In April 2007 I happened to discover online that all you needed to bake polymer clay was a regular oven. I had always assumed this medium was just as tricky as the ceramics I'd worked with in school and in the pottery shop, in other words, way out of my league. Having realized there was a possibility polyclay WAS in my league or thereabouts, I began to imagine the beads I could make myself (having already been two years at beaded jewelry). The first sites I visited on the subject predicted addiction; they were not wrong. So here for your enjoyment, are all the projects I've done to date...both good and bad.
If you have any feedback or questions, please email me.
go to page 1 this is page 2 go to page 3 go to page 4
Oh,
and I write romance fiction too, see also www.dianalaurence.com. Scroll down to see "Heroica's Bracelet" based on my novel Bloodchained. |
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| Photos | Project No. | Project Name | Date | Time | New techniques learned | Comments |
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Project #15 |
"Les Stroud" set (necklace, bracelet, earrings and bead ring) (Ring from Burgard Studio) |
6/11/07 | 2 hrs clay, 1.5 hrs assembly | Faux lakestones | Inspiration for design, Riverstone Bead Company. Spiritual inspiration, Les Stroud (aka Survivorman) and his love of nature. |
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Project #16 |
Carleton the Turtle |
6/16/07 | 2.25 hrs. | Embedding of beads in clay, acrylic paint patina effect, use of Lisa Pavelka's Polybonder (when a curlique fell off!) | This project was pretty much taken piecemeal from Christi Friesen's awesome book Under the Sea. Thank you Christi for the amazingly clear directions that brought little Careleton into this world! |
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Project #17 |
Lumpcats - Orange cat with blue mouse for my daughter Katie, brown cat with red yarn for my husband Davie, blue cat with pink ribbon for my friend Jen, white cat with blue collar and bell for my dad |
6/19/07 | 3.25 hrs. for all four | Use of liquid polymer clay to mount whiskers, clay "yarn," Pearl Ex powder for mouse highlights | These pieces are, again, ripoffs from the amazing Christy Friesen, as taught in her book Cats Big and Small. They are really quick and easy and no two alike! A great way to use up scrap clay...my dad's white cat is covered with leftover chrysanthemum cane, a really lovely effect. Oh, and the three smaller cats have faux cats-eye beads for eyes. Makes sense. |
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Project #18 |
Two Seahorses - Pendant seahorse for my daughter Amanda; standup seahorse for me with leftovers |
6/26/07 | 1.5 hrs. for two | Getting better at using what Christi calls "lookat blends," insertion of support wire in standing seahorse, tried using gold acrylic paint sparingly for patina step | More great stuff from Christi Friesen's book Under the Sea. |
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Project #19 |
Edgar the Codfish - For my husband Davie |
6/26/07 | 1.5 hrs. | Hanging bead inside fish body (very tricky!) | Also inspired by Under the Sea. The heart was my concept though...Davie was inspired by the scene in "Deadliest Catch" when his hero Deckhand Edgar eats the still beating heart of a cod (those crazy crab fishermen!). He asked for a cod with a heart.... |
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Project #20 |
Organic Trinket Box |
7/1/07 | 2 hrs. | Texture plates, painting with PearlEx powders, constructing boxes with clay, multiple baking, gluing stones to clay, baking on tiles | Used a sawed off cardboard nut can covered in foil for the form for the box sides. I was so thrilled at how this turned out as it is pretty much an original concept and design by me and therefore my first shot at truly being a polymer clay artisan. I've got ideas already for other versions and ways to improve the look and can't wait to try them out! |
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Project #21 |
Beach Box |
7/8/07 | 2.5 hrs. | Faux sand (my invention), using foil for lid shaping | I made some improvements on the box technique for this one, like inserting the box bottom from inside to keep a clean edge outside. I really love the contrast between the "water" (polished with two coats of Future) and the "sand." The sand is a mix of Granitex clay, smidge of brown clay, and brown art sand, really well blended. |
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Project #22 |
Kanji Pendant |
7/15/07 | 1.5 hrs. clay, 1 hr. beading and assembly | Stamping with PearlEx powder, using gold leaf | My first use of leaf and it really is a pretty venue for it. |
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Project #23 |
Heroica's Bracelet |
8/11/07 | 3.5 hours (for two) | Using metal bracelet form. This is another use of faux balinese silver. | I made a pair of these, which are replicas of the one worn by Heroica in my novel Bloodchained. One will be a prize in a contest for the book release. As maybe you can tell, I got a new digital camera! |
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Project #24 |
Dichroic Switchplate (retired, because frankly I think it turned out ugly!) |
9/29/07 | 2.5 hours | UTEE and foil to make faux dichroic glass. | This dichroic technique using UTEE (adapted from Lisa Pavelka) works great! In addition to using foil, I used metallic clay colors in the mix and also a bit of Perfect Pearls embossing powder. I was trying to do a sort of turquoise and natural clay Southwestern feel for this design, which really didn't work at all, but I'm very excited to have faux dichroic in my repertoire now! |
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Project #25 |
Lion Candy Jar |
10/7/07 | 2 hours | Baking clay onto glass. | It's another Christi Friesen style piece, from her cats book. I fashioned the lion head right on the side of this candy jar and it came out of the oven nicely affixed! This is for my new office, to entice my coworkers to visit and have a treat. (My company's logo/mascot is the lion so I collect them for the office.) |
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Project #26 |
Miniature Garden |
10/14/07 | 4.5 hours (plus a lot of shopping time!) | Mixed media. | This miniature garden incorporates some key elements made of polyclay, and was inspired by the designs of Bunnie Werth. My own invention is the pond, which is molded out of polyclay, decorated with small rocks and silk leaves, and filled with "Quick Water". The "gazing ball" stand is made of Granitex mixed with pearl clay. The stepping stones are also clay. I purchased the trellis, bench, and tiny cardinals from Bunnie's shop in Cedarburg, Wis., Newberry Thicket. The grass is sheet moss and other plant life is silk and plastic. The dirt is another cool product, "Looks Like Soil" from Natural Creations. All the supplies except the bowl (and styrofoam within) were purchased at Stein's Gardens and Gifts, which unfortunately only has stores in Wisconsin! I think this garden is one of the coolest things I've ever made! |
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Project #27 |
Fall Jewelry Set |
11/19/07 | 2 hrs. clay, 1 hr. beading and assembly | Makume gane beads. | Love how these came out; I felt artsy doing this set! |
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Project #28 |
Night Flowers Switchplate |
11/24/07 | 2 hrs. | Skinner blends. | Made this to replace the dichroic one (Project #24) and I like this much better! |
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