When you’re simply overwhelmed by holiday and all the hubbub, this little video tutorial from New York’s Cathryn (bluebassoonhandmade) may be just the thing to calm your jangled nerves.
Rolling little balls and then poking them with a dotting tool is the perfect stress reliever. Nothing more satisfying than mindlessly squishing dots.
Make a slab and you have your very own 2021 holiday collection! Cathryn specializes in grungeglam and farmpunk fashions.
Ok, enough with the trees and ornaments and such. I need a break. You too?
The sunglasses from Israel’s Gaila Daniel were just the thing. Edgy, bold, different.
Galia is a great lead-in to my plug for StudioMojo. We go deeper and head to wherever that leads us. This week we found links to several videos that lead you inside polymer factories and TED talks that explore the reasons behind the joy we find in polymer art.
It’s all fair game in our Saturday morning newsletter that gets you thinking.
New Jersey’s Megan of MakerMegan turns cutout capsule shapes into very perky Christmas trees.
She stacks the shapes with the top one hanging over slightly so that she can attach the star and jump ring.
The colors are very 2022 (have you checked out new palettes from Pantone? Looks like it’s our year!
Lisa Clarke (PolkaDotCottage) brings families together on the Christmas tree. Her jaunty characters have big smiles and quirky clothes.
Catching kids and pets together for a picture might be tough but Lisa gathers them into one cheery, memorable ornament that will be treasured. She’s stopped taking orders for this year so it looks like you’ll have to take a stab at a family ornament yourself.
Check out her polymer crochet hooks, tutorials, and other goodies.
Australia’s Dani Rapinett (daniartandjewellery) puts memories, pets, and other mementos on the tree. These days it’s easy to snag special effects to layer onto a photo.
Print out your creation and transfer it to polymer. (YouTube is full of videos to assist.) A cut-out, a ribbon, voila! Handmade, heartfelt…what could be better?
When Black Friday beckons, defy the system and redirect your muse to making memorable hangups for your family.
I was worried the StudioMojo would be difficult in this week of distractions but not so. Take a gander at what’s for sale in the online shows, see super trendy polymer high fashion photos. Thumb through lists of classes to propel you into the new year, and always a few new products that promise to solve all your problems. Join us!
This cane from Australia’s Robyn (shop.Kaori) sucked me in like quicksand in a B grade adventure movie. It’s pulled me in repeatedly.
What’s going on here? The neon colors, the black background, the over/under! How does it work? I’m lost in the jungle. Robyn’s been working with polymer for nearly 30 years so she knows her way around.
I give up. Looks like I’m going to have to grab Patreon to save myself.
This darling tree made from a stack of polymer clay circles is a reminder to me courtesy of the Whimsical Bead in Australia.
Every year I tell myself to make some ornaments and every year time gets away from me. Something about these is so simple and light-hearted and yes, easy. And dots are very in.
I count 27 circles in 4 colors. Yikes…but only half of them require painted dots or stripes. And some circles are the same size.
Ok, I’m getting my Tuesday night girls together in the studio for a session. String circles onto a wire, slap a star on the top and we’re done. My friends swear they’re not artists but for an evening, I’ll persuade them otherwise.
Check out the other color palette Dani offers in her kits.
Anna of Hong Kong’s Bi.Clay illustrates for us how brass circles embellished with polymer clay are having a moment.
The wreath shape makes a beautiful ornamental earring.
You’ll see half-circles, succulents, flowers, vines, and much more added in polymer. The trick is to make the design cling sturdily to the thin brass. Very trendy.
Speaking of trendy, you’ll want to check out the cherries picked for this Saturday’s StudioMojo. We’ve sussed out the best classes, newest designs, coolest findings – all coming to your inbox every Saturday.
Utah’s Mary Anne Loveless shows us how she makes Thanksgiving guests overlook even the most generic and predictable Thanksgiving cuisine.
Have you got some orange/brown cane ends? Some muddy scraps (who doesn’t)? You’ve got all the ingredients for your own Gobble til you Wobble recipe.
Don’t worry, yours won’t look like Mary Anne’s. The object isn’t copying. We’re only trying to bring some smiles to the table. Thanks to Mary Anne for showing us how. Follow her, she’s full of good ideas.
Speaking of news you can use, trot on over to StudioMojo. It’s the Saturday newsletter for art-makers at any level who want to ignite their creativity and bring more of what they love to their art.
Iowa’s Kristin Vaughn (ShopHillsideStudio) boasts about her booming polymer business. If you’ve been tracking canes that repeat in a fabric-like method you’ve probably ended up at Kristin’s site. You’ve got to have a vision, an eye-pleasing palette, and scads of small graphic canes to make this work. Kristin has all of that.
She’s been working with polymer for 6 years and has a whopping 141,000 followers. I can’t fathom that. Kristin welcomes your mucking about in her site where you can watch her assemble these babies.
