Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of my faithful followers and readers.

Many times this year I've mentioned that I've wanted to reinvent myself and over the last month many changes have started to take place towards that reinvention.

As many of you know, I am going to school, getting a degree in Graphic Arts. I've started to do more computer graphics and that has caused me to do less clay.

I've been "claying" since 1982 and although I'm not going to give it up completely, I am going to be doing more graphics. I even plan on using images of my clay in my graphics, so I won't be too far away from polymer! Along with the graphics I'm going to make art pins from clay to help supplement my income. I've started to work on some interesting pins and will be showing them soon.

I'm also going to start 2010 with a poster giveaway. So check back soon for those details.

Thanks for stopping by and God Bless!

Craft show update

I did a craft show last Saturday at a local elementary school. I did about average for a school like that. I had a lot of snowmen and angels and people seemed to enjoy looking at them. Due to the economic nightmare in my area, I lowered my prices to $5 and $6 for a 3 inch clay baby.
This is the same price I was charging $20 years ago!! However, three older women commented that they didn't think they were worth $5.00 each. (true, people are that ignorant and rude)..99% of those that said anything were complimentary and nice.



I'm working on a few new things this week. Mostly pins to wear on jackets and coats. I also am trying out a new idea for personalized posters. I'll be posting those pictures soon. In the meantime, here are some things I've made recently and a picture of my display.

Polymer Clay Penguin Tutorial

For several years I've been making this cute little penguin on an ice cube. My design was published about 4 years ago in a craft magazine. I thought it would be fun to make a tutorial for it.

I used to get the ice cubes at a dollar store right around the corner. I haven't been able to find them there for awhile, but sometimes I luck out and get them at Michaels or Joanns. I haven't tried Hobby Lobby yet. Please let me know if there is anything unclear on the tutorial. I'm still trying to get the knack of movie maker! Thanks for stopping by. I'm slowly recuperating and anxious to blog more often. It's been a rough month, but I survived!

Oh where oh where has Debbie been?

For the past three weeks I've been feeling ill and finally, after going to the Dr. twice, I drove myself to the hospital on Monday.
To make a long story short, I had some heart tests (stress and heart cath) and all the results came back beautifully.

I think I may have an ulcer and have to have a test for that, but not right away. Going to stay away from certain foods for awhile.

I missed a whole week's worth of work at my real job and haven't touched clay either. But, now that I feel like I have a new lease on life due to the great heart results, I'm determined to get cracking again.

I'm sorry for the lull in posting, but hopefully I'll not have any more health problems for awhile.

Snowman Tutorial

I'm still trying to get the hang of making these videos, so if there's something you don't understand, let me know..Near the end of the video, I found that it's hard to read the text. It says to roll two balls and attach to the side of the head. Then fold a wire over. These are the ear muffs. Add texture to the balls by using a straw and pushing it in and out of the muffs.

I'll try another tutorial soon..

I am still here

Sometimes life gets in the way and causes me to ignore my blog. I hate to use that word (ignore) because then it means I'm ignoring my readers. For this, I apologize.

I haven't been feeling too well for the past week. I went to the Dr. and had a good check up. Now I'm waiting for some test results, but I'm feeling better all ready. Thanks for your patience.

I'm making a tutorial to post tomorrow.

I also had to mail out two pumpkin pins. It was a little mix up, but I don't mind.

See you Friday!

Card Stock

Here's a fun idea if you make polymer clay jewelry. I recently purchased a small book of glitter mat stack from Joanns crafts. They are 4.5" by 5". There are 72 papers and about 1/2 of them have glitter on them. The original price is $9.99 but I got them on sale for 40% off. I actually purchased two packs, one is called Glitter Sweet, and the other is Glitter Holiday. As you can see, I cut them in half or in thirds, depending on the size of my pins and they make a perfect card to pin them on. I was even inspired by some of the designs on the mat stack.

My plan was to use scalloped scissors to make them even more special, but I decided I like the crisp, straight edges. Next I am going to make tiny little labels with my business name, phone number and a price . I think I'll stick it on the back of the cards so it doesn't ruin the look of the card and the pin.

I'm not a scrapbooker but I love the papers and embellishments that can be found and I try to incorporate them into my business when I can.

Polymer Clay Tutorial

Here's a quick tutorial on making a clay frog. Enjoy!