Polymer Clay Artist

Wow, look at these!! Amazing!! I am so drawn to polymer clay that I am just going to have to break down and get myself into a class!!

I am in awe of these! I just read a blog post over at Art Bead Scene about polymer clay artist, Barbara Bechtel and wish she was my next door neighbor! Wouldn't that be GREAT?!

I wonder if she just lets random neighbors come in her house and play with her clay? Hmm, I might have to get in touch with her and ask. :)

I did a post about Barbara last June and continue to be a serious fan! Maybe one day when I retire in Florida I will have a chance to learn from her in person.

There is something so natural about these blue "eggs"on one hand and so M&M candyish on the other. Two good reasons to LOVE them!

Elvis Lives

Okay, I just cannot get this song out of my head! I heard "Burning Love" over the weekend and all of a sudden it came into my mind this evening and it's not budging!

I figured the best thing to do was EMBRACE IT! :)

As always, if you ever want to find anything, just Google it! I am thoroughly enjoying this YouTube video.

And, of course, since this is a beading blog, you will not believe all the Elvis beads and charms out there!!

Here are just a couple of fun ones and a great website if you are interested! Thanks to Elvis who will forever bring joy and charm into the world!

Fairy House or Gnome House?

After posting bead blogger links yesterday, I had a chance to do some visiting!

I just HAD to share this adorable creation that I found on the Lampwork Diva's blog.

Cindy Gimbrone creates many different types of beads and has a new collection of red lotus pods.

According to a recent blog post, this fairy house just appeared under one of the pods! :) Awww, cute!

I was thinking this would make a GREAT gnome house too! Love it!

Peace, Love and Bead Blogger Saturday!

Saturday now means it's bead blogger link time! Yay! This is a GREAT day to leisurely pop in to see what this group is up to!

Lots of great new jewelry designs and tutorials!! Enjoy!

Beads & Books
Michelle shares the bracelet she made with a 4-hole porcelain bracelet bar from Chinook Jewelry.

The Bead Dreamer
Charlene creates a book and an alphabet stepping way outside the box. Don't we all need to from time to time?

The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton

Andrew hosts another great Thursday Giveaway! This time ceramic beads from Golem Studio are up for grabs!

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done!
Jean reviews the third in a fine series of books by Marthe Le Van. This one is expressly about rings which you can make in 30 minute or less! And they are OUTRAGEOUSLY gorgeous. Come see!

Resin Crafts!
Carmi has a four part series on mold making on Resin Crafts blog this week.

Lorelei's Blog: Inside the Studio
Summer is just days away. Come on over to check out the latest installtion from the Earthenwood Design Team.

Cindy Gimbrone, The Lampwork Diva
Look what's sprung up underneath one of Cindy's Red Lotus Pods!

Carmi's Art/Life World
Carmi features a newly molded pendant on this week's necklace sample.

Beading Arts
Wire tutorials and resources galore on Beading Arts this week!

Art Bead Scene
The trend is bracelets. Check out the cool art bead components ABS found for you!

About.com Jewelry Making
There are lots of recent graduates out there. Here are some jewelry tutorials designed for the graduate.

Featured Designer: Patty Evins

Happy Friday everyone!! Yay!

This is such a great day because it kicks off the weekend AND I get to share a new featured designer with you!

Patty Evins of "Patty Evins Studio" wrote in her profile,"My love of creating color rich artwork has been a long journey in my life. I received a BFA in drawing and painting and continued my studies for four more years in private art institutions. My paintings have been exhibited and sold in Japan, Europe, the far east, Puerto Rico and the United States.

My love of glass began many years ago when I started collecting old stained glass windows.

Fascinated with the jewel-like colors that light and glass

creates. I became obsessed in capturing these qualities in my paintings. In 1998, my artistic career took a new direction when I attended a class in fused glass. I fell in love with molten glass and its ability to create abstract paintings. I signed up for another fusing class, only to have it cancelled a week before time to attend. I substituted a lampwork class, never imagining what was in store. It was love at first bead..."

Wow, Patty tells a great story! Exciting stuff and another reminder that really great things could be right around the corner for all of us!! :)

You can visit Patty on her blog for more fun stories or visit her storefront.

Thanks so much Patty for allowing me to share your work tonight!

Simple Photo Necklaces

I hope you aren't all gnomed out yet!! I wanted to share the other version of this necklace which uses a smaller label holder frame than the choker posted yesterday (below).

I also used the brad that came with these scrapbooking supplies in the bottom hole of the label holder so I could hang this as a pendant.

Connecting it close to the toggle clasp gave it more of an interesting look and also helps keep it in place.

Here is the glue product I used to get this effect. I didn't have time to learn about how to use resin products, so I was looking for some way to get a similar effect.

I had read about this product on a couple of blogs so I gave it a try. It is Triple Thick from Deco Art.

I uploaded the actual gnome photos I took in the back yard, sized them to fit on the computer, printed them on photo paper and cut them out so they would fit just behind the label holder.

To give it a little more weight, I glued a piece of cardstock or decorative paper to the back of the photo.

The best part about using this product was the unexpected fuzzy effect the glue had on the photo. I LOVE IT!

It reminded me of the kind of picture that would be glued to a plastic ring from a gumball machine in the 1970's or in one of those souvenier kaleidescopes. :)

I placed the label holder with photo in it on top of a disposable plastic container lid and just poured it over the entire piece. It does need to dry for a couple days to feel secure enough to turn it over and do the same on the back, but once it's done it is like you have traveled back in time and visited a Kmart to get one of those gumball machine treasures!

Very simple and very crafty! Something kids can do too because there are no dangerous fumes involved.

Very Gnomie Necklace

As soon as I can find where I very carefully stored a box that has "GNOMES" written across it in all capital letters, I'll get a better photo and include the simple instructions for making this kitschy necklace.

I remember wearing it on a wintry February day in an attempt to bring summer more quickly! :)

While I was looking for the box I came across the classic Disney film, "The Gnome-mobile"!! Oh my gosh, if you haven't seen that one, it's well worth checking out from the library. It's very colorful and quite wacky!! Perfect for a rainy Sunday afternoon!