POLYMER CLAY MICRO-MOSAIC TESSERAE

If I hadn't written "polymer clay" in my post title, you would probably be thinking these are stained glass tessarae for mosaics! I've come up with this idea after a long time I'd been wanting to make micro-mosaic jewelry! Regular mosaic tiles are too large for small items such as jewelry, and micro-tiles are in ceramic and hard to find, plus they mostly come in pastel colors... As you know, I love strong color contrasts, so stained glass would be perfect, but it's really hard to cut such tiny pieces as I need!

So I thought about polymer clay! I rolled out thin sheets of polymer clay (my fingers were aching after all the mixing, kneading, conditioning and rolling! If you have a pasta-machine you can devote to your polymer clay work, that would make things easier at least with the rolling out in sheets), then after oven-hardening I just cut the sheets with regular scissors, making tiny pieces (again, lots of work!).

I'm very happy with the result and I can't wait to use my self-made micro-tesserae for my new projects!

MERMAIDS CHALLENGE

Lovely Gia of OnePerfectDay is hosting the current Etsy European Street Team (EST) Challenge on her blog!

The theme is... Mermaids! A lovely theme that leaves so much open to phantasy and imagination! As Gia says, "Maybe thinking of the deep blue sea, sparkling scales, seafoam, starfish , shells and other sea-creatures, female sirens and mythical beauties will help...."
You can find the relevant post here, and entries can be posted directly here.

What I entered? Well, my new Queen Of The Islands necklace... Wouldn't you feel like a mermaid wearing it? :)

Double Feature :)

I'm so happy and excited! I've had two features at the same time! :)

I'm so proud to have my Queen Of The Islands featured on Etsy Lush - "The Best of Etsy"!

Thank you Etsy Lush! :)

And at the same time my Mediterraneo 1 has been featured in the "Etsy Finds"!

New Wooden Treasure Box

I have found this lovely box in untreated wood and I had to buy it! It would make a great box for storing little things, a lovely jewelry box or even a beautiful box for displaying jewelry.

I think I'll try to turn it into a display box for earrings and pendants, it would look great lined with black fabric... Oh and it would make a lovely photo prop for photographing my jewelry! :)

CREATIVE CORNER: Working With Shrink Plastic

I had not worked with shrink plastic in ages, but finding my shrink plastic sheets again I thought I'd make some experiments...

Shrink plastic consists of large flexible sheets which, when heated in an oven, shrink to small hard plates without altering their color or shape. The base material consists of thin, flexible polystyrene plastic sheets. They usually come in white, black and transparent (both frosted and shiny). Prior to heating, the plastic sheets can be colored with felt-tip pens, acrylic paint, colored pencils, permanent inks, etc. and cut into shapes. 

When heated in an oven or with a heat gun, the plastic shrinks by about five-eighths and becomes thicker and more rigid, while retaining the colored design.

The colors get much richer and as you can see, from thin sheets the objects get thicker and dimensional. Amazing, isn't it?

QUEEN OF THE ISLANDS

This is my new handpainted necklace!

Inspired by the rich blues of the Aegean Sea and Sky...

I used 12 mini wooden tiles (each of them is about 14 x 11 mm) in a rich brown-reddish wood. I painted each one of them in a mix of blues, followed by two generous coats of varnish. Little wooden beads in teal complete this sea-inspired necklace that's sure to make a girl feel a Queen of the Islands all year long. Soon in my Etsy shop!

ANOTHER FEATURE ON ETSY LUSH!

I'm so happy and honored! My Road To Damascus, one of my "trademark" rings (it's on my new business cards!) and one of my most "hearted" pieces on Etsy, has been featured in the gallery of Etsy Lush alongside my Aegean Sunset! :)