Saturday, December 31, 2011

Clay Black and Swirls Pendant

Good morning,

This pendant came to be in a strange way. It's happened before though.

I was combining black with this gray to get a darker gray color for the base of one of my other pendants. As I squished and twisted it, this kind of appeared. It appealed to me, so I shaped it into a type of tear-drop, and looped the top back, putting the hole there, so it's ready to slip onto my silkie and wear.

This one was an easy one. Sometimes it works out that way.

Hope your New Year's Eve Day goes well, and I'm sure you gearing up for the biggest EVE of the year. Would that be Christmas or New Year's? I guess it depends on whether you have children or not.

Have a really great one, everyone! Keep it safe!!!

Here's to a clay-puttering kind of day!

Cj
http://www.easyaspiedailygraphics.com
http://homespungraphics.blogspot.com

Friday, December 30, 2011

Oh MY Lion Clay Pendant

Good morning,

This lion was made sometime earlier this week. I actually had done about 5 pendants with these colors. But looking at one of the pendants, the face resembled a lion, but it wasn't complete. Since I had 4 other pendants with the same colors, I started hacking bits of each away to add to the lion sculpture.

I always get a "sick" feeling inside when I do things like that. What if it doesn't turn out? What if I destroyed perfectly cool pendants for nothing?

Well. In this case, I was very happy with the end result. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. It's happened before, and I'm sure will happy many times more.

I can thread a ribbon or chain through a type of holder on the back, and he's ready to wear.

He's about the size of 1 1/2 quarters.

Have a clay-creative day!

Cj
http://www.easyaspiedailygraphics.com/
http://homespungraphics.blogspot.com/

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

A Clay Creation Birthday Present For 60 Years!

Good morning,

Ah. You really need to read the story that goes along with this. It's cute! Find it here:



Ok. He's a birthday present for my husband. But the bear and the blue birthday buddy work together here. Blue birthday buddy is photogenic, and he loves to take pictures. But sometimes, he can be a real pain.


Check it out!


Have a great clay-smooshing day!


Cj



Clay Pistachio Man 2

Good morning,

I enjoyed making the first pistachio man so much, and since he's going to live with my nephew, I thought it would be nice to "try it again." After all, I have a lot of nut shells sitting in a container on my desk.

Again, he was made pretty much the same as the first pistachio man. This time, I dressed him in a little suit, much of which you can't see. He has little blue pants on, and a white and red patterned shirt, with a little red jacket on, a green bow tie, and a little red Santa-type hat.

But then, I decided to have him holding something, so he's holding a little white flower with a red center.

His eyes are open, and he has an open smile. He's a very happy little guy, even though he's so small. His shell is sitting on a little red with green swirl pattern leaf. (This keeps the little guy swaddled in an upright position.)

And ... he, too, is teeny, tiny in size. These are a lot of fun to make.

I do use a magnifying glass, which used to also have a light, but the light part broke. I have additional lighting in my little craft room, so that helps, but I sure do miss the light attached to the magnifying glass. I see a future purchase in my future ... hopefully, soon!

You can check out my website for additional pictures of this little guy -- and other sculpey creations. The pictures are a little bigger.

I hope you enjoy seeing this little guy.

Have a clay-creative day ... if that is what your fingers dabble in!

Cj
http://www.easyaspiedailygraphics.com
http://homespungraphics.blogspot.com

Clay Creation: Pistachio Nut Man-1

Good morning,

This little guy is finished and glazed. He's going to my nephew in MO. You can see, he is NOT very big.

Yes ... he's coming OUT of half a pistachio nut shell!

Yesterday, I was eating a handful of pistachios, and I was throwing away the shells. All of a sudden, I happened to notice how small and cute they were, and thought they'd be funny with a little sculpey character in them. So I set about my task.

Here he is before I glazed him. His little hands are grasping the edge of the shell, and with his eye closed and grinning, he's trying to pull himself out of the shell into the light of day.

The shell is laying on a bed of green ground, and there's a flower creeping up behind it. That is the red above his little head. There's a few vines growing behind him and around on his right side.



And here we are ... at the beginning of his creation. You can see, I dotted the face as I did with my other little man so I'd know where the features would go. I attached his nose, which hasn't been smoothed out yet.


You can see the little hands formed before they were attached. I put the hands into the shell first, and a dab of clay to hold everything to the back of the inside of the shell.


I slid in his head, and gently tapped him in. I placed the nut onto the ground and did the vines and flower to finish it. The second picture shows him unbaked, shortly out of the oven.


The first picture shows him after he is glazed. I glazed it all, including the pistachio shell.


I hope Nik likes him.


Enjoy!


Cj









Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Clay pendants, necklaces, set: Christmas gifts for family and a friend

Good morning,

And more of my little clay creations: pendants!

Female family members will shortly receive their little pendants that I made for each one.

Kathy's necklace was a fluke kind of experiment. I had some clay scraps laying around, and didn't know what to do with them. This is often the case. I never throw them out, as sometimes I'll pinch off just a bit from it, and introduce it into another color. The base has a coating of glitter glaze on it, but it was added after this picture was taken.

Believe it or not; these often tend to be my most favorite pieces when finished. The colors blend into the new colors, making new shades that are striking. I love this one (heck! I love them all!).

Hillary's necklace is an owl, and it is shimmery with glitter here and there. If you look closely, you can see it's eyes at the top, and the little orange beak down and centered below the eyes. He is really striking.

Lillie's pendant sat on my desk after I made it. I didn't want to part with this one, but thought my mother in law might really enoy it. The colors are for Christmas, and there's a little face that sits atop.

Shay's pendant was just a fun piece. I had already made the top butterfly shaped piece. I made the flower to sit on top of it. The bottom section was made separately, and I really didn't know what to do with, but saw the butterfly sitting on my desk, popped it on top, and said, "Okay. Now I know where to put you!" I love the combination of orange with red.

Ali's necklace set did not photograph as well as I'd hoped. It is a skinner-blend of red, white and blue. The whitish-blue does not show real well. It is speckled with glitter as I used FIMO EFFECTS. The backs are done in white FIMO EFFECTS. A very patriotic color set.

Katie is getting my belowed owl that I made about 2 weeks ago. The feathers on his breast are very small, and each one was shaped and layered onto him. Start at the bottom and work up to just under the beak. Cute for a teen. I love doing owls.

Leslie's pendant is another one I love because of the colors. I took this one to work; well, I took them all to show off, and this one was loved because of the color combination. The center of the flower has a little star in it that the pearl sits in. The petals below the star have black seed beads in each petal. The red in the larger petals is blended slightly with white to give it a slightly different look. The white is the FIMO EFFECTS clay again. For base, I mixed a little green into the FIMO EFFECTS white again, and shaped the back. A striking necklane, and I hope my mother likes it.

Keithann is an online friend. She sends me little card kits each month. I had joined an online group, and she started this little club. I asked to join, and I have so many little kits. She sends them absolutely free.

After we all receive our cards, we are to use the items she packs into the kit (often there are 2 kits in each mailed; isn't she amazing???), and design a little card. We take photos and share them online, but shortly after we got started, the site changed. I went to the new site, but didn't find where to post the new cards, so I stopped.

But not Keithann. She continues to send the kits to me, regardless of lack of participation. Like I said. She's an amazing person. So for Keithann, two of my beloved pendants. Both were made last year, and again; I just love them. Ok, ok! I know I did them, but what's not to love?!

The black based one is truly gorgeous. I stuck some nail art flowers on it, and I love it's pop-deco kind of look! The colors are outstanding. It is beautiful.

The green one looks like a garden shot, and again a little nail art on it. This was my first wire-wrap, and I really love how it completed this creation. Another beautiful creation!

I hope all these gifts are loved and worn by each receiver.

What do you think of them?

I do have a sculpey clay section on my website over at www.easyaspiedailygraphics.com, so if you want to see more; go check it out. Much of it has also been featured on my other blogspot,
http://homespungraphics.blogspot.com. It's woven in through the art graphics I create.

I hope you'll check out some of my pages. Leave a comment on my webpage, and I will post it. I can just use your intials, if you wish. If you want your info known (meaning name), please let me know that in your email. If you have a website, I'll be happy to post it as well, with a live link. And feel free to add me to yours.

Have a wonderful clay kind of day!

See you soon.

Cj
http://www.easyaspiedailygraphics.com
http://homespungraphics.blogspot.com
PS: I made the cards, too, with my graphic art! And you can, too!

Monday, December 26, 2011

Tangled Pendant A--Polymer Clay Project

Good morning,

I am back this morning, featuring a pendant I made about 3 to 5 months ago. It was a combination of black and gray to start, and formed to make a design.

Once baked, the gray was very light, and hardly seeable. What to do???

I'm a fan, and follower of Zentangle.com, and I'd been doing this type of art for awhile. Why not grab my gel pen, and tangle what my minds eye saw in the light gray pattern? So, that's what I did.

I also had a light redish ink pen, and thought, "Let's add some color to those light gray areas that are barely noticeable" ... and again, I did it. What did I have to lose?

After all, it wasn't usable the way it was.

I loved the outcome of this pendant. I put it on a white base of FIMO EFFECTS white. This white has little speckles of sparkle in them, and it only adds to the beauty of the pendant.

The first picture's color is not what I'd like it to be as my office light appears to make things softer.

This second picture, the black and detail of pendant are much clearer, and crisper, but I had to use white on its base in my graphics program to get it white ... so the sparkle is not seeable here.

It is a beautiful, simple pendant.

Cj
http://www.easyaspiedailygraphics.com
http://homespungraphics.blogspot.com

PS. Yesterday, I posted the man face step by step. Unfortunately, my pictures posted on the blogspot do not come out as large as I would like them to.

But if you wish to see those pictures larger to that posting, you can catch it here:
http://www.easyaspiedailygraphics.com/blog-12-25-2011.html
It also has a little more detail to it.

Sunday, December 25, 2011

Making A Clay Face-Step by Step

Good morning ... and Merry Christmas!

Yes ... even though it is Christmas, I just had to do this little face this morning.

Upper left hand corner is step 1. I used a crochet hook needle to make dents where I wanted the face depressed, and to puff up the cheeks. I used FIMO Soft beige (skin-toned clay).
Upper left middle picture is just more smoothing. Sorry the color didn’t photograph better.
Lower left hand corner, I added the nose.
Upper right hand picture, the nose has been smoothed and blended. He has a BIG NOSE.
Middle right hand picture: more smoothing.
Lower right hand picture: Eyes and pupils put in eye sockets.


Upper left picture: mouth is formed, although it is hard to see. Nose is done, eyes and eyebrows done.
Lower left picture: powdered chalk added for coloring. Into the oven and out he comes after cooling.
The lower centered picture, I’ve added white highlight dots to his eyes, and colored his lips. He has no ears or hair yet, and may eventually have some. He is currently unfinished.The top right picture, he is swaddled in Kleenex. He looks almost like a monk!




This picture was taken outside on my front porch. He’s laying on Kleenex, and it was hard to keep everything steady, due to the windy day out.
While it is Christmas Day today, the weather is very warm, which is unusual for the last couple of years. The sun is shining, and I wish our winter weather was always this beautiful! It is 49 degrees out.
The colors in the picture are the truest colors of this face.




My computer screen picture sent to my grown children; who are all out of town (except one); this Christmas! I shot it and sent by cell phone!

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas! And I hope you enjoyed my sharing the making of my little face.


Cj











Saturday, December 24, 2011

Face 4-Curly Top




Good morning,

Meet curly top; started from a mold. She a blushing -cheeked little girl with curly red hair, and a curly top for bangs.

She's on a dark green heart, and there are little white speckles/dots here and there, and one at the bottom. I do a lot of hearts, since I like them so much, and think they make wonderful pendants. Her skin is very "porcelain-looking", and people notice her when I've worn her.

The second picture shows her size in comparison to a quarter.

I think she is stunning.

Enjoy!


Cj






Face 3: Lovely Lady

Good morning,

This piece is called Lovely Lady. She is done from a mold, and I added the top accent which I thought set her off in quite a pretty way.

She is unfinished as of now. Just one of the many pieces awaiting their future destiny!

Enjoy!

Cj
http://www.easyaspiedailygraphics.com
http://homespunggraphics.blogspot.com

Clay Face 2: Market Woman



Good morning,

This piece was done several months ago with Sculpey III. I call her "Market Woman".

She is currently unfinished, as I haven't decided whether or not to make her a pendant. She is awaiting her future till "lightning" strikes me with inspiration.

The first picture, of course, is my Clay and Art Scraps, while the second is to show her size.

She is in the process of bartering with a vendor.

She was a lot of fun to make. She was NOT started from a mold.

The classic black and white again, which I love.

I do love working in colors, and I often do. But then I'll get into a "streak" of black and white, and I always get totally lost in it.

I hope you enjoy Market Woman.

Enjoy!


Cj







Friday, December 23, 2011

A Pendant, Earring Gift Set



Good morning,

Here's a pendant, earring set that was posted on my other blog back in July of this year.

It was one of my first attempts at a SET, and it was a gift for my future daughter-in-law. It was her birthday, and I wanted to do something special for her.

I've always thought that black and white is so dramatic.

I made this little cone to feature them at the time I made them.

I recently made two other sets, one for my sister in MO, and another set that I wore to my Christmas party this year. I'll be posting those in a future post.

Enjoy.


Cj







Cj's Clay and Art Scraps-The Clown Face




Good morning

Today, I'm showing off my little clay clown.

Here he is pictured in my clay and art scraps first, and a second picture shows him pictured with a dime for sizing.

He is not a pendant. He could become one, or a magnet to post on the refrigerator.

He was made from scratch; no mold was used to start.

I hope you enjoy him.


Have a terrific day!

Cj






The Face Pendant: A view for it's size, and a picture alone



Hello again,


Update: The face 1 is pictured again, without my art scraps. One is with a quarter, for size comparison, and the last is her pictured alone.


Enjoy.


Cj






Cj's Clay and Art Scraps: Polymer Clay--The face #1

Hello! And welcome to Cj's Clay and Art Scraps.

Creating has always been a part of my life.

In my younger years, I drew.

As a young mother, I crocheted, knitted, cooked, baked from scratch, sewed, and drew some more!

I was laid off in 2006, and during that time, I started digitally drawing in Paint Shop Pro. I've always used version 9, and I'm still using it today. Perhaps you've had a chance to pick up some of my free graphics at http://www.EasyAsPieDailyGraphics.com.

I was blessed to find a new job in the fall of 2006, after being off for about 7 months. So, I still work outside my home today, and probably will for about seven more years. In my retirement years, I hope to be doing my graphics and art/s full time.

I have another blog at www.HomeSpunGraphics.blogspot.com. And today ... the birth of Cj's Clay and Art Scraps. I invite your feedback, and if you like what you see, please feel free to follow me.

About three years ago, I became enthralled with sculpey clay, fimo, and all the others. I've created lots of items, and I'm at the point, where I'm ready to really begin posting some of my creations.

This first today is: The Face #1. Along with my clay creations, I will also post my art scraps.

I recently became aware of Rick and Maria's Zentangles, and I've started incorporating that into my art work. Zentangles is coined and owned by Rick and Maria. You can check them out at www.zentangles.com.

The face here was originally formed from a face mold, but after forming it, I manipulated it to my liking. Molds are terrific for jump-starting a project, and shaping it further to make it your own.

Unfortunately, you cannot see all the glittery spots on the face, but she is very pretty. She sits on a white base, and on a red and green leaf. There are 3 layers to this pendant. The flower is my art scrap.

The leaf is more detailed than it appears in the picture. It is red and green colored with white veins.

I started with the face, and that sat on my desk for several days. Many items sit on my desk for months, even a year or two. Some items never get finished. About the time I think it's time to put a piece away for awhile, the finished idea pops into my mind. This is always such a joyful experience.

I'd love your feedback on The Face #1, so please leave a comment.

Check back occasionally, because I have lots of items to post.

Enjoy!

Cj
http://www.easyaspiedailygraphics.com
http://homespungraphics.blogspot.com