tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43055893525238388842024-02-20T06:00:50.665-05:00Cynthia Blanton StudioCynthia Blantonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08437683478016580115noreply@blogger.comBlogger170125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4305589352523838884.post-87290102122167928782016-08-29T14:35:00.000-04:002016-08-29T14:35:07.990-04:00For those who love purpleThis necklace with one large amethyst bead and many smaller ones has a variety of shades of purple along with gold-plated filigree beads and seed beads.<br />
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<br />Cynthia Blantonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08437683478016580115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4305589352523838884.post-11209062787408928442016-08-25T11:57:00.000-04:002016-08-25T11:57:20.746-04:00More items added to my Artfire StoreThese unusually shaped stones are set in necklaces with handmade gold-filled wire bails on gold-filled chain. They are available in my Artfire store. See link on the right side of the blog.<br />
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<br />Cynthia Blantonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08437683478016580115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4305589352523838884.post-23758454847080643392016-08-16T15:29:00.000-04:002016-08-16T15:29:51.271-04:00Amethyst NecklaceHere is another necklace with interesting rough-cut stones. <br />
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<br />Cynthia Blantonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08437683478016580115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4305589352523838884.post-4978079046308890112016-08-10T16:25:00.000-04:002016-08-10T16:25:28.305-04:00Faux RakuI've always loved Raku pottery in all its many varieties, but I'm particularly fond of this vase that I've owned for years. I used it for inspiration in designing this Faux Raku necklace.<br />
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<br />Cynthia Blantonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08437683478016580115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4305589352523838884.post-78726441990640246902016-08-09T16:05:00.000-04:002016-08-09T16:05:57.432-04:00Faux Stone Necklaces
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<span class="s1">These unique polymer clay and sari silk necklaces make quite a statement. The gold crackle suggests seams of pyrite running through the stones which have hints of color. Although the faux stones look like they might be heavy, because they are made of polymer clay, they are actually quite light in weight. The stones are wired together with antiqued copper wire and the same wire is used to bind the ends of the beautifully colored sari silk. A handmade copper clasp or a lobster claw makes secure closures.</span></div>
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I was inspired by and credit must be given to Staci Louise Smith’s tutorial on Craftart.edu for the design ideas and technique for making the faux stones. I love the fact that the sari silk comes from women’s cooperatives in India and Nepal - the scrap silk doesn’t end up in landfills and the women have a safe place to work and make a living.</div>
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Cynthia Blantonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08437683478016580115noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4305589352523838884.post-52664220662116634222016-08-08T12:01:00.000-04:002016-08-08T12:01:50.908-04:00Lapis Lazuli and GoldI love Lapis especially the stones with lots of golden flecks of pyrite running through them. I saw this fan of rough-cut stones and had to buy them, but then I had to figure out what to make with them. My solution is this gorgeous necklace composed of the Lapis, blue Sodalite beads, gold-plated filigree beads and a gold-plated clasp. I really like the rough cut because it emphasizes that these are STONES.<br />
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Cynthia Blantonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08437683478016580115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4305589352523838884.post-29257833424697790322016-08-05T21:47:00.000-04:002016-08-05T21:47:40.118-04:00Finally populating my Artfire online shopI've been lax about blogging and very lax about putting my products up for sale online. That is changing as of today. My shop is on Artfire which is an online marketplace similar to Etsy. I've started out by listing a number of my Jackson Pollock inspired earrings. You can see them all at<br />
<a href="https://www.artfire.com/ext/shop/home/cynthiablanton">https://www.artfire.com/ext/shop/home/cynthiablanton</a><br />
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<br />Cynthia Blantonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08437683478016580115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4305589352523838884.post-22937448028390788652016-02-23T21:39:00.000-05:002016-02-23T21:39:44.091-05:00Crushed Velvet TechniqueI've been playing with a polymer clay technique called Crushed Velvet. It is a mica shift technique where you run the metallic clay through the pasta machine a bunch of times to line up all the mica particles, then you put the sheet of clay through the fettuccini cutter which slices it into little tiny strips. Then you mush up the strips into a cane. You take a slice of the cane and turn it into a veneer and then make what you want. You get a 3D effect even though you used only one color of clay. I made some earrings and a couple of cabochons. Fun and pretty.<br />
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<br />Cynthia Blantonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08437683478016580115noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4305589352523838884.post-82495193085237132632016-02-12T17:54:00.000-05:002016-02-12T17:54:10.403-05:00More Pollock inspired earringsI had another fun day in the studio - incense burning, big band music blaring and paint splattering.<br />
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<br />Cynthia Blantonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08437683478016580115noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4305589352523838884.post-46449687685959582742016-02-10T17:14:00.000-05:002016-02-10T17:14:33.516-05:00My homage to Jackson PollockI've always liked Jackson Pollock's paintings, so I decided to emulate him in some of my own work. These post earrings are polymer clay with acrylic paint splashed on them.<br />
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<br />Cynthia Blantonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08437683478016580115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4305589352523838884.post-42402939730530249442015-10-13T12:07:00.001-04:002015-10-13T12:07:33.655-04:00and yet another adventure...Here is a Craft Show problem I never thought about: laryngitis. I had it bad for 3 days out of a four-day show. I had a cold last week that went away but left me with a frequent cough. I coughed so much that I developed a severe case of laryngitis and was unable to speak above a whisper. Because polymer clay is unfamiliar to most people, I need to be able to explain it, plus I like engaging with potential customers, something I think helps me sell my products. To explain my mute condition, I made a little sign explaining that I had laryngitis which caused people to giggle and/or commiserate. And for some strange reason, when I whispered "Hello," folks would whisper back to me. I didn't sell as much as usual, and I think it is because I couldn't communicate. That, and the fact that some people thought I must be contagious and hurried out of the tent.Cynthia Blantonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08437683478016580115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4305589352523838884.post-33028000361439824262015-10-06T15:51:00.000-04:002015-10-06T15:51:08.204-04:00Another adventure in Craft Show LandIf it's not one thing, it's another. This time it was dust. Lots and lots of very fine dust seeping into every nook and cranny of every display and piece of jewelry. I didn't realize how bad the dust was until someone purchased one of my pendants. When I lifted it out of the display box, there was a white spot left where the pendant had been!. I suddenly realized that everything in my tent was coated in brown dust. <br />
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The show in question was located in southern Ontario in a lovely setting with lots of trees shading the tents. The problem was that the grounds were dirt covered with a kind of mulch. As the thousands of people marched through, clouds of dust arose and floated all around. <br />
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It took me almost three days to clean up my displays and jewelry. Every piece had to be washed or at least brushed off, and all the black velvet busts and display forms had to be vacuumed. Don't think I'll be doing this show again.Cynthia Blantonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08437683478016580115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4305589352523838884.post-64786085100900193482015-08-04T11:13:00.000-04:002015-08-04T11:38:36.847-04:00Adventure at KempenfestKempenfest is a very large, three-day craft show and fair held each year in Barrie, Ontario right on the shore of Lake Simcoe, and it seems that every year there is some form of bad weather. Last year it rained so hard there was flooding, and this year, my first time to do the show, there was a severe thunderstorm with high winds and hail and even the threat of tornadoes. With over 300 vendors, there were a lot of tents that needed to survive the night. Not all of them did.<br />
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I didn't sleep well in my hotel on Sunday night because of the thunder and lightning, and a bit because I was worried about how my tent would fare in the high winds. I raced to the venue early Monday morning (a civic holiday) and was delighted to find my tent in perfect condition. Many others were not so fortunate. There were the remains of tents scattered all through the venue, and at least a couple of vendors who had left their inventory in their tents overnight, arrived to find that they had lost everything. Some vendors just abandoned their tent frames and the piles of "bones" made me think of the elephant graveyard from the Tarzan series.<br />
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I am glad that I made the large investment in a heavy-duty, water<u>proof</u> rather than water-resistant, tent. My husband and I also did a very good job of securing the structure with stakes on each leg, stakes and guy wires holding down the top at each corner, and 40 pounds of cement weights on each leg. Setting all of that up was a lot of work, but it was worth it.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A collapsed tent next to mine</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A "graveyard" <span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">on the other side of my tent</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More remains</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The setting by the lake. These tents almost landed in it.</td></tr>
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<br />Cynthia Blantonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08437683478016580115noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4305589352523838884.post-5520537535977718972015-07-01T17:58:00.000-04:002015-07-01T17:58:36.092-04:00Back to the WrapMy very first jewelry pieces, years ago, were wire-wrapped stones, but silver wire became very expensive so I turned to other media. Once I discovered polymer clay and the ability to make my own colors and shapes, I was hooked and focused almost exclusively on clay. In the last year or so, however, I've been doing more with metals, wire and stones, and I've fallen in love with copper. When I found some beautiful Jasper stones, I decided to wrap some of them. As you can see from this example, I like simple wire shapes that expose most of the stone.<br />
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<br />Cynthia Blantonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08437683478016580115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4305589352523838884.post-67305533665431339962015-06-02T11:52:00.001-04:002015-06-02T11:52:37.495-04:00I'm published!!!My first "how to" article was just published in Easy Metal 2015, a special issue from Step by Step Wire Jewelry. The design is a brooch made from copper sheet and polymer clay. The paper edition should be on magazine shelves soon, but a digital version is available now from the Interweave online store. I'm doing my happy dance. <br />
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<br />Cynthia Blantonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08437683478016580115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4305589352523838884.post-21246860588442400542015-04-27T11:16:00.000-04:002015-04-28T14:47:25.965-04:00Working with stonesI've been very busy preparing for my spring shows. The Toronto Knitters' Frolic went well, and I have the Milton Farm Craft Show this weekend, the 2nd and 3rd. <br />
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The Milton show will be my first opportunity to show off some of my new jewellery designs. One thing I've been working on is making necklaces with beautiful Jasper stones. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTuDF67KxXs9RfuUFa3rn8qTkk92AB0LIl0jkTPs-XF2fXza_RlmvoeksCTZvvkz05P8Y_pqNYwvDYVxhf69n_CK9xnkhj5zWcnAs7o2QFaL1l3Q-VA9H2mLy_wbNWeKLHj6sYMvyThYM/s1600/Big-stone-pendant-wire-links.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTuDF67KxXs9RfuUFa3rn8qTkk92AB0LIl0jkTPs-XF2fXza_RlmvoeksCTZvvkz05P8Y_pqNYwvDYVxhf69n_CK9xnkhj5zWcnAs7o2QFaL1l3Q-VA9H2mLy_wbNWeKLHj6sYMvyThYM/s1600/Big-stone-pendant-wire-links.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></div>
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The necklace above features a big Jasper stone and handmade bronze wire links.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7qWakGMwCtiwrloQKfYZwPfaQIE_OmPxkA0MOrF-ylh_MJD8HwNFp9gtXMuhNkqXWi6QLuygcR8oBnX2b-lLiddbX1VYJGBrHgiko_6vqoIDREVmtERQjSOot-ltbWJp8NSAYSbzv0g4/s1600/Japanese-style-stone-pendant.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7qWakGMwCtiwrloQKfYZwPfaQIE_OmPxkA0MOrF-ylh_MJD8HwNFp9gtXMuhNkqXWi6QLuygcR8oBnX2b-lLiddbX1VYJGBrHgiko_6vqoIDREVmtERQjSOot-ltbWJp8NSAYSbzv0g4/s1600/Japanese-style-stone-pendant.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></div>
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This necklace features a beautifully colored stone, bronze bars woven together with copper wire and an antiqued copper chain.Cynthia Blantonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08437683478016580115noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4305589352523838884.post-22406093128059315272015-03-01T11:11:00.000-05:002015-03-01T11:11:23.642-05:00A little blingI didn't design this bracelet but Malliga Nathan, a talented designer who works at my favorite bead store, BeadFX, graciously gave me permission to reproduce it for sale. It is made with metal beads and Swarovski crystals in a right-angle-weave technique and is placed on a leather strap with magnetic clasp. I'm fairly new to beading so learning this stitch was a challenge.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4IBJo-62vwsKfF6LrAOqUrBnAvXwY6fM_EA_tt1m6FTLmKi7HODitniBInxadEhqxrIWc28c3Pd-CmzKD50GoXovgfcUv83FXYhcm-Jo3DBEaIwkz2bMysIpupaazZgHxO8Mufv9fvPg/s1600/Pink-Crystal-Bracelet-WS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4IBJo-62vwsKfF6LrAOqUrBnAvXwY6fM_EA_tt1m6FTLmKi7HODitniBInxadEhqxrIWc28c3Pd-CmzKD50GoXovgfcUv83FXYhcm-Jo3DBEaIwkz2bMysIpupaazZgHxO8Mufv9fvPg/s1600/Pink-Crystal-Bracelet-WS.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />Cynthia Blantonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08437683478016580115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4305589352523838884.post-91361635021511009352015-02-28T13:18:00.000-05:002015-02-28T13:18:32.612-05:00New Shawl Pin DesignHere is my latest shawl pin design. I made them using my new "<a href="http://www.riogrande.com/Product/Now-Thats-a-Jig-StartrKit/119061?Pos=1">Now That's a Jig</a>". I choked on the price of the jig, but it works beautifully and is easier to use than my homemade jigs of nails hammered into pieces of wood. I've got a lot of experimenting to do with it. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWD3DBW-Uy10iIFX8H3L9z7JZ0x_HO_sHNFEVNRqsqBOrn4JjYFOr3NKu-u_6QrWlA0ML4z3wEArvjWnX_Q0XsC8X6Sg7itG1TtAdTBPvAF0UhI3zxStzTWl__It6Y9oDbKFPYEgHcACA/s1600/Beaded-Winged-Shawl-Pins.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWD3DBW-Uy10iIFX8H3L9z7JZ0x_HO_sHNFEVNRqsqBOrn4JjYFOr3NKu-u_6QrWlA0ML4z3wEArvjWnX_Q0XsC8X6Sg7itG1TtAdTBPvAF0UhI3zxStzTWl__It6Y9oDbKFPYEgHcACA/s1600/Beaded-Winged-Shawl-Pins.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />Cynthia Blantonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08437683478016580115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4305589352523838884.post-63864318069976630182015-02-25T17:10:00.000-05:002015-02-25T17:10:39.554-05:00A Bevy of BraceletsI recently watched a session of <a href="http://www.craftcast.com/">Craftcast</a> with Alison Lee called Patina Playtime where she made some cool bracelets from brass cuff blanks. I decided to make some of my own, and I'm happy with the way they turned out.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3OeaH_3bIg3s3IiLXN4je2sdsqq7Vg-m-g1gZACeyrnVfvPjoeI9wwWr94L43IDbQoTWHoCvwkQRyoD5eoeyKi647dOqn03ooAFfL9Fhb7ngQMrfjjlYP9-8IaECwszuKt7ALOntn4WA/s1600/Five-Brass-Bracelets.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3OeaH_3bIg3s3IiLXN4je2sdsqq7Vg-m-g1gZACeyrnVfvPjoeI9wwWr94L43IDbQoTWHoCvwkQRyoD5eoeyKi647dOqn03ooAFfL9Fhb7ngQMrfjjlYP9-8IaECwszuKt7ALOntn4WA/s1600/Five-Brass-Bracelets.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />Cynthia Blantonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08437683478016580115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4305589352523838884.post-91071235397739057202015-01-22T21:40:00.001-05:002015-01-22T21:40:55.500-05:00My new websiteFinally it's finished. I took my new website live today. You can check it out at:<br />
<a href="http://www.cynthiablanton.com/">www.cynthiablanton.com</a><br />
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<br />Cynthia Blantonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08437683478016580115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4305589352523838884.post-11838456652986751442014-10-14T20:38:00.000-04:002014-10-14T20:38:53.822-04:00Adventure at Balls FallsI just completed the four-day Balls Falls Thanksgiving Festival (Canadian Thanksgiving) and it ended up with an unusual adventure. After three beautifully sunny but cold days, it rained on Monday and turned the grounds into a muddy mess. Around 3:30pm, a very large van tried to exit the area and managed to slip and slide right into my tent!!!!! The guy had tried a couple of times to get through the somewhat narrow opening between my tent and the cars parked along the side, and each time his bald tires let him slip closer to me. Finally he hit one of my tent poles. I screamed at him to stop, and fortunately he did. There was no way he could go backwards or forwards without sliding further into my tent which was staked firmly into the ground. The only solution was to take my tent down and hope that the pole wasn't damaged. With some help from the show personnel, I packed up all my inventory, broke down the displays and emptied the tent. We removed all the stakes and weights and when the tent was free of restraints, we picked it up and moved it about a foot and a half away from the van. This was my first time to use the tent, and I had worried about all kinds of things except getting hit by a van! It turned out that the tent pole and zipper were fine, so now I just have a couple of muddy side walls to clean up.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO3v-onaCBGRhpnqKQd06lZtiQvVKEeb_WpmWPbNZunQn4lLxfI1QaeqAqG-5viCwm3VO-TOrCxV3rTsedqdP5nOMRXvuSMdpN9Nl2mfI-BmTG2yBryyK1kmNXoZ7i4iQB8ax5BUfhqng/s1600/2014-10-13+15.27.54.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO3v-onaCBGRhpnqKQd06lZtiQvVKEeb_WpmWPbNZunQn4lLxfI1QaeqAqG-5viCwm3VO-TOrCxV3rTsedqdP5nOMRXvuSMdpN9Nl2mfI-BmTG2yBryyK1kmNXoZ7i4iQB8ax5BUfhqng/s1600/2014-10-13+15.27.54.jpg" height="400" width="298" /></a></div>
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<br />Cynthia Blantonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08437683478016580115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4305589352523838884.post-56757339809606011882014-09-11T16:30:00.000-04:002014-09-11T16:30:19.109-04:00Mokume gane pendants and earringsI'm preparing for some shows this fall and these pendants and earrings are some of my new works. They are in the Julie Picarello style of mokume gane technique. For those who don't know, you make a stack of different colors of polymer clay and poke holes in it. Then you take shavings from the stack and use them to make your objects. It's a fun technique because you never know quite what you will get.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFkV0L_VieIQoKu1hnTSzNQNTj6CMxMIkUp5lkuxsBe5L9YC2MXXMye2i3XBYsQFHX907TIxfXBi_9GmYyljvQPGG7j_KuG07X_dj-Soc7TWGLET7Umy8dEhPdP7DZoJoFwdl0HR3bUFk/s1600/Molume-gane-pendants-earrings.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFkV0L_VieIQoKu1hnTSzNQNTj6CMxMIkUp5lkuxsBe5L9YC2MXXMye2i3XBYsQFHX907TIxfXBi_9GmYyljvQPGG7j_KuG07X_dj-Soc7TWGLET7Umy8dEhPdP7DZoJoFwdl0HR3bUFk/s1600/Molume-gane-pendants-earrings.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />Cynthia Blantonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08437683478016580115noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4305589352523838884.post-81330099451771690092014-08-20T12:58:00.000-04:002014-08-20T12:58:42.484-04:00My new tentSome of the best shows in my area are outdoors, so I have made the investment in a tent. Not just any pop-up for me. No, I splurged on a LightDome tent that is actually waterproof instead of merely water resistant. My one experience with a typical pop-up tent supplied by a show organizer was disastrous - it started leaking profusely as soon as it started raining. My husband and I put the tent together for the first time yesterday and I'm happy to say there was a minimum of yelling and swearing. The tent is quite tall so hubby's 6'6" height was a major advantage.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKxFymExM9vOUBaLO-uQm-p4wP3EmQUckY5yV6lGUZ6wRF1WBzkTBt7xdLE_8-uu2IWXylbBWgo5w5Y82sEQR5wj2Sw-MUVWsXg8toKPCk9ZDeaw7t0CbUsGH9ExGyRqJIVlAT1cCm8tM/s1600/craft-show-tent.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKxFymExM9vOUBaLO-uQm-p4wP3EmQUckY5yV6lGUZ6wRF1WBzkTBt7xdLE_8-uu2IWXylbBWgo5w5Y82sEQR5wj2Sw-MUVWsXg8toKPCk9ZDeaw7t0CbUsGH9ExGyRqJIVlAT1cCm8tM/s1600/craft-show-tent.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />Cynthia Blantonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08437683478016580115noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4305589352523838884.post-32765378555774938892014-08-04T10:48:00.000-04:002014-08-04T10:48:29.542-04:00Flower Shawl SticksI've been away from home for about three weeks caring for my 90-year-old mother. While I was at her house, I did manage to do a bit of claying and here are the results: shawl sticks which can also be used as hair sticks.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY3LqBbO5ACx1f1-a0n8FSoIq3RsFSUe0T-ZisWHn2rLipW9pF8lq4R5yyX8lJa5EtMNsoD6CT_e94qpQijAZSbnGJnygKSQf-4D0UlT_34L6xbf3VS-kUhv0s04lz8fYVHto8YCnVcQU/s1600/Flower-Shawl-Sticks-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY3LqBbO5ACx1f1-a0n8FSoIq3RsFSUe0T-ZisWHn2rLipW9pF8lq4R5yyX8lJa5EtMNsoD6CT_e94qpQijAZSbnGJnygKSQf-4D0UlT_34L6xbf3VS-kUhv0s04lz8fYVHto8YCnVcQU/s1600/Flower-Shawl-Sticks-2.jpg" height="308" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicwd2HgrwqMCEnwWzE78373y05-v9NmuebRvW9MU3NGAzITJhvs9E6meH7jZU9eoSpnhACYZfy1bQi3mYS5QcBdRe7NoNAhKKs1e63F9gQ1QHRufw3zoGw8xdqu2gOAOhrphIUFF8H4uI/s1600/Flower-Shawl-Sticks-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicwd2HgrwqMCEnwWzE78373y05-v9NmuebRvW9MU3NGAzITJhvs9E6meH7jZU9eoSpnhACYZfy1bQi3mYS5QcBdRe7NoNAhKKs1e63F9gQ1QHRufw3zoGw8xdqu2gOAOhrphIUFF8H4uI/s1600/Flower-Shawl-Sticks-3.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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The pansies or violas are colored with Genesis Heat Set Oils and the flowers below are colored with soft pastels.</div>
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This is the display I will use to show them off at craft shows:</div>
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<br />Cynthia Blantonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08437683478016580115noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4305589352523838884.post-7746462714321482762014-06-24T16:43:00.000-04:002014-06-24T16:43:16.873-04:00Bummer of a showWell, at least it wasn't just me. The first three days of the Jazz Festival turned out to be a losing proposition for the artists with handmade goods in the Artisan's Village. The crowds were far below the numbers from last year - rumor has it even the festival itself is losing money - and there was competition with vendors selling stuff from Africa and Asia. Even they weren't pleased with attendance. One Canadian jewelry maker said she did so well last year over four days that she signed up for eight days this year. She is not happy now. And to make matters worse yesterday, there was a sudden downpour. Turns out the tents provided by the festival aren't the least bit waterproof. Mine started leaking so fast I didn't have time to cover things up. Fortunately, nothing was damaged by the water. I did sell four rainbow items, but the Pride events were taking place in another part of the city so we didn't get many folks coming through the Jazz Festival location. <br />
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I decided not to do the fourth day that I signed up for partly because my car "check engine" light came on and I'm worried about having car trouble and partly because thunderstorms and wind were forecast. I discovered that my lightweight plastic earring display stands are not suitable for use in a tent because the slightest breeze knocks them over. I've got to re-think how to display my earrings.<br />
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All I can say is that it was a learning experience.Cynthia Blantonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08437683478016580115noreply@blogger.com1