I just decided to try to clearance some of my older barrettes. I hope this will bring more sales but also give me more room for the new barrettes that I am making. My current work is much better then what I was making earlier. I know that practice is making it improve. I have a few ones to bake that I made today but I really am not motivated to play in clay. Amazing but true.
I did do some moving around on the web-store and am working on coming up with new categories, titles and descriptions. Hopefully, all of this will help out.
My new job is going okay. I am not totally sold on it. I will still have to figuring it all. I do like the idea that I can get an employee discount. I also found that A.C.Moore carries Adirondack Inks that can be used to make cool effects in polymer clay. I will have to get some and play with it.
Spring time is calling and maybe I should make something to go with the weather. Maybe more flower canes. Or who knows what might come out.
The other day I was doing a lot of faux surfaces and stuff. I finally got the barrettes totally completed and ready to go on the website. I have done abalone, Mother of Pearl, Paua Shell and dichroic glass. I am very pleased with how the Paua Shell and abalone turned out. The Mother of Pearl pieces look really nice but I need to work on the enlaying of them. The dichroic glass is getting better. This is my second attempt at it. With more practice it will be as I want it.
Paua 
Abalone
Mother of Pearl 
Dichroic Glass
Finally, I got the canes made into barrettes and then got them all done. I first made a clay fabric out of a background color and then added the flowers and leaves. After putting a few of each on, I would then gently push them flat. Once the fabric was done to my liking, I then covered barrette blanks with them. After baking, I sanded and buffed and finally added three coats of varathane. They are now all dried and have poised for their pictures.
Here are some other canes, turned into barrettes.
I got two more rose/flower canes made today and am currently baking two barrettes made with the “fabric” I made with the canes. To make the fabric, I choose a background color that would complement the colors in the cane and rolled it thin with the pasta roller. I then cut thin slices of the canes and placed them where I wanted on the sheet. After placing a few of the cuts, I gently pressed them into the background. I kept cutting and pressing until I got the look that I was looking for. The trick is to cut the cane paper thin. (It is easier said then done. You really need a good, sharp blade knife to do this.) I am pleased on how they came out. I will see how they are once I get them sanded, polished and finished.
Tomorrow, it maybe warm enough for me to varnish them. According to the can of varathane, it works best around seventy degrees. When it was been in the single digits outside, I really don’t want to turn the heat up to bring the house up that warm. Tomorrow it should be in the fifties outside so the house will also stay warmer.
I finally think that I got the more complex canes down. I made two today. One is a shamrock and the other is a rose. The shamrock I made from an idea of my own. I have two barrettes already to back from it. When I reduced it, I made five different sized shamrocks, so I have sizes to play with as well. The rose cane, I used a tutorial off of Polymer Clay Central as a guide. The author of the tutorial is Leigh Ross. It is a very detailed and easy to understand. My rose cane is “resting” so that I can cut it without destroying the shape. I will work on some barrettes with the roses tonight. (And maybe some beads as well.)
I transfered the bead that I am polishing to a higher grit this morning and they are looking good. The should be ready to be polished before bedtime. I will check them soon and deside. I just need to figure out I want to make with all of them. I already have ideas but I just have to get them from my brain to the beads.
I think that I will try to do a beaded shamrock pin. I have a design in mind and am sure that it will work well. We will have to see.