{"id":4904,"date":"2009-07-23T03:24:52","date_gmt":"2009-07-23T10:24:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beadsandbeading.com\/blog\/?p=4904"},"modified":"2013-04-28T11:23:48","modified_gmt":"2013-04-28T18:23:48","slug":"making-jupiter-beads-faux-raku-mod-canes-selling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beadsandbeading.com\/blog\/making-jupiter-beads-faux-raku-mod-canes-selling\/4904\/","title":{"rendered":"Making Jupiter Beads, Faux Raku plus Mod Canes for Fun and Profit"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Jupiter<\/p>\n

Spotlight:<\/span> “Your selling tips paid off… Now my jewelry will be traveling across the country.”
\n~Carrie-W<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Well the Spotlight Feature concept has definitely caught on here at the blog. Carrie will be our guest for today. You may already<\/span> know her as the Sculpey III Chef (smiles) because of some polymer clay color recipes<\/a> she so graciously offered to share in the July 10, 2009 post. BTW… she just forwarded another batch of recipes that I’ll post as soon as possible.<\/span><\/p>\n

Anyways, today’s photos were submitted by Carrie. Inspiration for her work, came from these reference links: (1) Jupiter Beads<\/a>; (2) Faux Raku<\/a>; (3) Mod Canes<\/a>; and (4) Selling Handmade Jewelry<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

This Is What Carrie Had To Say…<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

RCVD 2009-06-29: Cindy, I am going through reading past blog posts and am stunned by your work. Your pieces look so complicated and professional. I am new to clay but, according to family and friends, seem to have a knack for it. I have made many bracelets and pendants, and have had some success selling at festivals and flea markets. I just feel that my pieces lack some degree of (for lack of a better word) class. If I send you a picture of some pieces would you be willing to give me some feedback? I have always been a crafter and this is the first thing I’ve found that I haven’t gotten bored with in the first couple months. I believe I can get somewhere with it but like many clay artists, need guidance (which you are great at giving).<\/span><\/p>\n

RCVD 2009-07-13: On the Jupiter beads, one problem I have is that I’ve only been claying for a few months so all my scraps are new and most of them don’t get the cracked look like yours do. So I put them in the freezer for a few minutes! With most of my beads I plan to use them just as focal beads on necklaces. I did make some very small Jupiter beads and will use them on a bracelet! The faux raku was so easy to make! I just love my pearl-ex powders and this was a great project for them. I’m planning on making a heart pendant and using the faux raku technique on it. If it turns out, I’ll be sure to send a pic! Again, thank you for your wonderful lessons and tips!!!<\/span><\/p>\n

RCVD 2009-07-18: Hello again Cindy! Just wanted to tell you that some of your selling tips paid off for me today! I live in a tiny town in Indiana and one Saturday a month I set up a table at a flea market. Today, two ladies came by and really liked one of my pendants. It is a red 3-D heart with a diagonal row of gold dots around it, and has a small metal charm hung from the bottom. They loved it and each wanted one like it only made with silver dots. So I had them write down their names and addresses for me to ship it to them. I was shocked when I looked at it and found that one of these ladies was from Utah and the other from California! They were in town visiting family and now my jewelry will be traveling across the country!!! I am very excited to get these to them along with some business cards for their friends:) As always, you and your tips are so very appreciated!! Thanks a bunch!<\/span><\/p>\n

~Carrie<\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
\"Faux<\/td>\n\"Mod<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

First of all Carrie, your Jupiter Beads are great! Did that freezing idea work to get the crackle, because I can’t see it from the photo? The problem you had with not having any old crumbly clay for the technique can be easily solved by putting some clay between two sheets of white paper and running it through the pasta machine. This will remove or ‘leach out’ the excess plasticizers and make it stiff. Keep doing it with fresh paper till the clay gets crumbly.<\/span><\/p>\n

Next, your smooth faux raku beads are awesome! No advice there.<\/span><\/p>\n

And finally, you asked about advice on making your work more ‘classy’. Classiness comes from doing excellent finishing work and using good quality materials. There should be no fingerprints (unless you add them on purpose); Smooth surfaces should be sanded whenever possible; And if you use finishes or glazes, they need to be applied perfectly with no globs or drips.<\/span><\/p>\n

To improve your mod beads for example, you could have sanded them with drywall sandpaper, until the surfaces were smooth and the thickness was even. Then continued sanding with a 320 grit, then 400, 600, 800 and 1200 grit until they felt like satin. To get a high shine they would then have been buffed, most likely to the point where no finish was necessary.<\/span><\/p>\n

You’ll be amazed at the difference it makes to finish your beads like that. They end up just begging to be touched. Your color choices are excellent and it is obvious that you take great care in your work. Congratulations on the sales of your jewelry pieces… you must feel so proud!<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

**<\/strong><\/span> If you have been inspired by my teachings and would like to be featured in an upcoming Spotlight Article<\/span><\/strong>, then please do write up something creative and email it to me along with a selection of your project pics. Make sure to send me high resolution photos that I’ll be able to zoom in on to show the details of your work. If you don’t already have my email address, simply leave a comment below and I will get it to you right away<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Cindy\"Polymer<\/p>\n

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