Polymer Clay Jewelry

I know I haven't posted much this year but that doesn't mean I haven't been busy making new things! I've just been too busy I guess. Add in baby #4 and well, the blog takes a backseat.

This summer I decided I wanted to try stamping with polymer clay. I've never worked with polymer clay before so I spent a month just reading & figuring out what supplies to buy. Somehow I stumbled upon an ArtBliss jewelry/crafter meetup group and learned there's an ArtBliss jewelry workshop near Dulles twice a year. It was my good luck that the one in September offered a class in stamped polymer clay jewelry! AND I took a class on how to photograph my jewelry (better). You can let me know if you see any improvement :-)

I'm really excited about the possibilities this new medium offers. Here are some of the pieces I've made thus far: 

I used some spiral earrings to stamp into this pendant.

I made a mold from a really pretty button to make this pendant.

Used a good old acrylic stamp here.

Polymer Clay Jewelry

Breaux Vineyards Key West Festival!

One of the fun perks of having a craft business is the opportunity to discover new family events. Often I learn about fairs/shows from other vendors and this weekend I'll be at one that came highly recommended, the Breaux Vineyards Key West Festival, for the first time. They had me at "wine". :-)

Whether my husband might be willing to bring the kids to an event (& if the kids would like it!) is a major factor in deciding to do a show because I like it when they can get something out of it too. Yeah, I had my husband at "wine" too!

Located in Purcellville, this Festival has a laid-back Key West theme; come & enjoy wine tasting, kids' activities, craft & food vendors & live music in a beautiful venue!

Sat., July 16, 11am-6pm; tickets can be purchased from the vineyard's website: http://www.breauxvineyards.com/

Breaux Vineyards Key West Festival!

Retro Othello Pendant & Mini-Scrabble Earrings Set

Love this retro print!

How cute are these little mini-scrabble pieces??? They are about 1/2" square. I happened upon a travel game of Scrabble in a thrift store, came home & immediately bought three more sets off ebay (they don't make the wooden pieces in the travel games anymore). I'm also using them as simple initial charms too.

Made this charm bracelet for a customer at a craft fair this past Saturday.

Retro Othello Pendant & Mini-Scrabble Earrings Set

Patera Necklaces with Transfers

I've discovered a new product (for me) at Nunn Designs (where I get my premium supplies)--transfer sheets! These are really fun and easy to use--just punch or cut out, soak in water to separate the image from the backing paper and slip the image onto the surface of your pendant. For the antique copper pendant on the left, I first colored it with a pearlescent green chalk ink and heat set it. The transfers are translucent so the color shows through. Finally, I sealed them with my favorite resin. I won't be posting these in my store as I have a very limited supply but you can find them at one of my upcoming shows. :-)

Patera Necklaces with Transfers

Vintage Paperweight Bracelets

Latest designs--images from vintage paperweights made into bracelets! You can easily add your favorite charms to these chains too. I'd be happy to stamp an initial onto a small charm to personalize these.

Vintage Paperweight Bracelets

Mimi & Mommy Custom Hand-Stamped Metal Pendants

Whoo-hoo! Now in my store, hand-stamped metal pendants custom-made for moms and grandmoms! These are on 1" silver aluminum discs, which keeps them affordable, yet they polish up to be nice and shiny like sterling silver. The Mimi pendant features the initals of each grandchild, separated by family by a heart and the rhinestone is the grandmother's birthstone (uh, Happy Mother's Day, Mom! if you happen to see this :-) ) The Mother pendant can feature an optional decorative stamp--either a heart, a heart with wings or baby footprints. I love the heart with wings because it can remember or symbolize Angel Baby Sisters or Brothers watching over your other kids or a Guardian Angel.

Mimi & Mommy Custom Hand-Stamped Metal Pendants

NEW Metal-stamped Pendants!!

You've probably seen this trendy style of pendant & since it involves stamping, I just HAD to try it myself. It involves a whole lot of new tools and supplies so it'll be awhile until I can ramp up to lots of different designs myself so for now, I'm starting simple with the Maddie Pendant. It's my little girl's birthday in February so I made one for her with an amethyst (February's birthstone). It's also my first project since returning from a self-imposed sabbatical. (We welcomed another baby girl, our fourth child, in December! So, now the "4" in Stamp 4 Life has even more meaning for me :-) )

Now available in my webstore: "The Maddie Pendant makes a special gift for a little (or big) girl in your life. Choose a name or initial to be stamped onto a 16mm vintage classic silver-plated disc. You may also add one birthstone. If a name can't fit straight across, it will curve around the edge of the pendant. The pendant comes with a silver-plated ball chain."

Stay tuned for new designs for Mommies & Mimis!

NEW Metal-stamped Pendants!!