New Blog

From polymer clay jewelry - to polymer clay tutorials.  I am switching my focus and decided to switch to a new blog as well.

This is the last entry in this blog.

I will continue in my new blog, polymertutorials.blogspot.com.  Please follow me there!


polymertutorials.blogspot.com

Student's Work Faux Cloisonne

"I purchased your tutorial and wanted to tell you how much fun I have had doing this technique. I absolutely love it.....I have attached a picture of one of my creations using this technique for you to see some of my work. Thank you so much, I am always looking for new things to try and this one is great!!!"


I received this lovely e-mail from Deb a couple of days ago. The e-mail was accompanied by a picture of Deb's faux cloisonne pendant. Isn't it beautiful?!


I was very excited. I love receiving feedback from the people who use my polymer clay tutorials, and seeing their works is the best part. It is always interesting to see where the other people are taking this technique.


Deb's design is amazing. Creating faces in faux cloisonne technique is a challenge, because the tiniest shift in any of the lines can easily turn a beautiful face into an ugly one or completely change the facial expression.


We exchanged a few e-mails since the first one, and I learned that Deb already made a few pieces in faux cloisonne technique. She has a website (a very new one, and a work-in-progress, she says), where more of her works could be seen.

My new About page

Yesterday I finally filled out my About page on Etsy.com.

Here are the pictures I used to create this page.

The first picture is a panaramic shot of my studio.  I am lucky to have a lot of space for my studio.  My husband helped me to set it up in our basement, and we installed kitchen cabinets in there as working benches.  That gave me plenty of storage space and working surface.  Being busy with my full-time job (I am a lab manager at a company that analyzes chemical standards for pharmaceutical companies), I cannot use my studio often.  Sometimes, I have to leave my started projects for days in a row.  However, when I do have a free minute to work there, I want to be able to start working on my polymer clay projects right away. That is why slosed storage space protecting my projects from dust and distortion is crucial for me.

A photocube is a central piece of equipment in my studio. This is a collapsable model, but I leave it set up permanently on my bench.  Most of my time in studio is spent taking photos for my step-by-step polymer clay tutorials.  Each tutorial has from 20 to 90 pictures, and every picture is taken at least three times.

An oven with tight temperature control is another important tool in a studio of any polymer clay artist.  I am happy with my Amaco oven.  

Here are some more of my tools.  In fact, this is the most of my tools, because you do not need too much to work with polymer clay.  

This picture shows my stash of polymer clay, tesin, and some other stuff.  To be honest, I usually do not keep my clay in the open like this - I decided to rearrange this area a little bit just for the picture so that I could show my materials.  I mostly use Kato clay in black (lots of black), white, translucent, and metallics.  Most of other colors I create by mixing translucent clay with Kato color concentrates.  

To save space on my About page, I compined the last four pictures into a collage.  I hope it is not too confusing.

Here are two more pictures I used.

This one shows my publications (magazines and books in which either my tutorials or pictures of my polymer clay jewelry weer published).

And the last picture shows a few close-up shots from my various polymer clay tutorials.  I thought my Etsy visitors would be interested to see how someone works with polymer clay.

I still have one slot left for one more picture, but I cannot think of another good one to place there yet.

Student's Work Sculpted Orchids

These lovely and delicate orchids were sculpted by Aga (Beaded Keepsakes) following my Polymer Clay Orchids Tutorial.

Aga is planning to use these focal beads for some very special necklaces, and I hope that she will share more pictures with me once those necklaces are finished.

Meanwhile, take a look at this video featuring her other works.

New Focal Polymer Clay Bead

I want to show my recent polymer clay creation.  Exploring some new areas for me - aiming for organic and rustic look.  I 've been working with antique brass a lot recently, and here I tried to mimic that material in polymer clay...

New Polymer Clay Tutorial Faceted Beads

I have a new step-by-step polymer clay tutorial on my site, PolymerClayTutorials.etsy.com.

This project is super easy and fun. It also helps to solve a problem of what to do with an old stock of hard to condition polymer clay.

Enjoy!

Blog and Web Site Updates

I'd like to point out a few changes I just made on my blog and both websites:

Blog (eugenascreations.blogspot.com): added three new pages to showcase my tutorials and polymer clay works, removed dead links and elements that were loading up too slow.

PolymerTutorials.com: added pictures to my list of publications, added more thumbnails and links to the step-by-step tutorials to the side bars of each page.

EugenasCreations.com: updated lists of publications and rewards, added pictures to my list of publications, corrected a few pages to improve their appearance.

I am very proud of myself. The feeling is similar to what I would experience after cleaning up my house. Everything is nice and tidy! Love it!

Call Me!

Polymer Clay Sculpture

Cat with a Phone

 

Scrap polymer clay, acrylic paint, telephone wire.  Approximately 3"x3".  One of my rare sculpted works, done a few years ago.  I wish neither one of my readers would look like this poor cat on Vilentine's Day.

Treasury:

Fun and Frolic with Polymer Clay

My Steampunk Butterfly Tutorial is featured in a new treasury by RoyzleDesigns.

I think this treasury is a perfect illustration of polymer clay's versatility. Don't you agreee?

From My Studio:

New Bead

This polymer clay bead I actually made quite a while ago.  It is an experimental one - I was just playing with a new technique.

Overall, I am pleased with the design, but have two problems it.

First, the shape is not ideal.  I think I got a bit carried away with the details and perhaps misshaped the bead in the process.  Or I was not careful enough during baking.  Whatever the problem was, this is the one easy to fix.

The second thing is more serious - I do not remember exactly how I've got this effect with the dimensional details.  I know what tools I used, but I seem to be missing some crucial step (or steps?), and because of that the whole technique fells apart.  I just cannot reproduce it!

Back to the studio...

...And take notes next time...


Forgot to say: the bead is about long 1.5" and  0.5" in diameter (4 cm by 1.2 cm).

Faux Cloisonne Class

in Dallas, TX

I just came back from Dallas, TX, where I taught my Faux Cloisonne class this Saturday at North Texas Polymer Clay Guild.

Below are a few pictures I took during the class.  The works shown in the last three pictures are not finished yet - there are a few more steps left, namely finishing the edges, pouring the resin, and incerting the bail.

My students usually do not finish their projects in class, because the resin takes so long to cure. They do get to practice how to mix the resin and how to pour it over a polymer clay pendant, but they use some mock plastic heart shapes I bring to class (not their freshly-made faux cloisonne pendants). I would love to see the pictures of the finished pendants, and hope to get them in a few days.

From what I am hearing, the class participants seem to have a really good time in my class. I certanly enjoed teaching it!

I want to thank Babette Cox, who did so much work to organize my class for the guild, and Mary Vanderwood, who was my warm and gracious hostess. I enjoyed staying at Mary's house so much! The night before the class, we stayed up until 2 or 3 am, talking, and not even realizing what time it was. Mary is a beautiful woman with a beautiful soul and many amazing stories. Her house is full of character, with an astonishing collection of polymer clay works – both by her and by other artists...
...I am getting too tired to write this post properly, so I will probably have to edit it later. I just wanted to say thanks to all my students from Texas for a wonderful time at their guild.

My Faux Cloisonne Class

in Dallas, TX

I will be teaching a class on my  Faux Cloisonne technique next Saturday, April 2, in
North Texas Polymer Clay Guild.

There is still room in the class.  If you would like to join us, please contact Babette Cox.

My Donations

Orlando Area Polymer Clay Guild in Central Florida, is holding the Sixth Annual Fandango Polymer Clay Retreat at the end of May this year.  Charline Ahlgreen, OAPC Guild President and Donations Chairwoman, asked me to donate a few of my works to be used in teh auctions and "goody bags" for participants.  Charline says, that the proceeds from the auctions are used to fund their polymer clay community outreach programs (Central Florida Fair demonstrations, public library classes, Bottles of Hope for cancer patients and Beautiful Baubles for hospice patients). The guild also provides two internal scholarships annually that enable their members to take master classes so that they can expand their polymer clay skills, which in turn benefits their more than 40-member organization.

I gladly doated a few of my works for this even, and here are the pictures of my donations.

Indian, Faux cloisonne polymer clay pendant

Red Hat, carved and back-filled polymer clay pendant on a black organza necklace

Yellow Swirls, carved and back-filled polymer clay pendant with an antiqued sterling silver frame

                                                                                                 Sculpted Lily, a polymer clay pendant with genuine Baltic amber, fresh-water pearl, and amazonite beads

Pink Beauty, hand-sculpted orchid over a polymer clay base

Ivy Leaves, Faux Art Glass polymer clay pendant

Happy Valentine's Day!

This polymer clay heart and orchids necklace and a step-by-step tutorial explaing how to make it are available in my Etsy shop.

New Necklace...

I realized I did not show any of my new work for a while, so here is a polymer clay and metal necklace I just finished last week. It is a study of various textures, with every bead being unique and different from all others. The beads are tied together by their common shape and color scheme.








 

...And Disaster

This is what happens when an old oven is not replaced in time. The last couple times I baked in it, I suspected there was something going on with the temperature setting, but never got around to actually check it. This time, there is no doubt. I wonder just how high did the temperature spike to turn one of the last sections of my necklace into this ugly blob (I took a picture of it next to the other sections for a size comparison)...

Ready: Tutorial

Perfect Crackled Metal Leaf

on Polymer Clay

This new tutorial for polymer clay and resin is ready and available both through my Etsy shop and through my web site.

Web Site Updates

Checking the sources of the traffic to my sites a couple of days ago, I came across a post about my polymer clay work at some forum. The post had a link to the gallery at my Eugena's Creations web site with a short comment, something like this: “Polymer clay imitations of cloisonne beads, but very beautiful.”

While I am flattered by the “very beautiful” part of this statement, I felt quite uneasy about the rest of it.

The choice of preposition (“but”, not “and”), probably, says something about the author's taste. I feel, she does not really like cloisonne in general, or she is not a fan of the polymer clay versions of this style. Whatever it is, there is nothing I can do about it.

The first part of this comment, however, made me spend a few hours updating my site. I realized that in fact, the gallery did not represent my work in its variety. I had mostly my faux cloisonne work there (plus a few sculpted flowers), but none of my other works – in steampunk or rustic style, for example. So, I added 25 new gallery pages. Take a look when you have a few minutes.

It was a timely update, indeed. I am shifting priorities in my polymer clay work, concentrating on my tutorials now. I never liked “production” type of work, and with closing of my 1000Markets shop, I decided not to list my jewelry for sale anywhere else at the moment. So, Eugena's Creations web site is now becoming a showcase of my works rather than a tool to lead to my on-line jewelry shop. It is also becoming a portal to my PolymerClayTutorials.etsy.com shop, which will be the center of my attention now. In either case, my gallery definitely benefits from showing a wider variety of my works.

Coming Soon:

Tutorial

Perfect Crackled Metal Leaf

on Polymer Clay

I am finishing a new tutorial.  It will be ready by October 1.

Right now, I offer it for an introductory price through my Etsy shop.  If you purchase this tutorial between now and October 1, the tutorial will be e-mailed to you no later than October 1.

In this tutorial, I will share my tips and tricks for obtaining the perfect crackled metal leaf effect on polymer clay. I will explain, step-by-step, how to make the necklace shown here, but the technique may be used in many of your future projects. I show a few examples in my listing at Etsy.com.

So, what do I mean when I say “ the perfect crackled metal leaf effect on polymer clay”?

That is simple. I mean: “pretty and durable”. In other words, the colors shall be as vivid as possible and they shall stay that way for a very long time.

As you can see, the colors in my metal leaf creations are really bright, the surface is clear and has a nice domed shape, and the entire piece is smooth like glass. I am using clear epoxy resin to add shine to my pieces and to protect their surface. But that is not all! The tutorial will explain how to do every step – from choosing the materials to adding the finishing touches – to assure the best results.

The New Faux Lampwork Technique:

More Examples

Here are a few more beads and bead sets created using the same technique as that described in my newest faux lampwork tutorial for polymer clay and resin:

New Tutorial!

Faux Lampwork for Polymer Clay and Resin

I just finished writing the new tutorial in my Faux Lampwork Series. 

This one explains how to use polymer clay, resin, and one more material to make focal beads that look amazingly like glass lampwork with swirl and floral design.   This third material is revealed in the tutorial.  I bet you will be surprised by what I am using for these designs!   This material is actually very inexpensive and redily available literally everywhere!

Now that I have three tutorials in this series (two of them call for polymer clay and resin and one uses only polymer clay), I decided to offer all three tutorials in a bundle - for a reduced price. 

Both the new individual tutorial and the three-tutorial bundle are availble through my Etsy shop.