Lily earrings

Still working outside of my comfort zone, I have been experimenting with polymer clay.  I’ve had a few blocks of it lurking in the bottom of my work box for years now.  I did recently attempt to make some millefiore beads but wasn’t very happy with the result.

Being able to sit and bead outside, in the garden, I seem to be making lots of flowers with my seed beads so I thought I would try a different medium.  I remember, from years ago , taking my class to a pottery in Stoke and them getting the opportunity to make clay flowers using proper techniques.  So I just copied what we had learnt then and produced a lily (my favourite flower) . 

The photo doesn’t really do it justice, but the clay is marbled blue and green.  I noticed the colours seemed to darken with baking  (can anyone explain this or how I can avoid it?) I made a larger lily intending to use it as a pendant – I’ve just been working out how to incorporate blue wire into the stamens but that’s a work in progress (to add to all the others!)

Hope you like.. 

My first piece of chainmaille!

A friend said I should make a piece ‘outside of my comfort zone’ – (here it is, Doll!).

I followed a design by Sarah Austin from ‘The Bead Sisters’. I bought jump rings from their company in Stranraer who, it has to be said, have an enormous collection of jump rings in metal and rubber!

The weave is known as ‘The King’s scale’ or ‘Vertebrae Weave’.  It looks complicated but is surprisingly quick to make.  It is a variation on the most common form of chainmail; the "four-in-one" pattern in which each link has four others linked through it.  This is the way chainmaille was made in Europe in the Middle Ages.

I spent the morning at a local gallery getting inspiration for my next project: polymer clay, methinks.

Hope you like..

Summer Border Cuff

This is my latest item.  I was surprised that it didn't take as long as I thought to embellish.

Best thing is, making this cuff  has eaten into a chunk of my 'left over' beads I thought I would never use!

Hope you like...