Day 31: Slithering into Art

Darlings, the Year of the Snake has me absolutely possessed with serpentine inspiration! My latest creations feature these devilishly charming black and white striped polymer clay snakes coiling around lavender and green cylinders. The flatter snake bodies are working much better than my previous attempts—and just look at those forked tongues, ready for a bit of polymer mischief! Perhaps next time I'll venture beyond my monochromatic reptiles and try a diamond-patterned body. After all, every snake deserves a chance to shine in its scales! Just don't expect me to start cuddling with the real ones anytime soon—I prefer my serpents permanently petrified in polymer, thank you very much!

Day 32: Roll With It!

Sometimes the clay simply speaks to you, and today it was positively shouting: "Roll me up!" Who am I to argue with such demanding materials? These delightful little spirals began as a Skinner blend transitioning from soft olive green to pinkish terracotta. I sliced them into strips of varying widths and let them curl into these charming little scrolls of polymer clay. My new hand drill has been an absolute game-changer for creating these accurately—my flexshaft would have been hopelessly clumsy! I'm thinking the perfect thickness lies somewhere between these two extremes, or perhaps next time I'll experiment with thin slices of bullseye canes. Either way, they make for the most adorable little dangle earrings, don't you think?

Day 33: Faux Coral, Real Impact

I'm absolutely mad about coral, but darlings, I would never dream of taking the real thing from our precious oceans! Instead, I've conjured up these polymer clay doppelgängers in that classic reddish-orange hue. Using a hush-hush technique from The Blue Bottle Tree tutorials, I shaped these irregular pieces—some rounded, some elongated, and a few with those charming little branches. After baking, I applied black paint to accentuate the depths of those marvelous little cavities. Voilà! Instant coral without the karmic debt of ocean harvesting. Conservation has never looked so fabulous!

Day 34: Spider or Spectacle?

Black and white on a bright color is my absolute weakness—I simply cannot resist! This saturated purple pastel polymer clay bead showcases my passion, though I'll admit the ratio of black and white to purple is a bit much. The contrasting elements spread as I worked the clay, creating what now amusingly resembles an eight-legged creature embracing my creation from behind! First snakes, now spiders—I seem to be unwittingly creating a polymer menagerie! Despite this accidental arachnid appearance, I remain committed to perfecting this bold color combination. Sometimes the most delicious designs come from happy accidents!

Day 35: Floral Naiveté

Well look at this little charmer! Despite the citron color's mysterious tendency to burn (why only this shade? The clay gods must have a vendetta!), this flat wafer bead has proven my theory that small, naive flower portraits work beautifully on this shape. The stylized bloom—with its black and white striped stem, delicate black string petals, and pristine white center—sits proudly against the green background. And that black and white border running halfway around the edge? Absolute zing, darlings! It's a rough first attempt, but the concept is blooming with potential!

Day 36: The Elusive Red Belt

Not every creative vision materializes as planned—such is the artist's eternal struggle! These marbled black and white cylindrical beads represent my ongoing quest to incorporate the perfect red accent. The two leftmost attempts feature beads I literally sliced in half to insert a red wafer—alas, too thin! The third approach used a thicker wafer, showing slight improvement. And that far-right specimen with its uneven red belt? Still not quite there. But fear not! With 64 more days in this challenge, I'll crack this chromatic conundrum yet. Persistence is the mother of polymer perfection!

Day 37: Oh, Deer Me!

One must start somewhere, mustn't one? This little yellow polymer clay quadruped was my humble attempt at following a Sculpey tutorial for creating a deer. What's that? You couldn't tell it was a deer? How utterly shocking! Despite its kindergarten-esque aesthetic, those white hooves and ear centers (and that darling tail back) do have a certain charm. The tutorial made it look so effortless—a classic case of expectation versus reality! My next frontier: mastering the smooth joining of clay pieces. Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither was a properly proportioned polymer ungulate!

Day 38: Stripe It Rich

Absolutely gorgeous results from following Donna Kato's brilliant tutorial! These rounded cylinders feature a dramatic black base accentuated with elegant gold stripes. The translucent clay borders create an almost three-dimensional appearance—they practically undulate before your eyes! I'm positively entranced by how alive these stripes appear. This technique is definitely going into my regular rotation as I continue refining my skills. Sometimes following the masters is the best path to finding your own style!

Day 39: Sunshine and Simplicity

Sometimes the most straightforward designs pack the most punch! This bright yellow sphere of polymer clay with its wandering black and white equatorial belt proves that point splendidly. Simple? Yes. Easy to make? Absolutely. Adorable beyond words? Without question! There's something irresistibly cheerful about this sunny little creation—proof positive that one needn't overcomplicate things to achieve polymer perfection. A little color, a little contrast, and voilà—instant charm!

Day 40: Peppermint Potential

What began as an attempt at simple black and white striped beads took a delightful detour when I became mesmerized by the fascinating patterns where the stripes converged. Like Christmas peppermints with an op-art twist! I pivoted to showcase these hypnotic intersections by flattening the beads—transformation through observation, darlings! The visual effect is positively mesmerizing. I'm already plotting versions in other colors, because when you stumble upon something this visually striking, you simply must explore all its possibilities!