by Barbara | May 26, 2017 | An Aside, Art Jewelry, Art to Wear, Components, Designer Patterns, Earrings, Embellishments, Handmade, Inspiration, Materials and Supplies, Mixed Media, One-of-a-Kind, Polymer Clay, Sterling Silver, Techniques, Tutorials
I’ve received so many inquiries from fellow polymer clay enthusiasts who love my “Matisse Inspired Cutouts” Earrings as to whether a tutorial for making them is available and here it is! The tutorial contains over twenty full-color process photos and step-by-step...
by Barbara | May 13, 2017 | Art Jewelry, Art to Wear, Beading, Components, Designer Patterns, Earrings, Embellishments, Handmade, Inspiration, Jewelry kits, Mixed Media, One-of-a-Kind, Polymer Clay, Techniques, Tutorials
Have I abandoned beadwork? Absolutely not! And I promise to get back to beading eventually, but my creative muse has the upper hand and at the moment she is dictating that I continue designing with polymer clay cutouts. Do you know the story of “The Red Shoes”? A...
by Barbara | May 6, 2017 | Art Jewelry, Art to Wear, Beading, Beads and Materials, Components, Designer Patterns, Earrings, Embellishments, Handmade, Inspiration, Jewelry kits, Materials and Supplies, One-of-a-Kind, Polymer Clay, Sterling Silver, Techniques, Tutorials
My hydraulic press has been out of service for several months. After 26 years of service, the ram was leaking oil like mad and the pressure gauge had “given up the ghost”. A new Bonny Doon ram with gauge is quite expensive, but what good it to have an unusable press?...
by Barbara | Apr 30, 2017 | Art Jewelry, Art to Wear, Bead Embroidery, Beads and Materials, Components, Designer Patterns, Earrings, Embellishments, Handmade, Inspiration, Jewelry kits, Materials and Supplies, One-of-a-Kind, Polymer Clay, Techniques, Tutorials
After months of winter gray and white I needed some color in my life! Polymer clay came to the rescue as I made colorful flowers and used them in a bead-embroidered collar, which I entered in Fire Mountain Gems “Creative Clays” contest (thus far it has...
by Barbara | Apr 22, 2017 | Art Jewelry, Art to Wear, Components, Embellishments, Handmade, Inspiration, Jewelry kits, Resin, Techniques, Tutorials
In the 1940’s during the later years of his life, Henri Matisse began to create with paper cutouts almost exclusively. He described these works as “drawing with scissors”. Using large sheets of painted papers, he created exciting and modern brightly colored...
by Barbara | Apr 19, 2017 | Art Jewelry, Art to Wear, Bead Embroidery, Beading, Beads and Materials, Bracelets, Components, Embellishments, Handmade, Inspiration, Jewelry kits, Materials and Supplies, Mixed Media, One-of-a-Kind, Polymer Clay, Seed Beads, Techniques, Tutorials, Uncategorized
I’ve just finished the tutorial for my “Fleurs et Papillons” Cuff! While proofreading the tutorial it occurred to me that there are so many possibilities for making the cuff! Although I used Metallic Iris Brown seed beads, it could be embellished with all manner of...
by Barbara | Apr 15, 2017 | Art Jewelry, Art to Wear, Bead Embroidery, Beading, Beads and Materials, Bracelets, Components, Designer Patterns, Embellishments, Handmade, Inspiration, Jewelry kits, Materials and Supplies, Mixed Media, One-of-a-Kind, Polymer Clay, Seed Beads, Techniques, Tutorials
I’m having a spring fling! I’ve just finished my “Fleurs et Papillons” mixed-media cuff incorporating polymer clay and bead embroidery! Was this fun to make? Delightful! And it worked up rapidly once I’d made all the polymer clay...
by Barbara | Apr 1, 2017 | Art Jewelry, Art to Wear, Bead Embroidery, Beading, Beads and Materials, Bronze, Cabochons and Gemstones, Components, Designer Patterns, Embellishments, Handmade, Inspiration, Jewelry kits, Materials and Supplies, Mixed Media, One-of-a-Kind, Polymer Clay, Seed Beads, Techniques, Tutorials
Remember all those polymer clay flowers I made last week? Were you wondering what I would make with them? I had several ideas in mind, but bead embroidery was the technique I chose. Until now, I’ve employed the usual components…seed beads, of course, plus...
by Barbara | Mar 12, 2017 | Art Jewelry, Art to Wear, Bead Embroidery, Beading, Beads and Materials, Components, Delica beads, Designer Patterns, Embellishments, Handmade, Inspiration, Jewelry kits, Materials and Supplies, One-of-a-Kind, Resin, Seed Beads, Techniques, Tutorials
Snow may be on the way, but I’m ringing in Spring! After spending the past few months making several pairs of geometric earrings, I really wanted to get back to doing bead embroidery! I missed the free-form techniques and how quickly pieces work up. I wanted to...
by Barbara | Mar 10, 2017 | Art Jewelry, Art to Wear, Bead Embroidery, Beading, Beads and Materials, Cabochons and Gemstones, Components, Delica beads, Designer Patterns, Embellishments, Handmade, Inspiration, Jewelry kits, Materials and Supplies, Mixed Media, One-of-a-Kind, Resin, Techniques, Tutorials
My “Six Petal Bloom” Bead-Embroidered Brooch is finished and I love it! Measuring 3″ in diameter, it is quite the statement piece! The focal cabochon used in this pearl and Swarovski crystal embellished brooch is one of my colorful handmade resin...
