A Journal for Jackie and my big News

Wow, it's been almost a month since I blogged last..... sorry, I've had a lot on my mind.  I've been claying quite a bit ....just not stuff I can put on my blog, at least not just yet.  I finished my inchies, all 4 sets,  have to sign them, do a little sanding and get them mailed.   I have also been working on hearts for Kim's heart swap.... 5 sets, 10 in each set.... what was I  thinking?  My problem is I really like some of the hearts and will have a hard time giving them away.  I may have to make more than 5 sets  just so I can keep some.

Then I made a Journal for Jackie... a gift for her birthday but I couldn't show you that until she got the package and opened it.  She has a PO Box and doesn't go to the post office everyday.... left me twiddling my thumbs for a couple days.... then she got it, opened it and liked it....I can show it to you now.

As you can see I was kinda caught up with a "heart" theme,  Plus I love Jackie so hearts seemed appropriate.

I used Pardo Art Clay.  I wanted a thin sheet for the base and Pardo works best for that, it is sturdy and remains flat.  I cured the base first and then added the decorative elements.  I embellished with PearlEx metallic powders to give it a little glitz.  You can see how thin the base is in this photo.

Now I want to show you this fantastic Halloween figure Heather made.  I wanted it so bad but she made it for a swap..... can you believe that?  I collect Halloween and I thought for sure she made this for me but nooooo..... she gave it away to a stranger.  She promised to make me one.

I just LOVE everything about her... look at that face.

If she doesn't make for me there is going to be hell to pay...... and I'm not kidding!! Well maybe I'm kidding a little bit..... but I do want one.....

Okay, now do you want to hear my big news?

My hubby is going to retire soon and we have decided to move to Eureka Springs, Arkansas.  Have any of you ever been to Eureka Springs?  What a great place! It's a small town filled with gorgeous Victorian homes, quaint little shops and over 100 restaurants.  Not to mention it's right next to Beaver Lake.  It has everything we want. A lake for Lynn and shops for me.... perfect..... plus an added bonus I  have relatives down there, folks that I absolutely adore.

I borrowed these photos from the Eureka Springs website..... hope they don't mind.

This is a birds eye view of the historic district..... you can spend days walking around to all the shops and galleries and good eats.....

This is what you first see when you enter the historic district..... winding streets that go up and down and all around.  I want to live downtown within walking distance of the shops.  Fortunately there are several properties for sale....

I love that wedge shaped building.

My cousins, Neal and Carol, own the Beaver Lake Cottages that is where we stayed on our last visit.  The views are amazing, the cabins are fantastic and the service is outstanding.  You will not meet nicer folks than Neal and Carol.

This is the 2 bedroom cabin we stayed in  

and this was the view from our deck..... the trees had just started to change.

Neal sent me this photo a couple days ago.... taken from his deck overlooking Beaver Lake

I still have hearts to make and I've been working on a couple canes so I better get back to claying. 

I know I have said it before.... but... I will try to do better.  Please don't abandon me, I would miss you. 

Thanks for stopping by. 

Goodbye to Holly

My darling daughter is sad today. Many years ago she took in this sweet goofy dog named Holly.  She was suppose to be Brandon's dog... Brandon is Heather's son.. but you know how that goes, right from the start she was really Heather's dog... well until Roger came along.... both Heather and Holly took to a liking to Roger ....so they took him into the family and she then became Heather's and Roger's dog.

 Holly was a friendly dog, she greeted everyone with a happy grin and a tail wagging like you wouldn't believe.  I was sure that tail was going to break every knickknack I had in my house, never broke a single one but I tell ya I held my breath when she came wiggling and wagging into the room.

She loved to go for walks and she loved to chase rabbits but she was afraid of cats..... except for the ones she lived with, those she tolerated and back in healthier days she got even with their harassing  by eating all the cat food.  She ate my cats food too, they did not like that and were always glad when she went home.

Holly has been ill for quite some time,  but the last few weeks her liver began to fail, then the last few days she could no longer walk so yesterday she made her final trip to the vet and was put to sleep.  Heather really loved that dog, I know this because when she could no longer tolerated dog food Heather  cooked meals for her and Heather does not like to cook.   Heather made her scrambled eggs or hamburger and rice..... for awhile she cooked her poached chicken breasts.  We'd go shopping, I'd be buying pork chop and round steak for my hubby, she'd be buying chicken breasts for her dog. Heather doesn't eat meat.... occasionally a little chicken salad ( only because I made  a really good chicken salad with mustard and dill pickles...  let me know if you want the recipe... I'm not kidding it really is good.)

So we have to say good bye to sweet Holly.... I am sure she is running free in doggy heaven.... and we will see her again one day.  

Here is Holly surrounded by the "boys"

I'm going on a mini vacation..... see you all next week.

Thanks for stopping by.

Pardo Art Clay Canes & a Journal Cover

This is the time of year that I order Kato clay from Munro Crafts.  I was pleasantly surprise to see they are now carrying Pardo Art Clay.  Munro Crafts gives a fantastic discount on large orders... 50% off on orders over $200....  The main reason I quit using Pardo was the price, now with the discount I can use it to my hearts content.  I had forgotten how easy it is to condition and how wonderful it is for canning.
Net on my wish list is metallic and pearls in the Art Clay....

I recently learned a few tricks about caning from my friend Jackie..... I included a trick or two of my own.... here are the results.

Click on the photos for a closer look.

The first photo shows the canes as well as a couple beads and mirror image tiles that I made with the end scraps.

Closer look at the 3 canes. Pardo is ideal for caning.  Much less distortion during the reduction process.

I used some of the scraps and left over Skinner blend canes to make this one.

I am very pleased with this one.

This one is pretty too.

 I also made another Journal Cover.  I used a couple of my bug critters and highlighted with PearlEx powders.

That's it for now..... I am off to condition more Pardo so I can make more canes.

Thanks for stopping by.

Polymer Clay Journal

A quick post today to show you my latest Polymer Clay Journal, it's a little busy but I like it.  I gave away most of the journal I made and need to restock.  They make nice gifts for friends and family. I have a drawer full of scraps from polymer clay sheets that I used in other projects, the scraps are what I used on this journal cover.

A different angle I textured the background with sandpaper and added shaded glimmer with PearlEx.

Close up of the birdie. I used a rubber texture sheet for the background on the birds body, she looks good in aqua swirls don't you think?

I aso finished a couple pendants.  I made beads to go with this one.

Closer looks at the pendant.

This is how I finished the back.

I added a wire leaf to this mica shift tile and used the top of the leaf for a bail. I wired the leaf in place....

....then concealed the wire on the back with a piece of textured clay.

That's it for today.

Thanks for stopping by.

Polymer Clay Pencil Holder with Inchies

Just a quick fly by to show you how I used some of my Swap Inchies.  I had this jar with 6 flat sides that I've been using as a pencil holder..... "hum" I thought "why not cover it with scrap clay and glue on Inchies"   so that is what I did.  

I have it sitting on my work table, it makes me smile every time I look at it.  Now I am digging through my pantry and frig looking for more flat sided jars.

Please Note: You will know you are addicted to claying when you start buying food for the containers rather than what they contain.  

Speaking of food.... I know this isn't a food blog but that's okay, I wanted to share a quick easy way to make Light as a Feather Dumplings.   My grandma use to make the very best beans and dumplings, she didn't write down her recipe but my brother came up with this one that tastes very much like the dumplings she use to make.

I use these with all kinds of soups and stews..... this time I made Chicken Potato Soup

Mixed up the dumplings....

2 cups Bisquick
3 large eggs

Put the Bisquick in a mixing bowl.  In a separate bowl beat the eggs and add salt to taste. I use about 1/2 teaspoon of salt and if you like pepper add it to the egg mixture.  Pour the eggs into the Bisquick and mix with a spoon.. do not use a mixer.   Drop by spoonfuls into the gently boiling soup.  Cook uncovered for 10 minutes, cover and cook an additional 10 minutes. Remove from the heat.  Don't over cook or the dumplings will be tough and we don't want that!

Serve with a slice of your favorite bread and a simple salad.

Enjoy!

That's it for today. Thanks for stopping by. 

Polymer Clay Inchie Swap

I thought I better do this before I forget.... I recently took part in an Inchie Swap on Facebook.  I signed up to make two sets..... a dozen in each set.

These are the ones I sent.

                                                                        Set One:

                                                                          Set Two

And here are the sets I got back. 

Set One:

                                                                      Set Two

I enjoy swapping. I like making the items and sending them off to new friends all over the world and I especially love receiving and opening the packages.  I don't belong to a guild or go to any of the retreats and I've never taken a class so this is my way of connecting with other polymer clay artists.  I've been trying to come up with a clever way to display all my little treasures .... do you have any suggestions?

Okay , I am off  to play with clay. That's it for today. 

Thanks for stopping by.  

Polymer Clay Beads

This week I made bead sets and a couple pendants.  First I want to show you how I finished the backs of the Bib necklaces.  I took Monique's advise, cover the exposed brads with little clay hearts and popped it back in the oven....

Please note,  the heat will fuse the tiles together..... it didn't matter on this necklace...

.....but it would on this one so I place strips of parchment paper between the tiles and immediately upon removal from the oven I moved the tiles around making sure they did not stick together .

Here is how the back looks.  When the necklace cooled I tested the stability of the little circles covering the wire, they came off  with very little effort so  I popped them off with my fingernail and reattached them with glue.  The brads on the first one were more flush to the tiles so the little hearts didn't need to be glued.

Now... on to the beads I made.

I used a flower cane end to make round and capsule beads.

Close up of the capsule beads. I really like these, they are dainty little beads.

I made small round and oval beads to go with small shimmery tiles.  The little oval beads are layered with pearly green in the center and silvery shimmers on each side.   Once I sand the sides of the tiles  I will put together a necklace.

Patchwork Beads made from a cane I created by combing several other canes. It reminds me of a patchwork quilt..... hence the name.

Closer look at the beads.

Layered Heart Pendant.

I did complete one necklace.  Heather took the photos when she listed it on Etsy.  She has a light box set up downstairs where she takes the photos for our Etsy shops.  My photos are not as good.... I take them in my studio.  I could go downstairs but I it's way to much work.... and going downstairs with my hands full is hazardous to my health.  

The pendant is in shades of teal.  I used silver rubber cord to string it on.

Both sides are decorated with textured hearts and circles.

That's it for now.   Next time I will show you the Inchie tiles I sent and received for the Swap, they are pretty cool!!

Thanks for stopping by and a "Big Thank You" to Monique for helping with my Bib necklaces.  The good folks in the Polymer Clay community are the best, always willing to help and share their knowledge.