New Artist Trading Cards

I've been working on new Artist Trading Cards, otherwise known as ATCs. They are made from any material (in my case I start with polymer clay, but you can use paper, felt, fabric, whatever floats your boat), and they are always the same size as a standard playing card. Once you have your basic "card", then you get to embellish. It's really fun because there are no rules. I have a large ATC collection from trading with other artists. And than brings me to the one rule about ATCs - they are to be TRADED and never sold!

Here are the two cards I made this week, the blue flower is for the PCAGOE Monthly Challenge for December:


Making these cards is addictive, as they tend to get better and better as you make more of them. Your mind gets going on all the ideas that you "could" do and then it's hard to stop. :)

I hope you'll all get ready for a big Artist Trading Card Swap that I'm planning to host in a couple of months. It will be so much fun!

(Please use my new Widget and sign up for email delivery of my blog posts. It's easier, they come right to your email box, and you can read them or delete them as you wish.... Thanks!)

Telling a story

My smart blogging friend, Donna of Cottage Days and Journeys says that my photos should tell a story, and I have a good story today! It has to do with snow and screen porches and gazebos over our spa at the back of the house.

Dealing with snow here in the High Sierra Mountains at 7,600 feet elevation is a pain in the you-know-what. And, we're not getting any younger which doesn't help. So, my smart husband and really helpful son have fixed one big problem - the snow that we have to deal with at the back of the house, after we've spent hours dealing with the driveway at the front.

The following photos will explain....

Here's a photo of the back of the house taken from above in May, 2011, showing the lovely new back deck and the spa. The spa has been there for 7 or 8 years but hubby just replaced the old rotting back deck last year.


And here is a photo of that same spa taken December 30, 2010, last winter. The winter of 62 feet of snow. The worst winter since the 1950-51 season. It was awful. This photo was taken at the beginning of the winter, too, you should have seen it in March. There was no place to put the snow, and we gave up and pretty much let the spa get buried. Not good.


But now - TADA - problem solved! This is a completely removable screen porch and gazebo that my husband and son built to remedy the problem. Can you see me smiling? I am over the moon happy! No more snow to shovel back there, yay. It's thrilling. And come Spring, down goes the entire thing and we will be back to normal until the following October. It was quite a project but now that it's done, it's great!


I already spent half the day yesterday in the spa - the gazebo is cozy and bright and just the thing to make the spa less a hassle and a lot more fun than any other winter since we got it. Woo hoo!

Dezaree turns 16 and Gracie's Island Snow Girl

Last week, granddaughter Gracie stayed with us for a few days, because it was big sister Dezaree's 16th birthday weekend... (Dezaree is in the center, cute, isn't she?). Oh my gosh how it happen that she's SIXTEEN?? Wow. You think they're going to stay little forever but they keep growing up on you.


While here, Gracie had fun walking on the block wall out back....

And peeking around the corner looking for Papa....

And playing clay with Nana! We had so much fun making this, Miss Gracie is much like her mom April and moves fast as can be. She stuck those ears and the beautiful "blouse" on her Island Snow Girl so fast it was amazing. She had no problem deciding where it all should go, including the smooshed big nose, the large eye, and the off-kilter eyebrow. :) And the fact is that Island Snow Girl is looking over her shoulder instead of facing forward (not part of "my" plan for her creation, heh heh.) But it was Gracie's creation, so of course I resisted the temptation to pick up that head and turn it to the front. LOL!


Claying with kids is always fun and interesting. I recommend it highly.

Fun Things You Can Do While Kayaking

There are so many fun things about kayaking on the lakes in our area. From loading the kayaks into the truck and driving off to the various lakes that are within 2 or 3 hours of where we live, it's really the most fun and healthy thing that we do. It's got some hard work involved.... lifting the kayaks off the truck and carrying them down to the water (and back later on) can be tricky at times, and the winds blowing across the lakes can make your paddling experience brisk, to say the least. But a day spent on a sunny mountain lake is very fulfilling, and we get to see great flora and fauna that we wouldn't otherwise see at close range:



You can play Hide-and-Seek:




You can wonder at a mysterious group of curved trees (not a trick photo!):


You can see snow in August:


You can eat lunch on an island:



You can question the sense of a duck paddling on its back while trying to choke down a fish:


And you can paddle back to the truck tired and happy for all the wonders that you were so blessed to get to see and enjoy:

October Challenge: Make a Polymer Clay Mask

October.... fall leaves and of course the month for MASKS! So the Polymer Clay Artists Guild of Etsy (PCAGOE) decided to have a Mask Challenge this month. The entries are amazing! Take a look at the mosaic of the masks:



But it can't be a challenge without VOTERS... so I urge you all to click on this link and check out the full size photos and pick your favorite 3 masks and VOTE! It's fun and easy.

Voting is open until October 7th. Here is a peek at the prizes you could win just for voting:


Vote here!

Thank you for voting, and may the best mask win!

Special Fun Claypen Chat on September 29th!

Would you like to win a Julie Picarello pendant?

This is an invitation to attend the "Discussions from the Claypen" chat at Polymer Clay Central.

Date: Thursday Sept 29th.

Time: 11:30 AM Eastern Time.

All you have to do is show up for chat and your name will be tossed in the hat!

For a second chance to win, send me a photo or link to a polymer clay piece that uses the Mokume Gane technique as taught by Julie either via her classes or her new book, "Patterns in Polymer Clay". If you can't make the chat but have a photo to share, your name goes in the hat that way, too! It's a WIN-WIN, and somebody IS going to win!

The photos below are some pieces that I've made using Julie's technique... the patterns and the fun are really endless, just wait until you see the Claypen Art album on Thursday! I'm lucky and get to see everybody's photos first.... and they are just fabulous so far, with many more to come, I'm sure.

First is this Imprint Mokume Gane Heart Necklace:



Then, a Hidden Duck Keyring - do you see the duck swimming peacefully there? (Click on photos to enlarge them.)



And a Southwestern look pendant made a couple of years ago:



I hope to get a chance to chat with you all on Thursday! See you then. :)

"Caged Beads" Necklaces from Jae Jewelry

Although I'm primarily a polymer clay artist, I like to make jewelry sometimes, too. I made these necklaces a while back, but just took new photos of them. Click on the photos to see closer views.

I'm including just one photo of a white necklace below, and will take better shots of it for another time.

Above is a blue/black "hologram" look necklace, and also below in two different views.

The fun part of these necklaces are the focal bead and the two smaller "netted caged beads". They are bead cages made with seed beads that hold the larger beads. I have made a lot of these caged bead sets because they are quite relaxing to make and they look so good.


Click on photos to enlarge.


Here is a photo of the white one, which would be just awesome for a bride! It is super gorgeous and would set off a bride's gown beautifully. Click on the photo for the closer view.


Thank you for checking out my jewelry today. I wish you all a fantastic day!