Aqua Color Palette

Art Deco Aqua Switch Plate Cover

There is something about aqua that makes my heart sing! It can feel wonderfully vintage or fresh and modern.

In the top switch plate, I paired a simple translucent aqua inlay with a faux black mother-of-pearl background. My grandmother had the most amazing jewelry box made from black mother-of-pearl. I thought of it immediately when I sliced into the mokume gane clay sheet and revealed the scalloped design.

The bottom plate is a more modern geometric take where I added a few orange and blue inlay pieces in an asymmetrical pattern.

Both are available at: http://www.etsy.com/shop/YoungCreative

Modern Geometric Switch Plate Cover

Vintage Style Black Cat

Vintage-Style Black Cat  Halloween Figurine Marie Young Creative @2012

This adorable "Scaredy Cat" got spooked when he went trick-or-treating by the light of a full moon. Vintage Halloween decorations from the 1930s served as my inspiration for this little guy (along with my "not so little" guy, Benjamin, the 17-pound cat below).

"Scaredy Cat" is hand-sculpted and the color comes mainly from the polymer itself. I use very little paint on my projects. I did use alcohol inks and mica powders to add depth and a little shimmer. This cool cat (the polymer one) wants to strut his way into a good home:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/108536926/black-cat-vintage-style-halloween-decor

Itching for Halloween

Polymer Clay Witch Fingers by Marie Young Creative @2012

It is starting to look a lot like Halloween at the Young house. I whipped up a big batch of these witch fingers from one of my favorite translucent polymer clay recipes. I love working with translucents coupled with alcohol inks because of the depth of color that you can get in the finished piece. In this case the combo makes for an eerie skin tone.

The finished products become earrings, necklaces, and even polymer covered ink pens!

Some of these are headed to customers who placed custom orders and a few have crept into my store. If you want to get your fingers on one, check out the Halloween Shoppe at my online store:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/YoungCreative?section_id=10419107

Ghoulish Finds

Ghoulish Handcrafted Earrings

No, there is no nip in the air, but my house feels like fall! I've started my Halloween line, and Lucy is always eager to pitch in wherever she can. In this case, she decided she could add some festiveness to the product shoot.

Check out the whole all creepy witch finger line at http://www.etsy.com/shop/YoungCreative.

Alcohol Inks in Polymer Clay

Quick Technique: Tinting Translucent Clay with Alcohol Inks

I love the frosty look that I get with translucent clay, but I also want bright happy colors. Unfortunately I can only add a small amount of colored clay before I begin to lose the translucent quality. That means everything comes out on the pastel side. That's why I decided to experiment with alcohol inks.

Making Floral Earrings
Step 1
I added a couple drops of Adirondack Alcohol Inks "Nature Walk" set to Fimo 014 Transparent polymer clay. I mixed it thoroughly, much like food coloring in cookie dough. Then I formed the beads, baked them, and let them cool.

Step 2
I lightly sanded the cooled beads. before adding some alcohol ink to a cotton swab and brushing it on to brighten the color.

Step 3
I hand-sculpted the flowers and pressed them onto the beads and then I rebaked them to set the flowers.

Step 4
Once the finished beads with flowers cooled, I coated them with Sculpey Satin Glaze. When that dried I connected everything on a vine of loose spirals created from 20 gauge silver-plated wire.

New Product Shots

I took some new product shots of my cherry blossom earrings today. Let me know what you think. Are they eye-catching or too busy?

Creating Inventory

I'm home this week for the installation of my new 1940s Hollywood Glam bathroom. I need to be on hand to answer critical questions like "where do you want the shampoo shelf?" and to make sure my cats stay out of the way.

While I'm home, I am catching up on creating new inventory for my shop. You can tell I'm ready for spring. My muse was mainly interested in creating flowers, although she did throw in a few fleur-de-lis pendants to help me get in the mood for our vacation to New Orleans this summer.