Wonder and Whimsy Monthly Challenge - February Reveal, Part 3

...And, here it is! The last reveal of this month's Wonder and Whimsy Monthly Challenge--posted on the last day of February. Heh. That's cutting it a bit close to the end, isn't it? :)

As a recap, in the previous reveal entries, I've shown a few things that I've made with polymer clay (simple components and more elaborate pendants). The last thing I did for this challenge--and what I'm going to be showing in this entry--was make a polymer clay cane. 

Specifically, I made a Damascus Ladder Cane... and it actually turned out well!

Above, you can see the colors that I picked for my cane. (If you're wondering why that earring is there, it's because I had hoped to make something to match it. That didn't end up happening--but that didn't stop me from making many other things. *grin*) 

Now, before I go any further, I should ask advanced polymer clay artists to forgive my Glaring Beginner Offenses. I don't have any of the fancy tools--no extruder or pasta machine or things to help make canes square. I just had a rolling pin, a knife, and my hands. (Maybe, since this turned out well, I can convince my husband that better tools are a business expense?)

With that disclaimer out of the way, here are some process pictures. First, I conditioned the clay, rolled it out into sheets, and then stacked them together.

And then I twisted the stack. And twisted it some more. And then twisted it even more, eventually making it long and skinny and a bit like a sausage.

Once I was done, I cut the tip off, which revealed a fair amount of color-marbling...

...And then the moment of truth. I cut it lengthwise, and that revealed the Damascus Ladder pattern:

Woo-hoo! It worked!! Not perfect, perhaps, but it worked! 

...Not bad for a beginner.

I then used that cane to make three different necklaces. Brace yourself... many pictures incoming! :)


Necklace #1

The first necklace is the simplest. I took a slice of the cane, and made it into a pendant. I then picked out some matching beads, wire-wrapped them, and created this necklace:

One of my favorite things about this necklace is that it's actually reversible. Each side of the pendant has a neat pattern, so the wearer can decide which side best matches their mood for that day:

  
The materials for the necklace, in case you're interested, are shell, glass and crystal. Oh, and a polymer clay pendant, of course. :)

Necklace #2

In addition to making the pendant for necklace #1, I also cut portions of the cane and used it to coat some large wooden beads. I then finished them with varnish, and used one of them to make necklace #2.

I also used some waxed linen, glass, crystal, and magnesite (progress photo seen above).

...Oh! And a tassel:

I bet you saw that one coming, heh.

I love the movement of this necklace. I also like the fact that, due to the focal being polymer over wood, it's surprisingly light. 

And, of course, I like the colors... I already have at least two outfits in mind that would match this perfectly. (My original plan was to sell it, but I may I have a hard time parting with it! *grin*)

Necklace #3

The last necklace also used one of those large focal beads... again coated in varnish, and this time paired with magnesite, glass (Czech and otherwise), shell, and larvikite. 

Progress shot!
...You can see where this is going, I'm sure.

Here is the finished necklace:

Yep. It has a tassel. 

  
Something interesting--and this applies to the other necklaces as well--is how surprisingly difficult to find beads that matched the pendant exactly. I went through at least five different iterations of that tassel before I settled on the final design--putting beads in, swapping them out for different ones, and so forth.

Still, I'm definitely happy with how it turned out!

...And, yeah, I don't think I'm parting with this one. I actually have already worn it (this past weekend), and received compliments on it. I may have to use the rest of the cane to make more focal beads, so that I can make more necklaces. :)

...And there you go! That concludes the reveals for this month's challenge. Thanks so much for stopping by to see what I made--and for having patience with me as I spread this out over a couple of days. I'm sure you'll agree--there was definitely too much for one entry!

Have a lovely day, everyone! I'll see you in March, when I'll have a new challenge to share!

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For Part 1 of this challenge, click here.
For Part 2 of this challenge, click here.