Coming Your Way



There will be a whole lot of life coming your way today. And the best thing you can do with it is to live it fully. Don’t spend a lot of time worrying about it, or making judgments concerning all the ups and downs. Simply accept the experience and get on with it.
When the pain comes, feel it and learn from it. When the joys come, delight in them and keep them where you can treasure them always. Decide to let the obstacles challenge and energize you instead of frustrating you. Decide to be happy simply because you’re alive and able to take it all in.
Though many of the details won’t always go your way, when you let go and let life happen then life itself will most certainly go your way. No matter what happens or fails to happen, you will still be who you are. Keep moving along, letting life flow through you, and you’ll be surely headed toward where you want to be.
— Ralph Marston


Read more: http://greatday.com/motivate/030308.html#ixzz1ThHfbMjN

Men's Silver Blue Crab Pendant

I made a new manly pendant out of silver clay.  It's a layered Blue Crab pendant.  I took a few photos during the process.  The pendant consisted of three separate pieces that were fused together.

First, I made the flat textured piece that you see in the back of the pendant.

Next, I made the open grid that is in the middle of the pendant.  It is supposed to represent a crab trap.  It was made with the syringe and a very fine tip.  I had some trouble with this and had to do it twice. The first time, I forgot to lubricate the surface I was creating it on.  So when I tried to remove it after it was dry, it stuck to the glass and broke into pieces.  I guess I was in to much of a hurry to get the design out of my head and into the clay.



I'm saving the pieces you see above for a future project.  I put a piece of plastic down on my board and made another grid pattern.  Here's the new one that I used:

And the top piece, the crab is a thick square disk with a crab imprint:

And here are all three pieces before firing:

And once again, the final pendant and a photo of the backside.  I gave it a rainbow patina that I just love.  Especially because I got some blue into the body of the crab.  It's supposed to be a Blue Crab after all!  It's hard to tell from my not-so-great photo, but I gave the back and the top crab part a mirror finish.





So, what do you think?

Have a great day!

Janie

New Silver Pendants and Charms

I made some new silver pendants and charms for my Etsy and Art Fire shops.  I won't be able to get them listed right away due to some custom work that I'm busy with right now.  It takes a bit to get them all weighed, photo'd and written up.  But, if you have an interest, let me know. And, I have also posted some new polymer polymer clay canes in my other shop for those who like to DIY.  Many, many things you can make with canes...

Also, for the month of July, all items in both Art Fire shops have been marked 15% off for a Christmas in July sale.  Just click on the ad at the top and it will take you to my jewelry shop at Art Fire.

Have a great day!

Janie

Embrace Freedom

As beautiful and as powerful as it is, freedom is also a frightening thing. Because freedom demands your very best.

It’s much easier to be dependent, and much easier to just give up. It’s tempting to simply turn your troubles and your responsibilities over to someone else.

If you were to do that, however, nothing worth having would be left for you. If you turn your back on your freedom, you turn your back on the unique and essential beauty of who you are.

To live with freedom, independence, self-sufficiency and responsibility takes great effort, commitment, persistence and strength. Yet what it yields is the far greater experience of a rich and fulfilling life.

True freedom is a lot of work, and true freedom is worth every bit of it. It is in making the decisions, and in making the effort, and in living your own unique dreams that you achieve the life you truly long to live.

Though real freedom can be a little frightening, run out and embrace it with everything you have. For in that freedom, your highest and best possibilities are ready to come magnificently to life.

— Ralph Marston

Read more: http://greatday.com/motivate/index.html#ixzz1R96DUdL3

A New Polymer Clay Box from an Old Cane

I made a new polymer clay box.  I was going through my cane box and found a couple of large pieces of two older kaleidoscope canes that I had forgotten about.  They were large chunks, so I had to reduce them down smaller, since I wanted to keep my box small.  I'm really liking the overall design of the boxes. I'm hoping that the small size will help them become little collector boxes.  Long ago, I used to collect little unique, artistic, one-of-a-kind boxes.  Now, I make them!  And, it's great way to use the canes that I make.

I'm only showing one cane because I used all of the second cane on the box. 

So, what do you think?

Have a great day!

Janie