The Clay Machine

I bought a polymer clay rolling machine a few months ago with plans of using it for Christmas beads and pendants, but never got around to using it. I was hoping to go crazy with it for Valentine's Day but still haven't been able to find much time. Finally with a weekend off and an evening snow storm, I found myself with no where to go and a few hours on my hands.

I used the roller to make flat and evenly rolled sheets of clay for heart cut outs. I used a glittering red clay and a mix of white and glittering red to make a swirling pattern of pink, red, and white. I sandwiched pins from my polymer clay baking rack between red hearts and swirl hearts to make an opening to thread jelly cord through. They baked for half an hour and I had a nice stash of Valentine's Day beads.




I used the beads to make a reversible bracelet. It can be worn showing only red, only swirls, or any alternating pattern of your choice. The jelly cord stretches over your hands and the bracelet fits snug to your wrist. This one is best for smaller wrists, up to about 6 - 6.25 inches.

Reversible Polymer Clay Heart Bracelet

Fun Winter Jewelry

I know what you're thinking... Halloween's barely over and all the Christmas stuff comes out... My thinking is that with Thanksgiving seemingly so late this year (less than one month 'til Christmas after Thanksgiving Day) that it will sneak up on all of us!

I'm not posting too much holiday jewelry yet because of my upcoming jewelry party - I just plan on posting whats left. But this piece is too cute not to share. The Snowman Polymer Clay Necklace was made using a recycled Christmas ornament, and some handmade multi-Christmas colored polymer clay beads. I made these beads last month and finally found something that they go great with!



For other holiday-inspired jewelry in my shop, click here!

My Halloween items have been added! Check out my spooky decoupage spider web necklace, fun polymer clay items, and my classic agate gemstone beaded necklace. Prices range from $3.00 to $41.00. Click on any of the items below to hurry up and get in the Halloween spirit! Boo!

A Keeper's Jackpot

Meet Alicia Mae

It's time for the EtsyBlogger's featured artist of June. I enjoy doing our monthly features because I learn more about my Etsy acquaintances. I'm learning this month that Alicia Mae and I have similar interests... We've tried our hands in a variety of crafts (though I could never be a painter), our full time jobs in the scientific world, our love of nature.

She has over twenty years of crafting experience, always expander her crafty horizons. She has always loved painting. Woodburning is a craft that her mother taught her. Cross stitching was a hobby in her teenage years, and the summer camp activity of bracelet weaving brings back nostalgic memories. She even works with polymer clay, inspired by her aunt. After completing her PhD, she had some time to make a lot of beautiful things that can be found in her three Etsy shops.

Set of Three Polymer Clay Push Pins - Reduced Price!

Meet Alicia Mae, and shop fast! She has a moving sale going on, lots of good deals!!!

Tell me a little about yourself.
My day job is editing scientific manuscripts, which lets me work from home and bother our two cats. I live with my boyfriend and we are planning a move to Northern New Hampshire in the coming weeks.

I see you do a variety of crafts, but which is your favorite? Why?
Painting...anything painting. I love color and there's just something about starting with a blank surface and ending up with something new and special that makes me feel like I accomplished something.

Handpainted Round Polymer Clay Pendant

Where do you get your ideas and inspiration from?
Nature, others' art. I love to remember colors or textures I've seen and either replicate or integrate them into what I do.

5x7 Sepia Hue Soft Glow Sleeping Kitty Cat

Tell me about your favorite thing you've ever made.
The OOAK Woodburned and Handpainted Celtic Knot Heart Trinket Box. An absolute wonder that I ever completed it, LOL! The knotwork was so intricate and I didn't have a template for portions of it. It took many pencil marks before the woodburning was done and then the painting was so intricate. I had my little brush with only 5 hairs and constantly cleaning out the burnt lines with paint that went too far. But it came out gorgeous!


What do you do when you are not making crafts?
Writing about health topics, reading a number of topics (science, health, religion, philosophy)

Visit Alicia Mae at:
Links to her blog and Flickr: http://AliciaMae.com
And her three Etsy shops:
http://aliciamae.etsy.com
http://aliciamaeprints.etsy.com
http://randomsupplies.etsy.com

Designs By Nora

Meet Nora, from Handmade by Nora.

As a recent graduate with a B.A. in Art and a concentration in graphic design, she is currently looking for a place to start her career, and in the mean time is doing the Etsy thing. Here is my interview with the worlds up-and-coming graphic designer:

I see you sell a variety of things, what's your favorite thing to make?
I basically love making what I'm selling. I love making the polymer clay earrings because they are so cute and they are something I love to wear and give as presents to my family and friends. I also love making greeting cards, which I have been doing much longer than the polymer clay.

Magenta Flower Studs

Where do you get your inspiration?
I always look outside in nature when I'm seeking inspiration and if that's not possible I love to get it from music, movies and the internet.

What sparked your interest in graphic design and art?
When I graduated from high school. I went to a private Armenian school so there wasn't a lot of artistic freedom but I was always drawing in notebooks at home what I daydreamed that day in school. Thankfully, I have the best parents who supported me and my art so I was able to major in it in college.

Purple Heart Cards

What's your favorite thing that you've made?
I love painting. I believe it's great therapy! I did this painting in college of a really close up of the back of a flower. I gave it as a gift to my sister for her new apartment. I think that is my favorite thing I've made - the most challenging, but it came out great!

What do you do when you are not in school, working, or crafting?
I'm thinking of crafting or what to craft next. Playing with my doggy, taking him for a walk, etc. Reading a book, visiting other peoples blog and lurking on various forums *grins*.

You can check out Nora's shop at http://designbynora.etsy.com
And her blog and beautiful photography at http://www.norademirjian.blogspot.com

A Perfect Storm

Meet Stormy Designs! Stormy is a mother, young grandmother, former waitress, woodworker, and an outstanding artist. When she became an empty nester with some extra time on her hands, she got back into beading. Thanks to the difficulty finding beads she liked a helpful little push from a dear friend, she discovered her talent in making her own polymer clay beads and pendants. She has since expanded her creations to coasters and designer tins as well.


Art has always been in her life; her father was award winning professional photographer, her mother a painter. Even both sets of grandparents were artistic. Stormy successfully ran a country wood craft business earlier in her life and has done tole painting. Now she sticks to polymer clay and beading, and she particularly enjoys sculpting polymer clay into objects like flowers and dragons.


Stormy Designs is the name of her Etsy shop where she sells her creations. The name Stormy comes from a nickname a customer gave her while waitressing - she liked it and it stuck! All the pictures here are Stormy Designs originals and can purchased through the picture links. Be sure to check out her entire store though!

New Year's Etsyloutions

Eight Resolutions for 2008

1. Make more than I spend. Now that I have most of the supplies and tools that I need, hopefully 2008 will bring more profits.

2. Create my own website. I basically have my Etsy Shop to my liking within the boundaries that Etsy sets, however, I'd like to get my own domain name and host and create a website that I have the ability to set up more creatively. I would like to link it to my Etsy shop at first, and eventually sell off my own website as well. Of course this will mean getting a Computer Lingo/English Dictionary.

3. Master the bead loom. My sister gave me a beautiful wood bead loom. By master the bead loom I mean have the ability to thread it up in less than an hour and I would like to eventually like to work up to pattens of people and objects. For now I am working on some basic patterns. Very, very basic patterns.

4. Wireworks. Santa brought me a wire jig for Christmas, and I've since been playing around with some patterns,and trying to come up with patterns of my own. It would be great if I could make my own hook clasps. I also have a Wire Gizmo for creating wire spiral designs which i have yet to open. Of course there are my crocheted wire pieces I'd like to improve. I still have no idea how much wire I need to pre-cut for them and I typically come up too short. Instead of simple chain stitch pieces, I'd love to make more involved chokers and bracelets. Wire wrapped stones create a beautiful look, so I'd like to get more involved in that as well.

5. Make more polymer clay beads and pendants. The great thing about making polymer clay is that while it is time consuming, you can make so many beads in your own style cheaper than what you can buy them for. I see polymer clay beads in bead stores and craft shops and I figure a bead that sells for 60 cents probably used only 5-10 cents worth of raw materials. Of course time and effort are accounted for in the price, as well as the cost of the tools to make them. I could help accomplish Etsyloution #1 by making my own supplies and pendants.

6. Educate myself. This is a broad goal. I would love to pick up a random gemstone and know what it is. There is a rock and mineral store in Maine near where my family lives, and next time I'm in the area I really want to check it out. The problem with gemstones for me is that when I list them in my store, I don't always know what they are. By giving them their correct name would generate more traffic to my items in customer searches. I never guess at a name, so if I don't know I just describe it by the color of the stone, and sometimes post the picture and ask for help naming it. I also need to educate myself on using certain websites for marketing and promotion, such as Flickr, my blog, and of course my future website. It would be a shame to pay for a domain name and leave it as a blank page.

7. Project a month. My sister got me an awesome project a month beading calendar for Christmas. Even if I can't find the same exact beads, I want to do something as similar as I can every month. She also got me some subscriptions for some beading magazines for my birthday, and my mother-in-law, Diane, got me a few magazines for Christmas too!!!


8. Not letting my work consume my life. While running my jewelry shop requires dedication, time, and work to get business coming, I don't want it to take up all my free time when I could be enjoying other hobbies and my family.

Happy New Year!!!

Adventures With Polymer Clay: What I Learned from the Polymer Clay Experiment

Making polymer clay beads is like toasting marshmallows. In the picture on the right, see how nice and white the beads are? Like marshmallows, they are very white as you push the skewer through them. Upon toasting, however, they turn a golden brownish yellow in color. White polymer clay behaves the same way. Yes, I went in thinking I'd have nice white polymer clay beads. They came out looking like bone chips. Oh well, round one was a complete let down. The final product picture is too hideous to share. The metal rack in the picture is a tool I highly recommend. It comes with metal pins that serve the purpose of putting holes through the center of your beads, but it also keeps the beads from flattening during the baking process. I placed the rack on a cookie sheet for ease of putting the baking rack in and taking it out of the oven.

Round two: Sparkling red and green clay swirled together to make round and long tube beads, as well as a Christmas tree pendant. I used my clay plunger tube to make square and round shapes with the silvery gray clay. Turns out Christmas trees are a really good first timer's pendant to make. The mistakes end up looking like pine needles. I recommend investing in some bead rollers, because there was great variation in the sizes of the beads I made. I recently purchased a bead roller (AMACO Professional System, Set 1) . Don't let the picture on the box fool you, it only makes two sizes of oblong beads, 1/2" and 5/8". The picture implies about 4 different shapes of beads, but I guess that's what the other sets are for! Nonetheless, I can't wait to use my new toy. The plunger makes different shapes with your clay, and it is great for creating uniformly shaped beads or shapes to decorate pendants with, however, it requires a great deal of hand muscle power, which I lack.

The final product:

I used the tree polymer clay pendant and beads to create this braided green wire Christmas necklace. You can see the full item description and price in my Etsy shop here:

Polymer Clay Christmas Tree Necklace

Like all of my other holiday items, it's on sale, buy one get one half off!