Behind the Scenes in Leather Feather Land

Hello again dear bead loving friends! Welcome to Leather Feather Land… er… I mean my little corner of the world: Tree Wings Studio!

Today you find me buried under a heap of hundreds of leather feathers in progress! Yeah, I'm that crazy… I can't stop making them!

I can't remember if I've said it before now, but last year I finally stepped into the realm of wholesaling and these particular feathers are a result of that. Funny how just a couple years ago, I was pretty sure I'd never do wholesale and now here I am! I know wholesaling is not for everyone and there are some who wonder why I'm taking this path. It can be such a hard strain on an artisan to do so much of the same thing over and over and over and over… and over. Not to mention the potential cut in pay. For me, there was a lot of planning involved, numbers crunched again and again, long chats with friends and family, and of course, input from the lovely ladies of AJE. And now, I have to say I'm really happy I made the decision to go for it—it's hard work, yes, but it's all part of getting me closer to my dream job: making what I love full time.

One day I promise to share a bit more about how and why I decided wholesale was right for me, but for today, I'm giving myself a little break from thinking and am giving you a tour of my studio mess instead… I hope you enjoy it!

For these big orders, I pull out my biggest table to keep this mess separated from my regular mess so I'm not over crowded when I go to work on the regular stuff. It's actually half a Ping-Pong table… it would be the whole Ping-Pong table if it would fit!

I love making tools and whatnot to make my job easier! Each of my feather designs has a series of stencils I made to ensure patterns are consistent.

Each feather starts with a stenciled layout and then every single detail is "drawn" on carefully by hand with my wood burner.

I always have a few design inspirations nearby and while my hands are busily working away, my mind muses on new ideas. During coffee breaks, I'll sometimes do a little experimenting too. That's actually one thing I really love about large orders—the work becomes very methodical when you've got hundreds of the same thing to make and there's so much time to think!

I like to break things up a bit, to keep it from getting too dull—especially when I'm working extra long hours. I'll divide my work into smaller batches and rotate between them throughout the day so I'm only doing the same thing for a couple hours max. Nothing worse than a bored artist! It also helps prevent hand cramps.

And blisters—wow yeah! Even the most calloused, over worked, outdoor loving (oops, I forgot my gloves!), horse petting, bead making hands can get blisters if you don't take a break! And then there was the time I got poison ivy… okay, I'll stop with all the details!

It's many hours of work before I can begin painting the feathers, but it's always a happy moment when I start mixing and applying layers of color!

Painting remains my very favorite part of whatever I make! There's something so magical in the way that color brings life to a creation.

Still lots more feathers to go—and now, it's time for me to get back to work! I hope you had fun joining me in my studio today!

Wishing you all a wonderfully creative weekend!

Rebekah Payne
Tree Wings Studio

Blog: treewingsstudio.com

Shop: treewingsstudio.etsy.com

Struggling with Creativity

Happy New Year everyone! Is it still okay to say that, now that it's 17 days into the new year?!… it just felt wrong not to since this my first post of the new year. I do hope you each had a most wonderful holiday!

The beginnings of a shop restock.

I'm now about two weeks back from a very short, but much needed break over the Christmas holiday and things are once again starting to look much like they always do: I'm packing molds and shaping fine details on dozens of beads, and next week I'll be starting my first paint batch. One of my very favorite things! Here's a bit more of what's taking shape on my work table right now…

If you would like to know what I did during my break, the answer is simple: I made things! In other words, I swapped out bead making for other kinds of making. I made pies, cookies, and my mom and I spent many hours in the kitchen preparing all the other homemade goodies my family loves. I do love to bake! And then I made a few gifts—jewelry, a vase (I was still working on it on Christmas morning!) and some little tiny plant pots. And I started another couple gifts that weren't finished in time and had to be given as work-in-progress gifts. Have I convinced you that I really have no clue how to take a real vacation?

This was my work table 3 days before Christmas! You would have never guessed I wasn't making beads.

My heart is so very happy when I'm creating, especially if it's something special for someone I love. And I truly believe that what talents I have are a gift meant to be used and shared. So anyhoo… when Caroline asked us all about our goals for the new year, I came to the full realization that I really didn't have much planned. I had been pondering things for the past few months and even though there are so many things I want to do, there was nothing really solid, and it finally hit me hard.

A little tiny air plant pot! I made three of these little guys.

What I've realized most, is just how much my creativity has consumed me—filling up every last moment of my days. I joke that if I'm not working, I'm working: it's either my day job or my studio job, but I'm always working. I actually feel sad that some of it kept me so busy that I missed out on time with my family and friends. It's no longer a hobby, but a second job. One that I do love, for sure! I mean, who can complain about doing something that has been a life long dream? But when you miss out on the simple things like dinner and movie night with family. every. single. time. It's time to step back and rethink things.

This vase, for my mom, was my Christmas morning project. I finished just in time to open gifs… actually gift opening was delayed on my behalf. :-)

I do have a very good excuse for being so late: the gift I purchased for her arrived late and was not quite what I had expected. Handmade gifts win every time!

I know some of you might ask why I am complaining at my success. But no, it's not that at all! I'm overjoyed and am so very thankful for each and every success that comes my way. It's not at all success that I am struggling with, but how to rein in my creativity. Just a little bit.

It's the struggle on how to feel okay about a particular bead being sold out for a few weeks while I fiddle with new ideas that might come to nothing. Or when to clean up and turn out the lights in my studio early some nights. Or even for a weekend. It's about the struggle on how to handle not doing it all, all the time. For a person who thrives on organization, schedules, and lists it's an alarming thing to discover just how unorganized I've become! Take for example me editing this post at 2:58am because I was too busy making beads earlier. See what I mean?

I always laugh when someone who doesn't understand what I do comments on how nice it must be to work for myself, because it means I can take breaks whenever I want and do what I want… really!? That certainly wasn't in my business manual.

Does this all mean that I'm burnt out or should take a long vacation? Not yet and no. I think there will probably always be beads coming from Tree Wings Studio. I am often exhausted, but know I'm not burnt out when new ideas are constantly flooding into my mind. Yes—what about all the new beads that I hint at every so often? I do want to finally make them!

I really can make new beads, if I make the time for them—nothing quite like a Secret Santa gift swap to push me to create something brand new!

So, for this year, my one and only true goal is to live life just a little bit more, to stop working so hard, to actually stop creating all the time… to breath a little and relax, and be inspired by more quiet time and time with family. I hope that this will in turn fuel my determination to work more efficiently. I think it may prove harder than any other goal I've ever set…

Okay, now it's your turn! Do you ever struggle with too much creativity? Does it ever get in the way of other things you love doing? Or maybe you have found that happy balance? Do share!

Rebekah Payne

Tree Wings Studio

Reposting an old favorite… pressed flower bead how-to

Hello again! And welcome to another post re-run. There's not all that much exciting and new in my studio these days—every day is all about making more of the same—sleepy critters, speckle beads, rustic tribal birds, leather feathers, etc, etc… and pressed flower beads. Lots of pressed flower beads.

I really love making them! Especially with winter quickly approaching—I want to enjoy the summer flowers just a little bit longer. And so, today's post is one of my pressed flower tutorials I first shared with you a year ago. I hope you'll enjoy seeing a behind the scenes peek at my work… and maybe you'll be inspired to try making some for yourself! Enjoy!

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I hope you all haven't gotten bored of my pressed flower beads already… I have two more how-tos for you today. These are quite a bit more simple than my last design, but they turn out looking like you put a lot of time into them. And it's all thanks to a nicely textured mold! :-)

Here they are…

1. Choose 2 molds (or texture sheets) of the same or similar pattern. Roll equal size balls of polymer for each bead.

2. Sandwich a polymer ball between the two molds.

3. Press firmly using a small glass dish so you get even texture.

4. Ta-da! your nicely double-sided textured currently hole-less bead!

5. Before removing the polymer from the mold,  gently cut the hole — this way that pressure won't distort the texture. I used a large leather punch for my cutter.

6. Bake for an hour and cool.

Next, paint your donuts…

And enjoy that nice texture…

Now we're going to make some wrapped beads…

1. Chose a mold or texture sheet with a long or repeating pattern. Roll same size pieces of polymer — this time lengthen them into sticks.

2. Press firmly.

3. Wrap to form beads. I used a crochet hook for my beads.

4. Ready for the oven. Bake for an hour and cool.

Paint…

Go make something with them!!

See, that was pretty easy… and made some fun new beads! I hope you'll give these a try. What new creations have you been working on? Making anything with polymer clay lately?

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And… back to the studio I go… all the unfinished beads are calling me! Wishing you each a very creative weekend!

Rebekah Payne

Tree Wings Studio

Reposting an old favorite… make your own polymer clay silverware textured beads

Hello again! and welcome back to Tree Wings Studio! Two weeks ago you found me nearly buried beneath a mound of paint-spattered papers… and now today… well, actually I have nothing new to show or write about. Mostly just the same old, same old going on. I've gotten those papers cleared up and now I'm working away at the mound of unpainted beads (I love painting, but for the most part it isn't an exciting thing to watch! lol), organizing beads in my shop and planning the next few weeks of creating.

Part of that next few weeks of creating will hopefully include some new beads and some beads I haven't made in a very long time—almost 2 years ago—my silverware textured beads! The little tutorial below is one I shared back in November 2012 and I thought it would be fun to share it again. These beads are super easy to make and turn out so nice, if I may say so myself. Enjoy…

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I've been on a bead making rampage these days! In between the critter making and the pony sanding, I've been squeezing in a few new ideas.  So today I thought I'd share the process of my latest ones with you: silverware textured beads.

I chose three different fancy handled knives for this project. I got these at Goodwill—you never what neat textures you'll find when digging through the silverware bins there!

I used a two part molding compound to make the impressions and for these I kept the sides fairly low since I'm not going to casting beads with them—just texturing.

And here they are all cured. I just love this stuff—it sets up so fast and there's no need for any mold release!

Next I shaped my bead cores in polymer clay, making them a little smaller than I wanted the final beads to be. I baked them in the oven for 15 minutes just to set the clay.

After cooling, I coated each bead with a very small amount of liquid clay and wrapped them in thin sheets of polymer clay.

And then I rolled and pressed each bead into the mold to apply the texture—having the hard core enabled me to get good detail without misshaping the bead.

And here's how they looked after texturing. I baked them for an hour for the final curing and after cooling I gave each bead a wash of acrylic paint to bring out the details.

All finished! There are so many different ways and different textures you could use to make these beads—try it out and have fun!!

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And now I'm off to vacuum my studio (it needs it, bad!) and finish my planning… see you in two weeks!

Rebekah Payne

TreeWingsStudio.com

Behind the Scenes at Tree Wings Studio: Record Keeping

What's been on my studio tables these past weeks? Papers and record keeping. Yep, that's right. Not of the number kind, although I will admit that I love numbers and record keeping…you'll catch me number crunching anytime I'm stressed—I actually find it relaxing! Go ahead and call me weird, my weirdness is already a well known fact!

These papers though, are my new painting records. Practically all my beads are painted—it's the part I love most about what I do! I lose myself in painting and while sometimes I struggle with choosing colors, I love nothing more than having a brand new bead emerge from beneath my worn out paintbrushes and paint stained fingers… I get so excited every time! It's what keeps me coming back to my studio each day.

So, back to the record keeping… over the years, I've tried to keep notes of my process for each bead, but most of those notes were stored in my head and as I started making more and more new beads, I found it harder to keep up and remember exactly how I painted a particular bead a month or so later. Some beads I've discontinued all together because of this.

That's where this mess of paint-spattered paper comes in. Little by little I'm starting with a fresh baked batch of beads and keeping rigorous notes of my process. I find this task a bit dull, but a very necessary one. You could say these papers hold my trade secrets—yes, I know lots of people can paint and how to paint is no secret, but I've found what (finally!) works for me and it's a big part of what makes my beads mine. 

A normal day in my studio looks like this… and then once the painting starts it gets about 100 times messier, but it's such fun!

Many hours are spent creating a new bead design and there's nothing quite so depressing as when someone wants that same bead later on and I can't remember how I made it. I'm not at all saying that my beads will now be exactly the same one batch from the next—they'll each always have their own personality and colors will still vary slightly, but definitely my job is made easier when I can refer to my notes instead of having to reinvent the wheel each time I make a batch of beads.

And all that record keeping is so worth it when I see this…

…and I know I can do it again…

Badgers, and chipmunks and bears—oh my!

Pressed leaf fern focals in brand new colors. These are some of my favorite colors so far!

And little pressed wild rose charms in colors old and new.

So, having paint records allows me to get the same colors over and over again, and when I'm just playing around experimenting with new color possibilities they won't have to always remain one of a kind… and we all know that more than one is always a good thing in the bead world!

Tell me about you! What do you think of record keeping? Do you hate it all or maybe just some of it? Are you crazy like me and you actually enjoy it sometimes? Does your jewelry or bead making require it and if so what kind of records are you keeping? Do tell!

And now, there's one more important thing I need to tell you about before heading back to the studio…

We have the winners for the leather feather winners for August's CoM challenge! Sorry for my lateness on this. I'm so very overwhelmed by everyone's excitement and truly wish that each one of you could participate, but that number is set at 3, so without further ado… our lucky winners are: 

Karin G

Ann Schroeder

Claire Lockwood

Congrats to you ladies! I'll be emailing you a little later on today.

Wishes for a happy and creative Saturday to everyone!

Rebekah Payne

TreeWingsStudio.com

Let the Bead Fest Games Begin!

It's that time of year!  Time to start prepping for vending at Bead Fest Philly.  Yes, the event is not until the end of August but it does take me about 3 months to get ready.  I like to have a nice assortment of stoneware and porcelain with me.  This year I'd also like to see my raku return.  What does this mean?  Well, I need to get my stoneware and porcelain work finished up by the end of June so that I can have July to do 2-3 raku firings and hopefully 1-2 more in August before the show.

Right now I'm working on some new designs,  samples for the bead cruise (one of my cabochons is being used as the focal for Beverly Herman's "Star of the Sea" class), inventory for Etsy, swaps I promised people AND inventory for Bead Fest.

It can be difficult finding a balance to do all these things and sometimes I feel like the funny face in the photo.  

I keep it all straight by making lists...LOTS of lists!  At the end of the day, I know I'll pull it all together and be ready for the show in time.  I've already done this twice before so it's just a matter of staying organized (again, lists) and eating a lot of candy (yes, that's my big not-so-secret).  

Now excuse me while I go hide in the bead cave for the next three months....

Diana P.

Suburban Girl Studio LLC

Stamp Doodling ~ Part 2

Today I'm painting new pendants from my latest polymer clay "doodled" stamp…

Last time I gave you a little peek at the making of this stamp and today I'm going to show you how I used it. Polymer stamps are a great way to quickly and easily make several of the same design and they're a lot of fun too.

Grab some polymer and come follow along…

All you need is some conditioned polymer (not too soft though, or it will make a sticky mess on your new stamp! Leach if first, if needed), a cutter, needles for piercing, water, a large paintbrush, and of course, your newly baked stamp.

I like to measure out each of my pendants by rolling the polymer all the same thickness on my pasta machine and then using a cutter to cut the same number of pieces for each pendant.

Ready for stamping!

Next, I shape the measured polymer into the same shape, but making it a bit smaller than my stamp.

Using the large paintbrush, I flood the surface of the stamp with water, paying close attention to any deeper details.

Then I press the polymer into place, pushing it over the surface to the edges of the stamp.

Removing the polymer from the stamp is fairly easy—I start at the edges and loosen it all the way around working towards the center. Don't simply pull from one side or you'll probably have a stretched design. After several stampings you will find that the polymer starts sticking (the raw polymer will actually soften the baked stamp)—just carefully clean out any bits of leftover raw polymer (a needle works great for this) and pop it into the oven when you bake your next beads and it will be ready for many more stampings.

Pierce your holes and bake.

And then my favorite part—paint, stain and finish! Experiment with different colors in polymer and then layers of paint for varied looks.

Happy creating!