Poinsettia Pins & Canes

I finished the rest of the pins. Got 5 out of the one sheet and that’s great.  After I finished the pins, I had lots of scrap clay leftover and had to use it right?  Time to make some canes.

Poinsettia Pins & Bananto's Book

Two postings again in one day. Above is the finished pin. While it baked, I took a break and went web browsing. To my surprise, I found Julie Eakes has a 5-Part tutorial on a gorgeous Poinsettia cane which I wish I would have seen before I started.

I have used Nanetta Bananto's 2005 book, "Creative Techniques for Polymer Clay Jewelry" for inspiration as well as color and design information for years.

It is full of step by step photos and narratives. It is published by North Light Books. I purchased mine through Amazon. You get free shipping through Amazon if you spend $25 and I can usually get two to three books for $25. So, basically I got the composition idea from Nanetta's book. Guess you could have knocked me over with a feather when I saw Julie's Poinsettia Pin; it is gorgeous. Mine looks like kindergarten.

Anyway, to make a short story longer, I don't know whether to apologize or secretly jump up and down that I'm even thinking along the same lines as a Julie Eakes! I love her blog, her jewelry inspired from her trip to Africa, her detailed face canes, the fact that she still takes classes and she is a master teacher and that she shares so generously.

Above is Julie's poinsettia cane pin. If you want to see an unbelievable face cane, go to her blog and check out the one she made of a senator a while back.

Poinsettia & Button Pins

This is the workspace lately. A Poinsettia pin almost done and another couple started. I still have to add the framing or backing to the above, glue and insert the crystals, sign it and bake it.

I love "shield" shapes for pins and pendants. You can use a template or just a flexible tissue blade to make the shape.

The above sheet is just started. I will build the background and flowers until I like them, cut out the shapes, back, embellish, sign and bake them.

These are some of the old canes I have and used slices from almost all of them.

Just made the skinner blend plug on the left because I thought I would make a background piece from it, but didn't.

Had a bit of scrap clay left over so blended it to a marbled stone grey and made handles for my Speedball lino cutter set.

Molded them to fit my fingers. I use the cutter in the handle the most, so left that as it was. I decided to make the handles smaller on the others as I only use them periodically.

I molded an old button and started these two pins.

Pretty productive day.

I Crocheted Edgings for What?

Two sets of Monticello Egyptian cotton Queen size sheets; one in teal and one in white. Breathtakingly beautiful. But they needed something...what was it? Oh yeah, yards and yards of hand crocheted edging. Whether they needed it or not, they got it.

When I got done crocheting eding for these two sets of sheets, I had to have the master bath match, so I crocheted eding for two bath sheets, two bath towels, two hand towels and two face towels.

I loved it so much, I crocheted another set. And I wonder why my hands hurt?

They have gone through years of washing and drying and are still beautiful. Although I've moved on to the new eco friendly bamboo towels (unedged), I am still in awe that I had the patience to hand crochet all that.

I have old crochet books from 1937 on up and I really enjoy looking through them.

Sometimes for inspiration and sometimes for laughs.

Bottom, lower left....isn't that a cell phone holder?

Eco-friendly grocery bags.

All from over 70 years ago. Amazing.

I still crochet on and off, but on a much smaller scale. Pretty sure I am done crocheting linen sets.

Holy Cards

Every Friday night I would get my allowance and every Saturday I would be in the Religious store spending it on holy cards. I loved holy cards; the blurry softness of the colors, the sweet innocent looks of the children, the loving faces of the adults.

There were a few with torturous, sad faces, but even those were beautiful to me. My grandmother gave me a holy card from 1939.

I still have the little wooden box I used to keep them in. The name "McAneny" was already written in it. I just wrote my name under it like I was the second in line to own this little treasure.

I've been laying them out, photographing them, photocopying them and compiling my collage file for them.

My First Communion Book from 1953 or 1954 is in OK condition. Can't believe I scotch taped the sides of it.

The inside is in perfect condition.

After the toe/foot heals up, I'm going to give some collages a try. Something with a "shrine" effect, but with Milagros and modern interpretation of prayer....whatever that means.

I threw in the below photo because this glow-in-the-dark Sacred Heart hung in my bedroom as a child. It glowed in the dark! Seriously. I've always hung onto it because it fascinated me.

Anyway, can't get around too much yet, so am back to organizing pictures and planning out future pieces. Going to try to work on some polymer today.

Pen & Ink, Copyright

I used to do these little character drawings for friends and people at work and was encouraged to get them copyrighted, which I did. It was a good experience and I have applied for and received a couple more for my drawings as well as some of my beadwork designs.

Copyrights used to be $30 each; not sure how much they are now. And the law has changed concerning the length of a copyright. Anything before 1976 is pretty well covered, anything after that has 20 or 30 years before it needs to be reapplied for (I think).

You can check out the information at the Library of Congress, forms etc. http://www.loc.gov/copyright/

There is also a fee for searching their files to make sure the same copyright has not been applied for previously. All that information is on the Library of Congress' website.

Customizing with Polymer Clay

This is my 100th post! And yesterday someone in Belgium took a quick peek at my blog and that made 25 countries! Two goals I have reached! Yay!

Yesterday's post on Polymer Clay Daily (Belcher’s greater-than-the-sum art) reminded me of a couple of pieces I had done to compliment my clothing. I would have a hard time finding jewelry to match the orange in the below sweater. But with polymer, it's easy.

Below is a large "bug" button that is made from the same canes I made a long time ago.

The pin has yellow and white Swarovski crystals.

Changing out the store bought buttons for handmade polymer buttons really make these jackets.

Textured the above pin with the writing end of a ball point pen.

So that’s it for No.100. I’m heading out the door for foot surgery this morning and will be wheeling around in the above little scooter for the next 6 weeks, but still hope to squeeze in some posts over the holidays and move on to setting new goals.