100 Grams of Coppr Clay....

...And all I have to show for it is a small wing charm, and a toggle clasp, well unless you count the first 10 "I'm-not-sure-what-I-did-wrong-and-they-all-ended-up-in-the-trash" attempts!  Is it cocky that I'm happy with that?  The Mr. believed I'd only wasted map gas and approximately $20 of clay...meanwhile, I'm over the moon with my accomplishment!

Maybe if said spouse hadn't of stood over my shoulder continually asking "are you sure you're doing this right?  Want me to do it?  This isn't going to work!  Here, give me the torch!"  I might have gave in and agreed with him, but see, I'm the kind of girl that when you say I can't...you can bet the farm I will...just as soon as I waste $20 worth of clay!!! LOL!

Granted, I'm well aware that working with metal clay long term will probably require a kiln, but watch out world...I'm a girl with a torch at the moment!

So finally, after I got a piece to sinter, and it didn't break in two, my smug little self handed it over to "my better half" and walked inside.  Where he was hot on my tail with "It doesn't even look like copper...it's dull!  Who wants to use that?"  I tried to explain it was oxidation but he thought I'd been beat...sometimes he doesn't know me at all!

I head to the kitchen to pickle my two treasures, and while he fixes himself lunch I hear a "that's more trouble than it's worth baby!"  I stick to my guns, and get to burnishing. 

It IS A LOT of work!!!  I'm thinking a tumbler would make things easier...

I gave my accomplishments a dip in liver of sulfur, and a quick polish.  Happy with the results, I went in search of dear sweet husband.  He was floored at how they turned out.  After all, I am just a wee thing, who couldn't possibly accomplish something so "manly"...that included fire...all by my lonesome!  Wanna know what he said?  "Hmmm...maybe WE should think about saving for a kiln, so you won't have to spend so long holding the torch!"  I LOVE HIM!!

I know my technique and process need TONS of work and refinement, but I'm a happy girl at just a teeny accomplishment...and now I need more clay!!

And I won't even show them to you...as I'm thinking of using them in my Bead Soup creations!!

Happy Day

What an awesome day!  

- Metal clay came in the mail...just waiting on the rest of supplies to get here before I "give it a whack!"

-  I kept our grocery bill for the week under $125!!  Did the happy dance all the way out of Hell-Mart!!  Ever tried feeding 6 (4 of which are growing, always hungry kids) on less than $150 a week?

- My darling little boy (almost 13), who has resisted getting his hair cut for almost a year, hence needing pretty barrettes, jumped in the van after school and asked me to cut his hair...how much you wanna bet there is a girl involved?  Buzz cut achieved!!

-  My 5th grade science project of the ocean floor, has been sculpted...let's just hope it dries so we can paint it before Friday morning!!

-  Our oldest deemed "it's time I start paying my own cell phone bill!" (Must have been abducted by aliens last night)...and being the awesome mother that I am, after I came to, I helped her change the credit card info online.

- It's Tuesday and my favorite show "Ink Masters" is on...I'm a sucker for tattoos!!

-  And...what's better than being married to the sweetest man ever?  Being married to the sweetest man ever, who is a plumber and brought home GOBS of thick gauge (10 - 14) copper wire...all for me!!!!

All is right in my little world tonight!

Happy Saturday

Anticipation!!  Can't wait for all my new goodies to get here!  Until then, here are just a few beads I listed on Etsy yesterday...

Faux brass/bronze hollow lentil 4 bead set - tree of life, sand dollar, flowering vine and cherry blossom

Faux ceramic rustic honey bee bead

Hope everyone has an awesome weekend! I'm going to try and re-organize the studio to make room for new supplies!

Evolution

I'm always in the mind set of evolving, with art.  At times, it gets the best of me.  Painting was a complete disaster...think along the lines of obscure stick people!  Drawing?  Well that's just as sad, believe me!  And forget about me sculpting anything...there are better results from preschoolers!  I've tried my hand at MANY other expressions of art, and it seems that I always come back to polymer clay.

Unfortunately, polymer clay gets a "bad rap" among the general population.  In my experience most (non artisans) equate it to "cheap plastic" that's molded, mass produced, or a child's art medium comparable to Play Doh.  During art/craft shows, I only have a few moments to explain the logistics of what polymer is and what it isn't....extremely hard to do to someone who has no experience with it...believe me!  Hence, the reason, that I always have just as many pieces for sale that DON'T contain any polymer clay in their creation.

The Mr. and I always like to play a discreet game of "What will they pick up first"...are they "clay people" or "non clay people".  Most of the time, I can spot them...they "get" it.  Don't judge us :) ...shows take so much prep, planning and overall stress that we need little diversions or we'd kill each other!  What you see in our booth is months of planning, mock set ups, building of displays, sewing table coverings, and spending MANY hours in our tiny studio together creating.

Our 2011 Booths:

Now, as much as I'd love to try my hand at lampwork, or even pottery, the start up costs intimidate the hell out of me!  Anyone that has teenage children (x4 here) knows that extra funds for such "hobbies" just don't exist.  I have racked my brain on how to mesh my love for polymer clay with another medium.

PMC, or precious metal clay seemed like the best option.  Not only is the consistency somewhat similar, but I have most of the needed/desired tools already on hand here in the studio.  My dear sweet husband bought a torch the other day (talk about a romantic Valentine's gift), so that I could get the feel of working with it without the expense of purchasing a kiln off the bat!  I've ordered a sampling of clay, and I can't wait to dig in when it arrives!!

Just a few excellent examples of PMC art:

Wax seal PMC pendant from New Hope Beading

Bronze Copper Silver PMC ring from Deb Munroe Studio

Silk Ribbon Wrap Bracelet from KLM Designs

And of course I have to include my BSBP partner's creation:

Love Glass Necklace by Jennifer Cameron available at Glass Addictions/Jen Cameron Designs

So, come back in a week or two...maybe I'll have a few pieces completed, and I'm sure many stories to share!

Bead Soup Arrival

As it's well known, I'm one of the 200 participating in Lori Anderson's 5th Bead Soup Blog Hop, and my partner is Jennifer Cameron of Glass Addictions!!!!

Ok, I won't fill this post with "fluff", and I'll get down to the good stuff...the beads!!!!

Do you know how hard it is to refrain from opening the goodies long enough to get a decent picture??  Complete torture!!

And the sweet card Jennifer enclosed...cute color combination to boot!

A Green Girl Studios pewter starfish toggle clasp... LOVE!!

The focal and accent beads...more utter and complete LOVE!!!  I seriously have had to hide them from The Mr...as he's more than ready to sneak one to use on his bracelets...and believe me, that's a MAJOR compliment!! 

Jennifer's focal and gorgeous blue kyanite...probably one of my favorite stones to work with!!

The supporting cast:  Amethyst, blue kyanite, labradorite, czech, and cultured pearls!!

A few "group" shots...

Amazing, right?  I can't wait to dig in!!

Come on back March 3rd, to see my creation...and blog hop to over 200 more pieces of eye candy!!!

If you want to check out everyone's soup before the reveal...here is the list of participants:

1.  Adlinah Kamsir (Kingdom of Bahrain) and Hajer Waheed (Singapore)

2. Adrienn Lukacs (Hungary) and Agata Grygiel (Poland)

3.  Agi Kiss (Hungary) and Carolien Muller-Genger (the Netherlands)

4.  Agnes Asztalos (Hungary) and B.R. Kuhlman

5.  Alesha Conklin and Becki Mendivil

6.  Alice Peterson and Carol Dillman

7.  Alicia Marinache (Canada) and Dita Basu

8.  Amanda Dittloff and Brandy Thomason McNair

9.  Amanda Tibbetts and Andrea Trank

10.  Amy Freeland and Kay Mallery

11.  Andra Weber and Christine Murrow

12.  Ann Sherwood and Diane Welte

13.  Barbara Bechtel and Kerry Bogert

14.  Barbara Lewis and Cat Pruitt

15.  Bonnie Coursolle (Canada) and Fay Wolfenden (Canada)

16.  Carmel McGinley (Australia) and Tracy Stillman (Australia)

17.  Cassie Donlen and Deryn Mentock

18.  Cathie Carroll and Janel Dudley

19.  Cece Cormier and Morwyn Mullins

20.  Charlene Jacka and Christina Hickman

21.  Cheryl Brown (Canada) and Diana Ptaszynski

22.  Christina Stofmeel (the Netherlands) and Eva Kovacs (Hungary)

23.  Christine Damm and Deb Brooks

24.  Cilla Watkins (Canada) and Elaine Robitaille (Canada)

25.  Sabrina Straub (Switzerland) and Kathy Combs

26.  Cindy Cima Edwards and Eleanor Burian-Mohr

27.  Cory Celaya and Rhea Freitieg

28.  Courtney Breul and Dana Hickey

29.  Cynthia Abner and Jennifer Boreck

30.  Cynthia Tucker and Jean Peter

31.  Debbie Goering and Heidi Post

32.  Dee Elgie (UK) and Joanne Lockwood (UK)

33.  Dian Hierschel (Germany) and Eniko Fabian (Austria)

34.  Diane Cook and Lyn Foley

35.  Donna Bohler and Lisa Lodge

36.  Donna Millard and Kiersten Giles

37.  Doris Stumpf (Germany) and Eszter Czibulyas (Hungary)

38.  Elisabeth Auld and Eva Sherman

39.  Elke Leonhardt-Rath (Germany) and Marjolein Trewavas (UK)

40.  Ema Kilroy and Laurie Keefe-Cecere

41.  Erika Nooteboom (the Netherlands) and Giorgia Rossini (Italy)

42.  Erin Grant and Jean Wells

43.  Evelyn Duberry and Gaea Cannaday

44.  Genea Crivello-Knable and Heather Powers

45.  Ginger Bishop (military, Okinawa) and Martina Nagele (Germany)

46.  Heidi Kingman and Lori Greenberg

47.  Helen Kemp and Lisa Wangeman

48.  Helene Goldberg (Australia) and Karen Vincent

49.  Jamie Hogsett and Jeannie Dukic

50.  Jeanette Ryan and Jelveh Jaferian

51.  Jennifer Cameron and Tania Spivey

52.  Jennifer Justman and Kari Carrigan

53.  Jennifer Tough and Lorelei Eurto

54.  Joanna Matuszczyk (Poland) and Julianna Kis (Hungary)

55.  Joanne Tinley (UK) and Michaela Pabeschitz (Austria)

56.  Julie Anne Leggett and Kelley Fogle

57.  Karen Hess and Linda Landig

58.  Karyn Bonfiglio and Kathleen Lange Klik

59.  Kashmira Patel and Kat White

60.  Kat Barron Miller and Kelly Morgan

61.  Kathy Lindemer and Rose Binoya

62.  Krafty Max and Sandra Miller

63.  Kristen Latimer and Pam Ferrari

64.  Kristie Roeder and Lea Avroch

65.  Kristina Johansson (Sweden) and Penny Neville (Canada)

66.  Krisztina Erlaki-Toth (Hungary) and Nicole Keller (Germany)

67.  Lara Lutrick and Lisa Suver

68.  Laura DeMoya and Lisa Hanna

69.  Libby Leuchtman and Melanie Brooks

70.  Linda Koch and Rosemarie Cowit

71.  Lisa Chapman and Menka Gupta

 72.  Lisa Liddy and Marion Simmons

73.  Lori Anderson and Marcie Abney

74.  Lori Bowring-Michaud and Mary Govaars

75.  Lori Dorrington and Maria Rosa Sharrow

76.  Lori Finney (Canada) and Marie-Noel Voyer-Cramp (Canada)

77.  Lynn Bennett and Mandi Ainsworth

78.  Marta Kaczerowska (Poland) and Milla Starchik (Canada)

79.  Mary Harding and Shannon LeVart

80.  Mary Jane Dodd and Stacey Curry

81.  Melinda Orr and Molly Alexander

82.  Melissa Meman and Michelle Escano-Caballaro

83.  Michelle Jensen (Canada) and Sandra Young (Canada)

84.  Nan Emmett and Nicole Valentine-Rimmer (Canada)

85.  Nancy Boylan and Suzette Bentley

86.  Natasha Lutes and Patti Vanderbloemen

87.  Pam Hurst and Rebekah Payne

88.  Patty Miller and Sara Rhoades

89.  Rebecca Anderson (UK) and Lori Anderson

90.  Rebecca Sirevaag and Sharon Driscoll

91.  Rochelle Brisson and Shannon Chomanczuk

92.  Rosa Maria Cuevas (Mexico) and Tejae Floyde

93.  Sabine Dittrich (Germany) and Sally Russick

94.  Sandi Volpe and Sarah/Saturday Sequins

95.  Shanti Johnson and Tracy Mok (Canada)

96.  Skylar Brez and Theresa Buchle

97.  Sonya Stille and Traci Zeller (Canada)

98.  Stefanie Teufel (Germany) and Tania Hagen (New Zealand)

99.  Stephanie LaRosa and Vonna Maslanka

100.  Terri Wlaschin and Wendy Blum

(List courtesy of Lori Anderson at Prettythingsblog.com)

Mornings With Moobie Grace

Let me set the stage:  I was blissfully enjoying snooze-land this morning, when I was suddenly jolted awake by the back door slamming...at 4:47 a.m.!!

Mr. :  (Walking back into our bedroom, already showered/dressed/raring to go)
           - "Why are you up??"

Me :  -  "Good question!  It might have a little something to do with the housequake you just
             caused!"

Mr. :  (Trying to look oh so innocent, as if even in a sleepy stupor I would believe this was the
          dog's doing)                                                            
          -  "You going to stay up?  You want me to start the coffee?  You could get a jump
               start on the day!"

Me :  (Becoming a little miffed at the sweetness/innocence/chirpiness Mr. is trying to convey)
          -  "@#$!*&%!@!  Are you kidding me?  What do people do vertically at this ungodly hour?"

Mr. :  -  "You can do whatever you want.  Enjoy the peace and quiet, be alone with your thoughts."

Me:  (Fluffing my pillow and finding a comfy spot)
         - "I WANT to go back to sleep, I was enjoying the peace and quiet before you caused a 6.7 on
         the Richter scale, and who has any thoughts at this time?!"

Mr. :  (Scratching his head)
           - "So, is that a yes or a no on the coffee?"

Me  :  *DEATH STARE*

Mr. :  (Shuffles off to work)

...Yet here I am...still awake.  Not enjoying the peace and quiet in the least!

Staying Inspired

While sitting at my work space this morning, I realized I just wasn't "feeling" anything I had to work with.  Ok, that's laughable with the insane amount of beads, metals, coins, clay, wire, stamps, molds, etc I have at my disposable...but sometimes looking and working with the same materials, day in and day out, the creativity seems to become stagnant, and every creation tends to look the same after awhile. Well, at least that's my excuse to search out and buy new beads!!!

After taking a very quick inventory, it dawned on me that while I create my own beads, and purchase lots of gemstone beads, and other components, I really have never ventured into working with other bead artisans' creations...darn do I live a sheltered life!

Mission in hand *insert Mission Impossible music sound bite here* I spent the day browsing at leisure.  Sweet baby Jesus!!!!  There's just TOO much talent out there for me to even make a dent in sampling everything !  I'm definitely going to have to pace myself.

So, here's what I picked up today:

From PajegoArtHouse:

All photos from Pajego Art House

My stash from Captured Moments:

All photographs from Captured Moments

Yes...I got a little greedy with the bracelet beads...I just couldn't decide!!

Then of course, I had to get coordinating supplies...enter the mass collection of Czech beads I purchased and then these...

Just some of my haul from  Dime Store Emporium

All photos from Dime Store Emporium

So...anything else I must check out???  I definitely don't want to leave anyone out!