Craftside

Two different asymmetrical necklace designs, one from Rejuvenated Jewels and the one I promised you!

Yes, as promised in Tuesday's Polymer Clay Post I would show you the piece of jewelry I made with the polymer clay filled re-purposed charm.

But first let me show you where my inspiration came from, I think you will be surprised but I will explain!

Rejuvenated Jewels:
New Designs for Vintage Looks
By
Amy Hanna

In Rejuvenated Jewels, you'll learn where to find fabulous vintage jewelry, beads, and artifacts, and how to create stunning one-of-a-kind jewelry pieces using these amazing finds. Rhinestone beads and clasps, mercury glass beads, oxidized metal chains, rosary beads, tiny book charms, and more are retooled into fabulous statement pieces that can be worn every day.

Amy Hanna (Laguna Niguel, CA) has been creating and selling jewelry for nearly a decade. A collector at heart, Amy began haunting flea markets and yard sales more than 20 years ago, and it was always the vintage jewelry, metals, and rosary beads that caught her eye. Her collections lay in drawers and vintage jewelry boxes for years until a friend encouraged her to create. Unable to find jewelry that represented her personal style, Amy began making one-of-a-kind pieces from her beloved collections.

Amy calls this her French Flower Basket Necklace

From the book,"This necklace is a great example of how to mix different sizes of chains with chunky stones".

I just love all the mixed details and textures the pieces in this book have.

Here is what I made:

 

Now I know you are scratching your head and thinking, "hu?"

I know it looks nothing like Amy's piece but the concepts are the same, different size chain, chunky elements, a big link, and of course recycled parts.

I am on a mission to make more asymmetrical jewelry. I do have to say it is so much more challenging than symmetrical jewelry. Necklaces just naturally want to hang centered on the heaviest point and I am not wanting that! So lots of trial and redo's.

What about you?

The question of the day, symmetrical or asymmetrical?

Leave your answer and you'll be entered to win a free book of the week!

Be sure to come on back tomorrow I have another necklace project that has an element that you won't believe! And if you are a youngun' you probably won't even recognize.

Earth Day Crafting-Recycling plastic bag projects from the new book: Green Guide for Artists

I have a "Green Sneak Peek" in honor of Earth Day! (Available in June)

Just what the artists of planet need:

Green Guide for Artists
Nontoxic Recipes, Green Art Ideas, and Resources for the Eco-Conscious Artist
By
Karen Michel

 inspires artists to make better
eco-conscious choices within their work and their studios
and shows them how. The book has four sections: The
first offers safe and green practices for the workspace. The
second contains recipes for DIY art supplies such as ones
for mixing your own nontoxic paints and adhesive. The next
two sections share a fresh look at using recycled materials
through creative step-by-step projects and a gallery. The
book also contains a resource guide for ecofriendly materials
and supplies, including websites and forum links.

Karen Michel (Island Park, NY) is a mixed-media
artist. She runs a 10-year old nonprofit art center for
kids, the Creative Art Space for Kids Foundation, with
her artist husband Carlo Thertus. Along with sharing
her love for the arts with children, she also teaches
adult workshops to beginners and established
artists alike. Her books, paintings, and collages
have been exhibited internationally and have been
published in various books and magazines, including
her own book:

The Complete Guide to Altered Imagery.

(Check out a sneak peek of it by clicking on the link below)

The sneak peek from The Green Guide for Artists I thought I'd share with you today is this technique of fusing plastic bags together:

 

Click on the image to read how to fuse plastic bags together to make a strong plastic "fabric" that's great for all sorts of craft and art projects.

 This is the project I did:

I made a fused plastic ATC.

Here is how I made my fused plastic ATC.

I went to my plastic bag recycling stash and laid out what I had to work with. I didn't realize plastic bags had such cool sayings on them.

I rough cut out the white bags and the words I landed on "you only crazy".

I then pressed fused them together. One tiny difference I did from the original directions was instead of wax paper, I used parchment paper and it worked like a charm.

I then trimmed it up with my quilting grid ruler that I marked off with masking tape to make it super easy to cut ATC's out.

And here is a bonus photo with the beautiful sky I just had to share with you today!

By the way I do use fabric tote bags most of the time but I forget once in a while, and so these plastic bags are what I have accumulated over quite some time. They were in the car to go back to the recycling container at the grocery store but my copy of The Green Guide for Artists showed up and they were back in the craft supply zone!

Today's question, did you think today was  special? Well it is but I still got a question for ya!

Have you made any changes in your crafting to make it a bit more "GREEN"?

And as usual, 'cuase we love to give away free books, as a thanks for sharing, you'll be entered to win a free book!

How to fill an old charm with polymer clay, stamp an image into it and then add color

I had this fun old key chain charm that had a radio station call letters on it, well I loved the boot shape but not the lettering, and so I had the idea of filling it with polymer clay. And then I thought I would like to spiff up the clay, so off to one of my favorite polymer clay technique and inspiration books:

Polymer Clay Art
Projects and Techniques for Jewelry, Gifts, Figures, and Decorative Surfaces
By
Celie Fago, Ellen Marshall, Livia McRee, Georgia Sargeant, and Dinko Tilov

Make pretty home accessories using polymer clay.

A special collection highlighting material from some of Quarry's popular books about polymer clay art, this book presents a wide spectrum of the latest techniques and materials with many of the leading artists in the field. Learn how to create beautiful boxes, pendants, vases, wind chimes, book covers, jewelry and much more.

It only took a minute of flipping through this comprehensive book to figure out my plan and technique.

I conditioned the polymer clay by working a small ball with my fingers.

 

I then pressed the clay into the boot charm and with a small needle tool I pushed the edges of the clay back so that the frame edge of the boot showed.

I then pressed the gun rubber stamp image into the clay following the instructions from Polymer Clay Art and it worked great.

 

Click on the image to read the full instructions on how to stamp an image into polymer clay.

I then baked the piece per the instructions on the clay package.

I then took my finger and lightly rubbed a bit of black paint and then a bit of silver paint onto the raised part of the polymer clay.

Stay tuned to see the piece of jewelry I make with this charm!

Today's question:

What have you added polymer clay to?

Leave a note in the comments section and you'll be entered to win a free book.

And to see more inside peeks into other polymer clay books, click on the polymer clay link below!

Craftastic Crafty Blogger Links

Vickie Howell's Pop Goes Crochet
Vickie's latest book, Pop Goes Crochet, hits stores in 2 weeks! Get a sneak peek of 5 accessory projects now though, including designs by The Breeder's Kelley Deal, The Stitch Diva and The Crochet Dude. Give 'em a gander and enter to win a free, signed copy!

The Impatient Crafter
Check out the new YuDu home screen printing machine in this brand spanking new The Impatient Crafter video hosted by Madge. While you're there, follow the link to her interview with fellow crafty blogger Sister Diane of CraftyPod on personal branding!

The Crochet Dude
Drew recaps an amazing Southern Caribbean Crochet Cruise!

Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery
You'll have a "ball" stitching yarn scraps into beads with a little help from the new book: Strands by Jacqueline Myers-Cho.

Naughty Secretary Club
Jen shows you how to wear your stuffed animal collection as a bracelet. Plus enter to win a free copy of her book The Naughty Secretary Club!

Cross Stitch at About.com
See how Kitchinstitchin used an old window and a piece of crazy quilt for an unusual framed Cross Stitch project.

CraftyPod
Sister Diane reviews Betz White's new book, Sewing Green.

Crafty Princess Diaries
Become a professional crocheter with the help of an organization designed for those who are interested in make yarn craft a j-o-b.

Cathie Filian
Cathie Filian is calling all Colorado crafters! Stop by the Colorado Women's expo April 25th & 26th. She will be doing presentaions on both days - the topic is...Living Creatively by Re-Crafting and Recycling.

Blisstree Arts
Miriam Schaer makes books from materials that you would never think to use! Come see how she pushes the boundaries of bookmaking.

Alexa Westerfield a.k.a. Swelldesigner
Create a very cool, colorful accent wall on the cheap using scrapbook paper!

About Family Crafts
Discover many creative projects all made using paper plates.

Call for Entries: 1000 Artisan Textiles

Rockport Publishers/Quarry Books is an international publisher of high-quality visual and idea books for design professionals and creative enthusiasts-crafters, artists, and designers. (Check out our distinctive books at: www.quarrybooks.com.) We are seeking submissions for possible publication in 1000 Artisan Textiles, an upcoming book by Sandra Salamony (author of 1000 Jewelry Inspirations) and Gina M. Brown. We are looking for the finest artisan-made examples of quilts, wall hangings, linens, rugs, baskets, wearable art, home accessories, and fashion accessories; incorporating any number of techniques including felting, hand and machine embroidery, appliqué, dyeing and fabric painting, weaving, beading, and all types of surface decoration. High quality photography is essential. We are looking for photographs of the finished work, not step-by-step shots. You must include one image of the project in full, and you may include as many additional close-up detail shots as you wish. All images must be a minimum of 4.5 x 5.5 inches at 300 dpi (or 1400x1750 pixels). You will not be required to provide directions on how to make your project, but you will need to briefly describe your techniques on your submission sheet. More detailed image requirements and labeling instructions are included in the Submission Instructions PDF available for download below. If you cannot download and print PDFs, please send an email to ArtisanTextiles@aol.com. There is no limit to the number of projects that you may submit. Deadline: June 1, 2009 PDF DOWNLOADS: THE CALL FOR ENTRIES SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS GRANT OF RIGHTS FORM April 7, 2009: Check back here for updates over the next few months on the publishing schedule, the image-selection process, and other general news. April 15, 2009: The submission guide has been updated to follow the box.net uploading steps in more detail. When you think you've finishined uploading your files, check the online box.net directory -- it will tell you how many files are in your folder. If it says "0 files" then something went wrong. Email us at artisantextiles@aol.com for help if necessary, or feel free to snail mail a back up disk.