CLBcreations

Giveaway and Freebie Alert!

2012-01-31T07:08:00.000-06:00

Pop on over to Eraserqueens blog, she is having a wonderful giveaway in honor of the new workshop that she's working onhttp://eraserqueenstudios.blogspot.com/2012/01/collage-extravaganza-giveaway.htmlWe all love freebies, and her artwork is phenomenal! She also frequently contributes to Art Trader Magazine. If you haven't heard, Art Trader Magizine is basically a free web based magazine that comes in a PDF format. Easily downloadable and full of wonderful artwork and reading material, I highly recommend that you at least check it out. Visit http://www.arttradermag.com/magazine/ . Also, if you use an iPad, be sure to save it to your library so you can flip back to it in the future.Happy Reading!

Free Tutorial: Upcycled Cookie Tin Using Mixed Media Techniques

2012-01-23T19:13:00.001-06:00

This tin is a perfect container for your art supplies, as well as a wonderful gift item for any holiday. Fill it with pencils, cookies or use it as a special container for that just perfect birthday gift..this is truly a versatile container. What makes it even better is the fact that it is up-cycled and kept out of the trash dumps.

I listed all the supplies I had used when creating it. Knowing that you might not have the same exact things at home in your stash, I encourage you to be flexible. Don't have the Letraset markers? Use water colors. Just use whatever items you have at home.

Supplies Used:

Used clean tin (mine was from Aldi)

Soft to medium lead pencil

Acrylic pencil eraser (try to avoid the pink school erasers, they have grit which will eat into the surface)

Flexible sanding material, medium grit

White gesso (I used Golden brand)

1" wide flat brush (inexpensive is wonderful)

Small round water color brushes

Old text paper (I used old dictionary pages)

Liquid acrylic paint

Matte gel medium

Letraset AquaMarkers

Prismacolor colored pencils

Water-soluble crayons

Misc. cloth rags

2 Jars of clean water, one to wash your brushes, one kept clean

Heat gun (to speed up drying if needed)

This tutorial is a work in process, I will be making corrections and Adjustments in the next few days.

Step One: Sand

Using a flexible sanding media, sand all areas that you wish to be painted or altered. Pay special attention to the inside corners on the lid. You basically want to eliminate all shiney surfaces, which will make the gesso stick better and give the tin surface more tooth to hang on to the gesso.

Step Two: Gesso your surface

Grab a wide brush of your choice and start to cover the entire surface with a healthy layer of gesso. You may need to go over an area a few times to be sure the layer holds. Don't be afraid to leave brush strokes in your coverage. Brush strokes are OK and add plenty of character to the surface of the tin.

Step 2 b: Let the gesso dry completely

You may need to add a 2nd or 3rd layer depending on the brand of gesso you used. Also, here you will find if you sanded the surface well enough. If you look carefully you'll see some minor cracking in the corners of the lid in this picture. I missed those spots and the gesso didn't stick to the lid surface. I had to reapply a second and third layer to be sure the original surface was covered.

Step 3: Collage!

When all of the surfaces are completely dry you can apply your text pages to the sides of the tin. Using the matte gel medium and working in sections, apply a layer of text to the tin. This is a wonderfully messy step and fingers are the preferred tool to use :) Paint the tin with a layer of gel medium, then add a section of text. Be sure to smooth the paper down with your fingers to remove any air bubbles beneath. Move on to the next section and repeat, this time rotate the text so that it is aligned in a different direction. As you move along be sure to trim as much extra material off the edge of the tin, it should be slightly damp and somewhat easier to tear off. Once you have the sides of the tin covered in your text paper, and if you haven't already, coat the entire surface with a final layer of gel medium to seal the paper. Let dry overnight. Testing the surface to be sure it is completely dry, use your fingers and rub on a coat of gesso over the text. Use a little bit of water to thin it out and before it starts to dry, take a clean cloth to rub off the gesso. I know I know, put it on ..take it off? Yup :) Basically you are covering the area and taking off the gesso on the "high" areas. The gesso will settle into the cracks and crannys . This tones down the print a bit. If your print is lighter in color, then go the opposite and use a darker watered down acrylic and wipe off.

Step 4: Draw your design

Using your pencil, either trace or directly draw your design onto the tin lid. Be careful of how hard you press on to the lid with your pencil, harder led will tend to etch into the gesso and possibly peal up the surface. No biggy if this happens, simply grab your brush and reapply a layer of gesso to cover the area. Once dry you can go back over to adjust your drawing.

Step 5: Time to color

Using your water-soluble crayons, start coloring in areas. The more color you lay down, the darker or more saturated the section will be. When you think you are satisfied, grab your small water color brush, dip it in the water, tap off any extra on a cloth and start to blend the color in one section at a time. Be sure to work in areas that are not next to each other, to eliminate the chance one color will bleed into another. You also need to remember that the more water on your brush, the more liquid the color will have to dissolve in. The "wetter" the area, the more the color will settle via gravity. This may be an effect you are wanting to create. Looking at the picture above, you can see the dark blue area, here I used a liberal amount of water and rotated the design upside down. I let the color run on the lid to create a more organic effect. Always be sure to let each section dry thoroughly before working on the section next to it.

Step 5b: Additional layers of color

You may need to lay additional color on to your design. Here I felt that the dark blue wasn't enough. I added more crayon and dissolved it with a bit more water, you can actually see the wet drips in the photo. I also slightly rubbed off some of the blue closer to the bottom to give it a slightly transparent look. As I waited for the blue to dry, I also took this time to add additional shadowing and color with my prismacolor pencils. I used a reddish orange to deepen the darker areas of her hair, as well as (when dry) a darker blue to reinforce the shadowy areas of her blue dress.

Step 6: Final touches

This is the "catch-all" step. On the lid edge lay down a juicy layer of Letraset AquaMarker. Don't totally saturate the edge area with color because you then need to rub it down with your finger to give it a smudgy grungy look. You may want to use a damp brush to it to wet it down slightly and make it smudge easier. Once dry use the liquid acrylic color to make the light stripped areas and outlined them with pencil. Again let the layer dry completely. Next, use the same Letraset marker and draw a line on the inside edge of the lid. Using a clean damp brush again, smudge the marker color to fade into the lid design making sure to try and eliminate the actual line. This is also a good time to add in more color around her hair with the watersoluble crayons to bring out her hair color. If needed you can tone down the color in the background as well ( In this picture you can see in the area around her neck, I rubbed in some watered down gesso to lighten it up a bit). So, after your adjustments have dried you can now use your pencil once more and touche up the lines in the drawing. When you are satisfied and feel that you are done, go ahead and spray a heavy layer of final fixative to all the painted surfaces. This seals it and insures that the color will not rub off in the future.

All in all this project may take you a few days to complete. The major time killer is letting the different layers dry completely. But, if you are short on time, you can use a heat gun to speed up the process a bit. Just remember, it is a metal tin and it will get hot if you hold your heat gun over it long enough. Be careful.

Enjoy

Comments are always welcome. If you should have any questions, feel free to post them and I will try my best to answer them.

Product Review: Letraset AquaMarkers

2012-01-20T08:08:00.001-06:00

After hearing some buzz about these markers on the internet community, I decided to give them a try. Having worked in water based media and they sounded very appealing to me. After a little bit of research, I found that the company that manufactures them is based in the UK. Knowing that international shipping can be brutal on a limited budget, I decided to purchase them from Dick Blick which is a local art supply company and my markers arrived in just shy of a week.

Both sets of markers arrived in a nice hard clear plastic case. Actually I was quite impressed with the design of this case. Why does it matter? It matters because you can easily see each individual marker from the outside with no package lables getting in the way. This makes for a quick choice in color selection. Also, the package opens up flat dividing the set in two, which provides a stable flat platform to hold them while you work. I would most definitely recommend that you keep the package/case for storage or for travel.

Ok, now on to the markers. Each marker's label has a representation of the actual color and the name printed on to it. The printed name I find is a bit on the small side and I do wish they would have used a slightly larger font. These markers have a fat and a thin pointed tip on each end, the thin tip is the pointed cap, the thick/fat tip has a blunted cap. When I tested the markers on regular drawing paper each fat tip generously laid down a thick juicy line of color, as well as the thin tip of each. The claim to fame with these markers is their ability to be blended, either with water or with the blender pen that comes with each set. Here comes the big "But". Yes these blend easier than most other waterbased markers, However, you must use them on a waterbased ground. They did not blend at all on regular drawing paper. In fact, due to their juicy nature, they actually made the paper "pill" and tear really easy. I suggest that you wait for each application to dry fully before going over with another color. On watercolor paper they worked beautifully. Each color was easily manipulated either by the blender pen or by a wet water color brush. I do not suggest using them as a "wet on wet" technique, this seems to mess up the tips a bit. If you wanted to use a wet on wet technique, you could use a dry brush on the tip of the marker and load up the color to be applied. You could also lay down a section of color on a scrap piece of watercolor paper and take a damp brush to it to pick up the color. As for the blender pen, it is basically just a colorless version of the marker and I suggest a light hand when trying to blend colors or make corrections by lifting color from your work so as to not overwork the paper and tear through it. If you do pickup a different color on your tips, it is super easy to remove it by simply wiping the tip off on a scrap piece of paper.

Overall thoughts? On the right material, these markers are wonderful. They are more versatile than others, juicy, bright, but yet have some limitations. The packaging was well designed and worth keeping for storage and transport. They do seem a bit on the expensive side, but there really is no marker that functions like them on the market. Two thumbs up in my book!

Shopping Advice incoming! Research your prices. The pricing for these beauties doesn't vary much actually, but it's the shipping that will get you. Assuming that international shipping is more expensive I decided to visit a local Dick Blick..they did not have them in the store (the girl looked at me like I had a second head when I mentioned "watercolor markers" so make sure you know the name), I ended up ordering from them and paid a $9 shipping fee. Upon researching for this article I found that Letraset in the UK is actually offering free shipping to the US ! Also, they have a promo going on where if you buy 6 you get em for the price of 5. With that being said, Dick Blick also came through for me when 4 of the markers arrived "dry". They immediately shipped out replacements at no cost. Also, ordering through Dick Blick you can put your dollars towards your favorite online community if you order through their links on the actual community site, so that they can benefit from your purchase as well.

I do hope this review answers any questions you may have about the Letraset AquaMarkers and makes your purchasing decision easier.

Here is an example of a mixed media type application of the markers. I used them in addition to the watercolor crayons and pencil on this tin.

Networking on Etsy

2011-10-15T10:19:00.000-05:00

Since I list my items on Etsy, I've come to the realization that networking is a BIG necessity in that type of community. Without connecting with other artists and taking part myself in the social media they provide, I found that my traffic was greatly slowed to my Etsy site. I took a look at all the "Teams" that Etsy hosts and found that, after just a few minutes of searching, there were thousands of Teams that I could be a part of. I actually thought to myself, " I could totally sign up to a bunch of these and I'm set". But after a few minutes of really digging into what these teams were, I realized that it wasn't just the act of clicking "Join Team" but the actions that follow.

Some teams just seem so dormant..stagnant..or just holding groups for Etsy vendors with no direction. That wouldn't work for me, I needed something "more". Thinking on what would work for me with the resources I had, I had come to realize that I had totally forgotten about my membership to a team I had already belonged to. I had been with them for years, first as a vendor but then later as a fan. The Fantasy Artists of Etsy (FAE ) has a stellar group of artists I had admired for a long time. So, I made the decision to be an active part of the FAE Team once again and not just a silent watcher from the distance. With this decision came the first step of taking part in their current exibition of work. The Midnight Dark and Dreary Exibition was taking calls for work and I decided to answer that call. I submitted two pictures of my work. It took a few tweeks to the images, but finally they were accepted for display.

So whats the lesson I learned? That in order for you to have an active Etsy site, you need to be active yourself. You can't just sit back and let your "tags" do the work for you. Altho, they do drive traffic to your site to a certain extent, you need to do a bit more than that to be successful. That also holds true for Etsy Teams. You need to make sure you pick a team that fits your site, your style and your product(s). Without this "fit" you can't comfortably participate in discussions or other team activities..and no participation, means that your team suffers as well your site.

So, when the FAE Team asked me to promote the exhibition I was more than happy to participate. I encourage you all to take a stop by the Fantasy Artists of Esty site to view the current exhibition titled "Midnight Dark and Dreary", which is very appropriate for the upcoming Halloween holiday. Click on those listings that speak most to you. You know those listings, the ones that make you go "Oh Cool!", those are the ones you need to click on and see how they're made or find out the story behind them. But don't stop there, tweet them or even post them on Facebook... it's free, but it also helps out the artist involved, and it only takes a few seconds, plus you just might make an artist smile.

Fall is here!

2011-09-27T10:54:00.000-05:00

With the season change, I felt inspired to whip up some images via Gimp. Made Grandmother Witch and Witch Baby Otto..the latest relative to the two is Aunt Batty. She is very proper in her attire and always stirs her cauldron with pinky up of course..as you can see by her stiff posture and wonderfully kept hair.

I decided to show you the before and after photos so you get a feel as to what was changed and what wasn't. Aunt Batty is quite a smart lady. You see with a snap of her fingers she can change from her "muggle" form to her true image. In all these years I don't think anyone suspected a thing about her.

And of course this image, as well as the others, are available on my etsy shop for purchase for your Halloween Holiday scrapbooking/mixed media needs.

Change of Seasons brings...well change.

2011-08-30T14:20:00.001-05:00

After doing the bills and getting totally depressed again. I decided to distract myself and rummage through my craft room. After a few moments of "straightening and organizing" it has dawned on me that I really need to start listing some more items up on my shop. Unfortunately this means I also have to part with my favorites. One is my mixed media painting of "The Littlest Bear". She's oh so gosh darn cute, I'll be sad to see her go..but like every artist I need to let go of my babies...it's what we do. So, without further delay she's now up on my Etsy site looking for a good home."The Littlest Bear"

Spring Has Sprung !

2011-03-17T13:05:00.000-05:00

And so has my creativity. :)

I decided to break out the old bear making materials again..dusted off the old sewing machine, organized my fabrics, rounded up my needles and took stock of my supplies. After rummaging around the closet, I pulled out my patterns and found a few nice pieces of mohair I had forgotten about. As I pulled out the short nap blonde fat yard of mohair..a ziplock bag of fluff fell out. Pink and lavendar fluff to be specific. "Whats this?" I thought to myself.. "An unfinished bear! Shut up!"..I unzipped the bag and lo and behold..sure enough..it was a hand dyed bear set..all the pieces were there...arms legs..head pieces.. It just needed to be assembled.

Now..having the flu certainly puts a damper on your crafting abilities, but I was ready to get well and decided to work on that bear..piece by piece and hand sewed most of it. I finished the head first to get a feel of what it would look like as a whole..then it struck me..I wanted to do something different for the nose..something completely different. Cotton string would not do this time. I again went thru my supplies..and found my stash of felting needles "hmm..better put these where they belong before I loose them again"...**Ding ding ding** ~insert bright idea light-bulb here~ Yup, you guessed it...I needle felted a nose. I had some non-carded wool roving and found a nice minty teal color. After a while it actually started to look like a nose. But something was missing. The nose was too big..hmm.. I looking thru my roving again...this time I dug to the bottom of the container...and guess what folks..I had a bunch of roving that matched the backing of the mohair "EXACTLY". Four broken felting needles and a handful of wool later..."ta da". A bear is born..

Coupon Coupon Coupon

2011-02-14T09:52:00.001-06:00

In honor of Valentines Day I am offering a 10% off coupon at my Etsy shop, which is usable at the check out. Stop on by to see whats new at the Ol' CLB, make a purchase and be sure to use coupon code CLB10 at your checkout.

Happy Valentines Day!

What the heck is she doing?

2011-01-25T10:32:00.000-06:00

Thank you for asking! Actually I have been doing a lot more work in my art journal. Faces have always been my bane and I had decided to take an online class to get over my hurdle of not being able to draw any sort of a human looking face. If you would like to take a look at my Flickr account or my Deviant Art, you can see how I have progressed. Loving my new skill, thank you Suzi Blu, and looking forward to more work like that.

Recently, however, I have been toying around with Gimp. No, it is not a monkey or something I have locked up in my closet, It is actually a free photo-manipulation program which is very similar to Photoshop. I am really enjoying fixing up old photos to remove any tears, scratches or dust marks. The latest one, which I just finished this morning, I removed a third person from the photo.

Here is the original, you can see the younger sibling on the right. Also, there are multiple scratches all over this photo (example: the girls hat and hair). After a bit of messing around with Gimp I finally had finished repairing this image, with slight adjustments.

Here is the "fixed" version of the photo. Most of the scratches are gone, as well as the 3rd sibling (sorry little guy). It was a great learning experience and I would love to work with this program more. :)

Baby Dragon

2010-11-19T16:32:00.001-06:00

Baby Dragon
Originally uploaded by CLBcreations

A work in progress..
I have always wanted to draw a newly hatched baby dragon and finally came up with the layout while laying awake in bed one night. Also, this was a chance to try out my new Caran Neocolor II water soluble artist crayons as well as a new bottle of gesso. Love the crayons...jury is still out on the gesso...it was kinda gritty to be honest..but was very white in color.

I plan on finishing up this little guy with my pigma pen. Choosing to use stippling instead of a crosshatch type detail, I think it lends itself to more of a skin texture ..where crosshatching is more of a textile type shading. The background is yet undecided, but I tend to want to move to a more textured technique. Maybe I'll throw in some moulding paste and do a color wash or two over it..~shrug~ dunno..guess we'll have to see when I get that far.

See What My Busy Little Hands Have Been Making..?

2010-08-03T16:24:00.000-05:00

The original is available on my Etsy site and prints can be ordered thru my Deviant Art site. Enjoy!

EHAG Emporiums July Giveaway- Check it out!

2010-07-26T22:57:00.001-05:00

Some lovely gifts from such an awesome group of Halloween artists. I suggest you check them out, afterall Halloween is just around the corner.
http://ehagemporium.blogspot.com/2010/07/july-giveaway.html

"Crack That WIP..." ...Wait...Hua?

2010-05-18T07:55:00.002-05:00

So, I lugged out the clay yesterday. Grabbed a tinfoil body I made for a tauren druid...and started slappin clay on it. Had no intention of making that druid this time tho. Instead I ended up with a dragon head again...and was experimenting with some new glass beads for the eyes. But as I sat back and looked at the head...the nose wasn't right. Soooo....I chopped it off. What remained was quite comical. It looked as if his bottom lip was still there but the top half of his snoot was gone. "Perfect"! I thought. I added more clay to his bottom lip and cheeks, did a little tweaking here and there...added a few horns...badda bing badda boom...

I'm fairly happy with him and snapped a picture. His head and body are done, just need to add some arms and legs now.

Me and My Frugal Crafting Purchases..

2010-03-31T12:13:00.006-05:00

Ok..so I've been promising a new review for a while now and I think it's about time I post one. This next "tool" is really quite multi-functional and VERY economic. So, a little test first, are you game? Ok..so here goes...

Take a look at these two pictures...

are they different? or are they the same?

I'll let you think about it for a minute, and no I'm not trying to trick you..:)..

Ready? Ok..they're both. Yup..Both are teflon sheets..same material..same size. But they are different in the fact that you will pay double the cost of the first one for the second.

The first item is a teflon sheet from a very successful ebay seller who sells them for heat transfer presses for T-shirts and the like. A 15"x15" sheet usually sells for around $5. The second is Ranger's Utee Non-Stick Crafting sheet, which Tim Holtz and the like have been praising the daylights out of em in the past year or so. The Ranger sheet retails for around $16.

I felt that Ranger's price was way too high and wanted an alternative source. That's when I scoured ebay and the web for a similar product, because I was pretty darn sure that Ranger wasn't solely manufacturing the item. I found a generic one listed by 3447joseph on eBay which was VERY cheap and right in my price range. It didn't take him long at all to ship it to me and I was ready to go and test it out when it arrived.

This Teflon sheet was just as thick as Ranger's and held up to the same abuse that they claim their item can handle. It is still holding up very well after months of use. The generic sheet is very heat resistant and will not burn under a heat gun. It also makes a wonderful paint pallet, just gob on the paint directly from the bottle or tubes. Once you are done, just let it harden and you can easily peel off the dried paint. This also works well for glues and acrylic mediums. If you had thinned down your paint just simply rinse the sheet off under some warm water and wipe dry. This sheet is also flexible enough to use as a mat for embossing powders or glitter. Once you are done sprinkling the powders just fold up the sheet to pour the excess back into the bottle. As far as sharp objects are concerned, I would still use a cutting mat, but for oopses it holds up well under an exacto knife or claying blades.

So folks, I hope you can see that just because an item is too expensive doesn't mean we have go without. With a little research there are viable alternatives to crafting tools...just gotta find em and not expect the "Name Brand" to be the only source for us.

All the best!

Crow- Watercolor Painting "Lesson" learned

2010-03-23T09:16:00.001-05:00

Crow
Originally uploaded by CLBcreations

My current art project seemed to take me in a different direction.

After lingering in Hobby Lobby to blow away an hour of my time, a travel pack of watercolors was calling me. I thought it was the cutest little compact of paints I have ever seen...and quite reasonable in price to. Funny how it wound up in my collection shortly after.

As I was driving home from the store there was no "wonder what I can do with this now" type of inner conversation with myself. No, it was more like "BAM!...can't wait to get this crow on paper" and even went over the process a couple of times on how I wanted it laid out, how I was going to color it, and how I was going to line it. But how the heck did I know exactly what I wanted to do? I'm more of a wishy washy person when it comes to making decisions. However, in this case, it was clear what was going to be painted. No arguments there and I accepted it for what it was.

After a brief internet search for some reference material I was soon to put pencil to paper. A few adjustments here and there, and I was quite surprised and how well I had drawn the design. Great right? Yup..but (isn't there always a "but" in a good story?) I had no clue how to use watercolors. I mean I knew how I wanted the color to be laid out, but had no idea on the technique to do it. So, I just did it. I wet the section I wanted to work on..then started slowly adding color. I admit I did make some mistakes and had to work that out with a few YouTube lessons..but all in all I accomplished what had sparked my imagination.

Was it worth it? Heck Ya! Would I do it again For Sure! Whats the lesson to this story? "Just go with the flow babe". If something is calling to you and it's something that is completely off your radar, just go with it. There is something that you need to get out, whether it's the end product or the process to get to it, it has to be done. Otherwise, if we bottle ourselves up as artists, it's like making a broken promise to our souls. Thats like becoming a number on the wall and no one wants to pay much mind to that!

So, don't become a number on the wall fellow artists and crafters. Take heed to your artistic insight, trust yourself and let your spirit soar in the process. Let the artistic spirit lift your wings and be the Crow that you are.

Awe .. Teddy Bears!

2010-03-19T16:41:00.001-05:00

Original Hand Carved Rubber Stamp- Steiff Teddy Bear
Originally uploaded by CLBcreations

Gotta love em. Started listing my hand-carved rubber stamps on Etsy, Ebay and Artfire. All the bears I make are based off of Steiff teddies. Most measure around 4"x3".

I find when I'm carving my stamps that it's more of a meditative process. I have to focus, work slow and make precise movements. Mistakes are easy when carving stamps and you really just can't "plow" thru it. And just as easy as it is to make a mistake on a stamp, it's just as easy to slam the gouges into your hand. So I also need to be aware of where my other hand is at in relation to the tools.

I gotta admit, I'm having fun carving these little fellas..along with some other design ideas I have rumbling around in my brain. Should be interesting to see where this takes me.

Who would have thought?

2010-02-19T15:46:00.000-06:00

Stamps...who would have thought I would be getting into stamping? Well, I am. In a round about way of course. I have been so motivated to start making hand carved rubber stamps. Some of my first stamps are real cuties and I have started listing them on eBay and my Etsy shop as well.

I am also excited to make custom stamps. The sky is the limit..custom stamps could be ordered for a special name, a saying, a favorite pet, a particular camper/rv you own or even a company logo. Just drop me a line, send me a picture of what you want and I will send you the proof...easy peasy nice and easy. :)

Monster Swap Entry--phew!

2009-11-08T22:48:00.004-06:00

Wow..time sure does fly by. It has been a while since my last post.

Last month was a horrible one for me and my family, my mom had been diagnosed with breast cancer and had passed away in a a matter of a couple of weeks. I had committed to submitting an entry into the Monsters Swap before all the news hit us and wanted to finish my design..I had an idea of what I wanted to do, but it wasn't until we were back home that I was able to get my hands dirty.

When I first started working on him, I was only able to do bits and pieces at a time. So many memories of making things in the past and being so proud of them, I'd have to share them with Mom...but now that has changed and I was no longer able to call her up and share. So, I would end up sculpting the head and be really happy with it...then I would say to my self, "Well Mom..what do ya think?".. and I would repeat that a few times at different stages of completion. Sometimes I would just hear silence, sometimes a ladybug would appear on the window (mom loved lady bugs), and one time I swear I heard her laugh and say, "Oh Cin!" as if she knew how excited I was about it, but yet she really didn't see why.

Punkin Head was a good distraction project for me. At times I would get lost in the details of making him and would change my mood of sorrow and loss to one of excitement. I was SO thrilled with the idea of making actual pumpkin "guts" and couldn't wait to get started on that part.

I used a variety of materials in this guy. His head was at first sculpted from polymer clay over a core of tinfoil bound by floral tape. His teeth and tongue were formed from paper clay. Both were covered in a few coats of gesso and acrylic paints. Punkin's body and arms were formed out of paper mache and his legs were simple bamboo skewers. His feet needed to be heavier in weight to keep him balanced, so I again used polymer clay. More layers of paint were applied, and I decided to apply a few washes of paint to dull up some of the more vivid colors on him. His "guts" were formed from string, paper clay, acrylic paint, and acrylic glaze.

I felt like all the above work was just fine, however something was missing. After a day or two of staring at him..I decided upon two things. One, if one's cranial "guts" were pulled out and placed in a bowl, I would bet that person wouldn't be too concerned with hygiene and therefore would be more than likely drooling all over the place...~cue more acrylic glaze~ Two, how exactly did one's "guts" get into the bowl? ~enter rusty spoon~ (Yes, I am just that warped at times ...and this is where Mom would say again "Oh Cin!") The playful twist on the whole theme is that poor Punkin Head was in fact the one that was holding the spoon!

If you would like to see more entries for the Monsters in the Closet Swap please visit wildatheartart.blogspot.com and scroll down. It's truly amazing to see how all the different participants had interpreted the theme differently...and OMG the talent these lovely people have..amazing!

Artist Interview: Laurie McAdam

2009-09-15T10:47:00.004-05:00

Just as I had promised I have found another wonderful amazing artist in the realms of Etsy. Laurie McAdam is a very gifted, but very busy woman. I had recently contacted her to see if she would be interested in an interview and she was thrilled with the idea.
Laurie generously offered the following:
“What do I do for fun? I have a store on Etsy where I create whimsical sculpey critters and trinket boxes. I have a full time job. I work for The Modesto Bee, a daily newspaper in Modesto, California and draw every day for our readers enjoyment. This is my job and Etsy is my playtime. I sell my work on Etsy not for profit but for sheer enjoyment. The money I get for my critters and boxes pay for my supplies but not my time. I get many emails from people asking how I can sell my work for such little money. The reason is, I do not charge for my time. I use the best supplies I can find or make or purchase and all the creative time I put into them is free of charge. I am motivated and inspired by so many artists on Etsy and am honored to belong to such a fine co-op. The artists on Etsy are so generous with their talent and are quick to answer questions and do custom work at the drop of a hat. When the art arrives, more likely than not, there is a tiny thank you gift enclosed and a personalized note. The great thing about Etsy is that the products are not found in retail stores and each purchase you make helps an artist and provides a gift from you to family or friends that is truly one of a kind. My studio is overflowing with art from fellow Etsy artists and sitting in my studio surrounded by this art and creating things of my own is what life is all about! “

Laurie had also added that outside of Etsy she had also designed a portrait of Clay Aiken and has seen it applied to “hundreds of T-shirts at American Idol concerts across the country.” She has also sketched the Scott Peterson murder trial and her drawings were broadcast on television stations across the world. Laurie also pointed out that she has published 4 children's books and currently is working on her 5th. Her most current book is on her Etsy site titled, “Aliens, All Mixed Up”.

She has offered the readers here that are interested in learning more about her American Idol experience to visit her website at http://www.mcadamstudios.com/

Lauries etsy site is http://www.phirefly.etsy.com/

2009-09-10T11:35:00.004-05:00

Monster In The Closet Swap

How appropriate for the fall season! Yup, I'm hooked into this from the very start and can't wait to get going on it...and I will definately post pictures to keep you updated on what I sent along and what I received.

I also encourage you all, if you are interested of course, to join in on the fun. But...you need to hurry if you would like to sign up..the deadline is fast approaching. Please visit Odd Imaginations Blog for more details.

For Your Viewing Pleasure...

2009-09-08T21:07:00.003-05:00

An awesome story, an awesome idea for a project...check it out..

Maureen Carlson Story Necklace

Back Into the Swing of Things!

2009-09-08T07:53:00.004-05:00

Yup..I am back.
Time to get my hands dirty and start listing again.

I took a bit of a self imposed break from crafting for a while...and now I'm anxious to get the ball rolling again. I have lots of ideas of some new critters as well as some new ideas for working with different mediums.

I have recently been working on some collage work..and made some lovely paintings for my mom, mother-in-law and sister-in-law..HOWEVER...I somehow forgot to take pictures : / Hopefully I can get them to snap a few and I'll post it up here.

I'm currently interested in encaustic collage...I have read a few books from Claudine Hellmuth and really love her style. So..last weekend I went to the Naperville Farmers Market and picked up a couple of pounds of beeswax. Needing something to melt it in seemed like a bit of a challenge. I would have loved to buy one of those neat Ranger/Utee Melting Pots..but didnt have the $30 to spend. So, I rambled on down to the local GoodWill store and actually found a mini crockpot for $3! BINGO. It works perfectly too.

Another idea I had was to change up my dragons a bit..so I started encorporating diff items into the sculpture that I wouldnt normally. The two I'm working on now have a wood "core" and will be painted. Normally I use a foil core and completely encase it in clay. I will snap some pictures as soon as I can find the "big" camera.

Well...I guess thats in a nut shell for now..looking forward to getting this blog up and rolling again as well.

All the best!

Cindy

The Latest and Greatest Here at CLB...

2007-09-25T12:09:00.000-05:00

I know...I know.. I'm so sorry to be so late in posting something here. It's totally not like me. But my schedule has been absolutely packed for the month of September..and it seems to be quieting down now. So, while I have a bit of a lull...I'm going to fill you all in on what is going on.

I had recently approached a new age shop close to my home to see if they would be interested in my little dragons and pendants. At the time I walked in a reporter/photographer was there looking to interview someone for an article. And...at that exact moment as well, about 3 other people walked into the shop. Busy, Busy Busy...grrrr...not an ideal situation to start peddling my wares. I waited for a bit of quiet...smiled and passed over a basket of goodies...my goodies. The one owner Kate said she would show them to Morn the other owner and asked if I could leave them there for a day. ... so I did. I came back the next day..full of doubt and ready for rejection. However, it was quite the opposite reaction that I received. Both Kate and Morn loved them...and at the time there were a few other people in the store that also were excited about them. I was handed a contract then and there and was given the invitation to bring them in whenever I liked. Yessss! So...I am now working on a few dragons to be sold only at their store.

I also have received a custom order for a few dragon head pendants...and have finally finished those. (pictured here) These were fun to make. One, the clay was soft and mushy..hard to sculpt because it would just melt impressions of my fingers in it whenever I would work on it. The other, the opposite, the clay was super hard and crumbly and had to be worked into other clays to soften it up. It was very resistant to manipulation but seemed to have held some really sharp crisp lines. All in all, they both turned out well and will be on their way to their new homes. I asked the buyer to forward some pictures of them once they are all strung up as necklaces. Hopefully she wont forget to send them and I can post them here.

Ok...well ...that's all for now.. ...Thanks so much for viewing...!

Artist Interview- Fairyrealm

2007-08-29T09:39:00.000-05:00

During some recent down time, I had the wonderful opportunity to come across an amazing art doll creator. I was enchanted with the wonderful expressions, costumes and skill that went into these creations. Curious as to who this person is, I contacted Fairyrealm's artist and asked if I could do a brief interview. Rima was delighted to participate in the questioning. At first I had about 5 or 6 different questions to ask..however, when she sent me her response it was way more interesting than cut and dry answers. So, it is with great pleasure that I post her story here exactly as it was sent to me, may I introduce to you...Rima of Fairyrealm....

"I had worked for years with ceramic clay. I began to try my hand at sculpting small intricately detailed clay figures but was not happy with the results. One day I came across photos (online) of Wendy Froud's work. I was amazed and inspired. I became determined to teach myself some polymer clay techniques so that I could create my own version of the world of fairy. After some mistakes (and a mermaid whose head rested on her left shoulder for lack of an armature). I began to buy books and recently purchased a DVD created by Wendy Froud. All of these have helped and inspired. Best of all purchases was Wendy's DVD.At some point I stop and look at a piece and see a million thing that need improvement but know that I really need to stop before I ruin or over do it. I just have to make a mental note of the things to be improved and say "I'll do better next time". Somehow it's never better enough!I find the art works of both Wendy and her husband Brian Froud to be two of my greatest sources of inspiration. I also love the writings of J K Rowling. Her stories are steeped not only in mythology and folklore. What an extraordinary imagination she has. I love the fact that her books are multi leveled and can be read not only as wonderful modern day fairy tales but as sensitive insights into human nature and social conditions with a smattering of political commentary too.", "Here is the link to my etsy store-http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5142095 "

If anyone would like to contact Rima, you could either drop me a line here and I will forward the message along, or visit her profile at her Etsy shop.

Thanks for viewing!

PCAGOE's August Challenge is Under Way!

2007-08-28T09:30:00.000-05:00

Take a look and vote at http://www.pcagoe.com/ in the August Challenge. There are some VERY nice entries this month.... Unfortunately I was unable to enter, but check back in the next few months. The secret is out for the next three challenges...I know for sure I will be entering Octobers challenge.

Check out my interview...

2007-08-28T09:07:00.000-05:00

Yup...I had the opportunity to be featured on PCAGOE's website...here's the link.... http://pcagoe.com/2007/08/25/clbcreations-featured-artist/

New Product Testing

2007-08-08T08:49:00.000-05:00

Recently I had been awarded the opportunity to try out Sculpey's new Studio Line clay through the PCAGOE group. I had received one package of the torquiose color and had written up a small little article in regards to my findings after I worked with the clay. I had decided that maybe I should share this will all of my friends ...so here goes...

Originally Posted on PCAGOE (8/7/07)

"OK...well...I've played for a few hours with this stuff....here's what I think... I received the turquoise blue color. Nice vibrant color too. As far as the clay, well...I'm not sold just yet. It prob has it's place in the claying world..just like all the others..but what that place is ..not sure yet. When I first opened the package it seemed like it was very pliable..or soft to work with. I left it on my worksurface over night to pick it back up again today. I almost think that letting the air get to it may have dried it a bit..but not sure exactly on that one. It was a bit stiff to knead, so I put it in the pasta machine. I put it on the 1st setting..it rolled fine. I put it on the 4th setting...again fine. However, I did notice an almost powdery feel to it after it went through the machine. Almost like a powdery residue on my fingers. But all it all...the clay seems like it holds up well to finger prints if you don't knead the heck out of it. If you do, it gets softer like a regular polyclay. Oh..and one other thing I noticed is that it seemed lighter..kinda like those super light clays they sell now..compaired to Fimo or Sculpey. I used it to make a couple of pendant blanks...it was a piece of cake to smooth down the edges without distorting the overall shape too much and I was able to stamp into raw clay with out a release powder or water.. I also made a few figures from it...I call em my blue meanies.... It was a bit tough to get them into shape...and a little difficult to blend seams. However, that being said, I didn't experience much saging when they were baked. Another good point is that I didn't experience much of an oily feel on my hands...but there was a residue of some kind. A couple of downfalls I noticed, it seems to rip easy and it was hard to achieve a super smooth surface with you fingers.Now I don't do canes..so I don't know how it would react to that process. It may do good..I don't know...or it would prob. be good for beads too.

Mica Shift

2007-07-31T08:58:00.000-05:00

I previously posted about a technique called Mica Shift. At that time I invited fellow artists to send me their pictures of what they have done with this cool, yet simple, way of working with clay.

Maureen of "Maureen Thomas Designs" , Gina of "Mosaico" , Lori of "Cutesis" and Polly of "Snowdovedesigns" all happily provided me with pictures of their interpretation of Mica Shift. You can see more of their work at all of their Etsy shops, links are provided above.

And The Winner Is.....

2007-07-31T08:54:00.000-05:00

The results of the voting tallies are in...the winner is BeeTreeByMe with her wonderful rendition of lightening bug memories...you can see the official results here.

Congratulations to all who entered!

The Latest...

2007-07-30T09:47:00.000-05:00

Hello Friends...well, I've been a bit behind lately and I'll tell you why.

I have managed to take on another roll at PCAGOE and have volunteered for the Managing Position for the Store Standards and Guidelines Committee. This will initially be a big task getting things underway and organized, but it can be done. As soon as the ball is rolling, routine tasks should seem second hand and should take little time on my part as well as for my fellow committee members. And let me tell you, they have been a big help in this adventure.

So, as a result of all this new work I'm doing...I haven't had much time for my other clay tasks... But as a litte tid bit to tide you over, I have added a couple of new links that are geared towards beginner and intermediate skill clayers. One is simple, something that most of us need to do, it's how to clean your pasta machine. No, no...it's not "get out a wipee and go over the machine"..there's quite a bit more to it than that...check it out down in "Clayers Links". Also, there is a link to take you to a site where they explain how to do the Mica Shift method. Very interesting indeed. If you decide to try out this technique, email me with a picture of your item and I will post on my blog here along with your contact information.

Alrighty...good luck and happy claying!

CAST YOUR VOTE AND WIN!!!!!

2007-07-26T11:50:00.000-05:00

The PCAGOE Monthly Challenge for July is up and runing. Please visit the PCAGOE website to see all of the entries and to vote for your favorite. All voting entries will be entered in a drawing to win free prizes. Good Luck everyone!

Also check out the Etsy Treasury for the Challenge... http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=4112

PCAGOE on Etsy

2007-07-25T10:11:00.000-05:00

Check out my Etsy Treasury list I made for the PCAGOE group. It's also my entry into the Etsy poster contest. The contest is a pretty neat idea to not only get the word out about Etsy, but to give some promotion to shops too. Here's the link explaining the contest... and here's the link for the actual Treasury List... "Poster of PCAGOE Beauty" Check it out, it's a great way to see the wonderful talent of my friends on the PCAGOE group.

July PCAGOE Challenge...

2007-07-24T10:54:00.000-05:00

Voting will start on the 26th..so mark your calendars..it's coming up fast. I'll post here when it's time to cast your votes. This months entries are really quite good, so it's going to be a tough fight for all the entries.

Please visit http://www.pcagoe.com/

I'm in another Treasury!

2007-07-23T19:20:00.000-05:00

Cool! Check this out...this listing is independant from the PCAGOE group I believe.

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=3778

Let's hope our little dragon finds a home this time.

I'm on a Treasury List!

2007-07-22T15:22:00.000-05:00

Can you believe it? I made it onto an Etsy Treasury list....! Take a look here. http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=3716

My Entry for the July PCAGOE Challenge

2007-07-19T15:19:00.000-05:00

Summertime Memories...

Meet Cicada George. He's my entry for PCAGOE's July challenge. I hope you like him. See the story behind George HERE .

The voting for this months challenge will be hosted at http://www.pcagoe.com/. I will post as soon as I know when the polling is open. Good luck to all the entrants and good luck to those voting!

What Am I Working on Today?

2007-07-15T18:54:00.000-05:00

Having missed the last PGAGOE entry deadline, I've decided to jump in on this next one. The theme for July's entry is "Summertime Memories" and I have a wonderful idea that I'm working on diligently.

The only hint that I will give everyone is that it is a sculpture, since that is working out to be my specialty at the moment. It will probably be around 4-5 inches in height in total.

The idea was born from a wonderful memory of my daughter. It is actually from this summer, and makes me chuckle every time I think about it...gotta love em. Kids can be so strange sometimes. One minute they're grossed out by the slightest little thing, then the next minute they're grossing you out and thinking nothing of it. I'm sure there are quite a few that can relate to this.

So, I will not be posting a picture of my entry until I have submitted it for the challenge. Once that is done, I will post a picture here with an explanation of the story and a link to the voting on the PCAGOE website.

Tool Review: That Silver Thingey Over There...

2007-07-11T08:19:00.000-05:00

Okay..who wouldn't accumulate tons of the "latest and greatest" tools if presented with unlimited funds. Right...exactly...the key term here is unlimited funds. Even with my "Limited Funds" I have to watch what I spend, so I kept that in mind as I headed off to the Marley Flea Market last month.

My intention was to be open-minded and focus on finding something that would work as a wonderful tool for my claying. I knew ahead of time that there would be those "Guy" booths selling, so I marched right over to them. You know the kind, they sell all sorts of items...files, electrical plugs, wire twisters, plastic levels, cheap paint brushes and rejected dental tools.

Yup, you read right...dental tools. I don't know how, I don't know where they get them, but they do. They had a few different styles not limited to the normal jab your gums kinds of picks and mirrors. But they had some that resembled small spackling knives and others I can't even describe properly. However, I did find one that seemed like it would work well.

As I examined this tool I noticed it had a good balance in my hand and a comfortable grip. On the one end it had a sort of spear type shape where the edges were softly rounded to an edge. On the opposite end it had an angled shape with a rounded end. One side was completely flat the other was domed and curved softly to the edges. I also noticed that the symmetry wasn't completely perfect on both ends, but it wasn't anything drastic. Perhaps the best feature, I noticed, was the price. It was selling for a whopping 2 dollars. ("Cha-Ching...SOLD!") I thought in my head. I handed the vendor his money and tucked that baby in my purse, anxious to try it out.

When I had a chance to test drive this little gem, I noticed it would indeed work well. Both ends were perfect for blending due to their round tapering nature. One end, spear end, was perfect for detailing finger nails or for scoring lines and the other end was ideal for removing excess clay. Being that it was made of steel, it's hard surface was perfect for unforgiving, merciless pressure when needed or for gentile finesses as called for. The slight symmetry flaws that I previously noticed were easily correctable by light sanding with a foam sanding block and polishing with an emery board.

This dental tool is fitting in well with the rest of my collection of tools and is used pretty much every time I clay. It fit well within my budget, worked precisely and was a good "multi-tasker".

If you are on a budget, I highley recommend you keep your eyes peeled in unusual places. Don't think of looking for traditional mass produced claying tools, think of what function you want to accomplish, what is your goal? With an open mind,a function as a goal, and limited funds, you can pretty much find a claying tool anywhere you look.

A Work in Progress...

2007-07-07T11:25:00.000-05:00

A few months ago I was contacted by a wonderful person in England who wanted to commission me for an Alice in Wonderland Doll. So, I took her up on the offer and it is turning out quite well. She'll be jointed at the shoulders, elbows, hips and knees. She'll also have her trademark locks and dress as well. But so far this is where I am at with her.

Voting is Over...

2007-07-06T09:15:00.000-05:00

Thanks to all who have participated with entries as well as with voting...it was a close one.

Marcia from marciapalmer.etsy.com was the winner for this months challenge. Jump over to http://pcagoe.com/ to see the runner ups as well as to who won for participating in the voting.

Keep checking back to see what the next PCAGOE challenge will be.

Win FREE Stuff! Vote in the PCAGOE June Challenge

2007-06-26T16:03:00.000-05:00

Ever wondered what a PCAGOE artist looked like? Come find out by voting in our June Self-portrait Challenge. PCAGOE (Polymer Clay Artist Guildof Etsy)is having it's monthly challenge and you can vote and be entered to win a polymer clay supply kit from our sponsor: http://www.polymerclayproductions.com/

Come check out the entries and vote by noon Etsy time on June 28th!http://pcagoe.com/

You too can be a winner!!!!!!!!!

Thankyou, Thankyou, Thankyou...

2007-06-25T07:21:00.000-05:00

I had a wonderful time out at the Old Campground Craft Show in New Lenox. Even if the weather did play havoc with the crowds and vendors...I still enjoyed the experience. I will definitely be back at the next show there.

I wanted to thank all of the people who had visited my booth, you were all such a joy to chat with. Being an artist, you tend to be a harsh critic about your own work, however I received so many compliments on my work yesterday. Thank you. Words of encouragement are what make you go on to do what you do best..and I definitely enjoyed hearing them all.

Some guests were asking if I had a website. With that request I directed everyone either to this Blog or to my Etsy site. I will be updating my Etsy site with new items shortly. And as always, if you have and idea for a dragon or another subject, please don't hesitate to contact me. I always love doing custom designs.

Artist Interview - Lori Degenstien ...

2007-06-20T07:28:00.000-05:00

Lori Degenstien

I came across Lori's site while searching through Etsy. I was very impressed by not only her creativity but also her skill and execution. Lori's pendants are definitely something you should check out.

1.) Do you have any links you wish to display? (etsy, ebay, blog, etc)

Please display my Etsy store link: http://thecharmlady.etsy.com/ (My blog isn't up and running yet, but the link is http://thecharmlady.blogspot.com/)

2.) How would you describe your artistic background?

I've never really considered myself an artist. I just love to make stuff! My mom used to sit my sister and I down and let us do crafts so I guess that's where it all really started. Over the years I've done so many different things including crochet, knotted hemp jewelry,beaded jewelry, custom Italian photo charms ( I still do Italian charms from time to time) and now polymer clay.

3.) What brought you to using polymer clay?

I began experimenting with polymer clay about 10 years ago. I used to make myself all sorts of fantastic beads to use with my hemp jewelry.I had a hard time finding beads that would fit onto hemp twine so I decided to make my own! It wasn't until about 6 months ago that I got into the pendants and rings.

4.) How would you describe the item(s) you make? And what is the inspiration for these items?

I make clay pendants and rings using a transfer paper technique which bakes the images right into the clay. I am inspired by the colors and textures in nature, florals, paper and fabrics. Polymer clay is so versatile and wearing poly jewelry is such a great alternative to the typical jewelry you see in stores today.

5.) If you could give some advice to an up and coming poly artist,what would it be?

My advice to anyone just starting out with polymer clay would be to do a lot of research and definitely experiment with all the types of clays and techniques out there. It took a lot of trial and error for me to find all the materials that worked best together.

The Clay Shaper Tool

2007-06-19T08:09:00.000-05:00

Always looking for the latest and greatest claying tools in the claying world, I was briefly introduced to clay shapers in an instructional booklet. It was listed as one of those , “when you become really involved in it” kind of tools.

So, off I went to the stores to search out for this most excellent tool. I soon discovered that the Clay Shaper (originally double ended now single ended) is not easily available in regular craft stores in the suburban Chicago area. After a few phone calls and a few weeks of waiting I was finally able to obtain one from small art supply store by special order only. Which is a shame, because this brand of tool has so much to offer in the claying world.

Ok, enough of the “Ah Ha!“ moment and onto the facts. The Clay Shaper is manufactured by the Royal Sovereign Line of Products which is a part of West Design Products from the UK. It comes in a variety of sizes and shapes. It basically consists of a silicone tip attached to a handle similar to a paint brush. This company also produces a Colour Shaper which comes in 5 sizes and 3 types of firmness.

The clay shaper is available in the following shapes and is promoted by the companies website to do the following : Cup Chisel (Adjust contours and edges. Carve and remove clay) . Taper Point (Carve patterns through slips and glazes. Create clean linear strokes and make broad forceful marks). Flat Chisel(Apply and carve clay. Create flat even strokes) Cup round (Smooth throwing and scoring marks. Create soft edge strokes) Angle Chisel (Create expressive strokes. Work from thick to thin and make precise marks).
All versions are available in sizes 0,2,6,10,16.

I had purchased the #2 Taper Point for around $8 (US). Normally I’m a bargain shopper looking for the lowest cost possible, but let me tell you…this was $8 well spent. This little shaper works excellent for blending seams, poking of a variety of hole sizes, applying small pieces of clay where fingers are too big, blending liquid clay with color, application of liquid clay, shape contouring and a bunch more.

This is definitely one tool that is soon to become a series of tools in my work bin. I highly recommend it. And if you can find the original double ended version, grab it, because there are not too many left on the shelves or in dealers stock. The best places to find these tools are either through a special order at your local art supply store or through the internet. There are numerous websites that carry these items, however you may have to pay shipping.

New Features for Fellow Clayers

2007-06-18T09:14:00.000-05:00

Along with artist interviews...I have added some more features that fellow clayers would be particularly interested.
To the right I have added "Clayers Links". There you will find links with subjects that run the gamut from setting up a table at a craft show to suppliers to local interests.

In the main column of this site, I will also be featuring "Tool Reviews". This will be a short little review of handy tools that can either be purchased, made or found. This ongoing review will address the issues of functionality, affordability and practicality in the world of claying tools.

And as always, if you have a link that you think other artists would love to see OR if you have a unique or unusual tool that you would like to share about..please drop me a line and I'll post it on the site.

Happy Claying!

Cindy

Coming Soon....

2007-06-14T20:03:00.000-05:00

Polymer Clay Artist Interviews

I will be interviewing fellow "poly" artists and posting their stories here. This will be a wonderful way to meet some great talent in the cyber world. And what better way to meet someone then to pick their brains about their talent and skill?

I am currently contacting a few different people and working on what the heck I'll be asking them. This should be an interesting adventure, and I look forward to meeting all kinds of new faces.

A Big Thankyou...

2007-06-13T10:16:00.000-05:00

I would like to take a moment to thank the wonderful bunch of artists at PCAGOE. What a wonderful bunch of people and so very talented to. They are a great inspiration to me sparking not only design ideas in my head, but sparking the professional end of things as well. Thank you.

And, from time to time...it is my wish to interview a resident Etsy Polymer Clay Artist and put up their interview on this blog. It may be a monthly post, or perhaps bi-weekly, but in any case the post will be linked to several other lists, sites and blogs if possible.

So, if you know of a wonderful polymer clay artist that needs a little exposure on the web, please feel free to email me ..I would love to consider them for the post.

Also, like several other members..I will be including links to fellow members sites. I'm trying to add the links in my spare time..however, it's possible I may miss some. SO...if you would like your Blog or Website to appear to the right here.. --> Please contact me so I can update my list.

Posting will now appear here...

2007-06-13T09:24:00.000-05:00

this is a test post for setup

Yeah....I made it here...

2007-06-13T09:11:00.001-05:00

Please bear with me as I start to setup this new blog....I had experienced some problems with yahoo360 and decided to start anew here.

Thanks so much