I've really got the penguin bug

This is my Film Noir Penguin Couple, created for the PCAGOE January Black and White challenge. Voting will be up starting on the first at pcagoe.com.

PCAGOE charity alphabet project

This is one of two alphabet mosaics created collaboratively by member of PCAGOE. This one will be delivered to the Hershey, PA, location of the Ronald McDonald House next month. The other has already been donated to the Stony Brook University Hospital in New York. This was a fun project to work on, and seeing each new letter come in was fascinating. This really shows off the diverse styles and personalities of the guild members. I think children and adults alike will really enjoy looking at these mosaics.

the christmas card wall

one more ornament post

Origami music ornament from my neighbor Karen


Darling snowman by peggers for the PCAGOE ornament swap


Yay! Jayne hat from the Buffyfest bloggers ornament swap

challenge reminder!

Just a reminder: PCAGOE January black and white challenge entries are due by midnight EST on Sunday, December 28. Everyone is invited to enter the challenge. Read the full rules and info here, and let me know if you have any questions.


(black and white dreidel by namaaza)

mints

Not sure why I think a triple batch of anything is a good idea, but...

These are cream cheese mints. The blue are peppermint, the green are spearmint, and the purple are raspberry-mint. The photo shows about 1/3 of the mints I actually made. The raspberry are the best without a doubt.

scavenger hunt winners

Hey, everybody! Thanks for playing the PCAGOE December Scavenger Hunt game. Congratulations to these winners:

UrbanDebris won a cupcake pendant from Angeli.
Bastillebleu won a guardian angel pendant from chicki.
Twobsmith won a pair of earrings from divadea.

Shorti85 won a $20 gift certificate from juliespace.
LittleWorkofHeart won a $25 gift certificate from lynnslittlecreations.
Paintedkreations won a $25 gift certificate from marciapalmer.
FloatingRabbit won a $20 gift certificate from OrganicOdysseys.
Thecraftypineapple won a $25 gift certificate from SCDiva.
Underthestar won the Love Never Fails Heart from tejaesart.
MaryLMeredith won the BEAD STAR inaugural issue (or $25 gift certificate) or VAharoni.

We made caramel apples

We made caramel apples, and it was fun. This is one of the easier food at Christmas projects to do, and they turned out great. See the rest of the photos (and instructions) at my flickr.

fun with flickr

Here are two really fun color search tools for flickr. Be careful - these are addicting. But if you love colors the way I do, these are worth checking out. Behold the fun!



Color Fields Experimental Colr Pickr by Jim Bumgardner



and



Multicolr Search Lab Flickr Set by Idee Labs





Here's an exercise in black and white. (Speaking of which, don't forget to enter the pcagoe January challenge.)

it's not too late

It's not too late to find good stuff on etsy for Christmas, and I've found a couple of things I absolutely must share!







These are decorative - not edible - food miniatures and ornaments by frostedfakes. From her etsy profile:



My faux cupcakes, cakes, and other confections are inspired by the aesthetic of vintage cookbooks of the 1950s and 1960s. I love bright colors, whimsical vintage decorations, and "homestyle" whimsy. My creations are vivid and fun, making them the perfect accoutrement for table centerpieces, home staging, events, and display.


Her work is amazingly detailed and realistic. Wow!
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And this, by ittybittiesforyou, is just fun. Who wouldn't want a robot nativity scene?


It appears that this one has sold already - I can see why! But still, check out her shop for other holiday robots, like Santa and snowmen!

Come join the fun!

Join the PCAGOE for our Holiday Scavenger Hunt!



The Polymer Clay Artists Guild of Etsy is hosting a Holiday Scavenger Hunt. To participate, simply visit the shops listed below and look for one of these hidden images somewhere nested in the products on their first page.

Participating PCAGOE etsy shops and the prizes they’re offering:

Tejaesart: Love Never Fails heart
SCDiva: $25 gift certificate, also valid in this shop
DivaDea: pair of earrings - you choose!
OrganicOdysseys: $20 gift certificate (valid only through December 31, 2008)
VAHaroni: BEAD STAR inaugural issue OR $25 gift certificate (valid only through January 12, 2009)
Chicki: Guardian Angel Pendant - you choose!
MarciaPalmer: $25 gift certificate
Juliespace: $20 gift certificate

When you’ve found one of the images, convo the shop owner, pasting the url into the message, and you will be entered in that seller’s random drawing.

To “convo” the seller, use the “contact seller” link in her shop. You must be a member of etsy in order to send a convo. (Don’t worry - it’s easy to become a member of etsy, and there’s no further obligation.)

Each shop owner will choose a winning entry using a random number generator. The winners will be announced on the shop owners’ blogs as well as at PCAGOE.com on Monday, December 22.

Here’s the fine print (but we’ll leave it big so you can read it): One entry per etsy shop, please (but feel free to enter - once - in each participating shop); PCAGOE members are not eligible to win the prizes; each person is eligible to win in one shop only (so we can spread the polymer clay love around!)

ornament swaps, part 2

I participated in two holiday ornament swaps this season, one with PCAGOE members and one with Buffyfest Bloggers. The post with the ornaments I created for the swaps is here.

Here are the ornaments I have received in return so far:


Image transfer ornament by SCDiva - looks great on the tree!


Personalized gingerbread lady by artbylilin. So adorable!


Hehe, you have to know Firefly to get this one. Anybody recognize this object?


Awesome mica shift technique on this Buffy ornament by valeriebeads. I'm thinking this might get turned into a necklace after Christmas.


And a little framed silhouette ornament. This one also came with an alternate panel - Dr. Horrible instead of Buffy. How fun is that!

CAM at Lancaster Eastern Market this weekend

Come visit me! Come Christmas shop from local artists!

Also, get the best coffee around from John at True Espresso.

Lotsa more info here.

tarot card of the day

Tarot Card: Page of Pentacles
Character: Gwendolyn Post
Upright Meaning: Someone who works hard to get ahead and achieve goals. Sometimes overzealous.
Reversed Meaning: Unwelcome news. A hoarder. Mean and greedy.
Question: Are you hoarding materials or power?
Advice: Don’t be a control freak. Someone else is working just as hard as you are to achieve an opposite goal. If it’s a situation of two different but viable viewpoints, step back and let the other person succeed. If it’s clearly a matter of right and wrong, go ahead and pursue your goal ruthlessly.

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Note to self: If you try to control every bit of every thing, you will become evil.

ornament swaps

I participated in two holiday ornament swaps this season.

The first was with members of my online polymer clay guild, PCAGOE. I made bell-like ornaments, thanks to a simple origami pattern from a friend. Here's a nice tutorial on how to fold these. And here's a good, wordy explanation of how to fold them.



After the folding, I cheated and used clear tape to hold the bell shut at the top, after putting a ribbon through from the bottom to the top. Then it was just a matter of making a cane, mixing some clay colors and carefully covering the sides of the bell. I used a paper pattern to cut the clay sheets into the right shapes. I'm thinking, although I didn't have any on me at the time, a bit of liquid Sculpey would make the assembling process easier.

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The second swap was organized by the Buffyfest bloggers. I just can't resist the pull of Buffy...



I had bunches of ideas for this one, including decoupage ornaments using comic book pages and actually creating the Buffy characters sculpted or as egg ornaments. But in the end I went with something a little less time consuming. I hope people will still like them. They are made with polymer clay tombstone-y beads with the letters stamped in with rubber stamps and then antiqued with a bit of paint. They're finished off with a polymer clay "stake" and matching glass and other beads. Into each generation a slayer is born...