Button update

Monday can be a shock to the system and sometimes it helps to start slowly. What could be easier than buttons?

These simple gems from France’s Helene JeaneClaude have a surprising sophistication. The shape is common but the patterns are exciting. Some have a fiber look, others could be stone.

She may have used silkscreens over marbled clay. Go to her Instagram to see lots of others. Helene has been in a button mood lately and her methods change from batch to batch.

Swap out ho-hum buttons with your own fashionable versions. Two holes in a colorful slab of polymer and you can extend the life of your favorite sweater or jacket.

Finding new friends

Two sisters tickle our fancy with their quirky colors and designs on PolymerClayDaily.com

I went out looking for new friends. Not that you’re all not just lovely but who couldn’t use a few more friends?

What I found was a mystery. Two sisters, one from Texas and one from Nebraska, teamed up 12 years ago to exercise some creative muscle under the Crone Art label. They make and market buttons and pendants and earrings and whatever suits their fancy in polymer.

The sisters keep their identities on the down-low but someone out there probably knows this duo.

What words would you use to describe their Instagram? Oddball? Seriously mischevious? Minimalists? Modern?

In this pendant, they stack their round buttons in oval cups to form a pendant on a thick cord. Wearable and whimsical.

Button, button

Why settle for boring old buttons? UK’s Carol Blackburn brings her favorite jackets back to life with polymer buttons in one of her many distinctive geometric styles.

On her Instagram, she shows several items she’s brought back to life with updated additions. Don’t miss her shoes!

Rather than throw out tired clothing in your closet, why not give them a new spark of joy and color with polymer?

Speaking of updates, come on over to StudioMojo this Saturday to see what other tricks we’ve found to keep you looking arty and fashionable in our weekend behind-the-scenes newsletter.

Mixing sunshine and polymer

Monika Busch makes buttons into a warm weather fashion statement on PolymerClayDaily.com

Germany’s Monika Busch (Efimoni) shows us how she mixes polymer and pleasure.

Monika used cane slices turned into buttons which she sewed onto the fabric straps of her flip flops for a warm weather fashion statement.

I’ll be reporting from a very warm Phoenix on StudioMojo this weekend, mixing polymer and pleasure and exposing my usually-protected Ohio toes to their first taste of sun this year. The newest batch of tutorials and trends may boost your mojo into action. I hope you’ll join us.

Who’s got the button

Angelika Arendt’s Purple Swan was at the end of a wild goose chase. You can see how her sculptures were a natural progression from her lush, dense drawings. Angelika’s catalog and collections are fascinating and impressive. This juicy purple polymer ends the week on a bright note.

I hesitate to send you on the same wild goose chase I fell into. But it’s Friday and you have the whole weekend to get lost in wonderful, colorful links so here goes. Scotland’s Buttons by McAnaraks Facebook page was where the road to Angelika began.

Fran Harkes and Steve Cormack make resin buttons and they pull inspiration from textiles, fibers, ceramics, polymer and whatever. Their posts lead you to an eclectic mix of styles and media pulled together by a great eye for pattern and color. I was surprised to find my own art there!

I forced myself to stop looking/linking or I’d never get this post written. McAnaraks’ Pinterest boards continue the fun and they sell their buttons on Etsy and on their site. Enjoy a colorful wild ride this weekend.