A Day In The Studio

I thought it would be fun to walk you step by step through one of my more unusual custom orders. A customer was browsing through my work and was inspired to request a guest book with a decorative polymer clay tile ornament on the cover.

1. I start my tile with a lump of polymer clay, conditioned and ready to run through the pasta machine to get it to a uniform thickness.

2. Here I've gotten the clay rolled out to the thickness I desired and impressed a design into it with a rubber stamp. I have my mica powders out and I have been filling color into the patterns on the tile.

**Very important to note when working with mica powder--less is more! I've learned that lesson the hard way, overloading my brush with powder and making the most garish mess.

3. Cooking in my dedicated polymer clay toaster over. This is an older Black & Decker that has a short in it and randomly cuts itself on when no one's looking. Scary, eh? That's why it's been relegated to polymer clay and isn't used routinely in the kitchen without supervision!

4. Cooling the tile under weight to keep it flat. My Pyrex baking dishes were the nearest thing I could find in a pinch. I put them slightly off center because they're stamped with some wording on the bottom and I was concerned the words might impress upon the tile.

5. The finished tile attached to the front cover of the book.

Variations on a Tangerine Theme

Have you ever had one of those days when you weren't satisfied with anything you accomplished? Well, this was one of those days!

The first variation

I was finishing up this book and selecting a ribbon to coordinate with the cover. The problem was the ribbon kept changing color depending upon the lighting! In daylight it was more green and at night it was more blue. This presented a huge issue when I was trying to photograph the book to list it on Etsy. I adjusted the color until my background started getting too red, finally gave up and decided to just change the ribbon.


Second attempt

I really changed it up here, using a band instead of a bow. However, I still had issues with the green-blue ribbon changing colors on me. As you can see from the above photograph, I tried to tweak the color to get the ribbon to appear more natural and ended up with a greenish cast to the entire photo.

Additionally, I was attempting to multi-task, talking on the phone, when I discovered I attached the band to the BACK cover instead of the front. Aaaarrrgh!

As if that wasn't enough, the white ribbon didn't want to stay attached to the blue ribbon. I tried every type of adhesive I could find. Nothing seems to glue one grosgrain ribbon to another grosgrain ribbon. Anyone know of any tricks? I really like this look, maybe not on this book, but I might want to try it on another book.

The final product

I completely ditched the blue-green ribbon and went with a simple creamy white grosgrain ribbon, tied in a square knot. Sometimes less is more--I think this combination shows off the book to the best advantage. Do you agree?

Back to School

I am so far behind this month! It's amazing how a vacation can set you back so far. The Etsy Bloggers Blog Carnival theme this time is "Back to School" and I am just squeaking in under the wire getting this post done in time!!

Back to school was always a bittersweet time for me. The good things: going shopping for new clothes, getting back into a routine, and seeing my old friends again. The bad things: end of the summer and freedom from homework, and having to get up early again!

I loved getting new clothes the best. I am a self-admitted clothes horse and was so even in elementary school. It was fun to get new shoes and clothes, but once I wore them a few times I was ready for summer again.

My favorite back to school shoes were a pair of "Bug Off" brown leather boots (that was the brand name, represented by a little ladybug). The picture is the closest thing I could find to what they looked like. I absolutely LOVED them and wore them every day in second grade. They were so comfy and I wore them every day. I even tried to wear them in the spring as the weather warmed up, but my calves got so sweaty I had to abandon my favorite boots in favor of sandals. Image from Zappos.

My second favorite look was knee socks with a cute pair of blue leather buckled loafers with short skirts. It was way more comfortable than wearing tights. I wish I could still get away with that look, but I'm way to old to be walking around in knee socks with skirts! Image from LandsEnd

Featured Etsy Blogger

Memories for Life Scrapbooks!

She says:
"My name is Edi and I have been paper crafting for over 12 years. I started out making hand made cards with stamps. I then moved into scrapbooking. I love anything to do with paper and can make just about anything with it. I work as a machine operator at a semi transmission factory for a living while I get my MBA, but I paper craft for life. It truly is my passion!"

Memories for Life says she loves to do custom work, so contact her if you have something special in mind.

Also, to see her works in progress and where she finds inspiration visit her Blog.

Summer Vacation

Yes, I have been MIA for a while! If you're wondering where I've been...


Hanging out on the lake! My niece and my son on the ski bob.

The Ice Cream Boat coming, blaring Bob Marley's music across the lake!

Fishing. We throw them back. I personally don't like hurting the fish when they get stuck with the hook, but you can't argue with a determined man.

Chilling in the air conditioning. My son and his cousin watching movies. How do you like our TV?! Ha ha! The one that belongs inside the console cabinet died so we're using a tiny one. You have to watch it with binoculars.

Etsy Twitter Team Shop Of The Week

Is me!!

Much thanks to everyone for their blog posts about my shop and tweets! I tried to respond to everyone who blogged and tweeted, but if I missed you please know I truly appreciate your support!

Ok, I'm done being sappy now. :D
Here are my latest creations.


Pink and Black Trio Pocket Booklets

These were so much fun to design. I was inspired by the buttons and actually designed the books around them! I got some new scallop-edged punches and HAD to use them also.


The Marianna Mini Journal A small, pocket sized journal size 6x4"


This one isn't listed yet. I'll be listing it in a couple weeks. It's another small one, 6x4". The great thing about this project is it consists of all scrap materials. All little pieces of paper leftover from other books that were too small to use for my larger guest books. Of course, if you love the design but need a larger book I can design one for you.

So what do you all think? Are the new designs winners? Let me know what you think!