One cake topper

Ashley celebrates one with a clever cake topper on PolymerClayDaily.com

Ashley’s one-year-old daughter was probably interested in the yummy cake. But I did a little “awww” and admired her clever polymer cake topper made from extruded strings. (The cake looks good to me too.)

That’s Ashley (HeyLetsClay) from Oregon. She excels at colors and the softest, dreamiest blends. And she’s right, her daughter is even cuter than the cake.

I pronounce you “done”

“I pronounce you done,” said Virginia’s Melissa Terlizzi of her realistic polymer wedding cake topper.

Sculpting humans took her totally out of her comfort zone which usually keeps her in the animal kingdom.

Melissa offers tips on what she learned. It took her 9 heads and 6 pairs of glasses before she was pleased. See the in-process shots here.

Melissa gives credit to Maureen Carlson’s book (Family and Friends in Polymer Clay) for steering her in the right direction.

Thank you for your terrific response to the “Keep it rollin'” campaign for a new pasta machine for the inmates. Click the “donate now” button to the right of this post to add your Christmas cheer.  Or you can buy Helen Breil’s new tutorial and get yourself a gift and help the women at the same time!

Polymer twins

Cortney Rector and Kirsten Arundt are twin sisters who have always enjoyed creating art together. Their folk art polymer cake toppers, sculptures and ornaments are sold through their IndigoTwin Etsy shop and their trendy work has appeared in magazines like Prims, Parenting and Brides. The twins have always enjoyed creating art together and continue to give each other inspiration.

This mermaid, Ondine, appeared in the summer issue of Prims. The sisters love the ocean and as children daydreamed about being mermaids. Read their stories and check out their Facebook page. It’ll make you wish you had a twin.

June means polymer at weddings

Wait, wait! We can’t go through the month of June without talking about polymer wedding cake toppers.

My most recent favorite is Spain’s Noemi Hurtado who pays attention to every detail. From noses to fabrics to hair to flowers, Noemi makes a faithful copy of the couple in miniature. The “before and after” photos on her Flickr galleries and her blog kept me reading longer than I intended to stay.

Since I was in a romantic frame of mind, I popped into Heather Wynn’s Etsy shop and facebook fan page. Always good for a tug at your heart.

Beginners tutorial

Sandy's paperclip bracelet tutorial

If you’re looking for a good beginner’s polymer clay project, check out Sandy’s jewelry made with polymer and round paper clips. Easy, peezy.

Etsy features Tajvidi

Etsy’s featured seller is Afsaneh Tajvidi, a polymer clay artist from Toronto. Her story is a good Monday read and I especially like that, like me, she keeps a huge collection of inspirational photos on her hard drive.

“Whatever catches my eye I save it in that folder. I go through my treasure folder once in a while to feed my mind with colors, forms, textures or even the materials that I can use…it really helps my creativity,” she says.

Her color palette full of spring colors and she uses words like “innocent” and “dreamy” to describe her designs. She’s recently added cake toppers to her Etsy shop.

Afsaneh will have a giveaway of her fanciful polymer crabs next Saturday. Just leave a comment on her site and you might win.

Stubitsch’s polymer likenesses

Dawn Stubitsch made her first polymer clay sculpture in 1983. Now customers book their figurine orders a year in advance and Dawn only commits to six a year. Her site contains a marvelous selection of her lifelike figures and very clear instructions on the kinds of photos needed to help her create good likenesses.

Dawn began her polymer career making Thumbprint Kids. She no longer makes the kids but she continues to enter polymer-covered mini cars in racing contests. Her 2009 fish entry is shown here.

Thanks to Jana Roberts Benzon for the addition to our growing list of cake topper/portrait artists.

Polymer clay flash drives

This polymer clay covered flash drive speaks to my inner geek. Manila’s Aileen of ClayCreations and her two sisters have carved out a nice niche making custom designed drives as well as whimsical charms, figures, cake toppers and more.

The flash drives created for one couple’s wedding (Karl and Mimi) figure prominently in their wedding video. Watching it was a fun way to kick off the week.

The link came to us from Ruth Ann Husted via gadgenista.com.