2Cellos and Work in Progress / 2Cellos in delo v teku

   Can you imagine the songs by Sting, Michael Jackson, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, U2 and others being performed by a pair of cellos? Well, I certainly do!!! The concert of 2Cellos in Koper yesterday was a blast!!!
   Si predstavljate pesmi od Stinga, Michaela Jacksona, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, U2 in drugih v ozvedbi para vilončelov? Kdo pa še ne pozna zasedbe 2Cellos ... Včerajšnji koncert v Kopru je bil prava poslastica!!!

  For a little taste of it listen to this (you can find more on their official site and YouTube), but it's much better alive in the beautiful atmosphere of the Koper main square and Pretorian Palace. 
   Malo se lahko posladkate s tem posnetkom (veliko več lahko najdete na njuni  uradni spletni strani ali YouTube-u), čeprav je neprimerljivo s koncertom v živo in to v čudoviti atmosferi Koprskega Titovega trga in Pretorske palače.

 

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  Hmmmmmm, let's go to polymer now. 
  Aaaahhhh, pa se preselimo zdaj k polimerni glini.

  I don't buy tutorials very often, I prefer to experiment trying to figure out the techniques and procedures by myself, but there are some tutorials I just need to have. I still consider myself a beginner in polymer clay and this is one of the ways to learn from Masters. 
  Tutorialov ne kupujem pogosto, ker rajši eksperimentiram in poskušam sama priti do posameznih tehnik in postopkov, vendar se včasih pojavi kakšen tutorial, ki ga enostavno moram imeti. Imam se namreč za začetnico pri delu s polimerno maso in to predstavlja eno od možnosti, da se učiš od Mojstrov.


  Some time ago I've bought Helen Breil's book Shapes and lately the Cosmic Ceramic tutorial by Iris Mishly and Hila Bushari. Now I've decided to combine both and these are my first pendants. They still need to be assembled with some other parts to be finished necklaces, but I wanted to show this work in progress.
   Pred časom sem tako kupila knjigo od Helen Breil Shapes,pred kratkim pa še tutorial Cosmic Ceramic, ki sta ga izdali Iris Mishly in Hila Bushari. Odločila sem se, da kombiniram obe tehniki in nastali so tile obeski, ki jih moram še sestaviti v končno obliko.


 

Roughly textured edges (in person looks better) / Groba tekstura na robovih (v živo izgleda lepše)

Bronze patina on the inner edge / Bronasta patina na notranjem robu

Summer sunny colours / Poletne sončne barve

  Be happy!
  Bodite srečni!

 Alenka 

 

Pen & Twinchie Swap

  In April at the International Polymer Clay Swap FB group took place the fifth swap already, this time the swap items were polymer clay covered pens and twinchies. If you don't know what a twinchie is, here's an explanation I have summarized from our FB group invite: "a 2 inchies square tile (about 1/4 inch thick) and can be used like an actual ceramic tile in wall art, you can group them and also mount them on a canvas".

  My partner for this swap was Donna Ingram from Anniston (Alabama, USA). She says she's a Southern girl that lives a very simple life, she's married with 5 children and 11 grandchildren. Wow, 5 children! I have only two and it seems they are at least 10, sometimes.

  
Let's first see what I have made for her .
  
  Donna likes the light colors of spring, loves sports and animals, specially dogs. 

  That's why I've decided to use a combination of yellow, light green and orange with a little of white to cover the pen. First I was thinking about a chevron pattern, but I was not sure I can make it perfect, so I've decided for stripes. Well, there is a small part of chevron pattern indeed. For a more dimensional look I've added an additional stripe and a swarovski chrystal.

  For the twinchie I wanted to highlight her love for animals. She said her favorites are dogs, so I've made a cat, LOL. Well, let me explain. When our dog Tobi was still alive, he used to lie just near the cat when nobody was looking at him. In the same moment he noticed a human looking at him, he started to chase the cat. So, what's a dog without a cat!       

  I guess you want to see the picture of my pen & twinchie for Donna, right?

  The cat is black and white, but the background is coordinated with the pen. Do you see the shining of the cat's eyes? I've used the same swarovski as for the pen. 
 

And now let me show you what Donna made for me:
 

The pen is like a rainbow in the moonlight (I know this is not possible in the real life, but if it would be, I think it would look like that). And the twinchie is so colorful and happy! Thank you, Donna!

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  There are already the sign ups for our sixth swap in the FB group - Fantasy Vessels and Twinchies. No need to say I'm not gonna miss this one :-)

  The sign ups and the deadline for sending out will be extended, so you're still welcome to join if you would like to. 


  Be happy!
  Alenka
 
 

Earring Swap Blog Hop Reveal

Welcome to the Earring Swap blog hop, wanted by Jessica Wensell of Whimsical Monkey.

Well, earrings are the piece of jewelry I prefer to wear and I mostly make, so I picked the invite for this swap immediately.

 
My partner was Susan Kennedy from Suebeads, a talented lampworker. Just look at these gorgeous beads she makes

 

I've asked Sue to take a look at my Flickr gallery and tell me which style of earrings she prefers. I already knew she loves turquoise, silver and green, so I've chosen some peppermint and turquoise Fimo and made a pair of both sides textured rings with a texture plate made by me; then just a little touch of silver Inka gold. I've added filigree silver beads and seed beads and this is what I have sent to Sue:

  ... packed in my Pepita red box:

  I've added a lucky charm - one of my clowny beads, but forgot to take a picture of it.

I still haven't received the package Susan sent, even if she sent it three weeks ago!!! But I'm sure it will arrive soon!! If you would like to know what has she sent to me, just take a look at her blog here. 

UPDATE - 23 March 

Yesterday I have finally received my package from Sue. Just look at these gorgeous earrings and she even included some of her beautiful lampwork beads!!!   [happydance]   How lucky I am!!!

No need to say I had to wear them today at work :-D 

Thank you Sue for being my partner in this swap!!!

And here's the list of the other participants (you get the direct links on the blog posts by clicking on the names):

Jessica Wensell

Inge von Roos  

Nancy Smith

Marianne Baxter
Leah Tees
Andrea Trank
Miranda Ackerley
Cheri Mitchell-Reed
Susan Kennedy     <-- My partner
Michele Dotson
Deanna Cox
Shelley Graham Turner
Ingrid McCue
Lennis Carrier
Ginger Davis Allman
Mary Anne Flesch
Nicole Valentine Rimmer
Stephanie Weiss
Silvia Sernicola
Karla Morgan
Kay Thomerson
Paula Hisel
Carol Dillman
Spun Sugar Beadworks
Tara Plote
Rachel Baron
Laurie Keefe
Kashmira Patel
Gina Hockett
Shellie Grindy
Shai Williams
Dyanne Cantrell
Mimi Gardner
Jessica McMullen
Jennifer LaVite
Laura Medeiros
Alenka Obid    <-- You are here
Elsie Fonseca
Cheryl Dunham
Sandra McGriff
Tania Spivey
Mowse Doyle
Mischelle Fanucchi

Facebook:
Beccy Peterson: Beccy's Baubles

Marde Lowe: FanciMar Designs

Be happy,

Alenka