Key Chain and Twinchie Swap

  Another swap at the FB International Polymer Clay Swap group is concluded for me - and this time the packages had to go a looong way - from Slovenia to Australia and the other way, too.

  My partner in this swap was Penny Houghton of the Smelly Nelly blog. She "takes pleasure in making 'stuff' from anything she can lay her hands on". She loves walking through the forest discovering new bugs, plants and animals.
  We have many things in common - both have two little children, love the same colors and neither of us is very keen on pinks. We both love Twilight saga and crime too (she says you are never too old to love a good vampire saga and I agree completely).  

  But let's see what I've sent to Penny (click on the pictures to enlarge):

 - a key chain that is a part of my last series (you will certainly recognize the technique of my previous post):

 The lobster clasp can be removed and the donut can be used as a pendant. I love to make multipurpose items.


- the twinchie: I've used a slice I had left from Julie Picarello's workshop I took in April of this year:

 I have to say I'm very happy with how it turned out. The colors of the slice were just perfect for someone living in Australia - representing sea, land and desert ... 

  This is rally one of my favorite twinchies (& inchies included) that I've ever made - I've almost kept it for myself ... :-)

  The set:

~~~~~

And here is what I've received from Australia - that was a very generous package, all created by Penny: 

- a beautiful sugar sculls key chain:

 Penny also put my initials on the back of the white scull:

The sugar sculls are very popular in Australia, she says (and I know that also in both  Americas). In Slovenia we are not very familiar with sugar sculls and the notion of celebrating life with them as it's for South America and other cultures. However the ones mady by Penny are really really cute!!! I'm afraid to ruin them using them as a key chain, my handbag is always too full of almost anything you can imagine, so I preferred hanging it near my pc desk so I can treasure it and smile to it from time to time :-).


- the twinchie:

Front side

Beautiful colors!! And look at the back side, it's so interesting, too, just like an abstract painting:

Back side

  - and she also included a beadwoven sugar sculls bracelet:

Sorry for the picture, it's not really the best, but the little sculls are perfectly made!!


- and it's not finished, she also made this beautiful zentangle card with my name on:

Thank you, Penny, you really spoiled me :-D    
It was a great pleasure to be your partner in this swap!!!

Be happy,

Alenka

 

Valentine's Swap / Valentinov swap

  For the 9th swap at the FB International Polymer Clay Swaps group the theme was Valentine - hearts, flowers, pink, red ... anything that says Valentine's to you and your swap partner!

  My partner this time was Laura Reed from Missoula (Montana, USA). I've found out that we have quite a lot in common (speaking about preferences) and we both love red (favorite color).


  Valentine ... hearts and flowers. That was my first association and also the final result.
This is what I've made for Laura:

 - a red heart pendant (buffed to a high shine):

 - flower twinchie:

  
- and I've included also one of my faux glass beads:

 Here is all together:

 ~~~~~

  Laura sent to me a beautiful heart and love twinchie ... and I'm still trying to figure out how she created it!!! First I thought she has used a stamp, but only then I've seen it was all hand work ... Such detailed work!! It looks big on the picture, but the whole twinchie is only 2 inchies (2,5 cm) wide.

 
  She went a little outside the box and included a polymer clay covered pen. It is so smooth and just perfect to write with!! It's already my favorite pen! :-)

  All together:

  Thank you, Laura, for being my partner in this swap - I'm really happy with what I have received from you!!!

Be happy,

Alenka

Christmas Ornament Swap / Izmenjava božičnih okraskov

  I know, this topic would be more appropriate a month ago, but I'm pretty sure you are curious to see the results of the 8th swap of the International Polymer Clay Swap FB group.
  Vem, da bi bila ta tema precej bolj primerna pred enim mesecem, vendar vem, da ste vseeno radovedni, kakšni izdelki so nastali ob 8. zaporedni izmenjavi v okviru FB skupine International Polymer Clay Swap.

  My partner for this swap was Ilse (Ilsy Poppins) from Netherlands. The colors that she loves, uses and wears are more to the green/grey/brown and greens. She's been working with polymer clay since 2008 and she loves to make bracelets and bangles.
  Tokratna partnerica v izmenjavi je bila Ilse (Ilsy Poppins) iz Nizozemske, ki dela s polimerno glino od leta 2008. Njene najljubše barve so v zeleno-sivo-rjavih odtenkih in najrajši izdeluje vse vrste zapestnic.

  We decided to make something that will be speaking about the author, using our colors, techniques and shapes.
  Dogovorili sva se, da vsaka izdela okraske v svojem stilu, z uporabo barv, tehnik in oblik, ki so ji blizu, 

~~~~~

  As usually, let me first show you what I've made for Ilse.
  Kot ponavadi vam bom najprej pokazala, kaj sem jaz izdelala za Ilse.

  I was still under the impression of Bettina Welker's workshop in Ljubljana and her jelly-fish earrings technique. At the same time I wanted to create an ornament that will not be used only for Christmas, but would be "multifunctional".
  Ko sem se lotila dela, sem bila še pod vtisom delavnice z Bettino Welker v Ljubljani in njenih meduzic, hkrati pa sem hotela narediti okrasek, ki bo imel še dodatno možnost uporabe.

  I've used the same cane I've made at Bettina's workshop, but I cut a much thicker slice, made a bigger circle from it and formed a different shape, more flower-like. For the dangles I've added some chain and seed beads. I've also added the wire for hanging the ornaments to a christmas tree or anywhere else. 
   Uporabila sem kačico (vzorec), ki sem jo naredila na delavnici, vndar sem odrezala bistveno debelejši košček, ga sploščila v večji krog in ga oblikovala v obliko, podobno cvetu. Na spodnjo stran sem obesila nekaj verižice, kateri sem na koncih dodala perlice. Okraske sem obesila na zvito žico, da jih bo Ilse lahko obesila na jelko ali kamorkoli drugam.

  Now that the festivities are over, Ilse can put on the ear hooks and use them as earrings all the year long.
  Zdaj, ko so prazniki že za nami in okraski pospravljeni, lahko Ilse žico zamenja z osnovami za uhane in jih nosi še vse leto. 

   The second piece of the swap was a twinchie. I've made a simple Christmas tree with sparkles and a Swarovski top. Red and minimalist - just my style.
  Drugi izdelek v okviru izmenjave je "twinchie", to je ploščica v velikosti približno 5 x 5 cm. Obdobju primerno sem izdelala preprosto božično drevo, okrašeno z bleščicami in s swarovski kristalčkom na vrhu. Rdeče in minimalistično - čisto v mojem stilu.

  I couldn't send the package out without adding a little unexpected extra ...
   Seveda nisem mogla poslati paketa brez manjšega dodatka ... 

   ... a lavender cushion (with real lavender inside) and a chocolate bar - with fleur de sel. Yeap, it's a salted chocolate, but it's goooood!!!
  ...blazinico s sivko in čokoladico s solnim cvetom. Take je, čokolada s soljo, ki pa je zelo dobra!!!

~~~~~

And now - what have I received from Ilse:

Kaj pa sem jaz dobila od Ilse:

- a beautiful tree-ornament 

- čudovit okrasek v obliki drevesca

(as you can see, she used the combination of her and my favorites colors)
(kot vidite, je uporabila kombinacijo mojih in svojih najljubših barv)

- a twinchie and
- twinchi-ja in
 
- a pair of napkin rings in the same colors of the ornament;
- par obročkov za serviete v istih barvah kot okrasek;

- and also some little souvenirs of her country.
- poleg tega pa še drobne spominke iz njene države.    

 

 I love this kind of swaps!!!
 Thank you Ilse for being my partner and for the beautiful pieces you've sent to me.
Obožujem tovrstne izmenjave!!!
Ilse, najlepša hvala, ker si bila moja partnerica v tej izmenjavi in za vse lepe izdelke, ki si mi jih poslala!!! 

Be happy,

Bodite veseli,

 

Alenka

 

Swaps, Swaps, Swaps ...

  Huh, I'm not very active here lately, am I? In fact I'm not creating very much lately as well. Specially from when the school started again the days are just disappearing, have no idea how. 

  Fortunately, there are always some swaps and challenges that "force" me to find some moments for creating!!!

  In August Tonja Lenderman from the FB My Clay Fantasy Group hosted an inchie swap and I've decided to participate in 2 groups. That means I had to create 2 sets of 12 inchies (1in x 1in or approx. 2,5 cm x 2,5 cm tiles).

  These are the inchies I've created for the swap:

 For the first set I've recreated the pattern I've used for a pair of earrings some time ago - a dandelion.

For the second set I was playing with geometric shapes, pastels and liquid clay, shiny and matte finishes.

  Tonja organized the participants in groups of 12 people. Each participant received back one inchie of every member of the group (including my own).

 

  Do you want to know what have I received?

The first set I've received.

And this is the second set I've received.

I really hope the names are all right, because some of the inchies didn't have the card included. If no, please let me know and I'll change it. 

So many beauties, all so different. I'm really happy to have participated in this swap and already signed for another one ;-) It's also a great opportunity to receive some little pieces of art from other artists all around the world. 

So, be prepared to see more inchies on this blog.

~~~

 In the meantime I've signed up for more challenges and swaps:

Art Charm Exchange 2013

reveal: November 15

Jennifer Cameron of Glass Addictions is hosting the 2013 Art Charm Exchange benefiting Beads of Courage. I've participated last year and couldn't miss this year's event. My art charms were sent out this week and now are flying over the ocean to USA. Hope they arrive in time to Jen's place. I'll tell something more about this in a separate post.

Octoberfest Celebration of Autumn

reveal and blog hop: October 27 

 

Rita of Toltec Jewels is hosting the Second Annual October fest:A Home & Hearth Blog Hop Celebrating Autumn's Splendor with Beads, Jewelry, Home Decor, Food, Friends & Family! 

Inchies Swap Fall 2013

hosted by Jael Thorp

More inchies!!! I've signed for two groups, that means I have to make two sets of 12 inchies that have to be in Jael's hands by November 30.

Share the Love of Hearts Swap in 2014 

hosted by Kimberly Idalski

Each participant have to make 10 hearts per group and I've signed for two groups again. The hearts shouldn't be larger than 2 inches all ways, not smaller than an inch, not higher than 1 inch and could be dimensional. All the hearts have to be in Kimi's hands by February 28, 2014 (just on my birthday!!).

Be happy and keep following me!

There will be more, I'm sure!!

Alenka

Heart and Texture Swap / Izmenjava srčkov in teksturnih plošč

  The last international swap of the Polymer Clay Swaps FB group was about Hearts and Textures:
  Zadnja mednarodna izmenjava znotraj FB skupine Polymer clay Swaps je bila na temo Srčki in teksture:

  My partner in this swap was Pat Lacy from Bloomington, Indiana (USA). She doesn't have a website, you can find her only on Facebook. She's been working with polymer clay for about 4 years, but she's been crafting her entire life. She likes to make big necklaces and mostly gives them away as presents. Her favourite colours are reds, yellows, oranges and pink.
   Moja prtnerica v tej izmenjavi je bila Pat Lacy iz Bloomingtona (Indiana, ZDA), ki pa žal še nima spletne strani, najdete jo lahko le na Facebooku. S polimerno glino se ukvarja približno 4 leta, vendar jo spremljajo različna ročna dela že vse življenje. Najrajši izdeluje velike ogrlice, ki jih večinoma podari. Njene najljubše barve so rdeča, rumena, oranžna in roza.

  As you can see, we have many things in common, even the favourite colours ... well, except for pink. 
  S Pat imava kar nekaj skupnega, celo najljubše barve ... no, razen roza, seveda.

  This is the texture plate I made for Pat:
  To je teksturna plošča. ki sem jo poslala Pat:

   I had to try it before sending it, so I decided to make a heart using this texture. In fact I made two hearts using two different parts/patterns of this texture:
     - the first one is "Harlequin heart" (no need to explain why) and is made using the bottom middle part of the texture;
     - the second one is "Open your heart" and is made using the upper part of the texture (the fabric texture). The zipper is also made from polymer clay.
 
  Da preverim, ali je sploh uporabna, sem se odločila, da naredim srce z uporabo kar te teksture. Pravzaprav sem nardila dve srci z uporabo dveh različnih delov teksture:
     - prvo srce je "Harlekinsko srce" (razloga izbire imena verjetno ni potrebno pojasnjevati) in sem ga izdelala z uporabo spodnjega srednjega dela teksturne plošče;
     - drugo srce pa nosi ime "Odpri svoje srce" in sem ga izdelala z uporabo zgornjega dela teksturne plošče (vzorec blaga). Tudi zadrga je v celoti narejena iz polimerne gline (razen rinkic, seveda).

 
   I couldn't decided where to drill the holes, so I've let this decision to Pat, so she can decide also how she wants to use them.
  Ker se nisem mogla odločiti, kje naj zavrtam luknje, sem prepustila to odločitev Pat, ki se lahko tako tudi odloči, kako bo srčka uporabila.

~~~~~~~

  And here are the beautiful heart and a very interesting texture plate that Pat made for me:
  Tukaj pa sta čudovit srček in zelo zanimiva teksturna plošča, ki mi jih je poslala Pat:

  I like very much the wire inclusions with curls, it gives the heart an extra. I've decided I'll drill a hole and wear it as a pendant. Thank you, Pat!
   Vstavki iz žice so mi zelo všeč, saj dajejo srčku neko dodatno lepoto. Kaj bom z njim, sem se že odločila in kmalu bo visel na verižici za mojim vratom. Pat, najlepša hvala!

  Looking forward to the next swap!!!
  In zdaj že komaj čakam naslednji swap!!!

~~~~~~~

  Have a look at the other participant's blog posts:
  Če vas zanima, kaj so naredile druge sodelujoče, je tukaj seznam objav na blogih:

Leila Bidler
Tina Holden
Pat Sernyk
Jainnie Jenkins
Dakotah Flannery
Alenka Obid  <-- you're here
Katie 
Bonnie Kreger
Chieko 
Lupe Meter
Ilenia Moreni
Betty Jo Hendershott

  Be happy,
  Bodite veseli,

  Alenka

March 8 Swap / Osmomarčevski swap

  The girls from Izdelovalnica malih umetnin organized again a swap between Slovenian polymer clayers (of all levels). Well, this time they went international as one of the participants is from Serbia.
   Dekleta iz Izdelovalnice malih umetnin so spet organizirale swap izdelkov iz polimerne gline, ki je tokrat postal mednarodne narave, saj se nam je pridružila tudi udeleženka iz Srbije.

  For the swap everyone had to make a set of a necklace + ring or bracelet or earrings or brooch (mainly from polymer clay, but allowed to be mixed media) and send it by March 6, to be at the destination by March 8, the International Women's Day. The interesting thing about this swap was that you knew only who you have to send your item, but don't know who will you receive it from. It means it was not a one to one swap, but a circular one.
   Za swap je bilo potrebno izdelati komplet ogrlice + prstan ali zapestnico ali uhane ali broško delno ali v celoti iz polimerne gline (navodila v celoti so tukaj) ter ga poslati do 6. marca, da ga prejemnica dobi do 8. marca, kot darilo za dan žena. Najbolj zanimiv del te izmenjave pa je bilo to, da je bil "krožne narave" - vsaka sodelujoča je vedela samo, komu mora sama poslati, ni pa vedela, od koga bo darilo dobila.

  Here's the set I've sent to Tjaša:
   To je komplet, ki sem ga poslala Tjaši:

    I have to admit my first idea of the surface treatment was a little different, but did not work out as I wanted, even if the result was interesting. I'll show some other time. I hope she likes it and will wear it sometime.
   Moja prva ideja za površinsko obdelavo je bila sicer drugačna, a ni izpadla tako, kot sem želela, čeprav je bil rezultat kar zanimiv. A o tem več kdaj drugič. Vsekakor upam, da je Tjaši komplet všeč in da ga bo vsaj kdaj tudi nosila. 
 

  Let's go now to the "receiving part"!
The sender of the package for me was Sandra. She made this beautiful set in my favourite colours!!!! She said she made the set before she knew who was the recipient, so it was a really nice coincidence.
   No, pa gremo še na skrivnostni del swapa!
Točno 8. marca sem prejela paketek, pošiljateljica katerega je bila Sandra. V paketu je bil ta čudovit komplet v mojih najljubših barvah!!! Sicer je bilo to le srečno naključje, ker je pripravila komplet, še preden je izvedela, komu ga mora poslati, a pravijo, da naključja ne obstajajo ;-).

  Thank you, Sandra, very much!!!
   Sandra, najlepša hvala!!!!


  If you would like to see what have the other participants made - go here. The site is in Slovene language, but you can see the pictures of some beautiful sets.
  Če vas zanima, kaj so ustvarile ostale udeleženke, si lahko ogledate tukaj - videli boste nekaj zares čudovitih kompletov.

  Alenka

BSBP7 - My Bead Soup for Gite

  If you are looking for the Challenge of Music blog hop Reveal, please go here.


  I've just remembered that I still haven't posted the bead soup I've sent to my swap partner Gite for the 7th Bead Soup Blog Party (hostessed by Lori Andersen). Well, it's more a teaser, just to let you guess which are the colours of the components, mostly made by me from polymer clay.
  Spomnila sem se, da še nisem objavila slike "župce iz perl", ki sem jo poslala moji partnerici v izmenjavi Gite (7. Bead Soup Blog Party). Pravzaprav gre bolj za namig, katero barvno paleto sem izbrala - od tega sem večino kosov izdelala sama iz polimerne gline.

  As you can see, this is not really my usual colour pallete - I wanted to change this time a little bit. However, I absolutely had to add some components in yellow-orange-red tones ;-D  

  Kot lahko vidite, to niso ravno moje običajne barve, namenoma sem izbrala drugačno paleto. No, nekaj malega pa je vseeno moralo biti v rumeno-oranžno-rdeči kombinaciji ;-D

  Be happy!

  Bodite veseli!

  Alenka

Some claying ... / Malo fimanja ...

  I've not done much claying lately, or better creating in general. A certain tiredness catched me, followed by a cold I'm fighting against right now :-(( 
That's not good as I have a lot of projects, swaps and challenges going. And I'm planning to open an Etsy shop, finally.
  Zadnje čase nisem nič "fimala" in niti drugače ustvarjala. Prijela se me je namreč neka utrujenost, ki se je včeraj spremenila v močen prehlad ali virozo :-((  Glede na to, da imam v teku več projektov, izmenjav in izzivov, je ravno nepravi trenutek za kaj takega. Poleg tega bi rada do konca meseca končno odprla tudi svojo Etsy trgovinico ...

  I've just wanted to show you some of beads and components - I've still not decided if I should use them to make some jewellery or just offer them as components in my Etsy shop. What do you think?
  Danes vam bom samo pokazala nekaj polizdelkov, za katere se še nisem odločila, ali naj jih uporabim za izdelavo nakita ali pa naj jih ponudim v prodajo kot take. Kaj menite?

    Well, I definitely need some lessons in protography, I can not catch the real shine of the objects ... And the charms still need to be polished.
    No, slike niso ravno super - nujno potrebujem kakšno lekcijo iz fotografiranja nakita, ker ne uspem uloviti tistega leska, kot ga imajo kosi v resnici ... Perlice pa potrebujejo še poliranje, seveda.

  In the meantime I've sent out to my partner Pat Lacy my swap items for the polymer clay Hearts &Texture swap, but she still haven't received them, so I can not show them. And I still haven't receive Pat's items as well.
  Pravočasno sem tudi poslala svoje izdelke preko luže Pat Lacy, s katero sva partnerici v mednarodni izmenjavi Srčkov in tekstur iz polimerne gline. Ker pošiljka še ni prispela do nje, jih še ne smem pokazati - ravno tako pa tudi jaz še nisem dobila svoje.

  See you soon (at least virtually),
  Na svidenje kmalu,

  Alenka

First Remake / Prva predelava

  I'll take you a few months back to the results of the Autumn swap: 7 participants had to make two different series of beads in autumn colours, and then in the second phase create a necklace with all the 14 different beads received from all the others.
  Danes bi vas rada popeljala v čas pred par meseci, ko sem sodelovala na Jesenskem swapu: 7 sodelujočih je izdelalo po dve različni seriji perl v jesenskih barvah in v drugi fazi izmenjave moralo izdelati ogrlico iz vseh 14 različnih perl.

  This is the necklace I made in that occasion:
  To je ogrlica, ki sem jo izdelala takrat:

  The difficulty was in creating a single necklace using all of the beads and they were so different between them (except one pair). I wasn't totally satisfied with the result and since then I was searching for some ideas to change it.
  Težavnost izdelave je bila v tem, da je bilo potrebno izdelati eno samo ogrlico z uporabo vseh perl, ki pa so bile zelo različne med seboj (razen enega para). Takrat s svojim končnim izdelkom nisem bila povsem zadovoljna in sem ves ta čas premlevala, kako bi ga spremenila.

  Today I can finally show you the remake!
  Danes vam lahko končno pokažem predelavo!

  I've put the beads more apart, using antique copper rings as spacers:
  Perle sem postavila bolj narazen in vmes dodala rinke v antično bakreni barvi:

  I added a leaf pendant, with the small leaf bead on it ...  

  Dodala sem tudi obesek v obliki lista in nanj obesila še perlo v obliki lista, ...

... a bird bead and a piece of green linen fabric:
... nato pa še tega ptička iz polimerne mase ter trak iz lanenega blaga:

  And this is the final result.

  In to je sedaj končni rezultat.

  Which one do you prefer? The before or after piece?
  Katera ogrlica vam je bolj všeč? Tista pred predelavo ali tale po njej?

  Be happy!
  Bodite veseli!

  Alenka