arrived today! I am so pleased! I have plans for these!
They are also called Mermaid Beads. They seem to glow from within, like labradorite!
Oct26
Author Archives: karlakrafts
Oct5
Another Experiment
I tried out the rubber latex moldmaking material I found on clearance at Hobby Lobby. I made a mold of the bottom of this bowl.
The latex looks like thick white glue, but smells horrible. I used it under the exhaust fan above Mama’s stove top.
Instructions say apply with a paint brush, at least 3 coats, allowing each coat to dry. Three days later, I have this:
Decent impression, still stinks!
Oct5
Tube Tute?
I’m reverse enginering a pen to make some tubes to use in tying barrel/sliding/adjustable knots. I saw a great barrel and sliding knot tutorial on Kellie’s Bead Boutique You Tube Channel. Now, to find a box cutter or hack saw!
Oct3
All Set!
I got three of my Czech glass cabichons set in my new gold plated bezels. I used Quick Hold by the makers of E6000.
It’s hard to capture how reflective they are. Two of them have a color shift:
Sep29
Raining Sunshine
This is my entry for the Chip Challenge on the Beady Bunch page. The Beady Bunch is an online beading group I belong to.
The chips are citrine, the pendant component is brass, and the chain and findings are gold-plated.
I’m getting lots of positive feedback from my beading buddies! Happy Dance!
Sep27
Serious Shopping!
I met Laura in Boone, today, for some serious craft shopping!
I need to document why I bought these things, and maybe, where I put them!
These pendant trays are gold plated and hold an 18mm cabochon.
Mold making materials. Ultralight can be used to make molds, and you can make corrections before you bake it! These are stored with the polymer clay.
I love making molds, I confess!
Sep23
The Circle
Susan Thomas showed my work on The Circle on her show on JTV Extra today. She shows everyone’s work who submits, now, but it’s still an honor and a thrill. Today’s theme was Color Crush, and I shared one of my favorite yarns for kumihimo, “Copper Penny,” with a work in progress.
Sep22
Call Me Crazy!
I’ve been called worse! I’m sure there are molds out there for calibrated cabochons. I might even have some in a safe place! In any event, I made these!
24mm, 30mm and 35mm. I can’t wait to twist up some ploymer clay colors and make cabs! Oooh, and how about some resin?!?
Sep16
Laura found an app!
It’s called ColorMixr, and it’s for polymer clay. I think you could use it for beads and fabrics and paints, and here are some color palettes I’ve created. 
These are all taken from photographs. Let me show you the geisha.
I look for Asian images to use with kumihimo, and she was in my photo gallery. In the app, you have these options:
I clicked on, “Image from gallery, and my photos opened. I chose the geisha and this is what the app did with it.
It isolated five areas from the photo, and created a palette at the bottom. Three of the areas were black, and I didn’t need them, so I moved those spots to another colored area. You just touch them on the screen and drag them where you want.
Now I could use these colors to choose cords for kumihimo, or fabrics for a quilt, or paints to recreate the image.
ColorMixer goes a step further and gives recipes for mixing polymer clay to get these colors. Then, I could sculpt her! 
The app has a grid you can download for measuring “parts.”
The next screen will allow you to save your palette and when it saves the palette, you can name it.
It will also save your photo and the color recipes to your photo gallery on whatever device you are using. I am using iPhone.
What else the app can do, I have yet to discover, but I’m looking forward to it!
The app was developed by Nancy Urlich, and at this writing, is free! Find it in whichever app store you use. Look for, “ColorMixr,” and have fun!
Sep13
Resin Demo from Dallas!
Candie Cooper shared a demo from FlatLand Artistry at the Dallas Pinners Conference just a little while ago. It was so interesting and inspiring, I had to save a link. I can’t seem to share it here, but look it up on Candie Cooper’s facebook page, under videos, Sept. 13, 2019. Here’s a screenshot: 