Birthday heart

We went out last night to celebrate one of my friends birthdays to an 80's club. I wanted to make her a funky piece of retro jewellery, which was why I started the whole rainbow thing but I couldn't show you this before in case she happened to read my blog.

So I have been meaning to try making hollow lentil beads but for some reason decided I was going to make a hollow heart. Probably not the most sensible idea as I have never tried the technique with the much more simple lentil shape but I like a challenge!

So I sculpted a heart shape from scrap clay to use as a mould.I then made some shells of scrap clay on the mould and joined them together incorporating a wire hanging loop - this is a hollow heart, curved on both sides

I made a sheet of patterned clay by cutting fairly thin slices from my funky rainbow striped jellyroll cane and laying them on a thin sheet of clay, you can just about see where I marked out roughly the size/shape I would need to cover the heart so I didn't waste to much cane.

I used another patterned sheet on the other side so it would be reversible. This photo was taken before I had smoothed the edge joins.

Here's the finished necklace! 

I was going to put it on a long black cord but just tried it on a choker and thought it looked cool so left it. It is rather large! It's 7cm wide by 8cm long! Being hollow it's not too heavy and when I tried it out found it comfortable to wear. I made the mould the size I wanted the heart but then made the shell from a thick sheet of clay and then covered it so it ended up a lot bigger (mental note to self remember a mould needs to be smaller next time!).

Happy Birthday Aly!

Choker necklaces and new pendants

Suddenly everywhere I look there are choker necklaces - and they look fab!  I wanted to make some but wasn't sure where to get them in the UK (did have a look on the bead supply websites but didn't find them).

At the London Polymer Clay Group meeting on Sunday, Rebecca Thickbroom  (who is one of the organisers of the Polymer, Pamper, Play event I am very much looking forward to!) showed some beautiful choker necklaces

Rebecca's beautiful choker pendants!

They were inspired by the amazing work of Helen Briel and made using one of her texture stamps

Even the back of Rebecca's pendants are beautiful!

Rebecca was able to tell me where she bought her wire chokers  in the UK and I ordered some.

So I was playing with my rainbow stripe jellyroll cane and planning on making a cabochon pendant with it. I decided to make a round one and use a large cane slice in the middle. I carefully firmed the first slice right in the middle and then looked at it and couldn't see how I could tidily cover the rest without any big black gaps or over lapping the middle slice, which I didn't want to do. And as happens with all the best pieces it just made itself.

 

 I loved the basic concept but was concerned with how I was going to sand it, I only wanted to sand the cane slice and I had smoothed it flush with the black. Also it was bulky - then I had a light bulb moment ;)

This is the first time I have used a light bulb to cure polymer clay in a dome shape, luckily I had put the last one that blew in my clay supplies for just such a moment (as you can see I was getting carried away with my rainbow jellyroll and signature canes)

So here is the end result of the lightweight pendant which drew inspiration from Rebecca's pendants above. I used a very similar textured back which is beautiful, professional looking and best of all doesn't need sanding - genius! Another opportunity to use my signature cane. I just love this, especially strung on the choker wire (so much easier than making up a cord like I normally do!).

I have a small sale in my local church hall (as part of a friends foot pampering night) next week and I shall be making some more along these lines to see if other people like them as much as me!

Phew! Think I am done for now. Thanks for sticking with it.
Cara x

(still not perfect but better photos at least)

Improved photographs - first stage

I am really proud of my latest jewellery and was thinking I must sort out the photographs show I can show you properly. Then today I was emailed some photographs by a friend to use on my blog (post coming soon), they are great photos and I just couldn't put them up against my poorly lit ones so the 'sorting out a photography set up' jumped up the to do list!

See why I need to sort it out...  Here's the rainbow owls photograph from yesterday, I took it on my work bench with my normal room lighting.

Original, just on my work bench, owl photo

Original photo cropped and colour adjusted in Picasa

I wanted to make a light box from a cardboard box (as demonstrated on Kate Tracton's Shibori Girl blog) but typically we don't seem to have any boxes kicking around today. Whilst researching how to set up jewellery photo shoots previous I seem to remember someone using a transparent plastic storage container so thought I would give that a go whilst I find a box.

I switched my usual light bulb to a full spectrum daylight bulb and tried lighting from the top.

Plastic box and daylight bulb lit from the top through the box

I thought it was quite good but my husband who is much more 'precise' than me pointed out that it was still dark at the bottom. So he adjusted the set up and...

Plastic box and daylight bulb light from the front photo - as shot!

Here's what the set up looked like

Better definitely but there is a bit of 'glare'. So my next step is to track down a suitable cardboard box to make a light box and another lamp (with daylight bulb of course) and try lighting from the side. So hopefully you will be enjoying some better photographs from now on.

Rainbow owl

Here's the first thing I have finished (because I don't sand them) with my funky rainbow jellyroll. This little owl has glow in the dark (fimo) eyes and a lovely rainbow tummy and one slightly long wonky ear - it's character of course! I think I might try and photograph my work and checking it before baking, it's amazing what you spot in a photograph that you don't always see in real life. Didn't notice his ear until now.

and have a quick look at his bottom, I am using my signature cane and I like it. I think I will be remaking an improved one with clearer flower sometime soon. 

I shall post some of my jewellery when I have sanded and strung it, hopefully in the next couple of days. I am going to move sorting out my photography set up nearer the top of my to do list so I can show you my work more clearly.

Thanks for stopping by

Cara

Rainbow stripe jellyroll cane

Rainbow stripe jellyroll cane
Originally uploaded by Cara Jane Contemporary Jewellery

I'm off to an 1980's nightclub with the girls at the weekend so I have been feeling rather retro. Time to go all rainbow!

I have a few special projects in mind, I'll share them with you soon

Signature Cane

The main demonstration at the London Polymer Clay Group was by on making signature canes Susan Rimmer, thanks Susan it was an interesting demonstration.

 I have been thinking about signing my work and did play about with a stamp made from bent bits of coke can back in the autumn but I wasn't happy with the results, it wasn't obviously a signature and I mainly sanded it out the few times I tried it. Off course the first one I made was back to front because I forgot it was going to be a stamp image and didn't reverse the letters.

So here's the cane I made after Susan showed us how she made a 2011 date cane (wonder if she'll use it?)

Before reduction 4.5 cm across (See that green smear at top - must remember to  clean my blade!)

The smallest is 5mm across (I see I didn't trim the second smallest back to the neat part and they could be more square!)

I thought I would like to incorporate the flower I use on my logo (shown below in case you haven't seen it already)

I was thinking about adding a flower on to the outside of the cane I already had when I was struck by inspiration - why not put it in the loop of the J?  I had kept part of the original cane large (4.5cm across, I got carried away!) so I did some surgery. I didn't want to cut the letters because I was worried about not rejoining accurately so it was a little tricky. I had to make the flower smaller than I would of done as I couldn't get in to trim out the clay easily.

The flower is in pearl but I decided that would help it stand out a little. I quite liked it this size. 

I had noticed that my J lost some of it's curve on the bottom loop on reduction with the previous cane so I thought I might try and encourage it to stay round with a little extra clay - 2 little sausages on the bottom as shown below.

Here it is reduced, my cunning little snakes didn't work, seems obvious now on hindsight what would happen but you've got to make these mistakes - it's learning you know! The little snakes compressed the black line of the J making it look broken. The flower is also quite tiny and the pearl when squished down looks darker.

I want to add a border but am not quite sure what. I wondered about using a zebra cane....

..but I think it's probably too fussy. Might work better thinner maybe? I will have to play about with it a bit. Am I going to use it? Well really I would like to remake another one with a bigger, white flower in the J as I construct it but I have lots of other things on my to do list that are more important. I am preparing for a small sale in just under 2 weeks time so perhaps I will put some on my new stock just to see how they look. I'll let you know.

Name badge

I was lucky enough to be able to go to the London Polymer Clay Group meeting today (thanks to my parents for looking after the children as hubby was busy shock horror!). I decided to make myself a name badge yesterday evening so it was made in a bit of a rush (one day I will learn not to be so chaotic but until then last minute it is....). The photo too was taken in a rush and the lighting is terrible. It is on my list of things to do in Feb to try and sort out some better lighting for both taking photos of my work and for my sale table -hoping it can be the same lights I use for both.

I had a lovely day out in London, 2 hours of peace on the train would be a treat enough but to go and talk polymer clay with nice people who understand, to see so many lovely pieces of work by the talented members of the group and to be shown some new techniques is fantastic. Unfortunately I can't make the next meeting as it is on my youngest daughters 5th birthday but I do have Polymer, Pamper, Play to look forward too in March! A whole weekend of polymer clay!!

I hope you all get time to be creative with friends too.