New Project Sheet available - Friendly Plastic Candy Striped Beads

Learn to make Candy Striped beads with Friendly Plastic and Amaco's Bead rollers by clicking here.

This ad will appear in the May issue of Crafts N Things magazine.
For more tips and techniques - visit the friendly plastic blog

Coming up - Project of the Month Club March projects will post soon! Im working on the polymer clay club now.....If you haven't yet signed up for the clubs - nows the perfect opportunity. Projects available all year long and at the end of the year - you'll have a book along with alot of inspiration and tips!

Colorado Road Trip - Jen's Studio Day Four

We were going to shoot video today, but we decided to hold off until the end of our week together so we can showcase all the creative art we've been making.

We also decided that instead of creating, it would be fun to go visit another of my creative friends who lives in Loveland, Judy Caulkins of Judy's Stone House Designs. We met several years ago at a Society of Craft Designers Conference and have been friends and colleagues ever since. We also won the Best of Show in the Innovations display at CHA 2006 with our combined designs....anyways.....

I called Judy...hadn't talked to her in almost a year and said... GUESS WHAT?? Ive got a suprize for you....Can I come visit??? She was a wonderful host on the spot.

Here we are in her house, which has been transformed from a warehouse to an eclectic loft on the ground. Her home just screamed creativity! It was so warm and inviting...just like her!

Here she had displayed one of the wooden journals that I designed for her decorated in an Indiana Jones theme. I wish I knew who decorated the album...it was so cute!

Here is her shelf of inspiration. On the edge closest to you, you can see the purses and albums that we combined to win the Best of Show award. She creates and designs miniatures for the miniature, gift and craft industries.

After the tour of her warehouse - stocked full of mini's....she treated us to lunch...and oh by the way...If you are close to Loveland, she has warehouse sales pretty often...so check out her website and email her and she'll let you know when they are.

This little tea room was just around the corner. The smell of quiche and the aroma's of the tea when you walked in the door was simply delicious...as was my cheddar cheese soup!

Thank you Judy for treating Jen and I to lunch! That was so kind of you!!!

After Judy's we went to JoAnn's Etc...they have their metal pendants on sale at 40% off! Then went to Sally's. Not typically the place you would look for jewelry supplies...

but I did find these dimensional little flowers made for nail art. Wouldn't they make an adorable embellishment for vintage jewelry? That seems to be one of the latest in jewelry trends...vintage...

We made our way back home with a stop at a bead store and a trip to nearly every grocery store looking for the last issue of the Rocky Mountain news....but no-go....all sold out...

It was a fun day to spend with a friend I dont get to see often.

Tomorrow Jen and I are off to a polymer clay guild meeting to visit with the ONE and ONLY ...POLYMER QUEEN...Ms. Donna Kato!

Check out the Friendly Plastic blog tomorrow. A new project sheet featuring friendly plastic strips and the bead rollers is available....and it's brand new!

Day three of the Creative Road trip!

A little snip-it f our workspace. Mine is the side with the griddle - Jen has hers set up to set rhinestones into friendly plastic. Actually.....believe it or not it's not to bad for a couple of mad creative people.

Jen did errands - I stayed here and created all day long. Mostly Jewelry - which I'll share on tomorrow's blog.

We found some tubing at the hardware store and I sure wish I knew the name of it, because it is perfect to make cylinder beads like Jana does. When you're finished, it pulls right out. But I'll share all those little techniques in upcoming blogs.

We were going to do video's today...but we decided to wait until the end of our week together so we can highlight all the things we've done.

This piece will be appearing on www.FaveCrafts.com soon - as soon as I get the instructions to them. I call it Spirit of the Heart... to me it looks like it's flowing in the wind.

Now...head on over to these blogs: Friendly Plastic, Jen Lowe Designs and Amidei Madness for more of the inside scoop and photo's of things we've been working on. I've posted my big embellished butterfly there too!

Road Trip at Jen's Studio - Day Two

Just get a couple of designers together with time on their hands and they will completely TRASH a studio in no time! So that nice pretty studio that I showed you yesterday??.....Not happenin today!

We were in the washer aisle of the hardware store and I was running around like a little kid in a candy store...then I got a text from Jana. She said..." I'm trying to create art...and I hate everything I made.... Im in a creative slump!" Just about that time - Jen looks at me and says...CALL HER and have her fly in! So I did.! She wanted to come so bad but the flights just didn't work out! (We even tempted her with a chocolate fondue party....and a t-shirt...) But this time it wasn't to be... So (SAD FACE NOW!) And guaranteed we will have a Friendly Plastic Fly In again this year....

After we ran errands, we created for hours upon hours. I did several new techniques and here's one of them. Jen and I used friendly plastic to die cut little shapes and charms. This necklace is a combination of friendly plastic strips, pellets, outline stickers and layers of resin.

Stay tuned - tomorrow I will show the BIG butterfly that I die cut and embellished!...

Well...even though it didn't work out for Jana to come see us....later in the day...I got another text and it said...'I CREATED ART!" and my goodness gracious... did she ever....so hop on over to the friendly plastic blog and check out that art candy.....

If she cant come to be WITH us...at least she can by phone - blog and the internet!

Make Your Plastic FANTASTIC....

Jen SWORE up and down we we're NOT going to go to Walmart while I was here.....that's kind of a running joke because when she visited me...we went there three times a day - always needing something.

After a shopping trip to McGukins Hardware Store in Boulder (ohhhhhh....girls.....the found objects in that store......) we came back to the studio and created our little hearts out....yes I will show pictures...but not tonight....

Anywhoo....so we're in walmart and we walk past these shirts! How could we resist???!!!!! As expected...they will be embellished.....(Im thinking there may be a mad dash to walmart for the shirts??? )

While you're waiting for me to post pictures...have a jump on the friendly plastic blog. Jana's made some incredible art candy there for you to feast your eyes on!