A Brand New Item

We've just posted a brand new bracelet! It's a lot of fun. If you like ruby colored crystals, this one's got'em!


On a side note, we've been very busy these past couple weeks. Or however long it's been. I've had a bunch of work to do in my day job and Karla's been working in every bit of free-time she's had to create new pieces. She has a jewelry party scheduled for later this month. A lady from church is setting it up. And I'll get to stay home and take care of the little guy. I'm sure she'll have a lot of fun!

And, I still have those photos for the tutorial, I just haven't made time to write anything yet. Hopefully soon!

Polyclay Cuff Bracelet, Pt. 2

Ok, so I think I'm making progress!  I took the polyclay blank that I made the other day and tried to superglue some wire to it.  Yeah... not so much.  It didn't work as well as I'd hoped, mainly because the superglue took SOOOO long to dry.  So I gave up on that.

I rolled out another 'slab' of polymer clay.  This one was a little bit thicker than the base I made and with colors!  Of course, I'll put more work into this layer if these things actually get off the ground.  Into this layer, I embedded the two thin wires.  I learned that I have to just embed part and leave a curve to the wire, otherwise it blows out the topside of the fresh clay when I try to wrap it around the blank.

So I got it wrapped around.  It looked good.  I took a Bic pen and just made some knicks in the clay and some small slices with the blade to make it look a little worn... "stylish" if you will.  *grin*  I made sure the wire was bent so that the cuff would be a small size while baking.

Then I put it in the oven.

I let it cool for a half an hour in the oven after it was done cooking and then pulled it out to let it cool the rest of the way.  I'm wearing it right now.  I was afraid to put it on.  It was really small, but it bent very well to go on my wrist.  It's stayed on for at least 20 minutes.  The only thing I'm noticing is that, since it's plastic, my skin isn't breathing very well.  I'm not really concerned with that at the moment.  The thing is pretty comfortable.  It's gripping my arm well.  It even felt tight a little bit ago, but I think it's conforming a little to the size of my wrist.

So... this part of the experiment is done.  Now to see if it stands up to a weeks worth of daily use!  Stay tuned...

"Same Cuff time!  Same Cuff channel!"

 

Polyclay Cuff Bracelet?

Can it be done?  I'm determined to do it!  There has to be a way to get a quality cuff bracelet made from polymer clay.  I've seen quite a few people put the clay over a metal blank... but I'm too unique to do that! 

I began experimenting with it tonight.  I first made a form out of folded aluminum foil with some wire running through it to help it hold the shape I wanted.  I rolled out a sheet of polymer clay and applied it to that form, the baked it.  Once it cooled, I peeled the form off the inside.

I immediately saw that I've got a problem.  The Sculpey Premo that I used has a good amount of flex to it.  That's the reason I used it for this project.  It's too much.  I put the basic cuff on and it falls right off.  It's own weight makes it open and close.  I need some wire in it to help it keep it's shape. 

I see the wisdom in using the metal blanks.  But I'm still not going to give up on this and use them!  Not yet, anyway.

So... here's the plan.

1.  Roll out another sheet of clay to put over the basic cuff.  I'll stamp designs and such on it.

2.  Put wire in between the second sheet and the basic cuff.  This should help it keep the form I want.

3.  Bake it and finish it.

4.  Wear the darn thing for a week!  I need to see if it's durable enough.  If it breaks because the clay can't support the daily use then there's no point in going any further.

Ok, now.  GOGOGOGO!

Bunch Ring & Our First Tutorial!

Well... the tutorial is soon to come.  I've taken the photos for it and will write the text up tomorrow.  I'm so tired right now!

As I said in the last two posts, I've wanted to make a ring out of wire and beads.  A Bunch Ring.  And I've succeeded in doing that!  The design came out of 'Step by Step Wire Jewelry', but I made it!  I'm so proud of myself, can't you tell?

So, our first tutorial is going to be on making headpins.  I hope our readers will find it useful.  I hope to post the completed tutorial tomorrow.  If I get too busy, well, it'll probably have to wait until the weekend!

Art Supplies

Karla and I decided to go and buy some more art supplies today.  It was quite enjoyable!  Ok, enough with the proper English.  It was a ton of fun!  I grabbed some linseed oil for my oil painting projects and looked at some beads.  I also got some copper wire (colored silver, of COURSE!) to experiment with.  I'm going to try to make the ring I referred to in the last post.

Karla bought quite a few crystals and some stone and glass beads.  And some more silver.  It's all about the silver.

And, tonight, we're making time to sit down and work on some jewelry!  Well... that is after our son falls asleep and he seems to be taking his sweet time about that.  Sometimes I get so exhausted when I'm putting him to sleep.  It's amazing how much work it is.

Anyhow, that's the news for now!

New Ring?

Karla found this amazing HowTo article in a magazine she has, about making a bunch ring out of wire.  I love the design, it's so cute!  I'm going to try it.  I just need to get some wire.  I've heard that copper is in style now, so I'm going to get some of that and give it a try. 

For anyone who's curious, it's on pg. 25 of 'Step by Step Wire Jewelry'.  It appears to be the Summer Preview 2007 issue.

Feeling Bad?

Have you ever felt like you just can't do it anymore?  "It's just not working... so I'm going to give it up!"?  I can tell you that Karla and I have been getting a little discouraged.

Browsing through the Etsy forums, I found this wonderful post:

Yes, You Can!

Edit:  I found another good one!

2000 Sales on Etsy