Check out the entries for the Smooshers Autumn Colors/ Halloween Challenge!

The entries are in for the Polymer Clay Smooshers Autumn Colors/ Halloween challenge!
From Illusion Everything we have this totally awesome set of 3 Lady Skeleton cabochons available in your choice of colors. 

 The largest measures 1 1/2" tall by 1 1/4" wide. The smaller 2 measure 3/4" tall by 1/2" wide and they would be great to add to your own bezels or just add a jump ring, ear wires and a chain for a delightfully spooky jewelry set!
Just Jewelry by Joan made these wonderful little Pandora Style Pumpkin beads.


These would be wonderful for any Fall jewelry you wanted to create!

Artmakers Worlds really outdid herself with this Halloween Green Bat Pincushion Clay Covered Tin.

   It's unique and decorative on it's own, but is also functional. 25 long, green pearl head pins are included in the tin.  The hands and feet even glow in the dark!
Her second entry is this Spooky Night polymer Clay Covered Pen and Pencil Holder.

It features a big full moon, a bare tree with an owl on the branch and bats flying on the other side. The moon and even the owls eyes are made with glow in the dark clay.

This Wicked Witch art doll from Fantasy Clay would make a fabulous Halloween decoration.


 She has a soft poseable body with polymer clay head, hands and feet and stands on her own. She has a black dress with lace details and a soft shawl. Her hair is Tibetan mohair and she stands 9 inches tall.

Second Sister at MoArk Jewelry created this Falling Leaves Whimsical Polymer Clay necklace.


 The pendant is made with polymer clay and colored turquoise nuggets. The 3-dimensional tree and the gemstones add a sense of depth to this piece. The picture this creates is a tree that has lost most of its colorful fall leaves which are lying around the tree base.

CreativeCritters entered two pieces.  This Halloween Black Cat Keepsake Tin is the Halloween entry.


The cute black cat is wearing a  witch's hat and has the insignia from the TV show Charmed on his chest in glow in the dark polymer clay.  The stars also glow, and glow in the dark powder has been added to the blue liquid clay on the lid.
This whimsical Autumn Dragon sculpture is the Autumn Colors entry.


The red and orange dragon is holding his collection of fallen leaves which have been sprinkled with gold glitter to add a bit of Autumn magic ;-)   The dragon measures 3 1/2 inches tall and would be a whimsical addition to your Fall decor.

So there you have it!  Lots of wonderful entries for this challenge!  And each of these items are available for sale- just click on the picture to be taken directly to the listing.  I want to thank everyone who entered this challenge, as well as everyone who has stopped by to check out these awesome handmade Halloween and Autumn creations :-)

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Halloween Treats from the Smooshers

Some may think it's a little early to be talking about Halloween, but it's really not that far off!  And since Halloween is the topic of the Blog Roll this week I thought this would be a great time to showcase some of the fun Halloween items the members of the Polymer Clay Smooshers guild have listed in their shops.  Personally, I love Halloween and all things related to the holiday: black cats, witches, magic, skeletons (preferably glow in the dark), bats, and all those other spooky things ;-) When I was a kid I loved dressing up and going out trick or treating with my brothers.  And I've had several black cats who all seemed to have a little extra magic, especially on Halloween.  As an artist I love sculpting all sorts of Halloween themed pieces.  This time of year seems to really fire up my creative energies (I think it's all the magic in the air)!  And looking through the shops of my fellow Smooshers, I can see I'm not the only one inspired by Halloween!
Here's a Winged Skull Cuff Bracelet from Mortimer Inc- wicked cool!
 
And this Witchy Mouse with BOO Banner from Quernus Crafts is absolutely adorable!

 
And of course pumpkins are always a part of Halloween.  Which is where these Pumpkin Stack earrings from Wyvern Designs come in!
 
 
And this mummy from Fantasy Clay is so much fun!
 
   
And finally we have this Vintage Halloween Cat pendant from Gems PC Creations .

 
To see more Halloween creations from the Smooshers check out http://wyverndesigns.blogspot.com/2012/08/have-smooshers-halloween.html.  Thanks for taking the time to check out these Halloween treats from the Smooshers! :-)

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Smooshers Blog Roll- Hippity Hoppity Easter's on it's Way!

The theme for this week's blog roll is Hippity Hoppity Easter's on it's Way.  It's hard to believe that next Sunday is Easter already.  When I think of Easter I think of bunnies (chocolate and the fuzzy kind), pretty Spring flowers, coloring Easter eggs, and searching for hidden Easter baskets.  Easter is also a time for gathering the family and having a big Easter dinner, after which all the kids run around outside searching for hidden Easter eggs.  You can find plenty of Easter inspired items from the Smooshers as well!
I just love this egg sculpture from ArtMakersWorlds!  This would make an adorable Easter decoration.
 
This Easter bunny necklace from BlueMorningExpressions would be an adorable addition to any Easter outfit!
 
Here's a funny bunny from FantasyClay.
 
And these cute Easter stitch markers from FyrestormCreations let you keep track of your stitches while knitting that cute bunny or other Easter creation ;-)
 
And here's a beautiful clay covered egg from KaelMijoy
 
I hope you enjoyed these Easter selections!  Be sure to click on the images to view the full listings and browse through the rest of the shop ;-)  To discover more wonderful Easter items from the Smooshers  check out
http://www.fantasy-clay.com/hoppy-easter-in-polymer-clay/.

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A closer look at some of the entries in the Celtic Challenge

I wanted to take a moment to highlight a few of the wonderful entries in the Polymer Clay Smooshers Celtic Challenge.  Everyone worked very hard to create these wonderful pieces!
This Celtic Knot Shamrock Polymer Clay Covered Pen from ArtmakersWorlds has beautiful detail.
 
The description reads: Using one of my own polymer clay canes, the celtic knot shamrock, I reduced a piece of cane to various sizes. Some big some small and covered this pen with lucky shamrocks!
The luckiest pen you'll ever own!
 This Celtic Inspired Polymer Clay Cuff from Sharp Art by Dawna is just striking with it's gorgeous red, black, and white colors.
 
The description reads: OOAK bulky polymer clay cuff with unique pattern. Off white and black with red. Sanded and buffed to shine. Two heavy gauge steel wires run through for added strength.
Medium-Small at 6 3/4" inside diameter.
1 5/8" wide tapering down to 1 1/4" wide.
This Celtic Greenman- Spirit of the Forest Magnet from Fantasy Clay is absolutely awesome.
  
The description reads: This Celtic Greenman magnet is the pagan spirit of the forest. His treelike face and leaves show how connected he is to the forest. The face looks as though it is made of wood but it is actually polymer clay.
The tree spirit magnet is 4 inches (10 cm) long and 3 inches (7.6 cm) across. Very strong rare earth magnet are used. They are placed at the top and bottom so no matter how hard you slam the door, this magnet won't fall off.
All of these wonderful items are available for sale and you can view the listing on ArtFire by clicking on the picture, or view the artist's entire shop by clicking on their shop name.
Thanks for stopping by and sharing our creativity!  Don't forget to check back tomorrow for more amazing entries in our Celtic Challenge, and be sure to vote on the theme for our next challenge while you're here!  The poll can be found on  the upper right side of the blog.

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Smooshers Blog Roll- It's a Zoo Out There!

The Smooshers have been doing the Blog Roll for some time now and I've decided to change it up a bit so the members who write blog posts get more exposure.  The way the Blog Roll works is that Art Asylum comes up with a new theme every week and the members that choose to participate write a post on their personal blogs relating to that theme and feature the work of other guild members in their post.  Normally I would write my post on my own blog, but I think I'm going to start writing it on Smooshers blog and include links to the posts that the other members write.  This should help get more exposure for the items featured and the member's blogs.
That being said, this week's theme is It's a Zoo Out There!  Of course when I think of zoos I think of animals.  I have always loved animals of every sort and taking a trip to the zoo was an extra special treat for me as a child.
This Pink Starfish pendant from Drunkenmimes reminds me of the aquariums where you could view all sorts of weird and wonderful sea life.  I was able to view creatures I would probably never see otherwise.
 
And then there was the polar bear exhibit, where you could watch the bears lounge and play on dry land, or, even more fun, watch through a large glass window as they swam through the water.  Sometimes the zoo staff would give them floating toys or chunks of ice with food frozen inside.  They were like kids in a pool and were an absolute delight to watch!  That's what this Polar Bear sculpture from Fantasy Clay  reminds me of- playful polar bears ;-)
 
The kangaroos and koalas were always so much fun to watch as well.  I was amazed at how those tiny little joeys spent so much time in their mother's pouch, and how big they ended up getting.  Watching mother and baby grazing at the same time (while baby was still in the pouch) was such a comical sight.  And I love the way the baby koalas clung to their mother's back.  It was like they were stuck there with velcro- LOL.  That's what this adorable Ode to Australia bracelet from Fyrestorm Creations reminds me of.
 
And then there are the pandas, who always look so cute in their black and white pajamas.  They seem like such peaceful creatures as they sit there munching on bamboo.  This pair of pandas from Grumpy Grandmas Gift Shop have a bit of extra color and design added, making them even more appealing!
 
To see more great zoo themed posts featuring the Smooshers visit http://dreamweaversdesigns.blogspot.com/,   http://wyverndesigns.blogspot.com/2012/02/its-zoo-out-there.html, http://valeriesstuff.wordpress.com/2012/03/04/its-a-zoo-out-there-and-the-polymer-clay-smooshers-guild/, and  http://amazingdesigns-marlene.blogspot.com/2012/03/its-zoo-out-there.html. Thanks for visiting our little polymer clay zoo!

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Meet Smooshers member Fantasy Clay

Smooshers member Susan, of Fantasy Clay, has been smooshing polymer clay for over 10 years and was kind enough to share a bit about her work and her methods for creating these wonderful pieces.


With all the mediums available for crafting why did you choose Polymer clay?
Polymer clay lets me explore almost anything- I can play with colors, textures, form and that is just the beginning. I can make almost anything I can think of, I am limited only by imagination. Even better, I don't need a kiln, it's inexpensive, it bakes in my oven in about an hour, and it's non-toxic.

How did you learn to use polymer clay? Internet, experimenting, books, classes.....
I first started with a kids book which taught some basics and had simple projects that encouraged taking trajectories. From there I hit the net. I got a big boost when Dinko Tilov's book came out in 2004. I had known his work from PCC so I couldn't wait for it and it added a lot to my toolbelt of knowledge.

What is your favorite tool to work with?
My hands are my favorite tool, I like to squish and touch. With a needle tool and my hands, I have the basics to do a decent sculpture.

Do you like to work with any mediums other than polymer clay?
I've used other mediums including oil and water painting, pencil, yarns, wool- but now I just use polymer clay (and what I need for embellishments)

What is your favorite polymer clay technique and why?
I love sculptural and textural techniques. I love the freedom and the creativity, even when I have a defined goal, like a cake topper made to order. When I am doing something like my dragon necklaces, anything goes.

What is your least favorite technique and why?
Caning. Precision is key, 'Nuff said.

What is on your "to do" or "to learn" list?
My biggest "to do" is to try to find a focus and really hone my skills in that area and perfect it.

Do you mix your own colors? Why or why not?
I HAVE to mix my own colors, if only because I love the exploration of color. I love using analogous palettes, like shades of one color, mixing your own colors is the only way to get those shades. Even more, the colors define my work- my colors are mine, I think the worst thing Polyform does is advertize its new Premo colors as "we did the mixing for you". Hands off, that is my job and joy.

How do you keep your designs fresh and original?
Are my designs fresh and original still? I'm not sure. I keep trying new techniques and sculpting different things, often just doing a different pose requires new skills.

What keeps you from getting into a creative rut?
When I get in a rut, I usually need a kick start. I go back to making some of my basics, usually one of Christi Friesen inspired dragons. The shape is simple, just simple snake, mix up colors, make a face, add some more color and it starts rolling...
I make sure I don't focus on a sellable piece but just enjoying myself.

What is your favorite brand of clay if you have one and why?
If I could only have one brand, it would be Premo. The clay is firm but giving. It also has the best mica colors of any brand. They've dropped some of their crucial colors, actually the 3 most primary colors - magenta, cobalt blue and zinc yellow but it still has many of their original artist colors.

Is there anything else that you would like to add? 
You have to do what you love. And keep trying to do it better.
Copper and Blue Mosaic

You can also find Fantasy Clay online on Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, Indiepublic, YouTube, and her blog.  Be sure to stop in and check out all her wonderful creations!  And right now she's offering free shipping on all items from her ArtFire shop!

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The newest Meet the Smooshers video

And here's the next in our Meet the Polymer Clay Smooshers video series!  This video features the work of Desert Rubble, Desert Wind Designs, Dreamweavers Designs, Drunkenmimes, Fantasy Clay, Gems PC Creations, and Grays Crafts.  These are all wonderfully talented polymer clay artists, with shops full of beautiful handmade items!

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