Online Tutorials for Metal Clay Users

I am for the most part, a self-taught precious metal clay artist. I use the term "artist" loosely here, a better description of me would be a professional silicone mold creator. I have a mountain of precious metal clay books but I am a very visual learner. So when I can actually find video tutorials online for various precious metal clay techniques I bookmark them and study them diligently. The two websites that I have always returned to for their video tutorials is Whole Lotta Whimsy and Cool Tools.

There was however a very cool development last night on Tonya Davidson's blog , who is the co-owner of Whole Lotta Whimsy. Tonya Davidson has created a design team which she calls the Master Muses. These Master Muses are ten highly respected and experienced metal clay artists, that will be submitting a precious metal clay tutorials on various techniques on Tonya Davidson Blog every Wednesday starting January 28, 2010 . Two of the ten Master Muses are also Etsy Metal Clay Team members. A big congrats to Lora Hart and Ruth Baillie of Birdland Creations. There will be roughly 60 tutorials posted on Tonya's Blog. I can't wait to see all the different tutorials!

Handcrafted Help for Haiti

I found out the other day that there is a shop on Etsy called Hearts for Haiti. This wonderful shop has a collection of various items, that have been donated by various Etsy artists, to raise funds for the humanitarian efforts needed in Haiti . The Hearts for Haiti Shop will donate 100% of the proceeds (minus Etsy fees and Paypal fees) to Doctors Without Borders in bi-monthly increments. I am in the process of contacting this shop owner to donate one of my pendants. One of my fellow EMC teammate's, Liz Hall from Lizards Jewelry, has already donated her Heart Ring to the Hearts for Haiti Shop. There are several lovely items in this store that would make for great Valentine's Day gifts.

My Seed Bead Bracelet Project

So what does 2,500 seed beads weaved into four tiers using the right angle weave look like. This Seed Bead bangle is called the Metalsmith's Match and it was designed by Shelley Nybakke. Shelley has a bead shop in Bloomington, IL that I have had the pleasure to visit. This bracelet is almost done. Though the fourth tier has been extremely hard to weave. There has been a lot of cussing recently finishing the last tier. I hope I will finish it some time this week.

New Year, New Goals and New Skills

It was a crazy December as usual. We traveled to Connecticut for Christmas to visit my husband's extended family. It was fun to catch up with everyone and to see how much my nieces and nephew have grown. I was also able to meet some fellow EMC Team members in person! I was able to meet Lis-el of Heart of the Fire, Janice of Destinys Creations and Lucia of Gulino Art Jewelry. All of these lovely ladies meet me at Lis-el Art and Soul Gallery! It was great to meet everyone and to talk "shop" with someone in person. Thanks Lis-el for opening your gallery to us for such a lovely chat.

I can not believe it is 2010. It just seems weird to be in a new decade. It also the beginning of a new year and I have slowly begun to realise all of the goals I want to achieve this upcoming year.

I unfortunately received the bad news that I did not pass my Professional Engineering Exam. That was a pretty big blow but after reviewing my test results, I found I did fairly well in the morning and completely bombed the afternoon portion of the exam. The afternoon portion of the exam is a more discipline specific area that I did not have enough time to focus on. Hopefully with some more time spend studying this area I will pass the second go around in April 2010.

One thing I do not want to repeat is how my studying took over my life. I have resolved to be more organized with my time. To actually schedule in my crafting time into my day. Chris not crafting makes for a very unhappy Chris.

This organization of time will be hard because I want to explore some new craft skills. Over Christmas I was able to amass several amazon.com gift cards to purchase a plethora of crafting books that have been on my favorite list since forever. The two that have really capture my attention is Clay Art for Special Occasions by Yukiko Miyai and The Art of Resin Jewelry: Layering, Casting, and Mixed Media Techniques for Creating Vintage to Contemporary Designs by the always crafty Sherri Haab. The lovely bouquet to the left is called the Yellow Mellow Arrangement and can be found in ccbycherrie Etsy shop. I would love to be able to make soft clay flowers like this!

Resin has also captured my attention and hopefully I will be off to the craft store this weekend to get my resin supplies. I fell in love with Quercus Silver Etsy Shop! I absolutely adore her Treasure box resin rings. I love the red one in particular listed above. Check them out.

Determination Delivers Delicate Details

I have received such good treasury luck lately that I thought I would return the favor. The above treasury is called Determination Delivers Delicate Details. I have been working on a pretty intricate seed bead bracelet lately. I will show you pictures once I have finished it. Hopefully I will finish it before the 2011. The endless stringing of seed beads inspired this treasury. My latest bracelet work brought the thought that determination delivers delicate details. Enjoy this treasury it will be around for two more days.

Happy New Year

Happy 2010 everyone. I hope everyone had a great New Year. I was happy to find that Jane of Daisy Jane Designs placed me in her Silver is just Fine treasury and Lori of Moda di Mango placed me in her Happy 2010 treasury this morning. Thanks ladies!