A two-contest morning On FIre For Handmade Aurora Reds

Honored to be in two contests this morning.  Check out these fabulous reds

http://onfireforhandmade.com/aurora-red-great-finds/

And vote for your favorite.

pssst! this is mine :)

PCAGOE August challenge "Home Decor"

Winged creature is in the this months PCAGOE challenge "Home Decor".  Click on the link for a chance to win!

http://polymerclayartists.blogspot.com/2014/07/august-challenge-home-decor.html

So proud to be included in the On Fire for Handmade list Home Decor

Decor for your Home curated by On Fire for Handmade on Etsy

Winged Creature night light

This was made for the Polymer Clay Artists Guild of Etsy (PCAGOE) August challenge "home decor".

I've been on a night light kick lately, having lots of fun with translucent polymer clay (liquid and solid) and alcohol inks.  So I knew I would make a night light. I made two for the challenge and this was the one I decided to enter in the challenge.

As always I started with a sketch.  I get these fun ideas and (at my age) if I don't jot them down RIGHT away they are gone forever.  So this sketch ended up in one of many trusted journals. To the right is the drawing on graph paper that will be used to make the pattern.

The graph paper gets glued to thick card stock to make a sturdy pattern.  Here are the pattern, pieces created and cut out.

Okay, now to dye the translucent clay.  This is the hardest thing for me, to wait for the alcohol to evaporate so I can blend the color into the clay.  Really, really hard.  Patience is not what I am know for :). Also you can see the start of cutting the "wings" sections.

The assembly begins with extruded jungle green (I do love that color!), for the framework.

After I added the jungle green body, head and antennae, the piece was cured.  Then it was time to build the backing.  The backing is clear translucent clay, and the purpose is to provide strength and a clean back look. I use poly bonder to combine the layers.

The finished product is a large 5" tall x 4 1/2" wide by 1 1/2" deep:

light on

light off

on from the side

view of the back 

Thank you so much for sharing my experience.  I would love to hear your comments.

So very honored to be selected for the Tropical Finds contest

Visit here to vote:  http://onfireforhandmade.com/tropical-delights-great-finds/

PCAGOE challenge for July - Mixed Media

The PCAGOE challenge for July is posted. Another fun group of work, vote and you will have the opportunity to win a gift certificate from one of the many sponsoring shops.

Click here to go to the challenge.

Polymer Clay Artists Guild of Etsy (PCAGOE): July Challenge "Mixed Media"

Carnival Mask

I love masks and tribal/totem designs so I decided to try my hand at a small mask in that style for this challenge. Materials include a cardboard mask base, acrylic paint, polymer clay, glitter glue and 20 gauge craft wire.  

Sketch of my idea, originally I thought I would extend the nose more and add three layers of "feathers" at the top.  Well that didn't happen.  It turned out to be very difficult to keep the shape of the polymer clay while curing, when it wasn't supported by the mask base.

Starting with a basic cardboard mask from the craft store, I painted it on both sides with Brass Pearl acrylic paint. I liked it already!

Starting the design.  I used wasabi, green pearl, black and purple to start.  The larger wasabi frame was made using a half-round template in the extruder. the others a smaller full-round.  I used liquid transclucent polymer clay to hold the pieces in place. You can see the template for the "feathers", of which only two layers were used.

First curing on fiberfill.  I decided, on the fly, to add the circles to the "feathers".  They were just too plain as large areas of solid color.  

Next I finished the nose design and added the ties. I covered the knots of the ties with circles of wasabi polymer clay. In the oven for the final cure.  

I found yellow and purple glitter glue in one of those sales bins at Michael's and thought it might be handy for something.  Well, this was it.  I used the yellow on the wasabi areas, and the purple on the purple.  Added some nice bling!

Lastly I made the antennae from 20 gauge craft wire.  The spiral came out too wonky so it went in the trash. I decided to use a polymer clay tear drop instead to cover the ends of the wires. 

The results.  This was a lot of fun, and I am encouraged to do more.  

The back, I always like to see the back.

Would love to hear your comments.  Thanks for stopping by and sharing my story.

Yippee! I won!

I am thrilled and extremely honored to have taken first place in both the public and member votes.  Everyone did such an incredible job, the bar keeps getting higher and higher.

Thanks to my PCAGOE team for helping me grow and challenge myself, and thanks to all of the voters.

http://polymerclayartists.blogspot.com/2014/06/june-challenge-winners.html

 Next month is mixed media with at least 50% polymer clay.  Working on a piece now.  Fun!

Polymer Clay Artists Guild of Etsy (PCAGOE): June Challenge Art Deco-Art Nouveau

Polymer Clay Artists Guild of Etsy (PCAGOE): June Challenge Art Deco-Art Nouveau: About the challenge:   For June our members a stylistic theme: Art Deco/Art Nouveau. They could create anything inspired by the theme as ...

PCAGOE June challenge piece - Art Deco faux stained glass trinket box

If you like this piece, please visit my shop StrebeDesigns for a variety of polymer clay art pieces.

_____________________ 

Being an Art Deco junkie I was really excited about the Polymer Clay Artists Guild of Etsy (PCAGOE) challenge this month with the theme of Art Deco/Art Nouveau.  Since I started making my nightlights, I had a vision for a faux stained glass box for this challenge.

After doing a little research on art deco colors, I decided on the colors for the translucent "glass" sections by using the ink colors celery, eggplant, butterscotch and pebble.  For the circles I went with my own color scheme since I wanted splashes of bright colors: juniper, watermelon, sail boat blue, and more butterscotch ( a luscious color).

To make the circles, I first made the frames by putting extruded clay around cookie cutters and curing.  When cool enough, I filled the frames with liquid translucent pc and mixed with alcohol ink (I used a toothpick to mix). Then I gave it a bit of time to level out even (which it will do on its own) and then cure.

There is that luscious butterscotch!  Sometimes the liquid clay would ooze under the frame. If that happened, I simply trimmed the ooze with a razor blade after curing.  If you look closely at the blue one, you can see where it has been trimmed.  

Next I blended the translucent clay with the inks, so that I had plenty of each color. I also filled two extruders with black Premo! clay so I had plenty of material ready for framing.  Using some of my sketches as guidelines I cut out shapes and started with the four sides.  

Yes, I know, neat I am not.  

Unfortunately, I don't have any more photos of the construction process.  Frustration won out. The four sides took a loooong time, and I changed patterns over and over, sometimes even cutting out and replacing cured sections. 

When the four sides were completed I constructed and cured the bottom.  Again agonizing over pattern layout. Now I had four sides and a bottom, but nothing connected.  I had no idea what to do next, and could not find anything to use as a form to construct and support the box.  Very bad planning, extremely bad.  

I can't remember how many things I tried, but there were many that failed miserably as I couldn't keep the sides straight.  Finally my solution was to extrude large diameter, and large flat sections of black clay and use it as the binding material.  

The corners are held in place by round strips on the outside and flat strips on the inside.  The sides are held to the bottom by large round strips on both sides of the side.  All this had to be put in place using liquid clay to hold the uncured clay securely to the cured clay.  I was able to use a Fat Daddios square cutter inside the box to hold the sides upright while curing, wasn't a great fit but good enough. 

The results:

It is about 4" square and 2" high. 

A lot of hard knocks along the way, a lot of swearing, a little wine, but most importantly a lot of learning.  The nightlights seem like a walk in the park now! 

Apple Rose Cottage copy of

How exciting, my nightlights are for sale in this charming little place in Gold Hill, Oregon. Barbara, the wonderful owner of Apple Rose Cottage has an "etsy gallery" room where members of the Rogue Valley etsy group can offer their wares. Check out her facebook page at Apple Rose Cottage.  Stop by if you are in the area, but allow lots of time, she has so much fun stuff!

This is my collection there so far:

Night light number 2 - the flame

Several warm colors of ink blended into Translucent Pardo Art Clay.  A large teardrop Fat Daddio's cookie cutter was used for the shape.  I just bent it slightly after cutting it out to give it a slight wave.

I'm happy with the results.

Here is how the back looks/works:

My first night light looked like a dog

Not that I don't like dogs, but geez! It wasn't suppose to look like a dachshund!

I was pretty happy with how it came out, but I couldn't get over the dog thing.  Plus the extruded clay was  wonky, I kept getting finger nail marks on it, so I decided to use a little tool and dimple it.  And there were some minor gaps again between the framing strips and the translucent.  But I did like the combination of jungle and celery again! 

So I took it apart.  I was a little disheartened at how easily it came apart.  I had cured the flat pieces first and then put them together with the framing strips to cure again.  I did have trouble getting the the strips to stick to the cured flat pieces.  A new engineering problem.  

So when I reworked the design, I put it together using liquid translucent to bind the pieces.  Worked like a charm.  

Lesson learned: Uncured clay adheres fine to uncured clay.  Uncured clay to cured clay? not so much. 

Faux stained glass - the beginning

Recently I had an idea that I would like to make night light shades using translucent polymer clay.  As a lover of the Art Deco and Arts and Crafts art movements, I decided this would be a great way to work in those styles.    

So to start I ordered on line Translucent Pardo Art Clay (a lot),  Adirondack alcohol inks (bunches of colors), and a stock of Translucent Liquid Sculpey.   I also ordered night light bases and clips to hold the shade and stocked up on LED night light bulbs.  Since these run much cooler, I was more comfortable with them next to cured polymer clay.  

Stocked up, my night light adventure begins.

My first shot was a little design, just to test out using all these new (to me) materials.  I love the colors the inks and the translucent clay yield.  LOVE them.

As a lover of green, I had recently discovered the Premo!  color jungle.  A rarity for me, I liked it so much I didn’t even blend it with other colors.  To complement the jungle color, I used the ink color celery.   What a wonderful combination that turned out in my first practice piece.  

Boy, did I have a lot to learn!  Looks good, right?  Close inspection showed a lots of gaps between the extruded Premo! clay and the dyed translucent.  And right after I photographed it, I picked it up and it fell apart!!  The pieces came apart and the extruded clay fell away from the flat pieces.  My technique definitely needs work. 

On Fire for Handmade Featured Artist: PolyClayCafe ... ME!

Poly Clay Cafe

Featured Artist

Share the Love Blogger’s Unite

Poly Clay Cafe is the Featured Artist this week on Share the Love Blogger’s Unite! Stunning pieces in polymer clay by Betsy Strebe!

Distinctive handmade-by-me polymer clay items.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/PolyClayCafe I guarantee that everything in my shop is one of a kind, designed and made by me. My only helper is my cat, she keeps the beads from rolling on the floor! You can Find Poly Clay Cafe on: Etsy Blog Facebook

On Fire for Handmade Featured Artist: On Fire for Handmade Featured Artist: Grahams Bazaar

Huggable Cuddable Blankets

Featured Artist

Share the Love Blogger’s Unite

Huggable Cuddable Blankets is the Featured Artist this week  on Share the Love Blogger’s Unite!

Fleece Blankets, Minky Blankets, Receiving Blankets

http://www.etsy.com/shop/HuggableCuddable

You can Find Huggable Cuddable Blankets on: Blog   Facebook

Grab the code for your blog HERE

Are you On Fire for Handmade? http://onfireforhandmade.com Shop at On Fire Gift Guide! https://onfiregiftguide.com

On Fire for Handmade Featured Artist: Grahams Bazaar

Featured Artist

Share the Love Blogger's Unite

Grahams Bazaar is this week's Feature Artists on Share the Love Blogger's Unite! Handmade Accessories Gifts Photography http://www.etsy.com/shop/GrahamsBazaar All creations in our shop are limited edition and unique... Our inspiration comes from everything, everywhere. We live to discover, create, share and love You can Find Grahams Bazaar on: Etsy Facebook Blog Etsy Shop 2 = http://www.etsy.com/shop/sebsurer Are you On Fire for Handmade? http://onfireforhandmade.com Shop at On Fire Gift Guide! https://onfiregiftguide.com

On Fire for Handmade Featured Artist: Designs by Nancy

   

jazz it up with Designs by Nancy

Featured Artist on Share the Love… Blogger’s Unite

Jazz it up with Designs by Nancy is this weeks Featured Artist on Share the Love, Blogger’s Unite! You will find high quality handmade jewelry in her shop on Artfire!

Designs by Nancy

Find Designs by Nancy on: Artfire   Facebook   Blog   Twitter
Are you On Fire for Handmade? http://onfireforhandmade.com

Shop at On Fire Gift Guide! 
https://onfiregiftguide.com

This weeks On Fire for Handmade Featured Artist: Ruta Jewelry

Featured Artist

Ruta Jewelry is this weeks Featured Artist on Share the Love, Bloggers Unite! You will find beautiful Handmade Jewelry and Gifts Ideas in her Etsy Shop!

You can Find Ruta on: Etsy Facebook Page Twitter Blog Facebook



Are you On Fire for Handmade? http://onfireforhandmade.com Shop at On Fire Gift Guide!

This weeks On Fire for Handmade Featured Artist is: Adore by Nat

Adore by Nat

Featured Artisan

Adore by Nat is this weeks Featured Artisan. You will find quality handmade party decorations for any occasion. http://www.artfire.com/ext/shop/studio/adorebynat

Find Adore by Nat On: Artfire Blog Twitter Facebook Pinterest

Holiday Gift Guide featuring my handmade Sedona beads - thank you Shelly

Stuff their stockings treasury featuring my bangle bracelet set - thank you Tammy

The perfect gift treasury featuring my poppie pendant - thank you Jean Schroeder

Support Handmade Artists on Etsy

Find Handmade by ME artists on etsy.

List of members and shops here:
https://www.etsy.com/teams/19087/all-handmade-by-me/members

Use code SUPPORTHANDMADE for 20% discount in my shop, good until Dec. 13.

Polymer Clay Artists Guild of Etsy (PCAGOE): December Challenge: Beads, Baubles, and Balls

Polymer Clay Artists Guild of Etsy (PCAGOE): December Challenge: Beads, Baubles, and Balls: This month PCAGOE artists explored all things seasonal. They could create jewelry, decorations, wall hangings, anything that made them feel...

Click here for full details

This week's On Fire for Handmade Featured Artisan Caty Ann Creations

Caty Anns CreationsFeatured Artist

Share the Love, Blogger’s Unite

This Weeks Featured Artist on Share the Love, Blogger’s Unite is Cathy Cooley of Caty Anns Creations Truly one of a kind pieces of stunning jewelry can be found in Cathy's Shop! Handcrafted Jewelry you will love to wear! A Must Have for every Jewelry Box!  

Find Caty Ann's Creations on:

Artfire   Blog   Facebook   Zibbet    Google+



Are you On Fire for Handmade? http://onfireforhandmade.com Shop at On Fire Gift Guide! https://onfiregiftguide.com

Featured Artist RSS Designs in Fiber

Share the Love, Blogger’s Unite

This Weeks Featured Artist on Share the Love, Blogger’s Unite is Ruth Sandra Sperling of RSS Designs in Fiber!

Find Ruth On:

Artfire Facebook Twitter Blog Pinterest

RSS Designs In Fiber

http://rssdesignsinfiber.artfire.com

Thunder Rose Leather

Share the Love, Blogger's Unite Featured Artisans

This weeks Featured Artisans are Debbie and John of Thunder Rose Leather. You will find original quality made leather accessories! Handbags, clutches, baby moccasins, medicine bags and more!

You can find Thunder Rose On:

Website
Handmade Artists
Etsy
Facebook
Twitter


Are you On Fire for Handmade? http://onfireforhandmade.com Shop at On Fire Gift Guide! https://onfiregiftguide.com