Studio Saturday: Book Review - "The Art of Resin Clay" by Sherri Haab

Welcome to Studio Saturday! Each week one of our contributors gives you a sneak peek into their studio, creative process or inspirations. We ask a related question of our readers and hope you'll leave comments! As an incentive we offer a free prize each week to bribe you to use that keyboard. The following week we choose a random winner.

Congrats to Alice who is the winner of two Earthenwood pendants. Please email Melanie with your mailing address so she can send your new pendants out to you!


This week we have guest blogger Lori Anderson bringing us a fun book review.

I was thrilled when Potter Craft sent me a copy of Sherri Haab's latest book, "The Art of Resin Clay".  I'd never heard of these techniques before and was immediately intrigued.

This 144 page book contains five chapters:

* Resin Clay Essentials 

* Imitative Techniques, which covers faux scrimshaw, raku, coral, and metallic effects.

* Creating Bezels for rings and pendants

* Mixing Resin Clay with Other Mediums, such as embedding beads, using colored pencils, etc.

*Molding and Sculpting Techinques, such as repairing and redesigning vintage jewelry and creating beads over cores.

All of Sherri's books are eye candy.  If you never make a single project, you'll still get inspired just by flipping through the book.  But you'll want to try these projects out, because she breaks things down in such a way that ANYONE can do it.

Sherri thoroughly covers the basics, so when you start the projects, you'll feel comfortable.  There are tons of step-by-step photos to lead you along, and the contributor gallery shots are amazing, showing you just how far you can take this new medium

And now, I'm giving it to one of you!

So the question this week - what has been your favorite bead book of 2011?  Leave a comment and be sure there's a way to contact you.  

Then visit my blog, Pretty Things, and learn about the upcoming Bead Soup Blog Party!  It's one of the largest bead swap blog hops you'll come across, and wouldn't it be cool to use your new resin clay techniques for the Party?

Lori Anderson creates jewelry for her web site, Lori Anderson Designs, and wrote the blog An Artist's Year Off.  She is the creator of the Bead Soup Blog Party.

December Monthly Blog Tour

"Architecture is a visual art, and the buildings speak for themselves."

~ Julia Morgan, architect, best known for her work on the Hearst Castle

There are buildings that just speak for themselves. The Chrysler Building in New York City is at the top of the list. The classic art deco style and the strong geometric patterns are so beautiful and iconic.

This month's challenge brought out the inner-architect in each of you. Building a stunning structure with plays on pattern and color, you wow us with your ability to translate the inspiration art each month and morph it into something completely unique and one-of-a-kind-you!

First up, Miss Shannon Chomanczuk of For My Sweet Daughter (above) turned a lovely button with an architectural fluted flair into a stunning pendant. I never would have thought to do that! And the grays with flashes of blue really play up the steel cladding on the Chrysler.

Mary Ellen of Bee Tree by m.e. really had to challenge herself and make a piece that was more geometric than free-form and no flowers! But what a stunning collar desing you made! This will be perfect to ring in the new year as it looks just like the Chrysler building crown all lit up.

Playing up the brilliant blue sky are the lampwork glass beads that Katherine of Catherine's Dreams. These beads with the classic combination of turquoise and black really work with the silver chain and accents.

Jill Palumbo (above) is learning to speak Spanish, so her tutorial on how she made this beautiful polymer clay pendant and matching earrings is written entirely in Spanish! The steps she went through to make the details is outstanding. Now that is what I call talented multi-tasking!

Miss Molly Alexander of Beautifully Broken Me got her inner steampunk Diva on with a unique design of metalwork echoing the terraced windows on the structure. Molly stamped and patina-ed and etched and soldered and wire wrapped her creation. The detail in this piece is amazing.

Bringing to life the hood ornament gargoyles on the building, Pamela of Klassy Jools made those details come to life with her stunning pendant design.

I love versatility. Cece Cormier (above), aka The Beading Yogini, has created a clever necklace with lovely blue gear shapes that she created herself from borosilicate glass (when can I buy some of these, Miss Cece?). This necklace can be worn several ways making it a truly functional piece of art.

Representing a classic American icon was no trouble at all for Miss Lynda the SCDiva. She used the filigree setting and the cathedral beads with their silver caps to mimic the art deco lines of the structure. And nothing is more American than Uncle Sam, right?

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From all the ABS Editors, I would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you.

The reason that we do this is to inspire others to find the joy of self-expression in creating, to share our passion for working with art beads, to bring together creative souls in a like-minded community.

But you give us so much more.

You show us innovation and inventiveness.
You exhibit an awesome attention to detail.
You introduce us to new products and talented art bead artists.
You show us how one little spark of inspiration can be turned into as many varied ideas as there are people reading this blog.

For this, we thank you.

If you have joined us for a challenge this year, you know how creatively freeing it can be. We invite you back to join us in sharing your talents. If you haven't yet jumped in to join the challenges, we sincerely hope that you might join us in 2012. There will be many wonderful sparks to your creativity to come. We wish you the most creatively inspired new year!

On the 11th Day of Christmas: Willow Leaf Pendant

This was a fun project to design.  I needed to add a series of pendants for a gallery show last month and found myself drawn to the simplicity of monochromatic color palettes, letting the textures and shapes of the beads shine though.  I had fun mixing metals using copper, gunmetal and steel.  The copper became an accent color and added warmth to the darker metals.

These are quick and easy. I used a pre-made chain to finish the pendants.  I simply cut a chain in half and attached it to the end of my design. 

Supplies:
Willow Leaf Pendant
Czech glass leaf
6 glass beads
15mm Arte Metal jump ring
8mm copper jump ring
2 4mm copper jump rings
8 links from a chain (make sure your chain links can open and close.)
1" copper headpin
6 1" copper eyepins
18" gunmetal chain
3" 21 gauge steel wire

Pendant length: 22"

Directions:
1. With the steel wire create a loop through the pendant and wrap the wire twice, from a smaller loop and continue wrapping the wire under the small loop to create the bail.
2. String the glass leave on the headpin and create a simple loop.
3. Attach the pendant, glass leaf and large copper jump ring to the Arte Metal jump ring.
4. String one glass bead on an eyepin and create a simple loop. Repeat five more times creating six beaded links.
5. Attach three beaded links together with a chain links. Attach the links to the large copper jump ring with a chain link.  Attach a chain link to the top bead.  Cut the 18" chain in half and attach one side to the top of the beaded links with a small copper jump ring.  Repeat on the other side.

Resources:
Pendant: Humblebeads.  Czech leaves: Dream Girl Beads. Glass beads: various sources, check out Beads by C. Art Metal jump ring, chain and findings: Hobby Lobby.  Copper jump rings: Rings & Things.

Special bonus: As a year end gift, I'm offering 20% off my Etsy shop now through Monday.  Use discount NewYear when you check out.

On the 10th Day of Christmas: Tree Top Necklace

Have you noticed all our projects that use up orphan beads?  Here is another design to help clean out the bead box!  A nest pendant is paired with a series of beads that reflect the color palette and balanced by a long branch connector.

Supplies:

Nest pendant

Branch connector

10x14mm lotus pod seed

10mm faceted Czech glass beads

8mm firepolish glass bead

8mm smoky quartz bead

8mm Czech glass flower

6 gunmetal 5mm jump rings

7.5mm gunmetal jump ring

1" gunmetal headpin

Gunmetal lobster clay clasp

13"  gunmetal chain (cut in two lengths of 6.5")

10" 24 gauge sterling silver wire (cut in five 2" pieces)

1. Wire wrap a bail with the sterling silver wire around the pendant by forming a large loop through the pendant and create a wrapped loop at the top, wrap the extra wire around the top loop several times.

2. String the glass flower on the headpin and create a wrapped loop.

3. Wire-wrap the other 4 beads with the pieces of sterling silver wire, create 4 beaded chain links.  Before closing the loops, slip the next link on the loop.

4. Attach the pendant and beaded chain links together with a jump ring.  Repeat to attach the branch connector to the pendant.  Attach the flower dangle before closing the jump ring with the connector.

5. Attach the chain to the end of the beaded links and connector with jump rings.

6. Attach the clasp with the small jump rings.  On the other end of the chain attach the large jump ring with the smaller jump ring.

Whip up a pair of coordinating earrings with Branch Disk beads and nest charms from Green Girl Studios.  Use a little bit of 24 gauge steel wire to create the wrapped loops.

Resources: Polymer clay nest pendant and disk beads: