Hello and Welcome to my Blog ~ I love art of all kinds. Two of my favorites are polymer clay and paper art. I have shops on Etsy that feature both of my passions. I also love writing my blog and finding artists that have a passion for their craft and feature them. I hope your day is filled with sunshine, laughter and loads of creativity.


Monday, April 18, 2011

Knitting, Quilting and Embroidery with Polymer Clay

Today I am proud to show you three fantastic polymer clay artists that have incorporated Knitting, Quilting and Embroidery into their wonderful creations.

Claire Wallis

She's been featured on Polymerclay Daily! : The Polymer Clay Daily archive reads like a who's who of polymer clay featuring some of the worlds most renowned polymer clay artists including her personal inspiration Melanie West, so she is thrilled to have been featured! : )

She's a self taught artist living near the south coast of England. She has a keen interest in art, ceramics and polymer clay and loves the sheer scope of possibility's both for color and form that working with polymer clay provides. She has been working with polymer clay for about a year and loves creating her own jewelry, especially bangles!

More of her work can be found either on her website or her deviant art page : originalbunny.deviantart.com/gallery/

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Tutorial knitted polymer clay (reverse stocking stitch)

step 1: extrude strands of the desired thickness in your chosen colour and cut lengths of about 2.5 cm with a craft knife or a tissue blade.

step 2: take one of the cut lengths and push the ends together to form a loop. repeat.
group the loops together as shown.

step 3: take a length of extruded clay and lay it across the group of loops as shown.

step 4: using the back of the blade deeply indent the clay making sure the indents are aligned with the centre of the loop.

step 5: I flatten the tails of the loops with a cocktail stick, this ensures each line of loops will lie reasonably flat. if you are making long lines you will need to do this bit at a time. Be careful you don't mark the 'stitches' with your fingers/nails as you roll the cocktail stick.

repeat steps 1 to 5

step 6: place one line of stitches overlapping the flattened tails of the loops.

Love2Knit

Love2Knit

A little something for valentines day : ) a 'knitted' heart shaped brooch. polymer clay. approx 2 by 3 inches.

You can use this effect on its own or experiment with knitted cables, plaits etc

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knitted cuff bracelet

More an experimental piece than anything else. I'm not entirely happy with it. I wanted to give the cuff a curved shape but it was hard to achieve without squashing and distorting the 'stitches'

I think next time it would be easier to create an armature and layer the stitching as I go rather than create a sheet to cover the armature with. I think this would reduce the distortion.

I kept the colour a light cream both the keep the emphasis on the texture of the bangle and to mimic the colour of undyed wool.

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Beth Seng


In 1995, Beth came in contact with a woman from Germany who had crafted a refrigerator magnet of a pot with the tiniest, most delicate flowers. Beth inquired as to what this medium was and this was her serendipitous introduction to polymer clay. She immediately purchased some clay and began making and selling earrings, necklaces, and figurines. One day, a woman asked if she could make "storyteller" earrings. A storyteller is a Native American doll that depicts an elder telling the children the legends and traditions of their people. This request and Beth's eventual completed design turned out to be "one very significant change in my art work"

Dresden Blue

Quilt Angel polymer clay

From hookedonclay

Dresden Blue Quilt Angel polymer clay
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This beautiful angel is made completely with polymer clay, excluding the needle and thread. The dresden blue quilt is formed by an intricate method called millefiori, using shapes of extruded clay which are set in a “log”, and cut. The hair on this angel is very dark hair with copper highlights. The angel stands nearly 4 inches high.


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Penni Jo Couch
Claylady 43

I am a wife, mother, grandmother and great grandmother. I am also a designer, teacher, sculptor and writer.

In 1981 I found a clay called Fimo at a miniature meeting and began to play with this wonderful material making doll ho
use scale miniatures like teddy bears, rocking horses, carousel horses, babies, dishes, food, candlesticks, what ever was needed or wanted for a doll house. The resulting interest in these tiny sculptures inspired me to open a studio in my home where, for the next 7 years, I was a stay at home mom, designing and sculpting one of a kind miniatures and a signature line called PenniBears for the miniature market.

After spending the n
ext 15 years as a commercial designer/sculptor for United Design Corporation in Noble, Oklahoma, I started my own design company and then teamed up with Miss Martha of Miss Martha Originals, working with her to start the subsidiary company, Sweetbrier Studio™, The main product of this company is rubber push molds for use with polymer or metal clay.

In February of 08 I retired from commercial designing and am now creating original designs in both Polyme
r Clay and sculpting for original molds to make lovely and fun Ceramics.

Creating beautiful things is a rich joy to me and sharing my knowledge with others is a blessing.
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Polymer Clay Faux Ribbon Embroidery Sampler

Polymer Clay Faux Ribbon Embroidery Sampler. Size: approx. 3 inches wide.

Note the split running stitch as it changes color from pink to ivory to blue. Made from a tiny slice of skinner blend.

I'll be teaching this class and other faux embroidery at Orlando Clay Fandango in May of 2011

You can see Penni Jo's beautiful creations at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pennijo/

Penni Jo also makes wonderful molds. Please visit her website at: http://www.bestflexiblemolds.com/

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~ Please read me a bedtime story ~

By Sandy Prenzi

Here is one of my newest creations. I had such fun making this little guy. You can visit him and see more of my creations in my Etsy Shop at: Sandy's Creations by mstp on Etsy

Sunday, April 17, 2011

PCETeam Treasury



POLYMER CLAY ENTHUSIASTS TEAM TREASURY


All of these creations that I picked for my Enchanted Forest Treasury have been created by the talents of the Polymer Clay Enthusiasts Team of Etsy of which I am a proud member. Click on each of the pictures and you will go directly to their shops. They are incredibly talented artists.

Enchanted Forest





Picked by Sandy's Creations in Clay


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~*~*~ THE PRINCESS SHOE ~*~*~
by Sandy Prenzi

I must tell you the story of this shoe, which is actually called a slipper in the days of old.

It wasn't that long ago that I was magically transported to the Castle of Princess Cinderella. Now as you know not much is known about Cinderella after she married the Prince, but I found out that she has a fondness for shoes. This is just one of the dozens that she has. She was kind enough to let me take pictures of some of her wonderful shoes. This in particular is one of her favorites, mostly because she adores the color blue. I will have more of her shoes to show you as time goes on. She hopes you like her beautiful shoes as much as I do.


A Shoe for a Princess

I had such a great time creating this shoe. It is of course created out of polymer clay, but then I decided to paint on some pearl inks to give it that magical look.







Saturday, April 2, 2011

Artistry of Sharon House and Kim Peters


I absolutely love this necklace and hope you love it as well. It was crafted by Sharon House from Victoria, Canada.



The Artist's Own Words:

I have been anxious to show you the beautiful polymer clay necklace I made at my claying retreat with Helen Briel and Eugenia Chan in Vancouver a couple of weeks ago. What a fun retreat it was. Both of these ladies were just absolutely wonderful... more patience with our group than I could ever muster up I am sure LOL. If you ever get the opportunity to have a workshop with either of them, I would highly recommend them. I am just tickled with the results...



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Sharon's photo of her whimsical steampunk style teapot...



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I came across Kim Peters shop on Etsy
and fou
nd it to be full of beautiful pieces
and her style very unique.

About The Artist ~ Kim Peters

When I was about eight or nine years old, I asked my parents for an easel and oil paints. I can't now remember why I made this request. None in my family is artistic and, in fact, wants to be. All I can guess is that I had some secret desire to be an artist, a dream that was perhaps fed by the occasional glimpse of all the g oodies in the elementary school's art closet. My parents did buy me the easel and paint, and I spent happy hours at it making colorful blobs. Sadly, I couldn't and still can't draw.

(but, I must say, she can create beautiful jewelry!)

Flower Necklace ~ Lavender Fuchsia Purple

by Kim Peters ~ Singing Cat Studio


Flower Necklace Lavender Fuschia Purple
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Flower Necklace Lavender Fuschia Purple Flower Necklace Lavender Fuschia Purple Flower Necklace Lavender Fuschia Purple Flower Necklace Lavender Fuschia Purple Flower Necklace Lavender Fuschia Purple


In the Artists own Words


This versatile necklace features one of my polymer clay flower pendants textured in a swirl pattern and colored in blue, rose, and lavender. A pewter flower button forms the center of the flower. The back of the pendant is also decorated with a lace pattern in black and blue. The pendant bail is sterling plate.

I urge you to visit Kim's shop where you can find so many more of her beautiful pieces.
Etsy Shop: http://www.etsy.com /shop/singingcatstudio


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Garden Angel ~ by Sandy Prenzi

Last of all, I thought I would share with you this figurine
that I just finished creating.