SCDiva

A Few Valentine's Pieces

2012-01-28T19:12:00.000-05:00

I am having a major polymer slump, folks. I am at the point that I can't even bring myself to go into my studio. It's a bummer which is reaching epic proportion. I have read books and magazines and cruised lots of websites for inspiration, but nothing.

My friend Lupe Meter sent me some photos of a few faux bone and ivory creations she made using my tutorial, and I was so excited about them, that I thought I felt the creative juices start to flow again... but nothing. Almost everything I have tried has gone straight to the trash pile.

I think writing the faux bone tutorial just took all the oomph out of me. It took so long to finish, almost three times as long as my mammoth faux jade tutorial! I made so many revisions trying to get it just right for all my wonderful customers who were waiting so patiently for it, that I have lost my way with polymer.

I did manage to create a couple of polymer pieces in the Ancient Romance series, and I did a few Valentine's day transfer pieces, but most of my free time in the past two months has been spent creating non-polymer jewelry. I am having a lot of fun with the Scottish Tartans. It's become an obsession, researching and learning the different patterns and the significance of the colors. I was especially pleased to learn that tartans have been created over the years to commemorate and honor several of the U.S. states and some lineage societies and other public companies and societies.

My mother, bless her heart, put in a custom order for a necklace in her Forrester tartan. It's not a recognized tartan because "we" don't have a clan chieftan. I keep telling my Forrester Uncle he needs to step up, but I don't think he wants to move to Scotland. Hee Hee. I haven't come across a Scottish Forrester castle, so it might be for the best. Imagine what the taxes on a castle?

My mother wanted to incorporate her birthstone, the Opal, into the design, so I added a sand opal Swarovski flatback rhinestone in the bail. Not my first choice, but you know the old saying, "If Momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy." Yes, Momma, whatever you want, Momma, even if it doesn't match, Momma. She'll wear it to a Red Hat to-do next week and show it off.

I was particularly pleased to find the New York Firemen's Emerald Society Pipes and Drums Tartan pattern featured in this necklace. 2012 marks the 50th anniversary of the charter for the FDNY's Emerald Society, and the tartan was created for them in the 1960s, too.

So if you are interested in a Scottish Tartan necklace, let me know. I have virtually every Scottish surname tartan, several Irish district tartans, and a few company and commemorative tartans created for U.S. states, companies, societies and commemorative events. I have sold several of these since I started making them, and they make wonderfully unique gifts, no matter the occasion. The tartans look best with the antique silver components, but I can frame them in antique brass, too.

Art Bead Scene Designer of the Week!

2012-01-09T12:44:00.001-05:00

I love a nice surprise, and it sure was a great one to find out that Melanie Brooks of Earthenwood Studio chose me as the Designer of the Week at Art Bead Scene today! Yay, yay, yay! I am doing the happy dance today, and what a nice little bit of added inspiration to get back to the polymer! Thank you so much for the honor, Melanie!

Hangin' Out On A Branch With BeeTreeByMe

2012-01-07T17:02:00.001-05:00

My friend Mary Ellen, a/k/a BeeTreeByMe, blogged about my Rock Goddess Earrings today on her blog. Her post encouragses us to branch out in 2012 and try something new in our creative endeavors.

I have been feeling guilty about not using polymer in my latest designs, and M.E. gave me a boost with her post. I still love polymer, and will never abandon it, but I think it's time to knock down the sides of that box and see what else I can do. I was worried that I'd lose sight of style I've become known for, that elegant, heirloom look that I love; and that no one would recognize my new work as mine. M.E. pretty much squashed that notion for me by saying that she liked that I could step outside my comfort zone and still maintain my personal style. She felt the earrings were a good example of that, and we've come up with a new name for the style "Edgy Heirloom." So, a great big hug and a THANK YOU, M.E. I'll go out on a limb with you anytime, my friend!

Speaking of non-polymer, here are a few of the newest necklaces I've been working on this weekend. If you would like to see more, and more detail on these, please visit my flickr photostream.

Tonight, it's back to the studio to start on some polymer pieces inspired by St. Valentine's Day, and some Celtic knot jewelry inspired by my Irish roots and St. Patrick's Day.

Another Day, Another Challenge Entry - Rock Goddess Studded Faux Tooled Leather Earrings for Vintaj's January "Rock n Roll" Challenge

2012-01-04T23:16:00.000-05:00

I am going to try hard this year to enter as many challenges as I can. They almost always inspire me to push my limits and I usually end up taking myself in a new direction as a result.

Vintaj Natural Brass Company's January challenge theme is "Rock n Roll," and I really struggled with it. The light bulb didn't go off over the old head for several hours after I started working this morning. I didn't like anything I did, and I think it was because I had decided to use Vintaj's black finished Arte Metal components. First, I haven't used the AM pieces a whole lot, and second, there aren't a whole lot of them to use. The selection is not nearly as big as with the antique brass finished pieces; but I gave it a shot because I thought the black finish lends itself better to the theme for some reason.

From all that angst came a really great looking pair of earrings, if I do say so myself. The photo does not do these justice. They are a gorgeous red and the color really pops. I am going to give these to my niece. I am calling them "Rock Goddess Studded Faux Tooled Leather Earrings," in honor of my 3 favorite rock goddesses: Stevie Nicks, Joan Jett and Pat Benatar. Yeah, I'm dating myself, but those ladies, and the sisters of Heart, got me through high school and my 20s! So here's to you, ladies. Thanks for the music!

I took a pair of Arte Metal Mythical Wings, manipulated the shape with bail-making pliers, and painted them with cherry red nail polish. After the polish dried, I removed most of it so the black finish came through, and applied 4 coats of Renaissance Wax. I added dark oxidized sterling silver earring findings, Swarovski black onyx crystals, and gunmetal ball studs.

So what do you think? Do these earrings inspire you to get out the karioke machine and wail away to I LOVE ROCK AND ROLL, SO PUT ANOTHER DIME IN THE JUKEBOX, BABY!

Art Bead Scene January Challenge Entry - Garden Nymph Necklace

2012-01-03T10:39:00.000-05:00

Wow, it's been awhile since I've been on the blog. I took a little vacation after finishing the faux bone and ivory tutorial. I haven't opened a package of polymer in more than a month, but the cobwebs have cleared and I will be back in the studio later this week.

I hope all of you had a wonderful holiday, my friends; and I hope 2012 treats you well and that everyone stays healthy and happy.

I cheated a little this month with my ABS entry. I usually try to make a new piece for the challenges, but when I saw the theme, I decided to enter a necklace I'd already created.

The theme this month is based on William Morris's Trellis Wallpaper, which features soft moss green and a baby pink which reminds me of Betsy Pease Gutmann's paintings of babies and children.

I created the pendant focal using an image transfer method for polymer clay. The digital image was created by Lynn Palazzo using one of the famous Victorian "Flower Girls" (Lynn, I hope you don't mind me using it again, it is still my favorite!)

I framed the pendant with antique brass finish filigree and Vintaj components. Keeping to the floral/garden theme, I added Czech glass roses, Vintage Rose Swarovski crystal bicones and Swarovski Sand Opal Rounds, and tiny, luminescent glass seed pearls. I also added Vintaj Natural Brass floral end caps, a bail created from Vintaj's Fanned Trellis filigree embellishment; and created a chain using Vintaj Blossoming Duet fastenables.

December Art Bead Scene Entry - Uncle Sam Necklace

2011-12-17T17:20:00.001-05:00

Chrysler Building
Architect: William Van Alen

The December Art Bead Scene Challenge is inspired this month by the Chrysler Building designed by William Van Alen, considered a masterpiece of Art Deco architecture.

When I saw the photo of the design inspiration this month, I was drawn by the repetitious patterns in the building's design, and that song from the Chrysler commercial about Detroit, which seems to run constantly through my head these days. You know the one. It features a choir in the background and has a wicked beat.

I created the pendant using a digital image of an iconic symbol of the U.S.A., Uncle Sam, which I encased in epoxy and framed in an antique silver plated brass donut which mimics the layers found on the round face of the building and has a repetitioius, embossed pattern. The filigree "prongs" framing the pendant have a very art deco look and feel. The red Czech glass cathedral beads have silver tipping which mimics the triangles on the building.

You can read more of the fascinating history of the Chrysler Building at the Art Bead Scene website.

My "The Littlest Christmas Angel" Entry Chosen as the Editors' Pick for the December Vintaj Challenge!

2011-12-12T10:43:00.000-05:00

Alas, I did not win the popular vote in Vintaj Natural Brass Company's December Challenge, "Victorian Christmas." That honor went to Sunny Berrington for her design, "Being Merry Is the Key To Christmas," but I am absolutely thrilled to announce that my entry, "The Littlest Christmas Angel," was chosen by the Vintaj Editors as their favorite design this month!

I love working with Vintaj components, and am so pleased the Editors thought my design worthy of this special honor! Thank you so much! And thank you, too, to everyone who voted for my entry. I appreciate everyone's support!

Lynda

The Voting Is Open!

2011-12-05T15:18:00.001-05:00

Whew! My entry in the December Vintaj challenge, "Victorian Christmas" was accepted and voting has begun. There are a lot of beautiful entries this month. I hope you will vote for your favorite, even if it isn't my entry, although I sure would appreciate your vote for #9! Thanks, friends!

Vintaj Victorian Christmas Challenge

The Littlest Christmas Angel - My Entry in Vintaj's Victorian Christmas Challenge

2011-12-03T13:06:00.004-05:00

One last piece of Christmas business to attend to, my entry in Vintaj's December challenge, the theme of which is "Victorian Christmas."

I was on the Vintaj website yesterday, looking for the name of a filigree piece I was working with, and decided to click on the December challenge link and see what the theme was. When I saw Victorian Christmas, well, you know I had to enter, since I am ALL about Vintage Victorian!

I have had these little angel images for two years. I originally purchased them to make some special Christmas ornaments to give as gifts that year, but couldn't bring myself to use them. They have been patiently waiting for me in a file folder on my laptop ever since. When I realized the deadline to enter was noon today, I frantically started searching for something to use and remembered the angel file.

The angels in this collection are all children, and are all dressed in Winter white. The graphics are gorgeous and feature Winter white and little bursts of color: Evergreen, baby pink and sky blue.

The images evoke a range of emotions: Delight and joy at the innocence of the children and the magic of Christmas past; but also sadness to realize the child has wings, and so has departed this Earthly life. These images have special meaning for me, as my sister lost her own little twin angels a few hours after they were born in the Summer of 1989.

I wanted to highlight the Winter white theme, and added Czech and Chinese crystal in various shapes and finishes to symbolize glittering snowflakes.

I created bead caps from vintage rhinestone button frames given to me by my friend Lucia Hsu. I molded them around 12mm cushion cut Czech glass AB crystal rounds, and topped them with Vintaj Foliage and Vintaj Filigree Bead Caps. I created the chain by linking Vintaj Blossoming Duet Fastenables, to which I glued Swarovski AB crystal flatbacks; and more bead stations made with the filigree and foliage bead caps. I created the pendant bail from Vintaj Fanned Trellis Filigree and a 15mm jump ring. I finished the piece with a length of Vintaj Ornate Chain and Lobster claw clasp.

Now, I haven't heard that the editors at Vintaj have actually accepted my entry. They have to look at how much Vintaj is used and that sort of thing. I will be really embarrassed if they don't include it in this month's entry pool, won't I?

Silver Scottish Tartans to Cap Off the 2011 Holiday Collection

2011-12-02T11:04:00.001-05:00

I have been a busy little bee lately, so busy that I didn't get to execute as many designs for the 2011 Holiday Collection as I would have liked. I capped off the collection with some Scottish Tartans framed in Silver. Don't tell anyone, but I think I like the silver better than the brass. The colors in the tartans really pop against the silver background, and they are very festive.

Bonnie, just a note to tell you the Velveeta Fudge was such a hit. I made 2 pounds for Thanksgiving, and it was scarfed up in 15 minutes. It is decadent and addictive. I have shared the recipe with upwards of 30 people since Thanksgiving. Word has spread. Velveeta Fudge has become viral!

I am still waiting on my copy of the Purple issue of "From Polymer To Art" to arrive, so I still haven't actually seen the tutorial I wrote for it, but I wanted to thank everyone who has sent me their congratulations, so THANK YOU, everyone!

I am now energized and itching to get back in the studio this weekend and create something new.

I have a few orders to fill, including some family orders for memory pendants embellished in brass and silver, which I am very excited to try. This will be an image transfer weekend, but I am also going to try and sneak in some time to write a couple of quick tutorials, hopefully on how to create more of the faux bone special projects (you all have just torn through the projects in the new tutorial!) and a few more quick projects using other techniques.

I am Featured in the Purple Issue of From Polymer to Art!

2011-11-28T17:26:00.002-05:00

Now that the Purple issue of From Polymer to Art has been released, I can let go of that breath I've been holding since July and tell you that a tutorial I wrote specifically for it is included!

Saskia Veltenaar and Marjon Donker asked me to write a tutorial for the Orange issue, but I couldn't meet the deadline. Gracious and generous ladies that they are, they allowed me to submit a brass and crystal embellished, faux lavender art glass necklace tutorial for the Purple issue! If you are a subscriber, look for it on page 33!

I am thrilled beyond words and truly honored to be in the company of such talented artisans. Thank you so much for the opportunity, Saskia and Marjon!

Miss Bonnie's Velveeta Cheese Fudge Recipe - Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-23T10:25:00.001-05:00

My friend, the very talented polymer artist, Bonnie Kreger, has very generously agreed to share her Velveeta Fudge Recipe with us, just in time for your Thanksgiving table. Bonnie says this makes a big batch, which can be cut in half.

Thank you so much, Bonnie!

VELVEETA CHEESE FUDGE

1-POUND BUTTER

1-POUND VELVEETA CHEESE

1-CUP COCOA

4 POUNDS POWDERED SUGAR

1-TEASPOON VANILLA

NUTS OPTIONAL

MELT BUTTER AND CHEESE TOGETHER IN A REALLY BIG PAN OVER MEDIUM HEAT.

SIFT COCOA AND SUGAR TOGETHER AND PUT IN PAN WITH BUTTER AND CHEESE.

KEEP STIRRING TILL REALLY WELL MIXED AND THEN ADD THE VANILLA. STIR TILL SMOOTH. I SPRAYED A 9 BY 13 GLASS PAN WITH PAM AND POURED THE FUDGE IN IT.

THEN REFRIGERATE FOR A COUPLE HOURS. TAKE IT OUT AND LET IT SIT FOR ABOUT 20 MINUTES AND CUT INTO SQUARES.

December Blog Giveaway Winner - Lupe Meter!

2011-11-23T07:01:00.000-05:00

Congratulations, Lupe! You are the winner of my December blog giveaway prize, a $25 Gift Certificate good toward any item in my shop at SCDiva!

We had 9 entries this month, excluding my own comments and a hacker that I deleted:

1) Pine Ridge Treasures
2) Bonnie Kreger
3) Suzanne
4) JuLee
5) Pips Jewellery
6) Lupe Meter
7) Sweet Willow Designs
8) Cournte
9) Nancy Smith

I loved hearing about your holiday traditions and found a new recipe. I am giving Velveeta Fudge a test drive this Thanksgiving! Anything with Velveeta in it can't miss! Doesn't that recipe look fantastic? I don't know if it is the same one Miss Bonnie uses, but it is from Paula Deen, the butter queen, so it can't be too bad. I am going to give it a try.

Thanks again to everyone who commented and participated every month in the blog giveaways this year. I have decided not to have them again next year, but I am thinking of hosting some challenges that you can all participate in, which will show off your talents, too, regardless of the artistic medium. Doesn't that sound like fun? I'll be thinking more about rules and guidelines, so stay tuned.

Happy Holidays everyone!

A 30MB Baby Just Delivered! My New Faux Bone and Faux Ivory Tutorial is FINALLY Finished!

2011-11-21T12:40:00.000-05:00

After more than 8 months of planning, writing and editing; and many sleepless nights, I am happy to announce the new faux bone and faux ivory tutorial is finally finished and in the shop! Yay!

I feel like I've birthed a 30MB baby. Yep, 30MB. This one is a whopper. It will be delivered either by email or by CD through the regular mail, whichever you choose. There are listings in the shop for both versions.

For those of you who need instant gratification, I will email it in 7 separate parts. If you prefer a CD, I'll burn this baby to CD quick as a wink and get it out in the regular mail to you.

I am really excited about this tutorial. Faux bone and ivory are two of my favorite things to create with polymer clay. This is one faux that absolutely showcases polymer clay at its most versatile.

The tutorial contains 11 recipes, the result of my own experimentation; 2 methods of creating faux bone, 6 special projects for faux bone and ivory; plus a gallery of finished pieces to inspire you when you create your own; plus the sanding and buffing and plexiglas tutorials, which I am now including in all my tutorials. The gallery sections in the tutorials add to the file space, but it is one feature my customers have overwhelmingly asked for, so I included it again in this new tutorial.

Thank you so much to John and Mary Ellen, who helped me proof the tutorial, and to all of you who have waited so patiently for me to finish this one. I hope you enjoy it, and I want to see photos of your faux bone and faux ivory creations!

I am going to take a little break from writing to get some Christmas orders finished, but I have more tutorials planned, so stay tuned! I'll be back at the work table in no time.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Lynda

December Blog Giveaway Prize - A $25 Diva Designs Gift Certificate

2011-11-16T12:04:00.003-05:00

Gift Certificate Designed by Laurel Steven

I thought I would end the blog giveaways with a bang and give away a $25 gift certificate good toward any item in my Etsy shop, to be redeemed on or before December 31, 2011. No purchase is necessary to enter the drawing, just leave a comment about your holiday traditions at the end of this post. I will draw a winner from the comments next Wednesday, November 23rd. You may comment as many times as you like, but only one comment will be entered. If you won last month (sorry, Lois!) you aren't eligible to win this month. If you do not have email enabled on your blog, please include it in your post so I will know how to contact you if you win.

This month, I want to know about your November and December holiday traditions, be they ethnic, cultural, historical or religious. What makes this time of year special for you and your family?

My family are Southern Baptists and we celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas, with lots of food and fellowship. Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday, and has special meaning to me because I am descended from Mayflower passengers Isaac Allerton and Richard Warren. That history has been important to us for a long, long time. Thinking of the sacrifices the pilgrims made and how history was changed because of them and their sacrifices gives me the shivers, especially when I think that I would not be here if they had decided to chuck it all and go back to England and Holland.

I also have vegetable duty for both holidays this year. Since I am the acknowledged "Queen of Casseroles," I will be making Hash Brown Casserole, Broccoli Casserole, Squash Casserole and my maternal grandmother's cornbread dressing.

Xan, my sister-in-law, has Salad duty, and I take my life into my hands horning in on her territory, but I think I may also have to risk it to sneak in a 7 Layer Salad, another of my holiday favorites. My sister, Tara and I are the only ones who eat it, as most of my family is on the "no onions" side of the fence. Tara is in charge of dessert, which lucky for us, means one of her towering, made from scratch, 3-layer German Chocolate Cakes. Being a good Southern girl, Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese icing has always been my favorite dessert, but Tara's German Chocolate Cake is absolutely the best cake I have ever eaten. I have dreams about that cake!

However you celebrate this time of year, I wish you all joy and happiness this holiday season, and good health and good fortune in the coming year.

Lynda

ABS Designer of the Week Feature

2011-11-14T10:25:00.001-05:00

I am thrilled to be the featured designer of the week at Art Bead Scene this week. Thank you so much to editor Tari Sassar for choosing my necklace, "Stillman's Madonna" my entry in the November challenge.

I love the painting which is the subject of the challenge this month, and had an ephiphany while creating this necklace that has lead me in a whole new design direction; and it fits right in with my Ancient Romance Series!

Thanks so much, Tari!

Next Up In The 2011 Holiday Collection - A Bit O' The Plaid

2011-11-13T20:51:00.001-05:00

Highland Heather Tartan

What a weekend! I have been hunkered down in the studio for two days. Yesterday, I received the shipment of chain and clasps I was waiting for, so I worked on finishing up more of the holiday collection, including these gorgeous (if I do say so myself) Scottish Tartan Necklaces. worked on the Faux Bone and Ivory tutorial. The publish date is near, though, my patient friends.

The tutorial was a whopping 30MB in size, and I have been paring it down by reshooting some of the photos at a lower resolution. I also had to delete the gallery of finished pieces, which is a bummer, because I know all of you look forward to those at the end of the tuts.

The projects for the tutorial are all done, though; and it is just a matter of resizing some more photos and rearranging some text and it will be ready to go.

Black Watch Tartan

I had an idea for one more set of pendants and necklaces for the holiday collection and went to hunting some Scottish and Irish clan tartan images I could transfer to polymer.

I found a very nice man at Etsy who had some just the right size. I chose two Stuart patterns, one I'm calling Highland Heather because I couldn't identify the clan it is associated with, and one Black Watch, which is my favorite, even though it isn't my clan's pattern.

Oh, yes, I have some Scotch in me, as well as Irish. My Scots were Border Reiver Forresters and Armstrongs. I haven't researched all my Scottish connections, but those are the ones I know of so far.

I listed the first two in the Etsy shop today, and I must say, I am having a hard time with some of the changes they are implementing. I used to be able to put in pretty long tag names, but now "image transfer jewelry" is too long, and apparently "romantic" isn't an official style. Romantic and ultra-feminine is what I was going for in creating these. I think they are really dreamy.

Stuart and ??? Tartans

I need to check and see which clan the plaid on the lower right belongs to, so pardon my ??? in the caption. I have a nifty little book, The Scottish Clans & Their Tartans, by W. and A.K. Johnston which was published in 1946, a 32nd edition, that has been most helpful, but it doesn't have that one.

Now I am off to research some Irish clan tartans, and I still want to do a few which reflect holiday traditions in other countries. I also have my eye on some new Asian snow scenes.

Suggestions are welcome, too, so if you have any ideas of what you'd like to see framed in brass or antique silver, let me know.

More New Santas For the Holiday Collection, And A PCD Feature!

2011-11-09T10:51:00.001-05:00

My friend Pippa Chandler (thank you, Pippa!) was the first to tell me this morning that my "Santa Americana" necklace and my 2011 Holiday Collection are being featured by Cynthia Tinapple today at Polymer Clay Daily.

Oh, my stars, what a thrill!  I hope the boss doesn't actually expect me to work now. Who could concentrate? I think I will hang out on Cloud 9 all day today.   Climb on up and join me, we'll have a party!

Seriously, though, thank you so much, Cynthia.   It is a such an honor to have your work shown at PCD. I know many polymer artists have the site bookmarked to visit every day, as do I. I am constantly inspired and awed by the talent and creativity displayed there, and it means more than I can say to be included.

If I can bring myself back down to Earth tomorrow, I am going to do a few more pendants for the holiday collection, including one or two brooches.  I love to wear Christmas brooches, another tradition my Grandmothers began. I remember my maternal Grandmother had a gold enameled holly and berry leaf pin she wore, along with her Christmas aprons. My paternal grandmother, a Baptist preacher's wife, always wore a pin depicting Jesus's hands folded in prayer.

These are a few I put together last night. I am waiting on some new chain and clasps to finish them, but these will be a little less ornately embellished and a little less expensive. Look for them in the Etsy shop shortly!

Happy Holidays, everyone. I hope it is a blessed and joyous one for everyone.

2011 Holiday Collection Preview

2011-11-06T22:51:00.000-05:00

Here is a sneak peak at more designs from my 2011 Holiday Collection. The collection's theme is looseley based on historical holiday traditions around the world. There are a few new pieces in the Ancient Romance Series; and some new Victorian Christmas Ephemera pieces, several of which may look familiar, since I used the images in last year's Ornament collection. They feature Santa and Father Christmas in various incarnations.

I hope to add a few more which depict holiday traditions in other countries. I've always loved the story of Sweden's Christmas Rose. When I was a teenager, my grandmother gave me a crosstitch pattern book which had different Christmas traditions in it, and I recreated them all and put them on our tree. My mother still puts them on her tree, and has every year for the last 35 years.

November ABS Entry- Stillman's Madonna

2011-11-05T20:20:00.001-04:00

The painting the ladies at Art Bead Scene chose for this month's challenge is a gorgeous painting by Marie Stillman in the style of Rosetti and Waterhouse, two of my favorite artists who painted Pre-Raphaelite women. The Pre-Raphaelite woman has been a recurring theme in my Ancient Romance Series of Medieval and Renaissance era inspired jewelry, so this challenge was right up my alley.

The name of the painting is "Madonna Pietra degli Scrovigni." The woodland setting and the lush olive green and gold tones, with that touch of crimson in the flower adorning the lady's bodice made me think of a Medieval Christmas, so with "Greensleeves" running through my head, I sat down to create what I hoped would be a delicate, old world necklace dripping with jewels.

I transferred an image of the painting to polymer clay and added Siam Swarovski crystal, a beautiful crimson red color; and Peridot Czech glass bell beads, all of which I framed and accented with Vintaj flower end caps and other brass connectors and components.

I am going to add this one to my 2011 Holiday Collection, too. It fits right in with my other "Ancient Romance" pieces.

(see more views in my flickr photostream)

November Blog Prize Winner - Lois Moon!

2011-11-01T08:12:00.000-04:00

We had 16 entries entries this month for the Faux Ivory and Swarovski Crystal Brass Embellished Necklace; and the winner is Lois Moon!

Congratulations, Lois, and thank you very much to everyone who took the time to comment and enter. In this big old virtual world, I appreciate each and every one of you who spends time with me here on my blog every day. You are the best!

Have a fantastic day, my friends!

A Sunday Walk In Autumn

2011-10-30T13:26:00.000-04:00

I was inspired to create this necklace by the crisp, cool Fall weather I woke up to this morning in the South Carolina Lowcountry. No snow, but it is plenty cold enough for me. The leaves are gorgeous, and I took a stroll through the neighborhood. I found a beautiful leaf that has a riot of colors in it, even a bit of plummy aubergine, and I brought it back to the studio for inspiration.

The pendant is one of my faux red jade floral pieces. I added faceted orange carnelian beads, Czech glass flowers and Cathedral beads, and lots of Vintaj brass.

Working with these flower sprays from Vintaj is not the easiest thing to do, as I am sure many of you can attest. I can never figure out what to do with them, so I'm a little proud of myself for successfully incorporating them into this design. Of course, it doesn't mean anything if the piece doesn't wear well, so I took it for a test spin. I'm happy to report it drapes beautifully and is very comfortable to wear. Hmm, this one might not make it to the shop...

Happy Autumn, everyone. If you got snow, I hope it was a welcomed snow, if not, it will surely be gone soon. Wonder if my buddy M.E. in Baltimore got any...M.E., are you snowed under today?

November Blog Prize - Win This Polymer and Brass Necklace!

2011-10-25T11:15:00.000-04:00

I know it seems like it, but I have not forgotten about my blog. It has just been that kind of hectic lately, so much so that I have had to give up on the idea of a holiday shoppe for this year. I am very disappointed, because I love creating ornaments and crafting from my collection of vintage fabrics and trims as much as I do creating with polymer. There just isn't enough time to get the second shop at Etsy stocked, so I have put it in vacation mode until after the first of the year. I am going to try and create a few things, ornaments and small gift ideas, to sell directly from the blog here. There just isn't enough time in the day to do what I want to do any more!

For the November blog prize, I am giving one of you a chance to win one of my polymer and brass embellished necklaces from my 2011 Holiday Collection. This necklace would be a beautiful accessory for a holiday part outfit; or use it as a gift for the romantic on your holiday gift list. It features one of my faux ivory floral polymer clay pendants and is embellished with antique finish brass, including Vintaj components, and Ruby Swarovski crystal.

So, you know what to do. Just leave a comment, no purchase is necessary, and I'll draw a winner from the comment pool at random on November 1st. You may comment as many times as you like, but only one comment per person will be entered. If you do not have email enabled on your blog, please include your email address in your comment, so I can contact you for your mailing address if you are the winner. I ship all over the world, so even if you don't live in the U.S., you are welcome to enter the drawing. Thanks, friends!

Vintaj Liquidation Sale - 50% Off With Discount Code VINTAJ50

2011-10-06T15:20:00.003-04:00

UPDATE 10/13/11: A very kind soul purchased most of the remaining Vintaj inventory in my PCDiva shop, so I closed it early to get it ready to reopen as my annual Holiday Shoppe. Thanks again to everyone who purchased Vintaj from me. Stay tuned for details on the new shop!

I am liquidating my inventory of Vintaj items and will be closing the PCDiva shop at Etsy at the end of October, or sooner if the remaining quantities of brass items sell out before the end of the month, to get it ready for the holiday gift-giving season. It will shortly reopen as my annual Holiday Gift Shoppe and will feature handmade polymer ornaments and fabric items, as well as vintage collectibles and goodies to help you fill your gift list.

If you love Vintaj and use it in your jewelry designs or scrapbooking, this is a good opportunity to get some of your favorite pieces at a great price, so I hope you will check it out. If you see something you like, use VINTAJ50 discount code at checkout (you must include the discount code in the blank box provided at checkout or Etsy won't credit it to you) and receive 50% off the total order in the PCDiva shop only; and, if you purchase $50 or more, no matter where you live, shipping is on me.

Final quantities of every item are listed.

Thanks, friends!

New Series - Southwest Landscapes Series Pendants and Earrings

2011-10-05T10:54:00.006-04:00

Anyone who knows me knows how easily bored I get, even when creating. I could never be a wholesaler. It is very hard for me to make more than two of anything. I work in very small batches of clay, usually enough to make 2 or 3 pieces from the same color batch, and that's it.

Even a pair of earrings is a special challenge. Don't laugh, it's true. I have recently discovered though, that I love making polymer earrings.

This new series, which I am calling Southwest Landscapes, was inspired by the September Art Bead Scene challenge entry I created last month. The color palette features some of my favorite tertiary colors: Burnt orange, chocolate, tomato red, denim blue, turquoise, ecru; and more often than not, my favorite faux bone recipes, either showcased on the face or on the back sides of the earrings.

These are not really made from scrap clay, because the color palettes were deliberate, so it has become my "controlled marbling" technique, since I control the amount of each color added to the blend, and the colors themselves.

I turned a teardrop cutter on its head to create the challenge entry for the October ABS challenge, just to be a little different. I love the results so much, I may never go back to orienting the tip on the top of a pendant or earring.

I added some distressed finishes to a few, to give them that rugged, Old West look; and dressed up some with Czech glass and Chinese crystal, some of my recent finds at LimaBeads. The Czech glass really lends itself well to these variegated color palettes because they have so many colors swirling around in their little bodies, too.

I made these latest pieces while waiting for a shipment of bracelet blanks for one of the projects in the new faux jade tutorial (how is that for a tease?) and they are supposed to be here today, so it's back to the faux bone grindstone for the rest of this week. Next time I write a tutorial, I'm going to keep my mouth shut about when to expect it until my sorry self has actually finished it! Thank you again, everyone, for being so patient about it. I promise, it won't be much longer.

Here is some more stripedy eye candy to look at while you wait.

October ABS Entry - Southwestern Landscape Series - Red Rock Canyon Earrings

2011-10-04T11:59:00.003-04:00

A Hedgehog in a Landscape, 1643-51

9¼ x 15 in. 23.5 x 38 cm. bodycolor on vellum

by Giovanna Garzoni

Color Palette

I went to check the blog at ArtBeadScene this morning to see if the new challenge art was up on the site yet, and did a double take when I saw the hedgehog. I was scratching my head trying to figure out what to create for this one, when I realized I actually already had the perfect entry. These polymer clay earrings, which I created last week, compliment the challenge color palette, and they are even shaped like a hedgehog!

I was the first entry this month, too, which never happens (sorry, M.E., my friend.) I am doing the happy dance this morning. No waiting until the last minute and making myself crazy trying to come up with a decent design. It is done! Yay!

Thanks again ladies, for the awesome, inspiring art, although I went about it a bit backwards this month.

October Blog Prize Winners - M.E. and JuLee!

2011-10-01T10:38:00.000-04:00

Congratulations to #7 Mary Ellen and #3 JuLee, the winners of this month's blog prizes! Mary Ellen wins the Koi Buttons and JuLee wins the Faux Ivory Flower Beads.

We had 15 comments this month. Thank you all for participating in the blog giveaway and for your lovely comments. I had hoped to see some recipes included, but I guess we'll save that for another post.

Enjoy the Autumn season, or if you are in another part of the world, whatever season you are currently celebrating.

Thanks again, everyone!

September ABS Challenge Entry - Corn Maiden II Necklace and Earrings

2011-09-24T16:07:00.004-04:00

The inspiration for the challenge at Art Bead Scene this month is this quilt created in 1965 by Lillie Mae Pettway (1927-1990), one of a group of women who live/lived in the isolated African-American hamlet of Gee's Bend, Alabama. This one is titled "Housetop", a 12 block half Log Cabin variation. The quilt is part of an exhibition organized by the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston.

This is one instance where the polymer artist in me ran smack dab into the needle artst in me. I learned how to quilt at a young age from my mother, who learned it from her grandmothers. When she was growing up in the great depression, "repurposing" was done out of necessity. Her family comes from the mountains of SC and NC where quilting wasn't considered an art so much as it was a means keeping warm and passing the time, just as I'm sure it was for the women of Gee's Bend.

The color palette for the challenge contained three colors that my eye naturally gravitated to, red, brown and rusty orange. I decided to concentrate on those and see what I could come up with for my own Log Cabin variation.

I distressed the polymer with a dry, stubby-bristled paintbrush and acrylic paint before curing. I decided to use copper findings and added these gorgeous, black, terra cotta 18 mm beads created for me by Rare Earth Beads at Etsy; some oval carved horn beads with stripes to compliment the pendant and earrings, black and tan carved horn rondelles, and small, carved Brecciated Jasper fluted beads.

I hope I've done the many quilters in my family, past and present, proud. It makes the polymer artist in me happy, and makes me want to get out the fabric scraps and quilting needle, too.

October Blog Giveaway Prizes - Two Chances To Win!

2011-09-22T12:30:00.000-04:00

I'm crawling out from under my faux bone rock to post a prize for the October blog giveaway.   No, the dang tutorial is still not finished. I had a brilliant idea and changed it almost at the last moment, and I am still working through getting photos for the new material. It's turning out to be the tut that ate the world!

All this experimentation for the new tut has led to me having a studio full of faux bone and faux ivory creations, and I thought I would use a few as my blog prizes this month. I decided to have two winners this month, too. How cool is that?

You know what to do. Please leave a comment between now and the end of the month. I would like to know what your favorite thing is about Autumn. If you have a favorite soup, casserole or stew recipe you'd like to share, please do. I am looking forward to the fabulous food and fellowship I know I will enjoy at our annual family reunion of my maternal grandparents descendants on October 15.

You may comment as many times as you like, but only one comment will be entered in the drawing. No purchase is every necessary to win. If you won last month, you aren't elegible to win again this month... gotta spread the love around!

I will pull two winners on October 1. If you do not have email enabled on your blog, PLEASE leave an address in your comment where I may reach you if you are one of the winners.

Thanks, friends!   Now, back to that tutorial...

Prize #1 - Faux Distressed Bone Koi Fish Buttons

Prize #2 - Faux Ivory Flower Beads

In The Groove

2011-09-12T13:05:00.003-04:00

I have been working through some practice projects for my new faux bone and ivory tutorial and honing some recipes which I hope are a little more interesting for you than the standard stuff.

Some unusual things have come from all these exercises, and my mind is now wandering toward other applications the recipes may have.

Thursday night, I worked straight through without stopping until around 10:00 Friday morning.

Saturday night, I went to bed not intending to work at all on Sunday, but woke up at 3:00 a.m. with an idea for these faux terra cotta curved beads which nagged at me until I made a few. I only sanded these with 400 grit sandpaper, but I sanded them for almost an hour. I buffed them after sanding but thought they looked too shiny, so I hit them again with the 400 to take the shine off, then rubbed them with my fingers. I let the natural oils in my fingers give them a bit of a patina.

These faux bone and faux ivory buttons and beads were sanded through 8 grits of wet-dry sandpaper before being buffed with a Dremel. I know, I know. I am obsessed with sanding, but I can't help it. If it isn't sanded and buffed, it feels unfinished.

I really had to hold myself back from sanding the terra cotta beads through all 8 grits, too. I love making these buttons, they are so much fun to do!

I'm waiting on a shipment of clay, and I hope to finish up the new tutorial in the next week. I've still got a few more ideas to play with before the tutorial debuts.

If you'd like to see more of the faux bone, check out my flickr photostream Faux Bone Photoset.

I Will

2011-09-08T16:03:00.002-04:00

What will you do to commemorate the 10^th anniversary of the terrorist attacks against the United States of America on September 11, 2001?

I will proudly fly the United States flag.
I will recite the pledge of allegiance, with emotion choking my heart.
I will grieve again the loss of so many innocent lives.
I will honor the many heroes from that day by giving blood.
I will tell my family I love them, because we never know when our next breath will be our last.
I will say a prayer for peace on Earth.

The Pledge of Allegiance

I pledge allegiance to the flag

Of the United States of America

And to the Republic

For which it stands,

One nation, under God

With liberty and justice for all.

911day.org

　
photo courtesy of cutcaster.com

September Blog Prize Winner - Emily!

2011-09-01T08:03:00.002-04:00

I am really pleased by the response the blog prize received this month, and I thoroughly enjoyed hearing about your creative process and the artistic mediums you use to create.

It has been very satisfying for me to be able to share various polymer clay techniques via my tutorials for the past year and a half. I love introducing new people to the polymer world who have not experienced its amazing versatility and also sharing a particular technique with an experienced polymer user you hasn't tried it befor, so the response from all of you who are eager to try the faux jade tutorial is wonderful.

We had 27 entries this month, and I am pleased to announce the winner of the faux jade tutorial is #8, Emily!

Congratulations, Emily! I hope you enjoy the tutorial. I know you will create many beautiful things with it, and I would love to see photos.

Thanks again to everyone who shared a comment this month!

(Emily, I did not see a way to contact you from your comment and blog, so I hope you see this soon!)

I Feel the Earth Move, Under My Feet, I Feel the Sky Tumbling Down, uh Tumbling Downnnnnn...

2011-08-24T12:28:00.004-04:00

Yes, we felt the effects of the earthquake way down here in the South Carolina lowcountry yesterday. I was eating lunch in my car shortly after 2:00 p.m., when it started gently rocking back and forth. At first, I thought something was wrong with my car. I had the engine running and the air conditioner going full blast, which I know you aren't supposed to do, but it was freaking 93 degrees outside.

I immediately turned the car off and when it was still rocking, I thought, "oh Lord, it must be me. I'm having a heart attack." I never heard anybody say they felt like they were swaying from side to side during a heart attack though, so I looked at the leaves on the trees and saw a tiny bit of a breeze. My next thought was that if my brand new Camry was flimsy enough to rock from side to side in an itty bitty breeze like that, it was going back to the dealer! It wasn't until I got back to my laptop and checked on Irene's projected path that I found out what it was.

Many people don't know it, but earthquakes in South Carolina are not as uncommon as you would think. I did a little digging (no pun intended) on South Carolina's earthquake activity at the US Geological Survey's website. We have had more than 20 earthquakes since 1698, the most significant being an 1886 quake that leveled much of Charleston.

The Palmetto State is apparently a hotbed of seismic activity. I believe we are on a major fault line, and our rocks over here on the East coast are older than those on the West coast and more dense. That rockin' and rollin' travels further through thick rock, doncha know.

Okay, so this week has been a bit unusual, what with the escaped convict/idiot, an earthquake, Irene looming over us, and the Braves winning 9 out of the last 10... and you thought life in the Deep South was slow and boring.

September Blog Giveaway - Win A Free Tutorial!

2011-08-22T14:54:00.000-04:00

For this month's blog giveaway, I decided to do something a little different. The blog prize is a copy of my Faux Jade Tutorial!

The tutorial contains 16 color recipes, 6 jewelry projects, and 3 mini tutorials. The projects range from a simple white jade pendant to a lavender jade floral necklace.

So, if learning to create with polymer clay my way interests you, please leave a comment. I would like to hear about your creative process, whether you are a polymer artist, paint artist, a jewelry designer, mixed media artist, glass artist, whatever artistic medium you have chosen as your own. How do you do what you do, and what inspires you to create?

As always, no purchase is necessary to win. On September 1, I will draw a winner at random. If you do not have email enabled on your blog, please incldue your email address in your comment. You may comment as many times as you like, but only one comment per person will be entered in the drawing.

Thank you, and good luck!

Update: The Idiot Has Been Captured!

2011-08-21T11:56:00.000-04:00

And it only took him robbing a convenience store at gunpoint and hijacking a car for the police to finally catch him. Thankfully, it was in an area 5 or 6 miles away from me, and ironically, at a place almost exactly where he started this escapade.

Thanks to everyone who emailed me and commented on the post and expressed their concerns. It was a trying time, but the sun is shining bright today and we are once again going about our lives and thankful no one was seriously hurt.

What To Do While You're Waiting For An Escaped Convict To Be Recaptured

2011-08-20T01:26:00.001-04:00

... and you are alone, in your house with your neighborhood on lockdown all day. Well, you jump at every sound, and think you hear him at the window every 5 minutes; and you try to go about your day in a normal way and don't even think about what you're going to do when it gets dark and he still hasn't been apprehended...

Yeah, that's the way my day has gone. It's 12:47 a.m. now and the idiot is still on the loose. Yesterday, he overpowered a deputy, beat him up, and escaped police custody while being transported from one prison to another. Now he is armed with the deputy's Glock and shotgun, and has managed to elude 150 local, state and federal police and 3 teams of bloodhounds, even though they surrounded him in a cemetery 2 blocks from my house at 7:30 a.m. this morning. He has tried to hijack two cars in the neighborhood and broke into a house to use the rest room and change clothes. The police think he is still in the woods behind the cemetery, which is way too close for comfort, or a good night's sleep, so here I am, sitting up in front of the laptop with all the lights on, inside and outside.

I actually managed to get some new pendants and earrings done today. Fear is a great motivator, apparently. I thought it would be more difficult to churn things out while looking over my shoulder constantly, but I am happy with most of them.

I went back to my comfort zone, playing with alcohol inks, translucent clay, and embossing powder. I started experimenting with layering colors, peeling back bits of each layer with a blade and then adding more translucent clay and either more alcohol ink or more embossing powder. I must say, I do like these, very much.

I bought some indigo blue and copper raku beads recently, and thought the colors looked really good together, so I tried making some blue and copper pieces. The black and turquoise whitewashed hashmark earrings are from a dab of scrap clay I had sitting on my table today. I have been trying to think of a way to use these tiny silver end caps, and they fit the horse eye shape perfectly.

I was supposed to be finishing three new tutorials for the shop today, but my mind just wasn't on that with everything else going on. I will have to do that tomorrow for sure, though, whether or not the idiot gets captured.

August ABS Entry - Ramsdell Art Nouveau Necklace

2011-08-14T21:58:00.002-04:00

The theme for this month's Art Bead Scene challenge is inspired by Frederick Winthrop Ramsdell's Art Nouveau illustration for American Crescent Cycles, created by him in 1899.

To be honest, I was not crazy about the art for this month's challenge when I first saw it. I was going to pass on the challenge because I thought the colors drab, and a little boring.

Everything I had in the old gem box was too bright and seemed to make the colors even more dreary. I looked at the image some more and eventually decided I didn't have anything that would suit, so I took myself shopping, cruising through my favorite virtual gem and bead stores. Then I remembered that LimaBeads.com has a new line of Czech glass, and I bought all these and more. The initial pendant size I was going to use was much larger, but the beads still made the colors seem awfully boring. I decided to make the image smaller (much smaller) and see what happened. I think it turned out okay.

Hangin' Out On Cloud 9 Again - A New PCD Feature

2011-08-01T12:14:00.000-04:00

The first thing I do during the work week after I get up in the morning is check my email and then visit Polymer Clay Daily to see who/what Miss Cynthia is featuring for the day. I got a nice little jolt this morning when I read my own name at the top of today's post! As a result, I am feeling a little lofty, so if you need me today, hang a right at Cloud 9. I may be here awhile. Thank you so much, Cynthia, for taking the time to read my blog and peruse my flickr photostream. It is an honor and a thrill to see myself on the pages of PCD!

I also have to take a moment to send kudos to Cynthia for all she does to promote polymer clay artists. I doubt there is anyone in the polymer world who doesn't know her or has not read the posts at Polymer Clay Daily. She is a wonderful ambassador for us all. It really jumpstarts my creativity to see what everyone else is doing.

Cynthia has a new endeavor aimed at helping inspire us, too. She recently launched a virtual magazine called "Studio Mojo." You can read more about it at PCD if you are interested. It requires a paid subscription, and I signed up last week and spent a lovely afternoon via the web with Cynthia and polymer artist Lindly Haunani (from whom I learned a lesson in patience) and also reading through the back issues. It is like being able to attend a master class every day. I am really excited about the concept and the chance to see and hear the interviews in real time, so bravo to you, Cynthia. Much good luck with the new website, and thank you again for the feature.

August Blog Winner - Barbara Lewis!

2011-08-01T07:29:00.001-04:00

We had 16 comments this month, and after spinning the old random number generator, #11, Barbara Lewis, is our winner! Congratulations, Barbara. I'll be contacting you today for your address and will get the pendant out to you pronto. I hope you enjoy the pendant as much as I enjoyed creating it for you.

Thanks again to everyone who played along this month. Next month, I'm taking a break from offering polymer pieces and will be offering some supplies to inspire you to do your own embellishing. Stay tuned!

August Blog Giveaway Prize

2011-07-28T15:05:00.002-04:00

I thought that this month, I would give away one of my embellished Waterhouse image transfer pendants. This one features one of Waterhouse's paintings of pre-Raphaelite women, and is entitled "The Crystal Ball". It has a Renaissance look and feel and is part of my "Ancient Romance" series of pendants and bead.

If you would like a chance to win this pendant, please leave a comment after the post, either about the pendant, or perhaps how the dog days of Summer are treating you. It is hot, hot, hot and sticky here in the lowcountry of South Carolina.

As always, no purchase is necessary. If you won last month, you aren't qualified to win this month, but those are the only rules. I will leave the comments open until August 1, 2011, when I will draw a winner. If you do not have email enabled on your blog, please include an email address in your comment so I will know how to contact you.

Thanks, everyone, and happy Summer!

My Entry in Art Bead Scene's July Challenge - Rose Mallow Garden Necklace

2011-07-16T23:10:00.000-04:00

The painting providing the inspiration for this month's Art Bead Scene challenge is "Morning in the Garden at Vaucresson," by Edouard Vuillard.

I created the cylindrical focal bead pendant from translucent polymer clay, using an image transfer technique. The image depicted is a rose mallow bush. The translucent clay was layered onto a base clay of soft butter yellow. The translucent clay makes it appear the image is floating on the surface, and it has a soft luminescence.

I kept to the Garden theme by creating matching rose beads from polymer clay, which compliment the centers of the rose mallow in the image. I embellished the focal with Vintaj Magnolia leaf bead caps and added Vintaj's Deco Vines Filigree components, which are appropriate for the time the painting was created; and faceted, round Swarovski crystal with an AB finish, to symbolize the sparkle of early morning dew drops.

Lorelei's Blog Giveaway Winners!

2011-07-15T11:21:00.001-04:00

Lorelei has chosen the winners of the pendants I donated to her blog giveaway this week. Mosey on over to Lorelei's blog to see more.

Pendant #1 Black Line Transfer - Not Afraid
Pendant #2 Mauve Rose - Deb
Pendant #3 Butterfly Kingdom - Julz
Pendant #4 Klimt Embellished Pendant - Nena

I would love to see what you create with these pendants, ladies. Send me photos and I'll post them here for everyone to admire!

Thanks again to everyone who commented. I appreciate the response and all the wonderful Summer recipes, to boot!

Stay tuned for MY next blog giveaway, coming soon.

Want To Win One Of My Pendants? Lorelei Eurto Is Giving Away 4 On Her Blog Today!

2011-07-13T10:00:00.001-04:00

Lorelei is one of the ladies behind ArtBeadScene, and a very talented and gifted designer in her own right, and I am thrilled to be a part of her fantastic blog giveaways.

I donated 4 image transfer pendants, some of my favorite pieces, actually, and if you would like a chance to win one, head on over to Lorelei's blog and leave a comment about the pendants or your plans for Summer. She will choose a winner at random some time tomorrow!

You can see more of Lorelei's talent on display in her Etsy shop, too.

Thanks again for letting me be a part of this, Lorelei, and good luck to everyone who enters!

Tackling The Scrap Clay Pile

2011-07-11T09:46:00.004-04:00

All that experimenting last week added to my very weighty scrap clay drawer. I usually set aside a day every couple of months to either blend it all together to use for bead bases, or to marble some of the more interesting colors and run them through the pasta machine, hoping for some pretty stripedy (Julz, I haven't used that one in awhile!) patterns.

There is something very cathartic about marbling, isn't there? It's not technical, not complicated, just a few minutes of fun grouping together color combinations to see what you get. I was pretty pleased with myself when these came rolling off the pasta machine.

I have been making more and more polymer earrings lately, something I haven't done in the past because I couldn't seem to get each piece to match the other in size well enough to make them a pair, which would drive me nuts.

The rolled strips were about 2 1/2 inches wide, so I used a square 2" cutter and cut out squares, then used a 1" x 2" rectangle cutter to divide them, either horizontally or vertically. I think I am partial to the horizontal stripes.

And the best part? My scrap clay bin is empty! I don't know about you, but I always feel a little guilty when the scrap clay starts piling up on me. It is a nice feeling to be able to see the bottom of the drawer again; and it always jumpstarts my creative urge, too.

I hope your week is a good one, wherever you are!

Am I A Color Snob?

2011-07-05T10:29:00.005-04:00

I tried really hard this weekend to make myself use more bold brights and primary colors in my work. I realized recently that the only time I really use a lot of really vibrant color is when I'm doing image transfers.

I love color, especially tertiary colors like aubergine, mustard yellow, pumpkin, tomato red, teal and sage green; but the basic primaries and bright secondaries like orange and purple and green aren't really my thing, and don't show up very prominently in my non-transfer work. The color palettes I gravitate to are muted, semi-transparent colors created from translucent clay and alcohol ink.

I visit artists' websites all the time and see all these vibrant pinks and purples and yellows and oranges and greens and blues, but I tend to talk myself out of using them. I see color like that, especially a riot of color in one piece, and the first thing that comes to mind is "LOUD!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

I would be happy with a roomful of translucent clay and alcohol ink. Really, I could live the rest of my life just using those; and as long as Ranger doesn't run out of Walnut Stain Distressed embossing powder, I'm set. I don't even like silver all that much, and prefer to use it only as a backing. I usually use gold as a backing or as a means to create my signature antique brass and copper blends.

Just like my Momma's pimento cheese is my comfort food, my little stash of antique brass and copper blends are my comfort clay, but I set out this weekend to push that envelope that artists are supposed to push. I made the 200 mile round trip to the "local" craft store and bought some Premo Purple, Orange, Fuchsia, Cadmium Yellow, Cobalt Blue, and Candy Pink. Oh, and please forgive a mini rant here, but whomever invented flourescent polymer clay should be strung up by his toenails. Good Gawd. To each his own, I reckon, but with polymer clay struggling for respectability and recognition as a serious artistic medium, do we really need glow-in-the-dark clay?

I came back and put the new colors out on my worktable and circled around them for what seemed like hours, waiting for divine inspiration as to what to do with them, before finally opening the Purple and Fuchsia. I just couldn't quite bring myself to tackle the pepto bismol pink.

Six hours later, most of what I ended up with went in the trash or the Butt Uglies Jar (oh, and we're up to 25 gallon jar #8, by the way.) This purple marbled piece was actually the best of the bunch. No lie. My mother loves purple and will have a field day with the jar, about the only good thing that came of my color experiment; and the sea green, the cobalt, and especially the cadmium yellow and candy pink have been consigned to the back of the clay drawer, the very back, behind the dried-out, never-to-be-used-again Studio clay.

I went back to the translucent clay and alcohol inks. I did get a really bright, lime green, and a really lovely carribbean blue, even an icy/silvery blue piece.

Then to make myself feel less guilty about wasting two whole days with nothing to show for it, I played with some stamps I just got from my friend Tonja Lenderman, of Tonja's Treasures at Etsy. I LOVE her leopard print stamp, and her wormwood stamp, which I think will make a great faux palm jasper.

I guess there are worse things than being a color snob.

July Blog Prize Winner - Julz!

2011-07-01T11:34:00.006-04:00

Thanks to everyone who commented on the July prize, a collaborative effort between Jill Kollmann of JKollmann Jewelry, to whom I also give a huge thank you for helping me out this month.

We had 7 comments (the comment by Anonymous doesn't count because that was actually Jill) this month, and the winner, drawn at random, is #2, Julz!

Congratulations, Julz. I will contact you shortly for your mailing address. I hope you love the necklace as much as Jill and I loved creating it for you.

Next month I'm on my own again, in fact, I'm on my own for the rest of the year, but I have a special prize planned for August, one of my Vintaj-embellished cylinder bead pendants, so stay tuned for the reveal coming soon!

Thanks again, everyone!

Disclaimer: No Real Bone Was Harmed In The Making Of These Pendants

2011-06-27T10:13:00.003-04:00

Because they are fabulously faux instead! I love creating faux bone pieces, and a recipe makes so much clay, with so many different finishes, that you can really get a lot out of one batch. I've been tinkering with my colors and textures for a new tutorial, and I think I have an idea now of what I want to do. Here are a few pieces I've done over the last month, in preparation. You can see how tweaking the colors can completely change the look and feel of the pieces.

July Blog Giveaway Prize

2011-06-26T16:13:00.004-04:00

My good friend Jill Kollmann collaborated with me on this month's blog prize. She created the beautiful rose colored flower basket beads flanking one of my image transfer pendants, and also the other rose colored oval beads in this very special design. Jill's innovative flower basket beads were featured in an ad in recent Polymer Cafe magazine issues for vintagejewelrysupplies.com (one of my favorite sources for unusual findings and the daffodil yellow cut crystal teardrop beads in this necklace.)

I hope I did Jill's beads justice. I wanted to create something colorful to celebrate the beginning of Summer here in this part of the world. I just love Jill's flower basket beads. She can create any color combination or flower combination you could wish for, and I hope you will check out her shop at Etsy to see more of her beautiful work.

So, you know what to do. Leave a comment, either about the necklace or about your plans for Summer. No purchase is necessary, of course. On July 1, I'll pull a winner at random from among the comments and will post the winner's name here. If you do not have email enabled on your blog, please include your email address in the comment, so I will know how to find you.

Thanks again, Jill, for creating such gorgeous beads for me to use in the prize this month. Happy Summer, everyone!

June Blog Giveaway Winner!

2011-06-06T10:11:00.004-04:00

Man, with the heat as oppressive as it already is here in the deep South, I'd be sorely tempted to wear these earrings and nothing else today, but I guess I should go ahead and award them to one of my wonderful blog friends anyway, since my running nekid through the neighborhood would probably create mass stampedes of terrified people running in the opposite direction!

We had 12 entries this month, and thank you to everyone who took the time to leave a comment about the earrings.

Our big winner is #8, Lynn!

Thanks, Lynn. I will contact you today for your mailing address. I hope you enjoy wearing them... don't send photos if you decide to go streakin' in them, though, okay? Hee Hee

Next month, I have another collaborative prize created by me and my good friend, Jill Kollmann of JKollman.etsy.com. Jill makes the most intricately ingenius basket beads with polymer and metal. I think you'll like what we have planned for you. Stay tuned for more details in a couple of weeks.

Happy Summer, everyone

June Blog Giveaway Prize

2011-05-29T16:13:00.004-04:00

I thought I would change things up a bit and offer a pair of polymer clay and gemstone earrings this month, instead of a pendant.

One of my new favorite things is a silicone molds of this incredibly detailed rose, with tiny roses ringing the outside. I have made these earrings in every color I could think of, and am giving away this turquoise set with turqouise magnesite rondelles and copper accents.

These earrings are so much fun to make, and even more fun to wear, They have just enough of that "swish factor" you look for in a great pair of earrings. They would be fantastic accessories to a pair of jeans and a peasant blouse, your favorite bathing suit, or dressed up with a little black dress and a turquoise necklace.

The earrings measure 2" from the bottom of the copper earring findings. They are signed by me on the reverse side, your guarantee you are receiving a Diva Designs exclusive piece of wearable art!

If you would like a chance to win these earrings, leave a comment about the earrings, your plans for the Summmer, or anything else that suits your fancy. I will choose a winner at random from the comments and post the winner's name here next Monday, June 6th. If you do not have email enabled on your blog, please include your email in your post.

No purchase necessary to win.

Thanks!

Think Zebra!

2011-05-22T19:23:00.003-04:00

My 17 year old niece, Kaitlyn, suffers from a primary immunodeficiency disease known as Common Variable Immune Deficiency (CVID). She takes weekly IV treaments of a plasma donated product, which is necessary for her survival. There is currently no cure for CVID. She is one of only 12 people in the state of South Carolina with this disease, and one of 250,000 nationwide. Kaitlyn was the first patient in the state to start the newest form of therapy, Sub-Q, which she can now administer to herself at home.

Kaitlyn serves on the National Immune Deficiency Foundation Teen Council and speaks to other patients and industry people about her disease and how it affects her life.

For the past few years, it has been my honor to participate in the national IDF conventions by creating and donating several necklaces which are auctioned to the higest bidder. This year's convention is June 23 in Phoenix, Arizona.

The mascot/logo for the foundation is a zebra in in a color scheme of black and bright green. In medical school, doctors are taught that "when you hear hoof beats, think horses, not zebras." But sometime, physicians need to look for a zebra. Primary immunodeficiency patients are the zebras of the medical world. So IDF's slogan is "Think Zebra!"

You can help by donating blood when your local bloodmobile comes around, or visit your local blood bank. It truly is the gift of life, as everyone in my family knows. It takes 45 pints of blood to make 1 pint of plasma.

To learn more about primary immunodeficiency disease, please visit www.primaryimmune.org.

Tutorial #8 How To Create Perfectly Textured Multi-Dimensional Focal Beads

2011-05-14T14:55:00.003-04:00

I've been working on two tutorials simultaneously, intending to publish the other one before this one, but in the wee hours of the morning, this one got to the finish line first.

I have more people ask me about my creative process for the round, textured focal beads more than any of my other work, so I decided to let you all in on my secret. No, I don't roll the clay base bead onto the rubber stamp or texture sheet. No, I don't stuff the clay base bead into a silicone mold. No, I don't texture two half moons and smush them together. If you've tried that, you know it doesn't work anyway, all you get is a mashed pattern.

I am very excited to debut the focal bead tutorial, and I hope it helps a lot of people who scratch their heads to figure out how to get a good stamping on a round bead. And yes, I do sand and buff every one of these! Hee Hee

PLEASE NOTE THAT IF YOU HAVE PURCHASED MY FAUX JADE TUTORIAL, YOU ALREADY HAVE THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS TUTORIAL AND DO NOT NEED TO PURCHASE IT AGAIN. PLEASE REFER TO THE FAUX YELLOW JADE BEADS IN THE SPECIAL JEWELRY PROJECTS IN THE FAUX JADE TUTORIAL. THANK YOU!

701 and Counting

2011-05-10T14:48:00.005-04:00

Wow, I just sent out my 701st tutorial... 701... 7-0-1! I am in awe that a little over a year after the first one debuted and winged its way to its new owner, I am sending out the 701st!

I am also amazed at where the tuts have traveled. I have delivered them to every state in the U.S., and to 76 countries worldwide, from Argentina to Tasmania. In the U.S., more have been delivered to Pennsylvania than to any other state, followed by Colorado and Maryland. Outside the U.S., more tutorials have been delivered to Australia than to any other country, overwhelmingly, in fact. Canada and France follow distantly.

Thank you so much to everyone who has purchased one of my tutorials and created some truly beautiful works of art using my recipes and methods for image transfer, mica shift, faux jade, and finishing.

Thank you also for sharing your photos and your observations and your wonderful feedback about the tutorials. It has made me want to write many more, and I am thrilled to see how my customers have taken my instructions and put their own spin on things. I've seen some amazing faux jade from them!

I hope to have two new tutorials in the faux series ready for publication by the end of the month. Several of you have been waiting patiently for the next tutorial in the faux series, so look for it to debut soon here on the blog.

Thanks again, everyone!

Lynda

May Blog Giveaway Prize Winner

2011-05-09T07:06:00.004-04:00

Thanks again to everyone who participated in this month’s blog giveaway by leaving a comment about the necklace.

A HUGE thank you to Laurel Steven for collaborating with me on the prize by creating and donating the gorgeous, carved and antiqued polymer clay barrel beads featured in the necklace design. I hope you all had a chance to check out Laurel’s shop at Etsy. She’s been busy creating more of these gorgeous carved beads!

We had 25 entries this month, and the winner is: #10, Norma’s Clay.

Congratulations, Norma! I will contact you shortly for your mailing address and will send this beautiful necklace right out to you.

1) Nena
2) Julz
3) JuLee
4) Earthly Jewels
5) RiverValleyDesign
6) Carmela
7) Leila Bidler-Gom6699
8) Kanella
9) Its All About Creating
10) Norma’s Clay
11) M.E.
12) Moonrae
13) Randee M. Ketzel
14) Another.Realm
15) Lynn
16) Lynn Eileen a/k/a ChickyLE
17) Sherry
18) Debbie Sparkle Chick
19) Jeanne a/k/a Gem Chick
20) Chipita Jewelry
21) Becky
22) Deb D Grammy Chick
23) Violet Marie
24) Lubna
25) Marie (Young Creative)

I'm on my own again next month, but check back in a couple of weeks to see the June giveaway prize. I hope you like it.

Thanks again, everyone!

May Blog Giveaway - A Collaborative Design with Laurel Steven

2011-05-01T22:54:00.005-04:00

Well, here it is, finally! It is a little late, but I hope you like this month's blog giveaway prize. It is a collaborative effort between me and my friend, the fabulously talented Laurel Steven. Laurel created these gorgeous carved polymer clay barrel beads, and I added an ethnic themed pendant featuring a vintage Hawaiian Tapa Cloth fabric pattern on a background of black clay which I embossed with a basketweave texture stamp; and apple jasper and blue pearl jasper beads and copper accents.

If you would like a chance to win this necklace, please leave a comment at the end of this post and let us know how you like the necklace, and next Monday, May 9th, I'll draw a winner using a random number generator. No purchase is necessary. If you do not have email enabled on your blog, please add your email address in your comment so I'll know how to contact you if you are the winner.

Thanks for playing along, and please visit Laurel's shop and check out more of her beautiful work! Here are a few of my favorites.

Thank you, too, Laurel, for helping me out on the giveaway this month!

From Laurel's Shop:

Faux Granite Working Locket Pendant Necklace

Blue Flower Statement Necklace

Creeping Out of A Creative Slump

2011-05-01T14:33:00.003-04:00

I am not usually one to sink into the "poor pitiful me" blues, but the last two weeks have been somewhat of a nightmare for me personally, which had me in a pity party for 1 much of the time. Car troubles, job troubles, family worries and health problems all seemed to converge on me at once. When it rains, it pours, right?

As a result, I did not feel at my artistic best and quickly descended into a major creative slump. Hopefully, that is behind me now and I can exercise some of those demons with some cathartic pounding of clay.

Usually when the muse hits the skids, I start over with some basic techniques and just practice for a week or so. I try to let myself go and just let the clay speak to me. This time, a cruise through Etsy's digital collage offerings perked me up tremendously. I found these gorgeous blue and white Asian designs. The muse started whispering in my ear and I was able to turn out a handful of pendants I realy love.

Creating faux jade always makes me happy and energizes me. I had an order for a duplicate, or as near duplicate as I could make, for a pendant I created a couple of weeks ago, so I made up a batch of a dark burma shade of green, a bit darker than the newsprint jasper green, and created a couple of new pieces in that color and also a "fantasy bronze jade" piece which I liked, a good effort overall.

I am running a bit behind this month with the blog giveaway. I'm finishing up a collaborative design using some wonderful carved polymer beads created for the giveaway by my friend and fellow Polymer Artist, Laurel Steven. I'll have it up tonight or tomorrow for you to get your comments in to be elegible to win it. I hope you like it.

Asian Inspired Focals

2011-04-15T12:12:00.005-04:00

Japan has been on my mind lately, of course, with the devastating Tsunami destruction all over the news. My heart goes out to the people there who lost loved ones, homes and livelihoods. My creative thoughts naturally turned to Asian themed pieces.

I have had these Newsprint Jasper puff coins for several months but couldn't find a use for them. I love the patterns in natural Jaspers and Agates. Aren't they amazing? I set out to duplicate the Newpsprint Jasper pattern using one of my faux jade color recipes, which matches very well, and these pendants were the result. Not too shabby a match, eh? I've got more of these in different colors planned.

I had a few scraps left over which I incorporated into a small batch of faux jade clay and made these Cylinder Beads; and continuing the Asian theme, created these Faux Bone Bamboo Textured Cylinder Beads and this Faux Bone Bronze Antiqued Asian Calligraphy Pendant. I believe the top piece of the pendant is a tax stamp or duty seal of some sort. Someone please correct me if I am wrong.

All of these pieces, with the exception of the bamboo textured cylinder beads, were sanded through 8 grits of wet-dry sandpaper and buffed with a Dremel. The bamboo beads were treated with Renaissance Wax Polish for a softer finish.

An Alternative To Sanding - Renaissance Wax Micro-Crystalline Polish

2011-04-01T12:39:00.009-04:00

Several people have emailed me and asked about the shiny finish on the faux cameos and the red faux cinnebar pieces. Since I am known for sanding and buffing my work, they assumed I sanded and buffed the pieces as I usually do.

I did not sand these pieces, and it almost killed me not to, honestly. Sanding is a cathartic experience for me. I love nothing better than to sit down with a big batch of pendants and beads and a big bowl of warm, soapy water and just whale away on them with my 8 grits of wet-dry sandpaper until they are all perfect. Given the highly etched detail in the latest pieces, I knew I had to find an alternative to sanding to preserve the crisp details.

Some polymer artists seal their work with resin, Future floor polish, or some other kind of glaze or sealant. I don't like the mess or aggravation of having to wait for a liquid finish to set, and those freakin' bubbles drive me nuts. I felt like I was drowning all my hard work, and it really ruined the aesthetics of the piece for me.

These pieces are finished with several coats of Renaissance Wax, a micro-crystalline, fossil-origin wax polish that contains no damaging acids, which was developed by the British Museum to protect its priceless antiques. A very little dab will go a long way, too... a very, very little. A 65ml can will last forever.

There was a bit of a learning curve to begin with, I wasn't gettting the shine I thought I was supposed to get, but I realized you have to let the wax dry for a few minutes, even though the instructions tell you to apply and wipe. I buffed between coats with my Dremel, although you could certainly hand buff as well. The result is a beautiful, soft, lustrous and very durable finish.

It is still not something I would choose to do for every piece, I much prefer sanding and buffing. I have converted many people to sanding, but I realize there are those times when you just can't do it, like with these highly detailed pieces, and I am thrilled there is another solution available.

April Blog Giveaway Winner

2011-03-28T10:43:00.007-04:00

Thank you so much to everyone who commented on this month's giveaway prize. Momma and I were very touched by the wonderful stories each of you shared with us. It is easy to see why the rose is the flower of love. I wish we could award each of you the prize!

The good news is that I think I have convinced Momma to create more of these tiny treasures for me to transfer to clay. I am keeping my fingers crossed, but hopefully, she will be doing some more roses in different colors, some multi-flower bouquets, and perhaps some tiny seascapes and landscapes. We shall see.

We had 20 comments this month:

1) B-Lee Kreations
2) Lupe Meter
3) Kozi
4) JuLee
5) M.E.
6) Lorraine
7) Betty
9) lynn
10) LynnEileen, a/k/a ChickyLE
11) Surrayah
12) Shirley
13) daisydawn08
14) Julz
15) Nena
16) Dragonfly Close
17) Raj
18) Jeanne, a/k/a GemChick
19) AllysaRoseDesigns
20) Jadeaxe

Our winner this month is #2, Lupe Meter!. Congratulations, Lupe. I will contact you shortly for your mailing address. I hope you enjoy this very special pendant.

Next month, my friend, the mega-talented Laurel Steven, will be collaborating with me on May's prize. I am so excited! She has promised it will be something really special, so check back here again around the 21st of April for the details and photos!

Thank you again to everyone who commented on this month's giveaway.

Red Hot and Fabulous Faux Cinnebar

2011-03-26T21:30:00.009-04:00

I was supposed to be working on a custom image transfer order today for my friend Beth. But when I got up this morning, I was in a red mood and knew I would not do the image she sent me justice, so I am leaving that project for another day, like tomorrow.

You all know red is my favorite color, and I just felt like turning up the heat and making some really red pieces today. It is harder than it looks to get a good red to bake true to color, too, let me tell ya. Four batches later, I was satisfied with my Faux Cinnebar red and created these lovely little cabs and pendants.

The square floral mold used to create the pendants is my new favorite thing. I used it to create several of these 3-D cabs and pendants. The detail in it is incredible. I have tried making my own silicon molds and all I did was make a big, icky mess, but I just love this one!

Floral Gardens Series - Faux Red Cinnebar Pendant/Cab and Earrings with Black Czech Glass Drops

Then I had to go and experiment with other colors, just a bit.

Floral Gardens Series - Pistachio Green Pendants/Cabs and Earring Commponents & Wedgewood Blue Pendant/Cab and Earring Components

Okay, Beth. I got the red mood out of my system and tomorrow morning bright and early I promise to wake up in the right frame of mind to create some exquisitely delicate image transfer pendants, with not a speck of red in sight!

Look What Cara Did With My Faux Jade Tutorial!

2011-03-23T22:33:00.010-04:00

I love for customers to send me photos of the beautiful things they create with my beads, pendants and tutorials.

It gives me goosebumps to see them included in a design. I am so proud to have a part in so many wonderful works of wearable art.

Cara Letho is a wonderful lady who lives in Australia. She is also an amazingly talented jewelry designer. Cara has purchased pendants and other tutorials from me in the past, and was one of the first to purchase my new faux jade tutorial. Just look what she did with it! I am stunned and truly thrilled to see the gorgeous beads Cara created from the tutorial instructions, and I love how she made them her own, in her own style. Just look at those faux jade beads! Aren't they amazing? They make my mouth water!

Thank you so much for sharing the photos with me, Cara! You are so talented, and I am honored to have a part in the creation of your beautiful faux jade beads!

Fooling Around with Faux Cameo Cabochons

2011-03-22T15:55:00.002-04:00

I love nothing better than a good challenge, and getting a good faux cameo out of polymer clay has been driving me crazy for awhile now. I have tried several ideas, but by George, I think I finally have it.

I apologize for the lousy photography. My camera decided it had a mind of its own and my settings went all wonky on me. I had to shoot these outside, and the detail of the undercolors doesn't come through very well in the photos. These are all two-toned, ivory on top with pastel colors underneath: Peach, Lavender, seafoam green, yellow, coral, wedgewood blue, red, shell pink and black.

These would be great bezel settings for a beautiful clasp. They also make wonderful pendants on their own. I love the delicate little rose sprays, and I just purchased a small rose mold to see if I can make tiny, individual roses for spacer beads. I am really pleased with these, hope you like them, too!

These are faux milk glass cabs. I love the blue-gray/green color. Can't quite put my finger on the exact name of the color, but it is really beautiful in person.

April Giveaway Prize

2011-03-21T07:41:00.005-04:00

I said after last month's collaboration with M.E. that I would be going solo with this month's giveaway, but that isn't true. The pendant I am giving away this month is a collaboration between my mother and me! My mother is a fabulously talented women. One of her many talents is for painting. She prefers landscapes, but I asked her to paint this gorgeous rose for me, which I converted to a digital file and transfered to polymer clay to create this pendant. I love it so much, I created pendants using the image for my Mother, my sister, my sister-in-law, and my niece, too. And you could have the very first one I made! It could be an early Mother's Day present for yourself or someone you love.

All you have to do is leave a comment on this post between March 21 and March 28, 2011. Next Monday, March 29, I'll draw a name from the list of commenters and publish it here. So, if you would like to own this beauty, just leave Momma and me a comment, and if you do not have email enabled on your blog or website, please put it in your comment so I'll know how to contact you for your mailing address if you are the lucky winner.

Thanks, everyone!

March Blog Giveaway Winner!

2011-03-01T07:49:00.003-05:00

We had 33 entries this month! Thank you to everyone who commented about the March necklace, Mary Ellen and I appreciate it very much! Thank you again, M.E., for creating those luscious blue flower beads we used in the necklace design, too. You are the best!

Here are the entries for March:

1) Nena
2) JuLee
3) Tina Eudora
4) B-Lee Kreations
5) Norma’s Clay
6) MoonRae
7) Kelly Feeney
8) Jeanne a/k/a Gem Chick
9) Eileen Boulanger
10) Caryn
11) Shannon Schmid
12) RedCamaro121
13) LynnEileen, a/k/a ChickyLE
14) Surrayah
15) DaisyDawn08
16) DigitalMisfit
17) DebbieSparkleChick
18) Sofia
19) Maria
20) M&Amp;S
21) Betty
22) Kathy Beasley
23) Angela
24) MoonBell
25) Misty
26) Peggy aplSEEDS
27) Alison B
28) Lynn
29) Magg
30) Helenjg
31) SueBeads
32) Pat Haight
33) Best Friend Necklace

And the winner is: #22 Kathy Beasley
Congratulations, Kathy. I will email you for your mailing address today and get your necklace right out to you!

Next month I'm on my own again, but I have a very special prize for my April giveaway, the perfect Mother's Day gift, so stay tuned for the reveal in a couple of weeks.

Thanks again, everyone!
Lynda

Today Is The Last Day...

2011-02-28T13:03:00.003-05:00

... to log a comment and be entered for a chance to win my March blog giveaway prize, that beautiful necklace created by me and Mary Ellen of BeeTreeByMe! The cutoff time is 5:00 p.m. Eastern U.S. time. Log your comment here:

Thanks again, everyone!

Update: New Faux Jade Tutorial Has Arrived!

2011-02-24T07:50:00.004-05:00

I just listed it in the shop. Yay! I am just overwhelmed by the interest the tutorial has received so far. I had a blast writing it and hope you all enjoy it and create lots of beautiful things with it!

Thank you, everyone!

Lynda

New Tutorial: How to Create Realistic-Looking Jade From The Six Color Groups of Natural Jade: Black, Green, Lavender, Red, White and Yellow

2011-02-22T07:41:00.007-05:00

If you have wondered why I haven't been posting regularly this past month, the reason is because I have been in the studio feverishly writing a new tutorial, and I am pleased to announce it will make its debut this coming Friday, February 25, 2011 in my Etsy shop!

This tutorial is one I have wanted to write for about a year, and it is the first in a series of tutorials on recreating gemstones.

Many of you have been asking for a new tutorial, and I have been planning to launch a series on faux gemstones. First up is "Realistic Faux Jade."

This js a very comprehensive tutorial. It contains 55 pages, almost 150 color photos, and 16 color recipes from the six color groups found in genuine jade: Red, Lavender, White, Yellow, Black and Green. Most of you have seen various shades of green, and white of course, but did you know there was also red and black jade?

The tutorial also contains six jewelry projects, ranging in skill level from easy to intermediate, a detailed list of tools, materials and supplies (including a source guide); and three mini-tutorials on sanding and finishing; how to make the perfect, and I mean PERFECT, wire wrap loop; and how to use a plexiglas sheet to contour curves, soften edges and refine shapes.

I am also thrilled, and very honored, to announce that the new tutorial will be featured at www.voila.eu.com by my friend, the fabulously talented polymer artist, Christine Dumont, AND you could win a copy free! The first three Voila members who ask Christine about the tutorial the day it first launches will receive a free copy, so don't forget the launch date: Friday, February 25, 2011 in my in my Etsy shop! Visit Voila today for details. THANK YOU SO MUCH, CHRISTINE!

If you have not registered at Voila, you will need to do so. It only takes a few minutes and does not cost you a dime. If you have not experienced the beauty of Voila, you don't know what you are missing! If you are a polymer artist, or have thought about working in the medium, Voila is a feast for the eyes and a fabulous resource for inspiration and learning.

I had a blast writing the tutorial and putting together the jewelry projects for you. I hope you love it, and thank you so much!

Next up: Fabulous Faux Ivory you will not believe! You won't be able to distinguish it from the real thing... coming soon!

Thanks, everyone!

March Blog Giveaway - Win This Necklace!

2011-02-20T22:34:00.007-05:00

My good friend Mary Ellen Parker and I collaborated on the giveaway prize this month. M.E. created the beautiful variagated blue floral beads. I created the image transfer pendant using one of my favorite Asian images, a bird on a branch of blue hydrangeas and a bunch of Vintaj Natural Brass components.

M.E. created the perfect beads to match the blues in the pendant, didn't she? This is the perfect necklace to ring in Spring! I hope you all love it as much as we do, and that we get lots and lots of comments. We are so excited to be able to send this necklace to one of you!

M.E. has a shop at Etsy called BeeTreeByMe. In addition to beautiful floral bead and bead sets, she also sculpts fanciful fairy pendants.

So you know what to do, leave a comment under this post. No purchase is necessary. I hope you will also visit M.E.'s shop and her wonderful blog.

I will leave the comments open for a week, and on March 1st, I will draw a winning name at random and contact the winner for your mailing address.

Thanks, and good luck!

My Cup of Soup For The Bead Soup Blog Party

2011-02-08T21:06:00.004-05:00

My partner for the 2011 Bead Soup Blog Party is StaciLouise, a talented metal artist and jewelry designer who has a shop of the same name at Etsy and a fabulous blog. You can check out the goodies I sent her there, too.

Poor Staci had a time getting these to me. This is actually the second package. The first apparently got re-routed to another state and hasn't arrived. I don't know what was in the first one, but I'm so pleased to have this lovely fine silver focal made by Staci herself, and I hope I have time to do it justice. The big reveal is on 2/28, and I am on a deadline to finish writing a new tutorial due at the same time. YIKES! Staci and I are keeping our fingers crossed I make it in time.

This lovely selection does not show a string of beautiful, little gold potato pearls Staci also sent me, which I forgot to photograph in my haste to get this photo uploaded to the Bead Soup Party Flickr photo group. I'm so sorry, partner!

Staci also included these cute goody bags she recycled. I love them, they make nice little travel jewelry bags for my personal stash. Next time I go on vacation, I'll be sure to take them along.

Thanks again, Staci, and y'all visit the flickr site and see what everyone else's cup of goody bead soup looks like; and stay tuned for the 2/28 big reveal to see what everyone has created with their beads.

The Winner of February's Parisian Valentine Pendant

2011-01-31T23:01:00.006-05:00

Wow, I'm overwhelmed to have 36 comments for this month's drawing! Several of you commented again this month and we had several new friends join in, too. Awesome!

Here are the names of the people who left a comment, either about the pendant or about their Valentine's Day traditions:

1) Terry Biz
2) Nena
3) B-Lee Kreations
4) SueBeads
5) Viv’s Visuals
6) Ms. Lahtidah
7) Lois Moon
8) Adventures with Millie Making Jewelry
9) Doreen
10) Elisabeth
11) Patty S.
12) M. E.
13) LauraBee
14) Janetfaye
15) Moon Bell
16) DebDGrammyChick
17) Moon Rae
18) Jeanne a/k/a Gem Chick
19) Michelle
20) C Clark
21) Julz
22) Kathy B.
23) Boot-C
24) Betty
25) Anne B.
26) Bleubeard and Elizabeth
27) Lynda Howells
28) Rhonda
29) JuLee
30) Sharon
31) Lorraine Vogel
32) dgibson
33) JEMSstones
34) Deci
35) Cheeky Jewels by Sonja
36) Pretty Things

And the winner chosen by random is: #16 DebDGrammyChick

Congratulations, Deb! I will be contacting you for your mailing address shortly so you can receive this in time to wear for Valentine's Day, if you wish.

Thanks again to everyone for playing along. i hope you will all come back next month, because you are in for a special treat. My friend Mary Ellen Parker, she of BeeTreeByMe fame, and I are collaborating on a giveaway prize: A necklace featuring one of my image transfer pendants and Mary Ellen's beautiful polymer clay beads. To see more of her gorgeous work, please visit her shop. She's a sculptor extraordinaire and works magic with clay, AND the nicest woman in Maryland!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Lynda

February Giveaway Drawing - Win This Romantic Parisian Valentine Pendant!

2011-01-25T13:30:00.004-05:00

Okay, friends. Here it is! The piece I designed for my February drawing, this romantic Parisian Valentine Pendant. To have a chance to win it, just comment at the end of this post. That's it! There is nothing to buy, just leave a comment about the pendant or your Valentine's Day traditions, if any, or the weather, whatever floats your boat, just keep it clean, please. Hee Hee.

I will leave the comments open until Jan. 31 and announce the winner on Feb. 1st using a random generator. I will then notify you by email and ask for your snail mail address (so please put your email address in the comment if you don't have email enabled on your blog or website) and as soon as I get that, I will send the pendant out to you wrapped in this sweet Paris gift paper, in time for you to enjoy wearing on Valentine's Day or to give as a gift.

The pendant is signed by me on the back, your guarantee you are receiving a Diva Designs exclusive piece of wearable art! The back also is finished in a gorgeous silver metallic clay which I embossed with a pretty filigree texture sheet.

Thanks, everyone!

More Embellished Medieval Jewels

2011-01-17T11:15:00.013-05:00

The weather this past weekend kept me inside where it was warm and dry and cozy. I love the rain, but rain in Winter sucks. It's not the gentle, light rain that cools down a Summer day in the deep South. It was one of those days where it felt like it was only raining on my house.

I decided to make the best of it and got out my bail-making pliers and twisted some Vintaj and other brass stampings. My shipment of faux gemstone glass jewels came in, and I was very excited to see what I could do with them. They are a little smaller than the citrine I used in the other pendant (see below), and I had to get creative about raising the profile to fit the Vintaj window frame, but by the second one, I had the process down pat.

I chose not to use polymer backgrounds with these, but you could certainly add another pendant behind this one if you wanted a backdrop to frame it. I did one in amethyst and brass and one in amethyst and silver (which my Mother appropriated for herself before I could photograph it) with no additional charms or drops and these with some Vintaj and crystal blinginess.

Then I spied this cathedral-shaped polymer pendant that I made a couple of months ago in the "to be made into something spectacular box". I had just purchased some gold, pear-shaped Swarovski pearls and thought they would look pretty paired with the silver and bronze/gold tones of the polymer pendant. I added some Black Diamond Swarovski bicones, too.

My Aunt Audrey, Momma's next-to-youngest sister, asked me recently if I made bracelets. I have not. I don't use a bead board to make my necklace designs. I have an unconventional way of string beads that drives my jewelry designer friends nuts. I don't sit there and calculate how many 10mm beads I will to go with how many 8mm beads and yada yada yada to get a 7 1/2" bracelet. Math isn't, and never has been, my thing. The bottom line is that the length never works out so the pattern is even, which it must be to appease my OCD self.

But, wanting to please and knowing I needed to branch out to bracelets, I decided to try one, with the Vintaj and other brass filigree I had on hand, and one of the medieval framed gems.

It took four times as long as it takes me to make a necklace or a polymer clay pendant. I re-worked it several times and fiddled with it for what seemed like forever, but here it is. Sigh. There may never be another, but it's pretty, don't you think?

Now it is back to the present and time to put the time machine away for a bit so I can finish all the other things I need to do!

Lori Anderson's Bead Soup Party

2011-01-17T10:58:00.003-05:00

Last year, I was pea green with envy over the luscious bead goodies my friend Laurel Steven received in the last Bead Soup party sponsored by Lori Anderson, a very talented jewelry designer and one of the ladies behind Art Bead Scene. It was too late for me to join in that time, but I have been watching for it this year, and Laurel helped by asking me a couple of weeks ago if I was going to participate. YES! Yay!

I was assigned my bead partner over the weekend, and I've talked to her (not sure if I can say who it is, but I think I'll keep it a surprise for now) and we've discussed likes and dislikes, colors and styles, etc, and I am very excited and anxious to get started on my ideas for her cup of bead soup.

Lori has created a flickr photogroup so that everyone can post photos of the jewelry we create with the beads, so you can see all of them (hopefully, everyone will post) as they are created. I think I am as excited to see everyone else's designs as I am to get started on mine.

The next week is going to be JAMMED with everything I have to do, several deadlines to meet and orders to complete, but I am so looking forward to getting back to the clay again and creating something really special for my cup of the bead soup.

Thanks, Lori, for letting me play along!

Anne, meet Catherine... She Came On The Scene After You Lost Your Head

2011-01-13T10:37:00.005-05:00

The whole Medieval time travel thing actually began with a request for two pendants from my friend Sarah, a/k/a FaeryGothMother, who lives in Belgium. Sarah requested I find some Waterhouse images for two pendants she would like to have. She also wanted them embellished a little bit, and knowing Sarah's style and her flair for color and composition (she makes gorgeous jewelry herself!), I tried to envision some designs for her that would be edgy but romantic and old world, too. That's what got me started on the Medieval era and what led me to jump in the time machine and do some research on period costumes and jewels appropriate for the middle ages.

I can't wait for Sarah to see these. I found a collection digital images at Etsy which feature Henry VIII's poor, unfortunate wives, including the tragic Anne Boleyn, and I just had to have them. The rich crimson red in the images for Anne and Catherine Parr just spoke to me. It was also another chance to use my new favorite Swarovski crystal, the luscious, dramatic blood red Siam color... and how appropriate for the tragic Anne!

I also had another wild hair moment and spied this Berbier pendant, which I made a couple of months ago weeks ago for an Art Bead Scene Challenge. I ran out of time and didn't get a necklace made to enter, but I love the Art Deco/Art Nouveau shape of the pendant; and it was conveniently sitting on top of a piece of brass stamping and naturally, I picked it up and started playing with it. I LOVE the result, I must say. This might be my favorite so far.

Jewels of Aragon Pendant

2011-01-12T12:02:00.006-05:00

I have been time traveling through the history books lately, and last week, I landed in the middle ages. I did a little research on royalty, royal jewels and costuming of the era.

I wanted to try to do a few jewelry pieces that really make you think "Medieval." Here is the first pendant, featuring a gorgeous 20 carat, square-cut, lemon yellow citrine surrounded by Vintaj Natural Brass and nestled on a base of dark silver polymer clay antiqued with bronze acrylic paint and framed in a dark silver metal stamping, which I manipulated to make a holder for the jump ring bail.

What do you think? Can you see Catherine of Aragon wearing this? I call it "Jewels of Aragon."

The citrine was a birthday gift from my Mother when I was 25, so I better hang on to this one. I will be making more, though. I ordered some square-cut faux gemstone glass beads last week in garnet and amethyst and diamond clear. I think the garnet in particular will look stunning against the dark silver and antique brass backdrop!

The Winner of January's Gothic Arch Pendant Drawing!

2011-01-10T22:34:00.012-05:00

Thank you to everyone who entered the drawing for the Gothic Arch Pendant Embellished with Vintaj Brass co-sponsored by Lynn of CreativeSpirit1, a/k/a Koupie at Etsy, and me. I was thrilled to have 44 entries, and Lynn and I really appreciate your lovely comments.

I assigned numbers to the entrants according to the order in which they commented, and chose a winner using a random generator.

1) Boot-C
2) Marie Young (YoungCreative)
3) JuLee
4) SueBeads
5) Doreen
6) Elisabeth
7) Julz
8) B-Lee Kreations
9) Robin
10) M.E.
11) Terri Kahrs
12) Viv’s Visuals
13) Kiki a/k/a Victoria
14) Janice
15) MoonRae
16) Dolores
17) Thmini2
18) Kozi
19) Silvia
20) Kathy B.
21) Faith Hope Cherrylea
22) Shirley
23) Kathy
24) Magpie’s Mumblings
25) Briarwood Miniatures
26) Stephanie Mealor Corder
27) Jeanne a/k/a Gem Chick
28) Deborah Snyder TexasGramRose
29) Linda
30) Lynn Gonzalez
31) Mar_Ya_Morevna
32) Deb D Grammy Chick
33) Faerygothmother
34) Susnaka Chicky Suz
35) SuzB
36) Janee
37) Patty S.
38) Lululiz
39) PerennialGirl
40) Misty
41) Surrayah
42) Debbi a/k/a Sparkle Chick
43) Joyell at An Artful Endeavor
44) Val

And the winner is: #37, Patty S.

Congratulations, Patty! I'll be in touch to get your mailing address.

Next month I'll be giving away a Valentine's themed item, and I hope you'll all come back and play along with me again.

Thanks so mucy, everyone, for following my blog; and to Lynn for helping me host this month's drawing!

2011 Valentine's Collection - Faux Ivory Polymer Clay Pendants Embellished with Vintaj and Swarovski Crystal

2011-01-08T17:37:00.005-05:00

I spent all day yesterday working on my 2011 Valentine's Collection. Here are the results!

I love the look of clear crystal, white and antique brass together. I had an idea that I wanted this year's Valentine's collection to feature faux ivory polymer pendants (and I'm working on some more faux ivory focal beads and cylinder beads, too.)

It took me several tries to get the color of the ivory like I wanted, a creamy, soft, aged ivory color. You wouldn't think it would be so hard to do! The end result was about half and half of white and translucent with a smear of ecru and some yellow alcohol ink.

This little pendant is my favorite, I think. I might just keep it for myself. Happy Valentine's Day to me!

My new favorite Swarovski crystal color is the Siam red. It is a gorgeous blood red that goes perfectly with the creamy tones of the faux ivory. I would have used it on all the pendants, but I wasn't sure everyone else would be as thrilled with the red and white combo as I am. I love this vintage cut glass crystal teardrop, too. They are so romantic!

A Little Medieval Flair - Juliet's Rockin' Necklace and Earrings

2011-01-05T09:56:00.008-05:00

Are you a fan of the tragic star-crossed love story of Romeo and Juliet? Did you know that there are those who believe the story was set much earlier than the Elizabethan age in which it was performed by Shakespeare's players?

Some people believe it was actually set in 1400s Italy. When I finished this necklace, one of my "Ancient Romance" Series, the first thing I thought was "Medieval" and "Juliet." But, whether or not Juliet Capulet was an Elizabethan Miss or a Medieval Miss, the necklace and earrings are terribly romantic, don't you think?

The necklace features an aqua metallic polymer clay cab with an embossed vine and leaf design that I embellished with Vintaj Natural Brass and faceted, Indian Sapphire Swarovski rounds treated with an AB finish; and some vintage, faceted Czech crystal tear drops. I love how the matching earrings turned out, and apparently a lot of folks did, too. I received an order wedding yesterday for 12 pair for some lucky bridesmaids in an April wedding from a very nice young lady who saw them posted on my flickr photostream.

I am also working on a necklace and earrings with other Medieval women in history and literature in mind. I am especially fascinated by Eleanor of Aquitaine, Queen of France and England by virtue of her marriages to Louis VII of France and Henry II of England, and one of the most powerful women ever; and Mary de Bohun, the Queen Consort of Henry IV, both of whom, if the genealogy is accurate, are ancestors of mine. I don't know how much credence to give to that kind of claim, however, because if we dig back far enough, probably everyone is related to a King or Queen or two. It was a small world back then. It won't get me bumped up in the checkout line at the grocery store, but it makes for some fascinating study.

You Could Win This Beautiful Pendant!

2011-01-03T11:51:00.011-05:00

If you are a regular follower of my blog, you will know that I discovered my new friend Lynn recently after seeing a photo of her beautiful Garden Nymph Gothic Arch paper creation in her flickr photostream. You can read all about it here in the original post: Gothic Arch Nymph and A New Friend.

Lynn hales from Canada, and is a wonderfully talented lady who creates and sells digital collage images in her Etsy shop called Koupie, and from her own website of the same name. She graciously allowed me to use the gothic arch image, and I created three image transfer pieces: A Victorian ornament and a medium-sized pendant, both of which found a home with Lynn, and this smaller, arch-shaped pendant which I embellished with Vintaj natural brass and Light Sapphire and Rose Swarovski crystals.

Well, Lynn and I have decided to collaborate on a giveaway, and this pendant is the prize!

You do not have to jump through any fancy hoops or purchase anything to have a chance at winning the pendant. All you have to do is leave a comment at the end of this post. One week from today, I will choose a winner using a random generator. When the drawing has ended, I will contact you and ask for your mailing address. My international friends are welcome to join in the fun, too!

I have also decided to have a drawing every month throughout 2011, so stay tuned. I already know what I want to do for February. I have some gorgeous vintage, Victorian Valentine images I have been itching to transfer.

HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone, and thanks again for visiting my blog and playing along!

Lynda

A New Year, A New Beginning

2010-12-29T11:09:00.006-05:00

I hope all of you had a wonderful holiday. I spent a quiet Christmas Eve with my immediate family, who gathered at my sister's home, for what I jokingly refer to as "the annual exchange of gift cards." My niece and nephews are grown now, and they prefer cash gifts, and lots of it, and a little of the Christmas magic has worn off over the years from when they were wonder-eyed children, but we still enjoy getting together for good food and fellowship. My nephew Craig also celebrates his birthday on New Year's Eve, so we'll be right back there again come Friday for fireworks and pizza.

You hear it a lot, but where has the year gone? It seems like yesterday we had that big (big for us in the deep South, anyway) 5" snowfall, but that was back in January. Spring and Summer whizzed by so fast! And now we are days away from the end of 2010.

It has been a year of highs and lows for me. My extended family of aunts, uncles and cousins has worried through several serious health issues, but also celebrated joyous additions to the family. Some of us have been victims of the economic downturn, including me. My hours at work were cut back, and for the first time in almost 35 years, I am a part-time employee with no benefits. The economy has forced us as a family to make some tough decisions, but thankfully, we are holding our own. We are blessed in many ways and are much more fortunate than so many other people in this country. We have plenty of food to eat and a safe place to lay our heads at night. If there is a silver lining to my hours being cut back, it is that I get to spend more time with my mother in the twilight of her life. We have become closer than ever, for which I am very grateful.

Realizing that time really is precious, I also made a decision that has given me more time with family and more time to create and develop whatever talent I have for clay and jewelry design. Earlier this week, I resigned from the Polymer Clay Artists Guild of Etsy (PCAGOE), effective with the last day of the January, 2011 challenge.

Some of you might now know that I was the Challenge Coordinator for PCAGOE. Along with my friends Angela and Jill, we put together the challenge contests some of you vote for every month. I also served as Vice President of the guild, Store Standards Chairperson, and as one of the team Mentors. It was a lot of responsibility and required an exhausting amount of time and energy. I was physically and mentally drained, and with a growing business and my Mother in particular needing more of my time, I made the decision to leave the guild. So far, it has been very liberating. No more midnights spent putting together mosaics and linking to shops and such. Now if I stay up until midnight, it is to read, which I haven't had time to do in more than two years; or to clay when the old muse slaps me on the head; or even to spend time chatting with friends who aren't in my time zone. I don't regret the time and energy I put into the guild, and I made some lasting friendships through PCAGOE for which I will always be grateful, but it was time for me to go.

So, I want to say thank you to my fellow PCAGOE members who befriended me, encouraged me, supported me and inspired me while I was a member. I learned so much from being in your presence, both about clay and about life. I hope we will remain friends and stay in touch, and I wish you all the best!

So, new year, new horizons... onward and upward... the best is yet to come... YOU BET!

HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE!

Romantic Steampunk Anyone?

2010-12-22T15:17:00.010-05:00

Update: Thank you SO MUCH to everyone who has emailed me about these pendants! I had no idea they would be so popular. Several people have asked if they are for sale, so I will be listing a few in the Etsy shop, although I am afraid it is too late for a Christmas delivery this year. Thanks again for your wonderful comments and response. I'll definitely be making more of these!

Lynda

No, I don't mean those Victorian women with deer heads stuck on their bodies, and no watch guts, I promise. Stuff like that makes me shudder.

I have been playing with the Vintaj brass shipments again. One very late night recently, I looked squinty-eyed at one of my image transfer cylinder beads and had an ephiphany... "cage" them in Vintaj brass! The result? These luscious, romantic, Victorian, steampunkish, Gothic sort of looking pendants.

These pendants have a nice weight to them, and look great simply stung on an antique brass finish chain with a little Swarovski bling. One or two have gemstone drops instead of crystal. I caged them in either the large butterfly filigree or the large clover filigree pieces; and one of the William Morris Fabric transfer beads is wrapped in that gorgeous Vintaj dragonfly, which I love.

I took the Vintaj Magnolia Leaf end caps with those neat wire wrapping pliers most people use to manipulate the Vintaj filigree pieces, you know, the ones with the large and small barrels, which by the way, make perfectly shaped wire wrap loops with half the effort of the traditional way; and transformed the end caps into squarish bead caps which PERFECTLY fit the ends of the cylinder beads!

Slap Out Of Clay Until January

2010-12-13T16:16:00.005-05:00

Since I started with polymer clay, I have never run slap out (a quaint Southernism), but I am slap out of clay at the moment, and won't be ordering any until after the first of the new year. I guess that means I am on vacation!

3/4" x 1/8" double-sided bird charms

Various bird beads, some double-sided, 1" to 2" tall

The last of the clay went for these bird beads, some of which are for a trade between me and my friend Laura Boner-Leidy, who has a shop at Etsy called LauraBeeStudios. Laura made me a gorgeous, mouth-wateringly delicious black and cream necklace to wear to a wedding next weekend, and I in turn made a bunch of bird beads for her. And what she didn't choose, I decided to doody up (another quaint Southernism, we're just slap full of them) a few with some Swarovski crystal and some Vintaj brass. I must say, I am very pleased with the doodied-up ones.

I purchased some Gilder's Paste from www.gilderspaste.com a few weeks ago, after seeing Cynthia's feature on it at PolymerClayDaily. I'm still on the learning curve with GP and polymer, but it looks fantastic on the Vintaj.

I purchased a bunch of the metallic paste colors and a few of the matte colors, and applied a mixture of bronze and silver and black to some Vintaj left and right fern fastenables that weren't the same color because they apparently didn't come from the same color batch. I made them one color, mother being the necessity of invention and all that. These swishy earrings are the result. LOVE them!

No, You Are Not On The Wrong Blog

2010-12-10T23:23:00.006-05:00

I just decided to change things up a bit after finding the wonderful graphics created by Blanca Perez at Etsy. Her shop name is GreenValley. I saw this vintage floral banner in Blanca's shop and fell in love with it, and decided to revamp the blog. You will have to tell me whether or not you like the new look.

I think the softer, lighter colors are easier on the eye, although I loved my dramatic, black background and aqua banner. They were SO Diva. And my packaging is branded with the zebra print and aqua and glossy black colors, too. Yikes. What have I done? Oh well, no rule says my blog can't be different from the shop, right? Let me know what you think.

And The Winner Is!

2010-12-10T11:45:00.001-05:00

Here is the list of the wonderful ladies who posted comments about my blog hop ornament, this Sweet Little Victorian Miss With Red Rose Wreath, and entered the drawing to win her.

1) JeannieK
2) Rosebud101
3) IslandGirl
4) JenniferJangles
5) Kym Hunter Designs
6) Rosanne
7) Mary Harding
8) Michelle Mach
9) Beverly Herman
10) Tess, GildedDays
11) Rosalyn
12) Heather Powers
13) Tari of Claybuttons.com
14) TesoriTrovati
15) Spirited Earth
16) Erin Fickert-Rowland
17) Cindydolezaldesigns
18) WondrousStrange
19) MarciaP
20) Angela
21) Alice
22) Kelly Feeney
23) J Kollmann
24) JuLee
25) M.E.
26) Deborah
27) Lynn
28) Susanm
29) Robin
30) Marie Young (Young Creative)
31) Kathy B

And the winner is (drum roll, please!): #8 Michelle Mach

Congratulations, Michelle!

Thank you to everyone who left a comment on the blog hop feature. I really enjoyed reading your lovely comments, so much that I have decided to continue the giveaways! It was so much fun. So, if you are not following my blog already, you might want to add me to your list, because I will be cranking up another giveway very soon!

Congratulations again to Michelle, and Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas to everyone!

Lynda

Now Selling Vintaj Natural Brass Products and Swarovski Crystal

2010-12-08T15:08:00.003-05:00

I love Vintaj Natural Brass. I love the story behind the women who started the business. I love the service they give their customers. I love the quality of the Vintaj product line and the helpful assistance they offer on the Vintaj website. You can find tons of inspiration with their design gallery!

The Vintaj pieces are the perfect compliments to the vintage, nostalgic look I create in my jewelry. I have purchased a few pieces, a very few at a time, but recently decided to add a line of the Vintaj products to my Etsy shop, www.pcdiva.etsy.com. If you didn’t know I had a second Etsy shop, it’s because in the past, I have used it as a seasonal holiday shop for ornaments, vintage fabric items and potpourri, to keep my www.scdiva.etsy.com shop for polymer and gemstone jewelry only. I would keep it open for the Christmas shopping season and then close it up until the next year.

For the past two days, however, I’ve been sorting and pricing and stocking and listing, and I am very pleased to announce that PCDiva is open for business as of today! I hope you will stop by and see the Vintaj products I have chosen. If you are a registered Etsy user, add my shops to your circle, and I’ll add you to mine, so you can see new items as I list them. I also have a couple of the new Arte Metal line, as well.

In addition to Vintaj Brass items, I will be listing Swarovski crystal and other Czech glass beads and jewelry components in small amounts; and de-stash supplies of semi-precious gemstones and metals from my personal collection.

I am working on a third Etsy shop, too, one which I hope to have up and running before Valentine's Day, 2011. It will feature items created from my hand-dried and blended potpourri and “cottage chic” or “shabby chic” décor items made from my personal stash of 1930s and 40s vintage feedsack and floursack linens.

So, if you are looking to purchase Vintaj brass, I hope you will consider me first. I will be happy to order for you if I don’t have what you need, too, just let me know which pieces you would like and in what quantity. I have just placed a second order for more of the filigree pieces and findings, which should be in before the end of next week.

Thanks, everyone!

Lynda

My William Morris Long Lariat Style Necklace Is A Winner!

2010-12-07T11:11:00.004-05:00

Woot woot! This little baby, which I selfishly made and kept for myself, garnered 2nd place in the Polymerista of the Month competition at Voila!. Thank you so much to Christine Dumont, artist extraordinare for your comments and insight, which always inspire me to do better!

I'm off to rent Cloud 9, I'll be hangin' out on it all day today!

ABS Ornament Blog Hop - Win One of Mine!

2010-12-07T08:00:00.000-05:00

Welcome to my stop on the ABS ornament blog hop! Thank you for coming by to see the ornament I made.

This reminds me of a progressive supper club my friends and I started several years ago. Once a month, we would spend an evening trekking from house to house, stopping at a different house for a different dish on the menu. It was so much fun, but took an exhausting amount of time and energy to accomplish.

The ABS ornament blog hop is all the fun without all the work or the gas! All you need is a finger to click on the links of the participants, and you'll be transported to a holiday Winter wonderland!

Here is my contribution to the hop, a sweet little Victorian miss in her fur-trimmed aqua cape holding a red rose wreath, one of the ornaments in my 2010 Holiday collection. All the ornaments in the collection have a Victorian theme and were all created by me using digital images transferred to polymer clay. They are all "framed" in antique brass clay or burnished gold clay and trimmed with Swarovski crystal. To see more, scroll down the page or visit my flickr photostream.

Leave a comment at the end of this post and you could win this Sweet Little Victorian Miss ornament! No purchase is necessary, just leave a comment and on December 10, I'll draw a winner at random and send you an ornament in time for you to enjoy it on your tree this Christmas.

Thanks so much, and Happy Holidays!

Here is a list of all the participants. So, hop aboard the Ornament Express and let's go see what wonderful creations await us!

Art Bead Scene
Creative Impressions in Clay
Diva Designs - You are here!
Elysian Studios
Fab Fibers
For the Love of Beads
Humblebeads
Island Girl's Insights
Jangles
Jeannie's Blog
Lampwork Diva/Cindy Gimbrone
Mary Harding
Michelle Mach
Spirit Rattles
Wondrous Strange Designs

A Gothic Arch Garden Nymph... And A New Friend

2010-12-05T20:55:00.007-05:00

Two weeks ago, I saw this gorgeous photo of an ATC in CreativeSpirit1's flickr photostream, and my jaw hit the floor. I fell in love it, the beautiful, soft colors and the composition. I immediately typed in a comment asking if the image was available for sale. A few days went by, but no response from the mysterious CreativeSpirit1, and I thought, oh well... but I really, really wanted to create something with that image.

Imagine my surprise when Lynn, the artist behind behind CreativeSpirit1, who also has a delightful shop at Etsy called Koupie, emailed me a couple of days ago and said I could use the image if I would create a pendant for her. Would I ever! I was jumping up and down with excitement.

This image really, really speaks to me. It has that vintage Victorian look you know I LOVE, it is romantic, it has gorgeous graphics, and that arch shape... oh, my... I'm drooling again. Oh, and Lynn also has a fantastic blog where she chronicles her crafting adventures, including her awesome handmade Christmas decorations. Check out the trimming on those stockings!

Well, I printed out several sizes and got to work. I created two large Christmas ornaments for the little, Victorian-themed Christmas Tree I have in my bedroom, a medium sized pendant with some Pink Siam Swarovski blingies, and a small, unadorned pendant. I transferred the image for the small pendant onto translucent clay, which gives it a floating effect. I framed the large ornament and the medium pendant in my signature antique brass colored clay and also finished the backs of all the pieces with the brass clay that I embossed with two ivy pattened texture sheets. I also added a 12mm, AB finish crystal clear Swarovski Graphic bead and a 10mm Pink Siam Swarovski crystal with an AB finish.

Christmas Ornament

Medium Pendant

Small Pendant

Thanks again, Lynn, for allowing me to use this glorious image. I look forward to seeing more of your graphic designs!

Time To Vote! PCAGOE's December Challenge - Faux Mokume Gane

2010-12-02T17:17:00.003-05:00

Here are the entries in this month's PCAGOE challenge, "Faux Mokume Gane." Vote for your top 3 favorites beginning December 1 through December 7, 2010 and you could win a fabulous polymer prize created by one of our talented artist members!

Cast your vote at www.pcagoechallenge.blogspot.com

Thank you!

My Victorian Living Interview

2010-11-28T17:06:00.004-05:00

Last week, my new friend Tess featured one of my 2010 Christmas ornaments on her gorgeous blog, Victorian Living.

This week, Tess asked if I would like to be interviewed for the blog. Of course I would! I am beyond thrilled! Better get that rope and tie my foot firmly to the ground. The old noggin might get a bit bigger today than it was yesterday.

Please check out the interview and leave a comment for me if you like. If you are a fan of Victoriana, you will become a devoted follower of Tess's blog, too.

Thank you so much, Tess!

A New Blog Feature - On Creative Sprinkle No Less!

2010-11-23T15:07:00.003-05:00

My friend and fellow PCAGOE member Marie Young, a/k/a YoungCreative, very generously features a PCAGOE member every week on her delightful blog, Creative Sprinkle.

This week, Marie featured one of my 2010 Ornaments, the Vintage Victorian Angel and Cherub Ornament. Since this is one of my personal favorites out of the collection, I'm doubly pleased, and honored.

Thank you very much, Marie. You are a wonderful team member to promote your guild mates the way you do. I really appreciate the gesture! You have made my day!

Marie's blog is up for an award, too. It has been nominated for The Blog Guidebook's 2010 Top Blog Award. Please visit Marie's blog and vote for it if you can. I did! Congratulations for the honor, Marie, and good luck in the voting!

More Victorian Christmas Ornaments and Other New Image Transfer Pieces

2010-11-22T16:46:00.006-05:00

What a weekend! I came home last Thursday night and immediately started working. I have a customer who wanted some of the Faux Jade Asian Geisha cylinder beads, and a large order of ornaments for a local customer to do. I also wanted to get a few more things made for the shop before the big Black Friday Cyber Monday rush; and possibly whip up an entry for this month's ArtBeadScene challenge. The theme for November is Gustav Klimt's painting "Tree of Life, Stoclet Frieze, 1909."

I thought I had an entry down pat for the December PCAGOE challenge, the theme of which is "Mokume Gane," but learned just how controversial that term can be when applied to polymer clay. I realized my entry was not mokume gane, not even close, so I withdrew it and am scrambling to find something which fits. One thing I learned, DO NOT call it a polymer clay technique! It will now and forever after be lumped in with "Faux techniques" as far as I'm concerned. Yikes!

First things first: The Asian Geisha cylinder beads. This is a second set with a few different faces than the originals I created for the 2010 Progress and Possibilities competition at IPCA. They are a bit larger in diameter, too. I just love these images.

And here are a whole bunch of Christmas ornaments in the Vintage, Victorian Romance theme:

There are more at flickr if you would like to see, but as you can see, it is no wonder I fell asleep at my worktable Sunday night.

It's funny, but I haven't really done a lot of image transfer lately. I've been concentrating on faux work and trying to figure out what new direction I might wander off in, but they are so popular with my customers that I can't get too far away from them. It was fun to get back into transfers again. All total, I created 74 new image transfer pieces over the weekend. That is a record!

I also read on the ABS blog that woodland is going to be big again, so I made a few transfer pieces with vintage botanical/nature/birds/butterflies images. Not a hard chore for me, as I love them, too.

I'm Featured On Victorian Living Blog!

2010-11-21T16:09:00.005-05:00

I am hanging out on Cloud 9 again today. I am a huge fan of anything from the Victorian era, and I was thrilled to get an email at Etsy from Tess, who has a shop at Etsy called ScrapHappyLyreBird, telling me she is featuring one of my 2010 Ornaments on her gorgeous blog, Victorian Living!

I cannot thank you enough, Tess. I love your blog and am now a faithful follower. What an awesome idea, and so inspirational. I am honored you chose one of my ornaments to showcase this week, and I'll be watching and reading! Thanks again!

Holiday Collection - The First Necklaces Hot Off The Wire... Wrapping That Is!

2010-11-15T11:24:00.005-05:00

I am not the best wire wrapper. I don't have the patience for it, really, but since the theme of my 2010 Holiday Collection is Victorian Romance, which brings to mind lacy metals and dainty links, I started practicing. This is the first completed necklace for this year's collection.

The image is one of my most popular images, and comes from a collection of vintage equestrian advertising art. The series this one is from is called "Grand Champions", and the image is titled "Baroness." That's the name of the horse, not the lady, but the graphics are fabulous and the crimson reds and moss greens lend themselves so well to holiday jewelry. I even made matching earrings!

Wire wrapping is sort of like being on a ledge 50 stories up, at least for me. No rope! No stringing wire! Just me and my loops! Yikes! But, after practing for a week, I think I have at least got the hang of making decent wraps, still not sure my loops look all that great, but I had fun making this necklace and am hard at work on a few more featuring loops and wraps, beautiful crystal beads and antique brass findings. I love these sweet little end caps. Lately, if I don't frame a bead with end caps, it feels nekid.

And talk about nekid, I really went the minimalist route with my next holiday necklace. Long necklaces are so hot right now, and I decided to embellish one of my Vintage William Morris Tapestries Cylinder Beads with some antique brass and a little sparkly bling. I sort of deviated from the "Victorian Romance" theme of the holiday collection and dived into the "Art Nouveau" theme, but I love this one so much, I think I'm going to keep it for myself. I'll make more, promise!

And then I took a detour to the middle ages with some Medieval-influenced, Gunmetal antiqued, Pewter/Silver pieces. Something a bit unusual about these is the color. I never use clay straight from the package. I blend my own shades of antique gold, brass and copper colors, but these were created using Premo Silver mixed with a little black embossing powder. The backs are embossed and antiqued, too. I call these "Georgie's Dragons" after you know, St. George who slew the... oh dear, that's not very romantic, is it?

These pieces are part of my "Ancient Romance" series, but I think they fit well in the holiday collection, too; and just look at those sweet little wire wraps! These earrings are my Medieval Flourish earrings, which I accented with my favorite color of Swarovski crystal, the Black Diamond.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas In The Diva Studio

2010-11-11T12:21:00.005-05:00

I have been working like the Dickens, pun intended, to create my 2010 Holiday Jewelry and Ornament collection, after deciding the theme would be "Victorian Romance."

I probably have the largest collection of vintage Victorian Christmas and holiday images of anyone, even digital sellers. There is something about the vintage graphics and the color palettes that pull me in and immediately put me in the Christmas spirit.

Here are the first of the finalized design for Set 1 of the ornaments, predominantly featuring image transfers. Since I am known primarily for my image transfer work and my mica shift (no slicing or squishing!), I wanted to incorporate both techniques into the collection this year, so I "framed" each of these ornaments in a custom blended antique, burnished gold metallic clay on the sides and back; and added Swarovski and Jablonex crystals and lots of little antique brass components to achieve that Vintage Victorian look. I am very pleased with the results. This is one time when the execution exactly matched the plan. I think they are very romantic. My only problem is now I don't want to sell them, I want to keep them all for myself. Sigh...

Set 2 will be predominantly mica shift, and this is the prototype for the set. I had a few structural issues with such a large cutout, so I'm rethinking the size, but hope to have more of these to post by the weekend.

Set 3 will be the jewelry collection. I blended some antique silver and used the burnished gold for a few pieces, and I hope to post photos of those in the next day or two. All the pieces will incorporate the mica shift in silver or gold and image transfers.

I also have gotten back into making earrings. When I was making them 2-3 years ago, they didn't have any polymer components because I wasn't making small beads then. Well, I can't say that now, so I thought I would try a few in my signature antique copper metallic clay blend with various shades of turquoise. Now I need four hands, two to create Christmas ornaments and two to create earrings. Oh well, who needs sleep, right?

A 2nd Place Tie for Polymerista of the Month at Voila!

2010-11-08T12:40:00.004-05:00

I have been dreadfully remiss about blogging lately. Family health issues and guild business and life in general has derailed me lately, in more ways than one. My feng shui is out of whack, but I'm trying to do better.

My faux Tallow Jade with genuine Tallow Jade components was judged 2nd place in the Proficient category for the November Polymerista of the Month contest sponsored by Voila!. The amulet pendant and two large lantern shaped beads were created by me. I have had the two oval, genuine Tallow Jade pieces for several years, but have never been able to match them with anything, so I set out to see if I could recreate them in clay. I have to say, it really is a perfect match. I purchased the rounds in 10mm and 8mm sizes and added these chyrsanthemum sterling silver end caps and sterling silver spacer beads to complete the design.

I actually tied for 2nd with my friend Marcia Palmer, one of my heroes, so I am doubly thrilled today.

I was also very humbled by judge Christine Dumont's critique of the piece. Her critiques and the scoring framework really challenge me every month to do my best and beyond. She has helped me tremendously on my creative journey in clay. Christine, you are the best! You rock, girl! Thank you so much!

Congratulations to the Winners!

2010-11-08T12:32:00.004-05:00

The winners of PCAGOE's November "Seasonal" challenge have been announced!

Winners as voted by the public:

1st Place - Jackie Sieben of ThePleasantPheasant
2nd Place - Mary Ellen of BeeTreeByMe
3rd Place - Randee of RMKDesign
Winners as voted by PCAGOE members:

1st Place - Randee of RMKDesign
2nd Place - Susan of 11BoldStreet
3rd Place - Jill of JKollmann

Congratulations, everyone!

Our theme for December is "Mokume Gane." Oh boy, I can't wait! It is such a popular technique among polymer artists, and we are sure to see some really beautiful designs. Stay tuned!

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!

2010-10-11T14:19:00.003-04:00

My Zuni Corn Maiden Necklace is a winner! Yay! It tied for 1st place in the Member Category for the October PCAGOE challenge and also tied for 3rd place in the Voila September Polymerista of the Month contest!

Thanks to everyone who voted for me in the PCAGOE challenge, and thanks to Christine Dumont and the secret judges who critiqued me on Voila!

Mosaic for the PCAGOE October Challenge

2010-09-29T15:43:00.004-04:00

Here they are, all the entries in the PCAGOE October "Southwestern" Challenge! Aren't they stunning? I tell you what, that bar is getting mighty high! The members turned out a great one this time, and I am really proud of their efforts. This is going to be a fantastic challenge, so be sure you vote for your favorites!

You can see a larger photo at the challenge site at blogspot, and also at flickr.

Voting begins October 1 and runs through October 7, 2010.

Thanks!

October PCAGOE Challenge - Southwestern

2010-09-26T00:45:00.003-04:00

Our PCAGOE challenge theme for October is "Southwestern." I have to admit, it's one of my favorites of all the themes we've had so far. Turquoise is my favorite gemstone, and my favorite colors to design with are the tertiary colors which immediately come to mind when you think of a Southwestern color palette evident in Native American blankets, decor and architecture: Tomato red, butter yellow, mustard, pumpkin, aubergine, chocolate brown and suede tan, and of course, turquoise.

If I could live anywhere else other than South Carolina, I think I would choose Santa Fe. First, I'm fascinated by the history and culture of Santa Fe. Second, I'm fascinated by the artists employed by the U.S. government in the Works Progress Administration, the WPA, in the 1930s and 1940s; and third, I am fascinated by the explosion of color evident in the landscape and architecture of the American Southwest region.

I tried several designs this week in an effort to create something Southwestern which really reflects how I feel about it.

My first effort was this dark turquoise and chocolate brown piece. I created the chocolate brown bezels to resemble tooled leather and filled them with a faux turquoise mosaic cabochons. I haven't done wire wrapping in a long time. I'm too lazy and it takes too much time, but I created the copper jumprings and wire wrapped the alternating African turquoise fluted teardrop beads. I almost entered this piece. It's gotten quite a lot of positive feedback and I really like it, but I wanted a piece which incorporated more of the "Southwestern" colors I love, so I kept at it.

This was my second attempt, which I love, but it doesn't qualify because our entries must be at least 50% polymer clay. I didn't have enough of the clay batch left to make more than 4 of the smaller round blossom beads. The colors in this are the paler versions of my favorites from the Southwestern color palette. I think of this as the desert sunrise colors, instead of the bolder desert sunset colors.

One of the things I wanted to incorporate was a Zuni Corn Maiden focal bead. The first attempt wasn't very good, I was more pleased with the second, which is featured in this piece, along with faux bone capped beads intended to mimic those gorgeously colorful Navajo blankets. I needed to balance the focal bead, so I created the "corny" turquoise toggle clasp. Notice how the bar resembles an ear of corn?

Third time is the charm! This is it, my entry for the challenge. It includes all the colors I wanted to showcase, and my corn maiden 2nd attempt focal. Yay!

I also got several pendants out of the batch of "blanket" clay. LOVE the variagated stripes on these showcased with the copper. If I could get a realistic looking sterling silver clay blend, I would have used that, but everything I tried was too dark and too dull to pair well with the colors.

I think that will do it for me with the Southwestern color palette for awhile. Next month's challenge is "Seasonal." I am already planning a Winter White color palette. I may go into shock over the starkness.

Be sure to check out the other entries in this month's challenge in our flickr challenge photo pool; and don't forget to vote for your top three favorites beginning October 1, 2010 at www.pcagoechallenge.blogspot.com. You could be one of five lucky voters chosen at random to win a beautiful polymer clay prize created by one of our talented member artists!