[Challenge] P3 February 2014 Challenge: "Pen and Paper Go Together"

I like pop-up notepads especially the bold and bright ones so when the Philippine Polymer Clay Guild announced  their Challenge for February 2014:  "Sweet Pairings," I got excited.  I made a pop-up notepad holder and also covered a pen with polymer clay using the wood grain technique.   I have seen this technique several times in books and as demonstrated by one of the Houston polymer clay guild members, Bob.  I tried to make 2 different kinds of woodgrain:  one using gold mica pc and the other was gold mixed with pearl and translucent.  The stitching around the box and the blue flowers completed the piece.

Polymer Clay Wood Grain
Pen and Pop-up Notepad Holder

I have seen this technique several times in books and as demonstrated by one of the Houston polymer clay guild members, Bob.  I tried to make 2 different kinds of woodgrain:  one using premo sculpey gold mica pc and the other was gold mixed with pearl and translucent.  The stitching around the box and the blue flowers completed the piece.

Head over to the Philippine Polymer Clay's Facebook to check out the other projects and LIKE us while you're there.  

Have a blessed day!
♥  michelle

Have a Soupa Great Day! [The 5th BSBP]

Welcome to the 5th Beasd Soup Blog Party hosted by Ms. Lori Anderson of Pretty Things Blog.

Today is an exciting (and an anxious) day for me as I serve my bowl of soup.  This is my very first bead soup blog and somehow I had "designer blackout" if there is such a word.

My partner was Ms. Melissa Meman.  She gave me a wonderful bead soup - she made the mixed metal focal piece, enameled beads and clasp.  Awesome!

I love how Melissa made the mixed metal focal bead - it looks very interesting and is such a good conversation piece.  Let me share with you the necklace which I call:  "Serenity."

I love the enameled green beads so I worked around it.  The color Green means self-respect and well-being; it is the color of balance and also means learning, growth and harmony. 

 The suspended glass leaves give the piece more character to the neckalce and for me, it symbolizes life in its active form.

Melissa sent me many beads that could be used to create several pieces but since I didn't use everything, I have time to design and create more jewelry.  I will keep you posted of my future BSBP projects.

And now, it's time for you and me to hop on and parteeeeeey!

So grab your bowl of warm soup and start to click away!

There are 200 participants - now that you've visited my blog, you have 199 left more to go.

Have fun!

Hostess, Lori Anderson
Special Book Sneak Peeks, Cindy Wimmer

1.  Adlinah Kamsir (Singapore) and Hajer Waheed (Kingdom of Bahrain)

2. Adrienn Lukacs (Hungary) and Agata Grygiel (Poland)

3.  Agi Kiss (Hungary) and Carolien Muller-Genger (the Netherlands)

4.  Agnes Asztalos (Hungary) and B.R. Kuhlman

5.  Alesha Conklin and Becki Mendivil

6.  Alice Peterson and Carol Dillman

7.  Alicia Marinache (Canada) and Dita Basu

8.  Amanda Dittloff and Brandy Thomason McNair

9.  Amanda Tibbetts and Andrea Trank

10.  Amy Freeland and Kay Mallery 

11.  Andra Weber and Christine Murrow

12.  Ann Sherwood and Diane Welte

13.  Barbara Bechtel and Kerry Bogert

14.  Barbara Lewis and Cat Pruitt

15.  Bonnie Coursolle (Canada) and Fay Wolfenden (Canada)

16.  Carmel McGinley (Australia) and Tracy Stillman (Australia)

17.  Cassie Donlen and Deryn Mentock

18.  Cathie Carroll and Janel Dudley

19.  Cece Cormier and Morwyn Mullins

20.  Charlene Jacka and Christina Hickman

21.  Cheryl Brown (Canada) and Diana Ptaszynski

22.  Christina Stofmeel (the Netherlands) and Eva Kovacs (Hungary)

23.  Christine Damm and Deb Brooks

24.  Cilla Watkins (Canada) and Elaine Robitaille (Canada)

25.  Sabrina Straub (Switzerland) and Kathy Combs

26.  Cindy Cima Edwards and Eleanor Burian-Mohr

27.  Cory Celaya and Rhea Freitieg

28.  Courtney Breul and Dana Hickey

29.  Cynthia Abner and Jennifer Boreck

30.  Cynthia Tucker and Jean Peter

31.  Debbie Goering and Heidi Post

32.  Dee Elgie (UK) and Joanne Lockwood (UK)

33.  Dian Hierschel (Germany) and Eniko Fabian (Austria)

34.  Diane Cook and Lyn Foley

35.  Donna Bohler and Lisa Lodge

36.  Donna Millard and Kiersten Giles

37.  Doris Stumpf (Germany) and Eszter Czibulyas (Hungary)

38.  Elisabeth Auld and Eva Sherman

39.  Elke Leonhardt-Rath (Germany) and Marjolein Trewavas (UK)

40.  Ema Kilroy and Laurie Keefe-Cecere

41.  Erika Nooteboom (the Netherlands) and Giorgia Rossini (Italy)

42.  Erin Grant and Jean Wells

43.  Evelyn Duberry (Canada) and Gaea Cannaday

44.  Genea Crivello-Knable and Heather Powers

45.  Ginger Bishop (military, Okinawa) and Martina Nagele (Germany)

46.  Heidi Kingman and Lori Greenberg

47.  Helen Kemp and Lisa Wangeman

48.  Helene Goldberg (Australia) and Karen Vincent

49.  Jamie Hogsett and Jeannie Dukic

50.  Jeanette Ryan and Jelveh Jaferian

51.  Jennifer Cameron and Tania Spivey

52.  Jennifer Justman and Kari Carrigan

53.  Jennifer Tough and Lorelei Eurto

54.  Joanna Matuszczyk (Poland) and Julianna Kis (Hungary)

55.  Joanne Tinley (UK) and Michaela Pabeschitz (Austria)

56.  Julie Anne Leggett and Kelley Fogle

57.  Karen Hess and Linda Landig

58.  Karyn Bonfiglio and Kathleen Lange Klik

59.  Kashmira Patel and Kat White

60.  Kat Barron Miller and Kelly Morgan

61.  Kathy Lindemer and Rose Binoya

62.  Krafty Max and Sandra Miller

63.  Kristen Latimer and Pam Ferrari

64.  Kristie Roeder and Lea Avroch

65.  Kristina Johansson (Sweden) and Penny Neville (Canada)

66.  Krisztina Erlaki-Toth (Hungary) and Nicole Keller (Germany)

67.  Lara Lutrick and Lisa Suver

68.  Laura DeMoya and Lisa Hanna

69.  Libby Leuchtman and Melanie Brooks

70.  Linda Koch and Rosemarie Cowit

71.  Lisa Chapman and Menka Gupta

 72.  Lisa Liddy and Marion Simmons

73.  Lori Anderson and Marcie Abney

74.  Lori Bowring-Michaud and Mary Govaars

75.  Lori Dorrington and Maria Rosa Sharrow

76.  Lori Finney (Canada) and Marie-Noel Voyer-Cramp (Canada)

77.  Lynn Bennett and Mandi Ainsworth

78.  Marta Kaczerowska (Poland) and Milla Starchik (Canada)

79.  Mary Harding and Shannon LeVart

80.  Mary Jane Dodd and Stacey Curry

81.  Melinda Orr and Molly Alexander

82.  Melissa Meman and Michelle Escano-Caballero ---->  YOU ARE HERE!!!

83.  Michelle Jensen and Sandra Young (Canada)

84.  Nan Emmett and Nicole Valentine-Rimmer (Canada)

85.  Nancy Boylan and Suzette Bentley

86.  Natasha Lutes and Patti Vanderbloemen

87.  Pam Hurst and Rebekah Payne

88.  Patty Miller and Sara Rhoades

89.  Rebecca Anderson (UK) and Lori Anderson

90.  Rebecca Sirevaag and Sharon Driscoll

91.  Rochelle Brisson and Shannon Chomanczuk

92.  Rosa Maria Cuevas (Mexico) and Tejae Floyde

93.  Sabine Dittrich (Germany) and Sally Russick

94.  Sandi Volpe and Sarah/Saturday Sequins

95.  Shanti Johnson and Tracy Mok (Canada)

96.  Skylar Brez and Theresa Buchle

97.  Sonya Stille and Traci Zeller (Canada)

98.  Stefanie Teufel (Germany) and Tania Hagen (New Zealand)

99.  Stephanie LaRosa and Vonna Maslanka

100.  Terri Wlaschin and Wendy Blum

Challenge of Music [Tesori Trovati Challenge]

Have you noticed that music plays a big part in setting our mood?

Picture yourself having dinner by candlelight with your loved one and a background music of soft tones and romantic melodies.  Or being in a fun party where '80's music is played.

Do you play music to set your crafting or creative mood? If you do, I have great news for you!

I will be participating in Erin of Tesori Trovati's Music Challenge. Join us in celebrating the Leap Year by blog hopping with us on February 29, 2012.

In her blog, Erin about a study done by a Psychologist from Cambridge University on Music and how it (almost) parallels our personality.

Watch this video clip to have an idea what it's all about:  Cambridge University:  "The Music in Me."

So come back on February 29 for a day fun and surprises!
There will be lots of music and music-inspired jewelry.  I can't wait to see and read what other jeweller-bloggers come up with.  It will be very interesting.

See you soon!  Have a safe, healthy and blessed week!

Happy crafting!

♥  Michelle  ♥

Philippine Polymer Clay Guild Apatchies Challenge [Inchies: Feb 2012]

I love design challenges and as a newbie in the Philippine Polymer Clay Guild, I joined my first challenge with them.  The theme was:  "The Apatchies Challenge'"

We were tasked to make four "Inchie's" that would best describe our style as an artist.  What is an Inchie, you might ask.  An inchie is a 1x1 inch sized clay with a thickness of 3 to 8 mm.

These is my "Inchie Quartet."

These inchies show my love for Floral themes.  I used different techniques such as millefiori caning, Donna Kato's component caning, texturing, molding, and mixed media art.  Each inchie represents different styles and shows a variety of materials such as mica powder, paint and gloss.

Visit us at Facebook:  Philippine Polymer Clay Guild.

Happy crafting!

♥  Michelle  ♥

Heart to Art Recycled Deluxe Wall Decor [Nap Time Crafters: American Crafter]

Have you seen or ever heard of this great contest:  BE THE NEXT AMERICAN CRAFTER!  Check out Nap time Crafters to see what it's all about.   

Have you ever wondered what to do with all the Yellow pages directory that they keep on sending to your doorstep?  Do you want new ideas on what to do with your toilet paper roll?  Today, I will share with you a wall decor that's all that:  paper, tissue roll and mod podge.  This is my 'heart to art' take on that.
Instructions:
1.  Paper:  Use the colored tabs of the Yellow pages and cut 1 1/2 inches.  I used orange, red, blue and green tabs.
2.  Tissue Roll: 
     a.  Measure 1 inch and cut.  1 tissue roll will have 4, 1 inch segments.  Cut out 21 pcs or more as you can see later.
      b.   Measure 3/4inch segments and cut.  Make about 7-10.
3.  Apply a generous amount of mod podge on the tissue roll segment and wrap with paper.  Apply another layer of mod podge to create a clean and polished look.  If you are new to mod podge, you may want to read THIS.
4.  Flower:  Pinch 2 opposite edges of the wrapped segment to form a marquise shape.  Make 5 of these and adhere to one another (colored edge on top) as seen in the photos.  To complete the flower, crumple a small piece of paper and cover it to form a round shape.  Affix it to the center of the flower.

Steps to "Recycled Deluxe Wall Decor"

5.  Leaves:  Use green paper to cover the segments.

6.  Time to be creative:  I used 3 flowers and worked my way around them by adding leaves and round shapes.  I like wavy patterns so I did that here.  Finally, I stuffed them with white tissue paper to make them 'pop' against my hunter green wall. 

I hung the wall decor below my 2 frames.  Here it is:

RECYCLED DELUXE WALL DECOR