FREE Jewelry Class at Michaels this Coming Tuesday

Each month we offer a free jewelry making class at Michaels geared toward beginners.  Come join me at the Brentwood Michaels this Tuesday (October 21) to learn to make a necklace and matching earrings!  Sign up at the front or online at www.michaels.com.

With the skills you learn you can make several styles of necklaces, earrings and bracelets.  Make your Christmas gifts and save big bucks!

If you don't love the tassels, you can make the necklace without it and I will show you how to make crystal and pearl earrings.

Keep Your Coloring In Line

I love crayons, color pencils, markers, paints, and pastels.  I am still traumatized by the image of my baby brother when I received a brand new box of Crayola color markers at the start of third grade from my great-grandmother.  I had carefully placed my unopened markers in the room we shared.  Later that evening, he came toddling out, streams of red, blue, and green dripping from his saliva-covered chin.  I was not just horrified; I was absolutely INDIGNANT!!!  To an 8-year-old child of a fiscally-challenged single parent, this was sibling treason!!!

I have to come clean about my art & office supply fetish.  I may be a hot, sloppy mess in reality, but I fantasize about perfectly organized new materials, available at a moment's touch.  My daughter, who follows after my obscene compulsion for colorful and tidy objects, encouraged me to check out organizers available on Amazon.  What I found was either insufficient for all my coupon-collected colors or well outside a teacher's budget!

Wow!

When are these going on sale so I can use my Michael's employee discount?

Gorgeous!

Not enough color pencil slots!

So like any Pinterest addict, I did what I had to do.  I went online and researched.  I added hundreds of pins (because it's like shopping for FREE).  I dug through all the trash cans and recycle in my house to find paper towel and toilet paper rolls for my project.  In my passion I distinctly remember my husband saying, "Jesus, Erin, please make sure when you blog about this you don't tell people I don't give you any money !  I just gave you $500 this month!"  (BTW, I spent it on craft room furniture and supplies, no surprise!)

But now my beautifully grouped color pencils are now at rest in their new homes!

Caveat:  I didn't make this one.  My organizer is a messy comic book decoupage, but I stole this one because it's prettier.  Thanks to this awesome crafty mom at https://thepartyevent.wordpress.com/2013/05/

Six Tips for Securing a Clasp on Your Necklace or Bracelet

Over time I've made enough mistakes to discover how NOT to add a clasp to my jewelry.  When you first add your crimp beads to your jewelry wire, it's a cinch!  But when you get to the end, it gets complicated. I used to sweat every time I had to finish a piece.  Now I feel much more confident!

Tip 1:  Use the Proper Pliers
I improvised this weird way of trying to bend wire into shape using round-nose pliers.  It was a disaster.  One day I realized it wasn't just my technique that made finishing a piece so sketchy.  It was the pliers!  I switched to regular long-nose pliers and it's gotten instantly easier!  Hook nose also work great.  Both are shown in this photo.












Tip 2: Give Just a Little Wiggle Room
If you are like me, you have strong tension.  This makes for very tight bead weaving and stringing.  Loosen up for Pete's sake!  When you get to the end and put your crimp beads on the wire, give yourself a little space between the crimp bead and the clasp.  Make sure you can move the wire a little around the clasp so that it doesn't lock up when it's worn.

Tip 3: Watch that Wiggle Room!

Before you crimp, make sure you don't have any major gaps in your work.  There's nothing more irritating than having to take apart your project and restring it because you failed to detect the extra wire or thread in some area of your work.  On the other hand, you want to make sure the necklace or bracelet doesn't bunch up.  Before crimping the clasp on, bend it into the shape in which it will be worn.  Remember that saying, measure twice, cut once!

 

Tip 4: Double Crimp
Many people who come to me for repairs do so because of a failed crimp bead.  Having your project fall to pieces as you wear just stinks, especially when you've just told someone your one-of-a-kind necklace is your artisan creation (synonym for homemade).  Add two crimp beads to each end to keep it secure.

Tip 5:  Know Your Clasp!
Obviously you need the right clasp for your work.  A magnet clasp might not support the weight of your necklace.  Some clasps tarnish when worn.  Your clasp should be sturdy and the right size as well as strand accommodation for your project.  I've recently begun using a sealant on certain clasps that I know will turn color from use.

Tip 6: Close a Locking Clasp First
Certain types of clasps lock into place.  For this reason, it's possible to put one end of the clasp on backwards, especially if you are in a rush or perhaps just tired from a long day at work.  I recommend putting the clasp together right before attaching the wire or thread.  This way you are sure to attach it correctly.  It is so frustrating to discover only too late that half the clasp is backwards.  From this point you usually have to restring the entire project!  Yikes!

I hope these tips are useful for you!  Feel free to hit Follow or Subs

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Faux Sea/Beach Glass by Fimo Polymer Clay

As I virtually flipped my way through my digital copy of The Polymer Arts, I hit an ad that solved a problem I had given up on.

I love the look of sea glass and tried to emulate it with translucent polyclay.  Mine turned out disappointing.  It wasn't at all as transparent as it needed to be.  I didn't want to waste more time and effort, so I moved on to another project.  But today I saw an advertisement for an app I didn't even know existed.  Best yet, it was compatible with my android phone!

 The Staedtler-Fimo app has all sorts of cool projects, including making faux beach glass!  How cool is that???

The interface is a little weird at first, but on the home screen you have three options:


1.  Choose the type of clay you are working with.




2.  Select the type of project you want.



3.  Choose the level of difficulty.

Without much trouble I found the project I had wanted. (Don't worry, the home screen will be in English.)

You can also e-mail the tutes from the app or post them on Facebook!  Very cool!

The Ease and Beauty of Digital Magazines

After admiring the artwork displayed on The Polymer Arts Facebook page, I found that there is actually a polymer clay magazine.  Better yet, you can purchase digital issues for just $6.  The printed mags cost more ($10)  and take much longer to receive via snail mail.  Who doesn't love instant gratification?

I purchased two compelling issues that feature light and translucent clay's possibilities. It's almost as exciting as creating octopodis (yes, I must insert a gratuitous photo of the latest purple-based model, Remi)!

Expanding the Octopus Pendant Line

Today I felt especially inspired to clay.  Even though the new Starry Nights octopodis turned out great, the new red one stole my heart!  I know, I'm a little obsessed with this project, but luckily many others are sharing my sea lust!

I'll upload another picture when the sealant dries.

*A Craft Room of One's Own

After many sessions on Pinterest and Google Images, I finally envisioned the way to set up my craft room.  It was a hodge podge of folding tables with materials stuffed in an overpacked closet.  Finding what I needed when I needed it had become tricky.

I was not willing to spend thousands on quality furniture.  Mine was an Ikea-sized budget.  Luckily, inexpensive, cubby-inspired pieces are even on Martha Stewart's radar.  A few trips to Lowe's and Home Depot yielded just the materials I needed to make my space much more manageable.  I love how it turned out!

The best part is the fabric bins, which hide the chaos of spontaneous crafting.  Plus, it frees up my desk so I actually have space to work with my polymer clay or string together a necklace.

I also discovered Harbor Freight, a store for usually known for it's inexpensive tools.  I discovered that the $40 organizer I'd admired at the craft store could be purchased for just $14.  The only difference is that it's construction-worker yellow.  It's the perfect place for crucial findings, like jump rings, clasps, and chain.

I keep it on the floor next to my desk for easy access.  Plus, it's portable so I can just grab it and go when I need to teach a jewelry class at Michaels.



*Virginia Woolf elevated women's role in writing by suggesting that women need the space and material with which to craft their art.