New Easter Gift Sets

The Easter Egg Hunt has always been an integral part of my celebration. I always wondered what I would get inside of the brightly colored plastic eggs. As I've grown older and had my own daughter participate in Easter Egg hunts, I've been particularly amused to watch her reaction to the candy-filled finds. Last year, during the actual hunt, she ignored the eggs altogether and opted to pick up sticks. Later, when she realized that the other kids eggs contained candy, she became more enthusiastic.

For every major holiday, I try to come up with new products that I can make to give to my daughter's teachers (I used to be in education--Heaven knows teachers deserve all the appreciation they can get). With Easter and Eggs and Egg hunts in mind, I created these little gems. They are little colorful egg post earrings that I can package in a plastic Easter egg with fake plastic grass. An upside of the design is I can also call it recycling because I've collected the plastic eggs over the years (didn't want to just throw them away).

Dance Sippy Dance

Today's featured artist is Paige of Dance Sippy Dance.



1.What got you involved in Polymer Clay?
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i for some reason had always had a bit of an aversion to polymer clay, then when i saw some of the things people had created on etsy, i slowly started to change my mind. loopyboopy's work(and colleen as a person) was a big influence on my decision to switch from paper mache.

2.What is your favorite thing to make? Why?
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wow, i don't think i could decide between people and monsters. i love the simplicities of the little monsters i make yet sometimes i really dig getting lost in the more detailed work of making a person.



3.What makes polymer clay a better fit for your products than other mediums?
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i love that i can start and finish a project relatively quickly. previously working with paper mache, projects could take weeks, even months, and then a ridiculous amount of time sanding. also it is much easier to command the polymer clay to do what you want.

4.What is your best advice for someone starting out in polymer clay?
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lol, i still feel like i'm pretty new to the world of polymer clay so i don't know that i am in a position to give advice. perhaps, when you go to buy your clay buy twice as much as you are planning to, it's addictive.

Here are some of Paige's links:
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my twitter:
twitter.com/dancesippydance
loopy:
loopyboopy.etsy.com
oh! and me:
dancesippydance.etsy.com

Thanks, Paige!

New Earring Design

One of the things I love about polymer clay is that it combines so well with other mediums. Last week, I tried out denim. This week, I looked out my window and saw a bunch of lovely leafless twigs. It made me think about how much I miss the spring and the flowers and so I decided to add some of my own. I cut off some twigs, and brought some new life to the lifeless branches with little white and yellow poly clay blooms.

Mai McKemy

Today's featured artist is Mai McKemy of 4TheSparrowsNest. She makes unique jewelry and accessories in woodland inspired themes. Like me, she has a background with ceramic clay.

1.What got you involved in Polymer Clay?
I fell in love with polymer clay at the early age of 10 (I'm 24 now.)
I began by making little chubby glowi in the dark fimo stars to
plasti-tak to my ceiling, since I had a space theme in my room.
I soon fell in love with dollhouses and began to create miniature
food.  I've always loved details and spent many hours crafting
tiny glazed hams, shrimp platters, cakes, and baskets of fruit.
I rediscovered the medium after college, when I no longer had
access to kilns to fire real ceramic clay.  However, the lure and
appeal of clay did not diminish, and I found myself returning to
polymer clay.  I wanted to take it in a new direction, and soon
found myself elevating it to jewelry status.


2.What is your favorite thing to make?  Why?  

I adore creating jewelry and accessories in woodland themes. 
 
I would say earrings and necklace pendants are my favorites.  
Bird, tree, and nature related imagery dominate my work.   
I love the imitative potential that polymer clay has, and 
find myself delighting in creating surfaces that look like 
antique ivory, carved wood--or anything other than what
the material actually is.  I love the challenge of taking the 
medium above and beyond its typical capabilities. 


3.What makes polymer clay a better fit for your
products than other mediums?

The immediate availability, affordability, convenience, 
and my many years of practice manipulating the material
all contribute to using it as my medium of choice.  It is 
delightfully responsive to picking up details and is easily 
molded, cast, carved, sculpted, embossed, and antiqued.  


4.What is your best advice for someone starting
out in polymer clay?

Check out some polymer clay technique books from your
local library, or pick up a few at a craft store.  There are
SO MANY different ways to work with the medium.
Experiment with many different techniques and decided
which ones fit you the best.  Research other polymer clay
artists and get inspired--find out what it is about the
material that you love.  If you know WHY you love it,
and WHAT you want to do with it, you will really 
make headway on making a niche for yourself in the
world of polymer clay. 

Here are some of Mai's favorite polymer clay links: 

Polymer Clay Artists Guild of Etsy
http://pcagoe.com/

Etsy.com or Artfire.com (search for polymer clay to find more
amazing works by artists!)

Glassattic.com 

The Glass Attic is THE BEST online resource for ALL
techniques relating to polymer clay.  It is a collection of
advice, tips, and experimentation of other artists and
is exhaustive in its depth.  You can find out anything
relating to polymer clay here and will learn a LOT.



Thank-you Mai!

Loopy Boopy

Today's featured artist is Colleen of Loopy Boopy. I've been an avid admirer of her shop for years now. She makes fantastic art dolls from Polymer Clay.



1.What got you involved in Polymer Clay?

I used to work in papier mache and loved it but it is messy and very very time consuming. I switched to polymer out of sheer convenience and have come to love it too.

2.What is your favorite thing to make? Why?

Definetly the human figure. I have sculpted for over 20 years and always no matter the medium have made people. I am constantly intrigued by the character and uniqueness of each individual.



3.What makes polymer clay a better fit for your products than other mediums?

Again, I would say the ease of it. I can sculpt, bake and paint a project in one day.

4.What is your best advice for someone starting out in polymer clay?

It really depends on what you are doing with it, but obviously it is to find the right clay for your work. There are so many colors and brands now and each is different in its own way. I use Super Sculpey.



Here are some of Colleen's links:

http://loopyboopy.blogspot.com/
www.loopyboopy.etsy.com

Experimenting with jeans

My mother always saves old blue jeans to make quilts and potholders out of. Even though I live far away from her now, out of habit, I keep worn-out jeans in a bag in the closet. Usually, I'd just take them to my mom when I visited home. Then last week, I thought, "Blue Jeans and Polymer clay--that's gotta be an awesome combination!" I pulled out my jeans, some remnant fabric, a needle and thread, and of course, my polymer clay.

Here are some of the designs I came up with:

CreaShines

Today's featured artist is Stacey Hines of CreaShines. Stacey makes unique (and beautifully photographed) organically shaped jewelry.

1.What got you involved in Polymer Clay?
I used to make personalized polymer clay snowmen families with my friend Tiffany around the holidays. One day I realized I could make jewelry out of the clay too! I eventually found Etsy and was shocked to find so many amazing shops specializing in jewelry made of the same medium. Before that, I guess I thought I had invented polymer clay jewelry haha!

2.What is your favorite thing to make? Why?
My favorite thing to make are my signature pendant and ring sets. I love experimenting with color combinations and organic forms.



3.What makes polymer clay a better fit for your products than other mediums?
It's affordable for my college student budget and I love how versatile it can be, meaning I can literally create whatever I want. I'm limited only by my imagination.

4.What is your best advice for someone starting out in polymer clay?
Create your own niche. Don't make whatever everyone else is creating just because it will bring sales. The point is to be unique so people remember you and your work.

Here are some of Stacey's links
http://twitter.com/creashines
http://www.conceptdynamic.com/

Random Question Time

I've decided to answer random questions about my work here on my blog and also to throw the same question out to fellow crafters/artists. Some will come from questions I've been convo'd on etsy, stuff I've written for other places, and hopefully, some will come from questions posted here. Today's random question is:

• What is your most treasured tool?

I live for round toothpicks. Right now my local grocery store has only squared off ones, which don’t work for the details that I need. Dots, lines, holes, they do everything! I’ve actually begged, borrowed, and even stolen round toothpicks from friends and family’s houses. They don’t last forever, and I never know when I’m going to find more.

So what is YOUR most treasured too? Please post about it, as well any burning questions of yours in the comments section :)

Wirefox

Today's featured artist is Wirefox, an artist who makes unique pendants from recycled bottlecaps and polymer clay



1. What got you involved in Polymer Clay?
Leg surgery. I was 14, and couldn't walk for months.

2.What is your favorite thing to make? Why?
Bottlecaps, such as this one in my shop
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=19378862
and also tiny foxes.


3.What makes polymer clay a better fit for your products than other mediums?
I prefer smaller works, and have found polymer to be the best medium for things smaller than two inches.

4.What is your best advice for someone starting out in polymer clay?
Be careful, polymer clays come with a range of health and environmental concerns. Avoid giving polymers to small children, and be avoid oven fumes.

Be sure to check out her shop at
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6344344

New Barrette Line

I've been working on a new line of barrettes with my 3-year-old daughter. She's very opinionated about color combinations and patterns and usually dead-on about style. She's my go-to person for fresh thoughts on things. Usually, we'll share a tabletop, but she'll have play-dough and I'll have polymer clay. After much experimenting and talking to my resident expert, this is what I've come up with.


Available for purchase at a Bit of Color on Etsy and ArtFire

Mealymonster

Today's featured artist is a wonderfully unique art doll maker. I was intrigued by how her creatures just ooze personality and feeling.



1.What got you involved in Polymer Clay?
I had just recently discovered Art dolls and was so intrigued by them I had decided I wanted to try to make one, so I researched the different items people used to make them. I found that polymer clay kept coming up. I looked into all the different types and went with the strongest one recommended, cernit.

2.What is your favorite thing to make? Why?
I love making art dolls above and beyond. I feel great satisfaction when I finish up a new art doll, like wow, I made this, cool! I do occasionally make decapitated head magnets and monster brooches just to mix it up.

3.What makes polymer clay a better fit for your products than other mediums?
It allows me to sculpt without having to have a kiln, all the colors offered, and that it takes to acrylic paint great, so I can really detail my piece.

4.What is your best advice for someone starting out in polymer clay?
Honestly, just buy a some and play around with it, that is how I learned. Also research the types so you pick one that fits with what you are planning on making.


Here are some of her favorite polymer clay art doll makers
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5615159
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5104418
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5165155
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=20531699

My Funny Valentine

A funny new product for that "special" someone...



Little Polymer Clay hearts formed and fashioned to look like conversation hearts but with spiteful little sayings.

Some of my favorites include: "Get lost" "Piss off" "Spare me" "Nope" and "H8 U"

These come in a little box with a random combination of mean little sayings. They can also be customized with saying of your own.

What do people do with these after they receive them? They make great fridge magnets or pins. They look fun lying around for "valentines" decorations, or they can be taken in to the office in a little bowl to fool harmless coworkers.

For sale now for $12!

Below are some other Valentine products available

La Cravatte Duchien -- Handmade Crafts

Today's featured artist is Dafni from lacravatteduchien.

1. What got you involved in Polymer Clay?

I learned about it at school, we had to do a sculpture project and the teacher told as about it.

2. What is your favorite thing to make? Why?

I love to make mini food magnets because they can end up looking so realistic Unfortunately i don't have any in my shop now, I sold them all :)



3.What makes polymer clay a better fit for your products than other mediums?

Because you can make any shape and any color. As simple as that. You can make anything you can imagine.

4.What is your best advice for someone starting out in polymer clay?

To get the soft one. Before i found out about fimo soft I really hated it. I had to put it in the heater and still it was so difficult to work with it, but the soft one is soooooo easy. Like the thing they use in the kinder garden!

5.What links would you like added to this article?

Take a look here. This is some amazing art made with polymer clay


Thanks, Dafni!