It’s that time of year… The holidays are over, there are pockets of warm days surrounded by blustery cold, and I’m yearning for spring. This is the time of year I start on my spring line, and especially now that I have a little one it’s important to start early or it becomes summer before I know it. I’m experimenting with “new” media like doming resin and polymer clay. Oh, I’m no stranger to polyclay, but it’s come a long way since I was working with it as a teenager. While cleaning out the storage room in my parents’ basement I came across my old box of Sculpey. So I experimented with some simple textured pendants and bird eggs and it’s still good after 20+ years. And mixing 2-part epoxy reminds me of helping my dad with his model train layout when I was a kid. We didn’t get the mixing quite right, so part of the river was sticky after curing. This time around I’m aware of tricks like using a flame to encourage air bubbles to pop, and testing the leftover epoxy in the cup (instead of getting fingerprints on my pendants) to see if it’s cured.
Here are some of the components I have gathered to make into necklaces, bracelets, and earrings for spring.
Along with spring in the Shenandoah Valley comes the Bloom. Everyone wears pink and green to celebrate the apple blossoms, so here is the start of my collection for Simply Charming Boutique. Fortunately in recent years the rest of the country has had a love affair with that color combination, so there is some wonderful lampwork to be had.
If you see something you like in either photo, just email me for pricing and availability.