PCAGOE July Challenge - Vote and Win!

The theme for the Polymer Clay Artists Guild of Etsy's July Challenge is "Vessels". Thirteen of our members entered the challenge, including me, and here are our interpretations of the theme.

Five lucky voters chosen at random will each win one of these beautiful prize packs created by our members, so pick your favorite entry and vote for it between July 1st and midnight, EST of July 7, 2009 and you could win, too! Check back here or at http://www.pcagoe.com/on July 8 to see the winning entries!

July Challenge Entries:



1. Faux Jade Floral Trinket Box by JKollmann
2. Faux Moroccan Enameled Jar by JanGeisen
3. Kayla's Wish Box by NKDesigns
4. Rust and Green Vase with Red Gems by Mandarin Moon
5. Hawaiian Gourd Covered Vessel by OneandOnly
6. Asian Inro by TonjasTreasures
7. Ho'Oponopono Healing Vessel by SpiritMama
8. Faux Ancient Perfume Vial by SCDiva
9. Polymer Clay and Pearls Vase by Eugena777
10. Psychedelic Zebra Pillbox by Marcympc
11. Purple Floral and Butterfly Vase by PolymerClayCreations
12. Fairy Vase by BeeTreeByMe
13. Brain Box by WorthingtonFox
14. Ancient Persian Vessel by AlmostArtifacts

July Voter Prize Packs:



#1 A polymer clay covered pen made by PolymerClayCreations and a pair of earrings created by TheColorofDreams.

#2 A polymer clay barrette created by NKDesigns and a rose pendant created by LaurelSteven.

#3 A pair of buttons created by Juliespace and a flower bracelet created by PolymerClayProductions.

#4 Is a pendant created by SCDiva and a pair of earrings created by Juliespace.

#5 Is a pair of earrings and pendant made by OrganicOdysseys.

Toto, Are We Still In Kansas?

Where did my week go? It's been busy at Casa Diva this week. I've got so many projects to work on and jobs to do, I don't know if I'm coming or going. It's almost time for the Polymer Clay Artists Guild of Etsy's July Challenge, the theme of which is "Vessels". We have 12 beautiful entries so far, well, 11 beauties and mine, all of which you can check out at our flickr monthly challenge photo pool. Stay tuned, the voting will open on July 1st and run through midnight EST of July 7. Five (yes five!) lucky voters chosen at random will also receive polymer clay items created by our talented members.

I have been asked to exhibit my work at the Baltimore Clayworks this Fall. I am very excited, it is the first time I have ever done anything like this, and I have sketching ideas and culling through my pendant stash all weekend to get ideas about what to make.

A BIRD AND HER BAUBLES



WARRIOR QUEEN



GALAX ON MAHOGANY



I decided to raid my own personal collection and reworked a couple of necklace designs I have been saving for myself. I am going to pull out all the stops and send some really Diva-esque, showstopper pieces that make a statement and hopefully make my work recognizable. Here are two of the designs I reworked today from my own collection.

I need to squeeze in time to make some Pendants on leather cord for our PCAGOE "Pendants for a Purpose" project, too. These pendants will be donated to adult cancer patients around the country through one or more hospitals.

I also have several Bottles of Hope to complete. This time, we got the teeny weeny 1.5" bottles. I have six to make, and need to start thinking of ideas for those, too.

WHEW! Busy, busy week!

My 4th One Lovely Blog Award!

Thank you so much to my friend and fellow Sandlapper, Jacki of CityDetails, for awarding me my 4th One Lovely Blog Award!

Jacki's own blog is A Day In The Life Of Ruby Rose. Please check it out, and her shop at Etsy. Jacki is a wonderfully talented jewelry designer. She makes beautiful jewelry designs with precious metals and semi-precious gemstones. You will not want to miss a trip through her shop.

Thanks again, my friend!

My Primitive Diva Brooch is Featured in a New Treasury!

Thank you, Linda Riopel of nkdesigns for including my Primitive Diva Brooch in her new Treasury, "The Ink is Black, The Page is...." at Etsy.

This is one of the first image transfers I made. Yes, that is an image transfer of a zebra print, which I stretched and manipulated over a gold clay base, then added to a black and gold marbled background.

Primitive Diva Brooch

Linda has some new things in her shop this week, too, including this beautiful image transfer, Roses On Sheet Music heart-shaped brooch. Check out Linda's Etsy shop to see more of her gorgeous transfer work!

Thanks again, Linda!

I've Been Tagged! A Bit of Summer Silliness

Sharon of Sharon's Jewelry Garden tagged me today and I've decided to play along. I don't usually do stuff like this, but here's how it works: List Six Silly Things That Make You Happy then post and link to the person who tagged you. Tag six of your favorite bloggers to play along. Come on and play, it's summertime fun!

My six silly things:

1. Watching corn grow
2. Stealing home on a squeeze play
3. Swinging on the front porch after dark
4. Knowing the final Jeopardy question
5. Haagen-Dazs Coffee ice cream
6. Driving down to Beaufort to watch the boats come in

Here are my choices for this meme:

1. Harrison Hollow Designs
2. Rue's Daftique
3. Love Stitching Red
4. A Day In The Life Of Ruby Rose
5. Aardvark Creations
6. Chicki's Musings

It is a gorgeous Summer day here in the South Carolina lowcountry at 11:00 this Tuesday a.m. It is a hot 84 degrees with a slight breeze. I would love to be headed to the beach, but alas, duty calls.

Finally! Kandinsky! My Entry in Art Bead Scene's June Challenge

I really wanted to participate in the June Art Bead Scene challenge. The theme this month is an interpretation of Wassily Kandinsky's painting, "Farbstudie Quadrate".

See, the thing is, I'm not a primary color kind of girl. I'm not all that crazy about the secondary colors, either. I like the tertiary colors, the muted, blended tomato reds, pumpkin, aubergine, iolite, mustard, etc.

I wanted to do this challenge to make myself work with true red, yellow and blue. Yeah, uh huh, three pounds of wasted clay later...okay, I'm kidding, about a pound later, guess what I got? A tertiary Kandinsky!



When I use the primary and secondary colors, it is usually as an accent for black. I love black and red together, and black and purple, and occasionally, black and yellow and black and blue. It makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up to put red, blue and yellow together. My mind says "don't blend, don't blend", but my hands just don't listen. Ah, well. I am happy with my entry, and if I violated Kandinsky rules, so be it. I can live with it.

I paired this pendant with these absolutely gorgeous Pilbara Jasper in a horse eye cut, Apple Jasper rondelles, some handmade borosilica glass beads studded with sterling silver, copper cuff beads and silver spacer beads. I purchased the boro glass beads at Etsy last year. I just love them, and have been searching for more in different colors. These are a lucsious cantaloupe/orange juice color.

PCAGOE Thursday Clay and Play June 18, 2009

I had a scrap party last night. A what??? A scrap party! I intended to spend the evening making my pendant for the July ABS challenge, the theme of which is an interpretation of a Kandinsky painting. I got off on a tangent (or as we say down South, I got a wild hair) and started playing with my scrap clay heap, and I do mean heap.

Usually when I gather up scraps and then smoosh them together, it ends up as a brown base I use when I want to layer something prettier on top. I had some turquoise and vermillion red in the scrap heap this week, and thought it was too pretty to be ground brown, so I gathered up a few bits and twisted it and ran it through the pasta machine to get this pretty stripedy (it is too a word!) base for some image transfers. Me likey!

I've also been blending turquoise shades this week, trying to get a really nice green turquoise for a project a friend of mine is designing for me, which will have copper and turquoise in it, and the turquoise in this piece was scrap clay left over from the blend attempt. I love red with turquoise, and the little tomato red motif accent and the tomato red in the bird look really good together in this piece.

Here are two more pendants with the same turquoise blend. This time, I tore off strips of copper clay and stippled them with an old brush tip.

Stippling is a great way to add instant texture, and it really looks neat with the copper embossing powder embedded in the clay.

Now, back to that Kandinsky pendant...it was a case of the mind is willing but the hands couldn't execute. My mind saw circles, but my hands made stripes. This is a happy accident, but I'll be back at the drawing board this weekend, me and old Kandinsky.

My Harlequin Yellow Rose Brooch is Featured in a New Treasury!

My friend Linda Riopel, a/k/a NKDesigns, created this beautiful new treasury today, which she calls "A Rose is a Rose". How appropriate for June, since the rose is the official birth flower for June, and June is also my birthday month!



Faux Vintage Harlequin Yellow Rose Brooch

Thanks, Linda! I say it again and again, but you really are THE BEST FRIEND!

Go Ahead, Indulge Yourself Treasury

It has been a long time since I snagged an Etsy Treasury, but I managed to get one this morning. Every item in my "Go Ahead, InDulge Yourself" Treasury was created by the wonderfully talented artists of PCAGOE! Please check out the featured items in the member shops, and if you see something you just gotta have...go ahead, indulge yourself, you know you want to...

LaurenAbrams
CarrieGoller
RozPetalzStudio
OneandOnly
SCDiva
Iamcr8ve
MarciaPalmer
MandarinMoon
NKDesigns
PolymerClayCreations
TonjasTreasures
AfricanMotif

I'm Lovely...Again!

Sharon Palac, a/k/a BijouxJardin and sharonsjewelrygarden awarded me my 3rd Lovely Blog Award today. I'm liking this award stuff, but my head is getting so big, I might need help carrying it around!

Thanks again, Sharon. You're the best!

I See Butterflies In My Dreams

Is it like a sign or an omen or something? I can't escape the butterflies all of a sudden. I am not a nature girl, DEFINITELY not a nature girl. I do have a flower garden, which I use for potpourri ingredients, but I don't plant it, or weed it or even water it. That's what nieces and nephews are for!

Nope, I don't commune personally, but lately, I seem to be drawn to images of vintage butterflies, birds, and flowers. I am on butterfly overload! They are so pretty, though, aren't they? Who doesn't love a flutterby, with their gloriously colored wings and little antennae...okay, well I honestly don't love the creepy little antennae thingies so much, but I'm firmly on the butterfly bandwagon.

One of my favorite backgrounds to use for image transfers is a butterly collage. Hudnreds of line drawn butterflies you can put on any color clay, including marbled scrap clay like these. It was a "Eureka!" moment. I love to twist scrap clay and roll it out to see what kind of stripes I get.

I've also been working on ideas for an entry for PCAGOE's July challenge, the theme of which is "Vessels". I did this piece last night and entered it in the challenge. See all the little butterflies? I think I'm addicted...is there a Butterflies Anonymous?



To see photos of the other challenge entries, please visit our monthly challenge photo pool at flickr, and check back here on June 30 to see when and how to vote for your favorite Vessel!

Off to find more scrap clay and play mad scientist again...

My Pennsylvania Dutch Inspired Brooch Is Featured in A New Treasury!

My friend Jacki from CityDetails made this lovely treasury today called Lemon Lime and Others, and included my Pennsylvania Dutch Inspired Brooch. I love the bright colors of this one. Jacki, you done good, girl!



Jacki is a fellow South Carolinian, although she lives in the upstate near the mountains and I live in the lowcountry near the ocean. She is also a jewelry designer who has dabbled in polymer clay. I just learned today that she may be about to get serious about it. The PC Bug has bitten! I know she will be great at it. Jacki has a wonderful eye for color and composition, and I can't wait to see what she creates in clay. You must visit her shop to see more of her jewelry designs. Positively drool Inducing!

Keishi Pearls and Labradorite Bracelet









Sponge Coral and Pearl Necklace

My Blog Won The ONE LOVELY BLOG Award...Twice!

Thank you to Dori of SassyClayCreations and Arlene Harrison of Ashpaints for awarding me the "One Lovely Blog" award! I accept!

What a nice thing to wake up to on this glorious Summer Day. Dori, I am so happy you like my blog and will pass it on to 15 people whose blogs I enjoy.

1. Cynthia Tinapple at polymerclaydaily.com
2. Eugena Topina at polymerclaychameleon.com
3. Kira Slye and Ilysa Bierer at polymerclayproductions.com
4. Ruth at Lanyardlady
5. Laurel Steven at Rue's Daftique
6. Carolyn Saxby at LoveStitchingRed
7. DailyArtMuse
8. Elsa Mora
9. ArtBeadScene
10. Polymer Clay Smooshers
11. Sharon at LiveWireJewelry
12. Sharon Palac at Sharon's Jewelry Garden
13. Karen at The Graphics Fairy
14. Kristie at ArtisanClay
15. Julie Doust at MeanderingsbyJulz

and one more...even though that makes more than 15, I can't leave out my friend and mentor, Linda Riopel. I happen to know Linda received this award from Dori as well, but since Linda's blog is required reading for me every day, I have to include her, too!

Thank you again, Dori and Arlene, so much!

Lynda

Alphabet Soup Anyone?

I spent Friday night and most of Saturday working on my alphabet tiles for PCAGOE's Alphabet Project.

The Polymer Clay Artists Guild of Etsy (PCAGOE) sponsors several charitable projects each year, including our popular Alphabet Project. We will be making a mosaic to donate to a children's hospital or Ronald McDonald house. Each tile background is supposed to be white, and each tile measures 1/4" to 1/2" deep, 2" wide and 2" tall; and this year, we adopted a "A" is for...", "B" is for..." theme, so in addition to the letter, we are also required to design or depict the object we choose to be identified with our letter.

This year, I was assigned the "C" and the "X". I chose a Cowboy for the "C". The cowboy tile was fairly simple, a double image transfer onto a base of White Premo clay, but in my first four tries, I couldn't get a clean transfer. The "C" was much easier to do, a cutout topped with an image transfer of a red bandana pattern. I love my little "C".

Instead of the usual xylophone for "X", I chose to depict a Xebec. What is a Xebec, you ask? A Xebec is an ancient, 3-masted merchant ship believed to be Mediterranean in origin. I think the swirly "X" and the aqua and green waves give it a Mediterranean flair. What do you think?

My Faux Turquoise Brooch Is Featured In A New Treasury!

Thank you to Lilalba, who emailed me at Etsy this morning to tell me she included my Faux Turquoise Brooch in her lovely new Faux Turquoise Treasury. Thank you so much, Lilalba!

The Treasury also features one of Lilalba's own creations, her Elisa Earrings, a beautiful little pair of silver tipped, needle-felted earrings.




Faux Turquoise Brooch

My Faux Vintage Simple Beauty Brooch Featured in a New Treasury!

My friend and fellow PCAGOE member, Linda Riopel, a/k/a NKDesigns, created a new Etsy Treasury this morning and included my Faux Vintage Simple Beauty Brooch.

Linda has a way with Treasury titles and her Treasury collections are always beautiful. This one is no exception. She titled it "Classy Vintage PCAGOE" and included several of my favorite PCAGOE member artists. Check out Marcia Palmer's to-die-for earrings! Aren't they gorgeous?


Faux Vintage Simple Beauty Brooch

Thank you so much, Linda!

My Watchful Bird Brooch is Featured in a New Treasury!

Thank you, Donna Atkins of FolkArtByDonna for including my Watchful Bird Brooch in your luscious "Seeing Red" Treasury today. What a lovely surprise!



Watchful Bird Brooch









Donna Atkins is an artist from New England of whom I was not aware before appearing in her treasury, but I took one look in her shop and quickly marked her a new favorite seller.






I am a huge fan of primitive art and folk art and put several of her creations on my Christmas wish list. If you are also a fan of primitive folk art, you owe it to yourself to take a look at this very talented artist.



Thanks again, Donna!

The YART Sale is Back!

The 2nd annual Etsy Yart Sale starts today, June 10th and runs through Friday, June 12th.

This year, the sale is sponsored by the Etsy Supply Street Team (Team ESST). I participated last year and had great fun. I have lowered the price and reduced shipping on several items in the SCDiva shop, and I am going shopping for bargains myself! Last year, I was able to snag several original works of art for a song! So, if you are a lover of art and handmade artistry, head on over to www.etsy.com and search YART in the menu! See you there!

What I Did This Weekend

Here are a few of the pieces I worked on Friday and yesterday. I played around with some negatives in my image editor, and learned a few things.

Purple does not transfer well to clay, the more intense the color, the worse the image...don't know if it was me or the clay or what, but I tend to think it was the image. Red and royal blue worked pretty well, and black was super, but it was a no-go on the purple, which is a shame, because I wanted to do something in purple for my friend Linda, she of the Ultra Violet Treasury below, who loves purple. Linda, how about a nice blue or red? No? Okay, back to the drawing board.

I get bored easily, and it is hard for me to make two of anything, which is why I don't do sets of beads very often. I definitely would not make two necklace designs exactly alike, but I don't even like transferring the same image twice. I made an exception with this Japanese Cherry Blossom image. It has gorgeous colors, a teal green, cherry red, and a blush pink, not to mention the delicate white blossoms. I did this image about a month ago in a microscope slide size, and gave it to one of my flickr buddies. It keeps pulling at me, so I decided this weekend to make a couple more, but in different sizes and shapes.





And something to make the backsides of my pendants and brooches more interesting: I added an image transfer to the reverse sides. I usually stamp the reverse with a texture sheet, but wanted to see if this would work, and I like it.