Meeting Announcements

Nance Ross will be showing us how to create an Articulated Teddy Bear. It is small, fits in your pocket, and yes, the arms and legs move. They are cute and fun to make. They are baked in pieces and then assembled.
**When: Saturday, April 12, 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**. (The classroom is up front, near the check stands. Go right after entering & it’s the first door on the right.)
**What to Bring:**
***Supplies:***
– 1 package any color Premo you wish for a color for your bear….ecru, black, white, brown etc.
– Scraps in a good complimentary color for pads on paws, inside ears
– Scrap in pink or red for tongue, if you plan to have your bear’s mouth open!
– Two eye pins in silver or gold, whichever will look better on the color bear you make.
– Little black bead for a nose
– Little fiber optic or tigereye beads for eyes ~ She will have some extra with her, if you are not able to bring any.
– 1 toothpick
***Tools:***
– Needle tool
– Your favorite sculpting tool
– Wire cutter
– Needlenose pliers
***Optional:***
– Scrap colors to make a lei around the bear’s neck, if you wish
– canes to decorate bear’s body, if you wish
– Pearlex and brush, if you wish to glitter your creation up a bit
Nance is a new member to our guild, she has come to us from Orange County California, and was a two year member of the Orange County Polymer Clay Guild. She informed us that she has had the joy of knowing Dottie MacMillan, Trina Williams, Kathy Davis and so many more helpful mentors, and look forward to getting to know us and finding new ideas and people with whom we can all share. We are glad to have Nance as a part of our guild and very thankful for offering to teach us this lesson.

Our March Play Day will be this Saturday at Angela’s house, and we’ll be discussing Bottles of Hope. Local breast cancer survivor **Cindy Matteson** will join us to talk about her experiences with the Bottle of Hope program, and to share her own bottle, which she received from a polymer clay artist via a Kansas event. Cindy has very generously provided our group with lots of small glass medicine bottles to cover.
She has also offered to help us make connections with local cancer patients to distribute finished Bottles of Hope, either on a one-on-one basis or as part of an organized event.
In addition to our Bottles of Hope discussion, we’ll also be doing “normal” Play Day meeting stuff… which is anything you want! Our play day meetings don’t have a specific teacher or lesson — they’re intended to be more laid-back. You can bring along whatever project you’re working on, or you can just come and chat. And if you forget something, Angela’s craft room is right down the hall.
– **When: Saturday, March 29, 2008, 1:00 p.m. (Stay as long as you want!)**
– **Where: Angela Mabray’s house (Yukon, OK)**. The address & directions are being sent to the [group’s mailing list](http://lists.okpolyclay.com/mailman/listinfo/okpolyclay) — feel free to use our [contact form](https://okpolyclay.com/contact.php) to request directions if you’re not on the mailing list.
– **What to Bring:** Angela will have bottles on hand if you want to cover them to make Bottles of Hope. (*These bottles are available at every meeting, actually. If you don’t see them sitting out, just ask Angela*.) Feel free to bring your clay, tools, and any other project you’d like to work on.
We’ll have some snacks & drinks available — if you’d like something special, feel free to bring it.

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:

*Clay amount:
1/2 pkg of Color A and 1/2 pkg of Color B*
**A Checker Board Cane:**

*Clay amount:
1/2 pkg of Color A and 1/2 pkg of Color B*
**A simple Quilt Pattern Cane:**

*Clay amount:
1/2 pkg of Color A and 1/2 pkg of Color B*
**A “Retro” cane:**

*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!***

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.**

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.**

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.**

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*

This month, Jane Linn will be showing us how to make two different faux surfaces — pewter and abalone — using polymer clay . Then she’ll be teaching us how to make a gorgeous picture frame using the faux pewter technique.
* When: Saturday, January 12, 2008, 2:00 – 5:00 p.m.
* Where: The new Hobby Lobby in Norman, 2417 W. Main, Norman, OK. (The classroom is up front, near the check stands. Go right after entering & it’s the first door on the right.)
* What to Bring:
* Strong Polymer Clay: Black (2 packages) and Pearl. Small amounts of several colors of your choosing (e.g., Blue Pearl, Green Pearl, Gold, and Purple).
* Frame: small or medium, wood or paper mache (no plastic)
* Rub n’ Buff-Silver Leaf (optional — we’ll have some to share if you don’t have any)
* Cotton swabs (3-4)
* Rubber stamps to stamp on picture frame
* Metal or wood tool with softly rounded point: (optional — you can make one of these by gently sanding the point of a round toothpick)
* Round toothpicks (3-4)
* Sharp craft knife, such as Exacto
* Flexible tissue blade
* Brushes, and other favorite tools
* Soft cloth
* Polymer-friendly varnish-satin
* Rubber-type gloves and Baby Wipes with alcohol (optional but encouraged — the black clay is really messy)
* Pasta Machine (optional)
* Baking Surface: Ceramic tile or cardstock large enough for your picture frame to bake on
Jane recommends conditioning your clay ahead of time (or coming a little early to the meeting and doing it there).

This month, Penni Jo will be showing us how to make a snowman-themed switchplate cover, just in time to help us deck the halls with polymer clay Christmas cheer!
* When: Saturday, December 8, 2007, 2:00 – 5:00 p.m.
* Where: The new Hobby Lobby in Norman, 2417 W. Main, Norman, OK. (The classroom is up front, near the check stands. Go right after entering & it’s the first door on the right.)
* What to Bring:
* Polymer Clay: Metallic Blue Fimo, Metallic White Fimo, Pale Blue, Black. Very tiny amounts of: Orange, Yellow, Brown.
* Switchplate Cover: Penni Jo used an inexpensive one from Wal-Mart
* Medium Sand Paper (optional)
* White Glue: Sobo or The Crafters Pick
* Metal or wood tool with softly rounded point: You can make one of
these by gently sanding the point of a round toothpick.
* Sharp craft knife, such as Exacto
* Razor blade or flexible tissue blade to lift the faux knit
* Brushes, and other favorite tools
* Pasta Machine (optional)
* Clay Extruder (we can share if you don’t have one)
* Baking Surface: 6” ceramic tile or cardstock
Penni Jo recommends having your switch plate ready to cover when you get there.
Update: Here’s the tutorial [PDF]. It includes specifics on how to get your switch plate ready to cover: lightly sand it, then put white glue on it to make the clay adhere better.
Update #2: Penni Jo also sent along her Faux Knit Worksheet [PDF] for any of you go-getters who want to get started before meeting time. And the link to her previous tutorial should be working now, in case anyone else out there was having problems.

This month, April will be showing us how to do a torn paper/watercolor effect with polymer clay. If time permits, she will also give a quick demonstration on finishing pieces by sanding and buffing.
* When: Saturday, November 10, 2007, 2:00 – 5:00 p.m.
* Where: The new Hobby Lobby in Norman, 2417 W. Main, Norman, OK. (The classroom is up front, near the check stands. Go right after entering & it’s the first door on the right.)
* What to Bring:
* Clay: April suggests either Premo or Kato clay for this project; you don’t want your clay too squishy. Bring 1/2 to 1 block of black, 1/2 to 1 block of white, 1/2 to 1 block of translucent, and 1/2 to 1 block of any other color you would like. (She suggests 1/2 block of clay to save on time and space). Also bring some scrap clay for the base of your projects. Optional — if you plan on making beads, you might want to try pre-baking some beads prior to the meeting, to cover.
* Pasta Machine: A must for this project! (though we can probably share if you don’t have one to bring)
* Wax or Deli paper: We will end up with sheets of clay and will want
to lay it on a clean surface.
* Bead Baking Supplies: If you plan on making beads with this technique, then bring items to bake them on.
* Tissue Blade: To trim our stacks of clay.
* Brayer or Acrylic Rod
* Ceramic Tile: If you are choosing to make something other than
beads, then you may want to cook your items on a tile.
April will also be showing a very brief demonstration on the world of extruded canes — a little teaser for the upcoming meeting dedicated to extruded canes. No supplies needed for the demo — all you need to do is sit back and watch!