A little bird told me…

Hello dear friends!

I was so happy and deeply grateful to see that so many people repined on Pinterest some of my tutorials from my blog  and I realized that , while trying to make so many things, I lost a little bit track of my blog. After this moment of truth, I decided to get myself together and to create a new tutorial, which I truly hope to be inspiring for you!

So here I am, glad to be back and trying to come with fresh inspiration to make you take out your polymer clay and start creating!

My inspiration for this tutorial has been the ArtBeadScene May Challenge: I’m doing all my best to participate as often as I can to this challenge because it always motivates me to give my best.  So I tried to mix together the color combo from the inspiration image:

“On a Shaker Theme”, 1956

by Charles Sheeler

oil on canvas

23″ x 29 1/8″ (58.42 x 73.98 cm)

Why did I choose the birds? Well, I have on a shelf above my computer a picture of my son (from the kindergarten) with a garland with a lot of colorful birds hanging on the wall, so I think that’s how I got the idea of the little birds and just by seeing this over and over again, I somehow got obsessed with these birds.  So this tutorial is a means to go beyond my temporary “obsession” with birds.

Enough talking. Let’s get down to business!

The first thing I did, I went searching on the Internet for hexagonal shapes (that I printed in the size I considered fit for the statement earrings) and also for a bird pattern. I printed them out and then traced them onto tracing paper.

I put together the polymer clay colors and the tools I needed for the project: light blue polymer clay (I mixed Fimo professional blue with a lot of white and I continued adding white until I was satisfied with the resulting color), Fimo professional white clay, Fimo professional pearlescent clay, liquid Fimo,  pastels, mica powders, varnish, Lumiere paints, pasta machine, rigid blade, a craft knife, a paintbrush, a ball tool, a texturing tool, a chain, briolettes, 4 mm bicone beads, earring findings and jump rings.

I conditioned the clay rolling it through the pasta machine 10-12 times, starting from a thicker setting and going down to a thinner one. I started by conditioning the lighter colors first. 

I used the hexagon drawn on tracing paper to cut the desired shape (I used the rigid blade). I used a Lisa Pavelka texture plate to imprint a vein-like pattern on the clay. I sandwiched the clay between the texture plate to get the texture on both sides of the hexagon shape. I checked the margins and I used a ball tool to smooth everything out and thus avoid the sanding of the finished piece.

I re-printed the same hexagon in a smaller size and I used it to cut the smaller hexagon from a sheet of pearlescent clay (in fact I cut two smaller hexagons, one for the back of the earring and one for the front and I textured both of them with a geometric texture). 

I placed the bird pattern on the white clay and I traced over it with a texturing tool. I lifted the tracing paper and contoured some more the design. Then I cut out the bird shape using the craft knife. I smoothed out the margins with my fingers being very careful not to leave fingerprint traces on the clay.

 

 

 

I rolled a very little ball of clay, I colored it with dark pastels and  I pressed into the head of the bird and this was the eye. I cut some feather shapes, I colored them with pastels and mica powders  and then I pressed them onto the body of the bird.

I added some clay on top of the branch on which the bird is sitting and I textured it to look like wood.

I colored the whole body and the head (the area that was white) with light blue pastel colors. I colored the branch with bronze mica powders.

I added a little bit of light yellow pastel color mixed with liquid Fimo on the pearlescent hexagon to change the white pearlescent into light yellow. 

 

I added liquid Fimo on the back of the bird and then I pressed it into the smaller hexagon.

I added a little bit of dark blue mica powders to contour a little bit the vein texture of the higher hexagon.

I put everything in the oven for 30 minutes according to the baking specifications of the polymer clay manufacturer.

I tried to make the two earrings in parallel, because I thought it would be easier. I cut the larger hexagon for one earring, and then I cut the second one for the other earring. I textured the two smaller hexagons and put them on top of the bigger ones and then I took care of the back. I cut out the birds, then colored then, then applied them on the smaller hexagonal shape.  Then, as I said, I put them in the oven.

After cooling down completely, I decided to add a little bit of sparkle with some copper Lumiere paints. When the paint was dry, I applied Fimo varnish.

I used a drilling machine to put two holes into each focal and then I decided to use a chain to hang the focal and  I attached the earring finding in the middle using a jump ring. Then I decided to add a little bit of glamour, so I added two Swarovski crystal briolettes and bicones beads.

 

And Voila! Here are the statement earrings! I hope you found my tutorial inspiring and I hope I  managed to convey  to you the amazing feeling of happiness you have when you create (regardless if you create pieces of jewelry or paintings or you are writing books or other any other creative process – I am talking here of the pleasure of creating, pure and simple).

My best to you!

Mihaela

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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