Lots of info- saturday catch up!

Well, I think the shock of me putting up a new picture broke blogger ;-D
Thank you so much for your sweet comments, I really appreciate them.

I lost all of the comments on the last post, I think, and most on the one before.
All of the comments I made are gone.
I also have arrows in my tags in the last post instead of commas. Weird.
Did any of you have the same thing happen?
It was strange not to have access to blogger also.

I felt disconnected from you all.
Well, since blogger was down I had to find something else to do ;-D

I am getting ready to teach a 2 day workshop at Quilter's Paradise on Memorial weekend.
That is where our guild has its classes. A lovely space and a nice place to have our classes.
If you are interested, you can find out here http://www.sdpcg.org/ left sidebar, click on classes.
I am working on the supply list right now.
After being sick for so many weeks my brain is moving slowly.
I also get distracted, LOL!! Like now.

Madi and I also colored on friday. She has a very hard time staying on the paper.
We have Giant post it notes and she can attach them all over the house.
I have colored-on walls, drawers, and cupboards, and I am trying to prevent that in the future.

I uploaded some more things in to the Hoarders Closet.
I put up some Sacred Heart molds from original sculpts. They are a set and they are mirrors of each other, and tiny, great for earrings and embellishments. They can also be used for food, chocolate, precious metal clay and of course, polymer clay.
My friend the Woodwife has used them on some of her pieces and the links are on the listing.

Tomorrow is Fave Crafts finished on the 15th Blog hop!
I have a great tutorial for tomorrow. Those of you that are mixed media artists, shrine makers, frame embellishers, and painters are going to love it. At least I think you will. I do.

Tomorrow is also the first day of a going out of business sale by a wonderful stamp on line store, Scroll Works. They have beautiful stamps and they are going to be starting with 40% off all their inventory. They have 50% off sale going right now that is pretty amazing already!



Always remember to click on their links
so you can see the stamps without the frames too!
From the Scroll Works site and you will not believe the price on this stamp.

 Check it out http://www.scrollswork.com/
It is a progressive sale and the discount gets bigger and bigger till the 15th of July when the virtual doors close.
It saddens me to see another business bite the dust.
I did more, but I am rambling. so I shall go now.

So, until tomorrow my pretties, I am wishing a glorious weekend with all the magic life can bring you!

Some new things!!!

We have a couple of new things at the Clay Factory, my hubbies store!
We have a few new pages of Kemper Tools. There are many things here that can easily be used with other mediums.
Kemper tool Index

Kemper tools page 1

Kemper tools page 2

Kemper tools page 3

Kemper tools page 4

Kemper tools page 5

Kemper tools page 6

Kemper tools page 7

Kemper tools page 8

Kemper tools page 9

We also have two new Making's Clay molds, which I also learned worked great with fondant and gum paste

M39009 - Baby Push Mold

M39010 - Masks Push Mold

We have also added three new Air Brush Paint Exciter kits, which work nicely with Cernit Polymer clay and on fabric and everything else



Metallics oh these are yummmmmmmmmmmmy!!

Transparent also very nummmmmy

Opaques very nummy too.

Product Review and Giveaway: Lisa Pavelka Signature Series

Ok we have another awesome giveaway by FaveCrafts.com

You have to just love this place with their great give aways and projects. Join them!

And besides they are all so nice. YAY!!! I love people like this. Thanks you guys for all your generosity and thanks Lisa Pavelka and JHB for yours!! Oh baby do these look like fun! Would you look at that zipper? Get on this now, the deadline is April 3rd.

Signature Series

click on this and read the review by Maria and leave your reply to be entered in to this awesome contest for these wonderful products to play with.
Posted by Caley on March 26th, 2009 at 11:42am
The Lisa Pavelka Signature Series JHB International includes a variety of tools for polymer clay: Border Molds, Texture Stamps, Craft Foil, Magic Gloss, Embossing Cutters, and Claying Around DVD.
Product Review By Maria Nerius

Making word molds

Cernit Scrap Clay http://www.clayfactory.net/
Alphabet soup noodles (Found these in the Mexican food section of my grocery store)
Amazing Mold Putty http://www.alumilite.com/
Small piece of Plexiglas or glass (I have one that is 2”x 2 ½” that my fiend Pnina gave me, it is perfect, I can see through it and it is small)
Clay Blade
Piece of cardboard, I use a box top cut to fit in the tray of my oven

1. Condition the scrap clay and make it one color.
2. Run it out in the pasta machine on the thickest setting or 1/8” thick. If you don’t have a pasta machine, place two Popsicle sticks on each side of a flattened with fingers 2” round of clay and roll out with a rolling pin or clear glass jar, make it as smooth as you can or it will show in the mold when it is done.
3. Trim the end of the clay with your blade for a straight edge
4. Find the letters you are going to use, sometimes the letters are not perfect, look for the good ones. Place the letters on to the clay right directly above the cut edge.
5. Place the Plexiglas over the top of the letters and GENTLY press the letters in to the clay. Do not press the letters further than half way in to the clay.

6. Trim all the edges of the clay around the letters and place on your baking cardboard. I like to trim the edges very close to the letters. You can also make shapes if you wish, like thought bubbles and curved pieces, but I mostly use the straight pieces of clay and find that it works best for more situations. Think of word magnets for refrigerators and how you can out them together to form thoughts and statements. Mwaaaahhhhh! Boy can I think of a few choice phrases right now! It is working with phthalate laden clay for all these years that does this to me, wink, wink!

7. Once you have all of your word pieces, bake according to the manufacturers’ directions.

8. When they are cool, scoop out equal amounts of “part a” and “part b” mold putty and mix the white and the yellow together till it is one color about 1 minute to make sure it is completely mixes. Since the words pieces are so small I suggest you use a small scoop-like utensil, like the small end of a melon ball maker or a old ½teaspoon measuring spoon to scoop out the putty. I scoop out one color and then wipe off the spoon with an old towel and scoop out the other color. I get closer to the same amount this way. OR…isn’t there always an or?
Roll a bit of putty in to ½” coils and cut into ½” sections of each color and mix together 1 section of each color together, do not forget to wipe off the knife you cut the coils with, before cutting the other color coil.
Now that you are thoroughly confused…

9. When the colors are thoroughly mixed roll the mixed putty in to a coil that is as long and as wide as the word tile you want to mold. You may be able to make two or three molds from one mixing depending on the size of your scooping tool. Now press the putty down around the tile and make sure it is covering the whole tile and close to the tile on all sides.

10. I press on the top of the putty to press it down and then on all of the side and then down on the top again (not hard, PRESS NOT SMASH). Luckily this putty takes a little time to set up, which is nice so you do have some time, but don’t get up to go to the bathroom once you start mixing this stuff up.

11. After you get them all done, get out of the house for 15-20 minutes, do not do what I do and play with them and move them around and stick my nail in the top. Just go do something else. It is easier on my impatient self when I go away from the putty. If you could see my molds some of them have a ton of nail marks in the top of them. It is fun if you want to do it, just go right ahead, life is short, have fun.

12. After 15-20 minutes you can now stick your nail into the putty and it should not leave a mark that lasts, it will feel like it is bouncing back, then it is done.
13. Release the clay tiles from the putty. I also let them set just a bit longer after I release the tiles to let the inside set a bit more. If the letters stick in the mold, gently pick them out with a needle or a needle tool.

14. Roll a coil of clay about ¼” thick and as long as the mold tile on the inside of the mold.

15. Push the clay in to the mold, the mold will spread a little, so push on all sides of the mold to get the clay strip to be the right size.

16. Slice off the excess clay with your blade by slicing along the top of the mold.

17. Release the clay from the mold gently; try not to smash the letters. I make these molds kind of thin so that when I bend them back they bend easily and the clay releases easily and then I can grab the sides of the clay gently with out wrecking the letters.

18. You can bend the words in to different shapes, if you rub a little Pearl-ex powder just on the surface of the letters with your finger, it will make the letters stand out.

Here are some of the brooches that I make with these word tile molds.