Linda's Magic Workshop - Linda Britt Design

Stepping into a fabric store is a little like Alice going into Wonderland.  There are so many colors and patterns, textures and tools!  I used to sew and that was my excuse to investigate any fabric store in any town I visited.  Now I usually go with a friend who quilts and just look.  But every once in a while I find a piece that I just have to have – just to look at.  Inspiration fabric is what I call it.  This piece brought back memories of many kitchens and baths and furniture I designed for clients using Mexican tile on the walls, floors, counter tops and accents……NO not all at once! It reminded me of Cinco de Mayo and Tucson with Mariachi bands and colorful flowers. I bought a ¼ yard, set it by my desk and looked at it often.  This week I decided to make some polymer canes and see what I could do using the fabric as the inspiration.  First the colors are selected and mixed.  Then I started making the black and white cane (bull’s eye)

Organic seems to be the rage right now. I've always loved the forms of nature and  when I saw the pictures of  Eugena Topinas openwork forms, I knew I had to have her tutorial. https://www.etsy.com/listing/199228011/polymer-clay-tutorial-openwork-pendants?ref=sr_gallery_1&ga_search_query=openwork+polymer+clay+tutorial&ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery    I was not disappointed as I read “Polymer Clay Tutorial Openwork Pendants: Under a Microscope”.   The tutorial is detailed. clearly written with good illustrations but as with many things, one has to try it to really understand or believe it.  Using polymer clay and the supplies listed in the tutorial, I went to work following the directions.  openwork before dissolution Everything went well until the part where you have to put the form into water to dissolve the part that creates the open work.  I had pans of water all over the kitchen for days before I had dissolution!

    Strawberries happen to be one of my favorite fruits.  I especially love them combined with rhubarb, but         really, fresh strawberries and cooked strawberries; straight out of the field or frozen…they are all good!     When I mixed this red polymer clay with gold and yellow and added green, of course, strawberries came      to mind.  This is my interpretation of a strawberry fruit with its goodness inside and out!      I've never used the manufactured paper balls that I bought somewhere (guess we all know about that!)     and started reading about them.  https://www.etsy.com/listing/115947922/cotton-paper-balls-for-polymer-clay?utm_source=google&utm_medium=product_listing_promoted&utm_campaign=supplies_low&gclid=CKTouvLDhL4CFQpgfgod0jYA3A      First I wrapped the cotton paper ball in foil to keep it from sticking to the clay.      I cut triangles for the petals and placed them on the ball keeping in mind that it needed to be flower l

It is springtime and time for bugs!  This is a framed bug (dead – pretty much the only kind I like) from Malaysia that I purchased at a Reptile Show.  I could feel a spring project in the making! I studied the form of the body and thought about what materials I could use to construct my bug.  The result is a body made of Hadar Smart Bronze clay formed in segments.  The wings had to move and the best way was to make a hinge as an integral body part.      A nickel chromium wire feeds from tail to head.  The tail became one with the wire but the head remainedseparate. I finished the body and finally stabilized the head to the first segment by soldering.  With the body finished, the wings were next.  The colors were mixed with some translucent clay.  I could have used more translucent but generally the combination of 672 yellow,1150 Lemonade,380 Buried Treasure, white and translucent polymer clay worked well.    I made the cane, sliced the win

https://www.etsy.com/listing/176165420/small-frog-charm-bracelet?ref=shop_home_active_1  I found frog wrapping paper – not just generic frogs but Poison Dart frogs!  The wrapping paper frogs were caricatures of the real animals and I loved them.  I wrapped lots of presents in this paper.  I had some left over….and if you are like me…you keep it – for years!  Until you figure out what to do with it!  Finished cane next to wrapping paper frog After I learned to make canes, I decided to see if I could make my own caricatures of Poison Dart frogs.  And as you can see, I did it!  It took thinking, planning, patience and lots of polymer clay.  The finished frog cane was 3” in diameter and I reduced it to several sizes.  I selected all the colors of clay I wanted to use and conditioned them.  Then I started rolling snakes of the different colors and stood them up next to each other using the picture (see photo) as a guide.  When I had to put the background around the color,

                When I took the original picture of the white seed pod, I had no idea it would be the beginning of a series.  First there was the challenge of making a translucent polymer seed pod, then came the seed pod jewelry.  Now the seed pod made of sterling silver metal clay.   I think this is the last of the series.  It was fun to take the idea from photo to translucent to solid forms.   I've  learned a lot about forming and joining shapes in different mediums and about patience and experimenting!  So here is the  procession  of the 2013 Seed Pod!

Lazy River Technique with Amethyst Chips By now, I've lost track of what day I've made what technique in polymer clay.  I do know that I am enjoying trying the various ideas in Julie Picarello’s book, ‘Patterns in Polymer - Imprint & Accent Bead Techniques’.  I have never taken the time to explore a technique book in depth and I find that I like being immersed in polymer with a focus.  Usually I flip through a book, stop and look at something and go, “hmmm – that would be interesting to try!”  Today’s focus is ‘Lazy River’. My Lazy River is definitely different than Julie's but I use the same techniques. My colors are purple, green, teal, translucent, glitter and silver. My theme is nature, leaves with shimmering dew, moonlight through forests and swirling hidden streams.  A friend gave me some amethyst chips and I decided to use them as accents and work them into some of the layers of clay.  Just an experiment! Large chips in circles for earrings, layered

First it was rocks and now it is lizard tails!  In Julie Picarello’s book ‘Patterns in Polymer –Imprint & Accent Bead Techniques’ I spent a day playing with her ‘lizard tail’ project.  Now, I have real  lizards and their tails really do not look like these!  Nevertheless these were great fun to make and to slice open.  Would you believe the outside is the stripe and the inside the intricate spiral pattern?   Basically you stack your colors of clay, roll them into a cone shape (the direction of rolling is very important) and cut the cone in half.  Yes, there are great directions for this technique in the book…and pictures!  I wanted a piece to show the inside and the outside of the cone I made and I think this piece succeeds.  Very tribal looking.  I have to finish the cord insert and put wires on the earrings.    I turned the tails into beads, into pendants, into earrings and into buttons.  Absolutely fascinating.  Lizard Tail Beads The hardest part of this neck