Something To Share

One of the things I like to do on a daily basis (time allowing) is to have a look at Polymer Clay Daily . I always find the posts from Cynthia Tinapple very inspiring. 
So I thought I would share today's post.

I have always wanted to know how to do this it really is a neat tutorial
So many thanks to Cynthia Tinapple of Polymer Clay Daily  for her post and to Bettina Welcker for  sharing this  tutorial Here is the link Pin to Necklace Converter

Some of my new makes

These past few months I have been busy trying to experiment using different kinds of media. I still love using polymer clay and mixing the media.

Any way I just thought I would update the blog and share some of my new makes!
Best Wishes and Love to all who may wander by! Thanks for taking a look anyway! XXX

Above : Faux rose quartz polymer clay pendant that has been wire wrapped and polymer clay rondel beads. Also incorporated is fire polished crystals and Chinese crystals.

                                          Above: Semi precious gemstone chips  blue goldstone and Swarovski glass pearls on hand formed wire connectors.

Above: Antique bronze colour wire with genuine turquoise S shaped beads with Swarovski crystals and semi precious gemstone tiger's eye beads.

Above :  Amethyst coloured wire and silver plated wire with semi precious gemstones amethyst and green aventurine.

These are all available to purchase from my website :  www.cariadjewelrybox.com.

Added A New Flickr Badge

I have added a new Flickr badge on the left. So please be my guest and check out some o the new photos I have posted on there. I am hoping to get some inspiration from my little visitor and some of the exhibits from the Welsh National Museum in Cardiff that my granddaughter and I visited recently.

"Tree of Life"

A few weeks ago it was my eldest daughter 's birthday. She was forty. I wanted to give and make her something special. 

As it was I knew her birthday would also be touched with sadness not only for her but for me and the rest of our family as well ,as my husband had passed away just over a year previous.

I came up with an idea that I would make her something special that would represent not only her but my husband and my self. Hence the "Tree of Life" pendant necklace.

I hand formed antique bronze wire  into a round pendant shape I then created the trunk of the tree with the wire and filled the branches with precious and semi precious gemstone chips. My husband's birthstone of  Emeralds,my birthstone of ruby( but the nearest I could get to mine was ruby in zoist) so I chose the chips that had a lot of ruby in them and my daughter's birthstone of opal. As she was born in autumn I wanted it to have an autumnal look and feel to it so I chose Mexican fire opal which gave it a nice look of the leaves just turning reddish brown.  With the wire that was left from the branches I twisted and coiled them into swirls.

I then strung the chips on beading wire and placed the pendant in the centre. I then placed an antique bronze chain either side.

When her birthday arrived and I gave her the present I explained that I wanted her to feel that her dad and I are forever close to her no matter how much distance we are apart.

She was thrilled to bits with her necklace.

Here are some photos of the necklace. I couldn't post them sooner otherwise she would have known about her present and it wouldn't have been a surprise.

Some Halloween Cuffs and Earrings

I really should be posting more blogs. I mean I start out with good intentions but sort of get tied up with other things and to be honest I feel I make such a mess of my blog page... oh never mind lets share some of the jewellery I have been doing in time for Halloween.

Front view of memory wire bracelet with polymer clay roses and semi precious howlite skulls.. I start out with not having any intention of doing roses but somehow I always end up with roses somewhere!

Back view of memory wire bracelet.

Close up view of the roses.

Couldn't make cuffs with out making earrings to match

This past year ...well since January really I decided to use more mixed media and to try new techniques. One of the techniques I have been learning and really enjoying is wire work. Here is a wire work cuff and earrings to match.

A hand formed wire frame with hand knitted wire insert The polymer clay roses and howlite skulls and crystals are then woven into the insert. The shepherd style clasp hook I also made. 

Back View of Cuff showing the clasp.

Matching earrings .

Earrings made using memory wire.

These I have put up for sale on my website

Not only are they suited for Halloween but anyone who likes gothic fashions.

A Change Is As Good As Rest.

Back in December my grand son showed me a bracelet he was wearing which is all the fashion now. The bracelet was a shamballa style. He was surprised that I hadn't tried making any my self. To be honest macrame is something I had ever really thought about or tried. I didn't have the first clue of how to do the knots. Don't get me wrong.....I can do knots but end up with an ugly messy tangle. Well not to be out done my my inabilities I thought and head in a slightly different direct from polymer clay I would give macrame a try and watched a tutorial by Mark Smith one of the guest designers on the JewelleryMaker TV channel.http://www.jewellerymaker.com . Now I am hooked. As they say a change is as good as a rest and for me the possibilities can be endless and so inspiring. Shamballa is a Buddhist word synonymous with peace,enlightenment and tranquillity.

Some More Inspirations from Monet and Mother Nature

In my last post I told of how inspired I was by a recent trip to the Welsh Museum in Cardiff. 

Here is some more of earrings that I made from the left over cane. And also some stick /pin brooches that I made with the inspiration from Mother Nature with the rose. To add a little bit of difference I added a locket to the rose. There are no hard and fast rules as how to wear a locket!

Inspired By Artists 'Monet'
Left over cane with earrings with added  Swarovski  crystals.

Stick pin /brooch with pressed glass leaves and locket.

Stick Pin/Brooch with pink pressed glass leaves and locket.

Close up of Rose

A Little Inspiration From Monet

After a recent trip to the National Museum of Wales with my daughter and granddaughter I was fascinated and inspired by some of the paintings by Monet. So I made these earrings out of some of the leftover canes I had.

Spring ...new beginnings.

I can't believe where the time has gone since I posted last! It seems that I only post in seasons when I should really be posting more often and on a more regular basis.

Well Spring is officially here and the cherry blossoms here in the part of Wales where I live have  have started to bloom albeit a little later than normal. So here is my new beginning of the year with some floral polymer clay heart earrings ,bag charm and faux jade tubes that I made to compliment a large river shell heart pendant necklace. I tried to recreate the river shell pendant necklace with the heart earrings and bag charm. I think I may have gone a bit overboard with the sanding as some of the cane coverings have faded considerably.But  I am pleased with the shine I got. Thankful for small mercies I suppose! 
Thank you for dropping by to view my blog. Please don't be shy I would most appreciate any comments!

River shell pendant necklace with freshwater pearls,Swarovski crystals and  polymer clay faux jade tubes.

Close up of the river shell pendant.

My interpretation of the river shell pendant.

Bag charm

Introducing Gemma! The model.;)

Some More Autumn Makes

Some necklaces  that I have made.The top necklace I have combined a semi precious stabilised chalk turquoise square pendant that I bought in a bundle of four that were on offer.I wanted some large matching beads but was unable to find any. So I made my own matching beads out of good old polymer clay.And Hey Presto they matched quite well. I used Fimo Soft in white with Fimo Translucent.  After conditioning the two clays and loosly swirling them I chopped them up into small pieces and painted them in a pale yellow acrylic paint. I set it aside for about an hour and a half. While the paint was drying I used up my scrap clay and rolled it out and made up some large beads.  Then came the messy bit (not for the faint hearted).I squooshed up the painted clay into a ball ,rolled into a fat log and cut vey thin slices and covered the balls of scrap with these thin slices.

Completed the necklace with glass pearls in shades of white and antique gold and Chinese crystal rondells in shades of pale green ,bronze ,light topaz and smoky brown.

Below is a close up of the polymer clay beads and the semi precious stabilised chalk turquoise pendant.

Below is another of the pendants that were in the bundle that I bought and I made the large beads the same way as I did with the ones in the two top photos. The only difference is the colour of the paint that I used. I used burnt umber and violet. With this necklace I combined semi precious mookait round beads in lovely autumnal shades with Swarovski crystal bicones in the shade of mocha.

The method I used to make the two afore mentioned polymer clay beads I can thank the talented polymer clay artist Linda Peterson. She demonstrates this method in her book How To Make Polymer Clay BEADS. She uses this method to make faux marble. I purchased this book about two years ago and have found it to be quite invaluable.

Autumn Earrings

I thought I would share my Autumn earrings. Polymer clay leaves complimented with coconut shell pendants

Embracing Autumn

Continuing from yesterday when I posted my love of autumn and how I am inspired by the wonderful colours that have been given to us by Mother Nature here is another one of my creations. A memory wire cuff with semi precious chips of unakite and large beads of goldstone with tiny transparent gold glass seed beads between each chip and polymer clay leaves in lovely autumn colours.Tomorrow another day and another creation.

Autumn Inspiration

I have always felt inspired by the seasons, with spring and autumn being my favourites. I consider myself fortunate to be living in a very pretty and picturesque part of the UK ......Wales. I am surrounded by mountains and lots of pretty places which I suppose I do sometimes take for granted a little as they are just about on my doorstep. The photos here in  my blog is just a twenty minute walk or so away. For anyone reading my blog I do hope you enjoy! 

Autumn is well and truley upon us and and to embrace the season I have made some jewellery that I have been inspired to make by the changing colours and to embrace the season.

Here is one of a selection of the bracelets I have made with autumn colours.The bracelet below is called Autumn Spice. The large beads I made from Fimo white translucent with a hint of tumeric spice to give it colour. I accentuated these with little gold plated bead caps and transparent gold glass seed beads and semi precious red carnelian. Hopefully from tomorrow I shall start to make daily posts which I will post a photo of each make.

Faux Ivory........I love it!

My last post over a month ago(where does the time go?) I told of how I made my first faux ivory and covered spoons.

At first I wasn't too sure if I liked my first attempt. My daughter and son-inlaw were delighted with them and in time the more I looked at them the more they seemed to grow on me.

So I decided to have another go and make something for my self.A hair barrette,earrings,bracelet and pendant. And these are what I came up with. I haven't yet decided how to finish off the pendant,but the rest are already made up.