Day 41: Darling, these cairn earrings are absolutely zen-sational! Flat polymer clay "stones" stacked in graduated magnificence with cheeky little contrasting "pebbles" playing peekaboo between them. Even my flatter stones began life as perfectly die-cut circles - because a girl simply must know her volumes will match, mustn't she? These serene blue beauties are positively electrified by their sassy orange pebble companions. It's like meditation met a sunset and decided to dangle from one's ears!
Day 42: Oh, polka dots - the punctuation marks of fashion! I've always been absolutely dotty about them, especially when aqua waltzes with orange (thank you, Howard Johnson's, for that delicious childhood influence!). This little polymer clay riff pairs pale orange with the most divine true blue - it's practically spot-on perfection! The dots are precision-cut from clay so thin it's practically gossamer (#7 on my Atlas, if you must know) then lovingly massaged into those blue surfaces like tiny orange kisses. Pure happiness in bead form!
Day 43. Well, this is what I call a mystery solved! Following Carol Blackburn's instructions, I discovered I'd been playing musical workbenches with her specialized cutting tool for ages - that peculiar little blue plastic thing that kept wandering around like a lost tourist. Turns out it was the key to these gorgeous strips all along! Her original polymer clay earrings boast twelve strips each, but mine sport a more modest six because my clay decided to be a bit more substantial than hers. I'm feeling rather "meh" about this particular pair, but darling, that's what second acts are for - thinner clay, here I come!
Day 44. Hearts and canes - sounds like a Valentine's Day medical emergency, doesn't it? I had visions of covering Ultralight clay hearts with the most intricate, pretty canes imaginable. After baking my heart (metaphorically and literally), I attacked it with thin slices from a red, white, and blue scrap log. But oh, the geometry of love! Hearts are such wonderfully irregular shapes that lining up square pieces becomes a puzzle worthy of Einstein. Each inch-square slice was an adventure in spatial relationships. Next time, I'm thinking strip canes - longer but not so lofty. After all, where would the fun be if every brilliant idea behaved itself on the first try?
Day 45. Hoop-la! I transformed leftover striped polymer clay cane into the tiniest hoops, lined with dark crimson like little jewelry boxes. But darling, here's the million-dollar question: how does one join these precious circles without looking like a complete amateur? Superglue feels so... industrial, and E7000 isn't much more elegant. Liquid clay and rebaking seem like overkill for such delicate darlings, but simply smooshing the clay together creates joins that look like they were done by a toddler with mittens. It's a technical conundrum that clearly needs more pondering over cocktails!
Day 46. After creating Donna Kato's striped beads, I found myself with enough leftover cane to redecorate a small apartment! So naturally, I slabbed some up, popped it onto lovely lavender backing, and created these spiral-icious earrings. They're absolutely sweet - like little polymer pastries for your ears!
Day 47. Green-to-brown Skinner blend leftovers got the royal treatment in this hoop-tastic adventure! I'm absolutely smitten with drilling holes and threading headpins through like tiny flagpoles, then creating polymer clay loops for the earring wires - it's so satisfyingly architectural! These featherweight beauties were born on metal cylinders and baked to perfection. Then came the drama: cutting one hoop from each pair, pulling it apart just so, and slipping it through its partner like a magician's linking rings. The joins still aren't quite picture-perfect, but Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither are flawless hoops!
Day 48. Bicone beads and I have what you might call a complicated relationship - I'm absolutely bi-smitten with everyone else's gorgeous creations, but my own attempts usually look like they've been through a blender! After rereading Ginger's tutorial from The Blue Bottle Tree (bless her detailed heart), I actually managed a few that don't make me want to hide under my workbench. Victory! Next challenge: creating a lentil bead that actually resembles a lentil instead of a wayward pebble.
Day 49. More of those fabulous Donna Kato striped bead leftovers got the slab treatment with lavender backing, and darling, they make the most adorable tiny polymer clay hoops! Sometimes the best things come in small packages - and smaller hoops!
Day 50. Third time's the charm! This latest attempt at Carol Blackburn's tutorial finally boasts all twelve strips per earring, thanks to my newfound commitment to thinness. They look much more like my original vision, though they're curiously substantial when worn - like tiny architectural statements for one's earlobes. Perhaps nine strips? Or six? And oh, the possibilities - what would alternating black and white strips look like? The mind races with strip-tease potential!
Well, darlings, that's a wrap on days 41-50 of this bead-azzling journey! Until next time, keep those creative fires burning and remember - life's too short for boring jewelry!
Happy crafting! ✨
