Look what I found at Michaels.......

Bling! Bling! Bling Bling! Jewelry styles this year are taking on big bold colors with lots of bling! and I love it!

I purchased this pendant along with the matching earrings to create the settings for my Springtime Friendly Plastic pendant. Except....I did not make the earrings into earrings, I used them instead for a pendant and a matching ring.

Michaels has just unleashed a new series of rhinestone ...well...I call them frames, they call them jewelry accents. Here is the link to view all the styles available. Jen bought the heart - which I thought was fabulous too!

In the newest Friendly Plastic TV video I used these as a framework around friendly plastic. However, they would be just as beautiful with polymer clay or simply dangle a bead....

For additional idea's I found these videos by Candie Cooper! She's so sweet and talented - I know you'll enjoy watching her!

April's jewelry project - along with a video is coming soon! Get ready to make a floral embossed pendant using copper and pewter Artemboss. You can find ArtEmboss at Michaels in the fine art section or by visiting http://www.amaco.com/

See you soon!

A sneak peek into April's Project of the Month

Along with this month's project featuring a Springtime Bunny, we go back to the basics with a video on the Six Simple Shapes.

Some of you may have seen briefly the Six Simple Shapes on the Carol Duvall Show. However, in this video, I take it a step further and show you how to recognize shapes from a picture that you will use as inspiration. Also, I show how to blend using the clay shaper.

I really feel that this technique will make it so much easier to create your fun whimsical characters....

The video is free with your project of the month club membership. If you haven't had a chance to join - why are you waiting? You will receive all the projects back to January of this year, plus the video's - it's a great deal!

New Video - Springtime Floral Pendant with Friendly Plastic

I hope spring has arrived for you!! Here's the latest in Friendly Plastic TV Series. This technique I call "inlaid". It was originally inspired by some of the jewelry pieces designed by Donna Kato, a well known polymer clay artist and my mentor in clay. Although, I havent come up with a good way to "cane" friendly plastic, this is a good alternative to get a similar look.

I love the fact that this is so instant, no baking - just cold water to harden!!

So grab a cup of tea or coffee, relax...enjoy...then CREATE!!

Polymer Tools and DVD giveaway at FaveCrafts.com

FaveCrafts.com is giving away Polymer Clay Tools and a DVD just for leaving a comment on their blog! Pretty simple huh?

Just click here for the link.

Mirror Mirror on the Wall - A whimsical look at Artist Katie Argyle

I am so inspired by Katie's work and how she puts such expression into her masterpieces. I hope you find her work as inspiring as I do!! Great Job!

Let's have some Friendly Plastic Fun with Rub On Transfers

While I was at Jen's a couple of weeks ago, I landed on the idea of using rub on images with the friendly plastic to create somewhat of a printed transfer look. I gave Jodi Amidei, one of my great "NEW" friends a pendant that I had made. Below she shares her take on this technique:

So, while Linda Peterson was here she taught me this fun technique. She was taking white friendly plastic, using rub-ons on top and then using alcohol inks to add color to the piece. I loved the

look (and by-the-way, got a wonderful prototype piece from her...), but tried it with a metalic silver piece of Friendly Plastic instead of the white. Here are some samples of the pendants I've made using this technique.

The metalic underneath the alcohol inks gives it almost a satin-like finish under the rub-ons. In fact, some of the pieces have a very Asian-silk-print-material-look to them. The photo's don't really do them justice.

I'm really liking the way these are turning out and looking for more innovative ways to use this fun medium.

You can see more of Jodi's crafting Madness on her blog at

http://www.amideimadness.blogspot.com/

Thanks for sharing Jodi!

Skype - N - Play with Basement Babes

The 3rd Thursday of every month, Jen Lowe has a crafty day with all her friends. They've dubbed themselves - "The Basement Babes". Originally they all crafted downstairs in Jen's basement - thus the name. I wanted to play too! But the problem?? You guessed it - they're in Colorado and Im in Missouri! But where there is a will there is a way! And we skyped most of the day long. The girls would make stuff and bring it to the camera for me to see....and I did likewise. It was a day of laughs......Just look at the picture below...Jen took my picture of me talking to her!

How cool is that? Now we just need to figure out a way to do this by video conference and everyone can join us for a fun filled day!!! Today, I taught my bezel technique to the girls via skype. I can't begin to tell you how much giggling was going on - really hard to hear her most of the time. But it was our very first attempt......and I know we will just get better from here.

This is the bezel that Jen did - around a piece of marbeled Friendly Plastic:



And here's the one Susan did:



I think there's a market here! How much would you pay for a private skype class? one-on-one....to learn how to do something like this? Or any of the techniques we've been working on lately? Well, of course, you'd have to have a video camera - but I just think this is beyond fun! And you don't have to pay to travel.....or even get out of your jammies! LOLOL!!!

Guess I'd better get busy - one month til the next play day - and we'll see if we can skype more than one person at a time!!!

(psstt....thanks Jen for letting me skype-lift your photo's from your blog today!)

I can see so many possibilities....like one on one classes!!! - Okay..Im going to work on my class list!

Spring STRESS RELIEF is right in your backyard

Feeling a little stressed? A little walk thru nature this time of the year might just do the trick and bring you some welcomed stress relief!

I look forward to this time of year when I can marvel at nature's wonders as it peeks thru the remnants of what winter has left behind. I took a little break from my studio makeover to do a little creative photography.

The Forsynthia is in full bloom in the yard, the daffodils are dancing in the wind and the crocus are playing peek a boo between the blades of grass.

So...for your (an mostly my) viewing pleasure, I snapped a few photo's. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

A close-up view of the inside of a crocus

This picture was one of my favorites....the stamens look like they are dancing....

A daffodil....which are in full bloom

And last but not least, this is our bradford pear tree about to reach it's peak. Soon the dogwoods will be opening up, and I can't wait.

It's bead making day at the Art Honor Society -

Our local high school is very priveleged to have Ms. Hogan as the coodinator of the school's National Art Honor Society. She offers classes to the student members every wednesday. This past week, it was my privelege to teach students and teachers how to make beads with polymer clay and bead rollers. We had a great turn out, even the guys joined in!

Most of the kids had no prior experience working with polymer clay or making beads. That didnt deter them from swirling and twirling the clay to create "swirl beads". They had so much fun!

Mrs. Harold's beads....

Beads made by the Art Honor Society.

Here is Mariah helping Ms. Hogan use the tri-bead roller. The students were able to take their beads home to bake. Next week, they will learn to macreme' and create chokers using their handmade beads.

You might remember that last month, I went on a studio clean out mission.... Today I donated all the extra art materials, beads, books and just stuff to the art department! It was great to hear the squeals of the girls as they dug thru the boxes....yes...there is MORE happiness in giving!

Polymer Clay story Telling - Froggie story from a Project of the month Member

Before Jenny shares her story, I have to say...GREAT JOB!!! He's adorable! I've got your name in the basket! and....Theresa M. you're next - she shares a swap story! (so check back!)

But for now, here's Jenny's froggie story:

Spring is just around the corner! Raina and I went outside the other day and took a walk.

It was such a beautiful day! The birds are starting to come out and all the little critters! After our walk we went and played on her swingset. She just loves to play.

As she got into her sand box she heard this Crrooooaaakkk."MOMMY!!!! What was that" she asked. I listened. "CROOOOAAAKKKK""hmmm sounds like a froggie sweetie!!!" "A frog? Ewwwwww frogs are yucky mommy!"

The little frog was listening to what Raina had said.First he was a little upset that Raina thought he was yucky.

He looked at his little froggie legs and thought to himself, I'm not yucky!So as he heard me explain that frogs ARE NOT YUCKY and that they are pretty cute, Raina started to think that maybe they were alright. But she was still unsure about it. So as the little frog kept listening......he looked around."Hmmmm what could I do to show her that I am not so bad after all? She is such a cutie and I really want to meet her! I mean we do share the same yard and all....."CRRRROOOOOOAAAAAAAAAKKKKKKKKKKK"

That's it!!!!!!!!!!" He thought!He hopped over to the little flowers that were comming up and picked one.

He hopped back over to the sandbox where Raina was sitting."CROOOOOOOOOAAAAAKKKKKKKKKK" She jumped a little because it scared her. And as she looked down, here he was with his cheesy little smile and a flower just for her!"MOMMY MOMMY MOMMY!!!! Look!! isn't he cute!" she yelled. Looking down I seen the cutest little cheesy smiled froggie."well that is your little froggie friend that you heard a few minutes ago, Raina!" She had the biggest smile on her face!"Frog's aren't so bad after all mommy! They are pretty cute! and Nice too!"

Thanks Jenny for sharing your story! Now when I look at your frog, I remember this story! It really brings him to life!! Can you see how a story really does affect your creativity?

I first learned Clay Storytelling from Maureen Carlson, years ago. And I still remember that story today. It really did bring the character to life and I thank Maureen for this little tip that has made me take my designing one step farther.

You can join the fun too - Just email for more details!

Bead Rolling Videos at AMACO.com

AMACO Home > Roll Your Own Beads with AMACO Bead Rolling products

Roll Your Own Beads with AMACO Bead Rolling products

Take a look at our bead rolling videos!

You can stream these right from our site - just click on the video you’d like to watch (Flash required):

Clay Cafe with Linda Peterson - Jade Watch and learn how to create Jade beads with Linda Peterson! Watch This Video!

Clay Cafe with Linda Peterson - Coral and Amber Watch and learn how to create Coral and Amber beads with Linda Peterson! Watch This Video!

Clay Cafe with Linda Peterson - Turquoise Watch and learn how to create Turquoise beads with Linda Peterson! Watch This Video!

Video from Colorado Road trip - Jen Lowe's Studio and Techniques with Friendly Plastic

Believe it or not... we really did work hard during our 9 days together to stretch the limits of Friendly Plastic.

While, Jen used her papercrafting skills to create a multitude of Friendly Plastic die cuts - you should see all the butterflies - using a variety of techniques, I was using my polymer clay background to come up with ways to convert polymer clay techniques to those that can be used for friendly plastic. It was a true learning experience to say the least. Some things worked, some were happy mistakes and some just were plain ole FLOPortunities - which Jen somehow found a way to recycle. (watch out - she'll steal your scraps when you're not lookin!)

We sat down the last full day I was there and made a video of all the different techniques we had discovered. Some are just basic, need to know techniques, while others were a little more challenging. Little did I realize that we taped nearly an hour worth of unedited footage - that is until I went to my little "edit bay". That's when I decided to split this video up in to segments.

Im happy to share with you Part One of the Road trip! We wanted to share with you a little eye candy - no how-to. We know it will get your creative spirit flowing and we'd love to know what you came up with based on our videos. Do you have a happy mistake you'd like to share? Or a quick and easy technique? I'm looking for those. I'd love to post them - give you credit and I'll select the best technique of the month and send you a little treat!

So grab a cup of coffee, tea...your favorite pasterie and enjoy...

Roll em!...........................

New Friendly Plastic Technique Video - Making Guide Beads for Bead rollers

Im sure as time passes by, we'll develop better ways to measure Friendly Plastic for use in the bead rollers.

For now, this seems to be the quickest way for me to do this. It does take some time to get the right amount of plastic each time, but when you have all your "guide beads" made, you just simply make more of that size, soften the plastic and roll your way to bead heaven!

This technique works well for candy stripe beads, bits and pieces of left over plastic that you want to swirl.

In this video I share one way to measure - making a ball of plastic the size you need for the bead roller you are working with.

Do you have a great tip on this? Please share your comments and suggestions - we'd love to hear from you! Enjoy!

Here's a quick tip if you are using "scrap" plastic as the center of the bead:

Often in the polymer clay world, we use scrap clay as the inside of the bead - no waste! You can do the same with Friendly Plastic. However, you will need to make your intial bead smaller, because you have to account for the additional plastic you will be overlaying to create a "good" bead. So, you may want to create additional "guide beads" for this - beads that are smaller - but when wrapped are the right size. Label them with permenant marker as well with the appropriate bead roller size.

This thought just happened to come to mind as I was posting this blog.... Always thinking of ways to improve! It never ends...maybe that's why I was awake all night, my head spinning with ideas...?!?!??!

MARCH JEWELRY PROJECT OF THE MONTH NOW ONLINE

I really got into the Image transfer....and this is a take on the "image transfer technique" that is so easy you wont believe your eyes!

Want to join?? Just click on the side bar! There's a $10 discount if you join both clubs. The projects are retro - meaning you can catch up and download projects beginning January 09.

Have fun! Create and remember....as Jen Lowe says... PLAY! (Because you can!)

On my way back home....after an amazing road trip!

It was a bitter sweet morning.... Glad to be going home to my family...Sad to leave Jen behind. We really had so much fun creating and now I feel totally inspired!

So now, that I'm back home it's time to ....well first of all....do my studio make over - courtesy of my dad!...and then get back to friendly plastic business!

Theres a new Friendly Plastic project posted on their blog - just in time for March, this project will definately make a splash!

You can imagine after 9 days of creating - 12 hours a day and dreaming of creating at night, Im exhausted - so Im going to keep tonights post short and sweet!

Thanks for all the comments and to everyone who shared the virtual road trip with me.

SPECIAL thanks to JEN AND KERRY! for hosting me for the week - Kerry you really put up with a lot from us girls! Big thanks to the Mile High Polymer Clay guild for a warm welcome, to Judy of Judy's Stone house designs for allowing us to just call up and drop in on her an hour later...and she treated us to lunch! And to all my new friends - Jodi (luv ya girlfriend), Kathy, Susan, Tina and Peg - It was just great to meet you all - here's to a long time friendship!

Polymer Clay POM Club download available....and other stuff

It's amazing just how quickly this week just flew by! We planned so much to do...Friendly plastic, metal jewelry, metal etching...but we had so much fun with friendly plastic we just couldn't do anything else.


Today we video taped EVERYTHING we did and that video will be live next week. It's not a how-to, it's eye candy! So be sure to check back to this blog and the friendly plastic blog. We've also set up a Friendly Plastic group of Facebook - love to have you join!


Well.. tomorrow my retreat is over and I go home. I miss home, I miss my hubby and kids. I'll be glad to go home but I sure will miss the time I had with Jen!!

The polymer clay project of the month club is now live and ready for download on the Polymer Clay POM Club blog. Post your comments, ask questions or send your pictures to me for a chance to bring this little froggie home.

I try to make each POM club like a class. I do like to take you outside your comfort box!

If you've been thinking about joining, there's no better time. Projects are retro back to January so you wont miss a thing.

The jewlery poms will be out this weekend. And you guessed it! It will feature friendly plastic!

Shoe Re-do with Friendly Plastic - Day 4 and 5

Just a quick catching you up to speed.... We didn't go anywhere yesterday...just stayed home and created. Jodi Amidei joined us for some girly crafty fun! She's so much fun to be around - goofy girl! And she loves to take pictures. She has some pics of stuff in the works that we did yesterday. Jen did some work in molds, die cutted Artemboss pewter and Artemboss aluminum metals in the cricut machine along with a bunch of other funky stuff....

As for me, I started re-doing my hunter orange pumps....

Ever have one of those moments like "What the heck was I thinking when I bought those??"....Oh my goodness... Seriously....WHAT WAS I THINKING???? Several years ago I got into an orange mood. I bought an orange shirt and apparently I bought shoes to match. But....I only wore them once....

However, being the creative person that I am, I do have the ability to see potential. And the thought occurred to me that there must be some way to redesign these shoes into something I would wear.

Jana Ewy and I started brainstorming, stuff about friendly plastic and jewelry and this and that...and then this idea popped into my head....why not cover those ugly shoes with Friendly Plastic?


So here's the hunter orange pumps............I guess I could have used them during deer season.... might have a little trouble climbing up a tree though..these were never my lucky hunting shoes.

painted them black.....they look better already (and why didnt I think of this years ago?)

covered them in strips of plastic using Jana Ewy's fracture and fusion technique

Added a die cut butterfly made from friendly plastic pellets

And Viola....a pair of shoes that matches any outfit.... there is a secret to the butterfly though...that Im just going to make you wonder about....(onry me)

I believe at some point I will teach this as a class....Im sure we ALL have a pair of shoes that need a little bit of help!

If you are a store owner - interested in my classes, feel free to contact me

Colorado Road Trip - Day 5 A visit to the Mile High Polymer Clay Guild and QUEEN of polymer clay - DONNA KATO

We had a little time to spare before we went to the guild. So, we decided to go to the Chico's Outlet...and what a shopping feast that was.... Six outfits (mix and match) for $50.... Can you believe it????

I knew that if the day started out that good, it would only get better! And it did..... We arrived to the guild meeting a little late. Tracy Miller was demonstrating techniques with shrink plastic and showing how to turn them into earrings and other pieces of jewelry. Her work was very pretty. - She had to leave before I was able to take some photo's of her work...sorry...But google her name as she doesnt have a website as of yet.

Here is Tracy finishing her demo.

Here's me with my mentor and friend the Royalty of Polymer Clay...Queen Donna Kato....

She just came to visit and talk with the ladies. Of course, they were happy to see her. And as normal as her giving spirit is, she shared her knowledge and answered all their questions...

Here is Angie, who makes these adorable little dragons. She has a site on etsy: http://www.polymerclayforacause.etsy.com/

The dragons are inspired by her daugher. Much like my situation, Angie spent alot of time in and out of hospitals with her daughter and they would sit and imagine. How cool is that...Mom and daughter art?

Here is Jen with Angie and Tina......Small world, Tina is from the same part of Missouri that I am from and she knows some of my distant relatives......scary! (for her...)

This girl saw me on the the Carol Duvall Show and was inspired to create the cute adorable critters below. I believe her name is Rachel...but please forgive me if that isn't right...! I just met soooo many people
Isnt he adorable????? SUCH Personality!

Antje is on the left and Karen is on the right. Karen made the beautiful organic pod's...that look sort of like gourds above.

Here's a picture of Maggie....I think polymer clay just makes you want to smile all the time...(wait till she meets friendly plastic....she'll be giggling all the time!)

And here we all at lunch. The lady on the far left - Peg also saw me on the Carol Duvall show and remembers me as the "air dry" lady. That's when I was doing Craft porcelain, roses and other flowers. But she loves the medium. FUnny, because I saw her work at the Bead Lounge in Longmont and was oohing and ahhing over her work....and then I met her today...

As for friendly plastic....the Premier Challenge and guidelines are up on the Friendly Plastic Blog.

Jana will be posting some beatiful friendly plastic jewelry there tomorrow.

And visit Jen Lowe's blog as she shows you how to create a mold using friendly plastic

What enjoyable day, meeting new creative friends !! Memories will last a lifetime.