craftmania

I started using Google Reader (a wonderful service, btw) last year around April, and have been starring all the crafty diys and tutorials I want to try. Not even a year later, I have 346 starred items. Granted, this includes the occasional lolcat and xkcd comic or two, but when you consider all the projects in my queue on Ravelry, you realize I could create a different thing a day for a year without any further input. Even from current ongoing projects or my various inspiration files.
Unfortunately, these days it seems I can't even get time to go to the bathroom by myself, so the backlog will continue to multiply . . .

At least it's fun to scroll through.

Play doh and Poly clay

Inspired by this post that has been the talk of the polymer clay interwebs recently, I undertook some experimentation to see if I could use play doh instead of wax to make a bead-in-bead structure (ala this tutorial from Desiree). Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures yet, because other things (not the play doh concept part) went wrong with the piece I was working on, but I thought I'd go ahead and write up the steps, and add pictures when I have some.

1. Pick/make your inner bead. Make sure it is fireable and small enough to move around freely in your intended casing. (One of the primary fail points in the first one I made was that the inner ball was too big and too irregular to move pleasingly)

2. Cover your inner bead with play doh until it is the size you want bead+cavity to be.

3. Allow play doh to dry (theoretically) or bake (what I did). Sand to remove imperfections. (Fail point #2: I initially tried to apply outer bead layer without baking play doh first - it doesn't work because of the smooshiness)

4. Add clay for outer bead. Make sure you have vents for the play doh (and expanding air, for that matter) to come out. Bake.

5. Put piece in bowl of water overnight.

6. Rinse piece. The play doh - even baked - dissolves in the water.

Voila! Finished bead without the difficulties of locating/working with wax.

Typing this up made me excited about the possibilities all over again!

elegant nut necklace

I've been wanting to do this necklace ever since it was posted. In the meantime it takes up space in the ever-growing Someday Pile.

do want

. . . to find time to pick some of these to print out onto watercolor paper and play with them. Thanks to Art Projects for Kids.

Also, I need to find time (make time) to update the blog list on the sidebar. Google Reader is great for reading blogs, but now that I'm using it, this list is behind the times.

serendipitous

I was trying to find out if the picture at the bottom of this post was by the same artist that's popped up in several blogs lately (the answer, btw, is yes: apparently the PC online world is in a summer state of mind these days) when I came across this instead. Don't ask me how the search for one led to the other, but I'm so glad it did. I love iconography anyway, and this is so wonderfully expressive and just lovely. I could stare at these offerings for a long time, and probably will (until my baby wakes up again, anyway).

Wednesday's art is full of woe

Recently I found the Virtual Sketch Date blog, and it inspired me to go dig out some watercolor pencils and have a go at it. Now, art got picked for Wednesdays because while I love to play with it, I fully recognize that I am woefully bad at it. But I'm going to post it anyway, mostly to wonder why we are driven to do things we are not good at. Wouldn't it make more sense to compulsively do the things we are good at? More efficient, at the very least.

organic

PCAGOE recently did an interview with Kate of OrganicOdysseys. Her work reminds me that there's a few experiments I want to try with plants+clay+miniwax. Especially while my bleeding heart is still in bloom. Plus it just makes my eyes happy to look at her stuff.

new blog

Well, new to me, anyway. Found Chain Creative by looking up the Italian earthquake survivor who whiled away time crocheting while waiting to be rescued. So glad she happened to have that story on her blog! It's filled with delicious looking patterns - I can't wait to really dig in.

Hoppy Easter!

Normally I'm pretty clueless when it comes to Craftster's monthly challenges, but this month I actually have an idea - inspired by Gail of "that artist woman" (which probably gives it away, but whatever). Now to actually find the time (and eggs) to do it with!

FAIL, part 2

It sucks to have a project finished - or mostly finished - only to find someone else had nearly the same idea as you. It adds insult to injury when they've accomplished it better.

On the other hand, it is very pretty. (Check out danceswithclay's etsy shop for more.) Found via Daily Art Muse.

oh. my. goodness.

Look at these fantastic teapots by Wanda of Wanda's Designs! The intricate details are mind-boggling. Wow.

way back machine

I love this necklace by Heather of Humble Beads. I have such a hard time putting together things in a creative way that I am in awe of anyone who can.

(In a mostly unrelated note, I found this picture, unlabeled, in my inspiration folder and was able to do some minor internet sleuthing to attach a name to it. Go me.)

another day, another blog

Found another cool PC blog today - Polymer Clay Chameleon. She features various artists, much in the same way PC Daily does,only different artists. It's cool to see the same topic from a different perspective. Plus her finds are gorgeous (see above from vickicockroft and chopoli)!

Checked Michael's and Joann's today - alas, no Fimo on sale. Also, maybe it's just me, but it looks like their variety of PC supplies are dwindling. Maybe I'm wrong. I hope I'm wrong. I hate ordering online.

Finally figured out what to make someone for their birthday - stitch markers! Now I just have to order the beads I want; there are perfect ones at orientaltradingcompany.