Friendly Plastic Radio and Marathon Day 3

Did you listen in to our premiere radio show last night? We had a great time and several suprize guests.

I hosted the hour long show interviewing several guests. Along with Jen Lowe, our featured guest, we also had Dawn Sandoe and Becky Finch from Amaco sharing new product announcements.

Special Guest appearances by Designers Helen Bradley and Michelle Zimmerman giving us the inside scoop on some interesting finds at CHA.

Polymer Clay artist Lisa Pavelka, telling us about the full line of products from VIVA including some metallic finishes that would work on Friendly Plastic Pellets - and possibly sticks.

Our suprize guest feature was 2009 CHA Winter Design Challenge Winner, Mylene Hillam all the way from Australia.

A very well rounded show and lots of fun!

We talked about tips, techniques and all sorts of stuff..

If you didn't get a chance to listen in...don't worry, It's archived - just click here

One of the product announcements (you'll have to listen to the show for the others) last night were 6 new colors of Friendly Plastic. These have NOT been finalized as of yet, but here are 6 of the contenders.





Now...what we need from you the viewers is HELP! HELP! HELP! We need you to ask questions, give us ideas on what you want in Friendly Plastic, what are YOUR favorite colors, ideas for tools, textures...anything imaginable. Leave comments on this blog, email me or Jana, twitter us ( friendyplastic or amacocrafts ) or comment on the Friendly Plastic Facebook page.

Im not sure when, but we will have another Radio show next month and I will announce that on the blog as to the time and subject. So...get your ideas in!!

Now on with the Marathon:

Im not sure what we were thinking....that we would just whip out this stuff...or at least ...not sure what I was thinking???? These are not quick projects...at least not the silver part!

We're working with Art Clay Silver this week in combination with Friendly Plastic and creating more of an upscale art jewelry look. It is a painstaking lesson in patience. From the initial concept drawn out on paper, to the creation of the design, the prep before the kiln, the sanding and sanding and sanding after it's fired....to the look you accomplish is not for the "gotta have it now" person like me. But...I will say that the results are beautiful.



I forget that the clay shrinks upon firing. I intended for this heart to be a little bit bigger....but.......oh well..it turned into a dainty little piece. The heart shape and bezel were completely created from scratch and I can tell you my polymer clay experience sure came in handy.



The little swirly is a punch from paper clay silver. A great little accent don't you think? Which got me to thinking. For things like this, instead of using silver..which is beautiful, but pricey, why not simulate the look with ArtEmboss Pewter. It looks "virtually" the same, but the cost is sooooo not the same! I think that is what I will be doing in the future, especially when I want to embed them in resin.

Jen tried experimenting with another of Amaco's products - Wax Resist on metal clay to create an etching effect. She's blogged about her ventures - so check out her blog at www.jen-lowe-designs.blogspot.com The wax resist is kind of an uncommon product unless you are familiar with pottery. But one that I would like to try on pellets because I do think it will create some interesting effects. If not...well it was worth a try. We also have some other mediums to play with - like genesis paints ....

Im beginning to think that Jen must stay here for at least 2 weeks and maybe that isn't enough time to try everything we have in our brains.....