And the Winner Is…
Congratulations to Penni Jo Couch! Her logo was the winner of our guild’s logo design contest. She will receive a $25 gift certificate to a craft store of her choice.
Thanks to everyone who entered & voted!
March 2007 Play Day Notes
Our March Play Day focused on Bottles of Hope — and while this was our first experience with Bottles of Hope, it almost certainly won’t be our last! We had a wonderful time creating these bottles while sharing stories about loved ones. Amaco (makers of Fimo clay) very generously donated packets of their clay for us to use in creating the Bottles of Hope. And Penni Jo brought Cracker Barrel bottles for everyone to cover. Thanks to everyone for their generosity!
The group brainstormed topics for future meetings — and it sounds like we’ve got a lot to look forward to! In addition to our mica shift project in April, we discussed the following (still-tentative) items:
* May: Artist Trading Cards
* June: Christie will teach us how to make and reduce leaf canes. Her lesson will include the Skinner blend technique
* July: Penni Jo and Sue will demonstrate how to make an accordion book, featuring Ultra-Thick Embossing powder
A couple of other ideas were mentioned, such as suspending something in liquid clay (similar to Donna Kato’s layered dichroic effect) or a glass-like heart necklace. Interested in teaching something? Interested in learning about a different technique? Please get in touch.
The group also discussed discounting membership for multiple members in the same family. The group voted to set the policy as follows: For family members 18 years old and up, the charge for the additional family member will be 50% of regular dues ($18/year). For “junior members” (less than 18 years old), the yearly dues will equal their age — e.g., $10 for a 10-year-old.
Our next meeting will be April 14th, when Christie Wright will be teaching us to make mica shift beads.
March 31st Play Day
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!
Voting Begins for Logo Design Contest
The two entries for Central Oklahoma Polymer Clay Guild’s logo design contest have been posted. You may view photos of the entries and vote for your favorite here until March 31st. One vote per person, please. Members who prefer to vote in person can do so at our March 31st Play Day.
Thanks to our contestants for their excellent entries!
March 2007 Meeting Notes
Thanks to Penni Jo Couch for writing up the minutes for the March 10th meeting.
Penni Jo started the meeting by showing three necklaces that could be made using similar techniques. Each person picked up a project sheet for the necklace of their choice.
- Faux Silver with AB crystal
- Burgundy Rose with leaves and earrings
- Spring flower cluster with Jonquil crystals and matching butterfly earrings with Peridot crystals
Members then followed these steps:
March Meeting: Silver Rose Necklace
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.)
Bank & PayPal Accounts Now Set Up
Good news! Our group is now set up with a Tax ID, a bank account, and a PayPal account. So now it’s even easier to join the group — just make your check out to “Central Oklahoma Polymer Clay Guild” or send us your payment via PayPal. Details are on the About Us page.