Time To Vote! PCAGOE December Challenge

The theme for our PCAGOE December challenge is "Seasonal". We could depict a Winter scene or one of the December holidays. 21 of our members entered this month, and the entries are diverse and all interpret the theme beautifully. We've got ornaments, jewelry, and ACEO, beads, and LOTS of gift ideas.

Vote for your favorite entry at www.pcagoe.com beginning Dec. 1 until midnight, Eastern US time on Dec. 7, 2009. The winners will be announced on Dec. 8. Five lucky voters, chosen at random, will also win polymer clay prizes created by our member artists.

Here are the entries for December:



1) Toast The New Year! Pendant by BeeTreeByMe
2) Frosty The Polymer Clay Snowman by SCDiva
3) Christmas Kitten Pendant by Jencom72
4) Purple Angel Ornament by CreativeArtCenter
5) Poinsettia Necklace by ClayHappy
6) Ho3 Necklace by LaurelSteven
7) Snowflake Beads by RiverValleyDesign
8) Tall Santa Ornament by Ashpaints
9) Catch A Winter Star Necklace by FungibleElements
10) Caroling Cats ACEO by AlisonEKurek
11) Red Poinsettia and Berries Pendant by ArtistTooStudios
12) Metallic Mokume Gane Ornament by PolymerClayCreations
13) Snowmen Artistic Apothecary Bottles by Ametista
14) Metallic Plate Choker by 11BoldStreet
15) Asian Winter Snow Scene Necklace by NKDesigns
16) Winter Inspired Jewelry Set by Polyclarific
17) Holiday Earrings by ClayCenter
18) Poinsettia Candy Bracelet by RenGalSa
19) Holiday Pendant with Integrated Bezel Chain by JKollmann
20) Laced-Up Christmas Ornament by Juliespace
21) Madonna and Child Ornament by BlessedBeadJewelry

Thanks for voting and supporting the Polymer Clay Artists Guild of Etsy!

My Vintage Tapesty Pendant is Featured in a New Treasury!

It's so nice to have good friends! My friend Linda Riopel, a/k/a NKDesigns, has been at it again. I think she sits home and thinks up great titles and themes for Etsy treasuries, and then always manages to snag one! Today she created "I'll Have A Blue Christmas" and all the items in it were created by PCAGOE team members, including my Vintage Tapestry Light Aqua Pendant.



Thank you, Linda! I'm in great company in your beautiful treasury!

It's Almost Time!

One more day until the kickoff of the Polymer Clay Artists Guild of Etsy's first Holiday Stocking Giveaway! If you're planning to shop after you polish of that Turkey and dressing tomorrow, I hope you will check out our participating member shops to help you fill that gift list. Every item purchased in any of our participating member shops beginning tomorrow until December 12th gets you one chance at one of the three gorgeous stockings shown to the right! If you purchase 5 items, you get 5 chances. Purchase 10 items, get 10 chances, etc.

You may view many of the items in the slideshow, which is linked at the right of the screen, too, or in my flickr photostream (I had the honor of heading up this promo for the team and photographed them as they arrived at my house!).

Many of our members are also participating in our first Black Friday - Cyber Monday Sale. It begins Friday, Nov. 27 and runs through Monday, Nov. 30. I am offering 20%off every item in my shop, plus free shipping on purchases of $50 or more. Several of my fellow PCAGOE members are also offering 20% off and free shipping, so please go to Etsy.com and search for "PCAGOE BFCM" to find all our sale goodies.

These promotionals overlap, so every item purchased from Nov. 26 to Dec. 12 qualifies you for 1 chance to win one of these stockings.

A Wonderful Feature on my Favorite Blog!

Carolyn Saxby's blog is drool-inducing for anyone who loves color, and Carolyn's sense of color and composition are exquisite.

Carolyn is a mixed media textile artist from St. Ives, Cornwall. I think it is safe to say her favorite color is RED! We are kindred spirits in that regard, because I never met a red I didn't like and I love seeing it featured so prominently on her gorgeous blog, Love Stitching Red.

Carolyn finds inspiration in a myriad of ordinary, every day items and captures them in mosaics she posts on her blog. She also shares a good bit of the Cornwall countryside with us on a regular basis, which makes a visit to her blog like going on a vacation.

I wish I could see color the way Carolyn sees it. I have a pretty good eye for color myself, but not on her level. She is the Color Queen Extraordinaire! Carolyn sees the possibilities in everything, even a piece of nougat candy. And as much as I love color, I think her white and neutral mosaics are exquisite, too. The lack of color in those puts the emphasis on the composition, and they really shine.

Monday, Carolyn featured my Ghost Bird Necklace in her Monday Mosaic. It is the second time I've been featured in one of her mosaics, and I am thrilled, and honored that she also chose one of my Old World Santa Christmas ornaments for her personal collection, and yes, of course, it was red!

Thank you again, my friend, for sharing your extraordinary gift of color and composition and the inspiration they bring!

What I Did This Weekend

I was down in the dumps last week after being told my hours at work are being cut back. For the first time in 30 years, I am considered part-time, not full time; and even though it isn't my fault, I can't help feeling a teeny bit like a failure for some reason. I was moping around Friday trying to figure out whether to go out and find a part-time job or whether to sell some blood or what, and my mother said to me..."You already have another job, you're an artist and a jewelry designer."

Yes, but I never considered it a real job, it was too much fun to be considered a job. It wasn't a hobby, because I am serious about marketing the Etsy shop, but still...could I actually make a living at doing something I love so much? How foreign! You're not supposed to love the job you do, are you? Hee Hee.

Well, I opened up my mind and thought of all the things I could do on the days I don't get paid that I've had to shelve because of a 50+ hour a week career as a real estate and probate paralegal (You didn't think THOSE kind of jobs could go away, did you? Neither did I, frankly.)

I pulled out my "save to do later" sketches and my bead stash and went to work. I made several new designs and reworked a few more and was completely happy with myself for the first time in years. And, don't tell anyone, but I didn't even put on makeup or comb my hair all day! This may work out okay after all.

My Empress Butterfly Necklace is Featured in a New Treasury!

What a nice surprise! Yalipaz included my Empress Butterfly Necklace in her gorgeously colorful Etsy Treasury, Let's Have Fun! I just love this treasury. The bright and bold colors really perked up a gloomy day for me.




If you get a chance, please checkout Yalipaz' Etsy shop, too. I can see from her listings that she loves color, so it is no surprise she created a Treasury filled with color, too!

Thanks again, Yalipaz!

I'm Featured in Two Treasuries Today!

It's been awhile since I was featured in a treasury, and this week, I'm in two!



My good friends Linda of NKDesigns and Laurel of LaurelSteven both featured one of my pendants in Etsy treasuries they just created. Besides being fabulously talented artists, they do a pretty good job making treasuries, too. I love that they are both titled for colors!

Linda's treasury is titled Wear Red, But Go Green and besides featuring my favorite color, racy red, includes my Carte Postale Red Birds Image Transfer Pendant



Laurel's treasury is titled Winter White...vory and features my Faux Vintage Riveted Bird Pendant.

Thanks so much, ladies, and please everyone check out Linda and Laurel's Etsy shops. You will find some really beautiful examples of the versatility of polymer clay in their work!