Linda's Magic Workshop - Linda Britt Design

I recently spent 3 days with a very good friend I had not seen for too long a time.  We talked non-stop and caught up with so many ideas, thoughts and projects.  She showed me her hummingbird feeder she made from a vinegar bottle.  She attached a wire for the hummingbird to sit on that would be too delicate for a woodpecker.  It seems her woodpeckers try to get into (and do) the feeder to drink.  We laughed because I'm trying to feed and attract the woodpeckers at my house!  As you can see, the wire is a perfect perch for this Broad-billed Hummingbird.  It was the first time I've really seen one. There was one bud on this cactus when I arrived at her house.  Of course I took the bud picture and was very excited the next morning when it opened.  This spectacular bloom lasted one day...one day of glory! The grasshoppers were also just hatching!  I got to take their picture before they were unceremoniously sprayed off the zinnia leaves! So muc

Last week's beads Lots happening at our house this week!  I’ve been working on 2 translucent polymer necklaces from the beads I made last week.  It’s always interesting to see how pieces go together and what can be used that will accomplish what I see in my mind. The first one is made of oval beads, some with a black polymer edges and some with a silver alcohol ink edges.  I wanted the beads to overlap and dangle from silver jump rings.  The chain is made from glass gray spacer beads and each polymer bead has one of the glass beads hanging from a jump ring as an accent.  I think it works well.  I wore it to Chico’s and happened to find a blouse that went with the necklace beautifully!  Good thing it was on sale. lovely colors as the light comes through the clay against a black ground   The second necklace took even more thought.  I had to decide how to drill the holes in the polymer 3-d beads so a jump ring would fit.  I lost one bead by trying a too small

Translucent polymer clay with no color added Translucent polymer clay has intrigued me for quite a while.  Every time I went to Hobby Lobby I would buy 3 packets of Pardo Translucent Clay.  When I asked if there were more, the response was, “Each store only gets 3 packets a month!”  I would have felt bad about taking all three but it was usually the end of the month!  The funny thing is that I did not use them often and now have a nice stash.  Of course, when you keep polymer clay a while, it can get crumbly and be difficult to condition.  Yes, that did happen to several packets!  It just takes more time and a little of clay softener to get the clay to the correct consistency.  Pardo seems to be the most translucent and you can actually see print through the cured clay. There are two beautiful polymer clay necklaces hanging on my studio wall that I made a good year ago.  I did not add color to that clay, edged the circles in wire and found it fun to work with.   The al