Modernizing Macrame with Large Hole Beads

1970 called, they want their plant hanger back

I know exactly what I was thinking when I started this project - a spiral macrame band for big holed beads would be perfect.  It will hold the beads in place, it can still be interchangeable, and it will be casually cool. Win, win, win.

And it is all that.  But making it, was a little more involved than I anticipated.  Lucky for you, I worked it all out.

Faux Cloisonné with Polymer Clay

Voilà

As long as the polymer clay is cluttering up my table this week, I decided to play with it a little more. I've made a few more polymer clay molds and made more polymer clay Thai Buddhist amulets, but the excitement is wearing off. Apparently one lifetime making amulets was enough for me.

I noticed this great metal chain with flower medallions in my stash and the lightbulb went on.  How fab would that look with some polymer clay inset into it?

Finishing Polymer Clay Amulets

As I was making my own clay amulets from the polymer clay molds I made, I couldn't help but wonder if I was an amulet maker in a former life.

I was having entirely too much fun.  And look at this pile of goodies! All Lisa Yang originals. Here are some of the details on how I made them.

Making a Mold from Polymer Clay

They broke the mold when they made you

There's was a lot of interest in the Thai Buddhist Amulets that I got at the swap meet, so I did what any industrious jewelry maker does - I decided to see if I could make more.

I've made a few molds in the past - mainly for working with metal clay.  Those molds were made from two part flexible molding compound.  Fun stuff to work with, but I felt like trying to make something quick last night.  I went with polymer clay molds instead.

It works.  So, I made more.

Thai Buddhist Amulets

Have faith

The title of this post could be Sunday Shopping at the Swap Meet, but would that be as interesting?The good news though? Either way - the title is accurate.

I like religious amulets, talismans, and good luck charms of all kinds.  They fascinate me. I want to believe that they can bring me protection or good fortune.

I also like the imagery and enjoy the hunt to figure out what they mean and how they are used. But mostly, it's the magic I'm looking for.

Yesterday, I happened on a man with a good sized box of amulets from a Thai temple.  There was nothing nice about their display, or how they were stored - just a plastic storage bin with a layer of stone amulets that I decided looked interesting enough to pick through.  Isn't that the perfect way to find something incredibly valuable at the swap meet *? 

* For the non-Californians among you - the swap meet is the same as a flea market, cousin to the rummage sale or block sale, and the outdoor version of the thrift store.

Brick Stitch Baseball Pattern

Take me out to the ballgame

Yes!  It's that time of the year.  Baseball (and softball) season is finally here! 

It's the high school season that I'm all jazzed up for. There's nothing better than sitting my butt on a bleacher seat where it's guaranteed to be either too cold, too hot, too windy, or too sunny and watching your kids do what they love. (yup - totally serious!)

I always want some fan gear for the games - and jewelry is more my style than the team emblazoned t-shirts, so this year I decided to make a little something-something.

It's still a work in-progress, so no laughing.  And to be fair, I wouldn't have had to resort to figuring out how to make this if someone else had published a pattern for me to find on the internet.

Ta Da!  It does look like a baseball right?  Well, here's the pattern  - which I did on free bead graph paper from Fusion Beads.