How an Artist's Mind Works

During our last trip to Florida, I gathered a bunch of coral pieces on the beach.  I thought I would use them as texture plates and make a necklace similar to one of my Faux Metal Necklaces.  I even came up with a name for this future necklace: Fort Lauderdale.

Here are a few pieces from my newly acquired collection:

Somehow in my design I progressed  towards Openwork (again!), and this is what I finally made based on those coral pieces:

And here is my question.  Would anybody ever suspect any connection between these two pictures if I did not point it out?

Two New Polymer Clay Tutorials

It's been a while since my last update, so am very happy to finally introduce two new tutorials for polymer clay.

Both tutorials are available in my Etsy shop (etsy.com/shop/PolymerClayTutorials).

One of these tutorials, "Polymer Clay Leaf Earrings", is intended for people new to polymer clay. It shows how to make a pair of polymer clay earrings with leaf design and hand-made sterling silver links. It does not require any special equipment or previous skills. 

The second tutorial, "Fantastic Filigree", is suitable for all skill levels, from beginner to advanced. It shows how to create necklaces, earrings, and bracelets with shining filigree designs formed with metal leaf.