Polymer Clay Chocolate Thumbtacks

Bring a little chocolate love into your office and home space with chocolate thumb tacks! This is a super easy way to make polymer clay chocolates to transform your tacks into tiny, delicious looking chocolates!

Watch my Faux Chocolate Thumb Tacks YouTube video tutorial!

Materials:
Aleene's Super Gel Adhesive
Polymer clay - chocolate color - I mix my own with dark brown, gold and a little bit of orange
Small round, square and heart shaped molds - read how to make some here
Water spritzer
Thumb tacks - the flat kind Polymer clay sealer - satin Paint brush

1. Condition the polymer clay. Roll a small ball

2. Spritz a mold with a little water and press the ball of clay into it. Smooth the back as flat as possible.

3. While the clay is still in the mold, press the the flat side of the tack into the clay to make an impression.

4. Carefully push the clay out of the mold and make sure the tack will still fit before baking the clay according to the directions on the package.

5. Glue a tack into the back of each chocolate. Allow to dry.

6. Coat each chocolate with 2 coats of satin sealer. Allow to dry well between coats.

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Focal Bead Frame

Polymer clay is so much fun to experiment with! I've created the perfect frame for a beautiful little polymer clay heart.  The heart was made with layers of gorgeous, red foiled strips of clay and needed a dramatic, yet subtle frame.

Watch my Polymer Clay Bezel Frame Pendant YouTube video tutorial!

Materials:

Aleene's Original Tacky Glue
Focal bead - it could be anything at all
Black polymer clay
Pasta machine
Cookie cutters - 1 1/2" square and 3/4" square
Tissue blade
Needle tool
Knitting needle
Rubber stamp with lots of detail
Water spritzer
Metallic paste

1. Roll your clay out on the widest setting on your pasta machine - about 1/8".

2. Cut one large square.  Double the thickness of the clay and cut one more large square.

3. Spritz the rubber stamp with water and press it into the double thick square.

4. Center the smaller cookie cutter in the stamped piece and cut.

5. Place the open frame piece carefully on the background square and press gently in place.  Trim edges, if needed with the tissue blade or smooth with the knitting needle.

6. Use the needle tool to make a hole for hanging.  Bake according to directions.

7. Use a finger to rub metallic paste on the stamped side to accent the stamp detail.

8. Glue the focal bead in place.

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A Dia de los Muertos Angel on the 7th Day of Creepmas

On the 7th day of Creepmas Smeared and Smudged blog hop my true love gave to me a Dia de los Muertos Doggy ornament!  Don't you just love all the fabulous projects all the bloggers have created for the hop?  In case this is your first visit to The Smeared and Smudged 12 Days of Creepmas blog hop,  click in here for all the skinny

If you're hopping, you've arrived here from the very awesome Ike's World.

My project is below the blog roll.  Be sure to visit all the creepy bloggers and leave some comment love!

Blog Roll

Smeared and Smudged

Lady B

Silvia

Wendy

Carla

Leigh

Shell

Loren C

Kelli

Black Dragon

Suzi McKenzie

Windy

Glittery Kate

Alison

Julia

Jane

Monique

Jenn

Ike

Candace - You are here

Lisa Hall

Steph

Susan S.

This little guy is made from polymer clay, black paint, glitter and wire.  The steps are so easy.  I want to refer you to Cool2Craft for the tutorial and video.  That project is assembled in the same way.  

You'll need white clay for this version.  

Assemble the dog and make joint marks.

Bake according to the directions and allow to cool.

 Paint with black acrylic and quickly remove the paint from all but the recesses.

Add the jewel eyes and tie a ribbon just under the halo.

 Now, off to the lovely Lisa Hall for some more fabulous fun!

31 Days of Halloween - Day 17 - Day of the Dead Cameo

Yea! It's day 17 of Smeared and Smudged Forum's 31 Days of Halloween Blog Hop!   This has been so much fun, hopping and commenting AND I thank everyone for the awesome comments you've give me! 

Dia de los Muertos. or Day of the Dead, is a wonderful, colorful celebration of life. In the days of celebrating, people groom the gravestones of loved ones, hold candle light vigils, break bread and share memories.
The skull is a symbol of loved ones passed and is loved, not feared. It can be a super fun decorated sugar skull that is made even more exciting if it has your name on it! It can be part of a vignette with whimsical skeletons portraying loved ones' occupations and family gatherings. 
My shrink plastic sugar skull sits atop a piece of polymer clay mounted on a cardboard pendant.

Materials:
Cardboard - a cereal box or something similar will work
Aleene's Turbo Tacky Glue
Die cutting machine
Sizzix Frame and Flower die
Black paint
Inka Gold metallic paste - Copper
Shrink plastic - white
Martha Stewart Skull Punch
Permanent markers - fuchsia, purple, blue, orange, lime green and black
Polymer clay - a small amount of black
Clear gloss sealer

	I used Sizzix Frame and Sculpted Flower die to cut 3 frame pieces from cardboard.
	Glue all 3 pieces together and allow them to dry. Paint the cardboard with black acrylic paint and allowed it to dry. I used my fingers to apply a thin layer of the copper paste so that some black showed through.
	Condition a small amount of black clay.
	Click here to see how I made the sugar skulls The skull had a hole in the top to put a jump ring in. I chose to cover it with a tiny gem. Form the clay into an oval that fits inside of your frame and is big enough to put the sugar skull on. Bake the clay as directed.
	Cover the black backing with clear glossy sealer and set the skull in it. Add a bit more sealer on the skull. I can't wait to make this into a necklace!

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31 Days of Halloween - Day 16 - Wicked Wire Wrapping

Eeek! It's day 16 of Smeared and Smudged Forum's 31 Days of Halloween Blog Hop!   This has been so much fun, hopping and commenting AND I thank everyone for the awesome comments you've give me! 
 So you made Halloween Doughnut Beads, now what? Now we make them into earrings! This is basic wire wrapping! Yea! Go grab some wire, some head pins and pliers and let's get to making!

Material: Beads - any beads will do, but this will cover a double holed bead like these doughnuts
20 gauge wire
Head pins
Assorted beads
Round nose pliers
Chain nose pliers
Wire cutters

	You don't want to see a wire in the center of the doughnut beads, so you'll want to begin with 2 head pins and thread them from the center out. The wire tails need to be rounded to thread this way.
	This is how it should look with both head pins in place.
	Grab on wire tail and wrap it around the round nose pliers to form a loop.
	Wrap the rest of the tail around itself below the loop 2 or 3 times. Use the chain nose pliers to grab the wire end while the round nose pliers are still in the loop.Trim off excess.
	Try different combinations of beads until you get the look you want.
	Repeat the loop on the other side of the doughnut, but don't close it.Make a loop on the top of the beaded head pin and close it by wrapping the tail around under the loop as above.
	Slide the closed loop of the dangle on the open loop at the bottom of the doughnut.
	Close the last loop as above.
	We'll do the ear wires in another post.

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31 Days of Halloween - Day 13 - Return of the Birthday Zombie

It's day 14 of Smeared and Smudged Forum's 31 Days of Halloween Blog Hop!  Yea!  This is an  ancient post, but I just had to bring it back for the Smudgy Antics weekly challenge.  The theme this week is Movie Madness.


Below are all the fabulous bloggers:

Terra,Tori,Kristy,Kapree,Alison,Christine,Kelli,Windy,Susan,Alex,Monique,Jane,Sugar,Black Dragon,Lisa,Shell,Jean,Julia,Jennifer,Loren,Christy,Vee,Lady Brayton,Lindsay,Little Black Kitten,Celeste,Leigh,Pam,Donna,Valerie,Helen,Sharon,Lisa,Karen,Carolyn,Pam

This is a polymer clay zombie that I made for my dear friend, Beth. She and her family love zombie movies, so I came up with an idea to make the gift as cheesy as a great zombie flick. [Originally published in October of 2009 - spiritclay.blogspot.com]  I made the zombie using polymer clay.
I made him one half of an Origami box to stand in, but you could use any box. \
I used some Photoshop techniques on a photo I'd taken of a graveyard for the background.
I tore the edges and browned them up with a sienna stamp pad and glued the pieces to the back and sides of the box. 
Next I composed the following letter to go with it. If you're a zombie aficionado you'll see where this is going. If you're not, I'll say this: George Romero made the first zombie classic Night of the Living Dead - It takes place in a small town in western Pennsylvania - If you're bitten by a zombie, you become one (some consider this the Zombie Virus) - Where ever zombies go there is mayhem - The most famous line from the movie is "They're coming to get you, Barbara". Here's the letter:

Dearest Beth,

I was looking on line and found this killer cake decorator, Barbara, who makes these fabulous cakes. She works at a place called Romero’s, in a small town in western Pennsylvania. I called her up and told her about you and the kind of things you like. I was so excited! She said she’d make something spectacular for you. So, yesterday I got this strange email from the owner of the bakery:

Dear Candace,  
You should know there’s been a terrible virus going around our town. None of my staff showed up at all today. Barbara started your cake, but couldn't make it in either. There are several fires in town and things are a mess. I called my delivery guys, who said they could go pick her up. I called her and said “They’re coming to get you, Barbara”, and she screamed and hung up. She never showed and I can’t get hold of the delivery guys, either. I’ve finished the cake myself and will deliver it personally. I hope it will meet your approval. 
Sincerely,  
George 

So, in the process of moving to Utah and, yes, that's my excuse - I missed Beth's birthday. As I was putting together ideas for Alexa Westerfield's Terrorific Tuesdays, I printed photos of the birthday zombie and made them into earrings. See the SugarSkull Bracelet & Bats in the Belfry Necklace, and Candy Corn Riot Earrings blog entries, if you want to use this idea. They have all the directions you might need for shrink plastic and earring making. With one exception - to make your earrings from a photo, you'll need the inkjet printable shrink plastic. I figured I'd send along a note set up like a movie poster and title it:

RETURN OF THE BIRTHDAY ZOMBIE.

Now, I was looking around the house for a box to send the earrings in and then it hit me - I had some old DVD cases that I'd been saving for some scathingly brilliant idea, and finally I had one! Here's what I ended up with... The front cover says:

Return of the Birthday Zombie

Send in the Clones

The movie that no one wanted to see made

Has been Made!

See the zombie clones arrive late for Beth's Birthday!

Well, they had a really long way to walk and zombies are slow anyway!

You laugh! you’ll Cry! You’ll hurl!

The back cover says:

This film has not yet been rated

Void where prohibited by law

Do not put on these earrings while driving

No zombies were harmed in the making of these earrings

Do not wear these earrings while squeezing your head through your stair rails as they are large and might sustain damage Here's what you'll need to make your Zombie (or any kind of) Movie Gift Box.

A DVD case A DVD Photos that you can size appropriately

A heavy duty hole punch

Glue

Double sided craft tape

A scrap of card stock, any color

Scissors

 

If you don't have a printer at home, make copies at the library or neighborhood copy store. Make extras for good measure. Speaking of measuring, you'll need the measurements of the DVD case. This can be done easily by taking the paper out of the DVD cover and measuring it. Easy peasy!

I did mine with Photoshop, but I could just as easily done it as a collage. Just make sure that the collage will easily fold to slip into the DVD case, if you choose this option.

For the DVD, place a disc on your extra copy and trace around it. Cut the copy giving a bit of extra margin to trim. Now smear a thin coat of Aleene's Quick Dry Tacky Glue on the disc and put your cut image on it. Trim the edges with a craft knife and cut out the center hole.

Punch two holes to put the earrings through (if you're doing that) and tape the backs, so the earrings won't slide out. Ohh, I just had an idea! Since the center of my DVD that got cut out was a cake, I decided to add it back.

I got another copy of the photo and cut loosely around the cake. Next I used a double sided craft tape to stick the cake to a piece of card stock. Then I cut the cake out and used a sticky craft dot to attach the cake to the image just below the hole. Since the earrings are taped on the back of the disc, I want Beth to be able to take the disc out of the case. She'll press on the cake to release the disc! Now, go! Go make your DVD case gift box! You're welcome to use the zombie letter and figure ideas, if you like! I will post a zombie tutorial tomorrow!

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  Be sure to see the Smudgy Antics DT work for this week

I am sharing this post with Aquariann's Zombie Blog hop 

Amber Moon Earrings

New on the Bone Tree - Amber Moon Earrings

I made these little guys from polymer clay.  The base color is black and I brushed on iridescent powders in amazing colors.  I added glitter and finished with a glossy sealer.  The dangles are a white iridescent moon and an amber glass  teardrop.  You can find them on my Etsy shop - Delicious Mischief

The harmony Crown

This is one of my favorite crowns!  It's the Harmony Crown.  It took just over 50 hours to complete.  It's filled with bits and pieces of Great Grandma's buttons, Grandma's jewelry, beads given to me from friends.  There are several of my hand made beads - the bird on the front, cookies, skulls, doughnuts,  all my favorite things!  The construction is electrical wire and the base is wrapped with sherpa fleece.

Do you make crowns?  I would love to see!

Creative Me Blog Party

New on the Bone Tree

Heaven and Earth Earrings

In my Etsy shop

Did I mention that I love asymmetry?  These are recycle earrings in that the polymer clay strips were leftover from another project.  In fact, they are leftovers from the leftovers.  

Craft foil on polymer clay is spectacular!  I love to foil both sides of a piece of black clay,  I cut out tiny shapes and make one or two holes so they can be used for anything you would use a bead for.  Some pieces may come out with only one foiled side. I use those for tiles in my mixed media work.

When I'm out of room to use the cutters, I cut up the leftovers and press them together showing as much foil as possible.  Then I use a cutter that will use most of the pile.  These make great pendants.

First Leftovers Pendant

Then I take what's left of that pile, push it together and run it though the pasta roller on the widest setting.  The shapes are organic and really fun!  Of course they are asymmetrical!  Yea! 

What do you do with your leftovers?

Cookie and Crystal Earrings

Who doesn't love cookies!  Chocolate chip cookies are my favorite and I use the images of cookies and tiny polymer clay cookies in all kinds of mixed media art and jewelry.  Exhibit A:  Pearl, Crystal & Cookie Earrings.

My daughter doesn't always like my jewelry, but she loved these!  It's just the right combination of elegance and kitsch, she says.  Booyah! is what I have to say.

What are YOU working on?  I want to see and hear all about it!

 candace@cool2craft.com

Crowning Progress

I'm working on a new crown for this year.  It's the year of harmony and robots and this crown will reflect that.
The frame of the crown is electrical wire.  I wrap the wire loosely around my head to measure the base.  You need a little extra room for the covering of the base, which in this case is strips of shrepa fleece from an old top. 
Before covering the base. construct the skeleton of shaped wire pieces - curly ques and arches, etc.  They are strung together with 24 gauge wire.  There's a lot of movement at this point.
I wrap the base with stretchy fabric.  This is the first part of the tightening up process.  I usually bead the fabric.
Next I wrap the whole crown with 24 gauge wire.  Now the frame is very sturdy.
Today I'm ready to start adding charms.  I made a singing bird bead from polymer clay.

 Here's the tutorial.

I'm going to make a tiny robot with beads and there are lots of handmade beads that I'm compelled to add because they speak to my warped beingness.  Skulls with jeweled eyes, chocolates and such.  You'll see =0)

In the meantime, hop over to my page at cool2craft.com and see what we're up to!

I Did Not Start My Day This Way! Interactive Art

Some days you feel this way.  Life turns you all around and you can't predict how you will end up each day.  This whimsical skeleton is a reminder that, no matter where you go - there you are, and no matter what - you are who you are.

The frame back is fitted with crossed hanging wires so that it can be turned any direction.  The skelly's head is pinned beneath the glass, but as the frame is turned, the body flops this way and that. 

Here's the link to him on Etsy

My Inner Misbehaver is Out

“My Inner Misbehaver is Out”  is a polymer clay articulated skeleton sprawled on top of a 4" x 4" wood frame.  Her bones are "tattooed" in purple ink.  The frame is worn and decked out with fabulous paper.  A handmade ceramic moon charm is suspended from the inside top.  There's no back to the frame so your wall will show through.  Total height is about 6".  Thickness is 2".
Click here to see the Etsy listing

My Art Show at the 30th Street Grounds For Coffee

I love the space Grounds For Coffee has in their 30th Street location!  It's big, but cozy and inviting.  It's always hopping with friendly locals and college kids.  I have 40 some odd pieces hung there this month.

I have a new series of pieces I'm working on.  They feature skeletons in dimensional frames.  The piece below is called Noir.  He stands beneath a lamp post, holding a lit cigarette in one and and gestures a melancholy greeting with the other, gently touching the brim of his fedora. 

Chocolate Box Mixed Media Art

I've been playing with polymer clay tiles on chocolate boxes.  I love this new look!  It's feels like eating a leather bound chocolate romance novel with my eyes.

Okay, that's a stretch, but I actually assess art like that.  Is it a treat for the eyes?  And if so, what kind of treat?  Or, if not, what is undigestable about it?  Yes I do have food issues, but I think it makes life fun.  Have you ever consumed a sunset with your eyes?  Or more to the point, with you whole being?

I used brown clay for both the chocolates and tiles.  I treated the tiles with rubber stamps and metallic paste.  The focal point is a tiny heart cut from clay with red crafting foil burnished onto it.

I've been putting words and gems on the chocolates, but I wanted to carry over the sophisticated feeling of the stamped clay on these.  I know I've barely scratched the surface of possibilities for design, surface treatment and theme.  I have many rectangle chocolate boxes as well.  I also have larger heart shaped boxes.  So many choices!

Have you made any chocolate art?  I would love to share it here!  Email me at candace@cool2craft.com with high resolution photos and stories.

2011: A Year In Preview

I posted this piece in the beginning of 2011.  It was a statement about what I wanted to see and do that year. It was really fun to make!  If you made a chocolate box to represent what you want from 2013, what would be in it?

 Click here to see details and explanations of my symbols.


I'm in love with making chocolate box art.  I started this in December and have added on steadily.  It's all about this year.  What do I want to invite into my life this year?  Oh, romance, travel, adventure, prosperity, the usual.  It's going to be a delicious year!  What does your year look like?

Polymer Clay Candy Corn Bracelet

I love October.  The colors and smells of autumn bring my senses to life.  I love to bury my nose in the first bag of candy corn I buy in October.   I open it with relish and pour it into a clear glass candy jar.  That's when it's fall to me!
Three years ago I went to Italy with three friends to take polymer clay jewelry classes with Louise Fisher Cozzi and Donna Kato.  We had so much fun!  
Louise taught us how to achieve an amazing technique to give polymer clay layers of color.  She uses translucent polymer clay and colors it with oil paint.  After it's cured, she adds more oil paint on top of that.  After that's dry, she uses color pencils to give the piece another layer of fabulous color.

Here I've started conditioning translucent polymer clay.  After the clay is fairly soft you can add a tiny bit of oil paint.  An inexpensive oil paint is fine.

Continue to condition until the clay is a uniform color.  It helps to have a piece of the candy corn to look at while you're tinting the clay.  Be sure to add only a dab of paint each time, and do the yellow before the orange.  It's okay to get yellow paint on your orange clay, but not okay to get orange paint on your yellow clay.

                                                                 

The orange roll will be the largest, the yellow is half as large as the orange and the white roll is half as large as the yellow.  Lay the rolls side by side and slice evenly.  Begin by rolling the white piece into a cone, the orange piece an egg shape and the yellow piece into a slightly flattened oval.

Gently roll the pieces until the all edges touch and it looks like a continuous cone shape. 

Flatten the cone shape slightly.  It's a good idea to have that candy corn to look at for dimension.

For the bracelet beads, bend a wire or paper clip to mark where the holes will be.  I made mine to mark both holes just inside the orange part.  For earring beads, you might want to make a vertical hole through the candy corn.  Remember to hold the clay very gently as you pierce it, so you don't squish it.

Bake the clay as directed on the package.

When making a bracelet, I line my beads up against a ruler to make it seven inches long.  The length you use depends on who the bracelet is for.  I wanted this bracelet to look full, so I used three strings in each bead hole and strung smallish beads.  Larger beads would make it look chunky, if that's your preference.

Have fun making your beads and bracelet, and send me a photo!