Our very own Jane Linn got an email from Amaco last week saying she’s a “member of the top 25 winners of the AMACO Bottles of Hope Designers Challenge.” The Bottles of Hope project provides small glass medicine bottles covered with clay to cancer patients as a symbol of hope. Amaco — who generously donated clay when our group made these bottles in March — sponsors this challenge to help create awareness of the Bottles of Hope project.
Congrats to Jane!
Our leaf cane demonstration went great — with various members “catching the caning bug.” Pictures are available on our Flickr! group — & thanks to our new group photographer, April, we even have pictures from during the meeting! Thanks to everyone who came, and thanks especially to Christie Wright of DragonflyLane for doing a great job teaching.
A few notes from the business portion of our meeting:
* Our next play day will be held June 30 — but it’s being held at a new time and place! Angela has offered to host the June Play Day at her house, starting at 5 p.m. and continuing as long as folks want to stay. We’ll plan to have some snacks & drinks available — if you have something special you’d like, please bring it. And bring a couple of bucks if you’re interested in pitching in for pizza. We thought we’d try having the play day at a home so our time isn’t as limited. Hope you’ll come join the polymer clay party!
Never seen blue & purple leaves before? They’re just a sampling of the color combinations you can make with polymer clay! This month, Christie Wright will be teaching us how to make colorful leaf canes. It’s really 3 lessons in one — she’ll be teaching us about caning, about Skinner blends, and about reducing canes.
Christie sells beautiful hand-crafted polymer clay items through DragonflyLane and through her new Etsy shop. Christie’s a member of our group and a repeat teacher. You can check out her blue and purple leaf cane at her Flickr page — where you’ll also find more examples of her leaves and other work.
Here are the meeting details:
* When: Saturday, June 9, 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: Christie recommends using KATO, Premo, or FIMO brands for caning. (Avoid Sculpey III as it’s very soft and can be frustrating to reduce.) Bring 1/2 block each of 2-3 colors. Three colors will make a color-blended leaf: Colors A & B for the main color/skinner blend in the leaf; Color C for the veins and border. Two colors will make a solid color leaf: Color A for the solid leaf color and Color B for the veins and border.
* Tools: You’ll need a sharp clay slicing blade and your pasta machine.
Christie recommends looking at Studio Bijou’s gorgeous jewelry to get inspired. Who knew leaves could be so colorful?!
For the May meeting, Angela Mabray (who sells crafts at CraftyGoat.com and blogs about crafts at CraftyGoat’s Notes) taught the group how to cover pens with polymer clay. The pens were a lot of fun, & we ended up with some very nice ones. Check out our Flickr pics for some examples.
Angela brought the following types of pens, all of which are oven-safe:
* Papermate FlexGrip Ultra (difficult to find) or Papermate Flexgrip Elite (available at Office Depot)
* Amazing Twist Pen from Boston Clayworks
* Keychain Pens from Penn State Industries
Some other potential oven-safe pen candidates are listed below — but you may want to check these in the oven without clay first, to make sure they hold up okay:
* Bic Round Stic (white, not clear)
* Bic Soft Feel Stic
* Pilot Bettergrip
* Rose Art’s Great Grips
* Zebra F-301 ball point pens
Angela showed the group how to cover the barrels and re-assemble the pens. She also pointed out a couple of interesting alternatives to standard pen-covering:
* Covering a copper tube with clay, then inserting a pen refill.
* Covering a bamboo skewer with clay, removing the bamboo skewer while still warm, then inserting a pen refill.
See more about these ideas, along with a full list of potential pens to try, at Glass Attic’s pen page.
* Angela reminded the group that the Bottles of Hope Challenge deadline was extended til June 1st, so members still have a chance to submit their entries. She also mentioned the National Polymer Clay Guild’s request for Synergy presentation proposals.
* Penni Jo had forwarded information about Munro Crafts, an online craft store that gives a 50% off orders over $200. Angela told the group about it, saying she’d send out the link so folks could decide if they wanted to put together a group order.
We had a new record attendance at the May meeting with 12 people. We’re so glad y’all came out & hope to see you again soon!
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!
The National Polymer Clay Guild (NPCG) is looking for presentations for their February 2008 Synergy Conference in Baltimore, Maryland.
“Is there something you are doing or information that you would like to share with the polymer community? If you have an idea for a seminar go to http://www.npcg.org for easy directions on how to submit your proposal. You can submit up to five separate proposals, so be creative!”
The deadline for proposals is May 15th. See the NPCG site for more information and the online proposal form.
Didn’t have time to finish your entry for the Amaco Bottle of Hope Designer Challenge? Lisa Pavelka just sent a message to the Polymer Clay People Yahoo group saying that the deadline has been extended til June 1. Several of our members got a great start on some great-looking bottles during on our March Play Day — so let’s get ’em sent in! Entry forms here.