Brain Dead, Blame the Kids

My drawing has finally finished and Necklaces are ready to be shipped! Congrats to Kayla White and Sabra Handy for you new items!

This past week I finally decided to make myself a necklace! What kind of sales person am I when I don't ever make myself something to show off =P It is Fluorite with handmade Clay cap and beads. Linked onto leather. I love the way it turned out. I am definitely having a teal phase. I do need to make some more spring time items soon as well.

The past few days have been quite unsuccessful. I think my mind wants to do so much and has so many ideas that when I actually have time to work it shuts down. Artist Block? I blame the children. You are so used to all the noise and madness going on that when silence finally comes, your brain stops working. Of course with my crazy toddler that rarely happens. I say this as she still keeps getting up from her bed at 10:30 when we put her to bed two hours ago. Story of my life.

Speaking of my toddler. She is 3 to be exact, and I will say she is the MASTER of the terrible 3's. MASTER. She does the throwing the fits, crying, yelling completely ignoring you and purposely doing the opposite that you tell her to do. She thinks doing all of this is absolutely hilarious! I think she enjoys slowly watching my sanity dwindle away day by day. My husband thinks it will get better as she gets older. I on the other hand am convinced it will get worse as she gets older. The older she is the more trouble she can cause. World watch out, Red Rainah is on her way. Fear for my future and I will fear for yours.

Of course after the fits she tells you she loves you, gives you the biggest smile and all is right with the world again. This face is what keeps her alive at times.

These two pictures fit her personality perfect. In the last picture she is sitting with our (23lb!) cat Vincent Price. I told her to smile and this is what she gave me. Yup, Rainah all the way. 

I AM BACK! Finally!!!

So, it has been awhile since I have written. I was having issues with my blog and couldn't get pictures to work so I just gave up…..for a long time. BUT, I am back! Hopefully all is better now! 

You would think I would have tons to write about, but life as a stay at home mom in a small country town doesn't exactly make like the most adventurous. Ok, I take that back. I get plenty of adventures with my kids, some I would have preferred not to have but they are there nonetheless. 

I have been working nonstop practically trying to make enough items to open a booth around town. I have lots of new items to show. If you know me at all you know I am obsessed with stones, and fairies. I haven't quite figured out my preferred way to incorporate fairies into my jewelry yet. Though I have been finding BEAUTIFUL stones to use for my jewelry and I am LOVING THEM! Most of them are available at my Etsy shop, so please go look! 

Etsy shop: Clay Section

Polymer galore!

For some reason my blog hasn't let me post lately but here is another try!

I haven't had much time to write, I've had back to back birthdays! Sheesh! I've also been working on polymer like crazy! Here are a few items. Most are up at my etsy shop.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/125615578/purple-and-green-polymer-flower-clay?ref=pr_shop

The rest you can see at my Facebook page:

Facebook/artfulparadox

Go like it!

How fun is this!?!

Ok not much to tell just have been doing lots and lots of work. Loving it! I have a drawing on my Facebook page for people who like and share it. Free men's/women's wrap bracelet! Look and like my fb page to see which ones
:)


Facebook.com/artfulparadox

I've been painting and polymer out the wazoo! And now I am mixing the two for much added fun! (The bottom is the mixed one)
All for sale

What do you think about them all!? Please comment and leave feedback!

Kale Chips Anyone? Pinterest Experiment

Sickness still roams around the house. It seems it will never end let me tell ya. I was so sick the other day when I came back from my Dr. Appointment I left my keys in the ignition and now my car is completely dead. So obviously I guess my errands will have to be put on hold for a day. Of course today it's in the 50's and tomorrow it will be back to freezing. Go figure right.

I did have a little bit to get some jewelry making in though. Most are up at my easy store, some not quite yet. I also have a custom order I will be starting soon too. Soon if I ever get the time and patience I will do a tutorial. :)

So Official Pinterest experiment #1Salt and Vinegar Kale Chips http://www.foodess.com/2012/01/salt-vinegar-kale-chips/#more-3414

This time I give them a 5 (scale 1-10).

Let me say this first in my defense. I might be Italian, but I was never raised to cook or clean. The fact that I even attempted is a Martha Stewart Miracle for my family. I don't know spices, oils, or anything really. So this experiment was not a great success BUT given my lack of cooking experience it is worth trying again.

I will admit I changed a few things. Instead of Olive Oil I used Healthy Balance Oil (because of course that sounds healthier than olive oil.. Right?) and I put a sheet of foil under them instead of coating the pan.. Hey less cleaning... Anyway, the recipe called for 2tsp of vinegar. Since my stomach has been a little upset I only used half of that (1tsp) and ground Sea Salt instead of Kosher salt (I didn't have any).

Ok, so the taste was great. Just fine, my issue was getting them crisp. I did two batches to make sure they weren't piled on and cooked for 6 minutes then flipped and another 3 minutes at 350. They were still limp. So I put it in a few more minutes, same result. I got impatient so I put them all on there (the 2nd batch was cooked and had the same results) and bumped it up to 425 for about 3 minutes. They burned.. Of course. Though they didn't burn enough not to eat so I will eat them anyway! So like I said next time I might actually follow the exact directions (to be honest I'm not sure what I could have done wrong to result in them not being crisp though). No foil? We shall see

Polymer Pendants

So I finally got some feedback on some Matte sealer that can work and got a chance to try it (well something similar to her suggestion). Here is what I made so far. They are not up for sale yet, call this a sneak preview. :)

With the fairy door and leaf/clock gadget pendant I tried the method of cooking them without the bezel then putting them in, not sure how I feel about the outcome of the fit. The last 3 I cooked while in the bezel, still didn't turn out exactly how I wanted it to fit, but was a bit better. Have a look!

POLYMER

If anyone reads this that does polymer clay I could REALLY use some help. 

Ok, as I showed in a previous post I have been working on some polymer necklace pendants. Everything was going great (though it took quite awhile to make each one) until I tried to seal them. DISASTER... I first tried Sculpey Satin finish because I really don't like a gloss finish. It looked horribly cheap... so I tried Liquide Polyclay, it had the exact same results. After I tried them, they looked like childrens art. I really want them sealed but LOVE the way they look without a varnish. I would prefer to have a pure Matte finish without any shine, but I can't seem to find anything. Oh I also tried to put Modge podge Matte over the top of one (after I varnished it) that was even worse. I am quite frustrated and need help! 

If you could direct me to help or provide me with some I would GREATLY appreciate it. =) THANKS

The countdown begins

The Christmas countdown begins. It feels like thanksgiving hasn't even happened yet. Maybe because it has been so warm? Who knows.
I ordered a ton of bezels from etsy to make my painting pendants, but when I got them in the mail I realized they are just too small to see the painting. I didn't want them to go to waste, then remembered
what I have wanted to do for awhile.

Polymer clay! I have messed around with it a bit but nothing I really thought worked. I want it to be very sturdy and secure.
I think for my first clay design it turned out pretty well! Better pics soon. I still need to glaze it as well.
What do you think??