That's My Warrior Queen in Polymer Cafe!

I've got to go to the post office and change my address, because after today, you'll have to reach me via Cloud 9!

My Warrior Queen Necklace is published in the gallery section of the October, 2009 issue of Polymer Cafe magazine! I am thrilled and needless to say, doing the happy dance so much my feet hurt. Better be careful though, before I punch a hole through this here cloud.

Pardon my bragging, but to quote my good friend and fellow Diva and Southern Belle, Miss Cheri, I am "eat up with the big head" today, bless my heart!

Woo Hoo!!!

My Asian Tiger Pendant Is Featured in a New Etsy Treasury Today!

This beautiful treasury was created by my fellow PCAGOE member, Sarah of CreativeArtCenter, which she titled "Animal World At PCAGOE". Another amazing treasury showing the versatility of polymer clay and the divirsity of talent in the PCAGOE membership. Thank you, Sarah, for including my Asian Tiger Image Transfer Pendant.

Sarah's own peacock pendant is included in the treasury, and I went plundering through her shop to see her other goodies and had to mention this beautiful Tile Bracelet. It looks like Raku pottery, doesn't it? Fabulous, and perfect for your Fall fashions. Check it out and all of Sarah's other beautiful creations in her Etsy store!

My August ABS Entry - Japanese Seascape

I am a huge fan of Japanese woodcuts, and I am privileged to have a few in my collection, and so I was thrilled to see that the theme for the challenge this month at ArtBeadScene is one of my personal favorites, "Kanagawa oki nami ura" (Great Wave off of Kanagawa) by Hokusai Katsushiki, one of a series of woodcuts known as "The Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji" created by Katsushiki around 1826.

It didn't take much for me to be inspired, in fact, I had this image sitting in my "must do" stack for months! Here is my creation. Everyone who has seen it in person says it is very soothing and calming. One lady even told me it was perfect Feng Shui. I kind of like this one myself.



The polymer clay pendant was created using my favorite image transfer technique. I added Ranger Bottle and Stream and Weathered Wood embossing powder to a Pearl Premo base, for texture and depth. It also adds a vintage look and feel to the piece. I made the transfer of the woodblock and then embossed the top and bottom and reverse with a Lotus and Chrysanthemum stamp. I also created a smaller transfer of an Asian ship book illustration (probably not Katsushiki, however) in the same color palette and embossed the back of it, too.

I added gorgeous carved Pink Agate Ammonite beads which I purchased last month from GemmeTresor's designer collection at Etsy; Fossil Agate ovals, which have a definite Asian feel; Impression/Aqua Terra Jasper rounds and beautiful Kyanite dagger beads, which I purchased at LimaBeads.com; Bali spacers and an embossed, Sterling Silver hook clasp.

There are some really stunning entries in this month's challenge. I hope you will visit ABS's photo pool at Flickr and see for yourself. There isn't any voting involved in ABS's challenges, the winner is pulled from a hat, or the equivalent thereof. It is just a lot of fun. The ladies at ABS do a fantastic job and their blog is always inspiring.

Weekend Stuff

I attacked my scrap clay pile yesterday, determined to whip it into something pretty. After two days of trying to make turquoise, purple and orange look good together for the September PCAGOE color combination challenge (more about that later), I desperately needed to get back to my soothing earthtones and neutrals.

These were made with scraps of translucent, pearl, black, silver, coral, sage green, and bronze clay, most of which had already been treated with embossing powders of different colors. Man, I love vintage image transfers and embossing clay, but marbling was the first thing I learned how to do, and nothing is more cathartic than mixing a bunch of different colors together just to see what patterns emerge. Luckily, these pretty stripedy pendants will make lovely accessories those Charcoal Gray suits and outfits the 2009 Fall color forecaster says we will all be sporting in a few weeks.



Unfortunately, play time is over and I must get back to the drawing board and make a decent entry in the September challenge. Stay tuned for the results!

My Watchful Bird Brooch is Featured in a New Treasury!

What a beautiful, vibrant looking compilation of creations! Jenny of Jencom72, a brand new PCAGOE member, snagged her very first Etsy Treasury today, which she called Orange Ooze, and I am honored she chose to include my "Watchful Bird" Brooch. Thank you so much, Jenny!



These beautiful"Red Hot" Earrings were created by Jenny, and you can see more examples of her canework technique in her Etsy shop.

WELCOME TO PCAGOE, Jenny! Congratulations on your first Treasury, and thanks again for including me.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

Oh yes, I had the CD player blasting with Christmas music to get me in the mood Saturday to make some Christmas ornaments. Can you believe it is just around the corner? I usually have most of my shopping done by the first of September, but this year, things have been so hectic, I haven't even started.

I did manage to get a few Christmas ornaments and brooches done while the fake snow was flying and the hot chocolate was brewing, well, okay it was an iced mocha, but still...you know what I mean. I was in a groove and made these goodies, which I'm going to try to save for our annual PCAGOE Ornament Swap.

Olde World Santa Series





I really got into "the zone" and actually turned out more than 50 pendants this past weekend, some custom order butterfly pieces, some Faux Vintage pieces with horse scenes... show horses, grand champions, derby, foxhunt, etc. I also finally got a chance to play Cowboys and Indians (only about 40 years late!) with some vintage poster images I purchased recently. I've been itching to see what I could do with those. The graphics and colors are fabulous!







I also played with one of my favorite texture sheets, a gingko leaf, and some brass and copper colored clay blends and did some embossed pieces.



You can check out all the new pieces in my flickr photostream!

Polymer Clay For A Cause

I was so happy to see my friend Angela's charitable shop at Etsy, Polymer Clay For A Cause, featured at "The You And Me Show" blog today.

Angela has a shop at Etsy called ElementalDragons, but 100% of the proceeds from this second shop, which is supported by donations from PCAGOE members, go to children's charities. It is a wonderful cause and one very dear to Angela's heart. She opened the shop in honor and memory of her daughter Cortney, who died at age 14 from the effects of Muscular Dystrophy. It was Cortney's imagination which spun a fantasy world of dragons which helped her get through her medical treatments. Angela heard all the stories and now creates in clay dragons to populate the world born in Cortney's imagination.

I keep a link here on the blog to Angela's Polymer Clay For A Cause shop. It is just to the right over there on the sidebar menu. Please click on it and check out the many donated items for sale, knowing that with each purchase, you can help make a child's life a little brighter.

Thanks, Angela, for all you do, and to The You and Me Show for spotlighting your wonderful endeavor.

Premio Meme Award

My good friend Julie Doust, the Meandering Australian, awarded me the Premio Meme Award! A bit of fun to liven up the day. I'm supposed to disclose 7 facts about myself and pass the award along to 7 other people. Hmmm...let's see...

1) I am ambidextrous.
2) I can write backwards and upside-down.
3) I read at a speed of 900 words per minute and type 90 words per minute.
4) I am a rabid Atlanta Braves fan.
5) My birthday is the first day of Hurricane Season.
6) I collect vintage children's tin and pressed steel kitchen toys.
7) I am a 9th generation South Carolinian.

And I nominate these friends for the award!

1) Linda, a/k/a NKDesigns
2) Pippa, a/k/a PipsJewellery
3) Arlene, a/k/a Ashpaints
4) Mary Ellen, a/k/a BeeTreeByMe
5) Pam, a/k/a ClayAngelPam
6) Laurel, a/k/a LaurelSteven
7) Tina, a/k/a Chicki

Thanks again, Julz!

August PCAGOE Challenge Winners

Congratulations to the winners of the Mixed Media Challenge sponsored by the Polymer Clay Artists Guild of Etsy! All the entries this month were beautiful. It was very difficult to choose just one.

1st place went to Iamcr8ve for her stunning necklace inspired by the Lascaux Cave Paintings.



2nd place went to BijouxHibou for her gorgeous Ancient Sun pendant.



3rd place was a tie between Fungible Elements for her beautiful Leopard Spot Necklace and WorthingtonFox for her beautiful Steampunk necklace.



September's theme is "Color Combinations". The entrants must use 3 specific colors in their entries; and they may also choose to add EITHER one color of their choice OR one of the following: Black, white, silver or gold. At the most, each entry will have only 4 colors! I think the restrictions will make this a very exciting challenge, and I can't wait to see what our members create! Check our guild website at www.pcagoe.com on September 1st for more details!

Thanks to everyone who voted for their favorite entries, too!

Faux Animal Prints and Harlequin Roses - What Do They Have In Common?

They are both featured in new Etsy Treasuries this week! Yes, I am enjoying an "abundance of riches", being included in not one, but two Treasuries. My entry in the August PCAGOE Challenge, my Faux Zebra Print Necklace, is included in a treasury created by my friend Tina, a/k/a Chicki, titled "Mixed Media". Thanks, Tina, for including me and for spotlighting the Challenge, too! Check out the beautiful work in the other members shops, too! And just a reminder, the voting period ends at midnight, EST tomorrow night, so if you would like to vote for your favorite entry, please visit www.pcagoe.com while there is still time. Five lucky voters chosen at random, will also win some fabulous polymer clay items created by our members, including an image transfer pendant from me!



The other treasury was created by my good friend, Linda Riopel, a/k/a NKDesigns, which she titled "Something Old, Something New", and features my Faux Vintage Harlequin Rose Image Transfer Pendant.



This is also an all-PCAGOE member treasury. Thanks, Linda, for including me! Aren't we a talented bunch of folks? Ain't nobody got nuthin' on us PCAGOE people! LOL

My Heirloom Rose Pendant Is Featured In A New Etsy Treasury Today!

What a pleasant surprise to find at Etsy this morning! Thank you so much to Kat Summers for including my Heirloom Rose Pendant in her beautifully soft and feminine pink treasury titled "Simplicity and Joy". I love it, and I am in wonderful company, too.



Faux Vintage Heirloom Rose Series Pendant

What I Did This Weekend

I had a very productive weekend, a great balance of work and relaxation. I hardly ever have a weekend like that, not since I started the jewelry design business anyway! But this weekend was the exception.

After working myself silly last month trying to get the required number of necklace designs for the Baltimore Clayworks show (which I understand may be "kaput" after all the time and money I spent...color me STEAMING MAD, but that's another story), I realized Thursday night that I hadn't clayed in almost a month. I set about remedying that sorry situation and attempted to cover some of the tiny bottles used for "Bottles of Hope" this year.

I purchased some of the same bottles to use in my own projects, but the first attempts were...not good. I decided to get back into my comfort zone and pulled out my image files. Pretty soon, the work table was piled high with images and before I knew it, I had 10 pendants made and cured. I sanded and buffed and glazed them Friday night and was was back at it again Saturday, making another 20 or so, including these. Then I decided to take Sunday off and be a couch potato and not do anything except watch the NASCAR race and my Atlanta Braves, but the race at Pocono got rained out and the Braves didn't play until 8:00 p.m., so I ended up tinkering with some new ideas and making a few more pendants.

I have been experimenting with these little rivets. I found them at Hobby Lobby, in the scrapbooking section. (I find a lot of interesting things in the scrapbooking section, actually. Those scrapbookers are lucky people. They get the best stuff!)

I really like the look of the riveted hole in lieu of a traditional bail. It adds to the vintage look and feel of the piece, and you know I am all about the vintage look.



I also made a few more pieces of some of my most popular pendants. This Japanese Cherry Blossom is probably my most requested image. The colors in it are so gorgeous.


And my new favorite is the "Sapporo Snow" image. I love the person standing on the bridge with an umbrella, which implies the snow is softly falling. It is a very romantic pendant, and the colors are so vibrant! The white and red, pine tree green and aqua to cobalt and iolite blue. It sold almost as soon as I uploaded it to the shop, and I will definitely be making more of these in different shapes.

All in all a very good weekend!