion in a "Snap"

Snap Decisions - Interchanging polymer patterns

Most of our jewelry pieces we make have basically been on a larger scale.  Since working with our new interchangeable "snap" jewelry, however, our focus has slightly changed where many of our "snap" beads or cabochons are smaller than the average pendant.  Creating smaller pieces has its challenges but also its good points.  Working on a smaller scale you have less area for a pattern to show off well so you need to rethink your designs and come up with ones that fit.  On the brighter side, however, when creating clay veneer sheets it seems we always end up with some of those left-over pieces that are not large enough for earrings or you would like to use them in another way.  We have discovered that some of those really neat left-over designs make beautiful "snaps" for our interchangeable jewelry.

These "snaps" have a simple bezel frame and we have found an easy way to fill them with our clay patterns without using any glue.  They are fun to mix and match and wear in different ways like a ring, bracelet, hair barrette or necklace.  This is one of  the cabochon methods I share in my latest tutorial, "Creating Interchangeable Polymer Clay Jewelry in a Snap".  You can read more about it in my last blog post and the chance to win one of three give-a-ways of my Part 2 lesson that will be published soon.