Tuesday, July 28, 2015

SWD - Oh No! I Burned my Clay. Can this piece be saved?

In the last video series I created a tassel pendant.  The ones you see are not my first attempts.  I originally planned a bright, summery pendant with bright yellow, orange and purple.  Almost a retro look.  Unfortunately, because the clay covering is relatively thin, I burned and scorched the clay.  The result was a sad, dark mess.  The piece was destined for the trash but really, with the time I put into creating it, and the fact that I liked the shape, I decided to see what I could do to save it.  So, I used bronze, heavy body paint, I antiqued it and added a bunch of Swarovski crystals for some bling. Added a gold tassel, and I'm happy with the result.  So, see what you can do to save those not so perfect pieces.  Here's the video on the process. Have you ever burned a piece?  What did you do?  Let me know in the comments.  Hope you enjoy the video.

Saturday, July 18, 2015

#lovesummerart SWD Polymer Clay Tassel Pendant Tutorial

There’s something exciting happening in the YouTube art community.  Over 250 YouTube art/craft/how to channels have formed a community!  Thanks to Cinammon Cooney (theartsherpa), Clive Powell (clive5art), Sigrid Soto (secretsoto) and Ginger Cook (gingercooklive) for getting the group started.  This should be a fun collaboration and a supportive group.  I hope you visit the Facebook page to connect with the content creators participating.

My entry is a series of three videos on how to make a polymer clay tassel pendant.  I’ll show you how to create the pendant, make the tassel and do finishing work so you have a wearable work of art.  I hope you enjoy my entry and use the #lovesummerart (same hash tag on Facebook) to see of all of the unique and interesting videos showcased by these talented artists.   See below the videos for the tools and materials list.

Here are the tools and materials for my project.

Tools
Drill or needle tool
Craft knife
Clay blade
Oven
Pasta machine or roller
Texture plate
Scissors
Old credit card, hotel card key or several pieces of card stock
Double sided tape
Jewelry pliers - Round and flat nose

Materials
Polymer clay – navy (cobalt + black)
Thread for tassel – Artiste nylon thread #2, crochet thread or other
Pen barrel (optional), you could make your own from polymer clay
Viva Décor Inka Gold or pearlescent powder
Wire – 20 ga
Jump ring 6mm
Necklace finding – can be rope or chain
Bead cap (optional)
White glue or Fray Check (optional) - the thread will fray or unravel with wear, use one of these to stop the fray unless you like the look, apply a little bit to the end of each cord, separate and let dry