A bit of a change

I don't always work with polymer, even if that seems to be all I ever write  about. That and cats, can't forget the cats.
 
I read on another blog (sorry ... I don't remember who's blog.  I would love to give them credit), about using inks to color washers.  Thought it was worth a try so scrounged around in the garage and "borrowed" a few from my hubbie.  He won't miss them (I hope) and will never recognize them in their new colors.

Alcohol inks were applied after a base coat of light colored acyclic paint (used Adirondack Dabber from Ranger).  After they dried, resin was applied to both sides, fully curing between sides.  After that, there was a really ugly zinc color on the inside and outside edges, where the base washer showed through.  This I painted gold with a metal acrylic pen.  And yes, you are seeing pink dots on several of the washers.  Vintaj Patina was applied with a toothpick to get the dots before the resin was added.

These washers were finished before Clay Camp and have been sitting around on top of  the same block of wood since then, Finally got the idea of how to make them up into earrings yesterday. This was the first time I tried making a "sloppy" wire wrap. I really like the look of this type of wrap, esp on earrings done by Kristi Bowman.  I really don't have the technique down well, but hope to improve with practice.  Who knew it was so hard to be messy?

I was reading The Polymer Arts Blog the other day, when Sage Bray was highlighing "mystery"  artists from Pinterest.  She discussed how sometimes the artist's identification gets lost in pinning and repinning.  I have noticed this also ... sometimes I try to follow an intereting piece back to the source only to find the site no longer there.  Because of this, I am going to start "signing" my work. Nothing fancy, since I don't have any special editing software.  I just used Picasa - free and easy.

Studio Time the 2nd

Maybe today the pictures will behave and go where I want them to.

I recently got Christi Friesen's latest book, Flourish.  It was a long wait, but well worth it.  It is chalked full of ideas and inspiration.  One of the techniques she wrote about was dissolving chalk in a glaze to achieve a faux ceramic look.  I tried it on simple beads, not too bad.  Next time I will add more chalk to the mixture as I had to put on 3 coats to get them this dark.  I want to explore this idea more.

I had a bit of left over transluscent clay I had tinted with ink.  I rolled the clay in glitter before baking.  

 One of the ideas I got from Pinterest (Love, love, love Pinterest)  is a Mokume Gane technique called Hidden Magic.  I gave it a try and, of course, had to incorporate the resulting veneer into beads.  I used yellow and green for my base colors, making several passes through the PM to smooth out the veneer.  I did learn that it is best to start out with a stamp that has a very tight design, since each PM pass thins it out more.  I like the result ... now just to figure out what to do with them.

 And of course, I had to spend time with the kitties. Most of them will be leaving for new homes soon and I will be missing them so much.  I have to love them when they are here. I hope Opuson and I have done a good job domesticating them ... there is not a one of them that does not come running and trying to scoot into the house the second the door is open.  Momma cat is even letting us pet her and seems to have lost a lot of her shyness around us.
 

Please let me in ... I am sooo cute and want to love you.

They are quickly outgrowing their basket, but don't
want to sleep anywhere else. We have set up other
places, but they like it here best.

Oh goodie, the human climbing post is back!

I got my bead partner!!!

My bead partner for the Bead Soup Party is Melissa Lynch Mesara.  I am so excited.  Melissa is a lampwork and metal artist aka the One Earred Pig. I think Lori put us together because of our blog's names, LOL.
 I spent time looking around on her Pinterest boards.  We have a lot in common - we both like Dr Who, Steampunk, the Muppets and get a kick out of Zombies (Braaaaaaaaains). I am new to Pinteret and so far I was focusing on the Polymer, jewelry, and color.  She had so many interesting boards that it inspired me to expand.  I have added  Dr Who and "V for Vendetta" boards. I also saw that she had a "Pinterest" button on her blog.  I am so pleased that I was able to figure out how to add one to my blog.
  I am spending way too much time on Pinterest.  I should be working on my beads for the bead exchange.
  I had started making some on Saturday.  I got the veneer made and applied. The beads were cured and I was going to work on sanding them on Sunday. But the best laid plans and all that ...  Saturday night I went out to dinner.  Jen and I went to the Cheesecake Factory (yummmm).  There was a long wait but since we had not seen each other in several months, we didn't really mind.  We went to find a seat outside.  It had been raining (duh - it's Seattle).  I wanted to insure that my chair wasn't wet, so I ran my hand over the seat. Sharp pain ... blood every where.  There was a broken piece of glass embedded in the cane work.  And, of course, I found it.
  So, now I can't sand anything till the cut heals.  I am having to regroup and think of a bead design that won't require sanding. Don't have that much time to think, as they have to go out next week.

Oh, Maria ... what have you done!

At Clay Camp, my guildie, Maria Brown (aka the Blonde Crow), introduced me to Pinterest.  Sure, I had heard of it, but had not ventured there yet.  All I needed was Pinterest addiction on top of Blogitis.  AND to top it off, in order to sign up for Pinterest, I had to join Facebook.   Argggggh...  I am being forced to "get with it".  Pretty hard for an old dog like me, but I guess I am learning a few new tricks.  I already have 3 friends, and  the first person to ask to friend me was Marie Segal!  I had a very happy thrill run through me when I saw that. I know this is "old hat" to most of you, heck even my brother is on Facebook, but it is an exciting new realm of exploration for me.
   Anyway,  I was just on Flickr pinning some of my favorite earring designs from the 52 earrings in a year project (I know... I am way behind posting my earrings .... life intrudes and all that).  I discovered that a lot of my favorite artist have disabled the ability to pin their pictures.  I can understand why,  but am still a bit disappointed. At this time, that is a step I am not going to take. I hope to someday sell my work on line and from my perspective, having my work available to pin just means that more people would see it and possibly want to know where to buy it.

View from dining room at Clay Camp.  So beautiful....