Fave Crafts Giveaway

This is not the giveaway I am going to post later but it is a giveaway I am involved with. It is very similar to the first giveaway I ever did back in May on the 19th here
http://mariesegal.blogspot.com/2009/05/1st-giveaway-thank-you-thank-you-thank.html

Win this Kit!

We are giving away 1 Glitter Flower Pendant Kit. Enter with the form below.

 
1.If you blog about this giveaway at your blog, we’ll give you an extra entry. Contact us with a link to the blog post.


2.If you twitter about this giveaway, you’ll get an extra entry. Again, contact us with a link to the tweet.


3.If you add a link to us on your blogroll or website, we’ll give you an extra entry. Again, contact us!


Contest ends December 25, 2009. You can enter once daily, so return often to improve your chances of winning!

Here is the link!!
http://www.favecrafts.com/sweeps/Glitter-Flower-Pendant-Kit-Giveaway#

Glitter Beads

Christmas red Cernit

Red Cernit

5/16" Round cutter

Art Institute Ultra-fine Glitter in Cranberry Red- opaque colors work best for me.

Pasta machine

Ziploc sandwich baggie

Place about a 1/2 teaspoon of glitter in to a baggie.
Mix 1/8 block of Christmas Red and 1/8 block of red together until it is one color.

Condition and roll out red clay on the thickest setting in the pasta machine.

Fold the sheet in half for double thickness or leave a single layer for smaller beads.
Cut out double or single rounds with the cutter. By using the round set of brass cutters with plungers and double and single thick sheets in the pasta machine, you can have any size bead you want all the time, every time.
Roll all the cut out pieces in to balls.

When I made things a long time ago, I could pinch off balls of color the same size almost every time. When I got busy Howard would help, he could not pinch off balls of clay the same size all of the time.

Howard came up with this unit of measurements when I was doing mass production to keep all of the pieces the same size and weight back in 1984. I had recipes and codes for the cutters and pieces of each ornament or magnet. Every item had it's own recipe card. I could have someone cutting out pieces and rolling them in to balls for me so that I could slam the pieces together and they would still look like I made them one at a time and individually, and every piece weighed exactly the same weight. This also made it much easier to have people helping me when things got out of hand at holiday time and to train people to help and do the work I was doing. Everyone started as a clay mixer and ball roller. Now that is something to aspire to, eh?

Drop one ball at a time in to the bag and shake the bag. The glitter will cover the ball.

Add one at a time this way until all the balls are covered.

Now lay the bag on your work surface and use the bag to roll the ball to the top of the bag. As you do so you will roll the glitter in to the clay and get rid of any excess before you take it out of the bag.
Remove the ball and roll between your palms to press the glitter in to the surface of the clay.

Do this with each and every ball.
When all the balls are covered with glitter and rolled you can then shape them in to different shapes, balls, hearts and flattened ones. Bake in a pre-heated 275 degree oven for 30 minutes shut of the oven and let cool.

I drill the holes as I need them with a wire bit and a hand drill.

I do not coat my beads with a varnish.

When I make Brown glitter beads I use the closest color of Cernit that I can find.

When I do

purple beads,

and aqua beads

and black

Here is a picture of a Necklace I did in the late 80's with another glitter, it is no longer available. This is fimo classic and the glitter is holding up fine with no coating.


The Art Glitter is actually a better glitter for this technique because it is a much smaller cut.

These glitters are made for fabrics and will hold up to the heat of the oven.

Other glitters have a lower melting temperature and will look bad after baking. Unless of course that is exactly what you are looking for.

#16 Myra Katz come on downnnnnnnnnnnn

I went in to the post last night and numbered each and every post and then deleted the two repeats.

I generated random #16 with my daughters watching and looked, there was Myra Katz.

Congratulations Myra!

I also read through again all of the sweet and beautiful comments. Howard and I loved each and every one as they came in, but reading them all at one time was just awesome and good for me. I am forever better because of all of you!!

Sometimes sitting behind this computer I forget that there is a whole world of wonderful people out there.

On some days I feel like I am talking to myself.

Any way thank you, thank you, thank you!

This was great fun and I am ready for the next.

And here is a sneak peek of the next giveaway to be posted to this blog soon.

xoxo

Marie

1st Giveaway, Thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottoms of our hearts

Howard and I wanted to do something special this year and we wanted to do it with all of you. We have been in the Polymer clay and craft supply business for 30 years, this year. That, my dear friends is a feat. We have also been married for 30 years this year and let me tell you that is a monumental feat!! LOL!!
Sometimes though, it has been the business that has been tougher. At least we have had each other and you.

We have met many, many, many wonderful people, friends, customers, and acquaintances in all the years we have been doing this and some of those mentioned are no longer with us for many reasons and we can not thank them personally. We are grateful for each and every one of you. You have touched our hearts and I hope that we have touched yours.
THANK YOU from the very bottoms and tops of our hearts; you are our light and our life.

We were looking for a way to pay it forward and backwards and to let you know that you matter to us and you are perfect just the way you are. We think we have come up with a wonderful way to celebrate this.

This is going to be the beginning of a year of giving. It will take us through our anniversaries, Children’s birthdays (happy birthday, Shas!!!), grandchildren’s birthdays and many more important family and business celebrations. I am counting on hitting some of yours too.

The giveaways will happen at irregular intervals, so it is probably best if you follow, but it is not a requirement. I am so grateful to have you if you do decide to follow.
There is only one thing you have to do and that is to leave a comment to the giveaway post in question at the time.

I will count all of the responses and generate a random number from Random.org (I have also added the generator to the blog if you want to use it) and announce the winner the day after the contest closes.

This first giveaway is brought to you by these lovely and wonderful people and companies; with out them this would not be possible at all. Please make an effort to visit their sites. Thank you, thank you, thank you to each and every one of you:

Clay Factory

Me

Art Glitter

Makin’s Clay

Jacquard Products

I am going to run this till the 14th of June, that is Sunday, and the contest will close at 12 midnight PDT

Here is what you will get:
Art Institute Glitter- basic set with fabric glue
Sculpting tool
Bamboo skewer
Clay blade
Set of 3 round cutters
2- 2 ounce blocks of Cernit phthalate free clay in black
Rhinestones
Pendant I made from photographing the step by step instructions
Step by step instructions

added 06/17/09
#16 Myra Katz won the giveaway, congratulations Myra! There were two duplicate posts and those were eliminated.

Glitter gathering

I made a collage of all the pendant pieces. I love how this came out!

Glitter me this…

For Barbara Trombley, Art Glitter Institute
and Jacquard Products Importers of Cernit Phthalate free Polymer clay and of course for me, Marie Segal and the Clay Factory.

Cernit 2.2 ounce block- black, you could probably make a few of these pendants from a 1 block
Glitter kit- basic fabric kit from Art Institute Glitter
I prefer to use the Fabric glue that Art Institute Glitter carries with these pieces.
Leaves and Petal Stamps- Barbara Mac Guire’s design sheet garden
Bead Prints Flora looks like it would be a wonderful stamp sheet for this too, but I have not used this one.
Look at all of Barbara's products they are really wonderful
Cutter-Makin’s circle set 36001, large or medium depending on the size of flower you make
Bamboo skewer
Kemper slicing blade

3/4” teardrop and round ½” cutter – Kemper

#2 pencil with a new eraser

Card board box at least 6"x6"
All of these pendants are done basically the same way. We will build a flower and leaves that then we can embellish with the glitter.

Condition and roll out your black clay on the thickest setting in your pasta machine.

Cut a strip of clay that is ¾” wide by about 4” long. Bezel each edge of the strip with your clay blade.

Wrap around the bamboo skewer and press the angled edges together and smooth.
Break loose from the skewer by twisting free with your hands and roll on your work surface to smooth. Trim off the end by holding the blade perpendicular to the clay and roll the skewer and the blade forward to make a finished end.

Cut a 1 5/8” section of the skewered clay by rolling the blade and the skewer forward to cut through the clay. Now you will have a tube bead that you can use for the top of the pendant.
Using a circle cutter or template, cut out a circle in the same thickness, thickest setting in the pasta machine.




Leave the tube bead on the skewer and place it in the center top edge of the circle and press the two gently together.


Here are the stamps that I used from Barbara Mc Guire’s stamps Garden Party










Cut out 8- ¾” teardrops of the same thickness and roll those into balls.

Roll 2 of the balls into 1” cones, flatten each one of the cones on to the leaf stamp and release, you might want to use a spritz of water on the stamp first before pressing the clay on to it.

Set these aside and start to build the flower. Or you can add to the circle background that you made above. I like to wait until I have the leaves and the flower built and then I put everything together on the background circle with the tube bead in the way that they look best together.



Roll the other 6 balls in to a 1 ¼” teardrop shape. Press the teardrop on to the stamp and peel off for the petal








Start making each petal and put one after the other in to a circle with the last petal covered by the next a little bit.

Tuck the last petal you add a little under the first one you made with small opening in the center of all of the petals.

Add the leaves and then add the flower to the disk background with bead.









With the eraser on the pencil poke it in to the small open space on the flower. All of the petals will lift slightly and this is good.
Drape the petals down and press down






Cut out a ½” round and roll in to a ball and then roll into a squatty teardrop, Take the thinner end and then press the thicker end in to the stamp, holding the teardrop straight up and down. Roll the thin end of the teardrop a little between your fingers to make the point a little smaller and place that end in to the center of the flower you poked with the eraser of the pencil.






Press that gently in to place in the center.
Bake the flower in a pre-heated 275 degree oven for a half hour and shut off oven and let cool in the oven, when the flower has completely cool start with the glitter.
I recommend a card board box or lid to do this in.
Do not do this where you do clay because it will get in to all of your clay.
I use a tray to glitter over and then I save all of the glitter that falls on to it for later.
I prefer to use the opaque glitter.


I pick areas and fill it with glue by covering the area I want to glitter. Cover evenly and smoothly, not glompy, because the glue will run if this happens, wipe it off and start over.
You are almost better using less glue than too much.
Fill in the section and then take a spoon and sprinkle with the glitter of your choice.




Shake the spoon horizontally from side to side, until all of the glue is covered. I do one of these sections at a time one color of glitter at a time.








Let it sit with glitter on it for about 10 seconds and glitter will settle into the glue.

When the 10 seconds is up hold the flower over the little jar of the same color of glitter and dump all of the excess back in to the jar.

Waste not, want not right???

See the excess is off and it looks much cleaner.
I suggest that you do another petal after a couple of minutes. Take your time and go slow and you will have great results. Or make a few flowers and do a couple at a time and using the same color of glitter at a time.
The time and care that you put in to this will be worth the effort.
Let the flowers dry over night and then place back into a preheated oven at 275 for 15 minutes shut off the oven and let cool. When the flowers are cool again, take tooth brush and scrub the glitter areas with a tooth brush to take off any excess.