PCAGOE October Monthly Challenge

The theme for this month's Challenge is "Southwest". I thought long and hard about what I might want to do. There are so many great colors in that part of the US. Turquoise, coral, bright yellows and golds. When I think of the Southwest I also think of Indians and their culture. I was googling "southwest" and came across some gorgeous Indian blankets, and so that is how my creation was born.

I first started by building a box. I covered an ordinary square jewelry gift box with scrap clay and baked it. After it was baked I popped out the gift box and wah-lah, had a handmade box. While the box had been baking I was making a Bargello cane to simulate a pattern I had seen in one of the blankets. After the box cooled I covered it with a sheet made with my new "blanket" cane. I smoothed it on, then extruded a rope to afix to all the edges for a more finished look. Next I drew a picture of a Kokopelli in the center of the lid. Then I cut out the drawing with my exacto knife. Next I backfilled the Kokopelli shaped hole with black clay. The tee-pees are slices of a cane that I had made for another project about a year ago. I just cut out the shape of the tee-pee and then inserted a slice of the cane. Baked, then sanded in 5 grits of wet/dry sandpaper. To describe the process doesn't take long, but actually doing it took me the better part of two days. I'm really happy with it. In my humble opinion, I believe it represents the Southwest pretty good.

The entries are all in...see them here. Voting starts on October 1st and goes through Midnight Eastern of the 7th on the same website. Five lucky voters will win one of these great prizes donated by fellow guild members and I. My contribution is the purple millefiori pendant in the second row.

It's Fall Here in the Great Northwest

Fall has officially made it to my neck of the woods. It seems as though we hardly had a summer and it is already over. This time of the year seems to go so fast too. Before you know it, it will be icy and cold. One good thing about this time of year are all the wonderful colors. The leaves all turn the most gorgeous shades of yellow, orange and red. The fall flowers are all blooming too. My garden is full of mums in beautiful shades of lavender, crimson and gold. And don't get me started on all the gorgeous sunflowers. All the beautiful colors inspired me to created a few fall themed things.

First I made a few borderless canes in some fall colors. Here is a charm bracelet made with a yellow sunflower cane.and some buttons with a caramel brown sunflower caneThis is a barrette made with Autumn colored leaves. So many things to make and so little time to do them. It is almost time to start thinking about Christmas too. Lots of ideas swirling in my head.

August Monthly Challenge, Time to Vote!

This month our members were challenged to create an entry incorporating paints, foils, leafs or inks into their polymer designs. 21 members took the challenge this month. They had the option of including one or more, or all of the required elements. The only other rule is that their entry must be at least 50% polymer clay. The entries really showcase the amazing versatility of polymer clay and how it can be enhanced, embellished, and even manipulated into something which looks completely different than what it is.

Please go to our challenge voting website to cast your vote. Voting begins August 1, 2010 and ends at midnight, Eastern U.S. time on August 7, 2010. The winners chosen in each category and the voter prize winners will be announced at http://www.pcagoe.com/ on August 8, 2010. Five (5) lucky public voters, chosen at random, will also win a beautiful polymer clay prize created by one of our many talented artists. Please note that winning voters will have one week from the date we contact you and ask for your mailing address so we can send you your prize.

Here are the beautiful prizes available this month.

My entry is number 12, the colorful watercolor swirls necklace. It is hollow lentils made with pearl clay, silver leaf, metallic mica powders, and alcohol inks. I strung them together with some colorful faceted crystals and finished it off with a Swarovski toggle closure. It reminds me of a Monet watercolor painting Please go to http://www.pcagoechallenge.blogspot.com to cast your vote before Midnight Eastern on August 7th to cast your vote.

Time to Vote!

Time to vote in the Polymer Clay Artists Guild if Etsy’s July challenge! Our theme for July is “Faux”, one of our most popular themes. As you can see, 24 PCAGOE members took the challenge this month to create something “faux”, and we have 24 gorgeous entries showcasing faux gemstones, faux glass, faux mosaics, even faux food!
Go HERE to cast vote for your top three favorites in the pull-down voting box shown AT THE BOTTOM OF YOUR SCREEN. DEPENDING ON THE SPEED OF YOUR INTERNET CONNECTION, IT MAY TAKE A FEW MINUTES TO LOAD.
Only one vote per person, please. One (1) vote consists of choosing a 1st, 2nd and 3rd place entry. If you choose an entry for 1st place, please do not also vote for it as your 2nd and/or 3rd place choice. Duplicate votes will not be counted.
Voting will be by the public and by PCAGOE team members. Voting begins July 1, 2010 and ends July 7, 2010 at midnight, Eastern U.S. time. Winners in each voting category will be announced at the PCAGOE website on July 8, 2010.
Five lucky voters from the public, chosen at random, will also win beautiful polymer clay prizes created by one of our many, talented member artists! Winning voters will be notified at the close of voting and have one week from the date we contact you to furnish us with your mailing address so we can send you your prize. If you do not respond within one week, another name will be pulled from the pool of voters.

1) Tide Pool Pendant by BeeTreeByMe
Mary Ellen’s description of her entry: I am fascinated by the possibilities of combining the look of a heavy rock with the lightness of polymer clay. For the challenge I wanted to make a very Special rock! My inspiration was a unique rock tide pool in Bahia Honda State Park, Florida. The ocean tides have slowly carved the stone into marvelous nooks and crannies. This amazing Sea Sculpture is accented with wonderful little creatures that have made a home there. This pendant is my tribute to Mother Ocean’s creation The Tide Pool.
2) Faux Raku Pendant and Beads by RiverValleyDesign
Christi’s description of her entry: This is my interpretation of raku, made with polymer clay, acrylics, alcohol and a texture plate. This piece was finished with handmade beads of the same veneer, and green glass beads. Pendant and beads received liquid polymer clay as a sealer, and then were machine buffed to a high gloss finish.
3) Faux Chinese Turquoise and Antique Copper Necklace by SCDiva
Lynda’s description of her entry: I love Turquoise. Of all the gemstones I work with, it is my favorite. I prefer Turquoise with little or no matrix, like the 16mm round Chinese turquoise beads shown in my entry. I created the copper banded turquoise focal beads to match, using translucent clay, embossing powder, and my signature blends of turquoise and copper clay. The beads were cured, sanded through 8 grits of wet-dry sandpaper and buffed to a glossy finish. There is no applied finish or glaze on these beads.
4) Faux Pebble Bracelet by OneandOnly
5) Faux Turquoise and Pebbles Bracelet by CraftsbyCAG
6) Faux Amber and Lapis Lazuli Necklace by StudioSChiek
Arlene’s description of her entry: Faux Amber and Lapis Lazuli beads strung on sinew with silver accent beads
7) Faux Opal, Bronze and Coral Necklace by RMKDesign
8) Faux White Leather Cuff by 11BoldStreet
Susan’s description of her entry: Slightly tapered, the top layer was tooled with a spiral pattern and antiqued to simulate old leather that really fools the eye. A copper wire was embedded for strength.
9) Faux Serpentine Necklace by VyaKyasha
Polly’s description of her entry: The necklace is made from olive green and translucent clay for added depth and inclusions of black embossing powder to give the look of stone. The pendant is textured with leaves. The mounting of the olive pendant is black polymer clay textured with a block pattern which extends over the bails onto the back of the pendant. The accessory beads include a variety of shapes made from the olive faux stone including drum beads with an abstract design, circle beads with the leaf texture, and small round beads. Several black polymer clay beads are included as well as black pressed glass beads.
10) Oriental Totem by JanGeisen
Jan’s description of her entry: It is made entirely of polymer clay, except for the metal vertigris chinese coin.
11) Faux Venitian Glass Mosaic Pendant by PatiBannister
Pati’s description of her entry: It is entirely polymer clay with the exception of the antique gold-bronze mottled glaze on the reverse.
12) Faux Cinnebar Trinket Box by JKollmann
13) Faux Jade Pendant by KellyPlaysClay
Kelly’s description of her entry: I made this pendant for my daughter’s 5th grade Stepping Up Graduation ceremony. Her dress was the perfect shade of green to make green faux jade. The chinese words are “I Love You.”
14) Faux Rock Box by ArrowdaleArtStudio
Cindy’s description of her entry: My faux rock box came about because with a heatwave in the Northeast, and our air conditioning out of commission, I’ve been reluctant to turn on the oven, and until it is baked, my first piece couldn’t be assembled. One of the other Guild members suggested that my entry need not be cured to be photographed so I set out to begin again. Hmmm…faux. Faux. Faux what? Faux jade? Turquoise? Amber? All rocks. Faux rocks. Faux rock box! So there it was.
15) Dagwood Sandwich by Polyclarific
Amanda’s description of her entry: Each sandwich half is around 10mm long x 6mm wide and have holes in the corner so they can be used as beads. Inside the sandwich you will find cucumber, cheese, lettuce, tomato and salami. Enjoy!
16) Faux Jade Fish by ThePleasantPheasant
17) Brick by Brick Necklace by HiGirls
Lisa’s description of her necklace: This piece just evolved. I was mulling what to do for the challenge while I was waiting at Starbucks drivethru. I looked out and there were bricks-aha!
18) Faux Amber Beads by MarciaPalmer
Marcia’s description of her entry: I have been wanting to attempt these for quite sometime. The PCAGOE July Faux Challenge was just the motivation I needed.
19) Fe Faux Necklace by LaurelSteven
Laurel’s description of her entry: Faux turquoise slab nestled between faux carved white rocks and ringed with faux brown stones. A smattering of silver beads and spacers. Very “Fe.”
20) Faux Stained Glass Votive Candle Holder by ClayCenter
Berit’s description of her entry: I paint faux stained glass window clings, so my thought was to translate this to Polymer Clay. I made a kaleidoscope cane of clays mixed with translucent and covered the glass votive with it. Then I embellished it with some faux bling.
21) Imitation Lapis Lazuli Beaded Cabochon by MirameCreations
22) Faux Amethyst Agate Necklace by BlessedBeadJewelry
Janice’s description of her entry: Faux Agate in different shades of purple with lavender and purple velvet Swarovski crystals on sterling plated chain with purple jump ring accents.
23) Faux Southwestern Mosaic Inlay Tin by RenGalSA
Deb’s description of her entry: This was fun and I think I learned a lot while doing this. I wanted to make it look like an inlay piece between the borders of silver. Experimenting with different mixtures and adding different color and texture to the different ‘faux’ inlay stones was a learning experience. I never knew what would happen with the final result and decided that with faux stone - especially the malachite - you can never use enough translucent. The color takes it over and you just get more ‘glow.’ The stones used for most inlays are matrixes - splashes of color held together by resin. In this piece yellow jasper, coral, lapis, and turquoise. My one exception was the malachite where I wanted to play with the layering and add an extra design element. I made a fun big cane and will probably use it for other fun designs as well.
24) Faux Dichroic Glass Polymer Clay Beads and Pendant by PolymerClayCreations
Angela’s description of her entry: A new experiment using colorful foils and liquid polymer clay to achieve a faux dichroic look. The colorful glass-like beads and pendant are strung on a triple strand necklace with a variety of glass and crystal beads.
Voting is from July 1st through July 7th, 2010. Please click this LINK to cast your vote for your top three favorite entries.
Remember 5 lucky voters win one of the fabulous prizes shown below.

May PCAGOE Monthly Challenge

The theme for our Team May challenge is “History or Historical Event.” The only rules were that the entry must be at least 50% polymer clay and must interpret or depict the theme in some way.
This was a very exciting challenge for many of us. It is fascinating to see what moments in history, public or private, historical events or time periods influenced the members’ entries. We think you will agree, however that they are all stunning and beautifully executed. Some members chose to interpret an event or time period which affected them personally. Some entries depict history in a humorous, light-hearted way. Some are profoundly moving testimonies to survival and perserverance. All are certainly memorable.
Please vote for your top three favorites in the pull-down voting box shown AT THE BOTTOM OF YOUR SCREEN ON THIS PAGE. DEPENDING ON THE SPEED OF YOUR INTERNET CONNECTION, IT MAY TAKE A FEW MINUTES TO LOAD. (This link will take you to another website)Only one vote per person, please. One (1) vote consists of choosing a 1st, 2nd and 3rd place entry. If you choose an entry for 1st place, please do not also vote for it as your 2nd and/or 3rd place choice. Duplicate votes will not be counted.

1) Fly Me To The Moon Pendant by BeeTreeByMe
Mary Ellen’s description of her entry: “My inspiration is July 20, 1969, MAN WALKS ON THE MOON! I watched live coverage on my black and white TV. Every kid wanted to be an astronaut! The Space-age inspired, awed and humbled us. This is my tribute to people who made dreams come true.”
2) Australian ANZAC Slouch Hat Brooch by Polyclarific
Amanda’s description of her entry: “This month we remember our fallen soldiers on ANZAC Day (April 25). We remember fallen Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) who fought at Gallipoli in Turkey during World War II.”
3) The Day The World Changed Forever by NKDesigns
Linda’w description of her entry: “On 9/11/2001, 2973 innocent people perished in a horrendous act of terrorism at the World Trade Center. Living in New York, this is very close to my heart. This tin will not be for sale in my shop. It sits on my desk to remind me of the Day the World Changed Forever. Inside the tin is a Flag of Honor with tiny names of the 2973 victims of 9-11 who gave their life.”
4) Medieval Manuscript Cane Set by ZoeOwyn
Laura’s description of her entry: “This set of 4 canes are all based on pieces/design elements that you could find in medaevil illuminated manuscripts. I took a class to the museum to see an exibit, and I fell in love with the little detail work in the illuminations.”
5) Headline 1920: U.S. Women Get The Right To Vote! Commemorative Brooch by SCDiva
Lynda’s Description of her entry: “My entry commemorates the ratification and passing of the 19th amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which finally gave women in this country the right to vote in 1920. It also honors the first women in my family who were legally able to exercise their right to vote, my Great Grandmothers: Caralie Douglas Medlock Stoney, Julia Elizabeth Craft Moseley, Cora Lee Taylor Page and Pezzie Hinson Forrester.”
6) My Great Grandmother’s Steamer Trunk by ArrowdaleArtStudio
Cindy’s description of her entry: “This trunk represents the hard choices all of our great-(?)-grandparents had to make when they left their homes and families - all that they knew, to come to a new life in America. My great-grandparents came in the latter half of the 19th century, along with 33 other families after massive flooding for several along the Rhine left their farms useless. As I think about them packing up what little they probably had left after selling everything to survive, I imagine that final packing must have been so difficult.”
7) Ancient Shards Earrings by OneAndOnly
Maria’s description of her entry: “These have been made using inspiration from the minoanss in Greece, the palace of Knossos has still some amazing frescoes that were made 1700BC, flowers and the spiral designs are evident in may of the works.”
8) Italian-Inspired Terracotta Necklace by YoungCreative
Marie’s description of her entry: “Indulge your daydreams of Italy with this bella necklace reminiscent of ancient terracotta pottery. The focal point is a pendant, featuring inset hand-stamped images of Michelangelo’s David beside a map of Italy.”
This is my entry :) ...........
9) Famous Painters of the Renaissance by PolymerClayCreations
Angela’s description of her entry: “My choice was this tin with photos of three of the most famous painters and paintings of the Renaissance. Botticeli, Da Vinci and Michelangelo on a tin covered with gold, copper and pearl mokume gane.”
10) Sunface Kachina Pendant or Wall Hanging by RenGalSA
Deb’s description of her entry: “My entry is a tribute to Native Americans. It is the Hopi Kachina, Sunface. The Sunface Kachina represents warmth, shelter for the old, bright future, and playfulness for the young.”
11) Bathtub Gin Bootleggers by AlisonEKurek
Ali’s description of her entry: “1920 through 1933 marked a period of decreed alcohol abstinence in the United States. It also marked a period of bootlegging, bath tub gin, gangsters and general upheaval in American society.”
12) Caveman’s Wheel Pendant by IansCafe
Ian’s description of his entry: “You can’t talk history of modern invention without a homage to the birth of the wheel.”
13) Come To The Tea Party by AshPaints
Arlene’s description of her entry: “Not a political statement, just a reminder of one of the turning points in American history when patriots joined together to fight oppression.”
14) Popular Toys of the 20th Century by BlessedBeadJewelry
Janice’s description of her entry: “All of these toys, the crayons, the lincoln logs, Raggedy Ann, the teddy bear, Mr. Potato Head, and the Slinky were invented before after 1900 but before 1960! Mr. Potato Head was the latest one, in the early 1950’s.”

Voting will be by the public and by PCAGOE team members. Voting begins May 1, 2010 and ends May 7, 2010 at midnight, Eastern U.S. time. Winners in each voting category will be announced pcagoechallenge.blogspot.com on May 8, 2010.

Five lucky voters from the public, chosen at random, will also win beautiful polymer clay prizes created by one of our many, talented member artists! Winning voters will be notified at the close of voting and have one week from the date we contact you to furnish us with your mailing address so we can send you your prize. If you do not respond within one week, another name will be pulled from the pool of voters.

First Row, L-R: Barrette by Polyclarific, Covered Tin by ClayCenter, Bracelet by YoungCreative, Necklace by ArrowdaleArtStudio.
Second Row, L-R: Bracelet by HiGirls, Necklace by 11BoldStreet, Earrings by PolymerClayCreations, Earrings by ClayHappy.
Third Row, L-R: Pendant by JKollmann, Pendant by NKDesigns, Pendant by SCDiva, Charm by JenCom72.
Fourth Row, L-R: Pendant by BeeTreeByMe, Pendant by RiverValleyDesign, Pendant by LaurelSteven, Raw polymer clay cane by ToniNZ
Several of the entries are also available for sale in our members’ etsy shops, so please check them out to see these and more one-of-a-kind works of polymer clay art.
You may sign up for our monthly e-newsletter when you vote. We would love to be able to tell you about our upcoming challenges and our special promotions and charitable projects.
Our members love to hear your comments. Please take a moment to do that while you vote. Thank you!
Please join us again in June for a very special challenge. Our theme for June is “Think Outside The Box”. The members all started with the same sized blank aluminum tin and have been challenged to cover and decorate it with polymer clay however they choose. The entries will all be auctioned off to the highest bidder during challenge week June 1-7, to raise money for our team charity, Polymer Clay For A Cause, which was created by one of our members in memory of her daughter. You will be able to vote for your favorite tins and bid on them as well! Our members really put their creative thinking caps on for this one, and all of the entries are fantastic. If you are a subscriber to our newsletter, you will get a sneak peak at the tins in our May newsletter!

I made it to 1000 !!!

Feedback at my Etsy store that is. I want to thank all my loyal customers who have come back to buy from me time and again. I truly appreciate each and everyone of you. Of course thank you also to you one time buyers. Couldn't have made it here without you all.

I am having a Mother's Day sale in my store to celebrate every wonderful Mother out there. From now until May 2nd I will take 15% off your total purchase and every order over $50 gets free shipping.

What Mother doesn't deserve a beautiful handmade gift? I have so much to chose from, anything from a 24kt gold accented pen and keychain setto a pretty purple and blue millefiori floral necklace and earrings set.Or maybe she collects eggs or trinket boxes. I have several of each to chose from. Here are just a couple.

I have all kinds of unique gifts, jewelry and more to chose from. Just for being one of my followers here, I'll give you an extra 5% on top of the 15% off your total order. Just let me know before you check out and I'll adjust your invoice.

Thanks again to all my loyal customers!!

PCAGOE April Monthly Challenge

There are still two more days left to vote in the Polymer Clay Artists Guild of Etsy monthly challenge. This month's theme was "inspired by fabric". This kimono brooch was my entry. It was made to look like Chinese silk brocade.

Follow this LINK to cast your vote. Just for voting you get a chance to win one of these beautiful prizes made by the members of the PCAGOE.

My contribution is the set of colorful millefiori floral beads in the top row.

Just two more days left, voting ends at midnight eastern time, so go now to cast your vote.