Crafts by Chris

Musing on polymer clay, beads, jewelry and other stuff.

the next generation of flower beads

Posted on | June 16, 2010 | No Comments

For those of you who have asked for dainty flower beads that will hold up in bracelets….the next generation of flower beads are coming. :) I’ve been experimenting to get just the right colors and feel, with the right amount of strength and flexibility. I’ve found the right mix of Pardo Art Clay, Pardo Jewellery Clay and PREMO! They will be a little bit more expensive as the Pardo clay is more expensive, but just look at this….


….they pass the squish and bend test


I do have some comments about the Pardo Art Clay, but will talk about that in another post. Maybe by then I will have had a little time to experiment with the translucent.

Category: Polymer Clay, beads, jewelry
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Summertime Fun Sale!

Posted on | June 12, 2010 | 2 Comments

Join us this week for a “Summertime Fun” sale! The following Etsy Angel shops are having a sale starting Sunday, June 13 through Sunday, June 20th. Free shipping, BOGO FREE, special sale sections! You won’t believe what you find this week! Visit the participating shops below and pick up some wonderful items! Start that Christmas shopping early, just “click” on a store name and go directly to their shop! Don’t miss the fun…..

CraftsbyChris – ME
*FREE first class shipping on all purchases plus lots of great deals in my SALE section!

**BONUS #1 – Sunday June 13th only!
It’s my birthday and you get the gifts. All purchases made Sunday June 13th only will also receive a bead pair perfect for earrings.

***BONUS #2 – I’m only 10 sales away from 500….be my 500th sale and you will get a grab bag filled with bead goodies.

**************************************
OzarkNana
Free Shipping on entire store and Special Sale Section where prices are marked down 50%!

CBLandCOMPANY
BOGO + FREE shipping!

Silkcreekgallery
Special Sale section!

BeadedTail
Free shipping on entire store!

SewingGranny
Buy any 2 items in the “Summertime Fun” Section and get free shipping! Rest of the shop will have 20% discount!

MountainEagleCrafter
Free shipping on entire store!

Category: Polymer Clay, beads, etsy, jewelry, sale
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clearest of them all

Posted on | June 9, 2010 | 2 Comments

Did a little experimenting with the Pardo Art Clay yesterday. While it is firmer than the Pardo Jewellery Clay, it is still softer than I like. However, I have to say that the translucent is by far the clearest translucent polymer clay out there. My mind is humming with ideas…


I’m off to get a few things done this morning, then I have to get some stuff together for a yard sale. My mom had one earlier, but the weather was yucky and they live outside of town. So, I said we would have one at our house as we have a better location. Of course it’s supposed to be around 90 degrees this weekend. *sigh*

Category: Polymer Clay
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if one is good, more is better, right?

Posted on | June 8, 2010 | 3 Comments

I ordered some of the new Pardo Art Clay recently for a project. I need the strength and flexibility of the Pardo Jewellery Clay for thin pieces, but find it’s softness hard to work with. Of course I can’t buy just one or two…..I MUST have all the colors. :) Is there a 12-step program for this? I hope to try it out today or tomorrow and will let you know what I think.


Next on the agenda is a requested tutorial for my earthstone pottery beads, which I hope to have ready soon. I’m also supposed to be getting ready for a yard sale with my mom this weekend….And the fabric store just called to tell me my special order fabric is in. What’s a girl to do?


Category: Polymer Clay, beads, color, tutorials
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blogging is like exercising…

Posted on | June 3, 2010 | 2 Comments

Yes, blogging is like exercising…life gets busy and you miss a few days…the next thing you know it’s June!

Even through it is technically spring, why not get a head start on those fall/winter designs. I am personally lovin’ the bold, bright colors of the fall/winter color forecast. The fall/winter 2010/2011 color recipes ebook is now available in my Etsy shop and my ArtFire shop. The ebook includes 36 polymer clay color recipes and is set up as printable recipe cards.

  

Whether you have a hard time mixing colors, knowing what colors to use or just want to save some time this is a great resource for you.

I’m working on finishing up some orders, a tutorial and hopefully some new beads in there as well.

Category: Art Fire, Polymer Clay, color, etsy
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May flowers

Posted on | May 10, 2010 | 2 Comments

Just a note to let you know I’m still around. :) Graduations, weddings, end of the year school activities, birthdays, etc. going on that take up some of my bead time. Hoping to play catch up this week.

Our May has been mostly cold and rainy this year, so I’m enjoying indoor flowers at the moment. Lots of sanding, a coat of resin and bails still needed to finish of these pendants.



Experimenting with a faux stamped leather look.


Category: Uncategorized

what a mess!

Posted on | April 7, 2010 | 3 Comments

I really do try to keep my work space cleaned up in between projects. However, when I get into experiment mode and have several different projects going on at once, I end up with a mess. I can deal with the mess to a certain point….basically until I end up with no room to work. Then it’s time to play clean up. :)

Here’s a photo of my work space today. You can click on the photo for a larger version.


The hardest part of organization is keeping up with it. No matter how hard I try or how organized I think I am, I still end up with a mess. So, how do you keep up? Do you clean up at the end of each day or when the mess gets so bad that you don’t have any room to work?

Category: organization, studio
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