Russian Etsy Team

I am pretty excited now as just yesterday I've found Russian team on Etsy! Well, "Russian Artists" team. Not only that, I've been accepted in, too! So now I am exploring what's going on, what the rules are.. what do I have to do.. and stuff. But for sure I feel little bit more homey on Etsy now. Even the fact that you can see Russian language there makes it more comfortable for me to just be there, in a world of thousands of artisans and crafters. Here's a treasury that was created by one of the members. It includes all the members' works. You can take a peak and comment if you like it: http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4d65142bb4c06d9118d0d4b2/shabby-chic-spring-style

Next week they will have another treasury and I've signed up to participate! I guess I better turn on my imagination :D

hats, capelet - crocheted

After working so much with polymer clay, my hands were itchy to crochet something.. And as I've bought tons of yarn recently, I've started making some nice things with it.. Here are few hats and a capelet. 2 hats are made some times ago, and one is new. I've listed them on etsy.com/shop/moussycrafts

What is Polymer Clay?..

I had some friends over and showed them my polymer clay jewelry. And I was asked questions that made it clear to me - my friends thought that I'm buying the beads and elements and only stringing them together.. Nope. I am making my beads, pendants and so forth. I guess, still few people know what polymer clay actually is. I also guess that I should put out here some pictures of the process of creating beads for my visitors to see how beads are actually made.. The most common question is "So, you paint these things, don't you?". No, I don't. In fact, I almost never use any paint at all. All the patterns and pictures you see are made only using the polymer clay of different colors. Often I do mix colors myself to achieve the specific color that I want.. But I do not paint my beads. So.. just in few words: polymer clay is a pliable media, kind of like a play dough. You can play with it, create different textures, different patterns, shapes.. the difference is that you BAKE polymer clay in your oven and it hardens! It hardens so well that it becomes very durable and unless you want to break it and really try to do so, it will stay just as it's been made for years. Polymer clay by itself is not afraid of water, but does not like chemicals and oils. And if it's covered with glaze (which I usually do - for extra protection), then it is afraid of water, so you should not bathe in your necklace or keep your earrings in the bathroom all the time. There are different brands of polymer clay, which differ by their baking temperature, durability and purpose. I am using Premo by Skulpey polymer clay. This clay is created for artists and is very durable, and also flexible. So if the piece is thin, it will bend, but not break. You can read more on Wikipedia or anywhere else. There is a lot of information out there! See you later!

New goodies

Been busy for a while and have not posted anything. Don't feel good about it - so here I am, with few goodies, new and older!

New necklace "Ocean Depth". I've made cabochons, beaded over them with seed beads and then incorporated some dark blue glass beads and black onyx beads into this necklace..  It looks pretty mysterious and fancy :)



This necklace was a gift to Auntie. She loved it :)

Poppy pin for mom in law:

Military Kitteh - one of the recent custom orders. He will go to Afghanistan, just like his brother Patriotic Kitteh before him. I hope this one, too, will return home safely. I hate wars.

Fiona wearing her BF's coat. Polo, our neighbor's dog, is a pitbul and is Fiona's BF :) They asked me to make a coat for him for Christmas :)



And - as a bonus - the home pic of Fiona on my lap. She does sincerely believe that she's a lapdog, uh-huh! "Si, mama, jo soy chihuahua! Mui bonita!"



Well - see you soon! I am planning on doing some home finances and then - crocheting, a lot! After all, I did buy that $300 worth of yarn for some reason, didn't I? :)

I am now on Etsy.com!

I've listened to the advise of quite few people and came to the conclusion that it won't hurt to have my own Etsy shop. I've actually registered who knows when.. over a year ago.. but just started adding items there. So if you feel like checking it out - http://www.etsy.com/people/Moussycrafts . Though keep in mind that items on my site Moussycrafts.com are cheaper as I don't have to pay any commissions ;) But as my site is now in the developing stage, there are more pictures available in my etsy shop.