I STARTED Early--Took my Dog--And visited the Sea--
The Mermaids in the Basement Came out to look at me
--Emily Dickinson

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Day 29...


Day 29.  I can hardly believe it.  It went by so fast.  Some days I just wanted it to be over, but most days I totally enjoyed myself.  For my last day, I decided to go on as I've been doing on and not do anything out of the ordinary.  So, here's a little windmill made with the windmill quilt pattern.


And the whole village (for now):

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Day 28...


I'm really loving these little houses.  It's a good thing I have more quilt canes!

Back view:

Day 27...


I used my Snail's Trail quilt cane to make this little house.  There's a dime in the picture for scale....

Front view:

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Day 26...


I don't make mokume gane style beads very often...and I use warm, orangey colors even less.  But that's what I came up with tonight....

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Friday, February 24, 2012

Day 24...


Ack!  These are terrible.  *sigh* I don't have time to make something else.  Oh well....

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Day 22...


And finally, baby Jesus.  Each piece seems to be harder to make than the one before.  I'm learning, though--hopefully the final pieces will be much better.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Day 21...


Joseph, to go along with Mary from yesterday's post.

These are harder to make than I thought they would be....

Monday, February 20, 2012

Day 20...


My mom is badgering--er, gently suggesting that I make a couple of nativity figures for my thing-a-day.  Ha!  She just wants to see what she's going to get this December....
Anyway, here's a trial run at the Mary figure.  It's about 4 1/2 " tall.

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Day 19...


I’ve had this particular quilt cane kicking around for over ten years.  It’s one of my favorites, so it’s really hard for me to actually use it.  But I had these white beads and I thought they might work well together.  I like it anyway….

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Friday, February 17, 2012

Day 17...


This is a small angel ornament I came up with a couple of years ago.  I used a cane I made last month and put one together tonight.  She has a little bell inside and is about two inches tall.  A couple more views:





Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Day 15...


I had the hardest time tonight trying to make something.  I started a couple of different things, but totally lost interest.  I finally put together this necklace with a Natasha bead I made with clay scraps.  I like tweaking Natasha beads in various ways and this particular style is one of my favorites.

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Day 14...


A moebius bead again.  I can’t help it!  I’ve had these lampwork beads for a while and after I made the black/pink/white snail’s trail cane, I thought they might look good together….

A close up:

Monday, February 13, 2012

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Day 12...




Another one of my funky rings.  This is the Valentinus Spottius--a rare flower that blooms only on Valentine's Day.  Well, not really--but after the Spotted Saxifrage, who can tell?






Saturday, February 11, 2012

Day 11...


My mom wants me to make her a nativity scene for Christmas.  Lucky for me, it's early enough in the year to practice a bit before actually making her present.  Here's a practice camel--around three inches tall.

Friday, February 10, 2012

Day 10...--UPDATED



So I took the beads I made yesterday and made this necklace.  I can't promise to leave this particular set alone--I think I have enough left to make a bracelet!  I really like this color combination.  I use it quite often.

UPDATED:

Ask and ye shall receive...

The clasp components, like the rest of the necklace are reversible--yellow on one side, purple on the other.  Here's a couple of close-up views....



Thursday, February 9, 2012

Day 9...


I took the canes I made yesterday and turned them into these beads.  They're reversible--yellow cane on one side, purple cane on the other.  I have something in mind for them...tune in tomorrow!

Day 8...

I've been teaching classes every once in a while and have been trying to figure out what to teach next.  I need to come up with something by Friday.  I came up with these beads tonight.  Yes, yes--I know, they're purple and yellow.  I wasn't trying for that on purpose.  I guess I just really like that color combination.  If you look closely, you'll see there is some blue and green as well.  Here are some progress pictures:

Skinner Blends I used...

Cane number one...

Cane number two...

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Day 7...

It was round robin night at the Northwest Polymer Clay Guild meeting.  I knew I wouldn't get home until late, so I figured I'd use one of the things I made at the meeting for my Thing-A-Day.  JoAnne demo-ed Julie Picarello's Lizard Tail technique.  Here's my take on it.  I used the clay I had left over from a class I taught last week.  It was only after I finished that I realized I used UW Husky colors.  Oh well--this one's for all you sports fans out there!

Monday, February 6, 2012

Day 6...


You'd think I'd be sick and tired of mobeius beads after last month.  But, I really like this variation that I came up with and I needed something relatively quick, since I got home rather late.  So here's my "thing" for day 6 of Thing-A-Day.

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Day 5...


I seem to make Christmas ornaments more than anything else.  And I make snowflakes most often.  I try to come up with something different every year.  I used my confetti cane to make these.

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Day 4...



I went a little crazy at clay camp last year making ikat canes.  I've been using the canes to make these big, funky flower rings--this one is my favorite.


Another view:

Friday, February 3, 2012

Day 3...


I made several confetti beads tonight; I think I like this one best.



Day 2


I have this cute little American Girl paper punch of a baby deer.  Amazingly enough, they can be used on thin sheets of polymer clay.  For Thing-a-Day, Day 2, I put them on top of my quilt canes and punched out buttons!  I’ve got quite a few little paper punches and quite a few canes.  I’m going to try this again….

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

First Thing-a-Day...


Thing-a-Day is an annual event where you sign up and commit to make a thing a day for each day in February.  This is their sixth year.  I heard about it last year about a week into the month and thought it was a great idea, but it was too late to sign up for it then.  I signed up this year and am looking forward to it.  This is my first Thing-a-Day item I made.  A kitty bracelet using some of my quilt canes.  Some detail:
Notice the mouse bead that serves as the closure.

Phew!  I'm cutting it close, but I'm squeaking in before the end of the day!