All the Daughters of Eve

I’m going to be tantalizing you with lots of beautiful handmade beads this month (stay tuned for tomorrow’s post!), and so I thought it might be a good idea to remind you that we’ve got a treasure trove of links on making your own beads. Every year, I like to add to my personal repertoire of techniques, so if you are in agreement that that’s a good way to keep your designs interesting and fresh, check out all the different types of beads that you could learn to make for yourself!

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[Wicked big disclaimer: I've got 7 pieces in this book, so of course I think it's really good!]

OK, that being said, it is really good! Page after glorious page of beautiful designs. Some so simple that you say, “Yes, of course! That’s all it needs.” Others are complex enough to make your jaw drop. I will be leafing back through this book over and over and over…

One of my pieces even (sort of) made it onto the cover! There it is – a teeny piece of it anyway – in the lower righthand corner. Here’s what it looks like on the inside:

So you know, this is purely an inspiration book. Although there are a few pages in the back of instructions on some basic techniques, it cannot be called a project book at all. There are no explanations or even materials lists for any of the pieces shown. But as an inspiration book, I think it hits its mark…I know I’m inspired by looking through it!

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Purse charms are become pretty popular, so my jewelry genes kicked in and this is the first of what I hope to be many more purse charms. I used paper clay to make the heart, and since paper clay is super light-weight, you won’t even feel this when you carry your purse around. I, at least, don’t need to make my purse any heavier than it is already.

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Pictured is an example of what I’m talking about, my Painted Paper Clay Pendant project. This is what I came up with after playing around with rubber stamps and using one to press an impression into the clay (see my Asian Paper Clay Stamp Charm Pendant project).

Granted it looks better in person, but there is still a very “hand-made” quality to the piece, and not necessarily in a good way. If you look at the paper charm closely, the paint job isn’t that good (probably should have used another coat or two) and the actual shape of the charm is a little uneven.

I’ve also been playing around with making paper clay beads, and that (so far) seems a little more doable. Pictured is a whopper 30mm bead I made after kneading paint into the clay and then just using my hands to form it. I’m thinking of making a bunch of smaller beads now so I could use this one as the focal bead and string up a necklace, though I wasn’t real keen on the paint into the clay thing – what a mess!

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I mentioned a while ago that I was working on a paper clay star ornament, and here it is – finished! You can read complete directions here: “Paper Clay Star.”

I think for a first effort, it’s okay. I am a little bummed that I didn’t manage to use some lace to get a textured affect with my gold paint, but I’m still happy with how it turned out.

One thing that I didn’t think about before making this was the fact that the whole drying process involved (and since I live in a humid climate) would eat up a lot of time. So, needless to say, I didn’t get to make a few dozen of these puppies and mail them out as intended. Maybe next year. 

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These are two media that I have to admit that I’m not very familiar with, really only played around a little, but I’ve got the clay ich and decided to scratch.

Any clay people out there?

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Okay, here is the beginning of my paper clay star ornament. I rolled out the clay and used a cookie cutter to cut the shape. I know, kind of big for jewelry, but I’m going to look around for maybe some smaller cutters.

One thing that didn’t work out so far like I had expected is the texture on the clay. When rolling it out, I pressed some lace into the clay to create texture on the surface. Now that it’s dry, you can’t really see or feel the texture so much. So, I’ve got a plan B I’m going to try to at least get that lacey look.

Post from: Jewelry and Beading

I’ve been experimenting some with paper clay, and so far, I like it. The finished pieces are really light, so you can have large items and not have to worry about them weighing too much, that is if you like to make bold jewelry. And, I especially like how you can use thing like rubber stamps to create patterns in the clay.

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