It has been a while since I have had time to work on this site. I have been playing with more jewelry in the mean time and have more pictures I want to post. Right now I am waiting because I am experimenting with a new and better way to display my gallery of pictures. Because I am still pretty new at this Joomla Content Management System program it is taking me a bit longer than normal to get things done. It is a ton of fun and a nice challenge though. 

The new image gallery is a Joomla plugin called Ignite Gallery. Has anyone heard of it or played with it? It really looks like it might do everything I want it to do which is to display my pictures better both as thumbnails and as larger pictures, allow a rating system and allow  people to make comments.

Hopefully you will see me again much sooner!

     I managed to get two new pictures up. One is of  purple polymer clay heart earrings with heart glitter and of course coated in epoxy resin.

      The other is of some beautiful earrings that I made by partially blending several sea inspired polymer clay colors together, cutting out the shapes, then twisting them to get their neat effect.

     I won't sell these blue/green earrings though. They look beautiful even 5 or 6 inches away, but when you look close you can see that they are my "factory seconds". I was experimenting with dipping the earrings in epoxy resin as you can't really coat things that aren't flat. I don't like the way they turned out as they have some dimpling that others probably can't see, but I can. Figure I can start stocking up my personal collection with things I don't quite think are good enough to sell. 

     This website still needs work. I want to have each image clickable so that a new window opens with a larger view, or if the item is on sale at Esty, then it can open up into that spot in my Etsy shop, where you can usually see 2 or 3 larger pictures. (And of course buy them if you so desire....)

     I had thought of trying to put a place for comments under each picture, but I think that gets bulky. A fellow classmate suggested a ratings system under each picture. I like that idea. That way I can get feedback on what people do or don't like. Now I just need to find a Joomla! application that will allow me to do that. I am sure it is out there somewhere.

I was worried that the coat of epoxy resin that I put on my latest creations (primarily earrings and charms) was too soft. I have done a bunch of testing of a couple of pieces. I am very happy with the results. I primarily am working right now with epoxy resin coating jewelry made out of polymer clay. The epoxy resin coating on this latest bunch was able to be scratched with a finger nail but then the scratch would go away if you simply buffed the piece with your finger for a minute or so.

I have been playing with one item for the last two days, scratching and buffing and the same thing keeps happening. The scratch goes away. Then I left it all day on my dashboard on a hot day with the windows up. It did get warm, but it didn't get sticky or cloudy. And once again, when I made a scratch it went away. 

So while I would prefer it to be rock hard like most of my other pieces, I am happy with these. They are just different. And it feels really neat to hold it in your fngers and rub it like a touchstone. I am not going to re-coat the pieces that look fine as the risk is always that I can mess them up. 

I am still trying to get my epoxy resin experiments to come out at least somewhat the same. Sometimes it comes out hard as a rock, which is what I want. And sometimes it still is tacky. This time it came out somewhat in between. It is actually kind of fun. It is soft enough that you can scratch it with your fingernail, but then if you rub it with your thumb for a short while, the scratch disappears!

I am still debating if I should put on another coat, which should make it hard if I get the ratio right, or listen to my friend Karen who says that they are fine and that messing with them will risk ruining the items. I spent today at work rubbing at the sample piece I brought in and sometimes scratching it to make sure it still went away. LOL.

I am going to play with leaving that piece in the sun and with other similar pieces in a pile as well as leaving something small and heavy on it. I figure that way I can confirm if it actually does always return to normal.  I know resin does tend to get soft in heat, and that is fine, as long as it returns when allowed to cool off. 

I have started using Famowood Glaze Coat. I believe it is the same ingredients as the normally recommended Clear Coat Epoxy Resin, but I can buy it at my local hardware store and I think it is cheaper. My problem has been trying to get the ratio right, I am using plastic cups with built in lines but somehow I don't think I always get enough hardener. It might be that some days are more humid and thus need more. I am toying with the idea of getting disposable syringes. While they are more expensive than plastic cups, they are easier to get precise measurements, and thus less likely to need to be redone.

 Please feel free to look around. The site is still under construction so I would welcome constructive suggestions on both the tech and the creative sides. For the tech side, this is my very first Joomla! website. While it is very much a work in progress I really am enjoying working with it.

On the non-tech side. I love creating things, I think trying to restrict myself to the things I already am working with is one of the hardest things for me to do. I love jewelry so have started making some of my own. I love Victorian inspired things so I started creating that. In my journeys I have learned to love creating fabric/textile art.  That is the best way I can describe some of my creations. I will be posting more soon so you will know more of what I mean.

Along the way I have picked up, via much trial and error!, some skills in using polymer clay, epoxy resin, vintage materials, jewelry creation and what types of glues and finishes do and don't work with other materials. I am hoping this blog will be a place for others to post suggestions, questions and pictures of their own creations.