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.

Sunny Yellow and Black Silkscreen Pills & Coffee Print

So here are some more snaps with the black paint silkscreened on a deep yellow background.  The silkscreen used here was another one by Helen Breil called Pills & Coffee.  I really love how this print really pops when it is done this way.

Snaps for interchangeable jewelry

Bracelet with 5 interchangeable snaps

Cuff Links with interchangeable snaps

Necklace pendant with interchangeable snap

Necklace pendant with interchangeable snap

In my latest tutorial, Creating Interchangeable Polymer Clay Jewelry in a Snap, I show how to fill these special "snap" bezels with your clay patterns.  If you had already purchased my tutorial and are following our blog, we created these snaps using the same method for the Cabochon on page 6.  For the final step (#16) we used a little piece of organza fabric to texture which gave a cloth like finish. After baking, we spray them with the PYM11 which makes the colors pop and that is all you need.

There is still time to purchase your copy of my tutorial and entered into our draw for a chance to win one of 3 copies of our part 2 tutorial soon to come.  You can read more about this here.

And one more tip for you today.  Even though Helen's silkscreens are great quality, we want them to last a long time so we store them with pieces of parchment paper in between.  We have this stationary box where they are a perfect fit for the drawer.  The top part holds our deli paper and works like a kleenex dispenser so they are handy to grab.

Bold and Bright

Here are some more snaps we created that are quite different than the ones I last showed you.  These were created with the same silkscreens by Helen Breil that were in my last post.  I love the bold effect that black paint can have on a bright colored background as in the Freesia Yellow and Chartreuse Green shown here.  These snaps and jewelry items will be listed in our online shop soon.

Ring with interchangeable snap

Bracelet with interchangeable snaps

Bracelets with interchangeable snaps

Cuff links with interchangeable snaps

Pendant with interchangeable snaps

Playing with Silkscreens

I first learned screen printing in art class many years ago so I was curious about applying it to polymer clay.  I thought using the new Sculpey silkscreen kit would be a good way to start and so we gave it a try.  We really liked the paint that came with the kit -- especially the silver and some of the patterns were very intricate and was impressed with the fine detail they gave.

We had a lot of fun trying out the different patterns and experimenting with different colors.  Helen Breil gives a good basic tutorial and tips on coloring on her website here.

The disappointing thing, however, was after using some of the patterns from the Sculpey kit repeatedly, we noticed the silkscreens were quickly deteriorating and the backing was pealing off. We were extremely careful handling them and would put them in water immediately after each use so the paint would easily wash off.

I really love using the texture sheets by Helen Breil and decided to give her new silkscreens a try.  As soon as I opened the package and handled them, I could tell they were a much higher quality from the ones that were in the Sculpey kit.  We made a few buttons to start.  These are both curved into a concave shape.

We then decided to make some of the prints into snaps for our Snap Decisions interchangeable jewelry.  These ones were made with silver paint and then mica powdered.  The buttons above were left smooth where the ones below were textured so gave a more muted softer look which reminded me of a silk fabric.

Here are some of the snaps in a few pieces of snap base findings.  I love how they can be interchanged and worn so many ways.  We have these and many more styles to choose from in our online shop.

"Snaps" worn as a Ring, Necklace or Hair Barrette

We are working on getting in more snap supplies and have added another Snap Starter Kit (#5)

The single and double loop snap links (#6 & #7 above) have turned out quite popular so we will have them available in bulk when our order arrives.  They work great for making your own bracelets or as earrings:

These starter kits are at a reduced cost and a great way to sample some of the findings or if you would just like to create some interchangeable jewelry for yourself or as gifts.  We created them to go along with my latest tutorial:  Interchangeable Jewelry Pieces from Polymer Clay ... in a Snap!!!

And there is still time for a chance to win (out of 3) our part 2 tutorial.  You can read all about it on a previous blog post here.

Lots of Fun Stuff Arrived

A lot of fun stuff arrived in the mail today.  Is exciting to get all the new goodies but also means lots of serious claying ahead.  Of course that also represents fun -- especially when we get to make something new.  Our first item arrived earlier at the door with the Fed-Ex guy.  They were our rare earth magnets.  Was happy to find the ones we wanted from a Canadian supplier (thanks to Helen Breil for sharing).  Yes these have a hole in the centre which works perfectly for our new brooches in our interchangeable "Snap Decisions" collection.

Along with our usual Kato clay, these are some goodies that arrived from Shades of Clay.  They have so much stuff that is aimed for the polymer clayer and is nice they are here in Canada.  Some of the items here are Helen Breil's new silkscreens.  We have been experimenting with silkscreens and looking forward to trying these new ones out.

The Sculpey blade set is a present for Dave.  He was admiring one that someone had at our last Okanagan Polymer Clay guild meeting and loved the handles on it.  Now he has his own set and I am jealous as it is better than mine!  I think he will share with me so we're okay.

Also got some fun stuff that Wendy had on sale and clearing out getting ready for her new website.  Some Luminarte paint (one is a gorgeous purple color) and some fabric paint pens.  I am working on something this summer that involves fabric and painting so these should come in handy.

The sharp pointy tool should also come in handy as well as the little Kemper clay cutter.  I couldn't find it at first as it was so small and then discovered Wendy had attached it to our pointy tool.  The round cutter is just the right size for some special buttons we are making.  Did you know Shades of Clay has all sorts of these in different sizes?

The other item is in that foil package on the left.  That is a surprise that I will be sharing with you a little later.  It is a new product that Wendy sent us to play and experiment with.  We will give it a whirl and let you know what it is and what you can do with it soon.

Lastly, the long awaited interchangeable crochet hook kits arrived after being on back order for nearly 4 months!  We have some customers waiting for theirs so will be making some up as soon as we can get at them.

We are still waiting on more goodies but all this should be enough to keep us out of trouble for awhile!  After spending a whole week in front of the computer working on our new website it will be good to get back to the studio to clay!