Gimmie, gimmie, gimmie!!!

I LIKE this!!      

       

 

 

 

         Gimmie, Gimmie!!

 

 

I get newsletters from Fire Mountain Gems and today this was a featured product. I don’t need it but “want”  does count, right? 

It’s approximately 20″ x 7″, made of a rubberized material and has 5 individual wells for sorting your beads and things. You can find out more about it at Fire Mountain Gems. I like the fact that it can be rolled up for storage or packing for classes, it won’t slip around while you are working on it and I am willing to bet that it is easier to clean that the ones that have the gray flocking material on it. What’s not to love?

The price for this tantalizing little treasure? A reasonable price of $13.72 for one. If you want to order more than 200 for those really busy days then they are $7.74 each. Yeah, only in my dreams am I ever gonna be THAT busy.  

hugs, luny♥

Half Moon Quickie Hollow Beads

Jennny girl . . . this bead’s for you!

Jenny, from Craft Test Dummies, left me a nice comment about the half moon beads I’ve been noodling with (thank you Jenny)….                 

She mentioned that they looked “complicated”. Not so. In fact, they are really easy to do. Here’s a really quick how-to …

Condition clay and roll on #1 setting on pasta machine. Using a circle cutter of your size choice ( 1and 5/8 inch size is what is used here) and cut out the circle. . . 

 Fold one side of circle to other side of circle and slightly pinch the sides together in middle … continue to gently press the clay together around the edges until they are sealed and finish by smoothing the seam…

Make two holes in the bead at the “straight” fat end going through both sides …

Using the first bead as a guide for hole placement, align another bead next to it as shown and push the needle through the already made holes to place “marks” on the new bead to show where you want to make the holes … the photo below shows the needle all the way through both beads but that is just to show that they will line up well. Don’t push the needle tool through both beads at the same time … each bead will need to be done one at a time and always using the first bead as a marker. There are other ways to precisely mark the holes but this is fast and easy and works for a practice quickie! LOL!

Now all that’s left to do is bake, sand, buff and string. I know this is a quick zippity-doo-dah explanation but if you have any questions just give me a holler! I promise I’ll help!

Please be sure to visit Jenny’s Craft Test Dummies  site. She is a delightful and humorous writer and her site is informative, interesting and helpful!

Thanks for being here ..

hugs, luny ♥

The road less traveled

The polymer clay world is positively overflowing with many talented and well known artists. We read about them all the time. We follow their successes, cheer them on and are thankful for all they have done to teach, encourage and inspire us. They have given back so much to the clay community and have rightfully earned their place in the spotlight and deserve to be respected and admired.

On the other hand, there are many, many more talented artists that don’t have their names up in lights . . . yet. Most folks may never have heard of them and I would like to do my little bit to change that. I’m not really sure what I’m doing with a blog anyway since I’m one of those that charge ahead with nothing but an idea and a “semi-plan”. It’s like leaving the house knowing you’ve got your knickers on but not quite sure if you’ve got them on inside out or right side in. You’re covered but a bit lacking in style.

With hopes of improving my sense of style I would like to introduce you to some interesting and talented folks you may not know.

Karin . . . “Kay”, a lovely and delightful artist from South Africa

Kay is an amazing polymer clay miniaturist specializing in mini foods. Sometimes I wonder if she secretly has a miniature army of little elves and gnomes hidden in a tiny factory somewhere. This girl can pump out some of the most yummy and delicious mini foods faster than a speeding bullet!

 Kay is a member and a moderator of CITY-O-CLAY where I have also been a happy member for many years. She is generous in helping others and sharing her techniques and how to lessons.

To find out more about this very talented lady you can check out her BLOG  and where you can also find some of her tutorials. You can see many fine examples of her work at her Flikr album Kay’s Miniatures  Bring a napkin – you WILL drool!  Kay also sells her wonderful miniatures and may be contacted at  kaydown62@yahoo.com  for more information.

 

Gosh, now that wasn’t so bad.  I think I can do this . . .  now that I’ve got a reason to blog I might just stick with it. The hardest part is deciding who my next victim, uh …  ‘guest’ will be. No easy task as there are so many artists that I want you to meet.  Oh well, nothing like a good challenge to get the blood pumping!

Stay tuned. . .

 hugs, luny ♥