Early morning ponderings

Here it is, almost 5 o'clock in the morning.  I was sound asleep until about an hour ago when one of my little darlings decided to jump into the window, through the blinds mind you ... he might like the sound it makes, but it is certainly NOT a sound I like waking up to.

What to do when you can't fall back to sleep immediately ... I choose stupidly this time and decided to just take a "quick" peak at Flickr and Pinterest.  That was over an hour ago ... what a time suck! Don't get me wrong, it is a marvelous time suck ... so many wonderful artists out there stretching the creativity of polymer to higher levels every day.  I love finding new (to me) artists that others have pinned, following the pin back to their blog or Etsy site, seeing their works and wondering "how did they do that" or "that is an interesting twist on that technique".  I am sure that many of you have found yourself in the same boat.

Of course, that means that I am not in the studio creating.  Being a night owl, I could be ... but since Lord Opuson is asleep, I don't want to wake him up ... funny, me typing on the computer key board does not disturb him in the least, but if I try to get out of bed ... instant awake. Probably has something to do with the Underfoots following me and howling outside the studio door ... they are soooo needy.

It has been a while since I have written anything, but spring is finally here to banish the winter blahs. I have been very remiss and hope to do better.

This last week, I did revisit  one of my favorite techniques - Rustic Beads ( The Blue Bottle Tree )  This time I was experimenting with new shapes and color choices.  I am calling the smaller beads my "wonky" shapes - kinda lopsided, but I like the design.

These are my faves.  Light purple with rose color choice

Orange with teal overlay.  A color choice I probably won't repeat

Orange again, this time with a light purple overlay.  I like.

Lilac with a darker purple overlay.  

I had recently purchased some new texture (embossing) plates for my Criket and thought I would try them out on polymer.

Lilac and light purple comb again

Orange and teal. 

See the rough texture in the upper left hand corner?  I don't know where it came from. I like it and will probably never be able to duplicate it again.  Arghhh.

 And finally, a group shot .  Took me almost a week to make these few beads, working a short stretch at a time. Just what I need to keep the creative juices flowing.

Rustic Revisited

I think I might have a touch of OCD.  When I find a technique I like, I tend to focus on it to the exclusion of all others.  Earlier this spring it was controlled marbling, and now it is Rustic Beads.  I have been playing with different textures and a few different colors.  Making these beads is so much fun, I just don't want to stop (until Lynda Moseley's newest faux tut comes out, then I predict I will be focus on that for a while ... teehee).

While I am going to post pixs of lots of beads, keep in mind that I have been making these off and on for the last month.  I have thoughts of them being the beads for the PC charm trade on my upcoming Polymer Clay Cruise in October.

My Blue Period

Seem to gravitate to the greens.

Love the contrast of yellow and rust.

Rustic Reloaded

As I wrote in my last blog, I wanted to attempt using darker colors when making Rustic Beads. This time I tried a dark blue.  

 I found out quickly that dark colors just aren't my thing. At least, this shade of blue it not.

 So, back to the lighter colors I gravitate towards.

Only textured on one side.  Will have to make post earrings
out of them, I suppose

 The yellow/green combo is one that really speaks to me

 Close ups of my favorite beads of the group.

 A little darker this time.  I also tried a bit of a different distressing technique on these pairs.  The finished look is more scratched up and worn that I was able to achieve before.  Kinda like the result and want to play some more with the idea.

 I saw a quick demo on  how to make lava beads at clay camp, but did not win the tool needed to create them.  Found it in my local neighborhood hardware store (this is a great place to wander the aisles, they are an older store with lots of goodies tucked away just waiting to be discovered). These were colored using the same technique as the rustic beads, but I did not distress them.  They have problems enough of their own without my beating on them.

A big thanks to Ginger Allman of The Blue Bottle Tree for her Rustic Bead tut.  I am having so much fun with it.

Rustication

I finally overcame my obsession with Controlled Marbling long enough to try out a new tutorial: Rustic Beads by Ginger Davis Allman at The Blue Bottle Tree.

My first attempts aren't as Rustic as hers, but then she wrote the book, so to speak.
On the first try, the beads came out way too thick and not battered enough.

So, after reducing the amount of clay and purchasing a "rustic tool" that Ginger recommended in the tut, these were the result.  Not quite what I expected, but I am not unhappy.  They aren't as, well for lack of a better term, rustic as those Ginger makes. I think that is because I tend to gravitate towards brighter, lighter colors.  I am going to try darker colors next time.

Kitten update:  I can't really call them kittens any more.  They are 5 months old and almost full grown.  Zinger had his "operation" last week and it did not go as well as Tofur's.  He apparently wiggled and twisted and squirmed around so much, he bumped his hinny against the cage and gave himself a nasty hematoma at the surgical site.  He has to wear a cone to prevent further damage. 

Sleeping off the effects of the day

Worming my way into Daddy's heart??