I have been waiting for some time (a whole week of time) to just play with some polymer ideas I have had floating around in my mind. I mean, Sculpey came out with some new colors I couldn't wait to try, I bought Pans Pastels, and Iced Enamels to play with, and have been dying to try some age old techniques and work them into my own style. The first week of summer vacation ended up being that week for me!!! So, here are some of the things I have been working on. I figure, it is never too early to start stockpiling beads for Beadfest. I will be adding some new things to the shop along the way, but I need to begin the stockpile as well. This tray has some new and old designs. I am really loving my new carved lotus focals, and giving them easy to string up bails, two at the top and one on the bottom (some are just two at the top). Here are some great ways to use them. Just add chain.............. (this one is an eye focal, but the same layout) or do some simple wire wrapped beads Or go more elaborate like Sherri Stokey of Knot just Macrame did with her 's Of course there are new sugar skulls, and each one is hand formed and stamped, so no two will be alike at all! I have been adding nice hints of gold under my paints, to give some pendants that gold leaf feel to them. There will be polymer moon babies!!!! and large spikes I also began to play with some of the new opal clay from Sculpey. It is a bit odd, the chunks of "opal" are sort of big, but I found that I love using it as quartz veining in some donuts and beads. Look for more of these!!! I also have been playing with translucent clay, and love these carved earrings- the translucent gives them a dreamy soft quality. Though not all these spikes are translucent clay, I love seeing them all together (here is what they look like pre-carving) The color Graphite Pearl from Sculpey was another I was excited about. I love the look of caving all black clay, but thought hey, what if I put a layer of this under it, since its a dark grey? well, I did it with black over graphite and white over graphite and i love them both. They have a soft shimmer of a real stone! I also played with the new Rose Glitter or Rose gold? color from Sculpey. I carved with this and did some pans pastels over it, I really like the little pop of shimmer it gives! I also made these beads, by mixing Iced Enamels into the clay before baking (in translucent). I saw this first on Paisley Lizards blog! I had to try it out myself! I love how it looks like stones For these I used Iced Enamels on top of the clay. Needless to say, I am having a blast and will have LOTS of new beads for Bead Fest this year. I cannot believe it is right around the corner. It will be here before I know it, so, bead making goes into full gear starting NOW. Well, that is all I got done this week. Some of the stuff was staged and made weeks ago, but never finished, but none the less, I guess its a good amount!!!! I will let you know when I do a shop update and get some of this new stuff in there! http://www.stacilouiseoriginals.com/store or you can find my crackle painting technique tutorial here www.slartisanaccents.etsy.com
by Staci Louise Smith Last week we lost two members of our family . It was a very tough week. I was honored when I was asked to make a ...
by Staci L. Smith Are you working on your piece for the Wire Work Out Blog hop? Because its MONDAY! You don't have to make some fabulouso wire wrapped cabochon or anything- just show us how you use wire, and let us know if you pursued anything new with it and how it went. I started thinking about my wire work. I wouldn't consider myself a wire artist by any means, but I sure go through wire! I use it in every piece of jewelry I make. Here is a great example. I made this piece using a gorgeous focal from Joan Miller Porcelain, a bronze scroll bead from me, and a stone effect glass bead from Genea Beads, along with a rustic garnet donut and turquoise disc. As I began to lay it out, I thought about wire more, where I use it, how I use it. I made a frame for Joan's large lentil, because I wanted to use it in a way that the holes did not lend. I just used thick wire, and wrapped it around a few times, and then held it together by wrapping a smaller gauge wire here and there. I also used wire to secure the leather and make the clasp. This is something new I tried, I have to see how it actually wears- if it continues to lay right and all, but I just wired this turquoise disc onto the leather. So there you have it, wire doesn't have to be fun or fancy, it can be very practical too. I did create a piece that is mostly wire for the blog hop though. So I hope you will join us back here Monday for that. Just blog about your piece on YOUR blog, and on Monday, come to our blog and add your link at the bottom. That's it. Then hop around and meet some other wire workers. Its a great way to meet new people, and find new blogs. Not to mention, WE love to see what you guys are doing. You inspire us too ya know! I haven't taken this off yet, because I am testing it. Yep, that's why. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it. Hope to see you all Monday.
by Staci Louise Smith Last week I did a post on Doing it All (or NOT doing it all, actually ). In last weeks post I touched on some ways I have been trying to make my time more efficient in the studio. One of the ways I do this when making beads, is to make molds of them. It is a great way to save yourself some time in the studio- and a way to preserve a design you were really happy with. Here is a post I did awhile back on how to use a two part silicone compound to make a mold of your polymer clay beads. http://lovemyartjewelry.blogspot.com/2013/04/i-wanna-do-that-again.html The only problem is, I never want to have too many beads that are too similar out there in the world. I want everyone to be able to make unique art with my beads, so the beads themselves need to be different. I paint them each a million different ways, the colors are never the same twice. However, there are other ways to change it up too. I have recently been making these awesome Gold Rush beads, with the gold crackle, and then carving them as well. The carving of each bead is immensely time consuming, and then you have the painting on top that too. I just could not make them fast enough. So I decided to make a mold of them. I made blank white beads, and then after curing them, I carved the parts I wanted designed. Then I made molds. That gave me the carved design quickly. Then I was free to add my crackle and other embellishments to each one. For example- here are some of the molds I made. You can see the shapes and carved pattern are the same, however, I have added elements such as crystals, and holes and other textures to make each one unique. They are painted different and the gold crackle on each is a little different. At first I felt a bit like a sell out not hand carving each one. However, I was quite happy with the results, and found it allowed more time for other details to be added! Also, here is ONE fossil Ammonite (shown at the bottom of the picture) I use as a mold, and all the many different designs I make from it. The key here is to play, and try things a different way so you don't get stuck in a rut!!! I mean, you KNOW I love ammonites! So I am always trying to do them in a new and fun way. So what is the take away here? Make a mold, re-create your favorite beads, but you don't have to stop there. Use your texture tools to add dots, or stripes or embed beads and crystals, layer them on top of patterned bases. Make each one unique anyhow!!! There is no limit to what you can do! (Please note that you may not re-create MY beads.....the carved crackle beads are my design and not to be replicated, as well as the spins on the ammonites. These beads are not shown to be copied but merely as samples of what you can do to your own handmade beads to make them original while using a mold- THANK YOU for respecting that!) Speaking of the Gold Rush technique and carving polymer, I can finally announce my two pieces got accepted into the Polymer category of the Bead Dreams Competition, which is held at the Bead and Button Show. Right now voting is open for the Peoples Choice award. If you are so inclined, you can vote up to 5x per day. You just need to create a login or login with Facebook. Here are links to my two pieces that are entered. If viewing all the pieces- the polymer ones are one page 6. Sunset Gold Rush to vote for this one go here http://jewelrycontests.upickem.net/engine/Details.aspx?p=V&c=236447&s=83027944&i=1 and Zen Cairn To vote for this one go here http://jewelrycontests.upickem.net/engine/Details.aspx?p=V&c=236447&s=83027960&i=1 Thank you for the support!
by Staci Louise Smith The first fancy clasp I fell in love with was the toggle clasp. They came in pretty designs, fun shapes, and all s...
by Staci Louise Smith It is spring in the studio and lots of things are going on. I am prepping for new shows this spring......which is ...
Well, it is that time of year again. I once again entered the Bead Dreams competition, and international contest that takes place at the Bead and Button show. You can read a bit more about it here. There are many categories that you can enter- seed beads, metal clay, ceramic beads, polymer clay, just to name a few.......... and this year I entered once again in the Polymer Clay Category. Well both of my pieces got chosen as finalists! Such an honor to be chosen to send my work to be judged and displayed at the Bead and Button Show. Now- this is a go big or go home sort of competition. The pieces that get entered are enormous! So of course, I love that challenge, since I tend to work big anyhow. These were my entries this year Earning my Stripes consists of hand formed, sanded and painted polymer clay beads. Don't let the picture fool you, this piece is HUGE! Here is a picture of it on me. I am tall, and not a little girl, so you can see how huge this piece is! I really wanted to enter something with my new carved beads too, so, after a lot of sketching I came up with this piece. The patterns look so aboriginal, I ended up naming it Ta Moko Which is the Maori word for tattoo. The cool thing is, that they actually carved their tattoo's into the skin, so it was perfect in so many ways! Here is a picture of them on the displays. These are 18" high and 10.5" wide. So you can get an idea of the size better then the other photo's. They are getting shipped off later today, and then judged in person to see if they place. I was SUPER surprised last year (my first year entering) when my pieces took first and second place. That is hard to top, and I am sure there is lots of new art entering, so we will see! Here is to hoping! :::wish me luck::::
Finally got to making some fun beads again. Still working in smaller batches, but I am working, so that is good. These fish were begging to be made. I had a blast with the textures on the, each one is totally handformed using various tools for texture. I made both flat tribal focal style ones, and long round sardines. They are currently in the shop, I didn't make too many, but what I have is in there. I will hopefully be making more this week after taxes are done! www.stacilouiseoriginals.com
featuring many of my new beads, trilobite focal, rolled bronze bead and spiral
by Staci Louise Smith I did a free tutorial a few years back on how to drill sea glass. You can find many many tutorials out there on the subject, and many ways to do it. The nice thing is, there is no wrong way. Find whichever works for you. sea glass and fossils waiting to be drilled Personally, I don't have room to do a complex set up of a drill press with a water spray on it like some of the tutorials recommend. My way is easy set up, and easy clean up, and can be done at the kitchen table while the kids eat lunch! Since it is getting warmer and sunnier out here in PA, it made me long to dig out my sea glass, (that, and someone contacted me about learning to drill it, so it got my juices flowing!). sea glass and fossils drilled So here is the tutorial I wrote. I am also attaching a link to a blog post which includes two video's I did. They were filmed by my (then) 6 year old. So please forgive the quality, but I like that you can put a picture to the instructions. The first video is all about the set up. The second is drilling the glass. http://stacilouise.blogspot.com/2011/06/btw-drilling-sea-glass-tutorial.html ________________________________________________________ What is sea glass? Sea glass, also known as beach glass or mermaids tears, can be found on beaches all over the world. It is actually, refuse, like old glass coke bottles, broken dishes, glass, taillights, ect….that were disposed of near or in the ocean. Over time, like a pebble, the ocean smoothes the glass into its new form. The lime in the glass also has a chemical reaction to the salt water, causing the surface to etch away, giving the glass a new, matte and pitted surface. How to Drill Sea Glass What you will need: 1. A shallow glass dish of water with a drop of dish soap 2. A CORDLESS dremel, with a diamond drill bit and a 1/16” collet (if using my drill bits) 3. pliers to hold your glass and tiny wood shims 4. a pencil 5. sea glass What you do: 1. Take your pencil and mark where you would like your hole to be. 2. Place the sea glass in the pliers with the little shims in between the jaws and glass to keep it from getting scratched. Some people hold it with their fingers, I don’t like to do this, in case I slip with the drill 3. Take your Dremel with the diamond drill bit, and put it to medium speed. 4. Submerge the glass just below the surface of the water, so that the glass is in the water, but the drill won’t be (only the bit should be in the water) I have a flat piece of wood that goes under the glass for support. 5. Start to drill with the bit at a slight angle until it starts to catch and drill the surface. Hold it very steady to start, or else it may jump across the surface, scratching your glass 6. Keep the piece under water while you drill. Do not put too much pressure on your drill; you actually want it to grind its way through the glass. Too much pressure may create heat, crack the glass or wear your drill bit out faster. 7. Before you are completely through the glass, flip it over and finish drilling from the opposite side. This will prevent the drill from breaking a section of glass off the back when it breaks through the other side. 8. You are done! Please note: This also works for drilling shells, but they MUST be done in water. Some shells can be poisonous when drilled, if the dust is inhaled. Links: sea glass drilling video http://stacilouise.blogspot.com/2011/06/btw-drilling-sea-glass-tutorial.html buy diamond drill bits http://diamondburs.net/ Please note that you can use this to drill gemstones, fossils and shells as well. I always recommend drilling in water. Doing so will cool what you are drilling and help your bit last longer, and it will also keep you from inhaling any dust from these. Some shells are toxic in dust form!!! So have fun drilling! If you are interested in purchasing a small starter kit, please contact me. I have packs of sea glass with diamond drill bits available for $25 and plain glass available for $20 Please email me at [email protected] if you are interested in seeing some. (these are sold, but I have more similar in the seafoam and greens and some blues) Learning to drill is amazing and will open a whole new world of possibilities for your jewelry designs! Here are some pieces I have made using drilled sea glass, pottery and fossils. (early work - this silver tideline piece) drilled sea glass with polymer and gemstones Drilled fossils Drilled sea glass with polymer, fossils and gemstones So try it out and have some fun. If you collect sea glass and other stones and bits, this is a great way to be able to add them to your jewelry or wear your precious finds!
Staci Louise Smith is a talented bead and jewelry artist who works with polymer clay and metals, and is known for her organic, chunky, and innovative style.
I have finally had some time in the studio to make and paint some beads. I am still not up to full production, as my shoulders are still bugging me on and off. But I am very happy to have had the time I did. I never get tired of seeing how the beads transform as I paint them. From naked white polymer To, painted with the first layer Then they get antiqued and rustic'd them up a bit.....I LOVE this part The above picture, the bottom / front pile is done, the rear pile is waiting to be transformed! However, my absolute favorite part is the crackle. I never ever get tired of seeing how this just takes them to the next level! I just got done listing new beads in the shop! It is not a lot, so grab them while you can! http://www.stacilouiseoriginals.com/store I also have a tutorial available for my painting techniques available in my etsy shop. www.slartisanaccents.etsy.com Thank you for stopping by.
We tend to think of designing necklaces only in terms of stringing beads. Explore unique ways to create polymer clay necklaces beyond stringing.
by Staci Louise Smith Why is it that when we have little to no time left at all, our inspiration kicks it into overdrive? I have my last jewelry show of the year this coming weekend (Crafts in the Meadow- Tyler Park PA...it's a wonderful juried show full of amazing artists) Since Beadfest I have been dying to play with all my beads. Not only the ones I have made, but the ones I bought and traded for. I have been sketching necklaces for weeks, trying to figure out what to make. I really don't need anymore to fill my booth, but I HAD to make new stuff!!! I have really been loving the way more and more artists are embracing wire, and wanted to really play with wire this year. I got to see some of Susan Lenart Kazmers work in person at Beadfest this year, and I love her free form use of wire. I also loved how she used wire as the back of the necklace in lots of fun ways.....like this piece. Great use of wire to make a cage sort of neck wire to match the cage on the ammonite. As I admired her work, I promised myself to do even more fun stuff with wire. Below is one of the necklaces I really adored by Susan. This may sound funny, but the piece above sort of inspired this new style. I had originally wanted the wire part in the back of the necklace, but liked how it looked in the front better. Plus, its is much more comfortable this way. I love me some fun art jewelry, but it also has to be wearable to me. They look really nice on as well. It allows me to let the focal shine, yet still gives some character to the necklace. I also wanted to make more charm necklaces. I have always adored charm necklaces, and haven't made any new styles in this past year. Here are a couple from last year. I love chunky charm necklaces, and I have tried in the past to do the "over - charmed" look. Yet I can never make it work. It always felt too busy to me. Then I found this on Pinterest, and I loved that the chunky front was balanced by that wire back that I had been admiring. I thought I would give the "over-kill" charm look a go again. The necklace is by Allison Bellows www.allisonbellowsjewelry.net (take a peek, all her stuff is amazing!!!!!!!!!!) So with this sort of wire in the back, charm necklace idea..I started to draw pictures and think about it. How things lay for me is important, which I think is what always stopped me from completing this style. I like to be able to see everything and don't want things to turn sideways, or be hidden, ect........... I also need things to be very wearable and comfortable, which to me, means they should be adjustable. So, I started to play. I am very happy with the results- and even more happy that I got to use a ton of my favorite beads on each one of these!!!!!!!!!! This was my first one, not tooooo much charm wise. I added the sari silk last, because I thought it needed another long element and another pop of color. I decided to use chain in the front, along with one larger element, and then hang the charms off the chain, so that way, they can still lay sort of flat and be seen. Plus, it totally allows this to be adjustable. The hook at the end of the neck wire is where you fasten the chain. even better, the weight of the charms holds the chain down, so it doesn't come undone. I also did little spirals at the end of the hook clasp so it couldn't come off easily. This was my last one I made.....lol! You can see I made my way to overly charmed! But i like it. I had some very pricey brass chain I had been hoarding (all these chains are handmade solid brass- not made by me) and so, I made this one for me. I haven't taken it off at all!!! I love the jingly heavy charm feel of it! Picture of me wearing it. It is soooo mine! This one I just had some fun with. I had to re-do it quite a few times until it had the right flow to it. I kinda laughed at myself, because you would think these would be quick to make, just adding this or that, but they all took a lot of adding something, removing something, or shifting it to the side, ect ect..... Anyhow, I am hooked. Crazy wire everywhere. I had more fun then I can even imagine. I have been sketching and looking at my beads for far too long! Often when I sketch a new idea, it doesn't always pan out, but I think these did. If you are planning to come out to the show this weekend (if you are local, you should, it is a GREAT show!) please stop by. I have lots of new stuff to show you! Here are some more pieces I made for this weekend. I still want to spend a couple days doing silver bezels of odd stones. I have movement in mind with that batch, so we will see how movement and silver bezels end up. Sorry for the loooong post and all the exclamation points. It just felt that good to get to play with all this stuff that has been brewing in my brain. How about you? Do you sketch your designs? And if yes, how excited are you when they work out????
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Thats me! I belong to a great facebook group called Polymer Clay Collective. It's a place where we can ask questions, share what we are working on, and get to know other polymer artists. Well, they do these "Conversations", like an interview, as a way to get to know some of the artists in there. So, its my turn to share. 1. Tell us a bit about where you live. I live in South Eastern PA, in what used to be a small town about an hour outside of Philly. We still have farms and fields and woods- though every year more and more is developed. I live near Green Lane Park, which has a reservoir and many hiking trails. We love living so close to nature, and enjoy the wildlife that brings. 2. What do you do when you're not polymer claying? Well, I am married and mom to three bright and creative kids, ages 12, 9 and 7. When I am not playing with polymer (or making jewelry and other beads, or blogging for the business), I am usually doing typical mom things......grocery shopping, wash, playing with the kids, watching movies with the hubs. In the summer we love to take day trips to the beach or go hiking. 3. What did you want to be when you were little, and do you think you will ever be? Oh boy, when I was little I wanted to be a singer. I dreamed someday I'd sing the Star Spangled Banner at a hockey game. Alas, this dream was not meant to be, and when I got to school I realized that I may be tone def and cannot sing to save my life. Though I do subject my family to my singing very often, and i will always have a deep love for music. 4. Tell us something about yourself we don't know. I love musicals, and I wish real life was like that (again, my love of singing). It would allow us all to sing our feelings and I totally believe the world would be a happier place! (and though I can be a dreamer, and love fantasy......i am actually quite a realist when it comes to life) 5. Tell us your polymer clay story: What made you first try polymer clay and how long has PC been a part of your life? Not to date myself, but I first tried PC back in the early 90's. I made bright neon canes and put them on everything I could...baby food jars, candle votives, ect....... I also made little sculptures out of it. It was purely for fun. I was always artistic and had to be doing something creative. I didn't pick it back up until a few years ago. I was making bronze beads for my jewelry designs at the time. I decided to do Lori Anderson s Bead Soup Blog Party. She partnered me with Diva Designs- Lynda Mosely. She is an amazing polymer artist. I had steered away from polymer for so long, because it was always so bright to me, and my tastes had changed considerably. But Lynda showed me that you could make natural, organic and stunning work with polymer, and my curiosity was re-born. That was about 3-4 years ago....i haven't put it down since. 6. What's your favorite PC technique? I love to paint it. I use it as my blank canvas. I used to paint when i was younger (my mom is a painter), and have always loved to have a brush in my hand and a palette of colors in front of me. So PC allowed me to get my paints back out and use the techniques I learned over the years, while at the same time, makings something I could use in my jewelry business. 7. What are your art / design inspirations? This is a tough one, only because if I really got into it, it would be 10 pages long. I love all art. I am inspired by everything, even if its not my style, I may see a color scheme that inspires me, or a shape, or just the boldness of a radical piece of art that gets my heart racing! As far as beads go, I was greatly inspired by Lisa Peters Art. Her work intrigued me. She was the first bead artist I met, who totally gave into her creative self, and made what was in her soul. Every bead was a miniature sculpture, a work of art all its own. The raw creativity showed in every piece she made, and I immediately connected with that. I loved (and hated) that every bead was one of a kind. (hated it because I wanted one for me and one to sell !!!) She is daring, bold, organic, and always original. That was a huge inspiration to me, and gave me the confidence to do the same. To make whatever I felt at that time. If I had to make the same thing all the time, I would quit. I have to love what I am doing, or my work suffers, and my mental health does as well. 8. Show us something you made with polymer clay. I am very proud of this set, it was accepted as a finalist for Bead Dreams 2014 The set is made to look like a beach collection, and it is all polymer except the sea glass. This piece below was also accepted as a Bead Dreams finalist 2014 This set features my faux scrimshaw beads and my carved beads This necklace features a large polymer rosette that I made The piece below is a mix of polymer, gemstones and ceramic pieces. I wanted it to be hard to tell which is which This one has a polymer faux raku pendant at the bottom. i love how it turned out The bracelet has one of my polymer ammonite beads This necklace has a tribal style trilobite focal, and an accent bead in polymer along with sea glass and gemstones This piece is almost all polymer. There is a large stone like black lampwork bead by Genea Beads, a ceramic ammonite by Suburban Girl Studio and some other ceramic beads by Marsha Neal and Starry Road studio 8. Question from the last Conversation interview with Wendy Jorredestjorre: How do you go about selecting a color palatte for your next project? I am afraid this question may be wasted on me. I really don't plan much when it comes to creating. I may have a sketch, but rarely plan colors. I just get out the beads that need color, get out all my paints, and go to town. I play A LOT! I say to myself, "what would it look like if I add orange to this? or blue to this?" A dab of this, a wash of that. It is always a surprise for me and never comes out the same twice. My question for the next interview is this: What tip would you give to someone just starting out in polymer clay? Thank you so much to Polymer Clay Collective for letting me share a bit about myself with you guys. If you want to see more of my work, you can check out my beads on etsy www.slartisanaccents.etsy.com (you can also find my Painted Polymer Tutorial for sale there) or my jewelry at www.stacilouise.etsy.com I am also on facebook https://www.facebook.com/stacilouiseoriginals I also write for a great community blog called Love my Art Jewlery where we are always sharing tips, tricks and inspirations (for all mediums) to take your work further and further, and share the appreciation for handmade! Today there is actually a giveaway over there of one of my polymer pendants, so check it out!
Staci Louise Smith is a talented bead and jewelry artist who works with polymer clay and metals, and is known for her organic, chunky, and innovative style.
Всем, привет! Давайте попробуем проиллюстрировать и определиться с тем какие работы могут быть представлены в этой теме. В описании задания говорится: концевики, разделительные бусинки, виды креплений, техники, которые можно использовать. Застежки по типу тогл bellou Staci Louise Smith …
I try to do a sale each year........I don't do them often. However, its a way for me to thank everyone for their support. So this year, I am giving 25% off your total order from my shop, by using code "thankful" at checkout. Sale runs from Thanksgiving day until December 2nd. I will be filling the shop with LOTS of new goodies tomorrow. It will hopefully be the most full my online shop has ever been!!! Earrings, bracelets, beads and necklaces. I even made some new styles. They are a tad simpler, and in a lower price range. Great for gifts. I know I certainly have friends and relatives who love my style of jewelry but are intimidated by the larger pieces- these are perfect for them! They are more average sized, yet still have flair, cool stones and fossil and are unique. They will make great gifts. I also got these Zen Beads strung into some simple necklaces on leather. I wanted those intricately carved beads to be the stars of the show! Now, even though I am listing tomorrow, I cannot hold items until the sale starts. It is first come first serve. Early orders will not get the sale price refunded. Coupon code goes active midnight on Wednesday. In other news, I have also been messing around with some other "art". I made some polymer mixed media pieces that have been running around my mind for some time now. It felt REALLY good. This is the direction I plan to explore next, and take a bit further, these organic fossil like pieces. I LOVED how these turned out, though I had not even sketched them. They just happened spontaneously Tree of Life (these all sold already, but I plan to make more) My full moon and swirling sky piece's were the first I sketched. I have one hanging in my home already. These were my favorites! Art has always been my passion, and though I get to be very creative making jewelry, I always long to be painting or sculpting or doing something else as well. I was really happy with how these turned out and plan to make more. They are for sale, but not in the shop, nor are they part of the 25% off sale. You can see which are still available on my facebook page here https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.907680209302220.1073741875.214196618650586&type=3 and if you are interested in one, you can message me. So that is all. I hope you can stop by the sale- and enjoy your Thanksgiving. May it contain laughter and love and good food!
by Staci Louise Smith The first fancy clasp I fell in love with was the toggle clasp. They came in pretty designs, fun shapes, and all s...
by Staci L. Smith My most joyful times are spent creating. I am an artist. I love to be coming up with new ideas, and creating them in my studio. Give me plain old clay, or a torch and some metal, and a day to myself, and I am in my happy place. photo by Tammy Snyder But I need to make a living at this too. So I am forced to sell my products. I am forced to find the right shows, price things, keep records, do taxes, have a website, and most of all, promote my business. picture from a few years back, when I still did a lot of sea glass jewelry For the longest time, this was really a struggle for me. I felt like this was only a hobby, that, people were just being nice. I felt almost guilty taking money for something I loved doing so much. What could I do though? I couldn't continue to do what I love without money coming in. And now, 10 years later, this is my job. And marketing my art, myself, is mandatory. I have three kids, and this has to make money, or I go back to an office job part time. See? Don't they look hungry? They eat sooooo much food! lol So, I have learned to market myself. I did not teach myself, I learned tips and tricks from many many many other artists and friends. I listened, I watched what they did. I learned, slowly. You know, point of marketing, is so that customers can find you. There is a HUGE world of beads and jewelry out there. How in the world, do you get people to find YOU online? Hold that thought.....Let me get a little sidetracked for a moment......... This blog post stemmed from a question someone asked on Facebook the other day. You see, this year, for the first year, I entered some jewelry in the Bead Dreams competition. It is a competition held at the Bead and Button show in Milwaukee. It is a pretty big competition. I have wanted to enter for a few years now, but have always been intimidated, and never had given myself time to create some really crazy art pieces for it. Well, I finally did it. I entered two pieces of jewelry into the polymer clay category and one in the metal clay category. I learned a lot about big wig competition too. It's been a great experience. The two polymer clay pieces got in! Just to be accepted as finalists in this competition is huge honor. They took 6 polymer clay entries as finalists, and two were mine. I was floored! To see all the winners listed click this link http://cs.jewelrymakingmagazines.com/bnb/b/beadandbutton/archive/2014/06/02/announcing-the-ribbon-winners-of-the-2014-bead-dreams-competition.aspx Just the other day I found out that I won First and Second place in the Polymer Clay category. BOTH of my pieces got ribbons. photo by Kristin Oppold Photo by Anne of Gardanne Beads Needless to say, the range of emotions is really hard to describe. Mostly, I am overjoyed, to be at this place in my career. I went between happy, and disbelief at first. I think as artists we sometimes have trouble REALLY being confident in ourselves. I have moved onto the sheer happiness of this honor though. I am thrilled. So of course, I posted this on Facebook. My friends all knew I entered, they had supported me, given me advice on my entries, and been routing for me since I entered. And, not to mention, I am proud of it! And I shouldn't be scared to say that. I am proud, because my work, my art, has grown, evolved, and gotten better and better over time. Of course, there were tons of congratulations, and well wishing. I will not lie, it sure felt good. But then, there was one, who asked, "How does this benefit her?" I will be honest, this was not asked in a nice way. They were persistent and not very kind. But after I thought about it for awhile, I thought, well, there really are people who may wonder that. Who wonder why someone would go through all the trouble to create competition pieces, to pay entry fees, ship their items and displays.....there may be people who really don't understand why someone would do that. (so thank you to the person who tried to bring me down- you inspired this post. I hope it helps others to market their business, and not be afraid to say, "this is mine, I worked hard, and its awesome!" So, here are some tips, things I have learned, things that have helped me to go from hobby to business over the last 5 years. Before you read the list though, first and foremost, you must be confident in your work. If you are not, why should your customers be? So with that in mind..................here's my list. Network with other artists. This is HUGE. I have made so many fellow artist friends online, and we market for each other. If you love someones work, share it. Help them market. And others will do the same for you. Blog, make a business page for Facebook. This is what really did it for me. This is what helped me to find that network of artists (now friends) online. It was really hard at first, but over the last few year, it has become quite natural to talk about the business, my life and what I am working on. I have discovered that I LOVE to share what I learn, because, it is how I myself have learned. The kindness and openness of other artists is how I have learned what I know. So I try to pay it forward. Join in group sales, enter contests, blog hops- anything that gets you into the community more. Blog hops are especially a wonderful way to broaden your reader base, and welcome new customers. Write for magazines. This is a wonderful way to advertise your business, as well as show off the fact that your work is indeed handmade. People feel more comfortable buying from someone who knows what they are doing. When you write for magazines, you get to show that side of you. Check out the post I did on how to get started with that here. http://www.lovemyartjewelry.blogspot.com/2014/05/getting-published.html Writing for magazines not only gives you credibility as an artist, it advertises your business, AND you get paid for it. Let me share where some of these things have lead me, to encourage you. By entering contests and such on blogs- I got featured by them now and again (blogs like Art Bead Scene and Love my Art jewelry). Love my Art Jewelry used to have a contest, and entering that consistently is how I landed writing for this blog. They would have never know who I was, and I would have never known I could write for a blog like this. Friends and networking has given me a life in the arts I never thought possible 10 years ago when I was stuck in the corner of my family room, home with the kids, stringing beads. The encouragement, collaborations, friendships and cross marketing has been an amazing journey, and helped me to reach new customer bases at the same time. There are many groups on facebook, but Creative Bead Chat is my favorite place to meet new artists and get valuable information and tips from others. https://www.facebook.com/groups/CREATIVEBEADCHAT/ And Bead Dreams. Well, there is a cash prize, but mostly, its just a plain old honor to be juried by Kalmbach judges and picked as winner. I am hoping that my work being at Bead and Button will introduce it to new people, who I would never reach sitting in my PA studio. It will be seen by hundreds, thousands of people. And that surely can't hurt. My next venture, is yet again, friend / artist recommended. It has been recommended to me from the start. TEACH. So this year, I am teaching at Bead Fest in Philly. I have always loved being with people, talking (and talking and talking), and sharing what I know freely. So, I think I am going to like teaching. I will let you know how it goes! (link goes to my class information) So, to wrap this up, everyone who you may see online, that has "made it" in your eyes, started out just like you. They learned all they could about business (and are always looking to learn more), and they tried. And they tried. And at times they failed, and got rejected and felt like they were never going to make it. But they didn't give up. When I started out, I remember seeing these awesome artists, big names, like Lisa Peters and Marsha Neal......and now I know them, and they are just amazing ladies, and artists, that put themselves out there. We know their names because they were not afraid to say, "Here it is, my work, my art". So go and pimp yourself out today. Show off your stuff. Be proud of what you make. And lets encourage each other, lets share each others work, because we are a community. We are all artists at different places in our journeys and careers. But we are all the same, and we all need to stick together. PS- That is one of ideas of our Boot Camp blog hops. It is an opportunity for you to show off, and market to an audience that you may not have reached on your own blog. Take advantage of it! Show it off. We here at LMAJ want you to succeed.
by Staci Louise Smith I get to make beads and jewelry full time. I am also mom to three beautiful children, three rescue dogs, a rescue parrot, and wife to a self employed contractor (and let me tell you, he is BUSY and works many many long hours too). (kids at Christmas, cause yeah, they don't often sit still together for pictures all at once anymore) On the other hand, these guys all sit anytime there is food out. People ask me all the time how I do it all. I assure you, I don't. There is always something not done- usually cleaning. And not even because there isn't time, it's really because I just don't enjoy it. So it is always LAST on the list. My kids are VERY helpful and do wash and help with everyday chores like vacuuming and dishes and such. (here are the kids helping to shovel last winter- they really pitch in!) However, even without hopes of doing it all, my business MUST bring in income. And if you are self employed in the arts, you know we put twice as much time in as most would for the income we make. For me, I don't mind, because I would rather do this then anything else. However, I have had to find ways to "do more". I still don't do it all, but I am learning to plan better in the studio, and do multiple things at once. For instance, I had to make beads to send to Bead and Button with Marsha Neal and Nikki Thornburg (they will be selling both their beads with a little bit of mine thrown in at booth #608 ). (shamless plug- if you are going to B&B stop by and see Marsha and Nikki- all of our beads are divine together!!!!) Here is a pair of earrings I made with my earring components and Nikki's headpins!!! And here is a necklace I made with Nikki's headpins, my focal and Marsha's accent beads!!! (yeah, I squeezed making those samples in too!!) Keeps me from being bored, right? Anyhow, I also have a free class I need to work on for Craft Art Edu. I also needed some blog material for future blogs. sooooooo............................. As I was making the beads, I made the items for my free class, taking pictures along the way. As I painted the beads, I painted and photographed for my class. I also found a great topic for a blog- on using ONE mold and how you can still make an original bead each time. (FYI- that is another post, and the molds I made were to save me............TIME!) I try to do most of the labor intensive stuff in the studio and office while the kids are in school or after they go to bed. Because once the kids come home, its help with homework, dinner, and time with them! So I am learning. Sometimes I can't multi-task. Some things need all my one on one attention. but I try, that is all I can do. There are days I don't get to set foot in the studio or office. And you know what? That's fine. Because I do all the shopping and cooking around here. Kids have Dr. appts and dogs need to play. I haven't found perfect balance, but I am always trying to make my time more efficient. So how do you "do it all?" Do you have areas you are proud that you have streamlined? Are you still feeling overwhelmed and see area's you feel you could improve on? (there are always area's we could improve on, right?) Because we only have two arms and one brain, right? I know for me one of the things that takes my time is sheer lack of desire to do something I don't feel like doing. Since I work from home, I can get very bored. There are some tasks I plain old don't feel like doing on certain days. So I find that I then do other things that are not of top priority, to avoid said task. So I have found that I need to sit down and tell myself that this is a business, and I am at work, and if I punched a clock I would HAVE to get all this done before 4. Sometimes that helps me to put it in perspective. Sometimes I just end up cleaning out drawers.....................
by Staci Louise Smith disclaimer: This post is for adults only for bead nudity content. I don't know about you, but I love pictures of naked beads. I absolutely love it - my dirty little secret is out! Beads that Marsha Neal just posted on facebook got me thinking about my odd obsession with naked beads MarshaNealStudio FaceBook Page I am not sure what it is. Maybe it allows me to just see the silhouette, the basic nature and design, before the colors change how it appears. Maybe I just like the anticipation of seeing where they take it. Karen Totten of Starry Road Studio always shows us before photo's too. Her textures are just wonderful with or without glaze https://www.etsy.com/shop/ktotten I don't know why, but, I know I enjoy it. Even with my own polymer. me- artisan accents- naked polymer There is just something about naked beads!!! and just when you think they can't get any better- they do. (note: these are not the naked beads shown, just examples of finished beads by the artists above) some of marsha's finished beads some of karens awesome glazes some of my painted polymer Maybe its the reveal, like surprise party? Maybe its the transformation? Maybe its the two completely different worlds they seem to be? Who cares why, right? Just show me the naked beads.
Want to come over to my place to see my etchings? I recently had a virtual conversation with Staci Louise Smith about etching. She is ...
by Staci Louise Smith We are off to a great start for the asymmetry boot camp. Barb b started us off with a great post last week with some beginner tips for asymmetry http://www.lovemyartjewelry.blogspot.com/2014/02/clasps-and-asymmetry-in-your-jewelry.html One of the things she mentioned that really stuck with me is design how you would think of a bracelet "1) Stop thinking of necklaces as necklaces.It always seems natural to design necklaces symmetrically. Part of that has to do with the weight of the necklace being distributed in an even fashion so it wears correctly. Instead, try thinking of your piece not as a necklace, but perhaps as a bracelet. I regularly see more asymmetrical ideas in bracelets that could easily translate into interesting and compelling necklace designs." - Barb B. Here are a couple necklace I have made that make me think of that- now that I look back, they are very similar to the look of bracelets. I think the only difference between these and a bracelet design is the larger components in the front which ensure it hangs with them as the focus. However, you can design a piece that is weighted evenly all around, so that it doesn't matter how it hangs, then balance is not an issue, and every part of it is interesting as a focal. I did a post last week on the Visual Balance in asymmetry, and compared it to other facets of art, http://www.lovemyartjewelry.blogspot.com/2014/02/art-in-asymmetry.html This Monday I wanted to talk to you about physical balance in asymmetrical jewelry. this is the big one to me. I think after you have let go, and allowed yourself to play with varying shapes and a variety of beads, and designs where the focus is not necessarily in the center- now it is time to introduce this. I believe this is the most difficult part of asymmetrical design, and the most important. Physical balance, is making sure your piece hangs the way you designed it too. You can make an asymmetrical design, where the focal is off to one side, and you have pretty beads repeated at the bottom, and smaller beads on the other side, and then when you put it on, the larger focal portion slides around to the front. Though you clearly designed it to be on the side. This is the part where you have to be willing to to try, and wear your creations to ensure they hang they way they were designed to. AND, if they don't, you need to go back and re-work it. I re-work my pieces all the time. I refuse to sell something, so that the person will go home and be un-happy that it keeps sliding to the side, or a loop keeps leaning forward, ect. Besides the quality, you had a great design in your mind, and you can make it work......so just take that extra time and wear it. This is one of my favorite chunky gemstone designs with an asymmetrical design. I wanted the large ceramic donut bead on the side along with the smaller garnet donut.. The problem is, that when you have a wider, larger piece on the side, you MUST have more weight on the bottom front or it will slide around, and you lose your asymmetrical design. This was a challenging piece for me, and I had to rework it a couple of times until it hung just right. I really wanted the donut to stand out, and use a lightweight chain above it. The original design had the clasp on the side, but it just wasn't working. I had to move it to the back, which also helps to balance the piece and keep what I want central, as central. I will often lay out my design, and literally, hold the beads from one side in my hand and compare to the weight of the beads on the other side to make sure they match, so that it hangs properly. This is where having a variety of beads really helps. I like to add beads that are chunky but light to my collection, so I have options when I need something big, but it can't weight too much. Polymer, wood and acrylic are good for this. Another problem is using chain on one side, or beads, and sari silk or another light weight cord on the other. If the weight on both sides is not even, it will slip around so the heavier side is down towards the front. This is a good example of using lightweight sari silk on one side and chain on the other. In order for this piece to work, I had to use the larger heavier black gemstone donut on the side which had the lightweight silk. I also carried the chain across the front as a double layer, to add more central weight. To ensure that it doesn't move and hang in a way that looks awkward, wear it around for a day to test it. If you have to keep shifting it to make it hang right, then it should be re-worked. For my pieces, I usually go two ways, I create a heavy central focal, that will allow some variety in my necklace portion without tipping it to one side...these pieces are a good example of that. I still made sure to weight it so the two sides weighed about the same, but when you have a heave central pendant, it helps to offset minor weight issues. Or, I really work to weigh out the pieces so they hang right, using a variety across the front. I had to re-do this one a few times, to make it hang just right. The loops are light, so I had to add a heavier bead on top, and use lightweight pearls on the other side. again, using a heavier central focal helped. I hope the examples helped. I am no expert in asymmetry, I just have a lot of experience and learned a great deal through trial and error. The absolute best advise I can give is to wear each piece to ensure it hangs right. I have even had them hang right on a display, but when you wear it, it goes the wrong way. It is worth it to take that extra time to balance it, or else you will have disappointed customers, and your design will not be the one you intended. I leave you with some fun and artsy examples of physical balance in jewelry Nat Art Jewelry ksemi
Carol Dekle-Foss UPDATE: I've done a new tutorial here using a thicker gauge metal as well as adding a handle to the clay cutter. I woul...
by Staci Louise Smith It is spring in the studio and lots of things are going on. I am prepping for new shows this spring......which is ...
The centerpiece of this choker style necklace is a beautiful polymer clay pendant from Staci Louise Smith in her signature style and colors. I've added chain, a glass hanging focal, raku beads and African orange beads to the overall design. It has a small magnetic closure at the bottom of the necklace, not as traditionally in the back. Jumprings from Vintaj (my absolute favorites). Overall length is 26" to the bottom of the hanging embellishment and 15" to the drop for the focal bead.
