seasonal sale at Etsy

I am having a sale at my Etsy shop. Free shipping to US and Canadian customers. Elsewhere $2! In addition 36% discount. This sale ends 'Cyber Monday' on Etsy. The shipping costs return and the 36% discount vanishes.

. . . for those of you who have the astute wisdom to visit here . . .

the free shipping will remain until the first of the year!
(simply mention my blog at the time of purchase)

I've done something kitschy, these fun ornament shapes. To be used as you want . . . decorate gifts, trees, zipper pulls, beading elements. The larger size is ~3" and the smaller ones run ~1 & 1/4 inches. Edged in leaf with Swarovski accents. They are slightly curved and hand polished. If you're good one or two may sneak into your purchase this season. For now they are offered in sets in my Etsy store. (Again buy 3 sets and mention my blog and you will receive a 4th . . . my choice . . . gratis, free, חופשי, frei, libre, libero, свободный, 自由な, gratuito. . . in other words . . . no charge :)

Valerie

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simple gifts

Imagine turning on the computer and going online. My home page is set to Polymer Clay Daily in the first tab and Google , of course, in the second tab (with all my home page goodies. Check out the flowers widget...GREAT pictures and colors. And now you can choose themes. I have Scott Draves computer generated art created with Apopysis. A bit of fractal software I enjoy using.)

I digress. There, on PCD, Cynthia Tinapple has featured not one two of my pieces. Absolutely made my day. It is when we are recognised by our peers true accomplishment is felt. Friends and neighbors can ohh and ahh, class mates and students may gush...when someone you and others admire (yes you Cynthia) publicly sends accolades ... oh the warm feelings.

And the help with pointing us in the right direction! The 'floating piece' was simply scrap and not something I thought to spend a lot of time with...ha! Seems like this has more potential than even I thought.

A N D . . . Today Louise Fischer Cozzi, my dearest friend in the art community has been featured at PCD. It does not get any better than this. Louise is not only a wonderful artist, she is the most giving of friends. And an absolutely perfect travelling companion.

Louise is known for her etching of polymer, the new work features transfers. Excellent!

Valerie

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mobile blogging

After searching a bit I found the out the details for mobile blogging. Not such a joy. The qwerty keypad is small and there is no spell check on my phone!

Thought I'd share my new view in my office. Yesterday the custodian mounted two additional cork boards in my office. Ugly things. Not the pretty framed ones shown in catalogs. These are the thick functional ones for heavy usage. First thing today I covered one. The second will have to wait for tomorrow. These are floor to ceiling and cover the walls in the small entrance to my office. (That white countertop looking bit in the lower right is a sink.)

This board I covered several years ago. Still fresh looking, gotta love those wallpaper sample books!

Photos were taken with a 2 megapixel phone and I do believe that this will be my last mobile post...

Valerie

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holiday fun

These are really addictive!

. . . Valerie

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seed beads and polymer

I have some news I have been sitting on for several months and will have to keep you in suspense about for a bit longer. In preparation I have been working on some new items.

This uses a trio of hollow lentils. I left a channel along the edge for the beading and used beautiful Japanese gold seed beads. When used in a small quantity as here the cost is acceptable. The richness of the real gold cannot be matched! This worked quite nicely.

Soon to my Etsy shop the following will be available:

The last picture illustrates the double finding in use. Simple and effective.

. . . and for the holidays:

I've been mindlessly beading. These are beaded on a 20mm hand-blown pre-war Japanese clear hollow glass sphere. I've used czech seed beads, magatamas, and in a few pieces fresh water pearls. They make great pendants. For the adventursome, earrings since they weigh next to nothing. And of course you can always decorate that greenery in your home . . .

Valerie

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CFOriginals . . .

I think I have been fortunate to have all of Christi Friesen's publications. This most recent one stays true to her quirky personality and teaching style. What fun!

For those of us who have followed this wonderful and innovative polymer artist, there are not any startling new concepts. There are plenty of fresh color ideas and new uses of those inclusions. (forks?) If you have not had the opportunity to have one of Christi's publications in your hands or taken a class with her... this book will be a revelation. Yes, anyone can put a piece of wire in a bead and then imbed it into some polymer. Here you will learn all the tricks to give your project a professional finish and high end look. Learn the technique . . . add your style. Voila a new star is born. Christi makes it easy. And encourages others to use her techniques and style. Refreshing.

This is decidedly a book to have in your home library. Full of fun. And that fun and joy of creating is what I so cherish in works of art.

Thanks Christi! (and no I still have not completed that sculpt I started in your class...)

Valerie

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technology that warms the heart

Congratulations to the open source coders! Works like a charm. Easier than logging on to my blog! This is a new toy I need to explore in the coming weeks along with the contents of the box the secretary reports is awaiting me in the office.

. . . a laser printer (I feel like a 3 year old in a candy store)
Valerie

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software . . . OOo

Trying out some new software...

Micro$oft has priced itself out of my budget and with all the open source apps available thought I would give OpenOffice a whirl.

When I found an extension that allows automatic uploading to a weblog....doing a happy dance...if it works. This post is the trial run.
OpenOffice is a great piece of software. Takes a bit of learning. However it is intuitive. I happen to like the M$Office Suite and have the professional version at home. So far the functionality I need seems to be present, just have to find where to click!
Posting easily from work will be a joy if this is seamless,
Valerie

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when is enough too much

There seems to have been an explosion of beading, jewelry and clay publications in the recent years. I have this need to have them all! Budgetary contraints to the contrary, I am slowly fulfilling this need. (No, it is not a desire or want, it is a basic need.)

This week I took the financial plunge and purchased The Beaded Sphere by Judy Walker. For this genre it is a bit costly. Oh My! You get a beautifully self-published, hard-bound tome that exceeds any expectations.

Take a peek . If you have a wish list for the season this might be one that does not make it . . . as you will just have to buy it as I did.

Thanks Judy for sharing this with all of us!

. . . Valerie

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PCAGOE

. . . has their monthly challenge posted and voting is open until the 4th! Go to your local polling site and VOTE then come home and VOTE again.

Go to PCAGOE website where all the information is listed and the voting is taking place. No need to go out to the polls for this one.

Do I have a favorite? I am a bit partial to mine.

In honesty, I have joined this virtual guild after a bit of debate with myself. The artists are an international talented group, with a goal is to promote themselves as a group. In today's economy any edge helps. And the talent shows in this collection. There is artistry and humor. The humor is what I find important in art today. We take ourselves too seriously. Step back and allow the spontaneity, joy and laughter back into the day to day moments. Bring back color and emotion. Looking at this challenge I see the bit of life the artist has imbued in each piece.

Valerie

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