The Polymer Clay Artists Guild of Etsy Summer Promotion

KEEP IT COOL!
The talented artists of the PCAGOE are going to Keep it Cool with a Gift Basket
Giveaway from August 8-14.
Win this great basket stuffed with all kinds of one-of-a-kind handmade gifts from the
Polymer Clay Artists Guild of Etsy. No purchase necessary.
Enter in one of two ways: Each item purchased between August 8th and 14th from a
participating Etsy shop (see list) gives you one (1) entry. Or you may enter by sending a
convo to any of the participating Etsy shops.
www.etsy.com/shop/youngcreative
www.polymerclaycreations.etsy.com
www.etsy.com/shop/ThePleasantPheasant
ashpaints.etsy.com
playsculptlive.etsy.com
www.nkdesigns.etsy.com
www.etsy.com/shop/higirls
www.etsy.com/shop/Beadelz
www.etsy.com/shop/PennysLane

My wonderful customer that won the Mother's Day basket is an Easter egg collector. To add to her collection of eggs, besides the ones she has already bought from me, she commissioned me to make these new eggs for her. A whole rainbow of goose and chicken eggs. It was my pleasure. She needed the pick me up. Thanks again, Boonie.

We have a Winner!!

I am so excited!! The winner of this super excellent Mother's Day gift basket was on of my customers! I know she is going to love all the great gifts she won.
Thanks Bonnie!!

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 11^th to the 25^th or send an email to laurelsteven@sbcglobal.net 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!

AlisonEKurek.etsy.com

11BOLDStreet.etsy.com

Beckysuecreations.etsy.com

Higirls.etsy.com

JKollmann.etsy.com

Kellyplaysclay.etsy.com

Marcympc.etsy.com

NKDesigns.etsy.com

Peggers.etsy.com

Polymerclaycreations.etsy.com

Ashpaints.etsy.com

ThePleasantPheasant.etsy.com

Bottles of Hope

The theme for the March Challenge of the Polymer Clay Artists Guild of Etsy is "Bottles of Hope". We were challenged to make a small bottle to be given to cancer patients and survivors. Please go to our challenge website to cast your vote. Voting is open to everyone from March 1 through March 7, 2011. Everyone who casts a vote will be entered to win a beautiful prize donated by one of our members.
After the challenge all the bottles will be donated to the St. Mary's Cancer Center in Nevada. Here is a little information about the center.

Saint Mary's Cancer Center

Besides being Nevada's only accredited Breast Cancer Center, here is more general information about St. Mary's Cancer Center:

Saint Mary's Center for Cancer is accredited as a Community Hospital Comprehensive Cancer Program by the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer and features the latest technology available in the region's newest, most-comfortable facility. Designed for the comfort and convenience of our patients, the 15,000-square-foot Center for Cancer is located in Saint Mary's Center for Health, immediately adjacent to Saint Mary's Regional Medical Center. http://www.saintmarysreno.org/Medical_Services/STGSS031864.

Services and Resources

•Acute Inpatient Oncology Unit
•Additional Patient Resources
•American Cancer Society Cancer Resource Center
•Brain Tumor Center
•Breast Center
•Cancer Registry
•Chemotherapy Courses
•Imaging
•Lymphedema
•Our Team
•Outpatient Infusion
•Outpatient Nutrition
•Palliative Care
•Patient Education and Support Groups
•Patient Stories/Testimonials
•Preventative Screening
•Radiation Oncology
•Research/Clinical Trials
•Spiritual Care

One of the nurses from St. Mary's was so nice to write up a letter about the Bottles of Hope Program. Here it is:
The Saint Mary’s Center for Cancer is a comprehensive cancer program accredited by the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer. This program treats over 1,000 cases per year. In the fall of 2010, Saint Mary’s received accreditation for the Breast Center through the American College of Surgeons National Accreditation of Breast Programs (the first accredited breast center in the state). The top five cancer sites diagnosed at Saint Mary’s are Breast, Lung, Prostate, Colon and Bladder cancers.

The Center also provides a Rehabilitation program for women who have complete treatment for their diagnosis of breast cancer. It is offer free to all patients in the community. At the end of the 12 week program, each participant receives a Bottle of Hope, as complimentary gift for their participation in the program. The Bottles are well received by all participants.

The complimentary medicine component of the Cancer Program includes activities to enhance the healing aspects of the patient’s cancer journey. Bottles of Hope is an activity that includes a creative element and promotes healing. Patients and Cancer Center staff decorate used chemotherapy bottles with clay using their own creative ideas. Upon completion of the decorating the bottles are used as a vessel for a message of healing and hope. These bottles are displayed in the Infusion Center and other areas throughout the Center. The finished bottles are given to individuals with cancer as a way of instilling hope and encouragement during their treatment.

Our goal as a Cancer Center is to continue to provide these Bottles of Hope to our patients and community. We look forward to working with you and your company to make this a success.

Thanks again for your continued support.


Martha Aiyuk, RN, BSN, OCN
Manager,
Outpatient Oncology Services.
775-770-7410

This is my entry. I chose to do a colorful floral theme because, what could be more hopeful than a garden brimming with newly bloomed flowers? Signs of bright life bringing hope and joy to whoever sees them. I also covered several other small bottles that I will be sending along with my entry. Please go cast your vote for your favorite entry at www.pcagoechallenge.blogspot.com

It's Challenge Time Again

It is time once again for the Monthly Challenge in my Etsy polymer clay team. The members who chose to enter were asked to create entries using only 3 colors - blue, yellow and green. They also had the option of deleting one of these colors and adding one, but only one, of the following: White, black, silver or gold.

The only other rule is that each entry must be at least 50% polymer clay. We have 10 extremely creative selections for you this month! Mine is the Brazilian ornament.

I made this ornament for my Mother who is from Rio de Janiero. She and my Father met while he was stationed at the American Embassy in 1956. She says it was love at first sight seeing the handsome Marine in his dress blues. She is my total hero. I cannot imagine marrying and moving to a country half the world away. The colors in the challenge were perfect for making my tribute to my fantastic Mother.
I used my Makin's extruder and loaded it with blue metallic and yellow clay. The ropes that came out were a perfect blend of the two colors. A lot came out solid blue, some yellow and some a great shade of green. I then applied the ropes to a glass ornament in a spiral pattern. Lastly I applied slices of a Brazilian flag cane I already had made.

To vote for your favorite go to http://www.pcagoechallenge.blogspot.com. The voting will be open until midnight eastern on January 7th, 2011. Five lucky voters will win one of these fantastic prizes donated by my fellow members.

Time to vote again in the PCAGOE monthly challenge. Our theme this month is "Faux Mokume Gane."

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.

My entry (number 3) was made by stacking green, red, copper metallic clays, along with black and transparent. Also used in the stack was some copper leaf sheets. After it was stacked, flattened and stacked again several times, I stamped it with an intricate star ornament stamp. I then carefully shaved off the raised areas with my razor. I cut in around the outline of the ornament and then baked it. After it was baked I sanded it in 5 grits of wet/dry sand paper and then buffed it to a high shine.
Voting is open until midnight Dec. 7th by going to http://www.pcagoechallenge.blogspot.com . You can win one of these great prizes just for voting. My donation was the purple and lavender kaleidoscope beaded bracelet in the bottom left corner.