As you may know, I’ve been up to my eyeballs in so much stuff this week, but I needed some moments of brainless activity to help keep me sane.  Sewing a series of straight lines is brainless enough for me, so I worked on my non-seasonal everyday napkins.  I did a few every day this week and finished up the last of them this morning.  I really like them - they go nicely with the navy blue and white color scheme in my kitchen.  These are all patterns from Susan Branch’s Martha’s Vineyard Watercolor collection.  I already had the navy blue fireworks and the white/navy toile patterns, which I had made 4 napkins and an apron out of a while back, but I wanted more (in quantity and in variety).  I’m so happy with the way they came out!

I’m less happy with the success rate of my brainless activity at keeping me sane…  I spaced-out on two commitments today.  It’s bad enough to forget one thing, but two?  At 1:30 today I remembered Aidan was supposed to go to a birthday party from 12:00-2:00.  He missed it.  And at 2:30 today, as I was driving to the store to buy orange thread for my next napkin project, I remembered I had committed to making pumpkin bread for the MOMS Club bake sale at our town’s street fair this weekend.  The bread was to be dropped off at 4:00 today.  Needless to say I blew it there, too.

I am feeling so overwhelmed this weekend with things that I have to do and things that I want to do, and things that I don’t really have to do, but feel like I should do.  Normally, I am the queen of lists, but I haven’t written any of this down.   Maybe that’s why I feel so much like I am juggling - and why I keep dropping the ball.

It’s already 11:00 and I still have three important things to accomplish business-wise before I hit the sack.  It’s Saturday Night, for crying out loud.   I should be sitting on the couch with my sweetie watching almost-unwatchable comedy together and maybe sharing some pumpkin biscotti (a treat I haven’t made but really wish I did today).  I should not be answering email, processing orders, or planning what to bring to tomorrow’s guild meeting.

Executive decision time:

• I’ll process the orders that are necessary for tomorrow’s meeting.
• I’ll just bring an armload of Judy Belcher’s new DVD with me to the meeting and not worry about any other titles.
• Answering email can wait until tomorrow.

There.  Thanks for being here while I brain-dumped.  I feel a little better now.   I’d feel a lot better if I had a pumpkin biscotti to munch on, though

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Originally published at Polka Dot Creations. Please leave any comments there.

It’s pretty handy that C in the Encyclopedia of Me should land today, because clearly C is for Clay, and I just happened to attend the monthly workshop of the New Jersey Polymer Clay Guild today

I love the guild workshops. It’s 3-4 hours once a month that I know I can set up my clay supplies and crank out a few things. And while I’m not all that good at explaining things, I enjoy letting people look over my shoulder while I do what I came to do. I seem to attract a small gaggle of onlookers when I make canes, and that’s perfectly ok with me. I like to share what I know.

So today I brought my new bird skirt and set about to make some coordinating canes. My final goal was a pendant that I can wear with the skirt, and the first step was mixing the colors. I underestimated how much yellow I was going to want to add to the brown, and I didn’t bring enough (Thank you, Pat, for giving me some and saving the day!)

The colors came together pretty quickly with very little experimentation, and then I was able to build a few canes. I started with my favorite Triangle Cane, which I have demoed a few times but have yet to give written instructions for. Maybe someday, but in the meantime, check out the School Spirit Cane - it works in much the same way, it’s just squares instead of triangles, and it’s got an extra step of adding stripes, which is not necessary for the triangles.

After the Triangle Cane, I moved on to a Chenille Cane, which I haven’t done in some time. I came up with the idea of the Chenille Cane after watching Donna Kato on Carol Duvall. The first several steps of the Chenille Cane are identical to Donna’s Spiral Cane Pendant, but it deviates in the assembly stage.

I then made a striped cane, which I think kind of speaks for itself followed by an extruded cane

[Oh, brother - I just had to take a 45-minute break from blogging because son #2 broke a glow stick in his bed. A glow stick! What will that boy do next?? I cleaned up the kids while Neil cleaned up the room - I’m told the splatter pattern was impressive… Son #1 was more than a little bit freaked out to see his brother glowing, and frankly I was a little freaked out myself. While Neil cleaned the walls, I sat down with the kids and the laptop to do a little research and make sure the glow stuff wasn’t going to permanently harm them. Once we all felt better, I tucked the kids into my bed and went to change their sheets. Now the kids are cuddled up, hugging each other, asleep in my bed, and Neil and I are back downstairs playing “dueling bloggers” to see who can blog about it faster. I’m sure he’s going to win because I have to get back to talking about clay. But before I do, I just need to thank God that son #2 wasn’t drinking the stuff or anything - he may have itchy scalp in the morning, but at least he’ll be alive. I am going to be very very gray before I turn 40 if he keeps this stuff up.]

Ok, back to caning.

[Geez - who sleeps with a glow stick? And tries to bend it in half? …I’ve got to let this go.]

You can find instructions for extruded canes in various places online, including Kathy Weinberg on HGTV.

[Ok, couldn’t let it go. I just went up and checked on them - they’re sleeping peacefully, not glowing. I gave them each another goodnight kiss and now I can get back to clay. Really. I’m letting it go right now. There. It’s gone ]

So, anyway, I made those four canes, and I’m very pleased with how nicely they complement the skirt. I can hardly wait to make my pendant. I got started making one at the workshop, but wasn’t able to bake it. I’ve decided that I am going to make several things with these canes, since I clearly have more than I need for a single pendant. Stay tuned to see what I come up with. I predict a bevy of buttons, pendants, earrings, and posies for my Etsy shop.

C is for Clay (and for Children who glow)

Lisa

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Originally published at Polka Dot Creations. Please leave any comments there.

Here’s a recent family portrait, courtesy of The Simpsons Movie. I wasted far too much time on that site this morning. Neil designed his own avatar, and I did mine & the kids, although the boys did pick out their own outfits (if you couldn’t guess…) Thanks a lot, Neil, for sending me that and ruining my productivity - I just managed to get shipments out the door in time for the postal pickup by the skin of my teeth today!

We’re on Day Three of Readercon. Well, let’s make that, Neil is on Day Three of Readercon. The rest of us are on Day Three of Weekend Without Daddy. Whenever this happens, I try to come up with a few interesting things to do to help break up the weekend, give us something to look forward to, and help insure that I am not tearing my hair out and looking longingly at the front door by 5pm Usually our agenda involves a movie, and this time around we saw Ratatouille. It was very enjoyable. And just when you think they can’t do much more to improve animation, you see a rat being washed away by a raging river. Wow.

Another thing that will break up our weekend some is the NJ Polymer Clay Guild meeting tomorrow. My parents have graciously volunteered to come and hang out with the boys for a while so I can go to the workshop. I’ve got Donna Kato books to deliver, dontchaknow The theme for the meeting is “Faux Techniques” and if I have a chance tonight I’m going to put together a little collection of books & videos with that theme and bring them with me.

I plan on feeding my parents after I get back. It’s been a while since I have had dinner guests, and it certainly hasn’t happened since I started my latest domestic streak. So, here’s what I plan to have on the menu:

• Hamburgers (pan fried, since our grill is busted)
• Homemade hamburger rolls (pictured - aren’t they HUGE?! I adore this recipe from Beth Hensperger’s Bread Lover’s Bread Machine Cookbook. I always stick them in the freezer right after they cool, and then use them one at a time, as I need them. I haven’t had them in a few years, and my mouth is watering just thinking about them now…)
• Potatoes, onions & peppers (all from the Farmer’s Market, and prepared in the same manner as last time)
• Sweet Corn on the cob

I’ll, of course, have to set the table with my new napkins, and I’d like to also make some strawberry smoothies. And that leads me to…

I didn’t get a chance to post last night - a raging headache will keep one off of the computer, generally - and so I missed out on Color Week’s last day, which was blue/purple. So, I’ll do it today. How about some frosty blue mugs full of strawberry heaven?

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Lisa

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Originally published at Polka Dot Creations. Please leave any comments there.

I love the first Sunday of the month. It’s the day the NJ Polymer Clay Guild has its workshops. In the three or four hours I’m there, I get to socialize with like-minded individuals, sharing some of my knowledge and absorbing some of theirs. I get to sell a couple of the latest books & videos to hit my shelves (if I bring them with me - I don’t always). I get to see what everyone else is working on. But probably my favorite thing is that I get to work on a project uninterrupted for several hours. Today I made buttons. Some in my usual color schemes to be sold in my regular store, and others in my new “designer fabric” scheme to be sold at Etsy.

There was a lot of talk about Donna Dewberry at our meeting today. Many were concerned about Polyform’s certification program, which is being spearheaded by Donna. I think it’s the most lively conversation we’ve had in some time. I can certainly agree that it’s ill-conceived for one clay company to “certify polymer clay” after it’s already gained such a foothold with many artists and enthusiasts worldwide. But the more I look at it, the less I see this endeavor as such a global thing. I was just poking around the Polyform site, and I see that they are calling the program “Studio Home Dimensions”. Teachers will be certified to teach the particular “Home Dimensions” techniques to a likely audience of beginner polymer clay crafters. Their target is people who have never touched the stuff. That really has no bearing on those of us who have been working with clay for several years, and on those artists who make their livings teaching advanced techniques. Would I demand that, say, Judy Belcher be certified before I consider taking a class with her? Um, NO! I think of it like Donna Dewberry’s “One Stroke” program. That program has enabled many crafters who didn’t think they could paint to go on and make pretty things. Has the One Stroke program cut into the livings of serious painters? Those who make art their livelihood? I don’t have any empirical data to back this up, but my gut tells me no (I welcome comments from anyone who has data to the contrary). As much as the clay community is up in arms about this right now, I suspect by this time next year it will be a non-issue.

As usual, I thought of most of these things long after the conversation was over

Anyway, I had fun at today’s meeting. Next month the focus is going to be on faux techniques. I wish I could make it - I’ve got a lot of great books/videos on the subject that I could bring. Unfortunately, there’s a scheduling conflict with my clay widower of a husband that weekend, and unless I can find someplace to deposit the wee ones, no clay day for me.

Lisa

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Originally published at Polka Dot Creations. Please leave any comments there.

Just a little reminder - if you are the librarian for your local polymer clay guild, you can order books & videos for your guild’s library and have them shipped for free. Drop me a line if you’d like more information about this!

Coming soon, I plan to start a mailing list (or rss feed) specifically geared towards guild librarians to help them choose which items to add to their collections. More on that when I’ve gotten it up and running!

Lisa

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Originally published at Polka Dot Creations. Please leave any comments there.

Hello! It’s been a long time since I’ve posted anything here other than bestseller lists. I have been busy with one thing or another for months, but I have a few minutes tonight to post an update, so I thought I’d take advantage of it. So, what have I been up to lately?

Well, from a polymer clay standpoint, I haven’t done a whole lot, except that I’m getting more and more involved with the local guilds. I’m lucky enough to live within a reasonable driving distance of three polymer clay guilds (New Jersey, Northern New Jersey, and Philadelphia), so I’ve been taking advantage of it. I’ve been involved in polymer clay for 10 years, been active in one online pc group or another for much of that time, and been a member of local guilds, but I’m only just now actively participating. The kids are not so little anymore and it’s easier for me to take off for a few hours on a Sunday afternoon, or for a weekend workshop. It also helps that my husband is practically handing me my pasta machine and pushing me out the door I tend to have bouts of Mommy Guilt, not sure I should be ditching my family for a whole day or two days in some cases, but he knows it’s Good For Me and that I’ll enjoy myself, and he always convinces me to do it. Besides, I think they have a good time spending a weekend in their pajamas watching japanese monster movies!

So, in mid-January I attended a 72-hour clay-a-thon hosted by the South Jersey Polyholics (an offshoot of the Philadelphia guild) and it was a real blast! I’d never done anything quite like it. We took over a hotel near Atlantic City and clayed to our hearts’ content ’til all hours of the night. Fun! I got a chance to try out a couple of techniques I had floating around my head for a while. Here are a few samples:

Aside from that, I haven’t really done anything clay-related lately. I do have to make a batch of Birthday Magnets for my son this weekend. He’ll be 6 next Sunday and I always make magnets as party favors (see this article I wrote after his second birthday: http://www.pcpolyzine.com/0204april/favors.html)

On a personal note, I have been keeping really busy around the house. I have had some serious Housekeeping Issues developing over the last few years. The clutter in my home has been taking over little by little to the point where it was suffocating me. But trying to crawl out from underneath it was completely overwhelming. I finally reached rock bottom and created a website to help inspire me to clean up. My thought was that sharing my embarassing living conditions would motivate me to change them. I don’t know if it’s working, but *something* is, and I’ve been on a real roll for three weeks. I’ve lugged bags and bags of junk out of the house. I’ve filled the trunk of my car twice with piles of things to be donated to the local thrift shop and I’ve filled up 10 garbage cans with things nobody would want. And there’s still plenty more where that came from. How have I lived with all of this cr@p for so long?? I really hope I don’t burn out on this task, but I’m actually enjoying taking care of my house right now. It’s been a long time since I had a sense of pride about it. For the longest time it’s just been an embarassment and I’ve been living in fear of drop-in company. I’m still not done, there’s a lot left to go, but I’m not embarassed anymore. Some days I feel like calling up everyone I know and saying, “hey come over and look in my closets- there’s no longer an avalanche when I open the door!” Our “laundry room” is just a small corner of our unfinished basement, and there’s nothing at all pretty about it, but today I scrubbed clean the sink (eliminating about 8 years of accumulated laundry soap scum) and hung up a fun picture on the wall - the ugly patched-up cinderblock wall. If you had told me a month ago that I’d be taking pride in that crummy little section of the house I’d have thought you were nuts.

Anyway, I’m finally in a really good place with the house. I’m seeing improvements every day, I’m enjoying the routines that are helping me keep the clutter under control and I’m feeling happier than I have in ages - it really spills over into so many other areas when you’re not drowning in junk… Ok, I’ve gone on enough about that! If you want more, you can check out my website: http://www.clarkesworld.com/cleanup

I’ve got some orders to process tonight, and then I’m either going to put away some more of the books & videos that arrived this week (and it’s a LOT - I was running out of so many things, and I went and restocked all at once - now I’m buried in books!) or I’m going to put my feet up crack open a Dr. Pepper, and find something mindless to watch on tv for a while! That last option sounds really good, actually. I may add some pretzels and cheese dip to the mix…

Have a great weekend, everybody!

Lisa

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Originally published at Polka Dot Creations. Please leave any comments there.