One more

One more Squidoo Lens:  What I’m working on this week. http://www.squidoo.com/wiwow

Just listed on Etsy

Marirraya the Red and Gold Phoenix  http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=25233946

Neptunes Playground Vase  http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=25234493

Squidoo and Twitter

I’ve discovered Squidoo and created 2 lenses.

Dystini – a biography http://www.squidoo.com/dystini

Color Recipes in Polymer Clay http://www.squidoo.com/crpc

I can also be found on Twitter: http://twitter.com/dystini

Too much time to think

Sifting through sandpaper chips when changing grits leaves a lot of time for my mind to wander.  This is what it wandered to tonight.

How many times do I handle a bead from creation to ready-for-sale?

1. Creating the bead.
2. Putting the hole in the bead.
3. Putting the bead on the baking tray
4. Removing the bead from the baking tray (this is a group thing where I may not touch each and every bead).
5. Putting beads into tumbler for first grit (another group thing).
6. Switching grits (in which I touch every bead as I sift through the sandpaper chips).  Repeat 6 times.
7. Sifting through the last grit.
8. Spreading beads on towel to dry (group thing).
9. Buffing each bead.
10. Putting each bead on a wire and dipping in glaze.
11. Removing beads from drying rack (group thing).
12. Placing bead on rack for final bake to set the glaze.
13. Removing beads from racks (group thing).
14. Removing wire from bead.
15. Stringing beads into sets.
16. Photographing (once into the photo box and once out, as a set so group thing).
17. Placing in “to sell box” (group thing).
18. Removing from box to list (group thing).
19. Placing on pegboard as listed (group thing).

So I touch each individual bead at least 15 times, possibly as many as 25 times.  Add to that, moving them to the clearance section of the pegboard and/or getting them ready to ship and you can add another 2 or 3 times.

I’ve got to find a more efficient method to separate beads from sandpaper chips.

Flower cane Mosaic

Flower canes

I’m so in the mood for Spring but here in Wisconsin we have another month and a half to 2 months before I can even think about going out and playing in the garden.  These flower canes will have to tide me over.

Now there are several awesome flower cane artists on Flicker.  I could have easily done a whole mosaic for each one but I chose to limit their appearances and find others who also made gorgeous flower canes.

1. New Polymer Clay Flower Canes, 2. 1 032, 3. Black and White with translucent background, 4. new flower cane, 5. Turquoise flower cane, 6. Aug flower canes, 7. Turquoise & Brown Flower Cane, 8. Translucent and white flower cane, 9. violet flower, 10. Spring Blends To Blooms, 11. Tulip cane, 12. after reducing, 13. New Millefiori Canes, 14. matriochka fleur rouge 1 et 2, 15. Spring, 16. rose cane, 17. Blue and green flower cane, 18. blue flower, 19. pansies, 20. cane476, 21. Polymer Clay Canes, 22. S-121k, 23. Barb’s Garden Cane, 24. Cane Making, 25. c-004, 26. Polymer Clay Flower Canes (raw), 27. Group Photo of Polymer Clay Flower Canes, 28. green flower, 29. flower canes, 30. 1 137, 31. Tulips, 32. pink&violet canes, 33. cane513, 34. Polymer Clay Millefiori Sunflower Cane, 35. Leah, 36. cane423

Frustration

My muse is stuck.

I have ideas but they’re stuck in my head.  It’s like they need one more piece to be complete so I can use them but I just can’t find those pieces.  It’s seriously frustrating.  Perhaps typing them out here will help.

First is a steampunk idea.  I have some gears and bits now and I sort of envision looking into a machine.  It’s like I remove a lid and there are the gears, partially covered by the rest of the machine.  I just can’t figure out how to achieve that look in a bead (or anything else for that matter).

Next one is more vague.  Something about stripes or strips that are painted somehow (with designs, perhaps abstract, anyway, not fully covering the surface, background shows through).  Again, as a bead.

The next idea is swirls or maybe spirals is a better term.  Background shows through.  This one is in vivid jewel colors.  I see the spirals as brighter than the background but the background isn’t black or any plain color.  It’s bright as well.

I’d also like do to something, no real ideas what, that doesn’t require sanding.

This next one I’m just hesitant to do as it’s sooo different than my normal style.  I’d like to play with Christi Friesen style animals and flower/jungle scenes.  I’ve done some, for my Dad’s now defunct business.  I could get those back from him and I’d like to do more.  I’ve also got some books on making flowers I’d like to play with in terms of making beads/pendants but again, sooo different than my normal.

I’m also interested in nudibranch inspired beads but my efforts so far look far too icky for my tastes.  One of those times when my fingers don’t do what my mind sees.  I spose practice is the only way I’ll get better.

I’ve also got some not bead items (pens, bracelets, etc) in varying stages of completion.  I plan to sell them on Etsy and spend a little more time actually promoting my Etsy shop but I’ve become so dependant on Ebay and beads that I have a hard time motivating myself in the Etsy direction.  But I really need to, because to be honest, I can see that Ebay is quickly going downhill for the small seller and it’s a very bad thing to have all my eggs in one basket.  I’ve got other baskets, I just need to work on them.

Maybe I should go clean off my clay table, maybe that will kickstart some of thse ideas.

Mokume Mosaic

Oodles of mokume gane to be found, both the translucent and metal leaf variety and the solid color (often mica shifty) variety.

1. Pingente Mokume Gane oval, 2. Moody Blues, 3. Close-up of mini-mokume gane set, 4. Handmade Polymer Clay Mokume Gane Round Bead Set of 15 – Blue Chocolate, 5. Versicolor Heart, 6. Mokume Gane Pendant, 7. black donut pendant 1, 8. Lime Sparkle, 9. Byzantine necklace, 10. Mystic Broccoli Box, 11. Mokume Gane Pillows, 12. Close up antique Jade, 13. Mokume Gane Pendant Mermaid´s Dream, 14. mokume gane switchplate lightswitch cover, 15. mokume gane brooch, 16. mokume gane pendants, 17. MokumeGaneCabs, 18. Mokume Gane Style Polymer Clay Beads, 19. mg-cuff-bmy2, 20. Mokume Gane Pendant, 21. Mokume Gane Technique, 22. UrbanViolet necklace, 23. Light on Water, 24. Sunset, 25. Mokume gane green earrings, 26. magnet 016 glass mg, 27. mirror 11 pocket MG, 28. Mokume heart side 2, 29. Tile Bracelet, 30. mokume gane close, 31. amethyst mokume gane ornament – view 2, 32. What I did this week, 33. mokume earrings, 34. Mokume Gane Polymer Clay Bead, 35. red treasure pendant 1, 36. Sun Harvest Earrings

Fave Crafts Blog giveaway

Craft Giveaway Summary

Prize: 1 set of Lisa Pavelka Signature Series polymer clay tools and DVD

Deadline: April 3, 2009 5pm CST

Go read all the details here: favecraftsblog.com

Green and Yellow

Green and Yellow

This was tough because I don’t really like these colors.

1. Splendor Green, Polymer Clay and Resin Pendant, 2. Butterfly Spirit – green w/glitter (side), 3. Lime Dots – Feb 2008, 4. At the Garden Gate, 5. Jades Leaves IV, 6. Studio Wednesday Side 1, 7. Yellow flower cane, 8. Black and yellow pendant, 9. Blowing In the Wind Side 1, 10. Black & Yellow, 11. CASS BL 343-08, 12. Sunshine and rust

Orange is not evil

Items showing that a splash of orange can really make a piece pop. I focused on items where orange wasn’t the main color but added interest. I had to break one of my own rules to do it. That last one is mine and I normally don’t include my own work.

1. Harvest Moon Set, 2. Blue and Orange Kaleidoscope 1, 3. Tangerine sparkles, new photo, 4. Tribal Orange, 5. 19 – Jewel Leaf Series, 6. Layered