Skull & Bones Polymer Clay Pendants

Its been a busy week again have gone back to school and we get used to the routine again.

So I've been adding some new items to my Etsy store and adding some final touches to some pieces that have been waiting to be finished.

My Skull & Bones Roller from Old Spitalfields Market

With Halloween not so far away I thought I'd show you some new pendants I made using a perspex skull & bones roller I purchased quite a while ago from a lovely stall at Old Spitalfields Market.

Skull Pendant with Swarovski Crystals made from polymer clay by Lottie Of London

Skull Pendant with Swarovski Crystals made from polymer clay by Lottie Of London

It took a while to get the pattern how I wanted and I coated the pendants with some Lumiere paints to give them a more old and rustic feel and to finish and make them really stand out I added some of those Swarovski hot crystals I've been playing with lately to the skulls eyes, the Topaz colour really make the pendant stand out while the jet black crystals are a more subtle finish.

Skull Pendant with Swarovski Crystals made from polymer clay by Lottie Of London

Have a great Monday Everyone and don't forget to check out more great crafter's over on Handmade Harbours Handmade Monday

Faux Rose Quartz Polymer Clay

Following on from my post on Faux Jade with polymer clay, I decided to have a go at Faux Rose Quartz.

I found this free tutorial online from Polymer Clay Central Faux Rose Quartz, a great tutorial but I altered it slightly here's what I done.

To start I took some translucent clay and added a very small amount of red, I mixed the colour well until evenly mixed.  I them decided much like the faux jade tutorial to take some cuts from my mix and added a few more specks of the red clay, I rolled this through but this time not a thoroughly allowing the mix to have some darker speck of pink showing through.

Mixing for a blend of colour - Faux Rose Quartz with Polymer Clay by Lottie Of London

I then mixed my iridescent glitter though my full mixed rose quartz again until it was evenly mixed through.

Adding iridescent flakes - Faux Rose Quartz with Polymer Clay by Lottie Of London

Then again much like my faux jade tutorial I decided to chopped the two mixes up using my blade and them randomly combined the two together to allow of a variation in colour.

Chopping up your colour mix - Faux Rose Quartz with Polymer Clay by Lottie Of London

This was then rolled until combined, but not overly as I didn't want to colours to blend together and there you go a faux rose quartz polymer clay mix.

Re-blending your colour mix - Faux Rose Quartz with Polymer Clay by Lottie Of London

Now I have to add at this point personally I don't like the finished result of using the iridescent flakes and would omit these next time.


 Here's what I create with my Faux Rose Quartz

Faux Rose Quartz Elephant Pendant made from Polymer Clay by Lottie Of London

Faux Rose Quartz Elephant Earrings made from Polymer Clay by Lottie Of London

Have a great Monday Everyone and don't forget to check out more great crafter's over on Handmade Harbours Handmade Monday

Polymer Clay Whats Cooking

This week I've had a sort through my clay canes some have been dispensed of for scrap clay, but I've used some others for my polymer clay ear studs and rings.

Old polymer clay canes resigned to the scrap pile

You may recognise a few already as my millefiori studs and rings are proving quite popular I've had to make more for my Etsy Shop.  Some are new though, well new styles from old canes, once cooked I'll know which ones will work well or not.

Polymer clay focal's for ear studs and rings

I've also been playing around with some more clay firstly I tried out some rose studs in some alternative colours a dark blue and green brushed with gold, but I'm not entirely happy with these.

I also got my urchin mould in the post this week all the way from Canada as you can see below I had a little practice with them, its a fantastic mould though as usual my alcohol inking technique needs some work I always find my colours come out a bit too intense.

Polymer clay roses and urchins

I'm now awaiting another delivery of crystals to play with some new alcohol inks and more white clay so I should be having a fun week experimenting.

This post is part of Handmade Monday, why not pop on over to Handmade Monday and check out more great crafter's over on Handmade Harbours Handmade Monday

Polymer Clay and Swarovski Crystals

Its time for me to start thinking ahead to creating new items for Autumn/Winter for me this is quite early as I'm always slow on the uptake, though I suspect many other crafter's started quite a while back.

I've been jotting down a few ideas as they pop into my head and one particular idea sprung to mind, for me Autumn but particularly Winter is always about the glitz and party's so with this in mind I decided to order some Swarovski Hot Fix Crystals to experiment with my polymer clay.

I ordered just two types of samples some hot fix Swarovski Crystal and some gold toned Swarovski Pearls with Autumn in mind from Beads Direct on Thursday and was delighted when they arrived Saturday morning and I couldn't wait to get started.

So heres my experiments with the Swarovski Crystals and Pearls, now despite them being hot fix crystals I pushed them into the clay in the desired pattern and cooked them as they were to see how well they attached, needless to say not strong enough for a wearable item of costume jewellery so I decided to very carefully super glue each crystal on which worked perfectly.

Swarovski Crystal & Pearl hot fix with polymer clay by Lottie Of London

Above are some simple earrings and rings using the gold toned pearls in more Autumn tones.

Swarovski Crystal & Pearl hot fix with polymer clay by Lottie Of London

And some samples for Winter especially the ring which is very glitzy.

I'm really pleased with how well they worked and I can't wait to order some more dazzling colours to experiment with, they've also sparked some new ideas for Summer next year.

This post is part of Handmade Monday, why not pop on over to Handmade Monday and check out more great crafter's over on Handmade Harbours Handmade Monday

Polymer Clay Mokume Game

In a early post last year I blogged about Mokume Gane with Polymer Clay, well this post is a slightly different variation on the technique.

There is a great YouTube video by Julie Picarello where she shows you how to make some gorgeous pieces and I highly recommend you take a look.

Here is my first attempt using this technique.

Colour selection for polymer clay Mokume Gane stack

 I selected my colours for the technique and run them through my pasta machine two at a time to get the desired length, as you can see I combined each darker colour with a lighter colour.

Light on dark polymer clay strips

Polymer clay stack for Mokume Gane

 I them combined the four colours again using the pasta machine and cut my long slices to achieve a stack following the dark/light colour combination.

The stack has been indented with a pattern

Now this is where the technique differs slightly previously my indenting on the stack was more random this time I went for a more structured pattern on the clay.

Mokume Gane slices taken from my polymer clay stack

Also differing from the last technique when it came to slicing my I clay previously shaved off random slices that where applied to a backing sheet of clay.  This time I cut deeper which left me with four thicker slices of pattered clay to work with and create some pendants from.

Here are my cut pendant shapes ready to be cooked and crafted into some lovely jewellery pieces.

My polymer clay Mokume Gane pendant pieces ready for cooking

This post is part of Handmade Monday, why not pop on over to Handmade Monday and check out more great crafter's over on Handmade Harbours Handmade Monday

Polymer Clay Ribbon Necklace Comission

I missed last weeks Handmade Monday as I was busy working on a commission.

It was a replica of my turquoise and orange ribbon necklace made last year, I really like the colours on this necklace as they are so vibrant and the kaleidoscope cane used is one of my favourites and reminds me that I really need to make more of these canes if different styles, a blog post for the future.

Turquoise & Orange Ribbon Necklace handmade from polymer clay by Lottie Of London

I also took the opportunity to finish off my Turquoise Rose Ribbon Necklace that has been waiting for completion for a while.

Turquoise Rose Ribbon Necklace handmade from polymer clay by Lottie Of London

Turquoise Rose Ribbon Necklace handmade from polymer clay by Lottie Of London

Well that's all my makes for this week, why not pop on over to Handmade Monday and check out more great crafter's over on Handmade Harbours Handmade Monday

Sea Urchin & Seashell Summer Beads & Jewellery

As we are enjoying our moment of sun over here in the UK, I haven't been doing much this weekend apart from trying to tan my legs, unfortunately without much success.

My Etsy shop has been doing very well since the beginning of July which has prompted me to get my clay out and make a couple of new pieces for the summer.

One of my favourite peices I made last year was my urchin themed necklaces, but this time I've decided to go a little bolder with the colour scheme.

 

Sea urchin beaded necklace handmade from polymer clay by Lottie Of London

As you can see from one of last years pieces, I kept to quite natural tones for my colour palette with white, mint green and a soft beige.

Urchin colour palette from Design Seeds

This time I've decided to go a little bolder with the colour theme.  I've used a palette created by Design Seeds, its a fabulous website offering a vast collection of beautiful colour palettes created from themes, nature and seasons and is definitely worth a look and its perfect for colour inspirations.




So here's my seashell cane using an assortment of the colours mixed and combined a create a cane that will provide the main theme for my beads.

Polymer clay seashell cane by Lottie Of London

Unfortunately I didn't quite mix up enough of the colours for the palette and so I will only be able to create a few pieces, but here's a selection of the beads made with plans to create a chunky urchin necklace, beaded thong necklace and bracelet.  As mentioned due the enjoying the weather the necklaces have yet to be put together.

Seahell & urchin themed beads by Lottie Of London

As I also recently started a collection of polymer clay rings and studs I decided to create some seashell themes for a summer collection.

Seashell ring and stud beads by Lottie Of London

I predict not much claying this week will be done, its quite diffucult claying in this heat as the clay can become quite soft and sticky if over worked, so I guess I'll have a little more time to tan my pasty legs.

This post is part of Handmade Monday don't forget to check out more great crafter's over on Handmade Harbours Handmade Monday

Beaded Necklaces and Birthday Celebrations

Its been a busy week just gone as we celebrated my husbands birthday mid week and had a fantastic BBQ hosted by our wonderful friends, thank you Ciara of  My Fussy Eater for hosting a brilliant party and to our aunt Marisa for the brilliant birthday cake.

So not much crafting has been going on this end though I did get to finish off two seed bead necklaces I had previously started and their perfect for summer, here's a look.

A seed bead multi strand necklace in turquoise & orange by Lottie Of London

A black, white & red seed bead plaited necklace by Lottie Of London

I have so many beads left over from my stash I'm trying to make an effort to use them.  So for now its back to work, have a great week everyone.

 This post is part of Handmade Monday don't forget to check out more great crafter's over on Handmade Harbours Handmade Monday

Polymer Clay Rings & Stud Earrings

Along with last weeks scribble necklaces I made last week, I had the chance to test out an idea that's been toying in my mind for a while, creating polymer clay rings and earring studs.

So once I purchased some ring bases and ear stud components I had a play around with some sizes to see what would work.

Polymer Clay Millefiori Rings by Lottie Of London

I decided on two sizes for the rings a small 20mm size and a larger 25mm focal decoration for the bead.  I choose to keep it simple to start and used my rose canes to decorate and shape the focal bead

Polymer Clay Millefiori Ring Sizes 20mm & 25mm by Lottie Of London

Polymer Clay Rings Klimt Design by Lottie Of London

I also had to play about with the earring stud size too and decided on a 18mm focal bead.  I had to test the fixings for both the rngs and the studs but I am delighted with the results for both.
 

Polymer Clay Millefiori Stud Earrings handmade by Lottie Of London

 I can't wait to try out some more designs and it will be a great use for all those canes I have stashed away.

My stash of polymer clay canes

A quick reminder my giveaway will be ending on Wednesday this week so if you haven't enter please do, pop on over to my GIVEAWAY BLOG POST to enter and be in which a chance of winning a pair of my Faux Jade Elephant Earrings

This post is part of Handmade Monday don't forget to check out more great crafter's over on Handmade Harbours Handmade Monday

Polymer Clay Scribble Necklaces

Well my brand new clay extruder finally arrived and I have to say it was a joy to use, it wasn't until I received the new one that I realised my old one was on the way out for quite a while given the amount of blisters I kept getting trying to use it, still I now know for the future.

My clay extruder gun with an assortment of shapes to extrude

So finally I was able to get around and finish making my new Scribble Necklaces, this time in some softer paler colours for Summer.

Pink Toned Scribble Necklace handmade from Polymer Clay

Mint Green Toned Scribble Necklace handmade from Polymer Clay

Also my giveaway started this week so pop on over to my GIVEAWAY BLOG POST to enter and be in which a chance of winning a pair of my Faux Jade Elephant Earrings

This post is part of Handmade Monday don't forget to check out more great crafter's over on Handmade Harbours Handmade Monday

Polymer Clay Playing with Ideas

This week I have finally picked up the clay again, but was abruptly halted when my clay extruder gun decided to die on me! As I was mid flow in my making I had to promptly order another and am now eagerly awaiting its arrival.

Preparing my clay colours for extruding

However it did'nt stop my flow and Tuesday I was working on some new ideas that popped into my head, I usually have to make a note of them otherwise they will be lost in the mess that is my brain.

My Idea Book for all my scribbles

Here are some prototypes of some pieces I am working on I needed to create some rough versions to see how they would work once put together.

Prototypes for some new Brooch ideas

I also got round to creating some earrings with those faux jade elephants I made in my blog post Polymer Clay Faux Jade.

Giveaway Faux Jade Polymer Clay Elephant Earrings

I've teamed them with some green aventurine gemstone beads and kept them simple. 

I have a few pairs so this week I will be having a giveaway for the chance to win a pair of these adorable earrings so don't forget to check back soon.

UPDATE The Giveaway is now running pop on over to my GIVEAWAY POST to take part

This post is part of Handmade Monday don't forget to check out more great crafter's over on Handmade Harbours Handmade Monday

CraftArtEdu Review for Polymer Clay Tutorials Part 1

Following on from my mini post From the Craft Book to the PDF - Online Polymer Clay Tutorials this weekend, here's a review of a tutorial class I have tried with CraftArtEdu.com

I've had my eye on CraftArtEdu's polymer clay tutorials for a while but I've always found their higher prices slightly off putting, are they really value for money?

My initial thoughts had always been that for the price of the one online tutorial I could by a book full of tutorials, so where is the incentive to buy?  Well it would seem that quite a few of the artists that had initally published books are now have tutorials available on CraftArtEdu, so if like me you have a favourite artist or technique that you want to learn this is now the place to go.

A few weeks back they offered a free promotional download via email for the polymer clay tutorial Have a Heart by Donna Kato, with Donna being one of my favourite polymer clay artists it was an opportunity not to be missed.

So what do you get with a CraftArtEdu tutorial? Well initially when the website first started purchased classes where only available to view for a limited period of time, thankfully this has now changed and you are able to view the video classes an unlimited amount of times.  Classes will consist of a tutorial video and material list and its worth noting that some classes will also consist you will also get a PDF file of your class, though this can vary with each class, so be sure to check.

Have a Heart by Donna Kato Part 1 

Have a Heart Donna Kato's polymer Clay CraftArtEdu Class

Upon purchase the email link for my class was sent quickly, which is perfect for all the crafter's out there, after all we are an impatient lot when it comes to wanting to learn new things.

This class was spilt in to 3 parts, an introduction which is usually free and a teaser to tempt you into purchasing the class and then 2 more sections Part 1 was for the assembly of the cane that will be used in Part 2 creating your jewellery piece. For this review I'll be focusing on part 1 of the cane assembly.

Now I thought that the class video would actually be them showing you how its done, as it done, pretty much like many tutorials on YouTube, but its not, its a video class of images showing you each part for which the tutor talks over explaining what to do and also includes written directions to.  How is this any different to a book tutorial? well the video class contains a lot more pictures than a book with more detail for the techniques used, for this particular tutorials cane construction it was great, I could move the player back and forth through sections I didn't understand to get it right and Donna's instructions where very clear to work with.  I actually watched the video first and then got all my materials together to go through the class again, I could stop and rewind as necessary and the class moved at a good working pace.

My polymer clay cane construction for Donna Katos Have a Heart class on CraftArtEdu.com

A plus for this method of tutorial was getting tips from the tutor on techniques to improve my work, which is invaluable, just like being in a real class with the tutor which is what CraftArtEdu is trying to do, make a online tutorial class for everyone to be able to access and not replace tutorial books.


Despite my love for book tutorials I was pleasantly surprised with the class I really enjoyed it and I'm delighted with my completed cane for part 1 and can't wait to grab some time to move onto part 2.

My completed cane for Donna Kato's Have a Heart class waiting for Part 2

Would I buy again and pay the higher price? yes I would, I think like most crafter's if there's a technique or particular item you want to learn to make you will ultimately pay any price to learn it and CraftArtEdu classes are a very enjoyable way to do it.

Did you miss my post on digital tutorials here From the Craft Book to the PDF - Online Polymer Clay Tutorials.

Update 22nd April 2013
You can now find Part 2 here  CraftArtEdu Review The Finished Results Part Two
This post is part of Handmade Monday don't forget to check out more great crafter's over on Handmade Harbours Handmade Monday

Weekend Catch Up

I've been MIA again so its a catch up from me this week as I've been a busy bunny and life is taking over.

We've been doing more decorating on the flat, this time we tackled the kids room, I'm glad to say its now all painted and almost complete apart from some finishing touches, I need to gloss some bits here and there but I really don't enjoy glossing.

Preparing the bedroom for painting

I'm  also about to embark on the hard grind of my marathon training next week with my long runs kicking in, I have to admit as it gets closer its taking over much of my life and focus, with stretches, strength and training runs I'm not getting in as much claying as I'd like, especially with Spring around the corner somewhere.

Its niggling at me that I should be making/crafting something but I'm just not finding the time.

So what do you all do when life takes over and how do you find or make the time for the fun crafty things in your life esp if you are trying to make a go of it as a business?

Marathon training bring on the grind

img from http://webwarezwatches.wordpress.com/tag/funny-marathon-signs/


I did manage to make one thing this week, this little Alice in Wonderland polymer clay charm.

Alice in Wonderland Polymer Clay Charm handmade by Lottie Of London

Don't forget as part of a UK Etsy promotion I'm offering free p&p throughout March simply enter the coupon code FREEMARCH13 to qualify visit my Etsy store Lottie Of London Bespoke Jewellery.

Have a great Monday Everyone and don't forget to check out more great crafter's over on Handmade Harbours Handmade Monday