Shirley Rufener
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A Day at the Beach
I feel so blessed to live less than a mile from the ocean. Our beach here in Oregon is so different from the Southern California beaches we went to most weekends growing up. Of course they do have some things in common; ocean waves, seagulls, sand plus we have beautiful driftwood almost everywhere! Sculpey Liquid Clear Earrings I made these...
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Summer Bling Rings
Summer is right around the corner with white and light colors popping up in the fashion trends. I thought it would be fun to create some bling to go with the summertime fun casual or sparkling evening wear styles. I stumbled onto a fairly new technique to create faux Druzy stones using polymer clay and glitter…both of which I...
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I'm So Ready for Summer!
Living on the Oregon Coast is a beautiful place to be, although when you have a record rainfall you are just counting the days until summer! I thought these simple watermelon cane earrings would put me in the mood for picnics and warm summer nights! Although it has been around for years, I have discovered UV resin. The great thing...
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Chalkboard Flowers
With the popularity of chalkboards this season I wanted to mimic the look with polymer clay for adding accents, and it worked! I was so excited when the first flower was finished that I put it right on a chalkboard. Let me back up a bit and tell you when I learned this technique which is called “chalking” in the...
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Ocean Waves
Today I's like to share with you another summertime design. These earrings use my faux mosaic tile technique and are created with a small plastic stencil and soft pastel chalks. I've always been a blue jeans kinda' girl because they match everything, right? The basic technique involves pressing a lightly water spritzed stencil (small tile design by The Crafter's Workshop...
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Change is in the Air
Change is in the air for me this month and it seems I am not alone. I am still claying of course, that will never change, but I have zeroed in on a new audience....kids! I'm still a kid at heart and I've definitely been into bright, cheery colors this year. My new found interest started when I discovered OTT's...
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I Can See Clearly Now! Shirley Rufener
I've heard that fashion trends or styles always come back! I remember making clear hair bows filled with small candies in the late 70's and early 80's. Recently I noticed a resurgence of these bows created for summertime fun in the sun, and in the pool! There are "water bows" which actually have some type of "water-gel" inside of them...
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Who Doesn't Love Images?
Who Doesn't Love Images? Over the years there have been many image transfer techniques developed. Allow me to share two newer ideas for you to try. The first is simple rub-on transfers. You will need to bake a flat or domed white clay piece as your base. This keeps the colors true. These "PARTY TIME" magnets were created with this...
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Premo Penguin debuts on TV!
Premo Penguin debuts on TV! Have you heard of Bubble Gum necklaces? I hadn't until my niece (a teacher) saw some of her young students wearing them to class. They are chunky beaded necklaces for baby girls-up through adults really-that are adorable! They aren't hard to make and many are showing up with polymer clay focal pendants and accent beads...
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Clay Embroidery...using Sculpey Soufflé!
If you are an Etsy, Pinterest or jewelry fan, then you've probably come across artists creating intricate, raised clay designs that resemble embroidery and appliqué. I'm no exception. As a designer and writer, I love to spend time developing various techniques to replicate other objects and surfaces outside of our medium. One of my first published booklets on polymer clay contained textured faux fiber pieces...
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Limitless Surface Treatments
I'd like to talk a bit about "Surface Techniques" which I like to experiment with in my claywork. I truly believe they are endless and there are many mediums yet to be tried on polymer clay! One of my favorite surface looks for polymer clay is simply the use of paints and pastes. The best example I personally enjoy, is...
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"Wait...don't toss that aside!"
Upcycling Polymer Clay My title today is what I should have been thinking when I was too quick to toss a cuff bracelet into my 'donate to a thrift store' box. If you know me at all, you know that I try not to waste anything. I'm a believer in reusing, recycling or even better..."upcycling"! Up close there is some...
