I have been quiet with emails and announcements so far this year, which can only mean one thing....I've been really hard at work! Never one to be satisfied doing the same thing over and over, I decided I wanted to learn how to use polymer clay to make pendants. It's been so much fun! I love using different textures, mica based metallic powders, and letter stamps to create a variety of pendants. Resin-coating them makes them appear to have a glass-like shiny finish. Very classy! I just finished my first batch of pendants tonight, and will be taking photos in the near future. My goal is to have quite a few to sell at shows, with a nice selection of cording and chain to pick from. Then you guys get to decide what kind of chain or cord you want, and how long you want it! Very cool, right? I thought so too. Just to give you a quick tease, I've posted a few of the new pendants below, in a quick snap-shot type photo.
So of course with learning polymer clay, there's a myriad of tools and things needed to be successful with it. A pasta machine to roll it out and create different effects, a toaster oven to cure it, and all sorts of tools for texturizing and stamping. One of my favorites is my new toaster oven! Not only does it cure my clay, it speeds up the resin curing process by almost 24 hours! Yes, that was hours. I used that function the first time tonight - delightful I have to say! No more waiting!
The other big thing I've been working on is the craft room. Dennis and I live in a two bedroom apartment and I have to say I am pretty blessed to have a craft room (aka the 2nd bedroom). I also teach piano lessons in that room so there's quite a bit of stuff in there. To give you an idea of how messy it was, check out the picture below. Yikes I tell ya! I've spent many hours re-organizing and cleaning, and it's been so much nicer. I was kind of hoping to do a before and after type thing but after today's crafting session it hasn't been picked up yet. :-)
So of course with learning polymer clay, there's a myriad of tools and things needed to be successful with it. A pasta machine to roll it out and create different effects, a toaster oven to cure it, and all sorts of tools for texturizing and stamping. One of my favorites is my new toaster oven! Not only does it cure my clay, it speeds up the resin curing process by almost 24 hours! Yes, that was hours. I used that function the first time tonight - delightful I have to say! No more waiting!
The other big thing I've been working on is the craft room. Dennis and I live in a two bedroom apartment and I have to say I am pretty blessed to have a craft room (aka the 2nd bedroom). I also teach piano lessons in that room so there's quite a bit of stuff in there. To give you an idea of how messy it was, check out the picture below. Yikes I tell ya! I've spent many hours re-organizing and cleaning, and it's been so much nicer. I was kind of hoping to do a before and after type thing but after today's crafting session it hasn't been picked up yet. :-)