Precious Metal Clay

I decided that for father's day I would make my Husband some Cufflinks with our three Son's Fingerprints on. Now fitting three prints onto a small square piece of Precious Metal Clay (PMC) is no easy task! I could only fit partial prints but at least it looks like each Cufflink has been touched in some way by each of our little ones! These cufflinks were also a test of my newly acquired Soldering skills!

I have also been painting Leaves from our garden with PMC Paste and absolutely love the result. After a little experimentation (ok - disasters!!) I did manage to produce a few pieces I really love. I discovered that the best result came from a really thick, well veined Leaf.

This Leaf (above) was an early attempt. It looks ok but is quite sharp at the edges and I probably didn't make it thick enough.

I was really pleased with this one (above). The detail is great and I managed to smooth the edges nicely. It is a perfect replica of the original Leaf - only in Silver!

Silver and Polymer Clay Revisited

I forgot to mention in the title that I have also revisited Wire Crochet too! The Silver Corsage was made for a wedding and eventually was attached to a hair band. The Purple Flower added an extra special finishing touch to a 40th Birthday Cake I made. The Stone is Amethyst - the Birthday Girl's Birthstone. This could also be used as a hair decoration or put in a pretty spill vase as decoration.

I'm still unsure about PMC (Precious Metal Clay). It's possibilities are endless but I find having to work with something so quickly before it dries out a bit of a pain! I did however have another go at Fingerprint Jewellery. First was a Silver Hanging Heart Pendant with three childrens' prints

I used the same prints to make three smaller charms to be attached to a Bracelet

I went on a Polymer Clay Course quite a while ago now and as with most things I shelved it for a later date!

One rainy day the Children discovered my stash and were particularly impressed with having to put the Clay through the Pasta Machine to condition it and roll it out. I ended up playing with a few scraps of clay too and made myself a pretty bracelet. I left the beads with a matt finish but did try out varnishing a few to see what they looked like. The kids' Mood Sand proved very useful for holding the cocktail sticks with the Beads on ready for Varnishing! I have to say I prefer the Beads unvarnished with a bit of Sanding and a polish with a cloth.

Being Crafty

I had a wonderful Mother's Day weekend at Moonfleet Manor. A beautiful family hotel in Dorset. I had lots of kiddie-free time, a facial, champagne, a yummy dinner, goodies and lots of relaxation. I can thoroughly recommend it! (they have a creche and lots of baby sitters!!!). I love my three boys but even I need a break!

I've been busy doing a few custom orders. Such as this bag charm. I really like making the bag charms - I get a real sense of satisfaction. Funny thing is I don't actually have any on my own bag! Silly really as it is a good way to advertise!

Speaking of promoting oneself - I recently took part in The Little Book of MISI. A great idea of Amy of Art by Mimi. She has very kindly put some crafty giveaways together to hand out at craft fairs with samples of work and business cards - primarily to promote MISI shops.

It's a bit similar to the Get Eurofied boxes I wrote about in my last blog but on a smaller scale. A big thank you is due to Amy who has done this all off her own back. She is about to embark on the 2nd Book of MISI.

I'm trying to be organised so I've started to make a few promotional items so I have stuff ready to go when these promotional opportunities arise! I just made this bunch of mini charms which I'll put in little Organza Bags and attach to my new Moo cards!

I made an extra little charm for a friend who is a hairdresser - hope she likes it!

I'm really pleased with my Moo cards and can thoroughly recommend them. People really seem to like them when you hand them one. I got the mini ones and some

stickers too!

I finally got round to immortalising my children's fingerprints in Silver. I'm still trying to perfect the art of using Silver Clay but hopefully will get there eventually.

That's all for now Folks! See you on Facebook, Twitter & Flickr!

p.s. I am thinking of having a giveaway on my next blog! Watch this space! Jo x