Jewelz Creatives: Gifts From Nature

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Gifts From Nature

In March of 2008 I was looking for a new craft that I could do during winter months when I could not be outside in my gardens. I was selling toys online at the time (TY Beanie Babies, NASA miniature replicas toys etc) and had run across some amazing artists. They sculpted using something called Polymer Clay. Dragons, fairies, animals, anything one could imagine. I had purchased a couple of little dragonlings, and thought to myself, " I wonder if I could do that?"

So, I did some research to find out what I would need to have in the order of supplies to try out this new craft. I purchased some Fimo Polymer Clay, some glaze, and started to play with it. I sculpted some frogs, a pig, ladybug, sea serpent, butterflies, dragonflies and so on. I was hooked!

I did sell some of these on the website I was currently selling on, and had a wonderful time. Over the span of a year, I joined another site, called Etsy (which is a handmade crafts, vintage, and supply website) and started to sell some there.

In the fall when I was doing my normal thing, collecting and drying flowers to make potpourri, I had a thought. What about making things with a combination of polymer clay and dried flowers and leaves?

Just think...a way of sharing my Gifts From Nature (the name for that line of products I am making) with the world!

How do I make them? Well, in a nutshell, I collect interesting specimens of various flowers and leaves. I put them in large books (acid free paper), and put something really heavy on them to dry them flat. It usually takes at least a month for them to dry completely. Most of the time they keep their colours very nicely. (Only a few have turned brown.)

Then, I decide what I am going to make. I cure the clay before adding the dried organic element though. I usually use Delta Ceramacoat to affix the dried leaf/flower to the clay object, and put at least 2-3 coats of the glaze on afterwards to ensure that it will not peel away. It usually takes at least 2-3 days for that part of it to be completed.

So far, I have made key chain fobs, charms, a sun catcher, a couple of necklace pendants, some ACEOs and some brooches. I even made my parents and sister their Easter Cards using pansies from my flower beds. I think they have all turned out quite nicely. I have plans of extending my line of Gifts from Nature in the future, so keep watching! I will share them with you as I complete them.

If you would like to see the ones I have available for sale now, you can check them out in my shop on Etsy.

Here are some of my creations so far.