Posts filed under 'Polymer Clay'
The Winter CHA show is always a great chance to catch up with old friends & meet new ones. Over the past couple of days, I had the chance to meet some fabulous papercrafters like Debbie Olson, Linda Beeson, Lisa Johnson, & Kelly Goree. I also caught up with a few older CHA acquaintances like Bob Wiley & Helen Bradley (fellow polymer clay addicts). Great to see you!
I can’t forget to mention meeting some of my favorite Hero Arts designers …Jennifer McGuire, Lisa Spangler, & Shari Carroll. Their talent amazes me & each of them has such a beautiful, clean design sense. I feel so blessed to be associated with the HA web design team!
You can see Lisa’s work on her blog here. I just love her color combos & the way she always comes up with new & unique ways to use stamps that make me go…”Why didn’t I think of that?!”
You can see Shari’s work on her blog here! She does fabulous collage work, and her pencil-work always amazes me…she has a way of blending color in just the perfect way to make her stamped images come to life. She is also quite the photographer.
Tomorrow, I’ll introduce you to new friend & polymer clay artist, Linda Peterson!
February 12th, 2008
The winter CHA show is finally here! If I have a chance to, I’ll post during the show. Otherwise, I’ll give you the low-down when I return. I hope to meet some of you there!
P.S. I didn’t have a chance to post blog candy this week - but I promise to when I return!
February 8th, 2008
Last weekend, I had the pleasure of coordinating a North Texas Polymer Clay Guild 2-day “Dragons, toads, & friends” workshop with sculptor Kathy Davis. Kathy is an amazing talent & is best known for her whimsical fairies, dragons, & mermaids. You can see some of her work here. Although I am only beginning to sculpt, I really enjoyed the class. Kathy has such an encouraging spirit. She made everyone feel really comfortable & helped foster the lil’ artist in each of us. Everyone left with such unique & different creations! Here are my three…
The first was a tired dragon:
The second was a pondering frog:
And the third was a direct copy I made of one of Kathy’s designs that she said I could post (have to give her credit for it!) I just loved the frog chilling in his own lil’ pond. What a cute idea!
February 6th, 2008
Amaco & Staedtler are hosting a great challenge at the CHA Winter show this year. For a couple of years, they have sponsored events for Bottles of Hope, an organization that distributes polymer clay-embellished chemo bottles to cancer patients & survivors. The winners of the challenge get to donate their winnings to the cancer charity of their choice. What a great opportunity!
This year’s theme was mini-bottles of hope (2″ or smaller). Participants had to decorate the bottle, add some clay beads & string a necklace for a child. Here’s my entry… a bamboo panda bear necklace. 
I made a few decorative leaf canes & used sparkly green glitter clay for most of the beads. Ok - so maybe they don’t really look like Bamboo…but who’s lookin’ that close! *LOL* The panda was sculpted from white & black clay & he holds the empty chemo bottle with a sprout of Bamboo growing from the inside. The toggle clasp was made from polymer clay & embellished with leaf canes. Click on the pics to see larger images.
I can’t wait to see the finalists’ entries at CHA. I’m always so amazed at the limitless display of creativity. Only a few weeks left til the show!
January 11th, 2008
I wanted to share some more local talent. The below piece was given to me by Sandy Williams, another North Texas Polymer Clay Guild member. I just love the fresh colors & lined texture of the heart! Sandy used some tapestry techniques she learned from our recent Carol Zilliacus workshop on this…and I just love the way the piece turned out. Thanks Sandy for the wonderful gift!!!
December 23rd, 2007
I wanted to share an image of a pendant I commissioned from one of my fellow NTPCG (clay guild) members. Lynda Evans is an extremely talented polymer clay artist. It’s amazing to think her specialty actually lies in sculpting, not jewelry! I just fell in love with this pendant, though, the first time I saw it so I had to have her make one to call my own.
December 22nd, 2007
Everywhere you go!
I just love this time of year. 
I got in the mood last night by making a dozen of these Christmas ornaments from polymer clay to give to co-workers with their altered journals. I think I’m going to make more of these next week with my niece & nephew since they are simple enough for kids.
Quick Instructions: Condition a package of caramel-colored clay. Roll out on the largest setting on your pasta machine & cut the gingerbread man shape out with a Wilton cookie cutter (available at JoAnns for $1). Take a scrap of white polymer clay & roll out into a skinny snake. Twist two pieces together to create the rope for the hands & feet. Roll two small balls for the eyes & a small curl for the mouth. Make two small coils from red glitter clay for the buttons, poke a hole in the top of the head (I used the end of a ball point pen without the ink cartridge) & bake for 20 minutes. Add some ribbon & you are done!
December 21st, 2007
Tonight I received a copy of Crafts n’ Things Magazine in the mail. They recently purchased The Rubber Stamper Magazine & Paper Made Easy and will be featuring more rubber-stamped projects in the future.
When I turned it over, I was totally surprised to find a full page advertisement for Sculpey polymer clay featuring a project I designed for them earlier this year! I had no idea when the project was going to be used.
I believe this doggie diner is sold at Petsmart & is perfect for altering. The “DOG” letters were stamped into a piece of clay the shape of a bone & antiqued with acrylic paints after the piece was baked. I used a Sculpey mold to create the miniature dog dish, fire hydrant, & bone beads that were strung around the entire piece. This is a super fun & easy project for anyone who might want to dabble in polymer clay. Click below for a larger image.
December 13th, 2007
In October, I hosted a workshop with polymer clay artist Carol Zilliacus for the North Texas Polymer Clay guild. Over the last 15 years or so, Carol has created a number of clay techniques and is probably best known for her “tapestry” work. I am particularly drawn to her fine art canvases in clay. You can see some of them here.
The workshop focused on bead-making & below is a necklace I created during the weekend. I love the color combo but don’t really own a thing to wear with it! *LOL* It’s time to go shopping!
December 12th, 2007
A few weeks ago, my mom & I spent an afternoon at the Texas State Fair. I was thrilled to see three of my crafts projects on display in the Creative Arts building including the below polymer clay caned bracelet & holiday card tin:
My friend Sherri Sneed also had several pieces on display. I was particularly taken with this gorgeous polymer clay box she made that won first place. The entire surface is blended clay that was cut out & pieced together (it is not painted).
Sherri also sculpted this adorable clay doll that she says remarkably ended up looking like her grandfather! I believe the clothes were also handmade on her sewing machine as well.
Here’s a closeup of his face…
October 14th, 2007
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