Two subjects - Snow and Granddaughters

This post was actually for yesterday, May 9th, but little Lucie babykins managed to keep me from getting it posted. The photo above is my previously green back yard... It ended up snowing and hailing all day yesterday and this morning we had to shovel the front stairs to get out of the house. Hopefully it's going to stop now and we can get back to Spring. No doubt my daffodils are going to suffer because of this snow, darn. I was going to see about cutting them yesterday but I was a day late.


Now this is the fun part of the blogging for today. The photo above is my youngest grandchild, Lucie. She is the number ten grandbaby and she's almost 2 years old. The reason I took the photo, though, is for my second grandchild and first granddaughter, Brittany, who is 26 years old. Brittany and Lucie are cousins.

Brittany is the reason that I originally purchased the Kitty Bib that Lucie is wearing to keep at my house for Brittany when she was about this age! No Velcro on this baby bib - it ties in the back. Can you believe it would last through 9 grandchildren? It has, and most all of them have worn it at one time or another. Lucie loves the kitty on that bib so much - just as Brittany did 24 years ago. The poor kitty is a little worse for wear now, but causes much excitement when we talk about it before putting the bib on. Brittany used to smile and hug the bib and now Lucie does the same thing. So did Lucie's two big brothers and her cousin Gracie, this bib has been a hit for a while now.

Here is a photo of #9 grandbaby, Gracie, wearing the bib (and in the same plaid high chair) in September 2009. Gracie and Lucie are cousins, just 14 months difference in age.


I wish I had a photo of Brittany wearing the bib, too, but I don't. However, below are two photos of Brittany, then and last summer.




Gotta love those granddaughters! And I do. :) Being a grandma is one of the best things I've ever had the chance to be. Watching them grow and become who they will be has been good.

SPECIAL MOTHER'S DAY PROMOTION!

What's in the basket? 2 clocks, 2 pocket mirrors, 1 large barrette, 2 hair clips, 8 necklaces, 5 pairs of earrings, 1 votive, 1 cookie turner, buttons, note cards, sculpture of a cat in a frame, wine glass charms, lighted keyring, a ring, 2 bracelets - quite a nice selection!

Spoil your mom or yourself for that matter! Win a Beautiful Basket Full of gorgeous Polymer Clay items. No Purchase Necessary. To be entered into the drawing, either purchase an item from the stores below from April 11th to the 25th or send an email to Laurelsteven.etsy.com with your name and email address.

What better way to honor your mom than with a handcrafted, beautiful item from the Polymer Clay Artists Guild of Etsy members? Shop handmade on Etsy. Shop at the stores listed below to enter!

11BOLDStreet.etsy.com
Alisonekurek.etsy.com
Beckysuecreations.etsy.com
Ashpaints.etsy.com
Higirls.etsy.com
Kellyplaysclay.etsy.com
Jkollman.etsy.com
Marcympc.etsy.com
NKDesigns.etsy.com
Peggers.etsy.com
Polymerclaycreations.etsy.com
ThePleasantPheasant.etsy.com

Every item purchased will give you an entry into the promotion, or for "no purchase necessary", just contact LaurelSteven.etsy.com with your name and address.

Promotion ends on April 25th so hurry! Only a couple more days to enter. :)

AyeletBeads A Winner

I'd like to tell you all a little bit about a friend of mine, Ayelet, who is the owner of AyeletBeads. Ayelet hails from New Zealand and she has been developing with polymer clay for a few years very impressively. Her works are better and better all the time, love to see that happen to polymer clayers. Her canes are gorgeous and her jewelry is awe-inspiring for its beautiful textures, colors and design.

Here is a link to her Flickr site for some yummy eye candy:
AyeletBeads at Flickr

(I wasn't kidding, was I?)

She also does craft shows and has an Etsy shop named AyeletBeads here.

One of Ayelet's claims to fame is that she writes the BEST polymer clay tutorials! (Hint: check her Etsy shop for the tutorials.) I have several of them and they never fail to please. I've been able to use them in a few different ways making them indispensible to me. So a few months ago, I got this awesome "Magic Flower Cane" tutorial from her and was so wanting to try it out. Then I became unable to clay due to a pinched nerve for a couple of months, so I couldn't do it. But now that I'm doing better, I pulled it out, and gave it a try. It's a great tutorial! Easy and fun (just don't make your cane huge like I did!) and with great possibilities.

Thank you, Ayelet, for being such a nice woman, an awesome polymer clayer, a good friend and a good tutorial writer!

Below is the photo of my first cane made with her Magic Flower Cane tutorial. Something weird went on with the white clay in this cane, it was way too soft and compressed together when I reduced it, but I still like the flower very much. I'm going to make another one shortly, hopefully the white clay will behave next time. Ayelet, I hope I made you proud. (((Ayelet)))

Thing A Day for February 6th (Super Bowl Sunday)

Well in honor of the Super Bowl... I'm NOT watching it! But I am going to post a photo of my Thing A Day entry for Day 6 of the Polymer Clay Central February Thing A Day Challenge, which just so happens to be a new Etsy listing, as well.

This is a silver and yellow key fob - the photo doesn't do it justice at all, it's SO pretty! The little touches of yellow just make it glow, and the Mother of Pearl coin beads along with the Bali spacers make it very pretty. I like this one a lot, can you tell?





I've been carrying two of these key fobs in my purse for EVER, and I love them. Every time I pull them out of my purse I'm pleased to see them, isn't that cool? I like the fact that they hold up wonderfully - both of my polymer clay focal beads have been dragged in and out of that purse for years, and they look as good as ever.

Thing a Day is extra fun for me this year since claying has been so difficult. But it's pushing me in the right direction as I clayed some more last night! I'm so happy and although getting up this morning was tough, I'm moving around again. Might clay some MORE!! Woo hoo.

Polymer Clay Central Thing A Day - February 5th

Well, due to a pinched nerve, I've been absent from almost everywhere except my chiropractor's office for quite some time. It is not yet "fixed" but sometimes is a little bit better. It started the first week of December and I thought it would "go away". My new learning experience - if I'm having pain over a "3" ever again, I'm heading off to get it fixed before it gets to a "10" for weeks on end.

Now, though, I've had a little bit of a comeback, SO... I'm going to try to keep up with the fun fun fun annual THING A DAY contest at Polymer Clay Central! Okay so I'm 5 days behind already but I'll keep working at it.

Here is a cane I made over the period of about 2 weeks. I hope they start popping out a little faster after this! (click on image to enlarge).



Thank you to all my friends and family for your constant uplifting on my account. You don't know how I appreciate it.

A Beautiful Jesus Nativity Scene

I've been terrible about blogging lately. But I took photos of my one-of-a-kind and seriously beautiful hand-painted gourds Nativity set and decided to share it here today. This little Nativity set is usually the focal point of our Christmas decor.

Click on the photos to enlarge them.


The stable is slightly large for the set, but it adds a nice backdrop at the same time, I think. My husband was so sweet to find the stable and bring it home right after the set arrived here from the artist.

The close up photos that I took this year aren't the best, but look closely to see the incredible attention to detail and careful work of the artist. She is AMAZING!


I admire every piece when I unwrap them each year, and place them carefully with a smile on my face each time. They are special.

And now the bad news.... the wonderful artist who did my Nativity Scene is so backlogged that she's not taking new orders. Bummer! Her name is Helen Eyers and I just know you'll be chafing at the bit once you check out her blog and her beautiful (there really should be a better word) gourds here:

Litte Round Lady Creations

I'm happy that I was able to get this Nativity set from her before she got overwhelmed with orders. Thank you, Helen, I think of you often, but with special enjoyment of your excellent artistry at this time of year.

And Let the Voting Begin!!

Polymer Clay Artists Guild of Etsy's December Challenge - Faux Mokume Gane

The theme for the PCAGOE December Challenge is Mokume Gane. I hope you will click on the link below and go check out the beautiful entries! And please scroll down and vote for your three favorites while you're there.

Click HERE to vote!

Five voters will win prizes created by various PCAGOE artists.

Mokume gane is an ancient Japanese metalsmithing technique which artists in other mediums, including polymer clay, have adapted. The term Mokume gane literally means woodgrain metal or eye of the wood metal, and refers to the elaborate woodgrain patterns which can be created with the technique.

There are many ways to achieve the look of mokume gane in clay. The traditional method is to stack different colors of clay and/or translucent clay and foils, compress the stack, emboss it with a patterned texture sheet, then shave horizontally the raised areas of the stack to reveal the different colors and patterns. It requires a light, but steady hand. If you shave too deeply, you will ruin the pattern. If the cut is too shallow, you won't reveal all of the color bands.

Some artists stack the colored layers and then use a ripple blade to slice vertically, revealing wavy patterns in the clay.

Voting begins December 1, 2010 and ends at midnight Eastern U.S. time on December 7, 2010. Winners will be announced on December 8, 2010 at www.pcagoe.com.

Winning public voters will be notified as soon as possible after voting closes. If you do not respond within one week, your prize will be returned to the pool as unclaimed.

You may also sign up for our monthly newsletter when you vote.

Our members love to hear your comments about the entries. Please take a moment to complete that section when you vote. We also love to hear where you learned about the challenges.

DECEMBER CHALLENGE ENTRIES:



Many of the entries are available in the member's Etsy shop. Click on the member's name or the title link to check any entry you are interested in purchasing.

Thank you again for your votes, and for supporting the Polymer Clay Artists Guild of Etsy. We hope you will join us again next month. The theme for January is "Three Color Combo." We hope to have many beautiful entries to inspire and delight you.