Beautiful Handmade Jewelry from Jewelry By Sherry

Sherry, of Jewelry By Sherry on ArtFire.com says "I am a retired military wife. My husband retired with 36 years in the Canadian Navy almost 2 years ago. While he was away I always had a craft project. I like to knit, make jewelry, felted animals and scrapbooking. Those are just a few of the crafts I enjoy. Our biggest "craft" project now is renovating our Victorian home. With our three cats, Patches, Tigger and Mr. Chew Chew, we make are a very happy family.
Jewelry By Sherry is a brand new business. I love beads, sterling silver and gold.
I have always made jewelry for my family and friends. But never gave myself enough credit for my designs. So...like everything I do in my life I am going to give it a try. I least I can say I tried to sell my jewelry." And she's got some lovely jewelry for sale too! Right now she's having a 10% off sale until July 10th, so hurry and get some of this beautiful handmade jewelry while you can! You can also find Sherry online at http://www.jewelrybysherry.blogspot.com/, Facebook, and Twitter. Some of her very satisfied customers have said "Monumentally Exceptional, Sherry! This bracelet is simply stunning and your design is impeccable :) LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!", and "Gorgeous bracelet! My daughter's going to love it for her 16th bday!".
Below are some of my favorites from Jewelry By Sherry. Be sure to stop in and find a few of your own favorites!

You simply can NOT beat these prices either!
-Michelle of CreativeCritters

ArtFire Polymer Clay Smoosher CNewcomb is featured

CNewcomb, another talented member of the ArtFire Polymer Clay Smooshers guild, makes unique polymer clay inlaid keychains, as well as scroll saw pieces. He says "Creating something beautiful with my hands from a piece of wood brings great joy to me. I love cutting out patterns and sanding and staining my wood creations. Watching a new item begin to look more finished and ready for its owner provides a gratifying sense of calm and peace deep within my soul.
I actually started wood working as a hobby. It's something I can do to help reduce the stress in my life while staying home, with my family nearby -- that is important to me. I’m married to the most wonderful woman I know. Together, we are the proud parents of two beautiful, healthy, smart daughters. My woodworking hobby has been gaining popularity among family, friends, and both my wife’s and my co-workers. It is because of that, and per request, that I’ve decided to turn my hobby into something more and sell my handcrafted projects. I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoy making them." You can also find him on Facebook and Twitter. Below are just a few of my favorites from his shop. Be sure to stop in and see everything this talented artist has to offer!

-Michelle of CreativeCritters

Polymer Clay Glow in the Dark Fanatsy Lion Fish Mermaid sculpture

Lion Fish Mermaid sculpture

It all started with a simple challenge: I was to create an ocean themed piece (or two) for the Polymer Clay Smooshers guild Ocean Challenge, which has been timed perfectly for summer. For my first entry I decided to make a mermaid, which would allow me to add some fantasy to the ocean theme. I had originally planned on sculpting a fairly traditional mermaid, until I stumbled across a painting online of what I call a Lion Fish Mermaid. The painting was amazing, and I just knew I had to attempt to create her in polymer clay in my own style. Figuring out just how to prop her took a few days of thinking. On a piece this complex and delicate, a sturdy base is incredibly important. I used a heavy gauge wire armature and created the blue gray coral that her body rests on. I shaped the body to fit as closely as possible to the coral. To my surprise, it worked out quite well and nothing sagged or shifted on any of her several bakes. Creating the fins and spots from glow in the dark clay was actually a happy accident. I thought I had grabbed my cream colored clay (they're nearly identical in the light), but discovered after my first bake that her spots glowed in the dark. I liked the effect, so used the same clay for the fins, and even her hair. I couldn't get a good glow in the dark picture, so you'll have to take my word for it that she looks AWESOME! I even added real shells and a real rock to the base of the sculpture. This piece turned out better than I could have hoped. I even found one set of blue gray glass doll's eyes left in my stash. Sometimes everything just seems to fall into place. You can click on any of the pictures to go directly to her listing, where you'll find more pictures, as well as more details about the piece. Thanks so much for stopping by my little fantasy world!



-Michelle of CreativeCritters

Featuring fellow Polymer Clay Smoosher Crafty Baby Hope

Jennifer, of CraftyBabyHope on ArtFire.com has always had a love of crafts and takes great pleasure from creating new things. Working with her hands to create beautiful pieces is what she does best, which become obvious as soon as you see her work. She's always learning new things and enjoys working with wire and polymer clay. Jennifer says "I live in Arizona and it gets SUPER hot in the summer. So hot that I stay indoors until the sun goes down.LOL I grew up in Mississippi where I met my wonderful husband. Shortly after we got married we moved to Sunny Arizona. After 5 years of marriage we had our wonderful son. When my son was 5 years old we started trying for another child. After 4 miscarriages we are still trying desperately to expand our family. I have been diagnosed with secondary infertility as well as MTHFR, PCOS, Endometriosis and hypothyroidism. My husband and I are going on 15 years of marriage. I am 34 years old going on 35 so time is running out. My hope is to be able to raise enough money from my studio sales to pay for at least one round of IVF (in-vitro fertilization). After that the sky is the limit."
CraftyBabyHope is also a fellow member of the Polymer Clay Smooshers guild. You can find her online at http://craftybabyhope.blogspot.com/, Flickr, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and IndiePublic. Below are a few of my favorites from her shop. Make sure you stop in to see everything this very talented artist has to offer!

-Michelle of CreativeCritters

Lovely Beaded jewelry from SouthfieldDesigns on ArtFire.com

Today I'm featuring the beautiful beaded jewelry of SouthfieldDesigns on ArtFire.com. Joyce says "Southfield Designs has it's roots in the small village of Southfield in the Berkshire Mts. of Mass. I live up here with my husband and our dog Daisy. We have 5 children and 9 grandchildren. I am a retired nursery school teacher/director. When we moved up here about 6 years ago I was able to use my time to design lovely pieces of jewelry and at the same time take in the beauty of where I am blessed to live. I design all of my pieces and handcraft each piece with great attention and love. My husband helps me with the computer, when I run into trouble. It is a good combination and we really love our life!!" She can also be found online at www.southfielddesigns.com, southfielddesigns.blogspot.com, and on Facebook. Below are a few of my favorite pieces from her shop. Be sure to stop in and see all the beautiful jewelry Joyce has to offer!

Absolutely gorgeous!!
-Michelle of CreativeCritters

Featuring fellow Polymer Clay Smoosher Dori, of Sassy Clay Creations

Dori, of Sassy Clay Creations on ArtFire.com is a very active and supportive member of the Polymer Clay Smooshers Guild who's full of great ideas and suggestions. Dori can always be counted on to encourage the rest of the guild. She really loves working with polymer clay and will sometimes add beads or other items to add interest to a piece. She loves creating beautiful pieces from all the wide variety of clay color. She also takes special requests. I just love her use of color and the way she layers multitudes of tiny clay shapes to create an intricate and colorful item. One of her satisfied customers said "Very big perfect 10! The pendant looks like an actual sanded stone. Very good quality. can't wait to use it. thank you." You can also find Sassy Clay Creations online on Facebook. Below are a few of my personal favorites from her shop. Be sure to stop in and find a few favorites of your own!

Her work always makes me smile!
-Michelle of CreativeCritters

ColtPixy creates in polymer clay on ArtFire.com

Featuring Polymer Clay Smooshers Guild Master ColtPixy!

ColtPixy, on ArtFire.com, is one of my favorite polymer clay artists, as well as the guild master of our Polymer Clay Smooshers guild. She's studied arts and crafts all her life. She loves all artistic mediums and for many years did nothing but paint. Her favorite mediums were acrylics and watercolor and she's also spent some time working with quill pens and ink.
Her husband introduced her to stained glass, and while she loved working with glass she hated wasting anything so she started making mosaics to use up the scrap glass.
She enjoys the freedom of using different mediums and the ability to explore, learn and express herself more freely through her art.
Preferring things that are one of a kind, ColtPixy tries to make things that are unique. When she does reproduce something she incorporates subtle differences so that they are not exactly alike.
Right now her focus is mainly on polymer clay. Personally, I couldn't ask for a better guild master. Not only is she a wonderful artist, she's a good person. Some of her very satisfied customers have said, "There are no words for how much I like these bitchy peas. They make me laugh and that is worth millions to me at the moment. Thank you for sharing that talent with me.", "All around perfect and I love both the dragon and the peas. One made me smile, the other ones made me laugh out loud!! Thank you so much!", and "Seller was prompt with contact and keeping me informed throughout the order process. Order arrived promptly and in excellent condition. Order was packaged appropriately and looked lovely. I look forward to using ColtPixy in the future." And that's only a sample of the praise she's received. You can find ColtPixy online at coltpixy.com, Flickr, DeviantArt, and Twitter Below are a few items from her shop. Be sure to stop by and see all she has to offer!

What a wonderfully talented artist!
-Michelle of CreativeCritters

Another fun Alice in Wonderland inspired creation

My latest addition to CreativeCritters is this whimsical plush Doormouse in a teapot, measuring 7 inches tall and 8 inches wide. The hand sewn teapot was sewn from bright red felt and is decorated with yellow and orange felt flowers. The flowers, which have contrasting centers, are glued and sewn to the teapot. The whimsical Doormouse was sewn by hand from gray felt and has the lid of the teapot perched on his head as a hat. The mouse is securely sewn to the top of the teapot and both are firmly stuffed with polyester fiberfill. The base of the teapot is firm, so it sits level. This would be a great addition to any Alice in Wonderland collection!






Thanks for stopping by to check out my newest creation!
-Michelle of CreativeCritters