26 agosto 2011

Enjoy the Pastel Side of Life

Today we've conquered our fisrt charity shop's Front Page!
We're so excited because the treasury was absolutely amazing and because Etsy's shoppers loved it! So thank you very much to lefolliedimarzia, our teammate, who made such a great collection.
Please, remember that our Charity Campaign will expire on September 9th 2011.


Oggi abbiamo conquistato la nostra prima Front Page (la pagina iniziale di Etsy) con il negozio di Beneficenza!Siamo contentissime perché la treasury è strabella, con accostamenti di colori pazzeschi e anche perché non l'abbiamo apprezzata solo noi, ma tutto Etsy! Grazie infinite a lefolliedimarzia, un membro del team, che ha realizzato una così bella collezione!
Ricordiamo che la nostra Campagna di Beneficenza sarà attiva fino al 9 Settembre 2011.


25 agosto 2011

The thousands uses of polymer clay



Who gets in touch for the first time with polymer (or syntetic) clay such as Fimo, Cernit, Premo!, Kato, Scupley etc, often have no idea of the myriad uses of this amazing material, but in fact the choices are endless, limited only by your creativity.


Polymer clay are thermosetting materials sold in solid or liquid form, made from PVC and completely non-toxic. In the past, some brands of clay contained synthetic chemicals (phthalates) which, if burned, could release toxic substances. However, new formulations have eliminated this inconvenience. They are usually sold in blocks or bottles (in the case of liquid clay) with a weight variable and different colors.
Not all polymer clay brands are suitable for every purpose: for example, some brands produce clay with special physical properties (elasticity resilience) that make them preferable for the creation of jewelry, others are more suitable for precision works, others have better color rendering and so on.

The stylish dolls by atelierpompadour




Since thermosetting materials, to ensure that the creation modeled maintains the form that we have given, it must be baked in the oven at specific temperatures (depending on the brand of polymer clay used).
Before baking, polymer clay is suitable to be used in conjunction with many other materials such as thin metal foils, pigments, beads, acrylic paint, tempera, chalk, rhinestones, sequins, spheres, glitter, and even make-up, to achieve various and original effects. Polymer clay objects can be treated even after baking, obtaining different results: they can be painted, sanded, "glassed" (with liquid polymer siutable to be be cured at high temperatures and a heat gun), varnished, polished by hand or by machine.

The fantastic miniatures by Mairi


Many polymer clay artists also love to decorate their cured creations with reliefs or engravings, which may be realized by hand or using electrical devices such as the Dremel Engraver. Liquid polymer clay can also be blended with color, pigments, glitter, sequins, etc., and can be used for inclusions (as the resin). Inclusion is a tecnique that allows you to embed an object into the liquid medium; after baking, it will remain incapsulated into the clay. It can also be used to finish polymer clay works (for example with the "glassing", which we have already mentioned), can be cast in molds and used for the transfer of images, to name just a few examples.

The cute "pupini" by Biberta


The list of the way in which is possible to use this fantastic medium is virtually endless! In addition to jewelry, figurines, ornaments, accessories, imitation of precious stones and other natural materials, buttons, brooches, hair clips, you can make dolls, pieces of furniture, book or photoalbum covers, pens, miniatures and much, much more.
Probably two of the most famous uses of polymer clay amongst women are the jewelry and the creation of dolls'houses components, but male creative artist also does't hesitate to use polymer clay for modeling or for the dioramas. For example, in scale modeling, liquid clay (as the resin) is very siutable to be used to reproduce liquids (drinks, sups, water...) or landscape features (lakes, rivers...).

The wonderful buttons by EtsyPeekaBoo


There's no denying: this fantastic material can assume all the shapes suggested by your immagination!

A very useful book to delve into this argument is "The Art of Polymer Clay: Designs and Techniques for Making Jewelry, Pottery, and Decorative Artwork" by Donna Kato.

Weekly Finds


Big Wednesday, Fine Art Photography Print - PassionStudioPH
Felt Fish Earrings - ladaridari
One, No one and One Hundred Thousand fish earrings - Chickslab
Necklace choker ceramic pendant - Piabarilejewelry

Collage created by CloudNumberNine







18 agosto 2011

11 agosto 2011

Weekly Finds

Smile hand painted wooden brooch - by polkadotscloud
Black and white vintage inspired dress - by AliceCloset
Chalkboard necklace - by fiorejewellery
The photographer bear - by teconlene

Collage created by babu106

4 agosto 2011

1 agosto 2011

Etsy's Atelier at Abilmente Autumn 2011

[versione italiana]

Have you ever heard of "Abilmente" (litterally, skillfully!) ??
It is the largest exhibition of Italian craftsmanship creative workshops, held twice a year, in spring and autumn, at the fair in Vicenza (one hour from Venice).

The Autumn 2011 edition will host an entire studio reserved for Etsy. The stand will host thirteen sellers from different parts of Italy and, of course, some of them are also members dell'EtsyItaliaTeam!

For the Etsy's Atelier the main centers will be the points of information to know and understand this e-commerce platform (both to buy and to sell) and to see the magnificent courses developed by the participants, where you can create all sorts of wonder.
The icing on the cake, there will be a wonderful fair of handmade-etsy-style ... We do not say more to not spoil the surprise because, of course, we expect you to Vicenza!

The shops and creative contributors (in alphabetical order):
Babu106 - Cassetto di Momo
BusyBusyResi
Cloud NumberNine
Ethereal Flowers
Etranger
Fabric In Wonderland
Ireneagh
Mad About Pink
Madama Robé
Mai Sister Bijoux
Moda Gioie Venezia
Sara Bergando
Shower Flower

For all participants we have organized a giveaway for 3 tickets for entry to the show!
(Only for Italian members)

Written by CloudNumberNine
English version by InFire


 

Ritorno a Scuola

[english version]




Siamo entrati da qualche giorno nel mese di settembre e i bambini si sono ormai rassegnati alla dura realtà: il rientro a scuola è imminente ed inevitabile.
Come ogni anno inizia la corsa all'acquisto di tutto il nécessaire, ovvero matite, penne, quaderni, diario, astuccio, zaino e molto altro.
La maggior parte dei prodotti in vendita nelle nostre cartolerie riesce ormai a soddisfare i desideri dei nostri figli; come in tutti i settori, però, anche qui dobbiamo fare i conti con le cosiddette “mode del momento”, che omologano le proposte presenti sul mercato.
Un vero peccato...

In nostro aiuto, ancora una volta, arriva il mondo dell'handmade: è infatti possibile personalizzare il proprio corredo scolastico dando libero sfogo alla propria personalità... come?
Beh, ad esempio creando un astuccio all'uncinetto usando filati coloratissimi. La nostra knittingcate ne ha realizzato uno assolutamente delizioso: perfetto per uno scolaretto modello!


Se volete poi un segnalibro creato ad hoc, PassionArte ne propone uno simpaticissimo: un funghetto farà capolino dai libri dei vostri figli e li accompagnerà durante lo studio!



I piccoli quaderni di Biberta sono originalissimi: disegnati interamente a mano e curati nei minimi dettagli, è impossibile trovarne uno uguale all'altro!



Se invece vi volete cimentare (magari con l'aiuto dei bimbi!) ecco un tutorial per realizzare un simpatico astuccio in stoffa: My needle crafts - Simple pencil case tutorial.

Ed ora.. Buona scuola a tutti!

Scritto da LefolliediMarzia



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