Oceany Blues Chainmaille Bracelet

Oceany Blues Chainmaille Bracelet
Originally uploaded by Chicki2008

Here is another new item for me! It is made totally by me! I wrapped each bead myself and even made the chainmaille myself out of bright aluminum jump rings. You can find it in my Etsy shop right now.

I am really pleased with it and hope it finds a good home! Maybe I will even make it in other colours too!

Any requests???

What I did this morning......

I was wanting to make some cookies this morning and I wasn't too sure what kind to make. My kids got quite a few chocolate and white chocolate bunnies for Easter from friends and relatives and I put most of them in the freezer.

So I decided to use a white chocolate bunny. Then I thought...hmm I want oatmeal and maybe dried cranberries too. So I started my google search and came up with these cookies from Ocean Spray.

INGREDIENTS:

2/3 cup butter or margarine, softened

2/3 cup brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats

1 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 6-ounce package Ocean Spray® Craisins® Original Sweetened Dried Cranberries

2/3 cup white chocolate chunks or chips

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Using an electric mixer, beat butter or margarine and sugar together in a medium mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs, mixing well. Combine oats, flour, baking soda and salt in a separate mixing bowl. Add to butter mixture in several additions, mixing well after each addition. Stir in sweetened dried cranberries and white chocolate chunks. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire rack. Makes approximately 2 1/2 dozen cookies.

I often love to substitute in recipes and I did change a couple of things in this recipe. I added 1/2 c of whole wheat flour and 1 c all purpose flour instead of the 1 1/2 cups flour and added 1 tsp of vanilla to it too. The chopped up bunny measured exactly 2/3 c. And I used 3 packages of those snack size craisins equalling close to 3/4c.

Here is what they look like. They are quite tasty but I would probably flatten them slightly next time as they didn't really spread out.

Let me know if you try these out too! Have a great weekend!

Something a little new and different!

I am always wanting to try out new things. A while ago, when a friend of mine asked me to try to incorporate chainmaille into my pieces I said why not. I bought some rings and started practicing my weaving. After practicing for a while, I decided to make a few pieces using my own polymer clay beads and list them on my Etsy shop.

Here is what I came up with.

Both items are currently for sale in my Etsy shop!

Thanks for looking!

I am a little late this week but here it is...the weekly featured artist!

This week, I am featuring Sonya of Whimsicality4U on Etsy.

How long have you been "playing with clay"?

I started "playing" with polymer clay about 5 years ago. I haven't turned back since.

Where do you find inspiration?

I'm greatly inspired by the "Altered Art" and "Upcycled Art" movements that are storming our culture. CLOTH PAPER SCISSORS is a wonderfully inspirational periodical for anyone feeling a little stumped. I love just about everything that STAMPINGTON PRESS publishes - the colors and textures used are gorgeous!

Where do you create?

I am very fortunate to have a home studio that used to be a "WOOD SHOP" for the previous owner. It's now bubbling over with tidbits of just about everything you could imagine. But what may look like complete chaos to some, actually spurs my imagination and puts me in the mood "to create."

What is the item that you have created that you love the most?

I've created so many things over these past 5 years; but when I make something really special, I just can't part with it. So those pieces go into my personal jewelry box. I have about 8 pieces in there right now. Some are new additions - others have been with me since I first started. The one I've held onto the longest is a bracelet made of sculpted floral beads in an emerald green color palette - after I finished that one I NEVER DID ANOTHER.

Here are a couple of items made by Whimsicality4U.

Thanks very much Sonya for being this week's blog feature!

Monday featured Artist - Tejae Floyde

Its Monday again.

And that means it is time for me to feature another wonderful clay artist on my blog. Today my feature is on Tejae Floyde of TejaesArt on Etsy. Tejae is the current president of the PCAGOE. Tejae has her own blog as well. You can find it here.

How long have you been "playing with clay"?
I've been playing and claying for about 7 years. I would have started 2 years earlier when I had read an article about Kathleen Dustin. She was showing her work at a local art center. I fell in love with her colors and how she described the medium. I went right out and puchased 3 bars of clay. They sat unused for 2 years because I couldn't find any information on polymer clay. The lack of information was an issue for several people. My name got added to a list of pending members who might be interested in starting a local guild. The Pikes Peak Polymer Clay Guild was born and it's been going strong ever since.

Where do you find inspiration?

Inspiration is all around us, emotion, color, textures, nature, other artists. I'm inspired alot by wanting to try something new. Maybe a new twist on something that has already been done.

Where do you do your create?
I have a rather large studio space to create my work. I work with various mediums including polymer clay so it's nice to be able to spread out and not worry about leaving things in a mess.

What is the item that you have created that you love the most?

I started creating encased hearts back a few years ago. I love creating them. I've created several over the years that I adore. My favorite and most recent one is the Mermaid's Heart.

Tejae's work is very unique and stunning. She has been published several times including 400 polymer clay designs by Lark Books, PolymerCafe, Somerset Studios, Pastacio and AmericanStyle magazine. This year Tejae will be published in the 2008 Progress and Possibilites book by the National Polymer Clay Guild.

Here are a couple of items that showcase Tejae's talent.

Thanks Tejae for allowing me to feature you on my blog! Please visit Tejae's shop on etsy and her blog!

I have opened a new Etsy shop!

I have been approached to start selling loose polymer clay beads and decided to open a shop completely devoted to my polymer clay beads. So, Chickibeads was born. I will slowly be adding to my stock with beads as I create them. Here are a few listings that I have right now.

Please note that I will still have my other Etsy shop Chicki open featuring my polymer clay pendants and jewelry. My loose beads will be in Chickibeads. Please stop by and check out my shops!

Have a great day!