Linda's Magic Workshop - Linda Britt Design

  My ‘Silver Bug’ Collection is finished!  It contains 11 silver bug jewelry pieces made with silver metal clay (Art Clay, FYI silver clay and one piece Hadar’s Steel Clay) and it has taken close to a year to complete.  I do admit I worked on it sporadically!  Throughout the process of creating this collection, I took photos and wrote a post about part of it.  http://www.lindabrittdesign.blogspot.com/2016/02/the-making-of-silver-bug.html   Today’s post is an overview.  Yes, the shape and colors of bugs interest me –mainly dead ones. (Not live ones so much - unless we are talking butterflies)  My bug project started as soon as I found some stylized bug stamps at The Art Glitter Co. in Cottonwood AZ.  www.art glitter .com/  I ordered some Art Clay silver metal clay and some FYI silver metal clay and started thinking and sketching.  I wanted dimension and some sparkle in each of the pendants.  For the dim...

I'm one of those people fascinated by the textures, shapes and patterns of  bugs...  dead bugs - not live crawling bugs!  When I found stylized bug stamps in a glitter store in Cottonwood AZ, I ordered them all in small sizes.  http://www.artglitter.com/   I could use the stamps as a starting point for the silver bug series I've been creating in my head. My first bug is done.  It has 2 orange CZ's in the antennae and a larger orange colored CZ in the center for some bling!  I dried the stamped clay on a round form with a flat piece for the back.  There is shape, texture and dimension in the silver. Bug #1 My second bug is at the firing stage.  I stacked layers of silver clay for the wings on the back to give this one dimension and interest.  There is an aqua CZ in it's head and I can't wait to see it come out of the kiln. Starting to cut the layers for bug #2 Back of Bug #2   Bug #2  not fired.  ...

A couple of weeks ago, I took Patrik Kusek’s Warm Connections Class with Craftcast   http://www.craftcast.com/classes .   I’ve been trying out some of his techniques for combining silver metal clay and polymer clay.  Several years ago I took Lisa Pavelka’s https://www.lisapavelka.com/Gallery.asp   classes at Art Unraveled http://www.artunraveled.com/   and learned just enough about polymer clay to think I could do anything!   I made a large mirror frame for a client out of copper polymer and incorporated beads and copper braid.   It turned out to be about 42” x 54”.   The frame was made with many (I mean many) pieces of 3” x 4” copper ruffles glued to a wood frame.   The client still has it and I still remember my friend Phyllis working with me to make more ruffles.    Polymer Clay Mirror Frame I still have some of that clay plus a lot of other colors.   It takes a lot of conditioning to make it pliable but it w...

First, thank you to everyone who looked, read and especially a big thank you to those who responded to the survey.    #3 Best Liked Style  I compiled you answers and here are the results: 14 liked the idea 5 liked the shiny 7 liked the patina finish 7 liked #3 (the leaves) 3 liked #1 (the swirl engraved look)  #1 Best Liked Finish 4 liked all of the styles 3 liked a silver chain 4 liked a simple chain 7 either would use their own chain or had no opinion My conclusions: My basic idea was well received and has lots of possibilities. Variety is the spice of life. Chains are an add-on. There are lots more ideas, twists and turns, in my head.   Keep watching for them!  Check out my etsy site: www.etsy.com/shop/lindabrittdesign  

Small Bundle of Success #1 A small case of crystals has taken up space on my shelf for a few years and this December I decided to create jewelry using them.   There were vintage teardrops, Swarovski teardrops, and chandelier prisms - all have some kind of imperfection.   In the case of the teardrops the tops are broken and I just hate to throw them away.   3 Teardrop Crystals with Bead Caps My solution is to make bead caps with bales from silver metal clay and glue the crystals into the caps.   Since silver metal clay shrinks in firing, I knew I needed to make the caps larger.   I molded polymer clay over the top of the teardrop and baked it.   This gave me a firm form where I could build my bead cap of the silver clay.   I started with 3 forms and made 3 different caps with bales.   This was an experiment that worked!   The forms made the caps bigger than the crystals with room to shrink.  Also I found the perfect ...

Photographs!   I have a computer full of photographs I’ve taken and I bet a lot you do too!   While I love to look at them and remember the events, emotions and friends, I want to do more with them.   Since I make jewelry, I’ve been experimenting with ideas.   That’s what I do- experiment with ideas and then turn them into wearable art – jewelry. So as I went through my photos one day, I saw that I had a lot of animals.   Especially animals from Africa (what a surprise since I only brought home hundreds of photos from Africa!) and I decided to make a silver bracelet with a cat family.   I had great photos of a cub, a lion and a lioness.   I experimented with photo sizes and charm sizes and eventually figured out I could use 3 charms on a bracelet and have room for tiny beads.   And then I realized that this bracelet had endless possibilities. It could have photos of birds for a birder.   It could be a friendship bracelet.   It might be a...

I walked through the forest on a sunny day. Butterflies flitted from flower to wildflower gathering nectar. Bird songs filled the air.   I took a deep breath and was at ease with the world. Sunshine flowed through swaying pine branches. Rocks glittered with the light. Moss grew in the shade on the north side of the trees. Wildflowers scattered color and scent among the stones and trees. The yellows, greens, browns, rust and gold fed my soul. Here I sit with my beads, my wire, and my photographs. I dream of that walk again and create my ‘forest walk’ necklace.   The silver clay setting has a small polished dark stone surrounded by memories of flowers and leaves in relief.   A little engraving of vines and a hint of yellow (Gilder’s Paste) complete the silver part of the design.   My picture of a butterfly on wildflowers is set in the upper bezel protected with Ice Resin that magnifies the details.   Small tumbled beads, the colors of my walk, are amber, glass, ma...