Polymer Clay Daily

Thanks a million

You visited PCDaily more than a million times last year! The statistics say that you love hollow polymer pieces and are hungry for hints about how to make them. Here are some of your favorites. Kim Arden’s summer canes topped the charts two years in a row!

Ever wondered who was reading along with you each day? Enjoy the fireworks on this annual report. PCD readers come from 183 countries with the US in front. France and the UK are right behind.

You can search through more than 2,500 posts and keep yourself entertained and educated. We’ve come a long way together in 10 years. Here’s wishing us all a fabulous and creative 2016!
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Martini mouse

Terlizzi on PCDaily

Melissa Terlizzi offers us this Martini Mouse sculpture for New Year’s Eve. No caption necessary other than Happy New Year!

Take a moment to look at Melissa’s other whimsical and/or realistic animal kingdom on Facebook and Flickr. Don’t miss my favorite, her Box Turtle pin.

Celebrate safely and come back tomorrow for a look at the PCD year in review.

Not black and white

Haon on PCDaily

This Nordic Knit polymer perfume case from Francoise Haon (Arliane) is black and white, of course.

What’s not clear is if the pattern is the result of mighty impressive canework or some other technique.

Patterns as precise as this make canemakers envious. Could she have extruded the tiny components? We’ll have to wait to see if Francoise gives us a clue. Take a look at the rest of Francoise’s Nordic line on her blog, her online shop and Facebook. What’s your guess?

Bury your beads

Mayorova on PCDaily

As we approach our usual end-of-year studio pare down and purge period, we might take a hint from Spain’s Tanya Mayorova and bury our beads!

Tanya doodles with extruded strips of clay set on edge. Stacked against each other, the strips dip and bend and wind around an assortment of beads and baubles. They change color as they move along. The effect is like water flowing past pebbles in a stream.

Do you have some beads you love and can’t let go of? This collage of treasures might be just the thing. Look closely at Tanya’s methods on Etsy, Flickr, and Facebook (and in prior PCD features).

A tutorial under your tree

Lehocky on PCDaily

Dr. Ron Lehocky apologized for being late in sending PCD readers this free holiday tree tutorial. He explains that he’s been busy making over 1100 heart trees since November. He’s turned his signature heart upside down and added some bling in keeping with the season.

lehocky_frozen_blue_trees

Ron offers the tutorial as a thank you gift to the polymer community who have so wholeheartedly supported the heart project and the Fimo 50 effort which both benefit the Kids Center. He’s also celebrating having made 33,150 hearts. (Can you imagine?)

Ron extruded so much green polymer that he tired of the color and created a blue Frozen series of trees. They sold out quickly. Unwrap your present from Ron at this link. Follow him on Facebook where you can see his fans decked out fashionably in hearts.

Wearing ornaments

beuting_necklace

We haven’t visited Netherlands’ Patricia Beuting since last year’s holiday season. Her big beads are richly colored and heavily encrusted with cane slices. They look like they belong on a velvet holiday dress.

This one is part of Patricia’s Color Your Life series of necklaces that require a bold, color-loving wearers.

Study how she applies slices of stripes and flowers on solid backgrounds to make textured pattern combinations. There’s more to see on Flickr, Facebook and Patricia’s site.

Ornamental diversions

Miller on PCDaily

With no children visiting this holiday we’ve gone minimalist in our decorating. Maybe that’s why I find myself lingering over ornaments and admiring the neatly sculpted and brightly colored tree decorations from Missouri’s Kay Miller (JoyfulMoments).

If you haven’t hit holiday overload yet, take a look in her Etsy shop. No worry, her shop is closed so you can’t be tempted to buy,

Miller on PCDaily

Kay is a multi-media artist and you’ll find her cards and gifts equally compelling diversions. Take a moment to smile over her quaint visual treats.