CHRISTMAS IN ARIZONA

It's been a while since I've posted on my blog.  I've been really busy making Christmas presents for friends and family.  My friends decided we were going to exchange hand made gifts this year.  It's been a challenge but I think I finally figured out something they can't live without. LOL   Can't post the pictures until after they get their presents though.


A couple years ago I put together a Christmas luncheon for 50 women for a club that I belonged to.  I made 52 polymer clay Santa Claus face pins.  As soon as I find mine I'll take a picture and put it up here.  After the 15th one I said to myself "What were you thinking"?  I got my good friend and neighbor to dress like Santa Claus and come to the luncheon.  We had a gift exchange so he gave out the gifts and I took everyone's picture with him.  I learned later that one of the elderly ladies in the group grabbed his butt while I was taking their picture.  He has a good sense of humor so he just laughed it off.  Anyway, I re-wrote an old poem and passed it out and since tomorrow is December 1st I thought this would be a good time to let everyone know about:

CHRISTMAS IN ARIZONA

Twas the night before Christmas and all through the town

No noses were frozen no snow fluttered down.

No children in flannels were tucked into bed

They all wore their shorty pajamas instead.

To find pretty cactus was not very hard

For cactus plants sprouted right in the back yard.

In front of the houses were daddies and moms

Admiring the cactus and the Royal Palms.

The slumbering kiddies were dreaming in glee

And hoped they'd find Play Stations under the tree.

They all knew that Santa was well on his way

In a Mercedes Benz instead of a sleigh.

And soon he arrived and started to work

He hadn't a second to linger or shirk.

He whizzed over highways and zoomed up the roads

In a shiny new sports car delivering his loads.

The desert moon gave the city a glow

And lighted the way for Santa below.

As he jumped from the auto, he gave a wee chuckle

He was dressed in bermudas with an Ivy League buckle.

There weren't many chimneys but that caused no gloom

Santa came in through the Arizona room.

He stopped at each house but stayed only a minute

And emptied his sack of the stuff that was in it.

Before he departed he treated himself

To a big margarita that was left on the shelf.

Then he turned with a jerk and bounced back to his car

Remembering he still had to go very far.

He shifted the gears and stepped on the gas

And away up the highway he went with a flash.

And I heard him exclaim as he went on his way

Merry Christmas Arizona, I wish I could stay.

MY FAVORITE SANTA

This was one of the most beautiful Santa Claus costumes I had ever seen except it didn't look like it had been cleaned for a while.  We borrowed it from a lady who's husband played Santa to a children's hospital every year but he died.  She offered the suit to us to use for $25.  When I called her and told her I was going to get it cleaned and bring it back she told me she had her own special cleaner and it was going to cost me $75. I told her the suit wasn't cleaned when we got it and I thought $75 was a little high for cleaning.  Needless to say, we never borrowed the suit again.  That was a good lesson.  Ask about cleaning first.

Gotta get back to work.  November is over.  Boy did that go fast.

BEAD ROLLER BEADS AND DEMO - BREAST CANCER GOLF OUTING

This has been a busy week.  Wednesday at our beading club I did a demo on bead rollers.  I have some new people who are getting into polymer clay and they all bought bead rollers but were having problems with them.  When my husband had his new heart valve put in and his by pass surgery, I sat for 2 weeks and played with the bead rollers. Couldn't make much noise and couldn't leave the house.   I love using the bead rollers because I never know what the pattern on the bead will look like.  I made some beads and sanded and buffed them to show them what they could do with bead rollers.

Most of these were made with leftovers or cane ends.

The one on the right is one of my favorites.  It was made with two pieces of a flower cane  that I made a couple weeks ago.   The one on the left is made with black and white flower cane ends and strips of silver clay.

KUMIHIMO BRAIDING

Some of the girls at our beading club have been making their own neck cords on a disk using the Japanese art of Kumihimo Braiding.  Rose, Judy, Evelyn and I decided we wanted to try it.  Some of the girls bought their disks at the Tucson Bead show and paid $80 for them.  We found a place in Texas that sells a kit.  The kit comes with the disk, 8 plastic bobbins and some satin thread all for $22.  We got our kits Wednesday and I just finished one braid and I think Judy has done two and Rose is doing one and we still have to show Evelyn how to do it.  It's really fun and not hard.

This is my disk and my finished braid.  I used some size 2 nylon cord that I got at Hobby Lobby.  I bought some larger cord also and will try that next.  If you are interested in ordering this kit, leave me a comment and I'll give you the name of the place that we got our kits from.  I don't know them well enough to publish their website on my blog.  I think this is going to be a great way to make matching cords for my polymer clay pendants.

BREAST CANCER GOLF OUTING

I told you this has been a busy week.  Today I golfed in a breast cancer golf outing.  I bought raffle tickets and won a $20 gift certificate to The Corner Bakery (just what I need).  They had a silent auction and had some beautiful items that people donated.  They had a basket full of Mary Kay products and I bid on it and won.  It has enough things in it for me to use as gifts for Christmas for at least 3 people.

The weather was gorgeous, we had hot dogs before we teed off and the Texas Road House gave out ribs on one of the holes.  Hard to hit a ball with a rib in one hand and a club in the other.

MY WISH IS THAT THEY FIND A CURE FOR BREAST CANCER OR A PILL THAT A WOMAN CAN TAKE SO SHE DOESN'T GET BREAST CANCER. 

If you get a chance, find a way to help the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.  We could be saving your best friend, your sister or your daughter by just giving towards research to help find a cure for this terrible disease.  Don't forget to get your mammogram.

Some time in the very near future I will posting a pink ribbon bracelet as a give away.  Watch this blog.

DRUNKEN BUTTERFLYS - SUTTON SLICES - CRAFT FAIR

My friend Judy's husband is on a long job in Chicago and she's really been getting into clay and beading.  She came over Friday so we could see if we could make the Cindy Lietz http://www.beadsandbeading.com/blog/ butterfly wing cane.  The canes we made were pretty big compared to Cindy's, the colors changed after we baked them and our butterfly's look like they had been in the Jack Daniels.  Judy's is cute, mine will never be seen by the public.

Since I took this picture, Judy added a Swarovski necklace to her and she looks much better.  LOL  She also sanded and buffed it.  Cindy, we are going to try again.  Judy keeps watching the video to see what we did wrong.  Join Cindy Lietz's Friday video group.  It's great.  You will never find another polymer clay tutor that offers so much for such a reasonable rate.  Click on the website above and check out all the fabulous tutorials that Cindy teaches.

SUTTON SLICE TECHNIQUE

These are two sheets of Sutton slice that I did Friday.  Not sure what I'm going to do with them yet.

This is one of Judy's Sutton slices done with Fimo glitter clay on black.

This is Judy's other Sutton slice done with left over pieces from her butterfly cane.  I can't wait to see what she does with them.

SUN CITY WEST CRAFT FAIR

Yesterday was the Sun City West Craft Fair.  Everyone worked really hard but it sure is obvious there is a problem with the economy.  People were looking for inexpensive items for holiday gifts.  Our beading club had the most beautiful displays and gorgeous items.  We didn't do as well this year as we did last year.  People loved all the polymer clay jewelry that Rose, Judy and Evelyn made but they didn't buy a lot.  It sure is hard to tell what's going to sell now. 

Last but not least.  Met this guy last week at a sports fair.  Just as they put him out and he was surrounded by people, he turned his back on everyone and peed all over the floor.  I just thought that was pretty funny.  LOL

CLAY CLASS - MY OH MY NECKLACE - NEW BEADS

CLAY CLASS

Last Wednesday I did a beginner's clay class with 7 students.  I usually do the Mokume Gane technique because students are awe struck when they take that first slice off the top of the stack.  The last class I taught I gave them the clay to teach them how to condition it and we had problems with a couple of the clays.  They were really hard and the students were getting frustrated so this time, I spent all day Tuesday conditioning clay and making the stacks ahead of time.  At the class I showed them how I did it in order to save time but I let them make all the indentations in the clay.  I had them slice pieces out of the clay stacks and we made pendants and earrings with cutters.  We did get them baked but not finished. Today only two people were able to bring their pieces back to finish.  I showed them how to sand and put the holes in their pieces and then we took them outside and sprayed them with Preserve Your Memories II.  We really didn't have time to do a class on buffing and they wanted their pieces to make jewelry with.

Linda's beads look like hot air balloons.

Next week I'm going to do a demo on bead rollers.  I love bead rollers.  I make all kinds of shapes with them.  When I got my first bead roller I made over 100 beads.  I couldn't stop.

MY OH MY NECKLACE

Last week when I was doing the stacks of clay, my other friend Judy came over and was watching me.  I cut some end pieces off of one the stacks and gave them to her because she liked the colors.  I showed her a couple different shaped beads that could be made with the clay.  Today she showed up with this incredible necklace.  I know I'll never get to wear it but at least I got to touch it.  LOL

I really need a picture of it hanging.  It's gorgeous.

The clasp is rhinestones and has a magnet.  I guess I'll just sit and make beads and give them to Judy, Rose and Evelyn and let them make jewelry.

NEW BEADS

Last week at clay day we made some Natasha beads using Iris Mishly's method of making them.  I had a lot of canes left so I made a bunch of beads.  I sanded them all and I was going to buff them but I bought some new gloss and thought I would try it.  Big mistake.  Will be resanding these and buffing them.  I never did like using gloss or Future or glaze of any king except Magic Glos.  That taught me a lesson.  I was trying to save time.  Some got spots and parts didn't dry clear.  These beads are too pretty to leave them like that.  Made more work for myself.  DUH.

The two on the top right were sanded and buffed, the rest have gloss on but not for long.  They look like plastic and I don't like that.

 

HEY GIRLFRIENDS, THANKS FOR YOUR HELP WITH THE CLASS LAST WEEK.  IT WAS FUN.