Well, I spent the last 30 minutes staring at 70+ photos full of lovely olive greenness, and eventually chose nine of my favorites. It was not an easy choice!

Allow me to introduce you to the finalists, before I reveal the winner:

1. Polymer clay vessel, msjade, by Adria Filion
2. Polymer clay and sterling silver pendant, sueleaf0807, by Libby Mills
3. Cupcake, the end of the garden, by Zalita
4. Paper/Stamp art, Art, Creativity, Imperfection, by Penny Richards
5. Handmade baby’s bib, the back,  by Erin Harris
6. Polymer clay, Kaa-bead necklace, by Bettina Welker
7. Polymer clay, Finding Balance Pendant, by Tamara (Block Party Press)
8. Pearl and sterling silver, Earrings - Thai Olive, by Kara Spencer
9. Fabric coasters, Mums on green, by Claudine

I encourage you to take a closer look at these photos and at the rest of the ones in the pool! Leave your comments on the photos over at flickr and let the artists know what you think - it’s always gratifying to hear that something you made has gotten a positive reaction from another creative type.

If you are one of these finalists and would like to elaborate here on what was involved in creating your entry, be my guest - the comments section is yours

And now, I turn to the trusty random number generator (aka Neil, who has not seen any of the entries) to select a winner:

Drumroll please…

And the winner is… #8!

Congratulations, Kara Spencer! I love those earrings! I will be emailing you shortly with information about your $25 gift certificate.

Everyone else, time to start thinking about October, when our color will be…  ORANGE!  Thanks for your participation!

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What a drag of a day it’s been. I spent most of it packing orders and they’re still sitting here! Normally it doesn’t take this long to get this many orders through my system, but today I had a few doozies that just didn’t go the normal route. One took me about an hour to deal with. Ugh. I’m glad I decided to do my packing on the floor in the family room today, because it allowed me to hang out with the little people. I caught a few episodes of Arthur that I haven’t seen before. I like that show. And Curious George. I love George. Seriously!

Anyway, I just have postage to print tomorrow morning and then off they go! Whoooosh!

Now on to more inspiring things. Like magazines…

The latest volume of Belle Armoire Jewelry is here, and wow, is it full of inspiration! There are no fewer than ten projects related to either polymer or metal clay. I love Patty Barnes‘ idea of making photo transfers from her grandmother’s china pattern and turning them into jewelry - genius! I’m really big on using old family photos in my work, but I love Patty’s idea because it’s more subtle. And sometimes, let’s face it, it’s just weird to wear somebody’s face on your person, no matter how much you might like them

I’m looking forward to spending more time with this magazine. Oh! and there’s more good news - starting in the Spring of 2008, Belle Armoire Jewelry will become a quarterly publication. That’s nifty: more great articles to read, and more opportunity to submit your own articles, if you’re so inclined.

Speaking of inspiring things to look at…

Fabric, footwear and clay, are all united by color. Isn’t it pretty? If you haven’t checked out the pool yet, you’ll want to go have a look. In addition to these, there are another 100 or so artsy aqua photos to get your creative juices flowing. And don’t forget - the last day to submit your artwork to the Polka Dot Creations Color Challenge for August is tomorrow, Saturday, August 25th! Sometime after that, I will choose my favorite nine entries (which will not be easy, I can tell already) and of those nine, a winner will be chosen randomly. Good luck!

And now for this week’s Flickr Favorites… I went a little crazy with them - I guess I was just inspired by a lot of things! Several old cars and a plethora of food this time around. Why so much food? Must have something to do with my effort to cut back on the snacking this week Click on this image and take a look at some of these great photos up close.

So glad the weekend is here - this week has been frustrating weather-wise and business-wise and housekeeping-wise, and I’m really looking forward to shaking the funk I’ve developed and having a nice, creative weekend!

Lisa

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I’m doubling-up today because I was a little late in starting the Encyclopedia of Me in the first place, and also because I thought of something I’d forgotten to ask you all about in my G entry More about that later. First, H.

H is for Homebody. I’ve always been a homebody. When I was in my 20’s and my friends were spending their Friday nights on social pursuits, my favorite thing to do was curl up on the couch with Neil and watch The X-Files. I’ve spent the better part of this summer keeping to myself here at home, making things, and not really noticing that I haven’t been calling my friends to make plans. While my local friends have been hanging out at the lake together, I have been happy to sit on the patio reading a magazine while the kids play with chalk. H is for Homebody, carefully trying not to become too much of a Hermit

Now, here is what I wanted to ask you about: I’d like to do some kind of challenge here, maybe on a monthly basis. I’d like it to be a color-based challenge, and since I seem to have readers who enjoy several different types of artwork/crafts, all media would be welcome. So, let’s say the first theme is red. If you’re a polymer clay artist, you would create a clay pendant where red is the predominant color. If you’re a photographer, you’d take an amazing shot of a cardinal on a branch. If you’re handy with a sewing machine, you’d stitch together a red tote bag. You get the idea. You could enter as many times as you like, all entries would be posted to a flickr group, and at the end of the month, someone would win a gift certificate to Polka Dot Creations. I figure I’d choose a group of my favorite entries from the pool and of those entries, a random winner would be chosen.

Does this sound like something you would be interested in? Can I drum up enough participants? I think this could be a lot of fun, as long as we have enough artsy people getting involved. And you don’t have to be a clay artist to enjoy a PDC gift certificate. I sell a few other types of books/videos/magazines and I do sell my own creations - you can use a gift certificate on any of these things.

What do you think?? Tell me you are interested and that you want to get all of your crafty friends involved, too! I’m excited to create a flickr group and design a logo right NOW All I need are participants…

Lisa

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The Pocket Full of Posies Giveaway has come to an end. This time it was the biggest of the three evil henchmen who chose the winner, and he selected Penny! Congratulations, Penny. I’ll get your goodies in the mail to you in the next few days

Penny and I know each other from a mothers’ online message board - we have unusual 7-year-olds in common (seen below, although they look relatively normal in the photo…).  Additionally, Penny was the designer of the “You May Call Me… CLAYOPATRA” t-shirt.

I thought I’d point out that Penny also has a Yahoo! Group that might be of interest to some of you. It’s called Born on This Date. Every day Penny posts a biographical entry about the life of a woman who was born on that day in history. Some of the stories are fascinating. I’ve never been much of a scholar of history, but I can enjoy it on a personal level such as this, learning about a single person at a time and seeing how her life impacted the world. If you’re interested, drop by the group’s home page and sign up.

Short and sweet today. Hope you’re all having a Happy Thursday!

Lisa

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Wow. Normally I’m a couple of days ahead, but today I’m behind and having a hard time remembering it’s already Wednesday.

I took a lot of slice-of-life pictures today, and I’ll probably share some of them here, but first, my parents’ wedding picture. It’s their 37′th anniversary today. I’m not sure if they ever read this blog, but just in case: Happy Anniversary, Mom & Dad - thanks for being such a great example of respect and teamwork all of these years! (Don’t worry - I called them and am not expecting them to get their anniversary wishes through a post they’ll probably never see )

Now as far as that slice-of-life thing goes, much of today was a dizzying fanfare of domesticity. From unloading the dishwasher to decluttering the living room, nothing really exciting happened here. And yet, I feel the need to tell you all about it and dare you not to be bored to tears Ok, so, here I am unloading the dishwasher. Note the snazzy new skirt (which you can read all about here if you are so inclined). After the dishwasher was empty I put the dirty dishes in it and cleaned the living room, with the two small evil henchmen, who had actually been the ones who messed it up in the first place. *yawn* Oh, did I type that out loud? Sorry…

I did some food shopping today, too, and let me just say how happy I am to be using these tote bags for the job. I had originally bought 15 of them from my cafepress store to use as promotional items, but for some reason I stopped giving them out. I found that I had 5 crisp, unused ones recently and brought them to the grocery store with me. It was so nice not to come home with another 5 paper-in-plastic bags to stuff in their spot under the sink. I do use those paper bags for other things, but I accumulate them faster than I can recycle them these days. Besides the obvious environmental benefits of using canvas tote bags, one of my favorite benefits is the fact that I can sling two bags over each shoulder, also carry one in each hand and bring my whole shopping load in the house in one trip! I love that.

We had more pool time today. I dipped my feet in the pool to cool off and then kicked back to read a few magazines in the shade while the boys played. It’s hard for me to just sit there and relax when I have all kinds of projects waiting for me in the house, but it’s getting easier. I’m trying to enjoy the moment, watch the boys play, take a few pictures, water some plants, just putter around in the grass or read something crafty.

I’ve never been an outdoorsey type, but there truly is something satisfying about being in the yard in the summer. I’m enjoying watching the butterflies flutter by, feeling the tingle of the sun drying the drips off of my ankles after I’ve dipped them in the pool, and taking in the learning process of curious little boys. Son #1 says to son #2, “look at my hands! They’re a different color under the water!” And so begins several minutes of observing how the water changes the way things look.

I’ve decided that tomorrow will be the drawing for the Pocket Full of Posies Giveaway. I also decided to add another magazine to the pot. I was sent a sample issue of Cloth Paper Scissors, which was nifty, but not really what I’m into right now. Into the givaway it goes! If you’re interested be sure to post a comment to the posies thread tonight and get your name in the running.

The End.

Get it? The End? (psst! look at the picture)

Someday the kid is going to get me for that.

Heh.

Happy Wednesday!
Lisa

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It’s time for another tutorial! This time we call on the lovely and talented Crafty Goat, aka Angela Mabray. Angela shows us how to combine Sculpey Ultralight with inks and papers to create a unique Thank You Card. The variations on this technique are many, and the finished project is light enough and flexible enough to be sent through the mail.

Give it a try, and don’t forget to post your results on our flickr group!

Speaking of giving thanks, I have to give mine to all of you who sympathized with my back problem yesterday. It still hurts, but I have a lot more freedom of movement today, so that’s good. I should be able to lug books & pack orders tomorrow. Yahoo.

The boys and I have been laying low the last few days, mostly out of backache necessity. We filled up the kiddie pool in the yard yesterday and they splashed for an hour or so. I read a magazine and occasionally dipped my feet in the pool - it was dang hot out there. (Will you look at that incredibly skinny kid to the left? He can’t possibly be mine. I wasn’t a fat kid, but I’m pretty sure you couldn’t count my ribs…)

We’re planning on revisiting the pool for a while this afternoon, but first the boys are watching Signing Time: My First Signs Volume 1 and learning to say milk, more, Mommy, Daddy, water and a few other things in American Sign Language. We’ve had this DVD for at least 3 years and it’s barely seen any action. I don’t know what made them pick it out today, but it’s fun seeing them follow along when they don’t know I’m watching.

I’m thinking of doing a small sewing project later today. I think I have enough mobility for that at this point This skirt that I made at the beginning of the month is really pretty, but I am not happy with the way it fits me. It makes me look more “hippy” than I am (and I don’t mean “hippy” in the cool sense of the word). I can suck-it-in to some extent when it comes to my stomach, but I can’t exactly suck in extra width at my hips. I want to try taking it in on the sides and see if it makes a positive difference.

Ok, the DVD is over and the boys’ play has turned to arguing. Time for some creative intervention!

Oh, and don’t forget, the Posy Giveaway is still going on!

Lisa

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Ok, as long as I am laying around today without moving my arms too much, I’m going to take advantage of it and do computerey things.  Like post this giveaway.

Up for grabs today is the Spring 2007 issue of Adorn magazine and ten polymer clay posy prototypes as seen in these past blog posts.

Most of these posies have a pin/brooch mechanism on the back, but there are a few that have nothing, and you’ll have to figure out how to use them.

I subscribed to Adorn recently, and the subscription began with the Spring 2007 issue - an issue I had unfortunately already purchased at the newsstand several weeks earlier.  So I have two copies.  I thought the flowers on the cover tied in nicely with my experimental clay flowers, so I’m bundling them together and will send them to one lucky contestant.  To win, simply leave a comment and tell me what your most recent art or craft project has been.  If you have links to a related blog entry or flickr photo, all the better!  I will again call on my evil henchmen to select a winning entry at random sometime later in the week.

Good luck, and I look forward to seeing what you’re all working on!

Lisa

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Is the universe trying to tell me something? Am I only supposed to get one batch of shipments out the door each week??

There’s been a cycle recently, and it goes like this:

1. Send out a batch of orders
2. Spend a week getting caught up in summer fun and crafty activities
3. Realize a week has gone by, panic, and get a HUGE batch of orders out the door
4. Become conscientious: immediately get ready to send out the next small batch that came in while I was working on the last batc, and vow to be a better businesswoman for the rest of the summer
5. BAM! Get smacked in the head with some affliction that makes it impossible to make good on #4

I’m seeing the pattern now. #5 is a punishment for #2. This time it’s my back. I have a really sore back, between my shoulder blades, but over to the right a bit. Movement is a problem. I could barely step into my shorts this morning, and putting deodorant under my left arm proved to be a challenge as well (note to Neil: when you get home tonight, try not to be downwind of my left side, since I plan to take the kids outside today and sweating is likely).There’s no way I can lug books up the stairs like this. I’ll have to just print out the paperwork so I’m ready to go as soon as my body wants to cooperate. I’m really starting to feel like I’m not “allowed” to do more than one shipping run per week this summer. Hey, I’m cool with fewer boring packing/shipping sessions, but letting the orders build up not only makes each shipping run really big and heavy, it kind of annoys the customers who have to wait.

On another topic, I have a giveaway I want to post about later today or tomorrow, so stay tuned. Here’s a hint: think floral.

Lisa

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…and no one is home to hear it fall, does it still make a sound? I don’t actually know. All I can say is that

1. I’m glad it didn’t fall two days earlier when we were under it picking berries, and
2. I’m glad I decided to skip berry-picking last night and run out to buy the ever-important Pop Tarts and red thread (not to be used together).

We came home last night from our shopping trip to find that this tree had fallen in the back yard and then rolled down the hill as far as it could go. More pictures here, if you are interested.

Now, I have to say I am completely underwhelmed by the response to my Lisa Pavelka DVD giveaway. Did I make it sound really bad? I didn’t mean to. I suppose calling it a “glorified infomercial” does imply negative feelings. Poor choice of words, perhaps. I only meant to say that the low price tag can be explained by the product placement. The projects themselves are still pretty interesting, and a value for the money. Being that I am so generous of spirit (or, actually, because the guys who are going to do the drawing for me aren’t home at the moment ) I’m going to give you a little extra time to drop by that post, say hello, and get your name in the running.

I’ve got one more thing on my mind today. Book recommendations. As a small, independent bookseller, I struggle with presenting my recommendations for books I don’t sell. I’ve been so enthusiastic lately about some of the sewing books I’m reading, and a couple of cookbooks that are long-time favorites, and I want to provide links for you to learn about them and maybe pick up a copy for yourself. BUT. Where do I link to? Amazon is the logical choice, but frankly, they are my biggest competition in the polymer clay book world. Do I really want to send you over there? Not particularly. But at the same time, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t buy my non-clay books from them fairly frequently. So, it’s a dilemma. I don’t want to send any business to the evil empire, but I really want to provide links. Ideally, I’d make friends with another small, independent bookseller who carries these titles, but that hasn’t happened. I have toyed with the idea of selling these few favorite titles myself, but there are a couple of things holding me back:

1. I don’t have an established relationship with the publishers, and generally you don’t get much of a discount anyway buying a small handful of copies of a single title.
2. I wouldn’t want to confuse my customers by sticking cookbooks in among the clay books in my store.

I’ve got two possible ways to get around #2, but #1 is a sticky point. If anybody can recommend a good small book store that sells sewing and cooking titles, let me know. If they have my favorite books, I’ll link to them until I get it all figured out.

[edited to add: I found a way, and the books are now available at Polka Dot Creations]

Lisa

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I watched Lisa Pavelka’s new DVD last night. I’ll be honest and tell you that I didn’t have very high expectations based on the price. A $12.99 list price for a polymer clay DVD is pretty much unheard of, and I was expecting to get a crummy interface, a low-budget recording, or both. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the menu was attractive (although I wasn’t able to click on the individual projects) and the filming of the instructions was clear. So why the low price? I suspect it is because the video, in many ways, is a glorified infomercial. Each of the projects uses one or more items in the new Lisa Pavelka signature line of products.

That being said, I still think there is some value to this DVD, particularly if you have an interest in image transfers and the use of foils. Lisa Pavelka’s water-slide transfers, foils, polybinder, texture plates, and molds are important players in each of the projects, but are not required purchases if you have your own favorite textures, transfers & foils that you can substitute. The projects are suitable for beginners and beyond.

So, who’d like a free copy? I’m letting the one I watched go to a lucky blog reader. If you’d like to be in the running, leave a comment and introduce yourself (in fact, even if you aren’t interested in the giveaway, leave a comment and introduce yourself - it is always nice to know who’s here reading!). Tomorrow I will have one of my evil henchmen choose a winning comment at random.

Good luck!

Lisa

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Anybody interested in sharing some opinions with me? As you may know, I have been playing around with polymer clay posies. The six to the left are my first batch. The solid colors are matte and the patterned layers are shiny. All layers are the same thickness and are rounded. They’re topped off with a small Bali silver bead.

I liked them, but thought they needed to be bigger, and maybe have the solid colors be toned down. Enter batch #2.

I used darker colors for the solids, and I added two more layers behind the flowers to make them a bit bigger. The solid color layers are half as thin as they were before and their edges have not been rounded. The patterned layers are still done the same way as before. I replaced the Bali silver bead with a ball of clay.

I do like these but I thought maybe dark wasn’t the way to go after all, and I missed the touch of silver I had before. Enter batch #3.

I went back to the lighter colors and replaced the clay ball with a much smaller clay ball with a silver seed bead embedded into it.

My original thought with posting this was to ask for opinions on the three options, but as I write, I realize I’m not satisfied with any of them!

There are elements of all three that appeal to me - I think #2 is my favorite, and if I make all layers the same thickness and rounded, as in #1 and the silver bead as in #3, I might have something. I’m undecided about color, mainly because I am trying to match fabric with most of these. Some of the color decisions that would work against white, for instance, don’t really complement the colors in the fabric. And I may have to resign myself to the idea that what works for one type of fabric may not work with another - I like to have a “set” way of doing a particular project, and it will upset my world order to think that I could use bright colors on one posy and darker accent colors on another. Oh, my head! I may just have to get over that

I’m going to have a lot of these things to unload when all is said and done… anybody interested in a contest where the prize is a pocket full of posies?

In other clayful things, I spent some time yesterday mixing a batch of custom colors for more fabric. I’m really happy with two of them, and not so thrilled with a third.

Ok, it’s noon and my tummy is grumbling.  I’m off to bake me some Naan from Trader Joe’s.  Love that stuff! It’s the closest to real Indian restaurant Naan that I’ve found anywhere.

Lisa

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Yesterday I made the apron I’d been planning to make, and it only took me a hour! The first one I made took twice as long. I guess I’m getting the hang of this sewing thing… Here are some flickr pictures for your viewing pleasure. I had enough fabric left to make a tote bag, too. I carried it around on my errands this morning, although I haven’t taken any pictures of it yet. So that makes three sewing projects under my belt. Cool.

I’m having fun with this sewing machine, and my impulse is to run right out and buy lots of fabric to play with. However, I’m not good enough at this to sell anything I make, and I only need so many aprons and tote bags, LOL! So, I’m resisting for the most part. I do have a fun apron-related idea that might help me recoup some of my losses, but it’s still in the formative stages in my mind.

I bought some cheap-o fat quarters at the Rag Shop this morning that I plan to use to make small tote bags for the boys, and I want to make myself a simple skirt once I pick out the perfect fabric. I’d also like to make some valences for the bare windows in my bedroom, once I find the perfect fabric for *that*. It’s hard to find a fabric that both

clarkesworld

and I find appealing, though. I bought a funky pillow on etsy that I love for the bedroom. If I pair it with a white lightweight quilt and a couple of coordinating solid-color throw pillows, I think it would be a cheery, summery look. I want to make valences to complement that look. (And another darker set to swap in when the winter comes). I think I need to take the pillow shopping with me, though, so I can find the right colors.

If I could, I’d completely go to town at the reprodepot. How cool would it be to have an apron with little miniature jello molds on it? Or maybe lemons and cherries? Maybe I should just whip up a whole pile of aprons right now while I’m in the mood, and then put them away for 7 months to be used as Christmas gifts…

Ok, here’s a question for all of you clayheads out there. When you are hard at work in your studio (or your dining room table, as the case may be) and your hands get a little messy from liquid clay, or even regular clay, what do you do? Do you get up and wash them? use a baby wipe? wipe them on your pants? just ignore it? Post a comment and tell me what you do with your sticky hands while you’re claying. I’ll pick one of the comments at random to win an only-viewed-once copy of the brand new DVD “Extruding Polymer Clay Canes” by Cindy Beljan. Just make sure to mention your name in your comments, and check back tomorrow to see if you won!

Happy Claying!
Lisa

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Ok,
actually, we have THREE winners.
Decision-making has never been my strong suit! Come and see the fun designs that won the
t-shirt logo contest: http://www.cafepress.com/polymerclay

Thanks to
all who entered – it was fun! I’ll try
to post all of the entries on my website at some point this weekend, since I
know there was some interest in seeing what had been submitted.

Have a
great weekend,

Lisa

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Don’t
forget our Logo Art Contest is almost over!
Saturday, October 15^th is the last day to get your artwork
and/or phrases to me. If you can think
of an artistic way for us polymer clay addicts to poke fun at ourselves I want
to put it on a t-shirt, a mug, and a tote bag

Here are
the complete details: http://www.polkadotcreations.com/contest.html

Go ahead –
flood my mailbox!

Lisa

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Do you know what I think the polymer-clay-afflicted among us need? A
t-shirt. Something funny that says “yes, I am totally taken in by this
stuff and I don’t know how to put it down!” I want a t-shirt like this.
Or a coffee mug. Or a tote bag. Or maybe all three. The problem is, I
can’t come up with something spiffy enough to get my point across with
style and humor.

So… I turn to you, my creative friends! You are hereby invited to take part in the Polka Dot Creations Polymer Clay Enthusiast’s Logo Art Contest!

The prize is a $25 gift certificate to Polka Dot Creations,
which is pretty cool, but WAY cooler is your logo on t-shirts, mugs,
tote bags, mouse pads, and calendars in the homes of hundreds of your
fellow polymer clay artists and crafters (I almost said “nut cases” but
I didn’t want to insult anybody).

Spend some time thinking about how YOU would advertise to the world,
“yes, I have three pasta machines, and not one of them has ever been
used for food” with wit and style. Then send your idea to me! Wouldn’t
it be neat to see half of the room wearing your brilliant logo at your
next polymer clay guild meeting?

Lisa

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