And this too shall pass

Ok, so I think I'm over the beads! LOL! This is just a small portion of what I've done in the past week. I'll put it this way, I now have a gallon size zip lock bag full of beads! Once I get more materials, I plan on making LOTS of bracelets!! But for now, I must find something else to work on.......

But first I need some motivation......"Oh Muse, come back to me, point me in the direction of creativity. Help me figure out what it is that I want to make.........

Polymer clay bead tutorial

If you haven't noticed, I've been taking a break. Sometimes, I just have to turn off the computer and play. Yes, I know......it sounds miserable, but I assure you, You'll get so much more work done!! Remember the bowls I made, and how I got a little carried away...well....this time I have been making beads! Lots and lots of beads. I used up almost all of the translucent clay.....and then switched over to using up the ends of some old canes. Soon, I will post pictures of the beads I've made....but for now......

I've put together a picture tutorial for you, to explain how I made these beads. I figured out an easier approach to making my round beads. Plus I wanted to work on my tutorial skills......one, so I don't forget how I did it, and 2, to share. Let me know if it helps you create anything creative!?!?

I started with 2 blocks of Fimo Transparent polymer clay, and divided it into 5 equal parts.

Next, I rolled each portion into a ball and made a valley in the middle of each. Then I added the numbered amount of drops of Adironack Alcohol Ink (I used the color Cranberry) to each section.Next, mix up each section of clay and make sure you keep them in order~ from lightest to darkestI wanted a little more color in them, so I went back and added the numbered drops to the last 3 sections.Again, mix each section to blend in the ink.Once you have them blended, roll each color out using the largest setting on your pasta machine.In this next picture I sliced off the ends to make them the same size. Then I numbered them on the paper from lightest to darkest. Skipping the first one, I painted each of them with white acrylic paint. And then WAITED for the paint to dry!! If not you'll end up smudging paint all over your beads in the last steps.Once the paint has dried, stack the slabs of clay on top of each other from darkest to lightest. Make sure the painted sides all face up and that the last slab is the paint less slab......you don't want paint on the outside of your built stack.Once you have them stacked, use your acrylic roller to roll out the stack a little. Pick it up and turn it over, and roll on that side as well. Roll in all directions, but don't roll it too thin.

Then it's time to start punching out your circles. I'm using a little one, about the size of a dime. Once you get it out, start rolling it on it's side. I think the picture does a better job explaining it then I would in words........just make sure that when you roll it, you keep the light side on one side and the darker side of the bead on the other. Don't worry if it's hard to see your lines, they'll come out brighter when you bake them!! The bottom row of beads is the color I used in this tutorial...see how the color deepens when they bake?Good luck and let me know if this helps!!

My clay secrets

Today, I must tell you my secrets. About a year ago, the craft store had Fimo clay on sale for .99 each. At the time I was in one of my bead making phases, and was using a LOT of Fimo Transparent! So I went Michael's, only to discover that it was sold out. However, I know Michael's does rain checks, so I took advantage of that, and put 20 transparent blocks of clay on rain check. A few weeks after that I got the call that my clay was ready to be picked up~ and wouldn't you know by that time, I was no longer in the mood to make beads! So, I tucked the blocks away for another day. Needless to say, now that I'm in the mood again, it's nice to have all this pre-bought clay on hand!

Remember the blue beads I made the other day......I was able to make one last bracelet before I realized that I'm out of wire, and crimp beads, and clasps! Ugggg! Well, at least I have lots of pretty beads for when I get around to making more bracelets! Another secret of mine is how I bake my beads. Actually, it's not really a secret, it's just how I do it. I use the toaster oven to bake my beads, so I needed something small to fit in there. I bought a 6inch ceramic tile that works perfectly. Then I used some scrap clay to make the little stands on the ends. Bake those first, and then you can reuse them! I reuse the same ones every time I bake, and they have lasted for a long time.

One day I will learn the secret to keeping the cats out of my clay! It never fails, as soon as I walk away from what ever project I'm working on, one of the cats wants to come along and walk through it. I wouldn't mind so much, but do they have to leave their hair and paw prints embedded in everything?? (honestly, I love the foot prints, I think it adds character!!) I remember when I first learned this lesson, I was about 15. I was working on an oil painting, and made the mistake of walking away........in the 2.2 seconds I had my back turned, my Siamese cat, Ebenezer, went running across my masterpiece. Luckily, he ran across the bottom part of it, so he didn't mess up the painting, but my Mother did not appreciate the paw prints he left across the carpet! From then on, the paintings were stored up high on top of a hutch to dry. The hutch was very tall, there was only a couple of inches between it and the ceiling. LOL, it's hard to find places that cats can't get to!

So, now that you have the background on me 'learning' this lesson.....here's what these cats have been doing to me now......First I was sitting on the bed Sunday night, making beads. When all of a sudden I hear this galloping noise coming down the hall. Something told me to brace myself, so I leaned over the tray of beads I was working on. As I'm leaning over, Otis is in the process of launching himself onto the bed. Luckily, I was able to bend over in time, and he landed on my back~ and I managed to save the whole tray of beads. Last night, I was not so lucky!

Here I am, sitting on the couch this time, with my beads on the coffee table. I was almost done making all my big beads.....about 20 of them, when Pocus comes sliding across the table. And Flips my tray into the air! Yes! My poor unbaked, just rolled out beads went flying everywhere! Needless to say, I spent the next 2 hours trying to pick out all of the fibers that had attached themselves during the tragedy. I spent 2 hours picking out fibers because it took me less time to do that, then it did to roll out all those darn beads. They turned out OK, so I guess my time was well invested!

It's all about the beads....

Thought I'd show you you the extremely long process of my favorite beads. I'm using Fimo Translucent polymer clay and Adironack Alcohol inks. I take a block of clay, and divide it into sections. Then I add the ink.....the first section of clay gets 2 drops of ink, the second section of clay gets 4 drops, and so on, until you have color in all the sections. Then I roll out each color into a slab. I put them, in order from lightest to darkest, and then paint each of them with acrylic paint. I used a lime green paint in these. (Don't paint the lightest shade~the top color....I make this mistake every time! And if you accidentally do, you can just flip the slab over.) Once the paint dries, I use my little circle cutter to cut out the circles you see on the left of the picture.

Then you stack the colors from lightest to darkest. After you have your little stacks made, start to roll them into a bead......
And of course I don't have a picture of what the green beads look like.......that be too easy, huh! But I do have a picture of a bracelet I made using the scraps that were left over. Although I like the color....I wanted to make it where you could actually see the different colors..........
Like these! Perfect! I'm so freaking happy with the blue ones, it's scary! They remind me of marbles...Oh, I can't wait to make a bracelet with these....won't it be fabulous?? LOL
Otis says Hello.....he's busy napping again.........Isn't he the cutest~ I love it when they sleep with their tongues hanging out!

...can I go back to bed now??

You ever have one of those days where you just don't want to get out of bed? And when you do finally get up, nothing amuses you. Yes, I'm so bored I can't find anything to do. Mind you I have a long list of to-dos, I just don't want to...lol! So I thought I'd take you on a picture journey.......

These are 'rocks' I made out of polymer clay. I just can't tell you how much I love my rocks! ~and They're sooooo pretty! And such a pain in the butt to make~ maybe that's why I love them so....because I knew how much sweat went into them. Fix you gotta mix up a lot of different colors of clay, then you have to chop them down into small chunks, then paint the chunks with acrylic paint. Once the paint drys, you have to form the chunks into small rocks. Then, you bake them~ don't be scared, they're suppose to look like a black blob of mess! And here's where the pain in the butt part comes. You have to sand it (with wet/dry sandpaper) starting at the lowest number and working your way up to the highest number. It takes a lot of sanding for one rock! You can find the sandpaper at the auto parts store. I'd like to make some beads this way, but I'm so overwhelmed with all that sanding that I haven't done it. maybe one day! The beads on the bracelet are pretty much made the same way. But no chunks! This time I painted slabs of polymer clay, and after they dried, I stacked the slabs on top of each other, and used my small circle cutter to cut out a cylinder.
These next 2 pictures are from reading Donna Kato's website. There was a tutorial on there on how to make the canes for these, and this is what I made. Once you end up with a neat cane, the possibilities are endless! See what I made using the same cane. (A cane is a block of uncooked clay that has a design in it) Those S things have a hole in the middle so you can use it as a bead.
Here's another cane I made, and what I did with it. These are the S shapes again, but this time you can see where the hole is. I love the colors I used~ so bright!
I hope everyone enjoys the rest of their weekend; I'm going to go curl up with Otis and take a nap!

hahaha...I was trying to find a picture of Otis sleeping, and instead came across this.....He was so bad when he was little! I can not remember a day where we didn't find toilet paper some where...he just couldn't help himself. We finally had a buy a plastic container to store it in, cause he'd climb right into the cabinets and take out what he wanted. Here, he's a couple of months old, and has come across a roll sitting on top of the dresser. He was taking bites out of it, and spitting the tp on to the floor......he's lucky he's cute!!!