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

 

Fantasy Vessel & Twinchie Swap - part 2 / Izmenjava (swap) fantazijske posode & ploščice - 2. del

 So sorry for my silence, but it's sooooo hot here and I just can not spend much time at the computer ...  
  Joj, koliko časa že nisem nič objavila, a v tej vročini me prav nič ne mika sedeti za računalnikom ... 

  Well, let's get back to our Fantasy vessel & twinchie international swap! I have already shown what I have made for my partner Tina Holden and now I can finally show also what Tina has made for me! Her package took almost four weeks to arrive, but now it's here!!! 
  Pa se vrnimo k izmenjavi fantazijske posode in twinchija! Kaj sem jaz naredila za mojo partnerico Tino Holden, sem vam že pokazala tukaj, zdaj pa vam končno lahko pokažem še to, kar je Tina naredila zame. Njen paketek je potoval cele štiri tedne, a je končno v mojih rokah!!!

  Tina is a Canadian polymer clay artist, instructor and inventor, and a very very nice person. It was a great pleasure for me being her partner in this swap, as I've already told before. If you want to know more about her, just take a look at her blog and Etsy shop, you won't regret ;-)
  Tina živi v Kanadi in se profesionalno ukvarja s polimerno glino - kot ustvarjalka, učiteljica in inovatorka, hkrati pa je zelo zelo prijetna oseba. Zaradi vsega tega sem bila res počaščena, da je bila ona moja partnerka v tej izmenjavi, kar sem tudi že večrat povedala. Če želite izvedeti kaj več o njej, obiščite njen blog in Etsy trgovinico, ne bo vam žal ;-) 
 

blog = http://beadcomber.blogspot.com/

site = http://beadcomberjewelry.blogspot.com/

Etsy shop = http://www.etsy.com/shop/Beadcomber

  And here are the beauties Tina made for me (I have to thank Tina for the courtesy to let me publish here the pictures she's taken):
  Tukaj pa so izdelki, ki jih je Tina naredila zame (zahvaliti se ji moram tudi za slike in dovoljenje, da jih objavim tukaj): 

Photo by Tina Holden

First, the beautiful twinchie - the beads are movable .... 

Najprej čudovita ploščica - s premikajočimi kroglicami ...

Photo by Tina Holden

Photo by Tina Holden

 And then a gorgeous Mermaid vessel:
Nato še prekrasna škatlica z Morsko deklico:

Photo by Tina Holden

with a textured bottom ...
s teksturiranim dnom ...

Photo by Tina Holden

 an interesting backside with Tina's initials ...
zanimivim ozadjem s Tininimi začetnicami ... 

 

Photo by Tina Holden

and a great surprise when you open it!!!
in čudovitim presenečenjem, ko škatlico odpreš!!! 

 

Photo by Tina Holden

  
So many techniques, so many details ... I just kept looking and looking at it, and touching it ... Well, that's the result when a pro is at work ;-)
Toliko različnih tehnik, toliko detajlov ... kar nisem mogla nehati gledati škatlico in otipati vse njene posebnosti ... No, to je rezultat, ko je profi na delu ;-) 

  She even wrote a story about the vessel and twinchie:
  O škatlici in ploščici je celo napisala zgodbico (ne zamerite mi, če je ne bom prevajala v slovenščino)

The girl was visiting her grandmother who lived by the sea shore. The grandmother would tell fantastical stories about a mermaid that lived near a certain rocky outcrop, not far from the cottage. The girl would head to the beach but only see the seabirds and gulls. Every night the grandmother would tell fantastical stories when the girl noticed a bottle of shimmery sand on the mantel piece of the fire place. Grandmother said this was 'magic sand' and that is what made her stories be true. How did it work the girl asked the grandmother? Well, A very colorful bird-like creature would appear when the sand was thrown into the air. While the sand particles were moving around in the air and the bird became visible one could ask it to grant a wish. Grandmother handed the girl a little bag of magic sand and sent her on her way to the beach. The girl was so excited that she ran as fast as she could. She took a deep breath and threw the sand into the air. As soon as she had, her grandmother was right!! a beautiful colorful bird appeared before her. She silently wished to see the mermaid, but nothing happened. The next day while strolling on the beach and collecting pebbles and sea shells she saw what she thought was a whale's tail between a rocky outcrop from which grew a lonely tree. The girl waded waist deep into the water by the rock, put her face into the crystal clear water. There she was!!! The Mermaid! she was floating amidst golden kelp, bubbles of air rising and purple starfish on the bottom. The girl took another deep breath of air to have another but closer look...but the mermaid was gone. Still...her wish came true, she had seen a mermaid...

  Tina was so sweet to put an extra in the package: this beautiful pendant, I'm already wearing ....

  Tina je bila tako prijazna, da je v paketek dodala še tale čudoviti besek, ki ga (seveda) že veselo nosim ...

  No need to say I'm so happy and will treasure it!

  Mislim, da ni potrebno dodati, da sem zelo vesela!

  Be happy,

  Bodite srečni!

 

  Alenka

Fantasy Vessel & Twinchie Swap - part 1 / Izmenjava (swap) fantazijske posode & ploščice - 1. del

  I'm back home after a week of vacation in Croatia - and it was also a week of vacation from creating. I've brought with me a lot of seed beads, but never took any of them from my travel bag ...
  Po tednu dopusta na Hrvaškem sem spet doma. Pravzaprav je bil to tudi dopust od ustvarjanja, saj so moje perlice ostale kar v potovalki ...

  I'm happy I can finally share with you today my swap items for the FB International Polymer Clay Swap group, well at least the part I created for my swap partner Tina Holden, because she has already received my package. Yes, this time I was paired with the hostess itself and I could not have disappointed her!!! I'm not saying I don't give the best I can every time I make a swap item, I certainly do! It's just that the feeling is a bit different when you make something for a person who's work you admire.
  Veseli pa me, da vam lahko danes končno pokažem, kaj sem izdelala za mojo partnerico Tino Holden v mednarodni izmenjavi FB skupine International Polymer Clay Swaps, saj je ona moj paketek že dobila. To je bil zame še poseben swap, saj Tinino delo občudujem in sem si še toliko bolj želela narediti nekaj, kar ji bo zares všeč. To pa še ne pomeni, da se v drugih swapih ne potrudim maksimalno - vedno dam vse od sebe!

  The theme of the swap was fantasy vessels. Never made one before ... At the beginning I was even not totally aware what a vessel was!! Well, the instructions were clear:
  Tokratna tema swapa je bila v polimerno glino oblečena posoda na fantazijsko temo. Česa takega nisem do sedaj nikoli naredila, na začetku nisem vedela niti, kaj "vessel" dejansko pomeni. A navodila so bila dovolj jasna, da sem se tudi tukaj znašla (mislim, da ni potrebe, da bi jih prevedla).

Fantasy Vessel: a container of sorts...your interpretation of Fantasy, whether it involves sculpting, caning or other technique as long as it is a 'container'. This may include covering a tin such as an Altoid or other metal tin or your own box made from multi-media (example: matchbox or necklace locket) or a base made from polymer clay, then covered with clay. Box may have hinges, screw cap, snap lid etc. Should be no larger than a covered Altoid, but no smaller than a match box and may or may not involve a metal tin as long as it is 'sturdy'.
Approximate sizes here are for large and small Altoid tins (some countries may not have those but perhaps something similar)...measurements for a large altoid would be 4 x 2.5 x 1 inch (10x6x2cm) and the small 2.5x1.5x.75in (6x4x1.5cm) . Of course if they vary a bit outside of that and thicker or thinner, that's totally ok, but you may want to consider mailing costs.

Decorate with things from your imagination - dragons, fairies, flowers, space items (sun, moon, stars, planets, galaxies, etc.), steampunk, etc. As we say, "the sky's the limit!"
(borrowed from the swap rules)  

   They don't sell Altoid here in Slovenia, but I have found they have some candies in metal tins. It is not exactly the size indicated in the rules above, but I was sure it would be ok.
   Pri nas še nisem zasledila Altoid pločevink (baje so to bomboni), a sem vseeno našla eno pločevinasto škatlico z bomboni. Njene mere niso bile ravno v skladu z napotki, vendar sem bila prepričana, da bo vseeno v redu.


  Tina likes fierce dragons, sea serpents, mermaids and anything to do with the oceans. So something about the sea let it be! At first I was thinking about a mermaid, but I was not sure I am capable of making a human face ... However, the idea about a sea serpent kept coming in my mind, persistently. I've browsed to see some pictures or drawings, used some details from one or another and then tried with my first ever sculpting of a figure.
    Tini so všeč krvoločni zmaji, morski zmaji, morske deklice in vse, kar je povezano z oceani, Torej naj bo nekaj morskega! Na začetku sem razmišljala o morski deklici, a nisem bila prepričana o svojih sposobnostih izdelave človeškega obraza ... Po drugi strani se mi je vedno pogosteje vrivala v misli ideja o morskem zmaju. Malo sem "poguglala", da vidim kakšne slikce ali risbe morskih zmajev, tu pa tam pobrala kakšno podrobnost, ki mi je bila všeč in se lotila mojega prvega kiparskega podviga.

  Too much talking? You want to see the pictures? Ok, ok, here they are! I will not describe the single parts of it, but I'll be happy to answer to your questions - if you have any, just write a comment. 
    Je že preveč besed? Bi želeli videti slike? Ok, ok, tukaj so! Ne bom opisovala podrobnosti, vendar vam bom z veseljem odgovorila na vprašanja, če jih boste postavili v komentarjih.

  These are my fantasy vessel ...
  To sta moja fantazijska šatulja ...
 

 

... and the twinchie for Tina.
... in ploščica za Tino.

  If you want to know what has Tina made for me, you will have to come back later as I still haven't received her package.
  Če vas zanima, kaj je Tina naredila zame, bo treba še malo potrpljenja, ker njenega paketka še nisem dobila.

So, what do you think about my first ever attempt at sculpting?
No, kaj torej menite o mojem prvem poskusu kiparjenja?


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!

~~~~~~

  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