Polymer Clay Lace Necklace

Here is one of the clay projects that I made. I found a video tutorial online for making clay lace. It looks more complicated than it really is. I don't have images of making it, but basically you take a tube of clay and wrap a flat piece of another color around it. Then you take that tube, cut it into smaller pieces and roll them together to form a larger tube. For a visual explanation, check out this video. It's not the one I learned with, but it's the same concept and I think I like it better.

For the actual pendant, I used slices from my clay lace cane and put them together side by side to make the size I wanted. I cut smaller pieces to fill the holes because since they were circles, they didn't fit together. I did it on top of another piece of clay so it would have a black backing. I cut everything out with a small round cookie cutter and baked it on a ceramic tile. Next time I'll try to remember to take more pictures.

The beads are also clay that I just moulded into oval shapes. I like the marble effect, but I'm not sure if they really blend well together with the lace pattern.

Have you experimented with polymer clay? I got my clay at Walmart for less than a dollar per color. You can also get color samples online. If you didn't know, Amazon is my favorite store!

Crochet Christmas Wreath

  If you follow me on Pinterest, you probably noticed that I've been looking at Christmas wreaths lately- specifically crocheted Christmas wreaths. After looking at some inspiring pins, I started making my own. I used different ideas and patterns that I saw and pieced them together for my wreath.

  Here is a link to the wreath pattern, it comes from a blog called Sew is Me. I didn't have bulky weight yarn so I just used two strands of the worsted weight, green yarn that I had stashed away. Crocheting around the wreath is not much different than crocheting around a small loop for earrings, but it seems more complicated because the wreath is HUGE in comparison. It takes a little getting used to.

  I did a search to find a poinsettia pattern and I loved the look of this one. You can find it on PlanetJune Craft Blog. I only made the smallest flower (style A on her blog). The tiny pearl in the middle is actually a pin and that's how I stuck it to the wreath. I pinned rather than glued all of the adornments so that I can use them in other things later, if I decide to.

  I couldn't resist the candy cane, and it is so easy to make. The video tutorial by Teresa Richardson can be found here on YouTube. I didn't have a pipe cleaner, but I did have some wire handy and it worked just as well.

  My little Sackboy elf is chillin' on the bottom of the wreath. Unfortunately, the free pattern that I found for this a long time ago is no longer available. It was some sort of legal thing and the blogger decided to remove it. My sons are so tempted to play with this guy. If you don't know what a Sackboy is, it's from the Sony Play Station game LittleBigPlanet.

  I had the bow from an old gift and the lettering came from Walmart. I did a lot of changing and rearranging, adding and taking away but I think I'm finally done. At one point, I wanted to make the sackboy look like he was trying to climb up and steal the candy cane, but I settled for this look. I can always change it, but for now it's ready to go on the door. 

I wish you all a Merry Christmas and hope you enjoy the holidays and time with loved ones!