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I am currently working on a blog that will be connected to my website.  It is not yet complete; however, I am blogging there now. Click here to be directed to my newer and more updated blog.

Kathy

Playing With Colors

Do you struggle with polymer clay colors?  Typically, I mix colors by putting a little bit of this and a little bit of that in the mix.  A little bit of this usually includes some scraps from another project.  The colors usually end up beautiful.  The problem comes when I try to recreate that color.  This year I am trying to start making more conscious color choices.  Yesterday my sister came over to play with me - see what she did here.  Since playing was the order of the day, I took this opportunity to start creating some color recipes using six blocks of premo color.

Halfway through the process, I realized I had made some mistakes.  Violet is going away - so I substituted fuschia.  My intention had been to use yellow and red in the future, but I can't wait.  Yellow and red will be added to the mix. 

Squares of each color were cut out.  I added 1/2 square of each color to every other color.  Then the squares were cut into 1/3 and 2/3 sections.  These were combined with each other in every combination (that I could think of).  Baking has not yet occurred.  I can't wait to share the results with you.

Some Fun Jewelry and a Website

Sorry it's been so long since I have posted.  Between some last minute holiday orders, some open houses I hosted, and everything I had to do prior to Christmas, I fell off the blogging horse.  And I didn't get right back on.  I let bad weather, illness and mid-winter blues stop me from getting back to my blog. So I'll give you a quick update of what I have been up to.

My husband has been after me for years to make things in team colors. When I was creating a purple and gold wine bottle stopper, I figured out how to make purple and gold tiger stripes.  This may not make you very excited, but I went to LSU and purple and gold tiger stripes are really cool to me.  When I was showing off my purple and gold jewelry, a friend suggested I create a whole line of team color jewelry.   So I've been playing with team colors.

The first thing I did this year was to create a website.  My website was sitting there, pathetic and neglected for a year or two.  I had some software to create a webpage, but it was not very intuitive.  So I bought a book, learned basic html and created my website.  I'm very excited about it and I hope you like it as well.

This is the time of year that I miss my hometown, New Orleans, the most.  It is such a unique city, with wonderful people, incredible food and Mardi Gras.  To celebrate Mardi Gras, I created a line of purple, green and gold jewelry.

I'm very excited about this year.  I think that it's going to be a really great year!  I can't wait to share it with you.




 

Color Inspirations

Color is so fun to play with - it is one of the reasons why I love polymer clay!  Combining colors can sometimes be tricky, especially when I'm looking for a new colorway. Places I look for inspiration include:

• Artwork that inspires - my favorites are paintings from the Impressionist period. 
• Clothing catalogs - these are great for showing color combinations that are currently in style.
• Interior decorating magazines - usually have more classic colors and are sometimes more muted that colors in clothing catalogs
• Nature - pictures taken during different seasons suggest different color combinations.
• Pantone color forecasts - jewelry in colors they suggest sells better.  Color forecasts have an advantage over clothing catalogs in that you can work ahead of demand.  Fire Mountain Gems usually has a forecast in their catalogs.  Here is a link for the Spring 2011 Color Forecast. 
• Blogs that focus on color inspirations - Colourlovers is one.
• Books - the one that comes to mind is Polymer Clay Color Inspirations by Lindly Haunani and Maggie Maggio. 

And now, I feel the need to mix up a new batch of colors.  I'll keep you updated on new colorways.

When You Have All Your Eggs In One Basket....

You may end up having to make scrambled eggs.  This holiday season, I only had one craft show lined up.  My mother had been having health issues all summer and we weren't sure if they were going to continue into fall.  So, I didn't sign up for any craft shows.  Then, I happened to ask at an art show about an upcoming show - 4 weekends in November and December.  They were interested in more jewelry.  I about fell on the floor - nobody ever wants more jewelry at a show.  The price was right. You know what they say about "if something seems too good to be true".  I got an email a couple of weeks later that the show was not going to happen.

Time to scramble.  I booked a bead party and got into a small show at the last minute.  But it's not enough.  Then a friend asked me to put together some inventory for her to take into work.  What if other people would take some jewelry into work, bridge club, book club, etc.?  The "Jewelry Party In A Box" came into being.  I made small trays out of foam board and fabric and jewelry displays out of foam board, fabric and mosquito netting. 

 They fit in the USPS Flat Rate Priority boxes.  Currently, I am in the process of testing my paperwork and procedures.  I am giving a 25% credit on merchandise to hostesses.  We'll see how this works out.

Sucked In By A New Technique

I love learning new techniques.  Usually, I try them once or twice and then that's it.  But this time, I fell in love.  A month ago my polymer clay guild demoed epoxy resin.  It was something that I had been wanting to try out. After the guild meeting, I stocked up on supplies, went home and went crazy!  It was well worth it - at the jewelry open house that I hosted the next week, nearly everyone went home with something from my epoxy collection.  So the last month, I have worked hard on perfecting technique and creating some new pieces.  This is a sample.

Some of these items are already in my etsy shop.  And I'm already working on more.

Using A Model

I have been wanting to have my jewelry photographed on a model.  However, I can neither afford a photographer or a model.  So I took advantage of one of my favorite college students being on spring break.  We went over to a friend's backyard who has a lot of different levels and greenery.  Here are some of the pictures.

I am a slow learner when it comes to photography.  Here are some of the things I will change for next time: 

• Pull her hair back - it definitely distracts
• Focus on taking pictures of the jewelry and not the girl - that is after all, the whole point of this
• Schedule an evening or early morning when the sun is not so bright.  

As I said - slow learner.  However, it was worth the effort and I will be doing it again.

Kathy