Peeking Right Through!

Here is something rather unusual.  I've made lentil beads with an opening on one side before. Making one large opening allowed me to place a charm or other item slightly inside the bead, creating a focus point within the larger bead.  This time, I decided to poke holes of varying sizes on both the front and back pieces of the lentil.  Of course, that wasn't enough, and I had to try embellishing through the holes.  The result is the pendant you see here, hung simply from a stand of purple Swarovski pearls.  It's a unique piece and should bring comments when worn.  I plan to give this concept another visit and see what I can come up with.  The smaller image below right shows the back of the pendant.

Extruded Canes Revisited

Recently, I had the pleasure of teaching a workshop on extruded canes.  It's been a while since I've worked with extrusions, and working with these canes again reminded me why I like extrusions so much.  There are lots of different extruders available, but my favorite is one by Makin's that they call the Professional Ultimate Clay Extruder.  It is very easy to use, and comes with a variety of shape discs.





These first samples were made with one of the smallest round discs, and several of the long round "snakes" made with this disc piled next to each other.  I really like the way the extruder passes colors at different speeds, creating new color combinations and designs.

I also have the 2" diameter extruder gun from Polymer Clay Express.  This is a great tool and opens a world of extrusion possibilities. The larger size allows the creation of some interesting disc shapes.  Here are a few pair of earrings made using the 2" extruder and a larger shape disc.

Sweet Little Flower Basket

I had to share this sweet pendant I just finished. The curved front of the basket creates the perfect space for the flower stems and leaf tops.  I hadn't realized how much the sparkle in the gold clay would resemble a type of special pottery. Although it's a bit hard to see in the photo, each flower has a pearl below the small gold center ball.  The balls in the gold-filled chain match well.