New Shawl and Collaboration

Over the past few months I have been collaborating with a good friend of mine, Carmen, who is also in the same Artisan Co-op Market that I am in.  She is a talented crocheter and goes by "Stitches in Tyme - Contemporary Crochet".  I have been posting some of her pieces with my buttons and shawl pins on my facebook page but I wanted to share more about it here.

This is a shawl she recently made for me.  I had the yarn sitting around hoping I could find the time to eventually make something but never seemed to manage it.  So I was more than happy to give it over to Carmen when she offered and now I am so excited I have my finished piece and can hardly wait to wear it!

Isn't it lovely?  It is also super soft and drapes so beautifully.  The yarn is from Colour Adventures and in a Cupcake blend which took 2 "cakes" to create.

The shawl sticks are from my Snap Decisions Collection which have a snap base and you can interchange the decorative snaps.

Carmen has other beautiful shawls that she has created available in the Shuswap Artisan Market.  I have matched up some optional shawl pins to coordinate in case someone is looking for that perfect match.

Or if you would like Carmen to make something special for you, she does custom orders.  You can see more of her creations on her facebook page here.

Carmen also crochets hats, scarves, finger-less gloves and unique baskets, just to name a few.  We have also teamed up by adding a snap base, instead of typical buttons to some of her hats.

This is so much fun as you can choose your preferred accent design and interchange them for a whole new look!  We have a selection available in my online store and if you would like Carmen to make you a different color or design with an added snap base, just contact me or Carmen with your request.

Stroppel Cane "Snaps"

We just finished making some shawl pins with our Stroppel canes as well as some buttons.  The Stroppel cane is named after Alice Stroppel, another polymer artist, who invented it.  It is a fun technique using clay scraps or left-overs.  I love how hardly anything is wasted with polymer clay.   The buttons, for instance, were made from the centers that were cut out from the shawl pins.

We then used some of the left-over pieces to make "snaps" for our interchangeable jewelry line.  I love how they all coordinate yet each one is completely unique!

The "snap" bracelet shown here is a new style we now have available in our online store.  You will find it along with some other jewelry pieces with a snap base in our "Snap" Decisions section.

Twisted Yarn Buttons and Shawl Sticks

I love making my own molds from old vintage buttons and other findings to use with polymer clay.  The other day I was rummaging through my large tin of "collectables" and pulled out this old vintage button I had for years.  It reminded me of some knitting or twisted yarn.  We decided to make a mold from it and then see what it would look like recreated in the clay.

Adding mica powders or antiquing with paint gave it quite a different look than the original piece.

We then decided that it could make a really neat shawl stick so here are a few that we made up.

A Giant Ladybug

When we first started making our lady bugs, we had no idea they would be so popular.  We sometimes receive requests for custom items from customers at the local shops that sell our work.  One customer asked for a ladybug shawl pin with our "signature leaf" stick.  This is the design we created that has both a green and a black and white leaf stick that can be interchanged for a different look.

Creating Shawl Pins and Scarf Jewelry in Your Own Style

Ever since I discovered polymer clay, my whole world had changed.  I have had several careers in my life but I have never felt so fulfilled as I do when creating with this wonderful medium!  I find working with the clay in my hands is therapeutic and very satisfying.  What I really enjoy most is that there are so many things you can do with the clay.  I really love the engineering part and figuring out how I am going to tackle a certain project.  This is how my scarf jewelry came about.  More than 3 years ago I saw some metal pieces on the internet and I couldn't get the image out of my head.  I was dreaming how I could create something similar in clay.  The first prototype I worked out was a metal bail with one of my sculpted flowers added.  We showed the piece to several stores that sold our work and they were an immediate hit.

One of my first original designs from May, 2011 using a metal bail

I was then brainstorming as to how I could make the scarf bail all from clay and once that was worked out I discovered that all types of techniques could be incorporated into the design.

With my new tutorial, Constructing Accent Pieces for Your Scarves, Sweaters & Shawls,  I teach the basic construction of making shawl pins and scarf jewelry.  The idea is that once you know how to make the basic forms, you can apply almost any technique to give your pieces your own personal style.

An example of this is how I have incorporated techniques from my other tutorials to show how they can be applied to the various forms in this lesson.  For instance, the flowers from my "Sculpted Flowers" tutorial can be used in several projects in this lesson to make:

A shawl pin:

A shawl / hair stick:

Scarf Jewelry:

This is just one technique of many that can be used.  Included in my lesson are several pages of photos showing other examples for more ideas and inspiration.

New Tutorial: Constructing Accent Pieces for Your Scarves, Sweaters & Shawls

I am excited (and relieved) to finally have finished and published my latest tutorial:  Constructing Accent Pieces for Your Scarves, Sweaters & Shawls.  In this 50 page pdf lesson I give step by step instructions on the basic construction of our most popular selling items -- our scarf jewelry and shawl pins.  We have been selling our shawl pins in local yarn shops for several years now and are a very popular item.

Our scarf jewelry is our main attraction in any of the shows we are in.  They are our best selling item and we have made and sold hundreds over the past few years.  My purpose for this tutorial is to teach the basic construction of these pieces so that nearly any technique can be applied and this way you can give them your own personal style.

You are welcome to sell any items that you create from this tutorial, just do not share any of our trade secrets, copy, share or teach from any of our published lessons.

My lesson is broken down into segments with plenty of pictures to make it easier to follow.  There are links throughout for easier viewing on a tablet.

This is a break down of some of the content:

-- The Shawl Pin - Supplies and Determining Size
-- Making the Shawl "Ring"
-- Adding embellishments to your Shawl Ring
-- Making the Shawl "Pin" or "Stick"
-- Adding a Decorative End to the Shawl Stick (3 different methods)
-- The Scarf Necklace - Supplies and Determining Size
-- Making the Scarf Necklace Bail
-- Working with Crystal Rhinestones
-- Making the Beads for the Scarf Necklace (3 different Methods)
-- Assembling Your Scarf Necklace including basic jewelry making Instructions
-- Making a Scarf Buckle in a faux "tooled leather"
-- Making Your Own Custom Texture Stamps
-- Making a Form for Baking the Shawl Pin Rings and Scarf Buckles

Also included is a two page photo gallery for design ideas along with supply references to help you find some of the materials we use such as scarves, etc.

The supplies needed to make all of the items in this tutorial are all easy to find and very affordable.   Most items you probably already have on hand.

I have had many requests to share what we use for the stick in our shawl pins.  We were not prepared to divulge this trade secret of ours but I not only share what the material is but a simple and effect method for covering it with clay.

The tutorial is available as an instant download in our Etsy Shop or in our online store where we will e-mail it out to you (please be sure to give the correct e-mail address and check your spam box if you do not receive it within several hours of paying.)

More Faux Wood and Leather

After making the buttons in our new faux wood and leather, I decided to play with it a little more and see what else I could do with it.

Here are some scarf clips in two different shapes.  I just listed these in our Etsy shop.

The spring loaded scarf clip ring is available at Shades of Clay and I have a free tutorial on our blog (click here) on how to attach them as they can be a bit tricky.

Here is the same technique and pattern in a shawl pin.

The texture sheet we used to make these items is a favorite of mine.  It is a design by my friend, Wendy Orlowski, called Feather Boa and is available at Shades of Clay.

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.

More Medallion Crackle Pieces

I am totally in love with making these new medallion buttons.  Here are some smaller ones in new colors.

I decided to experiment with other pieces using the same technique such as this pendant and earring set as well as a new style of shawl pin.

This is a little hint as to what assists me with more control over my inks.  It is a an ink palette from Ranger.

Ranger has all sorts of gadgets and tutorials on using inks for scrapbooking so I wondered why some of those ideas wouldn't apply to clay in a similar way?  It has opened up a whole new method of combining my clay with painting but using inks instead of the typical acrylics, oils or watercolors.

Leaf Shawl / Hair Sticks

These are our leaf shawl / hair sticks which is one of our most popular items and best seller.  Now available in our online store.

New Hair Model

We make a lot of shawl pins which can be worn in various ways.

We were fortunate to have family visit last weekend and I was thrilled when Dave's son's girlfriend, allowed me to photograph some of our designs in her beautiful hair.  (Thank-you Tara!)

Most of our shawl pins are sold in local yarn stores as well as in our Etsy shop.

Chameleon Polymer Art Show 2013 and Floral Shawl Pins

Other than Christmas season, this is our busiest time of year.  Between store orders to fill we have been  preparing for the Shuswap Lake Festival of the Arts coming up in July.

There is another show coming up that isn't until February but I am already working on new pieces for it.  This one is called "Chameleon 2013" at the Seymour Art Gallery in the Deep Cove area of north Vancouver, B.C. and is all polymer.  It is exciting and a real honor to be one of the featured artists to take part in this big event.

You can read all about it and follow the blog that Joan Taylor set up featuring the artists and glimpses of the type of work that will be there.

In the meantime, here are some new floral shawl pins that will be at the Arts Festival in a few weeks.  I will list a few in our Etsy shop but may need to pull them for the Arts Festival if they do not sell before then.

Ooops!  These shawl pins are now available for sale at Bead Connections Store in Aberdeen Mall, Kamloops.  Will have to make some more I guess.

My New Present

I have to show you the wonderful present Dave bought for me the other day.  It is this beautiful shawl that was hand knitted by Donna at Donna's Yarn & Craft Center.  She sells our beads, buttons and shawl pins and I was admiring this shawl she had for sale.  Dave had me try it on and decided I should have it.  Isn't that so sweet?  It is just my color and is knit from a gorgeous linen yarn.

The shawl pin I had made for myself some time ago looks like it was made just for it.