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February 2008

March Meeting: Extruder Canes

April Salcedo will be showing us how to create four different extruder canes, her method to mapping extruder canes, how she wraps and preserves her canes. You can visit her [Flickr Site](http://flickr.com/photos/kreativekarma/) if you would like to view more of her extruder canes and other polymer clay items.
**When:** Saturday, March 8, 2008, 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. (Do not forget about the new meeting time)
**Where:** The new Hobby Lobby in Norman, [2417 W. Main, Norman, OK](http://www.google.com/maps?q=2417+W+Main+St,+Norman,+OK+73069,+USA&sa=X&oi=map&ct=title). (The classroom is up front, near the check stands. Go right after entering & it’s the first door on the right.)
**What to Bring:**
– **Already conditioned clay** (amounts for each cane are listed beneath their pictures. All in all you should bring about 5 packages of clay) April recommends Fimo Classic, or maybe Premo, or Kato (if you can get it good and conditioned) for the canes. The firmer the clay the tougher it is to extrude, however, the less distorted and better the cane will be. *April strongly suggests conditioning your clay ahead of time, as we will be pressed for time to complete the 4 different canes in 3 hours…. mostly due to having to extrude the pieces*
– **Pasta Machine**
– **Tissue Blade**
– **Ceramic tile or other hard, flat, smooth surface for reducing**.
– **Clay extruder and the small square and small triangle dies**. (If you have the Makin’s Extruder they come with this extruder) – If you don’t have these dies, I’m sure we can share.
– **Circle cutter** (close to the size of the barrel of your extruder) *optional*
– **2-3 Quart size Baggies, scotch tape and scissors** (April can share if needed) *optional*
**A simple Jelly Roll Cane** She made these beads with this technique:
jellyrollbeads.jpg
*Clay amount:
1/2 pkg of Color A and 1/2 pkg of Color B*
**A Checker Board Cane:**
checker.jpg
*Clay amount:
1/2 pkg of Color A and 1/2 pkg of Color B*
**A simple Quilt Pattern Cane:**
quilt.jpg
*Clay amount:
1/2 pkg of Color A and 1/2 pkg of Color B*
**A “Retro” cane:**
retro.jpg
*Clay amount:
1/2 pkg of Color A and 1/2 pkg of Color B and 1/2 pkg of Color C*
***April regrets that we won’t have the time to make any actual projects with our canes, but we will have 4 wonderful canes to take home with us!***

February 2008 Meeting Notes

Six members and one guest were present at our February meeting. Guest Nance Ross became our newest member. Welcome, Nance! Several members wore their own new polymer clay nametags, each unique and very creative.
In keeping with the season, heart projects were the order of the day. April Salcedo taught a technique for making **pillow hearts** with inserted wire loops for hanging. Most made hearts no larger than a quarter, regulation size for the **Hearts for Heroes Campaign**, and we produced quite a number to donate. Angela Mabray then taught how to make **candy hearts**, using molds she had made from actual candies. She provided laser-printed transfer sheets with typical candy heart messages, and in the end, we had produced some very realistic candy hearts suitable for a necklace or charm bracelet. Last, Cassy Salcedo demonstrated how to make a beautifully **encased heart**.
Our tentative schedule for the next few meetings is:
– **March 8:** Extruder Canes – April Salcedo
– **March 29:** Saturday Play Day – Bottles of Hope. Angela will host.
– **April 12:** TBA
– **May 10:** Inro Box – Penni Jo Couch
During the business meeting, we discussed the following:
President Angela Mabray announced that the first issue of *Polymer Cafe* had arrived for our library. She also reported that she had also used some of our funds to purchase a supply of clay for the group, as agreed last month. This clay can be used when needed for new attendees or for other purposes.
New member Nance brings experience from her former guild in California. At her suggestion, we decided to try holding a raffle at each monthly meeting. Members may bring anything they wish to donate that is related to polymer clay. The winner of the raffle will then be obligated to bring something for the raffle the following month. Although a price of three for $1.00 was suggested, no decision was made as to price. Nance and Angela volunteered to bring items for the March meeting.
Annual membership dues, which are $36, are coming due for some of the earliest members. According to the points-for-service schedule agreed upon in 2007, the first allocation of points has been made, resulting in a discount on this year’s dues for some members.
April reported that a representative of the Makins Corporation said the company would sponsor any event our group might decide to hold, by sending tote bags and other items. She also said that they stand by their products and will work with any customer who has problems.
The Norman Hobby Lobby, which provides our meeting space, also generously provides a small display space where we can promote the guild. We discussed recurring difficulties with the stand for display of our guild poster. April was again able to get it to stay upright, but the stand is showing wear. No decision was made about replacing it.
We held our monthly drawing for an additional purchase for the guild library. The DVD, “Sculpting Babies in Clay” was the winner for this month.

February Meeting: Hearts

This month, Angela Mabray, April Salcedo and Cassy Salcedo will be showing us how to make three different types of hearts. They will also be informing the guild about the Hearts 4 Heroes Campaign with a hand out containing information on guidelines for creating the hearts. You can read about Hearts 4 Heroes [here](http://www.itsjesterclay.com/fromtheheart.htm).
– **When: Saturday, February 9, 2008, 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. (Do not forget about the new meeting times)**
– **Where: The new Hobby Lobby in Norman**, [2417 W. Main, Norman, OK](http://www.google.com/maps?q=2417+W+Main+St,+Norman,+OK+73069,+USA&sa=X&oi=map&ct=title). (The classroom is up front, near the check stands. Go right after entering & it’s the first door on the right.)
**Angela will be showing us how to use image transfers with polymer clay
to make candy hearts.**
2240583431_aa47b9927a_m.jpg
Supplies:
– Clay: Small amounts of several pastel colors
– Tools: Scissors, needle tool or toothpick, stiff-bristled paintbrush, clay knife
– Rubbing alcohol (optional)
– Corn starch or baby powder (optional)
**April will be showing how to construct pillow bead hearts with optional stamped words, patina and a demonstration on using the Kato liquid medium to get a clear glossy finish.**
2215367015_903f91cb50_m.jpg
Supplies:
– Clay: Approximately a half a block of any type of clay you prefer – you also may want to bring a small amount of scrap clay.
– Tools: a small amount of craft wire, wire cutters, chain nose pliers and round nose pliers (April can share if you don’t have these items), Pasta Machine, small heart cutter (April will have hers to use if needed)
– Rubber gloves (that fight tightly to your fingers – this is to eliminate finger prints on your hearts during construction)
– Lanyard hooks, if you plan on making hearts for heros.
– Optional: Kato liquid medium, clay friendly heat gun, small paint brush.
**Cassy will be showing us how to make an encased heart.**
2221134950_e90cf8ac18_m.jpg
Supplies:
– You can use from the supplies listed for the other projects (just bring some additional clay and the color of clay you would like to encase your hearts in, Cassy used black).
*Kindness in words creates confidence.
Kindness in thinking creates profoundness.
Kindness in giving creates love.*
*~ Lao Tzu*