HAPPY NEW YEAR WITH ANNIE, BEAU AND POLYMER CLAY

Here's Annie getting her hair cut by her aunt Susie.  Now she can see and doesn't need the barrette anymore.

Doesn't look like Beau is too happy about this arrangement but I think Annie has settled in for the duration.  She has her little jacket on and looks like she knows where life is good.

This little girl is finally catching up on her sleep.  Annie is doing good now, she is in a good home with great parents and a wonderful big brother.  I wish I could bring her over here by the cat but he doesn't much like dogs.  The last one that tried to kiss him ended up crying.  I don't know why dogs like to kiss my cat but they do.

Isn't this beautiful?  I had a wonderful surprise yesterday.  My friend Rose gave me this beautiful Monet's Garden bracelet that she made for me.  She is so sweet, I know how tedious these are to make.  I wore it all day yesterday and all day today.  My husband said I had to take it off when we went to bed last night.

Thank you Rose.

These are polymer clay beads that I made with the Makin's Extruder using the Cindy Lietz method.  It's really a lot of fun but the black and white doesn't show as much as the many colored ones.  The Cindy Lietz website is a great place to learn many techniques not only about clay but also about wire, sanding, buffing, etc.  You can check out her website at http://www.beadsandbeading.com/.

The above beads are also polymer clay. The top picture is of two teardrop pendants that I made from a spliced cane. They have been sanded and buffed.  The three smaller beads also made from that cane haven't been sanded or buffed yet.  The bottom picture is one of the pendants and a herringbone necklace I'm making to match the pendant.  I'm going to wire wrap them so they fit on the necklace.  I'll post a picture when I'm done with them.

These are focal beads that I made from a Mokume Gane blend that I did with Fimo Red Translucent clay, gold clay, black clay and gold and silver leafing.  The top left swirly-lentil bead was made by slicing pieces off the side of the Mokume Gane block which makes the stripes on the bead.  On the back of the beads I used a texture plate with the circles and these have been sanded and buffed.  I'm also going to do some wire wrapping on them and perhaps some beads.  I have a lot to do as you can see.

Well, Booboo decided he didn't want to celebrate New Years so he's hiding in the bag with his ball (one of 8).  He's 18 and I hope he gets to see many more New Years.

To all my friends and family I would like to wish you a Blessed, Healthy and Happy New Year.  Thank you all for making another year of my life fun and enjoyable.

To all the animals out there who have made me laugh and gave me wet sloppy kisses this year... Sissy, Scooter, Beau, Annie, Otis, Kita, Snowball and most of all Booboo.  I love you all.

I would especially like to wish my wonderful husband a Happy New Year.  We've had 29 wonderful years together but if another dog like Annie comes along, I'm putting you in a nursing home :0). LOL

MORE ANNIE AND BEAU AND BEADS

Is she cute or what? She got her hair cut last night so she doesn't really need the barette anymore. She also has some new outfits that her aunt Susie bought her. I guess I'll have to crochet a jacket and scarf for her so she doesn't get cold.

Ok, this is my good friend Beau watching Bev feed Annie.  He's an awesome dog and sweet as can be.  He hasn't totally warmed up to Annie yet but I think he will.  I'm guessing he's going to be a great, big brother.  I'm waiting for more pictures of Annie with her hair cut and then I'll post them.

These two beads were made by my friend Judy who just got over having surgery and radiation for breast cancer.  She's doing great now and we hope it stays that way.  The bead on the left started out as a Casablanca bead.  You can find the instructions for that at http://www.desiredcreations.com/.  It was done by Desiree McCrory and they are beautiful no matter what colors you put together.  However, Judy never does things normal when it comes to clay.  She finds ways to put twists on things like she did with both of these beads.  The one on the right is actually translucent and she put a ton of colored leafing in it and streaks of black clay.  It really looks better in person.  This was the bead I got in the bead exchange at Christmas.  I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with it so I wire wrapped it and I love the way it turned out.  Thank you Judy.

I just finished this today.  It's the first time I've done a double wrap.  These two beads came from the left overs when I made my Casablanca beads.  I made a black velvet cord necklace for it because it's a little heavier than normal but not bad.  Tomorrow I'm going to a luncheon for the woman who was the president of a craft club that I belong to here in Arizona.  She's a really sweet lady so some of her close friends decided to have a luncheon for her to show her how much we appreciated everything she has done in the past year.

Back to work, have some other gifts to make that didn't get done before Christmas so they will be New Year's presents.

Thanks for visiting my blog.  Check out Etsy and Polymer Clay Artist's Guild of Etsy.  When you go to the Etsy website, type in PCAGOE.  They are a very talented group and would really appreciate the support.

WELCOME ANNIE AND MORE FOCAL BEADS

The first thing I want to do say is "Welcome Annie".  Two of my dear friends who already have a wonderful dog name Beau, took this little Yorkie in the two days before Christmas.  Her name is Annie and she's 6 years old and has never been to a vet.  Not only that, she's in heat.  The people who had her didn't abuse her but they had big dogs and we think she was a little neglected.  They said they only bred her once but we don't know for sure.  Her new parents will be taking her to the vet for a check up and to make sure her shots are up to date.  She only weighs about 4 pounds but she's 4 pounds of dynamite and unconditional love.  I met her for the first time yesterday and I didn't want to let her go.  She's very calm, very affectionate, loves to be held and lifts her leg to go potty.  That made me laugh so hard I had tears in my eyes.  She must have been watching the big dogs.  I think Annie has found the perfect home, as you can see, she's already in the purse ready to go to Wal-Mart and I understand she also has a full wardrobe.  She will be getting the hair cut around her eyes so they won't have to keep putting the barrettes in her hair so she can see.

I asked my husband if I could have one and he said I could, the day I put him in the nursing home.  I wish he wouldn't have said that.  There's one on the next corner and I understand they have openings :0) LOL.

These two focal beads are made of polymer clay and they are both Natasha Beads.  These are made by taking scrap clay and winding it up till it's mixed and then forming it into a square and cutting it in four pieces and matching the inside patterns all the way around.  The top one has some translucent clay in it and also some Swarovski crystals.  Both beads were wire wrapped and have Swarovski crystals on them.  The bottom brown one is attached to a necklace that I just finished.  It's a four bead herrinbone made with gold Delicas.  Seems like it took me forever.  I love the necklace because I can change the focal beads depending the color.  It's very soft and has a magnetic, snap clasp on it.

These two beads are also made of polymer clay.  The top one is a gold, pearl and copper swirled lentil bead and wire wrapped in gold wire, the bottom one was a cane that I had made and didn't like.  I took the cane, cut it half longways and kept layering it.  I sliced pieces and put them on black clay and I really liked the outcome.  Then, I took some copper wire and hammered it, layed it on the bead and put Magic Gloss on it.  Put it out in the sun for an hour and then wire wrapped it in copper wire.  I like working with the Magic Glos and will be doing more of that now that Christmas is over.

I had a wonderful Christmas.  I had five friends over for dinner.  It took me longer to clean the kitchen than it did to make dinner.  I think I used every pot and pan and dish that I owned.  Must be why I only cook once a year.  I had some left over ham so I'm making split pea soup.

Hope everyone reading this had a wonderful Christmas and is going to have a great New Year.

Now I have to figure out how to get rid of the fudge, double chocolate covered peanuts, cheesecake, Good and Plenty and the rest of the sugar in the house.  I need a zipper for my mouth.  Anyone figured out how to do that, let know.

I'll post more pictures of Annie, I'm sure there will be millions.  She's adorable.

POLYMER CLAY BEAD EXCHANGE AND MR. KITA

I mentioned a few days ago that some of my friends and I were going to get together to do clay and have lunch and do a bead exchange.  We did and we had lots of fun and really made a big mess in my studio but it was great.  The picture above shows three focal beads.  The one on the left was made by my friend Rose who took some canes that I had given her and some that she had made and put them on this lovely heart.  Well, I like doing wire wrapping and also like to add Swarovski Crystals and other elements to my wire wrapped items so I wire wrapped the red heart and I love it.  The circular bead in the middle was done by my friend Evelyn who tends to go to the greens and browns and golds.  Her large round focal bead had teeny tiny no-hole gold beads all over it and I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with a round bead.  I may have gone a little overboard but I really like that one too.  The focal bead on the right was made by me with scraps of clay that was left over from our clay day.  I actually did an extruder cane and wrapped it around a big rose colored ball of clay and then flattened it.  Those colors didn't really come out until I sanded it.  Once I buffed it they really popped.  Those aren't really my colors but I really like that bead.

This is the bead that Judy made, the picture doesn't do it justice.  It really is pretty and quite unique.  I haven't decided how to finish it yet but I'll post a picture when I do.

These are not cookies.  They are post earrings.  I was in a Christmas mood yesterday and the window washers were here so I couldn't do much.  I made these guys and I when I took them out of the oven, I thought they looked like they had too much egg nog.  I have a tendency to overwork things and these two guys were definitely over worked.  I actually put some ginger and nutmeg in the clay thinking that would make them smell but so far it just made them look silly, I'll wear them anyway and see what people think.

On a sadder note, this is Kita.  He was an Akita and Sheppard mix.  This has been my brother's best buddy for the last 9 years.  Mr. Kita as they called him, went every where with my brother John.  They went on the boat, they went to the store, he went on jobs and never left my brother's side.  My sister and I always joked that Mr. Kita was Johnny's only friend.  Last week John called and said that they had to put him to sleep.  He started losing his eye sight about 2 years ago and then his hips went bad (which usually happens in big dogs).  He was doing good but in the last 2 months he could hardly walk and dragged his feet and his paws would bleed.  He got really bad last week and they took him to the vet and the vet helped them decide to let Kita go some place more peaceful where he would have less pain.  It's been a long time since I've heard or seen my brother cry and it broke my heart.  Anyone who has had animals in their lives knows about unconditional love.  That's what animals always have for people.  Booboo my cat was 18 in October and he has unconditional love for me too.  However, at 5:30 this morning he decided to unroll the entire roll of toilet paper and run back and forth through the blinds till I finally got up.

We had our Arizona Polymer Clay Guild Christmas party this weekend.  We really had a good time.  Everyone brought food ( I ate too much)  we had a raffle and played games and then we did a gift exhange.  I was very lucky to have picked a box that was given by one of our very talented members.  In the box was two polymer clay bead rollers that I didn't have (thought I had all of them).  A bag of great flat backed beads, a bottle done in polymer clay, a wire book and this beautiful faux cinnabar necklace with silver chains that she made herself.  It was a very generous gift and I'm glad I got it.  This necklace is beautiful and I can't wait to wear it.  Thanks Kathy.  YOU DID GOOD.

CASABLANCA BEADS WITH WIRE WRAPPING AND CRYSTALS

Right now I'm sitting here listening to Andre Boceli's new Christmas album called "My Christmas".  I think I have all of his CD's.  I remember hearing someone say "IF GOD HAD A SINGING VOICE, THAT WOULD BE IT". 

Anyway, some friends of mine are coming over tomorrow and we are going to have lunch here and do a little gift exchange.  I had made these Casablanca beads and wasn't sure how and where I wanted to put the hole and what I would use to hang them with.  I've taken a number of wire wrapping classes but would still like to take a few more, I'm not comfortable with it yet.  I have some DVD's I've been watching and they help.  I guess it's like bowling and golf, the more you practice the better you get.  I have 12 wire wrapping books and I look at them occasionally.  I decided that these beads needed something more so I jumped right in tonight.  It was fun and I think they turned out pretty good considering I don't do this much, hardly ever, seldom.  Guess you got the point.  I'm going to start doing more because it's actually fun and I bought a new toy.  I ordered some bits for my Dremel that have little cups on the end and when you do wire work, you put the end of the wire in the cups and it files the end of the wire down so it's smooth.  I'll take some pictures this weekend and show you.  It's a wonderful thing.  I ordered a set of these things so you can use all sizes of wire, problem is, I can't remember where I put the set.  It's getting late, I played golf, it was cold.  Yes it does get cold in Arizona.  We've had some frost the last couple nights.  Going to put my pajamas on and snuggle up with the cat.

MONTECITO NECKLACE IN ETSY TREASURY

I was so excited today, I got an email saying one of my necklaces that I put in Etsy is in a treasury. The treasury is called "Rough Yet Refined" which pretty much describes that necklace. The focal bead is polymer clay and there is a Russian Swirl around it on black velvet. It's the only one I've done like that but that Russian Swirl beading is one of my favorite.  Check the link to see some of the beautiful items in the treasury and most of them are from people who belong to the Polymer Clay Guild of Etsy. 
http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=99519

If you buy something now from one of the Etsy shops of the PCAGOE you have a chance to win one of three stockings filled with beautiful items.  Go to the Etsy site and type PCAGOE in the search link and it will take you directly to their items.  You will be amazed at the talent of those artists.

POLYMER CLAY GOLF STROKE COUNTERS

Had a special request for some golf stroke counters.  The large beads are made of polymer clay and they hang on swivel lobster claws.  I've made about 40 of these.  Some people use them to count their laps at the walking track but most people use them to count their golf strokes.

It's a rainy day here in beautiful, sunny Arizona so I'm going to try and get my Christmas cards done.  I'm not sending any in town this year.  Save myself some stamp money.

Today I brought Clarice her necklace that I re-strung for her.  She's a cute little lady of 85 who loves jewelry.  She said her husband bought her this onyx and silver necklace 14 years ago.  The first time I talked to her it sounded like the necklace was vintage and much older.  She put it on as soon as I gave it to her.  It is really heavy but it's a beautiful piece and I'm happy she liked it.

POLYMER CLAY BEAD ROLLERS

A few months ago, a friend of mine who had been doing clay for a long time asked if I would show her how to use a bead roller.  She was having problems and just couldn't get it going.  We spent about two hours together rolling beads.  I probably have every bead roller made.  When my husband had his open heart surgery in 2006, I sat for hours making beads and using the bead rollers.  He slept alot and I didn't want to make a lot of noise.  I took all my left over clay and left over canes and made beads by the hundreds.  I baked them and put them in a box.  One day my friend Rose came over and found the box and took all my beads.  She made two necklaces out of them and they were beautiful.  She wouldn't give them back.

Well, when my friend came over I decided to make a bunch of beads and make myself a necklace somewhat like Roses but I wanted to make it with metallic or pearl clay.  I made beads of every different color you can imagine by mixing pearl clay with bits of colored clay.  They turned out beautiful.  Once again, I put them in a box thinking I would get to them later.  Took a couple beads out and made earrings out of them but left the rest in a box.  6 months later I took out the box and made my friend Brenda some earrings.  She loved the ones I made before and wanted some so I made them.  Then I got into an earring making frenzy.  Here they are.
Brenda now has 10 different sets of earrings, Rose has two necklaces, Susan learned how to use the bead rollers and I have another box full of beads AND what did I do today?  I made a bunch of beads on my bead rollers.  Maybe they will be made into something wonderful someday and find a good home.

This week when I went to my beading club, a lady came in and walked over to me.  There were 20 other people there but she walked over to me.  She had this necklace in a little purse and asked if I could fix it.  I looked at the necklace and realized it was very old.  It was onyx and silver.  I told her I would rewire her necklace and put a clasp on it for her so she wouldn't keep putting it over her head and pulling on the wire.  When I asked her what her name was she spelled it for me C-L-A-R-I-C-E.  I almost fell off the chair.  Clarice was the name of my best friend's mom. Till I met Clarice Cotter, I never heard that name before.    Pat (Sissy's mom) and Clarice lived across the street from me for 7 years.  I got to know them both and Clarice Cotter (Pat's mom) was a hoot.  She had macular degeneration and diabetes but she had a heck of a sense of humor and loved to have Margharitas with me.  I learned how to give her shots and she would always tell Pat I was better at it than she was.  I always told Pat that she liked me better.  Anyway, I'm off on a tangent.  I just thought it was interesting that this woman would pick me out and her name was Clarice.  Pat's mom died a couple years ago and I miss her a lot.

This is the necklace the woman brought me and I'll publish a picture after I put it back together.

BOOBOO AND POLYMER CLAY

These beads were made with Desiree McCrory's method called Casablanca  Beads which is a tutorial on her website.  I wasn't sure I liked the colors of these until I cut them open.  The two football shaped beads are the original cuttings and the other beads were made with the leftover clay from the cuttings.  I tumbled these for 3 days and then buffed them.  Not sure what I'm going to do with them yet.  It's a fun technique.  If you do polymer, try it.  I used Fimo effects with the glitter in it and wasn't really happy with the blending.   I'm going to try it again with some different colors.

This is my 18 year old cat Booboo, at least part of him.  Every day, when I can, I like to take a little nap because we get up at 5 almost every morning because this cat starts singing at that time.  So, during the winter I turn the electric blanket on and lay down for a while with one of my favorite afghans and my favorite cat.  He can get up and down off the bed by himself but he waits till I pick him up and put him on the bed.  When I leave the bed, he wraps himself up in he blanket and goes to sleeep.  Today I went in and found him wrapped in the blanket except for his feet.  I guess you have to be a cat lover to see the humor in this.  My friends all think Booboo is the funniest cat they have ever seen.  He brings little rubber balls to me all day long so I can throw them and he brings them back to me.  He's the cat that holds my thumb when I'm working on the computer at night.  He likes graham crackers and low fat wheat thins.  He's just not normal.

LITTLE GIRL CATS, STORMY BEAD AND BRACELETS

Aren't these the cutest polymer clay cats you've ever seen?  I think so.  I'm going to try to find names for them.  These were given to me by Judy Phillips.  She is the very talented lady who does sculpting with clay and she does a lot of native American faces and figures.  I gave Judy a necklace and earrings made from Studio by Sculpey a few weeks ago and Judy knows I'm crazy about cats so I got this great cat family.  Judy collects bits and pieces of canes from the people in our Arizona Polymer Clay Guild and uses them on her pieces.  These little girls have capes made from canes that were given to her.  I just love them.  I'm going to try my hand at making some.  I don't have the sculpting talent that Judy does but I want to give it a try.  I love these little girls.

This was a bead that I had made from one of the lightning storm canes that I made.  I brought it to our guild meeting Saturday and one of the ladies grabbed it and said she had to have it so I sold it to her.  Another lady bought one of my lightning storm bracelets that I made.  I had it on Etsy but couldn't say no so I sold it to her and removed it from Etsy.  I love it when people who do polymer clay want my stuff.  It's an ego trip.

When I'm not doing polymer clay I love to do beading.  I go to the library and take out about 15 audio books and listen to them while I'm beading or doing clay, it's very relaxing to me and this way I get to keep up with the book stuff.  I've listened to over 100 books so far this year.  I'm a big James Patterson and Stuart Woods fan, they could put out a book a day for me.  I've just recently started listening to some Lisa Scottoline and Harlen Coben books and I love those now too.  Anyway, I've been making bracelets for a couple days for all my relatives and friends.  I love this one because it's really elegant.  I put the magnetic clasp on them.  I get those at Mobile Boutique and they really add dimension and glamour to the piece.  They are easy to put on and all my friends love them because they are so secure and not hard to put on and take off like some of the toggles that I used before.

My sister's mother in law is 95 years old.  I made her this necklace last Christmas. 
The focal bead is polymer and the crystals came from a necklace that she had since she was in her 30's.  They were beautiful.  She has been wearing this necklace every day since I sent it to her.  Someone in the assissted living place where she resides asked if they could buy it from her and she told them "No, it's a one of kind, and the lady that made it won't make anymore for anyone else".  My sister and I were in stitches.

My whole family is in Florida for Thanksgiving.  My mom and brother live down there.  My brother and his wife are celebrating 40 years of marriage and there is a surprise party for them this weekend at their house?????  I guess it's not a surprise anymore since my sister in law had the house painted and bought new furniture.  I don't travel on holidays and I just got back from a 2 week road trip so I'm traveled out.

My husband and I are going to a friend's house for Thanksgiving.  John, (my husband) is making pecan pie and a caramel-apple cheesecake.  I'm making pumpkin pie and Black and Blue cole slaw.  It's made with red cabbage, parsley, grapes, blue cheese, dijon mustard and other good things.  If you want the recipe, let me know and I'll send it to you or post it.  It's even better the second day.

Have a good holiday.

Happy Thanksgiving Grandma, we miss you.

CANES, CANES AND MORE CANES

HELP ME, I'M STUCK IN A RUT.  I love making canes especially these lightning bolt canes and I love to sit and make beads but I get in a rut about putting stuff together.  Might be time for me to take the 400 beads that I've made, put them together and sell them on ETSY just as beads.  People love my beads, SO, I should quit making jewelry and just make beads.  Like I said, I love making canes and probably have 100 of them stored here.  Not sure what I want to do with them.  I did put these two items on ETSY today.  I like the green bracelet, fits me perfect.  OF COURSE IT DOES, I make everything for me. 

My studio is a mess right now.  I've been sanding and buffing beads for two weeks.  I should be out Christmas shopping or golfing or bowling or cleaning house (NOT) but I'm here buffing beads.  Where's my friend Rose when I need her?  She comes over and gets all my beads out and puts things together that I never would have thought of and it's like watching a little kid with Tonka toys but she is so good at it.  I think I better call Rose.  Have a nice night.

POLYMER CLAY ARTIST'S GUILD OF ETSY HOLIDAY STOCKING GIVEAWAY

These are two of the items I donated to the Christmas stockings that the Polymer Clay Artist's Guild of Etsy will be putting in the stockings that they are giving away.

Beginning Thanksgiving Day, November 26 and running to midnight, December 12, any purchase in any of the participating PCAGOE member shops qualifies you for one chance to win one of three holiday stockings we are giving away!




The grand prize stocking is chock full of polymer clay items created by our member artists, plus a $75 Gift Certificate valid in any of the participating members' shops! The second and third place stockings also contain handmade polymer clay items and $50 and $25 gift certificates, respectively!



Any purchase you make during our Black Friday - Cyber Monday SALE also qualifies you for a chance at the stockings. Buy one item, get one chance. By five items, get five chances, etc!



Winners for the stockings will be chosen at random from among the qualified buyers and you will be notified as soon as possible after the promotion ends on December 12th.


Here are the shops that are participating in the Holiday Stocking Giveaway.


KellyPlaysClay.etsy.com

LaurelSteven.etsy.com

11BoldStreet.etsy.com

PolymerClayCreations.etsy.com

CreativeWriting.etsy.com

MarciaPalmer.etsy.com

BeeTreeByMe.etsy.com

TheColorofDreams.etsy.com

Bleekreations.etsy.com

RiverValleyDesign.etsy.com

Juliespace.etsy.com

Peggers.etsy.com

MichelesArtJewelry.etsy.com

AlisonEKurek.etsy.com

SCDiva.etsy.com

NKDesigns.etsy.com

AshPaints.etsy.com

WonderfulWire.etsy.com

IlysaArt.etsy.com

Stonebrash.etsy.com

Summergirl38.etsy.com

BarbiesBest.etsy.com

GoodspeedEmpire.etsy.com

MarcymPC.etsy.com

LJeans.etsy.com

Jencom72.etsy.com

SilverGateStudio.etsy.com

RozPetalzStudio.etsy.com

miramecreations.etsy.com

Good Luck, I hope I win.

Isn't it amazing how things turn out when you least expect it.  I had a friend over last Friday and I have been teaching her polymer clay.  I showed her how to do the lightning cane, then we went on to a quilt cane.  I didn't really like mine because I put too much ecru in it.  So, I made a triangle out of the cane, rolled the top flat, cut it in half and put the two halves together.  Squished (I think that's a word) the cane into a square, sliced pieces and layed it on some clay that I put through the pasta machine with a texture piece.  I used a large teardrop cutter to cut out two beads from this.  There was a lot of black going through the bead which made it look like stone when it was sanded and polished.

I took this and two other beads that I made over to my friends house Sunday night where I go to watch Desperate Housewives every week.  It's actually my way of being able to spend time with Sissy.

This is Sissy, she belongs to my friend Pat.  Sissy is a Havanese and she's the sweetest, smartest, most lovable dog I've ever met.  As you can see, she let me put rollers in her hair in this picture.

This was Sissy when she was a baby.  Sissy has a valve problem that we are hoping will get better as she gets older.  She's had a major surgery already and came out of it just fine, we aren't sure if she will need more but she is so sweet.  She loves to kiss and play and play and play.

Anyway, I brought a little bag over to Pat's with my beads in it to show her.  When I got home, no bag, no beads.  Pat found the bag with Sissy's toys so apparently she took it out of my purse.  Haven't gotten it back yet but when I do, I'll take more pictures and maybe finish the bead.  I want to put a bail on it and either make a black ribbon necklace for it or do a beading necklace for it.

My husband said this bead looks like it has hidden flowers in it.  He sees things a little different than I do.

Right now I have to finish the wool scarf I'm making for the Cave Creek American Legion so I haven't had a lot of clay time.

Next week I'll be teaching polymer clay at the Craft Retreat in Glendale.  I know it will be fun, Susan Richardson who owns the place is a really sweet lady and has a wonderful store.  I'll let you know how that turns out.

Judy Phillips Necklace and her sculpting

I have a very sweet friend who  belongs to our Arizona Polymer Clay Guild.  Her name is Judy Phillips.  She has more talent in one finger than most people do in their whole body.  If you don't believe me, check out the native sculpture above.  Judy does polymer clay sculpting and most of her work is of Native Americans.  She uses many different mediums when she does her sculpting besides clay.  I've seen her put pieces of plants and trees and bushes and feathers in her sculpting.  I was so happy she did some cats a few months ago.  As you know I'm a cat person.  Judy also does nail files that she sculpts people on and they are gorgeous.  I'll post some of them as soon as I get Judy's permission.  This post is because of the necklace that you see pictured above.  I made this from Studio by Sculpey clay and wore it to a meeting one day and Judy raved about it and asked me to make her one.  Well, I decided to just give her this one and I made her some matching earrings and I thought I took pictures of those but can't find them (senior moment).  I was so happy that Judy finally wanted something that I made.  It was a feather in my cap.  Judy doesn't wear a lot of jewelry so this really excited me and I made her promise to wear it to the next meeting.  I made myself two more necklaces like this but they never come out the same.  IT'S GOOD NOT TO BE THE SAME.  Thank you Judy.

It's been a while since I've done any jewelry or polymer clay.  I have been knitting and crocheting scarves for our troops in Iraq.  One of the clubs I belong to does a lot of charity work and we are now working with the Cave Creek Arizona American Legion.  They adopted the Arizona National Guard 285th BN.  We are working with them to supply hats and scarves to these people.  I found out something very interesting.  If you make something for one of the soldiers, it has to be made out of pure wool.  Everything you give them has to have the label attached so they know it's pure wool.  Apparently polyester burns.  If they get caught in a fire with a polyester hat or scarf, it would burn right to them, the wool won't.  I went to Hobby Lobby yesterday to buy wool yarn but they would only let me use one coupon and one skein of yarn was $9.95 so I guess I'll be going to Joann's to get more yarn.  If we get any pictures of the guys or girls with the scarves, I'll post them.

The picture above is the polymer clay jewelry I finally finished for my cousin Karen who lives in Wisconsin.  She asked me a month ago about making brown jewlery.  I made the beads and left them in the tumbler for 3 days so I wouldn't have to sand them by hand, they turned out great but it took a long time to buff them.  The smaller brown and cream color beads are jasper and I put a gold spacer bead in between.  The clasps are beautiful, magnetic clasps that I order from Mobile Boutique.  They are glamorous, easy to put on and take off, they hold really well and they look GREAT.

Hope she likes this jewelry.

ARIZONA LIGHTNING STORM

This bracelet is made of polymer clay
and it's mostly Studio by Sculpey. It's
what I call the lightning storm cane. I
love the way these beads turned out. I
put this on a stretch cord with antique
gold beads in between. I put one something
like it on Etsy.

SPLICED CANE

A few years ago I came across a tutorial
for a "Spliced Cane". I was intriqued with
the way each cane came out different. I like to make canes to have on hand and I use a lot of my left over clay for canes. I decided to try a Spliced Cane using Studio by Sculpey clay. The original instructions say you should cut the cane in 3 and put it together and then cut that in 2 pieces and put it together. The first part of the cane is done in a triangle. I like the one triangle all by itself. On the secret compartment key chain to the right I cut the triangles and laid them between each other and it formed this pattern. On the other one, I laid the triangles at an angle and then rolled it together. I like the way they both came out with the patterns. When it's warm, the Studio clay doesn't hold a
cane form very well but you can put it
in the refrigerator in between cuttings and it
works great.

Brenda

This picture got shadowed but you can tell by looking at it what these are. My friend Brenda asked me to make her some polymer clay earrings. The green, purple and pink are made with Studio By Sculpey Clay and so are the red posts in the middle. I polished the far right ones with Future. I think I like the matte finish the best. She hasn't seen these yet, she will tonight. She wears wild clothes to work and wanted earrings to go with. Hope these work.