Mo' buttonz, mo' problemz

I stupidly decided to have a go at making some polymer clay buttons one evening last week. I say stupidly, as it's really not a good idea to start faffing about with clay when you're tired and there's poor light. Anyway, I really wanted to try to make some stripy buttons, using a stripy cane technique. And they were semi-successful. I mean, they *are* stripy, and not bad for a first go.


They're pale purple and green, with a tiny hint of silver sparkle, which you can see better in this picture:



What you can also see better is the occasional nail mark in the clay - oopsie. Once I'd made as many nice stripy buttons as I could, I smushed the remaining clay together and made some marbled buttons:



I was thinking of sanding them, but somehow I managed to make almost 40 buttons, and the thought of sanding them all fills me with dread. I might varnish some of them, but they look quite nice as they are, albeit a little Refreshery:

I would love to be as talented at button-making as Gill of Hollingdale Designs - she's made some gorgeous buttons for the Crafteroo Comic Relief shop on Folksy. Which reminds me, if you haven't bought anything from our shop yet, there's still time. There are loads of gorgeous items still up for grabs, and all the money raised goes to Comic Relief - we've raised over 320 pound so far.

Not sure what I will make next. I am taking part in the Time for Tea swap, and I have a few ideas for that. I also need to make a Mother's Day card, and some Easter cards. I should make some more things for my Coriandr shop too. And the felt is calling to me. Hmmm...what to do, what to do....

Friday fill-in

I am trying something new for Friday - well, I haven't made anything crafty this week, so I need to blog about *something*. And I am stalking my partner, Erin for Vonnie's Time for Tea swap, and I saw this idea on her blog. Basically (took three goes to spell that - I must be wearing my typing mittens again), you get several statements and you have to fill in the blanks. So, here goes - my answers are in bold:

1. Coming to work this morning was my last random act of kindness.

2. Another place would have a different view out of the window.

3. No sharp edges in matters of the heart.

4. Coffee, tea or victory.

5. Cyclists should use separate paths.

6. Our eyes remind us that there is natural beauty all around us.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to making lists, tomorrow my plans include shopping for craft supplies and Sunday, I want to have a lie-in!

Check out the Friday Fill-ins idea yourself.

Buttons, beads, bright shiny things

I have been trying for the past half hour to upload a picture of my goodies from the Owl Swap to Flickr, but it's not playing. So, here is what I received:


The gorgeous bag at the back has owl fabric round the rim, and I got two (TWO!) gorgeous books on beading. I am itching to make something from them, but I need to get some nylon thread first. *impatient* I also got a pack of origami paper, which is really pretty, and might satisfy my cravings to make something immediately. As well as all this, I got some salt and vinegar crisps and Pringles, which, um, didn't fit in the picture. Yup. So a huge, huge thank you to Rebecca for sending me all this loveliness, and to Apryl for organising the swap in the first place.

And as if that wasn't enough, I finally got round to making the jade necklace I've been planning for ages:



The leave are brass, but they look much darker in the photo. I didn't have a brass clasp, so I used a regular gold-plated one, but I will swap it when I get some supplies in.
And here it is in action:

I like choker length necklaces, as I don't tend to wear lower cut tops (despite appearances in that photo). I have some beads left over, so I may make a bracelet, or maybe some more jade rings (I can't find the one I made for myself, so at the very least, I need to replace that one).

Finally, here are some more attempts at making polymer clay buttons:



I was trying to make some more vibrant colours, which I did, but I'm not that thrilled with them. Well, I like the blue/green one, I guess. I need to get a proper work surface for playing about with clay, as I found the clay picked up lots of bits while I was using it. I have treated myself to an acrylic roller, and I bought a book of polymer clay....in Dutch. So let's hope that both my language skills and polymer clay technique improve.