Custom Cool Jewelry
by Melinda Barta

Melinda Barta came up with a brilliant idea for this fun book. Instead of spreading her many talents out too thinly, she concentrated on just three areas: pendants, charms, and clasps.

It’s often hard to find exactly that perfect piece to customize your jewelry, and if you can make your own pendants, charms, and clasps, you can add them to readily available lain beads to create a masterpiece that is distinctively yours. Melinda includes over 275 quick and easy ideas for mixed media components as well as 7 full stringing projects. Once you start making these components, you’ll never run out of ideas about what to do with them!

Custom Cool Jewelry teaches you how to create personalized, affordable, and unique alternatives to store-bought beading components using a wide range of jewelry and basic crafting materials including embossing powder, collage papers, wire, fibers, glass etching cream, patinas, found objects, fabric, memorabilia and more.

Check out The Bookshop for lots more links to books about jewelry-making in addition to this fine guide!

Betsy Baker, owner of Stonehouse Studio, creates lovely classic jewelry from polymer clay.   The combination of polymer with beautiful metal frames and findings makes gives it timeless style.  Betsy writes:

I love the contrast between metal and polymer clay.  Metal is bullied and cajoled into doing what you want by hammering, sawing and torching.  Polymer, on the other hand, is the most cooperative, versatile and forgiving of mediums.  As is so often true of opposites, the two work beautifully together.

My work is inspired by nature, which may seem strange since my primary medium is a synthetic plastic.  But the chameleon-like qualities of polymer clay allow for innumerable ways of bringing an artistic vision to life.  My polymer work encompasses a variety of surface techniques, including alcohol inks, acrylic paints and image transfers altered with colored pencils.  The end result is jewelry that is organic, simple and very wearable.

Lauren Abrams, owner of LaBeana, makes eye-catching polymer clay jewelry.  I love the tribal/ethnic/bohemian feel to her pieces.  Lauren writes:

I love polymer clay because of the immediacy of it as a medium. It is endlessly challenging yet among the simples of mediums to us. There are new techniques being developed daily and the excitement of trying new ones keeps it fresh and enticing. It’s great to be learning from other polymer clay artists(who are among the most generous of artists when it comes to sharing information) and a day does not go by when I don’t see something done in polymer clay that  intrigues me….

Krissy Fernandez, of Junk & PO, shared her wonderful cupcake series with us!  She calls them the “No Fat, No Sugar, No Calorie Cupcakes (…. Without all the artificial stuff.)”  Isn’t that great!  I can imagine simply hanging one of these off of a plain cord necklace.

Here’s more from Krissy:

These are the perfect cupcakes for all you health nuts! And if you’re not a health nut (like me), even better — these cupcakes are sure to satisfy any sweet tooth! Each cupcake necklace is one of a kind, and I’m not just talking about its handmade nature. You will never see one with the exact same variation of colors, accents, and quirky style. For that reason, these cupcakes are numbered, and each number is pretty much its own bar code. They also come with a special photo ID card indicating what number it is in the collection.

=The Art of Cupcaking=

I really enjoy making these polymer cuties because each one I complete is totally different from the next – kind of like meeting a new person every hour (and yes, that’s how long it takes me to make one cupcake). Some cupcakes are outrageously wild, while others are sophisticated and chic. When I sell these at craft shows, I actually get to meet the people that these cupcakes are destined to be with. You can definitely see someone’s character shine through just by seeing what cupcake they purchase - because all my cupcakes have a distinct exclusiveness to it just as each person would have too!

=The Artist=

My dad once told me that it’s okay to color outside of the lines, heck, on the walls if I wanted to, and I haven’t stopped exploring my creativity since — thus, the reason why I just can’t seem to settle on one medium or style. It’s just too much fun trying to absorb anything and everything I can about what inspires and fascinates me. I also get “un-fascinated” pretty fast so my mind is constantly racing for new things to keep me from losing it. Screw compromising a vision to have a defined style - Art isn’t just a marketable business. I’m in it for the growth of my own soul. However, I’d love for you to be a part of it.

Source of inspiration: cute & creepy things, the awkward & obscure, hip hop, lowbrow art movement, and life.

Location: Now resides in San Diego, CA after moving from Guam four years ago

Ancient Modern Polymer Clay Design Challenge
Deadline: June 5, 2009

To celebrate the publication of the new book Ancient Modern by Ronna Sarvas Weltman, Beading Daily is hosting a design challenge.  To enter, design one original polymer clay bead (any size, shape, or color) using any technique and send BD a photo.

You must be a member of BD to enter the contest, but it’s free to sign up, so what are you waiting for? 

More information and submission forms

Image: Interweave

Rickie Leiter, of Rickie Leiter’s Ocean Stone Jewelry, has a totally unique inspiration for polymer clay jewelry pieces.  I love the idea of combining a precious antique material with something as accessible as polymer clay.  Rickie writes:

Childhood experiences started me on a path of looking at nature with appreciation and awe. Collecting stones, shells, and pieces of pottery from trips around the world always kept those memories alive in a special way. Some tokens became necklaces or pins, as I learned new ways to create jewelry with different mediums.

The pieces shown are built with polymer clay and are embedded with pieces of pottery shards that date back to 165 BC, the time of Judah Maccabbee. No longer used to store wine, oil, or perfume, these shards come from Tel Maresha, in the 1,250 acre Beit Guvrin National Park which lies one hour southwest of Jerusalem. The darkest shards were used for cooking over and open flame.

I took part in an archaology “dig for a day” program, with members of my group uncovering chicken bones, pieces of pottery, and the top third of a wine amphora intact! We toured where the former residents raised doves, stored their crops, and buried their dead. At the end of the day, we were allowed to take shards of pottery that the archaologists determined were no longer of interest to them. These “relics” now have a new life and can be appreciated in new ways. Much like finding a new path on life’s journey.

Tina Farthing, owner of Chicki and ChickiBeads, sent some lovely pictures of her work.   When you visit her bead shop, I think you’ll be immediately struck by the endless possibilities of jewelry you could make using her beads!  Tina wrote:

I handcraft polymer clay jewelry. I create my own polymer clay beads and pendants and fashion them into unique jewelry. A lot of my items are one-of-a-kind and cannot be recreated.

I have always been a crafter. I can thank both my grandmothers for this as they are very crafty. I first picked up clay around 5 years ago. I took a couple breaks from it when I had my children and they were babies. I have been selling my clay jewelry on my store for just over a year now and I am really loving it! I love the endless possibilities there are with clay….it is so versatile!

Mags Bonham, owner of Really Unique Creations,  is a self-taught artist who began working in the versatile medium of polymer clay upon moving to Vermont in 1999. She works out of her studio - Vermont Hearts & Crafts – in Bolton, VT.  I love the combination of materials that she comes up with in these pieces!

Mags is known for her high quality fanciful boxes, imaginative jewelry, and functional art handcrafted from Polymer Clay. This fascinating material has lead Bonham on a constant journey of exploration and experimentation. Her work is contemporary, yet classic, with an occasional element of surprise.

Bonham creates an ever-changing variety of original jewelry pieces, decorative boxes, and home décor items. Each item is individually handcrafted by the artisan - giving each it’s own subtleties that make every piece a unique piece of art. Mags is always open to discussing custom work to suit the customer.

Bonham also produces a line of brooches, under the Studio name of Vermont Hearts & Crafts, as fundraisers for various organizations. Her work has benefited Breast Cancer Research, Vermont Children’s Trust Foundation, and The American Red Cross.

Juli McCarthy, of Mockingbird Studio Jewelry, has been creating uniquely designed, handcrafted jewelry for over thirty years, using beads, wire, textiles, vintage buttons, metal, fibers and found objects. In 1993, she began working with polymer clay, which quickly became her preferred medium for its amazing versatility.

“I love that even after so many years of working with this material, it continues to surprise and excite me. I look forward to time in the studio because every time I sit down, I learn something new. While I have had fantastic teachers such as Donna Kato, Victoria Hughes, Katherine Dewey and Dan Cormier, I have learned most of what I know about polymer clay from the medium itself.”

McCarthy’s designs are noted for their ingenuity and exceptional craftsmanship. Her work has been featured in Jewelry Crafts Magazine and Lapidary Journal and she was recently the subject of artist profiles in both The Samhellion and The Regional Renaissance Reporter.

Dawn Rhodes, founder of SHADES Jewelry Designs, is a self-taught jewelry designer who has been creating beaded jewelry for over 5 years.

To be more precise, her interest in beads began one summer with some friends and family and creating seed bead bracelets. That same year she created cross necklaces out of beads and charms for her family for Christmas. When people started asking where they could purchase or see more of the jewelry, Dawn decided it was time to create the business and pursue jewelry making more.

All the jewelry is handmade by Dawn. She is attracted to the infinite combinations that are possible with different shapes, colors, textures & sizes of beads and various materials that can be used to create beads such as polymer clay, paper and more. Her favorite designs are those that are unique and personalized. She continually refines her techniques and has developed the kind of knowledge, skill, and quality of workmanship that comes only from years of experience.

Dawn is currently working on becoming a jeweler. She is currently taking classes through Ashworth University in Norcross, GA and their School of Jewelry Design and Repair. She is also an active member of the Ohio Jewelry and Metal Arts Guild, Self-Representing Jewelry Artists Designers #513, Fashion Artists Network, Ohio Beaders and also teaches jewelry making classes. She is also the author and publisher of the SHADES Jewelry blog which helps other small craft business with marketing and advertising ideas and tips.