New Year, New Stuff

I sure hope everyone has had a happy and blessed Christmas,Hannukah,Holiday and New Year. And I wish for all of us a safe,joyfilled and prosperous 2009.
I can't believe that it has been a month since I have posted. That's really terrible. But I must say, December and the entire season of Advent was very different for me this year than previous years, and it was probably best that I stayed quiet for awhile.
But I have been busy! I came up with a new polymer clay technique. I took some Ecru and Pearl Premo clay and fully mixed them. Then I added permanent inks directly from the stamp pad in dark green, brown, some rust and a couple other colors, then remixed the clay to incorporate the inks, but not fully mix them in. The result was a kind of stone-like marble effect. I shaped the clay into flat, round lentil shapes, baked to cure them, then sanded with wet/dry sandpaper in 400, 600 and 800 grit (I really need to get 1000 grit and higher!). Then I buffed them to a nice matte sheen with my Dremel and buffing wheel. These little buffers come with their own mandrel so you don't need to screw it on. You can find them here .
One of the necklaces that I made using one of my new polymer clay stones is pictured at the beginning of today's post. Here's another one:

I've also been busy making jewelry with resin beads, beautiful lamp work and glass beads. Here are some of my most recent:




To see more visit my Etsy store
or my new Artfire studio, yes, on Artfire they are called studios, not shops or stores. I will write a little about Artfire on my next post. I just started selling there in the middle of December. Actually, I haven't sold anything there yet, but I'm getting the word out.
Also, I really need to tell you about some wire techniques I have learned. The second to last picture shows it. It is called Ancient Egyptian Spiral and it is so cool. Once you get the hang of it it is not too bad, but it does take a while to complete. I made this one using copper wire and a lovely lamp work bead from SFD Lampwork Design. They do really beautiful work, please check them out. Have a Happy New Year! Until next time, and I promise not to wait a month!