Extruder Beads- Spiral metallic Tubes

Spiral metallic Tubes

I love this one. These beads look so good and they are so easy.

All links below will lead to my husband's store, if you are looking for these products. Thank you so much for looking.

Thank you so much for supporting myself and my family.

Makin's professional Extruder-M35055

Makin's Clay Core Extruder Adapter-M35098 1mm,2mm, and 3mm size (these will put holes in the tube as you extrude to make beads)

Black Cernit-900-100

Kemper clay slicing blade

Pearl-ex Pigments- I used reflex violet-644-3, aztec gold-658 -3, spring green-685-3, sky blue-647-3

Paper plate

make- up applicator(I use my finger)


Use the square disk that comes with the extruder set. It is also the same disk that we used with the checkerboard cane.

1. Condition the black clay until it is smooth and warm.

2. Roll a coil that is just slightly smaller than the barrel of the extruder.
Load up the barrel.

3. Put the square disk in to the end where the disks go, then add the 1mm or smallest core adaptor, the little peg will go through the square disk and will stick out of the disk when you screw the disk cap on the end of extruder barrel.

Put the cap with the adaptor and the disk on the end of the extruder barrel.

Turn the handle down and extrude the clay. This will be just a but harder with the core adaptor.

Go slowly and consistently.

4. Using the clay blade cut the clay off around the little peg of the adaptor. Cut near the barrel end and turn the barrel as you hold the blade against the peg. Do not press against the peg hard.
Look at this amazing adapter the hole is in the tube YAY!!!
This makes it so easy.
Cut the square bead tube in half.






5. Lay one half of the square tube on your paper plate. Add a tiny bit of Pearl-ex to the plate and rub your finger tip in it to spread out the clumps and cover the end of your finger tip.
Rub on to one side of the outside of the square tube. Rub a little at a time until the one side is covered and then do the other half. Do not put on too heavy of coat of pearl-ex and make sure you gently rub in to the clay when you apply it. By rubbing the powder into the clay you lodge the little particles of powder into the clay, it makes it less likely to rub off.

6. Now do the next color of pearl-ex on both square tube halves. Do not put a lot of powder out on the plate and try to keep it all in one area so you have room to cover all four sides on one plate. Remember to rub your finger on the plate in the powder so you do not have big chunks dropping on the square tube. Oh and do not have a fan blowing on the plate while doing this either. LOL!! Oh and try not to sneeze in the plate. If you get a very small spoon it is nice for putting a small amount of powder on the plate.

7. Do the next side of the tube and the next color of powder.

8. And finally the next color of powder. Sometimes I only use two colors of powder to cover the square tubes. Like gold and the copper. I cover two opposite sides of the square tube with one color (North and south) and then the other opposite sides (East and West) with the other color.

9. Once the tube is covered we are going to twist the tube. Hold one end of the tube with your left hand and roll the other end forward with your right hand, it will twist the square tube. Do not press hard just roll. Remember there is a hole inside the tube. You can also make the twist tight and more twisted or loose and less twisted.

10. Once the tube is twisted, bake on a piece of cardboard in a 275 degree F. pre-heated oven for 30 minutes shut off the oven and let cool a little. Pull out of the oven and while the beads are still warm cut sections with your clay slicing blade. This is easier when the are warm than when completely cool.
If you let the cool completely, heat the oven again and warm up the bead for bit and then cut them when warm. This is also perfect for making the beads ahead of time, storing beads in the long tubes and then cutting them in the sizes you need them for the project you are working on at the time when you work on the project.

15th giveaway- an angel inside

In honor of 2 years and the angels I have met.

For the 15th giveaway, I am going to give away a steampunk unzipped heart with an angel inside.

Infinite Love and Gratitude.

What is in your heart?

This polymer clay heart is a Steampunk pendant that has watch parts, watch face, belt, heart, screws, gears, stars, and an angel with wing.

There are words stamped in the background.

The heart is 2 5/8" high and 1 11/16" wide and it is 5/8" thick at the thickest point.

It is made from high quality Cernit polymer clay.

There is a large copper ring in the top of the heart from which hangs a 36” piece of brown satin cord. It will hang about 16-17 inches. The cord is easily removable if you wish to add your own chain or cord.

It will come signed and dated on the back of the pendant.

Rules
1. Leave a word of wisdom for one entry.
Words of wisdom are my comments, so all you have to do is leave a comment. I am loving the words of wisdom people are leaving though, so feel free to do that. Check them out there are some good ones in there.
A phrase, a quote, or your own words to live by would be wonderful and they made my day this morning. Thank you!

To get more entries, leave a comment for each one.
This is for more entries, one for each thing done on the the list. You do not have to do any of these though.

2. Go to my Shop "Art from my Heart" in Etsy and leave a comment on this post only with the piece you like best.

3. Be a follower already or become one and leave a comment on this post only saying so.

4. Post about my giveaway in your blog and leave a comment on this post only with the link.

5. Place the angel in your side bar on your blog with a link and leave a comment on this post only.

6. Tell me about an angel in your life and leave a comment on this post only.

The giveaway will close on the 8th of September at 6 pm PDT.
Good luck.
Thank you so much for sharing your precious time with me in blogland.
I am honored by your visits.

A Milestone for me

On Saturday the 28th of august 2010 was small marker in my life.
I have been blogging for two years.
I used to say I would never blog. I think I should never say never.
I started this to promote my business and my art, but...
I have met so many talented, friendly, beautiful, giving, and wonderful people in blog land.
I have learned so much about myself.
I never thought I would last this long.
I have enjoyed writing, something I never thought I would enjoy...


Maybe I should never say never.

Extruder Checkerboard

The clay Extruder is one of my favorite tools.
So many things are possible with this tool.
Lots of people tell me all of the time "I can not cane".
You can, you just didn't have the right tool.
First step, stop telling yourself you can't.
Step two, find the right teacher.
Step three, find the right tool.
Step four, OPEN YOUR MIND!
Step five, have fun.

This is a way to fool everyone, even yourself.

All links below will lead to my husband's store, if you are looking for these products. Thank you so much for looking.
Thank you so much for supporting myself and my family.

Cernit polymer clay- black and white
Makin's professional clay extruder
Kemper Slicing Blades
1. Condition the white first , a half of package is enough. Get it nice and pliable.
2. Unscrew the handle until it is all the way out.
3. Roll a little log that is small enough in diameter to fit in the extruder barrel and fill it up. Place the square disk that comes with the extruder into the other end.
It is best to roll a log long enough to fill the barrel than to put in small logs to fill the barrel. The little logs will create air pockets.

4. Screw the handle back down slowly and at an even pace. Going slow helps the harder clays not shred on the edges of the square and other disk patterns. Extrude out all the white and then do the same thing with a half of package of black.

5. Press the two square coils together side by side. If using a smooshy clay do not smash together. Gently now.

6. Hold the ends of the square lengths and cut in the middle.

7. Lay one half right by the other half so it goes black, white, black, and then white.

8. Hold each of the ends again and fold gently in half so you can cut in equal halves again.

9. Flip one of the halves over so the pattern on one half is the opposite of the other.

10. Stack one half on the top of the other half.
Match up the lines of the squares as much as you can here.

11. Cut that stacked set in half.

12. Turn one half around 180 degrees horizontally and place on top of the other half. You can click on all the pictures to make them larger.

13. To make the checkerboard smaller press gently on each side of the 4 sides with your finger, one at a time.

Flip the cane from end to end and press on the 4 sides one at a time again.

Continue flip, press 4 sides, flip, press 4 sides, flip, press 4 sides... until it is smaller in size.

14. Ta-dah!!

15. You can also take one of the halves at this point and flip it end to end and place next to the other one.
This will multiply the pattern in one cane which makes it easier to apply to things in a row or border.










Slice off thin slices from the single checkerboard or the double with the clay slicing blade and add to your clay work. Or cut off slices and make beads out of them by piercing them with a needle or needle tool (bug sticker). Or cut off thin slices and bake and use in Encaustic painting, scrapbooking and collage.
OR??????

Wednesday wonder

http://accidentalmysteries.blogspot.com/2010/08/carved-from-lead-in-pencils.html

Great giveaways

Theresa at Faeriemoon Creations is having a Giveaway!

Click the picture and it will take you there.

Hurry closes on August 27 th, 2010

Mother moon"s Eat Pray Love Giveaway

Click the picture and it will take you there.

Ends September 1st, 2010

Nydia at Bringing up Salamanders is having a Goddess giveaway.

Click on the picture and it will take you to the post!

Keys not included <]:)

Ends on the September 1st, 2010

Clay Day- Bottles of Hope

 08/21/10 was Clay Day with my polymer clay guild the San Diego Polymer Clay Guild.

We make Bottles of Hope for the Moore's Cancer Center at UCSD in San Diego.

We made 51 bottles yesterday for the center.

We took 54 bottles to the center on tuesday 08/17/10

Yay team! 

Bottles of Hope are bottles covered with clay and donated to the cancer centers and hospitals all over the world and given to people going through cancer. You can read about them at the link.

They are a pure gift of love and hope. The work, the clay, the bottles and the good intentions are completely given from each artists heart. They are never charged for.

It is one of my Guild outreach programs and we make a lot of them, gladly.

I am proud of us.

Marni's bottle

Linda's bottle

Sylvia's bottle