theclayingmommy

Time to clay and garden...

2017-03-27T20:48:00.003-07:00

I found some time to clay again and I already fixed my schedule. It's house work in the morning then claying in the afternoon. It's easier for me to work in the garden when Austin's awake compared to claying in the craft room. When he's with me while I'm claying, it is just chaos!! haha He opens all my boxes not just the ones with big items he can play with but he targets the ones with small beads that are really hard to fix after. But when I'm working out in the garden, he just stays beside me and plays with whatever rock, plant or worm (?!) he finds. He sleeps in the afternoon now after we pick up my eldest so it's perfect timing! I can clay all I want while he is asleep and I can also help my other son do his homework without someone getting the pencil that he's writing with. :)

Here are some of the new jewellery I made. Mostly earrings because I am still working on new necklaces and lockets. If you fancy a pair, they are listed in my etsy shop already. Here's the link to my etsy: https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/RockyBeads

The hubby and I have been busy fixing the front lawn. In my last post, I shared to you about the middle part of it and during that time we still didn't know what to do with it. We finally decided to plant a cycad (low maintenance and easy to grow) and add some rocks to the side of it. Here are the before and after photos.

before

After

Yesterday, the cat who frequents are front lawn decided to grace it with it's presence! It decided to poo there. LOL!

That's it for now. I hope you had a good month. It's going to be April soon and school holidays are a few weeks away. Until my next post! :)

Some more gardening stories...

2017-03-02T00:31:00.003-08:00

Hello! I'm back! Trying to keep my promise to write more.

So what have I been doing? I haven't clayed the past days. I am still busy fixing the garden. I want to finish it first before I clay again. I've been cutting and cutting and cutting and cutting all the trees and branches not needed in the garden. So far the sun can already shine through some parts. A lot of dried leaves to rake so that the soil can be seen and will be dried under the sun.

We bought a ladder so that we can reach some of the branches that already shoot up higher than the house. It was delivered today! Very fast! I bought it online from ladders4u last Tuesday. I happily used it awhile ago to clean the gutter of the pergola. It was already clogged with leaves. So no more overflow now.

Hanging plants add joy to the garden! If only they can flower all year. :)

This is in front of the house. It was full of plants before. Flowering ones and succulents but they were already overgrown and not really good to look at. And I think I can't save them anymore. So I decided to just clean it up ( it was no easy task!) and will eventually plant an agave in the middle then rocks/pebbles will be put on around it.

That's it for now! Time for me to rest this aching body! I forgot to mention that gardening is like working out in the gym! Oh my! :)

It's 2017!!

2017-02-23T22:06:00.001-08:00

Ok, I admit I've been a bad blogger! I've neglected this blog. I'm not really a writer so putting my thoughts into writing is a bit hard for me. Sharing RockyBeads updates through instagram and facebook is the easiest for me because one or two liners work! haha But here I am again trying to resurrect theclayingmommy blog. So bear with me if my writing is just blah blah blah. I will try my best to make it interesting.

Let's have a rundown of the events these past two years. I'm still a stay at home mum to my boys. Still busy with the toddler and when he's big enough to go to school, it would be time for me to go back to work again. So for the meantime, it's back to RockyBeads for me. I just went back to full time claying last year. I made a few orders mostly family portraits. Here are some of the finished pieces...

I've been busy updating my etsy shop also. I joined an etsy market too and it was so fun. I also joined Handmade Alchemy. I took this info about our group from fb - "Alchemy can be defined as a seemingly magical process of transformation &/or creation. This magical process of transformation and creation is the perfect way to describe what you'll find from our talented Australian artists in the form of polymer clay and metal components for jewellery makers, craft and mixed media artistry. Essentially we are a marketplace group where you can buy handmade beads and/or components to use in your own creations. Our Australian sellers have been invited to sell their work via showcases because they create with a unique style, use excellent technique and strive for a high-level of craftsmanship in either polymer clay, metal or both mediums." So if you are looking for unique components to use in your jewellery, head on to our group in fb. It's a fun group to belong to. I am planning of having another showcase soon. Here are some samples of the polymer clay components I made and sold there..

And to end 2016 in a high note, we moved from Sydney to the Central Coast. I think I can already say that we're finally settled at our new home. Busy with fixing the house and exploring the Coast. I thought of writing again in this blog because I want to share with you not only my adventures in claying but also our (me and hubby) fun but tiring shenanigans in fixing our home. We've been busy fixing the garden. Lots of weeding and cleaning to do. I feel so fulfilled that I was able to clean one side yesterday. I didn't really expect that gardening would be so fun and relaxing...just like claying! Here are some photos of our garden (still have a lot to to but taking it one day at a time)...

Cut a lot of branches so that the lemon tree will have some sun. I can't wait for the lemons to turn yellow! :)

Adding mulch and sand is next in line.

I repotted some plants and transferred the Jade plants from the back of the house to this part of the garden. We added some hanging plants too!

I hope you could join me this year and I also hope that I will be faithful in updating this blog! Let's have a wonderful 2017!! :)

Sketches for luggage tags..

2015-04-07T00:18:00.002-07:00

I made sketches for two orders of luggage tags. I'm excited to work on them. Thinking of using vibrant colors for both. I hope they will turn out nice. I will post WIP photos.

front

back of the tag

front

back

A Baptismal Gift...

2015-04-05T01:56:00.001-07:00

Happy Easter!! I hope everyone had a very solemn and relaxed holy week. We just stayed at home because it was a very rainy Friday and Saturday. But thank God, it was a sunny Sunday! It was a Happy Easter indeed. :)

I wasn't able to make two jewelry pieces this week because I had to finish a baptismal gift. I decided to make a personalized picture frame. I was supposed to use air dry clay for the letters of her name but when I was trying to position the letters on the frame, they didn't look nice. So at the last minute (as in the night before! haha!), I gave up and just used polymer clay. No regrets because it came out just the way I pictured it.

Here are the details of the frame:

the meaning of Eunah

added some details at the sides of the frame using a stamp and acrylic paint

used the martha stewart letter push mould for the name

I love seeing the styled photos in instagram and decided to try it out. This is what I came up with. I think I will do this with the new pieces that I will be posting.

For this coming week, I will work on two new pieces and a family portrait. I hope my two boys will let me finish something haha! Wishing you a good week ahead!:)

Preggy, Baby and Claying....

2015-03-29T14:30:00.002-07:00

Oh wow! I didn't realize that my last post was a year ago! How time flies! So many things happened in the past year but the best one was having Austin. Our new baby boy! He brings sunshine into our lives.

In my last post, I told you about my new work at a preschool. I had to stop because I got pregnant. So I'm now back being a stay at home mum. I'm slowly trying to get back to claying. When the bub's asleep, I try to push myself to make something but house work plus surfing the net and sleeping get in the way! tsk tsk! So as of today, my goal is to be able to finish 2 pieces of jewelry each week and eventually I hope to be able to finish something each day. I will share with you the finished pieces each week.

So to start it off...here's a bag tag that I made for a little boy. I'm glad that he liked it..and his mum too!

I also tried mixing clay and felt together in one piece of jewelry and this is what I made..

Bub's awake!! I'll be back soon...

Work and claying...

2014-04-11T04:00:00.002-07:00

Hi everyone! I'm back...again! haha New things happened during the past month. I've just started regular work and so finding time to blog or clay is a bit hard. I look forward to Friday nights and weekends because those are the best times for me to get crafty and play with clay again!

I just want to share with you a project I made last Feb and March. I made these babushka pendants for two toddlers who will wear them on their birthday! I also made a family portrait but I'm still looking for a photo that I can post here. I'm also in the process of finishing one again but it's taking me a bit long to get it done. Hopefully, I could finish it this weekend.

So that's it for now! Just a quick update! Have a good weekend everyone!

Explore..

2014-01-27T13:34:00.000-08:00

I've been spending most of my time outdoors during the past weeks. So many places to discover here in Australia! Beaches and parks are just minutes away. I had a wonderful time with my family having road trips, picnics and exploring! I'm thankful for having a husband and a son who also love to go on adventures. Here are some photos (taken by our official photographer...Daddy!) of our recent explorations...

blueberry picking at Misty Valley Farm

theme park hopping in Gold Coast

day trip to Wollongong

Grand Pacific Drive

Royal Botanic Garden in Sydney

having a fun time playing with the waves at Pearl Beach

Mackenzie Reserve

walking around a little island in Mackenzie Reserve

Two more days to go and it's back to school already for my little boy. It's going to be a busy school year ahead. So adventures will just be done on the weekends! :)

I made two new dome pendant designs..one hoot and one oink hehe! I will post photos of them soon. Have a good week everyone!

Doodle #2

2014-01-07T21:16:00.000-08:00

I really love to doodle or draw even if it doesn't love me that much. It helps me to relax. It's some sort of meditation for me. I feel so accomplished after I've finished one drawing even if it's very simple. It's also a great way to pass time while waiting for my son to finish his lunch or one way of keeping my hands off the computer! I think holding a pencil is better than the mouse!

I'm proud to say that I made doodle #2 today! So that means..a few hours of not sitting in front of the computer and just staying by my son's side while he plays and I draw. Here it is..

A mother's love.

I already started a new one and this time it will be colored! :)

See ya in my next post!

Claying mommy no more..

2014-01-06T21:59:00.001-08:00

I revamped my blog and also changed its name. It is now called rockyvantonio@blogspot.com.au! Just a few changes here and there but it sure helped to inspire me to blog more.

It is a good start for the new year!

I am really thankful to God for giving me these hands that can create. I still have a long way to go before I can create the "masterpiece" but I'm also thankful for each year that I get to learn and try out new things. So before I move on to 2014, let's look back first to 2013! Here are the projects I made last year.

2013 was also a very good year because I joined my first ever craft fair in Australia! It was a very good experience and I'm also very thankful for the support of family and friends. I learned so many things from that experience and I'm looking forward to joining more fairs in 2014! Here's a photo of my booth during the fair in Hornsby RSL...

I just started one of my new year resolutions last night. I finished a simple drawing and I liked how it turned out. Here's my first doodle for this year..

I finished fixing my table now! I'm ready and eager to make new designs again! I will be writing free tutorials now and then, so please do watch out for them.

Wishing you all a good year ahead! Lots of love and laughter for all of us this 2014!!

Mini Screws..

2013-05-23T17:07:00.002-07:00

Finally, I found mini screws at our local hobby shop. I was really so happy to see the sizes that I need. I have so much filigree that I can mix and match and put together with these screws instead of polymer clay. Here are some of the pieces I made using the filigrees and screws.

My next plan is to use these screws and filigrees with polymer clay. Pls. do watch out for it in my next post! Have a fantastic weekend everyone!

Seahorse Pendant Tutorial...

2013-05-21T02:44:00.001-07:00

I've been designing lockets for years now. Sometimes I break a locket because of too much experimenting haha! But the broken ones are too precious for me to just throw in the bin. So I just kept them in my stash of recyclable materials. Now, I found a way to use them again. For this tutorial, I just used one half of the broken locket and I'm still thinking of another design for the other half. I treated it like a bezel and thought of pouring resin inside. So here's how I made the seahorse pendant..

You will be needing the following materials...

half of a broken locket (for this one I used a 2 inch oval locket)

Polymer clay (shades of blue, brown and green)

push mold (for this project I used a Lisa Pavelka border mold)

Lisa Pavelka Magic-Gloss

UV lamp (optional)

Pearl-ex pigment powder Gold

Seahorse Charm

Pasta machine

some of the broken lockets I kept in my stash of recyclable materials

Condition the clays. Run all of your clays through the #3 setting of the pasta machine.

Get your brown clay and then cut it following the shape of the locket (use the locket as your template). Place the cut clay on the bezel side of the locket. Smoothen the sides. Cut the middle part leaving a bit of clay to cover the sides of the inside part. (as shown in photo A)

Get your blue clay and cut a small oval shape that will fit inside the locket. Smoothen the sides. (photo B)

Photo A

photo B

Press the seahorse metal charm into the blue clay. You can use any charms you have, just make sure that they are metal and can be baked together with the clay. (photo c)

Photo C

Now time to make the border. I just used a push mold (photo D) to make it. I just cut the molded clay a bit at the sides so that it will fit the border of the locket. (as shown in photo E)

Fill up the border with the molded clay (photo F). It's up to you what border design you would want to do. You can simply add rolled balls of clay as the border or just add texture to it using stamps/texture tools! :)

photo D

Photo E

Photo F

To add more fun to the border design, let's put small gold balls in the middle of the flowers. (photo G) Made a big difference right? ;) I used balls that are metal also that I can bake with the clay.

photo G

Let's make the border glimmer and shine! Apply pearlEx pigment powder (photo H) to the raised parts of the border (photo I).

To finish the design, let's add some green seaweeds! Get a pinch of your green clay and then flatten it. Add texture to it with your needle tool. Place the seaweeds just like in Photo I.

Photo H

Photo I

Bake your piece in the oven at 275F for 30-40 mins.

After it cools down, it's now time to add the magic-glos. (photo J) I do two applications to prevent bubbles. I use a UV lamp to cure the piece but you can also just leave it under direct sunlight until the gloss hardens.

Make sure that you pop out the gold steel balls and then glue them back again.

photo J

Here's the finished piece! :)

front

back

Have a good claying week everyone!

Red Flowers..

2013-02-03T21:11:00.000-08:00

It's the month of love! So I thought of making something romantic and very...RED! I finished the necklace that I started last week. I like how it turned out. Perfect "date" necklace this coming Valentine's...don't you think?

I will be listing it this week in my Etsy shop.

My plans for this week are the ff:

Make a face cane for my doll lockets

Finish a tutorial for Digital Beading ( I will be upcycling!!)

Handmade gifts

Hopefully, come up with a free tutorial ;)

I have to write them down and see to it that I will stick to the plan! haha I'm hoping to make this week a very productive one!

Hello 2013!!

2013-01-26T16:49:00.002-08:00

I know it's going to be February soon and it's only now that I had the drive to write something in my blog..tsk tsk tsk. What a way to start 2013 right? haha But one of my resolutions is to update my blog more often! I plan to share more free tutorials and details about my projects here rather than on Facebook alone. I promise you that! :)

So what have I been up to for the past weeks? Let the pictures do the talking..

I made some custom orders...

I made a bag tag for my niece in the Philippines...

Made this new two-faced russian doll with a 3 fold locket..

Made these new lockets! These lockets have two designs--front and back! So it's like having two necklaces in one! :) The sun and moon one is already sold but the other two are still available in my etsy shop...

Lastly, if you still don't have a copy of Digital Beading Magazine pls buy your copy now! Lots of lovely tutorials and inspiration inside!

Here's the tutorial I wrote the first issue:)

I will be making a free tutorial for you in the days to come! So pls. visit my blog again!

Happy weekend!!

What I've been up to..

2012-12-07T21:39:00.001-08:00

Christmas is fast approaching. I've been busy making custom orders and some new designs for my Etsy shop. Here's what I've been up to last month..

Doll lockets

Custom order lockets

a set for my etsy shop

another custom order

New dome pendants!!

here's how it looks like when you remove the cover

glass domes! Fun materials to play with:)

and a custom black cat christmas ornament!

Still have lots of things to finish before Christmas comes. This would be our third Christmas here in Oz. Missing my folks back home!

How about you? What have you been up to? :)

Happy weekend!

Wedding and a Surprise..

2012-11-08T15:20:00.003-08:00

For the past 3 weeks, I was busy making stuff for an upcoming wedding. It was my first time to make a ring plate and a wedding cake topper! Making the topper was really a challenge but I had fun. As for the ring plate, I followed a tutorial that my brother sent to me and just added my own touch to it. I also made a brooch for the bride that she will pair with her faux fur shawl. Here are the things I made...

A lovely SURPRISE came in the mail!!! Look at these cuties!! A clayist friend from the Philippines sent this to me. Thank you so much Rochelle Diccion! She make lovely clay dolls that we call Osheekoshee dolls. I will treasure them forever! I hope that the next time you'll be here in Oz, we'll get to see each other already.

What a good way to end a very tiring week! Happy weekend everyone!

Taking a break..

2012-10-16T23:33:00.003-07:00

Funny but when I say I'm taking a break from making a project..it means I'm stopping that certain project to make another one! haha So while I'm "taking a break" from making the doll lockets, tutorial and a gift..I made two new pieces. I planned on making new clay canes so I used up all of my old canes and made these..

More pics in my FB page

So now back to regular programming ;p

I hope you are having a good week!

still here..

2012-10-11T18:54:00.001-07:00

I've neglected blogging for months now. I haven't had the time to write and share with you my claying adventures. :( I was busy with Liam's school activities and house work. And also my mood for claying took a leave of absence too. haha The mood just comes and goes. Sometimes, I am really fired up and ready to clay but at times I just sit in front of my work table and then nothing comes! So frustrating! My friend just told me that when nothing comes just spend a day not thinking about claying or beading (that would really be a challenge for me haha). But I tried what she suggested and luckily..inspiration presented itself to me and I made these...

After I made these sets, I planned on making more pieces just using a single color of clay. Just like what I did in making these. Let's see what I can come up with!

I hope the mood will not go away anymore. Oh please I beg! haha

It's very cold and dreary here in Sydney. It's like winter all over again! We're having very unpredictable weather these past few days.

I hope you had a great week! TGIF!

New projects...

2012-07-29T17:40:00.002-07:00

I love giving handmade gifts. So if you're my friend/relative and you will be celebrating your birthday soon..expect a "made by hand, made with love" gift from me! ;) I really like the process of thinking what to make!

Here are some of the handmade gifts I made recently..

jewelry box

keychain

bag tag

journal

Another project I finished last week is a necklace and cuff set. I think of all the accessories I've created..this set is my most favorite! I am really proud of this one! It took me 3 days to finish it and with lots of baking in between. I promised myself to make more pieces like these and with each piece that I make..the better it will be! My next goal is to make a very, very clean back for the necklace.

I made the base of the necklace using armature wire. Here's how it looked like before I covered it with clay.

And here's the set..

I already have another design in mind but I will just finish some custom orders before I start working on the next set. I think working without a sketch of the design works well for me! haha So for the next one, I will just let my fingers do the thinking ;D

Monday mayhem!! I hope your first day of the week is going smoothly. Have a good week everyone!

Music Box

2012-07-12T16:25:00.001-07:00

Finally, I'm finished with the music box! I bought it in New Zealand during our last trip there. There were so many melodies to choose from. I thought I can't find some here in Sydney but luckily I found a shop in the city carrying kikkerland music boxes! yahoo! I think the next tune that I will buy is Hey Jude!:)

I really didn't know how to make the box. I tried surfing around the net, hoping that I would find a tutorial about it. The only link I found was about a workshop with Doreen Kassel! I wish I was somewhere near the US so that I can take her class but sadly I'm too far:( In the link, I saw the materials that they were going to use for the music box workshop. Included in the list is a cardboard box. A light bulb moment!! I have cardboard boxes in my stash and the music box fits inside! I'm sure you can buy these boxes in your local craft shop. Next step is to figure out how to secure the music box inside. It has holes for screws. Luckily, I have screws that fit in the holes! yahoo! With all the materials complete, it was time to start covering the box with clay and making the top design. It was something for Liam, so I thought cute animals on top will be the perfect design. But honestly, I was really torn into making something cute or making something elegant (yes! the usual flowers, leaves and butterflies!). But decided in the end to make something that Liam will like. It is also the melody that I sang to him when I put him to sleep when he was still a baby.

ready to be covered:)

Here it is..

Here's how it sounds...

I'm off to make another project! Have a wonderful Friday everyone!

The hardest part..

2012-06-29T22:24:00.000-07:00

Assembling the elements/materials that I have/made is the hardest part for me! Sometimes I just go blank and no matter what I add/turn/remove..it just doesn't work. I sent the pic of the necklace to my client and then deleted the message because I think there's something wrong with the design. I thought she didn't see the pic, so I disassembled the necklace and tried to make another design. I think I changed it about 5 times!! But it turns out that my client already so the pic before I deleted it and she said that she loved what she saw! So....I just put them all back together again using the first combination. haha!

Here are the flowers I made for the statement necklace..

This is what I came up with..

After you put out all your containers of beads and findings while looking for the right combination..you have to put them back and clean up!! Another hard task! haha:) But it's all worth it because you know that your client loved what you made!

I also made these animal lockets. Making them gives me so much joy!

School holidays for us here in Sydney...2 weeks of rest before term 3 starts again!:)

Happy Weekend!

Thoughts...

2012-06-14T03:32:00.000-07:00

...that I want to share with you. I know some of you will agree and some won't. But I hope these thoughts will help you in some way..

Criticisms should ALWAYS be looked at POSITIVELY.

How can a group function well if the people involved are not HONEST with each other?

ISSUES should always be resolved.

It is really hard to know if people are really TRUE.

Strive to make your own style. If you are just constantly "inspired by" the works of someone, it will not help you that much in developing the style that you can call your own.

"Utang na Loob" is a pinoy trait that will live on forever.

Good night everyone! TGIF tomorrow!

('',)

Flowery Pieces again...

2012-06-07T17:12:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post before I clean the house haha:)

I made two new floral adornments again. I was inspired by this plant..

Picture was taken by my husband when we went to the Royal Botanic Garden in Melbourne.

I thought of making lots of petals for each flower..each on top of the other. I came up with two new designs. Here they are:

More pics on myFB Page

I will list them soon in my Etsy shop.

Yahoo, friday already! Have a happy weekend everyone!

Been a long time..

2012-06-02T14:49:00.003-07:00

Whaaat?!?! I haven't written anything here for almost a month!! Time really flies so fast. I was really busy finishing orders, making projects and taking care of my family. I woke up early and checked out my blog and was so surprised that my last entry was in May! So here I am trying to make it up to my blog! Hello blogger, nice to see you again! haha :D

For the past month, I've been really addicted to using the UV resin gloss I bought. I kept on thinking of so many things to mix with it! It is really very easy to use and I already bought my own UV lamp for curing it. It's so hard to just wait for the sun to shine just to cure it, esp. now that winter is coming. So far, most of the lockets I made with it were easily sold. So I think, I will be making more! Here are some accessories I made with the gloss..

lockets..

rings...

And I used it on the tummy of this doll locket! :)

I had this pocket watch base for the longest time. I still didn't know what to do with it. It was from a pocket watch that I disassembled because I used the cover as a mold. I found it again while going through my stash of recyclables! I thought of a romantic design for it. So here it is..I called it "Dance like no one is watching" ..

I will be listing this soon in my etsy shop:)

I also made my first doll locket keychain! A client requested for this design and I was very happy to make it for her! She also asked me if I can put a cute heart inside. She will be going overseas and she wants to give this keepsake to her best friend. Here it is..

I think I'm getting the right shape already for this doll lockets. An "egg-shape" does really make them cuter and more adorable! haha

here's the heart inside! :)

I will be starting on more new doll lockets that I will sending to the Philippines. So another busy month for me. Wish me luck!

How about you? What are you up to now with your crafting or claying?:)

Have a happy weekend! Liam and I will just be spending our day at home...wishing daddy will be home soon.

Busy, busy...

2012-05-09T06:18:00.000-07:00

I've been busy these past few days making new stuff and completing some custom orders. I really love the thrill of experimenting and thinking of new designs! Recently, I've been playing with the Lisa Pavelka Gloss I bought months ago. I used it with clay a couple of times already. And then I thought of using it without clay and try mixing it up with the charms, rhinestones and watch gears that I haven't played with for so long and are left untouched in their plastic boxes. I had so much fun and I really looooved how they turned out!!! Here are the lockets plus a pair of earrings I made..

I also made another animal locket. I already tried making an elephant twice. But the ears and trunk weren't that strong and fell off. Oh poor Elephant! haha So, a dear friend named, Oshee taught me how to make it stronger by adding wires inside! Now, I'm happy as a bee because finally I made a very strong "ear-d" and strong "trunk-d" Elephant! yey!!

I also made new russian doll lockets.

This is my WIP now...already baked and ready to be turned into something Swellegant. haha:)

I'm hoping for good weather again tomorrow so that I can start taking good pictues of the new stuff. They will all be listed soon in my Etsy shop! Good night everyone!