Jewellery, The making of.. Alison Gallant, Bettina Welker, Fimo, Mokume Gane, pendants, Polymer Clay, Premo, Premo Accents

The making of … a beautiful landscape pendant.

Helen White October 1, 2012

I just realised that I posted my last entry in May. Upps. Well to be fair I have been very busy making things and taking part in a three-day polymer clay workshop Polydays, which took place in September in a small village called Toddington. It was taught by some of the world’s best polymer clay artists – Carol Simmons, Alison Gallant and Bettina Welker and it was quite intense – and back breaking. I came away with lots of new techniques and unfinished projects – as most of the projects taught were quite time consuming. In the next weeks I will finish those projects ( a reversible necklace, a hinged bracelet and beautiful Mokume Gane slices which I will use for pendants and bracelets.) and will write a bit more about Polydays.

In the meantime I wanted to share how I made this pendant:

Finished pendant - landscape — Finished pendant – landscape

On the final day of the Polydays workshop Alison Gallant showed our group how to create her reversible necklace and also how to create Mokume Gane canes with ripple effect – a great technique that creates beautiful patterns. Somehow though I wasn’t so happy how they turned out when I cut them and placed them on the clay – so I mashed up the clay and put it through the pasta machine a few times -and the colours changed into something I really liked – so I cut out some small circles, used some of them for the necklace and the rest for future projects.

When my sister visited us last week I showed her all my “leftover” cabochons and let her choose one, which was this one:

To be honest I would have chosen the exact same as it reminds me of landscape paintings by one of my favourite artists William Turner (who I also studied during my MA). Next I created a frame for it, let her choose the colour, texture and hanging (just simple holes) and baked it. The tricky bit was to attach the rather thin cabochon to the frame – I added an extra layer of raw clay and used FIMO liquid to adhere it. After baking I varnished it with Satin varnish. The clay I used was Premo and Premo Accents which comes in beautiful colours. I am new to Premo, having used mainly Fimo previously, but since the Polydays I love it as it doesn’t leave too much of a residue on my pasta machine, which is normally a pain to clean and I often spend more time cleaning the machine then actually working with the clay!

Anyway I hope you like the resulting pendant.

4 Comments

Mossy
October 1, 2012 @ 8:41 pm

Wow, this is so beautiful. Thanks for sharing some of the process of how it was made 🙂
- helen
  October 2, 2012 @ 4:43 pm
  
  Thanks for your kind comments Mossy:)
Marry Mathews
November 13, 2013 @ 9:02 am

Really amazing . This is so pretty . It is a very innovative idea for giving natural touch to jewelery . Thank you for images .
- helen
  November 15, 2013 @ 10:31 am
  
  Thanks Marry.

Ivy cooper leaf bracelet

January 9, 2026

My dad bought me this bracelet for Christmas and I absolutely love it, it has amazing detailing.

Malia Mackenzie

I could have kept them for myself!

March 25, 2022

“I have bought some lovely jewellery and bookmarks from Helen typically to give as special and unusual presents. Everything is beautifully made, reasonably processed and always well packed. I have also been a lucky winner of a red bracelet and earrings set which has bought me some lovely compliments as does the lovely blue and white nautilus necklace which is so unique and eye catching. I was really interested when Helen began making the sculptures, watching her posts as each model developed. As a cat worshipper, this specific group really caught my eye! I bought two cats; one sitting black and white, the second white and black which was laying down – bought them as presents for people with cats of similar colouring; they are so lovely, the detail is wonderful and their recipients are so pleased with them! They nearly didn’t get their presents, as I could have kept them for myself! Thank you Helen, your work is wonderful!”

Cathy St. John

Thrilled with them.

“Just taken delivery of 2 cat sculpture ornaments, a surprise for my birthday and am thrilled with them. Very special as handmade so each one unique. They arrived very well packaged and in cat paper with a ribbon and each even came with an adoption certificate with my cat’s name on, a lovely touch. Very personal service with a follow up to check if parcel had arrived safely and undamaged. I would definitely recommend to anyone looking for a lovely unique gift for friends or even themselves. In fact, I’ve just ordered another cat to go with my others! Thank you, Helen :)”

Louise West

Every item is unique.

“I discovered Helenka White Design through The Cat (magazine of the charity Cats Protection) and I have now bought five of Helen’s beautiful pieces: two sitting cat pendants for myself) and three gifts – including one for a non-cat person who was delighted with her shiny pendant. Helen’s service is prompt and personal, and all the items were lovingly and attractively packaged. Best of all: every item is unique, yet the prices are so affordable!”

Brenda Griffith-Williams

Surpassed expectations.

“I commissioned a custom pair of earrings from Helen and was very happy with both the process and the finished result. She patiently actioned my requests for various adjustments to the design along the way and the finished product surpassed expectations. Highly recommended.”

anon

Very tactile and beautifully made.

“I’ve bought several items from Helen over the years, both for myself and as presents. They’re all unique, artistic and stylish. One of the things I like most about the jewellery is the lovely feel. All the items are very tactile as well as beautifully made.”

Sian Aubrey

Love the little cat pendant.

“I wanted to get something special for xmas for my wife, and, I found Helen’s site. Whilst there was lots there I liked, nothing that would be perfect for my wife, so, I emailed Helen, told her what I wanted, and, GOT IT. Had to pay a bit extra, but, when you ask for pure silver you have to pay for pure silver. Love the little cat pendant I have got, with a pure silver chain. Communication with Helen was so easy, so simple to sort out issues. If you want something from her for this xmas, order now, fast like.”

Mark Fisher

Arrived beautifully packaged.

“I ordered a custom piece to be made for a young lady’s birthday. Helen was very good with communications over the piece, making sure I was happy with the design and materials used. Delivery was very good and it arrived beautifully packaged. She was overjoyed with her present and also the unexpected gift that Helen had added. I’ll be definitely recommending Helen’s work to others and shall be returning to purchase more of Helen’s lovely work at later dates.”

Jim Laver

Delighted with the finished pieces.

“I asked Helen to design me a necklace using beads I’d seen and liked on her website. I had quite a clear vision for what I wanted and she agreed she could make what I wanted and offered to make me some matching earrings.

She communicated with me frequently throughout the design process offering alternatives and using photos to illustrate the options. She gave me quotes for the work ahead of time. She worked diligently and in a very timely fashion keeping me updated as she went. I was delighted with the finished pieces which she packaged beautifully and sent by secure post. I was very happy throughout the entire process and Helen finished the necklace and earrings to a very high standard. I would have no hesitation recommending Helen for her work, design and collaborative approach and the excellent quality of her jewellery. I’ll be keeping an eye out on her website for other items I might fancy.”

Siobhan O'Neill

I received several compliments from family and friends.

“I was thrilled when Helen contacted me in October to inform me that I had been chosen as the winner of her latest giveaway to celebrate her 4th successful year in business! I was to be the proud owner of her beautiful Macaw polymer clay pendant and earring set and I also had to thank Bobby, her beautiful pet kitty, who pawed my name out of the bag!

Just a few days later my handmade jewellery set arrived safely secured in a pretty little drawstring black velvet bag. The colours were striking and the set was so well made with Helen’s signature marked on the back. I wore it first with my red top and black jeans and received several compliments from family and friends! I would like to take this opportunity to thank Helen and Bobby once again for the lovely giveaway and to wish Helenka White Design much success in the future. I will definitely recommend her products to all my family and friends and will be looking forward to seeing her new creations!”

Tracy Nixon