Friday, August 10, 2007

Mom's Treasure Woven Bracelet



My mom showed me a really cute vintage bead bracelet which needed repair, so I did what I do best: remade the stretched out bracelet into a treasure woven bracelet.

Saturday, August 04, 2007

Treasure Woven Blackberry Circle


I bought these freshwater pearl beaded beads at a bead show I attended a couple of months ago, not knowing what I would do with them, but knew I had to buy them. I found the perfect button in my stash of buttons and put in a couple of green leaves to make it pop. I used my new color wheel to come up with a color scheme too, and am very pleased at the finished bracelet.

Wednesday, August 01, 2007

How I Made the Polymer Clay Buttons for Kauni

Many people asked for instructions to make the polymer clay buttons I made for my Kauni, so here goes. Just so you know, I am also a newbie at polymer clay so if I can do it, so can you!

I used Fimo Soft and Sculpy brand in the colors red, blue, transparent yellow, white, black, and olive. (I used what I had.)
I cut out a cardboard template with two holes poked through to check for size, putting it through every sweater buttonhole I had made, just to be sure. After I did that, I started the color blending process. Since I did not have the exact colors I needed I started out making purple by blending small amounts of red and blue and adding more until I had a purple I liked. Then I started on the green, with yellow, olive, and a VERY small amount of black. I do not have recipes for the color blending. When the colors were blended to my satisfaction, I took most of the purple, and formed it into a square log by rolling each side with a small rolling pin. I compared the log to the cardboard template to ensure that the log was smaller. Then I rolled out all the green and cut it to fit around the square purple log, being careful to seal the seam. Again, I used the rolling pin to square up. Finally the remaining purple clay was rolled out thinly and wrapped around the entire log. After it was squared up, I chilled it for a bit so it would cut cleanly without deforming. After cutting the slices, I gently pushed in the corners of the button, so it wouldn't be so sharp, and then I poked holes into the button, using the template I had previously made. Then they were baked according to the directions on the package of clay. (Mine were baked at 235 F for 30 minutes.) The green clay turned quite a lot darker after baking in my buttons. After cooling, I had to poke the holes again and then I rubbed them briskly on an old washcloth to make them softly glow.

Kauni Buttons Finished and Sewn On



Got up early this morning, determined to at least start the color blending for the polymer clay buttons, and before I knew it, it was finished. The green in the button darkened during baking but I still like it a lot, and think that they are just about perfect for the Kauni sweater. Simple buffing with a towel gave the buttons a slight sheen.

Details for the buttons for those who are curious! Formed a square log of purple polymer clay and wrapped it in a green layer, then wrapped it in purple. I chilled the sqaure log and cut it up into slices, then rounded the corners a slight bit. I made a template for the button holes, so there would be some attempt at making them similar, but didn't really try to make each button identical to the others. (Good thing too, since I'm not sure I could even do that.) After baking, I buffed them as I mentioned above, briefly.

The Kauni is finished, and she is fine.

Replies to Comments

Wow, I'm amazed anew at the power of the internet!! After the Yarn Harlot mentioned that I had finished the Kauni cardigan, I had an unusually high number of visitors to my blog!!! I wanted to thank everyone for their comments and answer a few questions.

One commenter asked about how the yarn made the pattern. It is actually knit with two strands of the yarn, in a stranded yarn method. The background was one color and the foreground was another color from a different ball. It is actually quite ingenous how complicated the pattern looks, simply due to the variegated yarn.

Sheila asked about the square motifs, and if they were difficult to knit in? Sheila, the squares were so easy to knit. In fact, this pattern is a very easy way to get started with stranded knitting, as there are only four rows of two color knitting and six of single color knitting. It just flies off the needles.

And Mary, I knit at Panera's in Fairfax every couple of weeks with some wonderful and inspiring women. If you are interested in attending, let me know, and I'll give you details.

And finally, the BUTTONS!! I got up early this morning, and blended the polymer clay to match the button bands, and made the buttons. They are baking as I write this. You will have to wait until they are done, to see them!!!