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.

Get Ready for the Snap Challenge!

It has been two years since we first introduced our Snap Decisions Collection (Interchangeable Fashion . . . in a snap!) and shortly after that, the publishing of our tutorial.  It seems like yesterday as time seems to fly when you are having so much fun!

So we have come up with a new idea for those who have purchased our tutorial to show off their work and a chance to win some great prizes!  We are calling it the Snap Challenge!

We will be revealing more information on this challenge/contest very soon.  Just one hint -- the first challenge will be a Valentines Day theme.  In the meantime, pick out some of the favorite snaps you have made and take some good photographs to share.

The main rule for this challenge is that it is open to those who have purchased our Snap Decisions tutorial.  So let's get ready to have some fun!

Art Deco Buttons and Snaps in Lapis Blue and Greenery

Whenever we create mokume gane patterns or canes, we end up with a lot of left-overs which would be considered scrap.  But in the polymer clay world there are so many uses for this scrap clay and nothing is ever thrown out or wasted but can be reused again in so many ways.  After creating these buttons in the Pantone colors Lapis Blue and Greenery, we ended up with lots of this 'scrap'.  

I could have just mixed it up or used it as filler but I decided to make them into new designs using my Art Deco Technique.

Art Deco Buttons in Lapis Blue and Greenery

I share in my tutorial, "From Scrap Clay to Art Deco" how to create unique patterns with your left-over scraps.  I love how each piece is unique and have an Art Deco or Art Nouveau style.  Here is a collection of snaps made with the same left-over clay mix.

Art Deco Snaps in Lapis Blue and Greenery

Art Deco Snaps in Lapis Blue and Greenery

Interchangeable Snap Jewelry - Art Deco Snaps in Lapis Blue and Greenery

Interchangeable Snap Jewelry - Art Deco Snaps in Lapis Blue and Greenery

New Buttons at Kelowna Yarn & Needlecrafts

We made a trip to Kelowna today to visit one of the shops that sell our work, Kelowna Yarn & Needlecrafts.  We had our first break in the cold weather for some time and even though the roads were a little slushy, it was nice to see the sun again and enjoy the scenic drive.

The previous owners of Kelowna Yarn recently retired and we had the pleasure of meeting with the new owner, Cheryl.  It was really nice getting to know her a little bit and discover she also has a passion and understanding for the Pantone colors.

We left some fresh new buttons and also our new Snap Shawl Sticks at the store.  We want to wish Cheryl a great and successful 2017.  Here is a peak of some of their new buttons in stock. 

Buttons - Organic 'Peacock'

Buttons - Moonscape Square

Buttons - Color Wheel

Art Deco Buttons

Interchangeable Snap Shawl Sticks

Another Ripple Blade Cane in Pantone Spring 2017 Colors

We have been making lots of mokume design buttons for the yarn shops.  This batch was created using the Pantone Spring 2017 fashion colors Lapis Blue and Greenery.  For this mokume design we used the White Mix (recipe #1-2 in my Clay Color System) in the blend which creates lots of contrast.

After making my first ripple blade cane (see my blog post here), I had to try it again and made some with the left overs.  Because I was just testing the colors out, the pieces came out rather small but I managed to make a few buttons and snaps out of them.  This time, instead of flattening out the pieces like I did the other day, we wanted to maintain that 3-D ripple effect.

Ripple Blade Cane in Pantone Colors Greenery and Lapis Blue

Ripple Blade Cane - Decorative Snap and Button

I especially like how the snap turned out and it looks really cool on several snap base accessories such as the tube bail pendant, shawl stick and brooch lapel pin shown below.

Interchangeable Snap Accessories

Interchangeable Snap Brooch Lapel Pin

Interchangeable Snap Shawl/Hair Stick

Interchangeable Snap Necklace

I love adding a snap to special designs like these as it makes it so versatile and can be worn more than just one way.

Ripple Blade Cane

I was going through our clay stash to see what I could use up and came across a stacked stripe blend.  I was wondering what to do with it and then remembered that slicing it with a ripple blade could give this really cool effect.  If you are wondering what I am talking about, just google "ripple blade cane" and you will see what I mean.  So I gave it a try and was totally in love with the results after the first slice was revealed.

I flattened the pieces when creating the snaps and because there was a lot of metallic and pearl in the colors, they really shimmer.   This is certainly a fun technique and worth experimenting more. 

Finished Snaps in Pantone Colors

We finally finished off the snaps I made with the Pantone colors I showed you the other day.  You can see the post here.  They always look much nicer after they are sanded, waxed and buffed.   I like to photograph them before they get buffed with the Dremel as there can be too much glare after.