365 Days of Lip Service

Patina and Pearl

  

 This complex looking leaf was quite simple to make. I used my medium Rose Leaf Embossing cutter on black polymer clay rolled out through the 3rd largest setting of my pasta machine. I randomly dabbed Copper and Kiwi, Ranger Perfect Pearls across the surface of the leaf and pressed a cultured stick pearl into the center. After baking, I gently pried the pearl out and re-attached it with Beacon's Quick Grip glue. I then used my Poly Bonder HI-Temp glue for clay to attach the leaf to a thin piece of black clay that I covered with Copper clay foil. I trimmed this closely around the edge of the leaf, leaving about a 1m edge to frame the primary leaf. This was glue onto the based of blended scrap clay. The border was made using the same piece of copper foiled, black clay which was thinned through a few more settings of my clay dedicated pasta machine to get a subtle crack effect. 

Tiptoe Through the Tulips

    

I adore bulb flowers. My hubby is a master gardener and has always planted my favorite bulbs in our gardens wherever we have lived. I had created a yellow to orange gradient Skinner Blended loaf for another cane and in the remnants, saw a similar color and pattern design that I've seen in some of the tulips we've had. I took tiny slices that I compressed to create the flowers and build the scene around these. The background is a textured slice of white to blue gradient loaf. Even the clouds were made using the Skinner Blend to get the gray-ish shadows that mimic those seen in nature. The rest of the yellow-orange gradient was used to embellish the rim. I wanted to create the feel of edges found on fringed tulips against the sky blue background. This particular jar is a historic part of my daily blog project. It was one of a handful I made nearly eight years ago when I first planed to create 100 different jars. It's been a joy to take inspiration for a year's worth of creations from Julie Powell's 365 day blog project on Julia Child's, "Mastering the Art of French Cooking."

Green with Envy

  

Sometimes the simplest designs make the boldest statements. Green shades are the theme of this jar with gradient millefiori cane slices in black and white for added contrast. The rim is covered in striping with a Skinner Blended gradient effect. The base of the lid is stippled black clay, highlighted with Ranger's Perfect Pearls mica powder in green. A single SWAROVSKI ELEMENT flatback crystal is centered in the cane flower.    

X Marks the Spot

    

 Millefiori canes in bold oranges, yellow and green, contrast with simpler black and white gradient cane. The focal point is a slice from the same cane that wraps around the jar lid. The center of the cane appears like an "X". I framed this raised element with a 20mm SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS Cosmic Crystal Square with a foiled backing. Smaller flatback stones are set into the center points of the cane slices that embellish the lid.   

Meet Me at the Intersection

    

Today's lid is another cane remnant from a creation I made many years ago. This is based on a pattern introduced by the phenomenally talented clay artist, Sarah Shriver. This design is an optical illusion where the gradient veins appear to cross over one another, intersecting in the center. Unfortunately, the last little bit of the cane is a bit distorted, but wonky clay needs love too! It was lovely enough that I couldn't bear to scrap this slice, so here it is with a raised floral cane flower centered on top. More Cane slices in similar colors ring the edge of the lid. Alternating SWAROVSKI ELEMENT flatback stones and metal nail heads adorn the heads and tails of each cane slice. My "Textile Effect" technique (found in the "Complele Book of Polymer Clay") , gradient strip wraps around the rim.  

Turquoise Dream

           

This lid all started with a great piece of scrap clay. I had some left-overs from another project that I had done with a brown to turquoise, gradient striping. The scraps sat on my work table for a few weeks lightly covered with some plastic wrap. Over time -as clay is prone to do-the piece became stiff, upon rolling it out to smooth it, the surface crackled beautifully and allowed the background to peek through. In going through my box of clay extras that I've never had use for, I came across this oval faux turquoise cabochon that I had made as an example piece for episode of the Carol Duvall Show (HGTV) many years ago. I offer directions on how to create faux turquoise along with polishing technique in my last book, "The Complete Guide to Polymer Clay" (Taunton Press). After sanding and polishing the "stone" using one of my favorite tools for metal and polymer clay finishing (the Jool Tool), I drilled a hold in the center and attached the Sterling bear fetish. For the rim, I covered black epoxy clay with two layers of Artistic Wire 10mm Copper Mesh, that I received from my friend and talented designer, Wyatt White with Beadalon. 

 

 

Flashback Floral

I'm down to less than a half inch of one of my favorite millefiori canes. I made this cane over 12 years ago. If anyone reading that knew me back then may have gotten a business card (many incarnations ago) that had a slice glued to it. Perhaps you ran into me or attended a demo/class during a HIA - or later - CHA show where I gave out hundreds of slices from this cane as "badge buddies." Although it's not the most complex cane I ever made, it is one that I've always loved. All of the elements originated as Skinner Blended gradient bull's eye canes. I made a matching leaf cane to embellish the edges along the edge of the jar. The sides are simply textured polymer clay. The center is highlighted with a SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS flatback stone. I'll soon have to say goodbye to the last slice of this cane, but I'll have many reminders of it on tool handles, gee-gaw cases, etc., that I used it on. I love that polymer clay-when properly stored- has an indefinite shelf life making it possible for this design to serve many projects for well over a decade.  

Stud-ly Scraps

     

I was blending some clay scraps to use for mold making when I saw an abstract pattern I loved, appear in the clay. This is something I commonly do when blending scraps; look for beautiful designs which I then save or use immediately for veneers or background in my creations. Sometimes these have a watercolor effect (as seen on April 8th's blog post) and others often resemble the Mokume Gane method for polymer clay. Today's design looks more like the later to me. I cut the piece with a wavy blade and intersected the two pieces with a striped clay border. I rhwn punched out various sized holes and filled them with solid white or black clay. These dots were set with hot fix nail heads from Kandi Corp. For the border, I textured the sides with plastic fluorescent lighting panel scraps. The raised texture was highlighted with Ranger's Perfect Pearls mica powder, giving these areas a bronze look. 

 

 

 

Crested Beaut-y!

     

The name of today's creation is a tribute to my home state of Colorado. If you know Colorado, you probably have heard of Crested Butte. I created this lid using the Sutton Slice technique (as scene in my book "The Complete Book of Polymer Clay"), and one of Candace Gates' Dynasty Stamps. The dimensional crest was then framed with a striped border and set over a fractured foil clay base. The rim is the same foil from my collection: Tie Dye (from the Celebrations collection), the only holographic foil designed to release onto polymer clay. On the rim, I didn't stretch the clay to fracture the foil as much as I did on the lid for a bolder effect.   

 

I'll Get You Copper!

     

Pardon the cheesy play on words (as a reference to James Cagney films). I just couldn't resist as today's lid is as bright as a new penny with copper tones abounding. The focal point is a millefiori mirror cane with orange and gold tones, set with a SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS chaton stone. The frame that surrounds this is a textured Tierracast finding (1" Spiral #94-3133). The outer edge is textured, black polymer clay that is adorned with gradient, millefiori cane leaf slices. For the rim, I applied my copper Clay and Crafting Foil to black polymer clay and textured it with coarse sandpaper.