Meeting Announcements

Since several people had asked about pens recently, May’s meeting will be about covering pens with polymer clay. Angela Mabray will show the group the basics of covering pens with clay and will share some ideas for creating your own. Angela will also demonstrate the mailbox pen she’s making as part of her upcoming taping for That’s Clever.
Here are the meeting details:
* When: Saturday, May 12, 2007, 3:30 – 5:30 p.m.
* Where: Hobby Lobby at I-40 and MacArthur, 6104 West Reno, Oklahoma City, OK. (The classroom is in the very back of the store.)
* What to Bring:
* Clay: If you would like to make a mailbox pen, then brown and silver work well. Otherwise, bring whatever you like! Angela will have some Ultralight Sculpey to share if you’re doing a big design.
* Oven-Safe Pens. Note: If you don’t have pens & don’t want to invest in a whole package, Angela will have these options available at cost: PaperMate FlexGrip Elite ($0.75), Penn State Industries Mini Keychain Pen Kit ($3.25), Boston ClayWorks Amazing Twist Pens ($3.25)
* Tools: Pasta Machine, a clay cutting tool, TLS, and anything else you think you might want
Pens are an addictively quick and fun project — we look forward to seeing you there for this great meeting!

Read More »May Meeting: Polymer Clay Pens

This month Christie Wright will be teaching us how to make bracelets that feature an exciting technique called mica shift. Mica shift is an optical illusion — the beads appear to have a textured design, but they are as smooth as glass.
Several of you met Christie at our last meeting. She sells hand-crafted polymer clay items through DragonflyLane. Her site also features wonderful video tutorials — including a mica shift video you can watch if you want a sneak preview of Saturday’s lesson.
Here are the meeting details:
* When: Saturday, April 14, 2007, 3:30 – 5:30 p.m.
* Where: Hobby Lobby at I-40 and MacArthur, 6104 West Reno, Oklahoma City, OK. (The classroom is in the very back of the store.)
* What to Bring:
* 1 block of metallic clay. Christie uses Premo or Kato metallics. If you prefer, you can make a custom metallic color by mixing a small amount of a bright color clay to Pearl — if you’re doing this, bring 2 colors of clay (one of them metallic).
* A deeply etched stamp
* Pasta machine
* A thin, flexible slicing blade
* Acrylic roller (optional)
* A bead piercing tool (if you prefer to make bead holes before baking)
If you don’t own these supplies, don’t worry. We will have some on hand to share. We will also provide a spray water bottle, wax paper, and a toaster oven.
Mica shift beads don’t show their true beauty til they’ve been sanded and buffed. While Christie will go over how to do this, we probably won’t have time to complete these steps at the meeting. These are the “at home” supplies she recommends:
* 400 & 600 grit wet/dry sandpaper
* A high-speed polishing tool OR an old pair of denim jeans for buffing
* A small drill bit to make bead holes if you did not do so before baking.
Don’t miss this opportunity to learn an interesting technique from a great artist!

March has 5 Saturdays… and that means it’s time for a 5th Saturday Play Day!
While our play days don’t have a specific project or teacher, a few members are planning on making Bottles of Hope during this meeting. The Southern Connecticut Polymer Clay Guild started donating small glass medicine bottles covered with clay to cancer patients as a symbol of hope. The “bottles of hope” idea caught on, and clay artists and guilds from around the country have joined in. Amaco (makers of Fimo clay) is sponsoring a Bottles of Hope Designer Challenge to help create awareness of the project. Entries are due May 1st.
Whether you’re interested in making your own Bottle of Hope, or you just want to come work on your own clay project, we hope you’ll join us. Here’s the details:
* When: Saturday, March 31, 2007, 3:30 – 5:30 p.m.
* Where: Hobby Lobby at I-40 and MacArthur, 6104 West Reno, Oklahoma City, OK. (The classroom is in the very back of the store.)
* What to Bring:
* Clay. Note: If you’re planning on entering Amaco’s contest, their rules require you to use Fimo clay. Both Michael’s and Hobby Lobby have their clay on sale this week, if you need to get some.
* Any clay tools, embellishments, etc. you need. If you’re making Bottles of Hope, you might want to bring glue for adhering the clay to the bottles.
* Ideas. We’ll be talking about future meeting topics, so think about project you’ve wanted to try or techniques you’ve been wanting to learn.
Penni Jo has offered to share some of her extra bottles with folks who don’t have any. We will have a couple of toaster ovens and at least one pasta machine.
Hope you’ll join us for a fun time!

This month’s project is a choker-style necklace designed by Sweetbrier Studio’s “Miss Martha” Root. Penni Jo Couch will be teaching the lesson, and she’s also bringing along molds (or folks can sculpt their own pendants), a bead-baking rack, and her oven.
Here are the meeting details:
* When: Saturday, March 10, 2007, 3:30 – 5:30 p.m.
* Where: Hobby Lobby at I-40 and MacArthur, 6104 West Reno, Oklahoma City, OK. (The classroom is in the very back of the store.)
* What to Bring:
* Clay: Color or colors of your choice — Penni Jo used pearl and silver clay mixed 50/50 for the ‘silver’ pendant.
* Translucent Liquid Sculpey: Just a few drops, so if you do not already have some, Penni Jo will have some she can share.
* Pearl powders: Penni Jo will also bring some to share with the group.
* Small brushes: about 1/8″ for pearl powders, about 1/4″ for varnish to seal the jewelry.
* Decorative jewel(s): The jewel shown on the sample is a glass iron on jewel (found in Walmart’s section for decorating clothes with jewels) that was pushed into the clay before baking. The heat set glue on the back of the glass jewel bonds to the clay.
* Large hole beads: Available at Wal-Mart. (Or you can make your own beads to match your jewelry.)
* Skewer or round tooth pick to make large holes in your beads.
* Poly-fil: for baking the pendant the second time to add the ribbon carriers to the back.
* Baking surface: tile, cardstock, etc.
* 1/8″ satin ribbon: about 2 feet long for stringing your pendant and beads.
* Earring backs (optional): If you want to make matching earrings you will need a pair of your favorite style of backs; glue on clippies or glue on pierced posts or french hooks.
* Dues — we’re all set up to receive ’em now. (See the details here.)

This month we’re using a humble cookie cutter to create a great Valentine’s Day box. Angela Mabray will be showing the group how to make a box by baking it right on the cookie cutter. Then Penni Jo Couch will demonstrate how to line the box with velvet for an extra-special touch. Once you’re done, you can toss a few chocolate kisses in the box & have a great handmade gift.
Here are the meeting details:
* When: Saturday, February 10, 2007, 3:30 – 5:30 p.m.
* Where: Hobby Lobby at I-40 and MacArthur, 6104 West Reno, Oklahoma City, OK. (The classroom is in the very back of the store.)
* What to Bring:
* Clay (any colors you like) and any clay tools you think you’ll want.
* Metal cookie cutter. Hobby Lobby has the heart-shaped cutters for $0.50 each, so you can come early and buy one if you don’t already have one. If you would prefer to make a round, square, etc. box, bring that shape of cookie cutter instead. Remember, once you’ve used it for clay, it shouldn’t be used for cooking again.
* Dues! It’s time to pay club dues of $36/year. (If you need to break it up into smaller payments, that’s fine.)
We will provide a couple of toaster ovens and a couple of pasta machines. Come join us for a “sweet” meeting!

Good news! I just heard from Mary Davis in Tulsa, and she reports that the new Tulsa Polymer Clay Guild will have their first meeting on March 3, 2007. They’ll be meeting at the Martin Regional Library on the first Saturday of every month. I’ve added the listing to our calendar (see sidebar) so folks can keep track of the meetings.
Mary asked about the possibility of a joint meeting sometime, which sounds like fun — and I know Penni Jo’s already expressed interest in a swap with our neighbors to the north — so it’s great to hear that the group is coming together. Best of luck, Mary!

*** UPDATE 1/12/07: Due to the ice storm that’s just rolled into town, we’re cancelling the January 13th meeting. We’re looking into the possibility of re-scheduling, so watch this space (or sign up for our mailing list) for updates. ***
Have you heard of Artist Trading Cards (ATCs)? They’re 2.5″ x 3.5″ cards that artists make and trade — a great way to meet other artists, share techniques, and show your personal style. (Read more about ATCs here.)
At the Central Oklahoma Polymer Clay Guild’s January meeting, we’ll learn how to make Artist Trading Cards from polymer clay. Deena Parsons has offered to demonstrate how to make these cards, so we can all be ready for the ATC swap we’ll be doing at our next meeting!
If you haven’t taken one of Deena’s polymer clay classes (she teaches at and Bear Makes 3 in Moore and the Firehouse Art Center in Norman, along with various other places around the country), you’ve gotta come see what you’ve been missing! Deena was active in the Dayton area polymer clay guild before she moved back to Oklahoma (hmm… maybe she can give our guild some pointers, too!). Now she’s a full-time artist, and she owns an up-and-coming rubber stamp company called DP Artworks. Deena’s a lot of fun — we guarantee you’ll have fun and learn a ton when she’s in the room.
Angela will be bringing a few ATCs she received in a recent swap to show as examples. If you’ve got some, feel free to bring them along, too.
Here are the meeting details:
* When: Saturday, January 13, 2007, 3:30 – 5:30 p.m. [See weather update above]
* Where: Hobby Lobby at I-40 and MacArthur, 6104 West Reno, Oklahoma City, OK. (The classroom is in the very back of the store.)
* What to Bring:
* Clay (any colors you like) and any clay tools you think you’ll want.
* Any embellishments you might want for your ATCs — i.e., small beads, trinkets or charms. If you want to transfer words or images, bring toner-based mirror-image print-outs/copies.
* Dues! It’s time to pay club dues of $36/year. (If you need to break it up into smaller payments, that’s fine.)
We will provide a couple of toaster ovens and a couple of pasta machines… and lots of fun and encouragement! It’s going to be a great meeting. Don’t miss it!