Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Faux Stained Glass Clock

Remember in my last post I mentioned faux stained glass?  Well the gift has now been delivered and I can post a picture here.  Yes, this is all polymer clay on a masonite artists' canvas.  This is something I dreamed about the Monday night before Christmas and I knew that it would be perfect for my youngest sister.  So instead of the jewelry she was supposed to get, I made this beautiful faux stained glass clock.  She was pleased, I was happy, all is well in my world! 




This is the first one that I made -- for my middle sister who loves dragonflies.  I worked out the kinks on this one so that when I started on the Iris and Butterflies Faux Stained Glass clock, it went a lot quicker... although this is a time-consuming process... but well worth the effort!

 Now I'll be making more to add to my Etsy store.  I'll let ya'll know when they are available.

Monday, December 27, 2010

Merry Monday after Christmas!

How's that for a long greeting?  I had a marvelous Christmas this year with my fun beginning the Sunday before Christmas with dinner with my chilren and their children and running all the way through yesterday with a beautiful church service.  It pretty much ended this morning when I had to return to the real world and go to work! 

I love that my gifts from my grandchildren were handmade.  Itis heartwarming to see that sort of thoughtfulness and creativity being handed down through the generations.  Some of the gifts I gave this year were handmade too.  I have two that I have yet to deliver so I'll have to be quiet about them but think faux stained glass....  More on that in my next post.  I may do a quickie tutorial on faux stained glass made in polymer clay.  Anybody interested in learning how to do that?  Leave me a comment and if I get enough comments, I'll put one together. 

In the meantime, remember that the 15% off on everything in my Etsy shop sale is still on through the end of December.  Just type HOLIDAY15 in the coupon section at checkout to get the reduction.

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

What a year!!!

2010 has flown by! Here I sit on December 22 – just 3 days before Christmas – just 9 days before we ring in 2011 -- and wonder where the year went! A lot has changed in my life this year both on a personal and a professional level and I believe those changes have had a positive impact on my art. I’ve grown both as an artist and a person and I’m really excited to see what 2011 has in store for Harrison Hollow Designs.

One of the things that I’m thinking about is doing more tutorials on my blog. I love sharing what I’ve learned about polymer clay with others and think this is a good way to do it. Some days it may be just a quick tip about how to get specific results, other days a full blown start to finish tutorial. What do you think? Would you like to see some of the “behind the scenes” details on how I make things? What interests you? What do you want to learn in 2011? Maybe I can help!

In closing let me wish each and every one of you the very best of Merry Christmases and a healthy and abundant New Year!

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Angels we have heard on high



and seen in the Harrison Hollow Designs studio! Here are some of my newest projects for Christmas 2010.

The earrings start out with a ball of base clay. The fuchsia and goldenrod angels started with a copper base clay, the purple and the hot pink started with turquoise base clay. Then a selection of very thin slices of leaf and flower canes were added and rolled onto the base clay to create the millefoiri pattern. The round bead is then rolled into a cone and flattened on the end to create a “bell” looking bead then pierced so they can be strung together.
Once the bell beads are baked and tumbled and buffed to a nice shine, a small gold disk (for the angel’s halo), a pale peach colored Swarovski crystal (for the angel’s head) and goldtone “wing” findings are gathered to form the upper body. Then the angel earrings begin to come together!

First a complimentary seed bead, then the bell bead, then wings, head and halo -- walah!  It's an angel! Using my round-nosed pliers, I make a closed loop at the top and attach to the ear wires. Repeat for the other angel and you have a beautiful set of Angel Earrings! 

For a closer look, go to my Flickr site or my Etsy store.

Friday, December 3, 2010

HOLIDAY15 Coupon Code still available

Just wanted to let everybody know that even though the PCAGOE Holiday Special has ended -- and soon the 3 lucky winners will be announced -- I still have the coupon code activated that gives you 15% off on any purchase from my Etsy store.  I'm going to leave it up at least through December 15 which is the cut-off for personalized items.