Monday, November 2, 2009

Faux Scrimshaw polymer clay technique from the book Enchanted Adornments by Cynthia Thornton

Did you know that "live" backwards is "evil"? Well if you didn't now you do. Mixing things up is what mixed media is all about. The above necklace that I call "Evil bunny on the move" and the one below "Shot like a bat outta h*ll" are the necklaces I made combining the cool technique from the book Enchanted Adornments: Creating Mixed-Media Jewelry with Metal, Clay, Wire, Resin & More, new beads and charms from Blue Moon Beads and a few recycled bits from the stash.
Click on the images to enlarge if you need a closer look.

So with the book open to my inspiration technique I decided to get my texture with rubber stamps, the directions suggest drawing in the clay but I'm not the best at that so rubber stamps it was. To get my outside shape I used cookie cutters.

I did a whole bunch because I figured that would give me lots to play with. I really didn't have a clear plan as I was trying this cool technique of filling in baked polymer clay with a second round of clay so the more I had to work with the better.

Here is the bunny filled in but before sanded down.
Now that I had a cool polymer clay charm I gathered up a bunch of bits and things to make a necklace with it.
I liked working with in two different color pallets simultaneously. It was really an efficient way to work because it saved time in the supply gathering.

There you have it, make a new cool element and then incorporate into a new necklace, all in a day's crafting in the Plaidbunny test kitchen.

Well if like your craft books to cover a wide variety of techniques and materials, then you will really like this book it is truly packed full of mixed-media, I know I do!
Enchanted Adornments: Creating Mixed-Media Jewelry with Metal, Clay, Wire, Resin & More
By
Cynthia Thornton

From the publisher:

Presented in the style of an artist’s journal, this remarkable handbook uses an informal, conversational approach to teach a wide variety of innovative mixed-media jewelry techniques.

Accompanied by fairytale introductions and augmented by watercolor illustrations and design sketches, the 20 unique projects featured, ranging from the delightfully simple to the exquisitely ornate, are infused with personal meaning. Projects make use of various newly popular techniques in mixed-media jewelry, including the creation of resin pendants, PMC clasps, polymer clay beads, and more. All basic techniques are made clear by step-by-step photography.

Cynthia Thornton is the designer for the popular bead-making and jewelry studio, Green Girl Studios. She lives in Asheville, North Carolina.


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7 comments:

Cyndi L said...

"Live backwards is evil"!! Stefanie, you crack me up!

Lynniemay said...

I love your blog!
My copy of the book will be ordered from Amazon Dec.1
Thanks for the sneak peek!
I can hardly wait to get my copy!

Eileen The Artful Crafter said...

... and Star backwards is Rats. I thought maybe you could use that in a future necklace ;-)

The book looks very interesting and I love what you're done with its ideas.

Tammy said...

I love how you really "test" out books and put your own spin on projects in them.

Andrew Thornton said...

Awesome job with the technique! It's good to see that the book is useful! I'll forward your blog address over to Cynthia and she'll have a look. I'm sure she'll be happy to see what you've made.

Andrew Thornton said...

P.S. Did the instructions mention this is addictive? Ha ha ha. We made LOADS of these as samples.

Linda Augsburg said...

It does look addictive, as Andrew said! I haven't gotten a chance to spend time with this book, but you've inspired me to get to it! Thanks for the ideas!

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