Week 10 : Jungle theme , faux ceramic style

Hi !

So this month I have set myself a theme called jungle . Of course this is my interpretation of it :)

I saw this cool technique called faux ceramic a while back . It is making polymer clay objects ,that resemble ceramic. I quite liked it , so I played around with it a little bit , and this is my slightly modified take on the same.

I found this tutorial to be really helpful. Its from Polymerclayweb.com.

I really love what I made , even though my finish still leaves a lot to be desired. That is something I do have to work on.

This was designed as a cuff , and it has double layers of sliding knots. I discovered that it could be reversed as a pendant and chain also. Pretty cool I think. This was the first piece I tried out with this technique.The arrangement for the thread to slide through was new for me. I made two identical springs from thin copper wire , embedded it on both sides.Covered it with more clay , and added the closings.
 I believe I came up with it myself , however If I do see something that was probably the base for the string technique , I shall add it here.Pictures stay in my head and I sometimes don't realize my inspiration points till I see it again.I try my best to trace out the starting point of my idea and give credit where its due , I believe its important.

Note : This from Artybecca and this from a Russian site Polymerclayfimo, are probably my starting point of my string technique.

 This was the second piece I did. It is a pendant based on the same technique and theme.Leather cords with sliding knot and beads.This is my entry for the #2015PCChallenge.

This is my bangle based on the same technique. I was planning on entering this for the  PCC challenge , however I submit too many bangles. So the pendant this time.This bangle took me a lot of time , but I guess I don't feel it has the finish yet. Practice makes perfect I have heard , hope I get better soon.

Thanks for reading :)

Have a great day !

The Dremel Trial

Hi !

I finally received my Dremel around 2 days back. I was very very excited to try it out. I had tried using a manicure drill previously for buffing the jewelry pieces , however the RPM was too low and I didn't get any particular result from it.

While I was very excited about the Dremel , I was also quite worried about it. I have never ever worked with power tools , and it frankly scared me quite a lot.

The only thing I learnt because of the manicure drill episode was not to use the felt buffing wheel provided. While I think the buffing wheel can be used ( very carefully ) to perhaps even out the texture , it does not help in any way with the polishing.

I read this article on Desired Creations , about how to rig your own Dremel wheel for polymer clay
and I have followed the tutorial for unstitched rig.This site has lots of other interesting topics too.

 So , I did make my own rig by cutting up a very fine and soft cotton dupatta , ( A shawl worn with a churidar) which has been lying around since I snagged it on a nail, a few years ago. The next question was what would be the right RPM. I tried 5000 ( the minimum) , then 10000  ( not enough ) , then 15000. I was comfortable with 15000, however I tried to check with 20,000 , and the pieces just kept getting flung around. I believe 15,000 is my optimal RPM.

Lots of trial left , anyway first pics of my trial.The top picture is before the dremel buff , the second after. They have been sanded from 320grit to 1000 grit.

This pic was shot on different days , one cloudy and the other quite sunny. The banded ones are shinier than in the pic.

Thanks for reading :)
Have a good day !

Wide Bangle attempt : Tape base

Hi !

I wanted to share a mishap that I had a few weeks back.I had a large cello tape ( also called a scotch tape ) base, around the width of 3 inches. I was eager to tackle it , seeing it is such a huge base.I don't have a pic of it before my experiment.

I happily covered it with a clay film , and I proceeded to put all the clay slices and I was finally done. And completed baking. What I did later was quite stupid. As soon as it came out of the oven , I dunked in Ice water , which is a standard procedure for me.

What I did not take into consideration was the fact that there is  a cardboard base inside. The base got water logged .As soon as I began to sand , the cracks appeared. Then more appeared. I gave up all semblance of  trying a save and I have kept these aside as a warning.

In case anyone was wondering , there are a few complex canes in there , a few bullseye canes reduced by the extruder.

Thank for reading ,hope my mishaps help you out from doing the same :)
Have a good day !

March theme announcement !

Hi,

I finally settled on the theme for the month. I had a lot of feedback for my jungle flower bangle/cuff combo , and I was asked whether there are any more pieces in this theme.I did not have anything else.   So the theme for this month is JUNGLE.

Hopefully this will give a me a chance to learn some floral and leaf canes and also to progress  in the finish direction as well.

Thanks for reading :) Have a great day !

Week 9 : Sunset in Lakshadweep & Bitter gourd earring

Hi !

My entry for #2015PCChallenge , week 9 is a simple chunky bracelet. Its based on the organic beads tutorial by  Ginger Davis Allman , from the Blue bottle tree. The primary piece : Sunset at Lakshadweep.

Lakshadweep is a group of islands in India. I had the good luck to travel there a few years back. The water is turquoise blue and the sunsets are a vibrant orange.I tried to take pictures showing the beauty of the sunset , but I only had a lousy 2 mp phone camera , and I could not capture all the colors.

The colour combination for this bracelet reminded me of those magical sunsets I saw.

My companion piece is the Bitter gourd earring. Its a simple ,rustic , bumpy earring .

Thanks for reading , have a good day :)

Some trials and failures

Hi !

This was a rather strange week. A lot of excitement on the shopping front and a lot of disappointment from the results front.
Last week , I finally splurged and a bought a lot of supplies for my polymer clay addiction. I bought six shades of Adirondack alcohol inks (6 !!! ) , a booklet each of imitation copper leaf and gold leaf ( I couldnt find any in silver ) ,a few tutorials , a few polymer clay books ( through Kindle for PC ), amazing mold putty and a Dremel , which hasn't been delivered yet.

What I did not count on was my natural tendency to spaz out. I went mad. I was trying to do everything , all together , my brain coming up with  new ideas every other second.I could not keep a track of it. I could not sleep , my brain was spamming me with strangest possibilities. AAArgh! I do appreciate my spontaneous brain , but it was very tiring.I have a been a mute person more less , this whole week. If talked it was only of polymer clay gobble de gook.

So in effect , I had a lot of trial pieces and a fair bit of learning.For one , dont always start sanding with lower grits.Sometimes its just not needed. Turns I needed  a experiment to finally keep this is in mind.

This is my first time trial of copper imitation foil and alcohol inks , which apparently leads to crackling technique. That was a pleasant surprise. I liked how this turned out. However , I sanded it a
bit too much and I thus sanded out the foil. There is a thin layer of translucent clay on top of it , then I applied Acrylic gloss varnish. This is the first time I have used any sealer / gloss on polymer clay. I ended up with brush strokes ,not easily visible to others , but glaring enough for me . To see if I can rectify it , I baked it again.The acrylic does seem smoother.

Another thing that I experimented with was my photography technique. I have a Fujifilm S 3300 , one of my most favorite possessions. People make fun of me a bit , because I tend to shoot pictures of tiny flowers and play of light rather than people.I don't like my photos being taken either , I am too fidgety, standing still is a total trial.My camera is fabulous for outdoor photography , which is what I do best.
 After shifting to Hyderabad a few months back , I discovered something I deeply disliked. There are no light spots. I always keep a few spots around the house as designated light spots , where the natural light is most ample , where my dog would fight me for it , if I had a dog.I  These light spots are my temples and my new house does not have any save one.That one light spot is on the tiny side grill of the entrance to my apartment. There is a stone there , on which I place my jewelry and shoot. I have taken all the PCChallenge photographs to date , on that circular - ish stone , maybe around 7-10 inches across. If I miss something , my jewelry would fall down 3 floors and break. Thankfully this has not happened yet , but I worry.

When I tried to take the photos of the blue-green ( earth ) cabochon outside, it took me forever to get the copper glints.On some half baked memory of reading  how to set up a jewelry photo booth , I improvised and shot these.I am not a big fan , but hey, practice right.

Remember the weekly challenge ? Well , I could not do anything. I had to try all the toys , all at once. Now I have basically nothing to show as a completed piece for my weekly challenge.I am thinking of  sanding and polishing my sister color bangles to submit.I made it last week , right after the jungle flower cuffs and bangles  , week 8 challenge. While the base idea is complete , it still has some work left.

Thanks for reading this lengthy post :)
Have a good day !

New toys

Hi !

Its incredible that somehow during the  past six months I am almost only working with polymer clay.I  have totally abandoned all other experiments.I might have to  change the description of the blog also, considering I am not doing a whole lot of experiments other than with polymer clay.

I am on a shopping spree this month ! Polymer clay related of course. I bought some Adirondack alcohol inks , the amazing mold putty and Imitation copper and gold foil. Yaay ! I am very excited.And I put in an order for my Dremel :)

Lets see what experiments I can do :)

Have a good day !