How to make a basic polymer clay covered pen

Just a quick note to let everyone know I have just added a new tutorial to my website. You can see the tutorial HERE

It is a tutorial for beginners with instructions showing the way I do it. This pen is a simple smooth style with no texture.

Sales Events

There are only 2 shows I have attended. I sell mainly through consignment in local shops .

This first one was organized very quickly as a benefit for a local cancer victim. So there wasn't much time for me to come up with a pretty display. Ach! I had no table cover.

Here is a poor picture of the table with my so very helpful Granddaughter. We both had fun and there was a pretty good turnout for a show with such short notice that lasted only 5 hours.

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Here is my table at the Fall fest where there were many different types of vendors. There were also quite a lot of jewelry vendors too. There were a lot of choices for customers. We weren't really in competition since every jewelry maker has a distinct style that will appeal to some but not to others.

Most of the local jewelry artists network with one-another. We trade ideas, information, and even make purchases from one-another from time to time.

This sharing doesn't harm anyone's sales because no matter how much we gain from this relationship, we each still retain our unique style.

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some of my first beads

These beads are not new, they are some I have made in the past. Different techniques were used. Some using canes I have made. (that's a whole new blog in itself) Some using onlays, inlays and some faux techniques I have tried.

#1

Here are two images if some of my faux lampwork beads. They were made my flattening round beads then sticking circles and teeny strips of clay.

#2

These beads were the first ones that I made using one of the first flower canes I made. Not bad but since then I have learned to roll them so as not to distort the flower pattern on the cane slices. These were sold on Etsy some months ago. There are currently no offerings by me there.




#3

These appear to be ceramic but they are really made with white polymer clay. The patterns were made using rubber stamps then a rub to accent the pattern. The rub was applied after baking as per instructions on the package.

To prevent the rub from wearing off, there were two coats of future floor wax, which is a clear acrylic much like the clear fingernail polish.












#4
These beads and the ones in #6 were used to make a gorgeous necklace and earring set for a good friend of mine. The yellow swirl ones have a base clay the color of the beads in


Very thin slices were made from a cane I made up of scrap clay. These beads were rubbed with corn starch before baking to make them as smooth as silk. They feel as if they have been meticulously polished by hand. The cornstarch gives them a nice matte finish.


#5
Here a terracotta appearance was the goal and am happy with these results. These were hand rubbed before baking to make them as smooth as possible. Then some were stamped with a flower patterned rubber stamp. I left them unpolished to give them a "natural" feel.




#6
I have a friend who owns a bead shop. She loves my chevron beads. These were made expecially for her.







#7









#8
This set of beads as well as the two below use onlay and inlay techniques. The onlays are raises to have a texture. The inlays are canes applied to beads then the beads are carefully rolled between my hands until they are smooth and the pattern is embedded in the bead. #9 is a combination of both techniques




#9
These are inlays with several layers that have small gaps to show the background pattern just a little.







#10
And here is another set using both techniques.








Maybe I should consider making tutorials for some of these. There are 2 tutorials on my website and more to come as soon as there is time. See them here

Beads and more beads

Well, it certainly has been a long time since I have posted in this blog. There is so much to show and discuss. There will have to be many posts to cover it all.

First off, I would like to show and discuss some beads I have made from polymer clay and then show off the jewelry that I have made from some of them.

Yup! This is a pile of polymer beads I have made. These are fresh from the polisher. There are several jewelry pieces that have been made from beads in this mess.

Most of the purple and all of the lacy looking blue and pink ones were traded along with most of their matching accent beads. I have attempted to re-create them but have not even come close. This is what makes polymer beads truly one of a kind. The separate "batches" are never the same. And the individual beads in each batch are not exact matches either.

Here is a necklace made from some of the red and white beads. They were made using the "natasha" technique. There will be a free tutorial HERE by the end of this week. I'm working on it. If all goes right, there will also be a link to a video to go along with the pictures. This necklace also includes blue Topaz chips and has a toggle clasp.



Below is another necklace made with natasha style beads. These weren't in the trade, I wanted to keep them for myself since they were made with this specific piece in mind.
All of the blue beads are polymer. the spacers are glass seed beads in 2 sizes.

Most of the purple and all of the lacy looking blue and pink ones were traded. I have attempted to re-create them but have not even come close. This is what makes polymer beads truly one of a kind. The separate "batches" are never the same. And the individual beads in each batch are not exact matches either.

Moving on, I would like to show you a necklace I created from what was not chosen by the other party when we did our trade. There is some 'recycled' chain in this one that was taken from a necklace I was given but never wore. Some of that chain ended up in some earrings too. Here, the big beads on the side were made to match the color of the round bead in the middle.

This round bead is the one at the top of the picture of the pile of beads. I embellished it with a lighter color clay that had a pattern, then added some of it to the 3 holes as well. Then the darker outline strip was applied. I was very happy with the effect. It totally changed the appearance of that plain purple ball. "GRIN" The smaller oval accent beads are also in that pile of beads. I made my own clasp for this one using brass wire.

Thank You for reading my blog. Why not subscribe to this blog so you will know when I publish more. I promise it won't be a year like this time.

There are currently none of my polymer beads for sale. You can see more of my creations by visiting my website: http://www.kayscrafts.com

P Kay Bell

Beads and Ham Radio

Today I have been working on a necklace and bracelet set for my Mom. She likes black and white with red accents. I made some really cool black and white beads and a few of them have just a little accent of red in them. I think the necklace is pretty. I hope she likes it too. I used white Topaz and Smoky Quartz chips with them too.

BF and I went to a Ham Fest in Fort Wayne today. He used to be a ham operator and I think he wants to get back into it again. I found a few cool tools I could use in my polymer work. :D

Showing off my stuff

It's been a little while since i have had time to post here.

I am gearing up to start making pretties for sale through local craft and gift stores. I am making pens, jewelry and pretty soon ( I hope) dragons and other figures both animal and human. I have also started making bowls but the first few aren't very impressive as far as I am concerned. They will get better with practice though. I wanted to make small bowls the size to become ring holders or some such other use for small stuff. Or just to look pretty 'grin'.

These two bracelets are made from plain old jewelry wire that I bought at Joanne's. The bigger one is gold colored and measures 7 1/2" long and is 5/8 wide. It was made from 16 gauge wire. It has a really nice chunky look to it. I created the whole thing including the clasp without the help of a jig. The same goes for the smaller, more dainty version above it.

This smaller one measures 6 1/2 inches long and 3.8 wide. I made it from 20 gauge wire the same way the larger one was made. I like it's dainty look and feel on my wrist. It seems to have no weight at all.

Here's my first polymer and wire combo jewelry set. I really like it. It was all handmade by me except for the wire earring hooks.

I have a coiling gizmo so I made two short gold wire beads to go with the polymer beads I made for this necklace and earring set.


You can't see it but the polymer beads are made with a crackle technique using Future floor polish and yellow acrylic paint. I made a flat sheet of the stuff and covered clay beads with it. After they were baked, I brushed them with a mixture of liquid clay and gold mica powder and re-baked them. I had some mica left over from my old melt-and-pour soap days (they're over now, I don't like the stuff so I can't sell it in good conscience.) The little gold tube beads are made from clay too.

The wire components, including the jump rings, were made from twisted wire that I twisted using my handy little drill.

Well, I am just going to put a few photos up here now without descriptions.

My craft room

I thought you might like to see my work area, it could give you an idea of how I work to create my polymer eye candy.

This space also holds my beading, sewing, crochet, and soap making supplies. Yeah, I love to craft. I spend more time doing that than anything else.

LOL The shelf with the Bud Light case is my soap and candle making storage space. The beer case holds my fragrance bottles. NO I did NOT drink all that beer. LOL

For those of you who don't know much about working with polymer clay, the pasta machine is used to condition and soften the clay before use and to make flat sheets when I need them for a project.

That cordless drill on a shelf is an invaluable tool to me. It is variable speed, I love it. It not only drills holes in my beads, it also twists wire used for making jewelry and will one day hold a final buffing pad.

Yup, in the background behind my work table, is the water softener I share the room with. LOL

Thought you might like to see me working at one of my crafts. Here I was attempting my first ever quilt. I didn't like the colors after it was finished so it was sold as a quilt top. Check out that gorgeous Indiana sunset out the window. :D

For more years than I care to remember, I have done some sort of art/craft. Starting with crochet and sewing when I lived with my Grandma in my pre-teen years all the way through to when I started beading from time to time in the 70's. I remember always having a crochet project to work on. Of course I did other crafty things too such as rug hooking, painting pictures for kids rooms, and little home decor thingies when I became inspired.

Since I now have arthritic fingers and have had carpel tunnel surgery in both hands, I have cut way back on the crocheting which really hurts the old fingers LOL.

As a natural extension of my beading, I took up making my own beads with polymer clay. WELL, I am here to tell you that there are sooo many other fantastic things that can be done with this stuff! The sky is the limit! One is limited only by one's imagination.

THEN! As another natural extension of beading and making wonderful things with polymer clay, I have recently taken up learning to make wire jewelry. It is such a satisfying feeling to see a project just completed which I have made completely from scratch.

Being an 'Old Hippie' I love flowers and bright colors. Polymer clay fits the bill perfectly with it's easy workability and bright colors that can be made into a rainbow of MORE bright colors. Making flower canes to embellish my various projects is the most fun of all. I am surrounded by pretty posies now.