Showing posts with label crafts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label crafts. Show all posts

Friday, June 20, 2008

The Art of being Crafty

Crafty
adj. craft·i·er, craft·i·est
1. Skilled in or marked by underhandedness, deviousness, or deception.
2. Chiefly British Skillful; dexterous.


Recently a post came through on the polymer clay group I joined about whether we are crafters or artists. Personally I don't have a problem with the term crafty. In fact being crafty has paid off for me this week.

Example #1.

I have a bed of squash and melons coming up for the second time. The first time the squirrels made it through my defenses. This time so far so good, I even have one plant that is growing big. While I would like to think it is all due to my superior, squirrel abatement skills, I think this guy might be helping me out. Instead of being horrified and killing it when I spotted him laying near my melon bed, I obviously went and got the camera. Don't get too freaked out boys and girls, this is a bull snake, not a rattler, not too big only about three feet. I am glad to have him or her around, squirrels beware. I feel like definition number one here, luring innocent watermelon hungry squirrels to their death, but I am okay with that.

Example #2
Being skilled with ones hands means you have lots of things to give away to your friends and family. Sometimes you are the lucky recipient of such gifts. Hyperher, is a crafty lady, and she very sweetly send me this bag this week as a belated birthday present. Please join me in telling her how much she rocks. YOU ROCK, and definitely fall into category #2 there. Please don't drool on your keyboard as you look at the picture.

Example #3

Giving away those crafty items can be so rewarding in unintended ways. I mentioned in my last post about making a scrapbook for my cousin going to Princeton for the summer. My aunt, her mother, has had a hard time of it of late. Her son is in Iraq, her mother passed away in February and now her daughter got on a plane today and flew for the first time in her life, across the country, alone. In fact she had not been speaking to my mom, over some of the arrangements for my grandmothers estate. My mother has been very worried about her sister, she felt like the emotional stress of those situations was causing the problem. In fact we had a going away party for the cousin that they did not attend. However when she saw the silly scrapbook I made at my mom's request for her daughter, she called crying and they are reconciled. I would have never expected some silly crafting to be the catalyst for that.

So upward and onward. These are my last batch of beads waiting to be sanded and buffed. I have great hope for them. Maybe they can instill world peace. ; )

Thursday, May 08, 2008

More Hummingbird Jewelry


If you were so unfortunate to read my twittering last week, I repeatedly mentioned working on my mother's birthday present. I decided to repeat the hummingbird theme I did for my mother in law but in green my mom's favorite color. However I tried the polymer clay wings again, I wasn't quite happy with the beaded ones. My first batch made it through sanding but didn't make through buffing, so I tried again with a thicker layer of clay and then a backing of clay.

She really seemed to like it. I told her she was market research and had to tell me what is wrong with it.

While I think my finish work was improved from my last piece, as I edited the photos I noticed a few partial fingerprints I missed. I am working on some photo transfer pendants for mother's day and am coating my fingers in cornstarch first to try and prevent fingerprints.





So do any of you want to be market research for me? I am going to give away one hummingbird pendant this week. Winner gets to choose between the purple beaded wing model or the green polymer clay winged model. To enter the contest simply leave me a comment, and I will pick a winner randomly. Feel free to link the contest for your blog buddies if you like. The giveaway will end on Tuesday May 14th at midnight and I'll announce the winner on Wednesday May 15th.
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Wednesday, April 02, 2008

My Polymer Clay Habit

Some of you may have wondered what I do when I am not wrangling pests.
(I'll let you use your own judgment about if I mean two legged or six legged pests.)
I have been starting making beads a couple of years ago, but due to moves, life etc, I had put this hobby on hold.

I have been reading polymer clay blogs and wishing I could be on the level of this, or this and this.

Thankfully my aunt, who lives nearby, had some extra room in her studio and let me have a corner. The best way to learn is to practice, and I needed a gift for my mother-in-laws birthday. My husband suggested hummingbirds and this is what I came up with.

I think the colors look a bit better in person, I don't have any fancy schmancy lighting equipment.



I need to work on my wire wrapping skills.


Luckily she tends to love whatever we give her, even if I am not so sure about it. Now I just need to make a bunch more to perfect it.
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