Workshop with Bettina Welker - part 1 / Delavnica z Bettino Welker - 1. del

  Huh, it's been 4 weeks already from the workshop with Bettina Welker in Ljubljana and I've still not written a word about it!!! 
  Uf, že 4 tedni so minili od delavnice z Bettino Welker v Ljubljani, jaz pa o tem nisem še nič objavila!!!

  It was my first workshop ever and those were two beautiful days!!! Two days just claying and chatting with other polymer clay enthusiasts! Just a blast!!!
  To je bila moja prva delavnica in bila sta dva res čudovita dneva!! Dva dneva v celoti posvečena ustvarjanju iz polimerne gline in klepetanju z drugimi poli-navdušenkami! Pravi užitek!!!
    

  Let's get this party started!!!

 
  Well, we started  with the hinged bracelet and this is the one I've made ...
   Začeli smo s pregibno zapestnico in moj izdelek izgleda tako ...

... and the whole pyramid of bracelets (with Bettina and the organizers):
... cela piramida zapestnic pa je zelo barvita (z Bettino in organizatorkami):

 The second day we started with the jellyfish earrings. Can you guess which ones are mine?
  Drugi dan je bil najprej posvečen meduzicam - uhanom. Ali uganete, kateri so moji?

Photo by Roberta M.

 The red ones!!!
  Rdeči, seveda!!!

 

towards the light / proti svetlobi

  Did you have any doubts??!! :-)
  They are quite small - about 2 cm/0.8 inch wide and very very light. It's so nice to wear them.
  Ali je sploh kdo podvomil v to?!! :-)
  Uhani so precej majhni, v širino merijo le 2 cm, in izredno lahki. Nositi jih je lepo, saj so kot peresca. 

  The second post about the workshop with new pictures is coming soon ....
  Druga objava o delavnici z Bettino in novimi slikcami sledi prav kmalu ....

~~~

In the meantime 3 of my swap packages are wandering somewhere in the postal system:

- one to US for Fall inchies swap;

- one to Netherlands for the Christmas ornament polymer clay swap and

- one to Germany for the Bead Soup Cafe Holiday gift swap.

I really hope they all find their way to the final destination!!! At the moment the delivery is late for all of them ...

Medtem pa 3 moji paketki z izdelki za izmenjavo klatijo nekje v poštnem sistemu:

- eden je namenjen v ZDA za Jesensko izmenjavo inchijev (2,5 x 2,5 cm ploščice), 

- drugi je namenjen na Nizozemsko za Izmenjavo božičnih okraskov iz polimerne gline,

- tretji pa v Nemčijo za Praznično izmenjavo daril v okviru FB skupine Bead Soup Cafe. 

Res upam, da bodo vsi našli pravo pot do cilja!!! Trenutno namreč dostava za vse tri zamuja ...  

Be happy,

Bodite veseli,

Alenka

 

Autumn Design Challenge Reveal

   I was one of the 20 winners that were randomly chosen by Caroline of Blueberri Beads and Lesley of THEA Elements and received some of their beautiful components to participate in the Autumn Design Challenge.

  I was so excited when the package arrived and impatiently opened it to find these beauties:
 

  The metal pieces are made by Lesley and the ceramic beads are made by Caroline. 

  This was the first time I was using bigger metal components and handmade ceramic beads and I wanted to make them justice.  I have to say I spent a lot of time contemplating the components and thinking about the arrangements and additional beads and type of pieces  I want to make. It seems my inspiration got distracted too often and I kept changing my mind... 

  Finally, I have finished 3 different pieces: two bracelets and a brooch.

  For the first bracelet I've used Lesley's bracelet bar - I wanted to highlight the floral design on the bar and keep it simple, elegant at the same time. In my small seed-beads stash I've found some golden metallic cubes and decided to make a narrow brick stitch belt on both sides. To make the "back side" more interesting I've put some beads on the rings between the belt and the clasp.

  For the second bracelet I used all Caroline's ceramic beads and recreated similar beads in polymer clay in a brighter color for some contrast. A piece of cotton cord, a few knots and here it is:

  The only component left was the metallic leaf pendant. I wanted to make something different than usual with it and that's how this brooch came out. The flower is polymer clay with some acrylics, bronze patina and Inka golds. I'm still not happy with the result and I'll probably change or add something. 

 
  Thank you Lesley and Caroline for this opportunity to play and create with your components!!

  And now take a cup of coffee or tea and take a virtual trip to see the creations of the hostesses and the other participants of this fun challenge:

Lesley Watt - http://thegossipinggoddess.blogspot.co.uk/

Caroline Dewison – http://blueberribeads.co.uk

Gay Messander - http://gaysiemay.blogspot.co.uk/

Made By Jules - http://madebyjulesjewellery.blogspot.co.uk/

Heidi Post - http://expostfactojewelry.blogspot.co.uk/

Janet Bocciardi - http://www.honeyfromthebee.com/

Alice - http://alice-dreaming.blogspot.com

Dolores Raml - http://craftydscreations.wordpress.com

Lucy Haslam - http://faerystone.blogspot.co.uk/

Pine Ridge treasures - http://www.gratefulartist.blogspot.com/

Shirley Moore - http://beadsandbread.blogspot.com

Tracy Collins - http://travelsintimedesigns.blogspot.co.uk

Melissa Trudinger – http://beadrecipes.wordpress.com/

Mags - http://magsinhelmet.blogspot.com

Alenka Obid - http://pepita-handmade.blogspot.co.uk/  <--You are here!

Jo-Ann - http://itsabeadifulcreation.blogspot.com

Toltec Jewels - http://www.jewelschoolfriends.com

Judith Johnston – http://www.judith-johnston.com/blog

Janine Lucas – http://www.esfera.me/travel/blog/travel-stories

Madeline Bunyan – http://madelinebunyan.wordpress.com/

Chic and frog – http://www.chicandfrog.wordpress.com 
Sue Rennie - http://moonandsevenstars.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/autumn-design-challenge.html

Be happy,

Alenka

 

Surprise & Twinchie Polymer Clay Swap with Japanese Flavour / Swap presenečenj in ploščic iz polimerne gline z japonskim pridihom

  Yep, I've had a partner from Japan in this last International polymer clay FB group swap: the lovely Chieko Sasaki of MINA Creations!!!
  Tako je, moja zadnja partnerica v mednarodni izmenjavi izdelkov iz polimerne gline prihaja z Japonske - to je Chieko Sasaki, ki ustvarja pod imenom MINA Creations!  

  Chieko lives in the central Tokyo, Japan, with her hubby and six birds. She is a certified FIMO instructor/artist and teaches miniatures at a major handicraft store in Tokyo called Tokyu Hands once a month. She is also a certified metal clay artist/instructor of PMC (MITSUBISHI precious metal clay) and a practitioner of Findohorn flower essences. How cool is that!!!
  Chieko živi v osrednjem Tokiu z možem in šestimi pticami. Je certificirana inštruktorica/ustvarjalka ter enkrat mesečno poučuje izdelovanje miniatur v največji trgovini z ustvarjalnim materialom v Tokiu. Poleg tega ima certifikat tudi za dragocene metalne gline (precious metal clay) in se ukvarja s Findohorn cvetličnimi esencami.

   We decided to swap a set of jewelry - a necklace, a bracelet and earrings.
   Odločili sva se za izmenjavo kompleta nakita, in sicer ogrlice, zapestnice in uhanov.



  Let me first show you what I've made for Chieko.
  Naj vam najprej pokažem, kaj sem sama naredila za Chieko. 

 
  Chieko likes autumn colors, so do I, and as the autumn was just around the corner, I've decided to use yellow-orange + bronze palette. I used my currently favorite techniques - the combination of Hellen Breil's Shapes and Cosmic Ceramic of Iris Mishly & Hila Bushari, all combined my way.
  Chieko so všeč jesenske barve, ravno tako kot meni, in ker se je jesen hitro bližala, sem se odločila za rumeno-oranžne odtenke v kombinaciji z bronasto. Uporabila sem trenutno najljubšo kombinacijo tehnik, to je Shapes od Hellen Breil in Cosmic Ceramic od Iris Mishly & Hile Bushari, skombinirano malo po moje.

The necklace I made for Chieko / Ogrlica, ki sem jo izdelala za Chieko

 

 

 
   

The earrings for Chieko / Uhani za Chieko

The bracelet with the infinity symbol / Zapestnica s simbolom neskončnosti

The twinchie using the same texturing and coloring techniques / Ploščica, za katero sem uporabila isti tehniki teksture in barvanja

  I was a little late sending out my swap items for Chieko, so I've decided to send to her a little extra gift to apologize for the delay. I've decided for something related to the place I live - the Sečovlje saltpans:
  Ker sem tokrat malo zamujala s pošiljanjem paketka za Chieko, sem se odločila, da dodam še dodatno darilce v opravičilo. Izbrala sem nekaj, kar je povezano s krajem, v katerem živim, to so Sečoveljske soline:

A wooden spoon for salt and Grandma's Recipes cooking book / Lesena žlica za sol in knjižica z recepti stare mame

 ~~~

  And here is what I have received from Chieko:
  Tukaj pa vam predstavljam, kaj je Chieko izdelala zame:

 

The necklace Chieko made for me / Ogrlica, ki jo je Chieko naredila zame

Earrings from Chieko / Uhani od Chieko

 

Bracelet from Chieko / Zapestnica od Chieko

 

Chieko included even a ring / Chieko je dodala celo prstan

 

and not one, but two beautiful twinchies / in celo dve ploščici

 The beads look like glass and not polymer!! And have you seen her food miniatures??!! They are perfect in each detail!!! 
  Njene perle izgledajo kot steklo in ne polimerna glina!! In ste videli njene miniature hrane??!! Perfektne so v vsaki področbnosti!!!

  Thank you, Chieko, for being my partner in this swap! I've enjoyed every moment of it and I'm happy to have a new polymer friend in Japan. 
  Najlepša hvala, Chieko, da si bila moja partnerica v tej izmenjavi! Uživala sem v sakem trenutku in sem zelo vesela, da imam novo kolegico na Japonskem.

Be happy,

 Bodite veseli,

 

Alenka