Guild Meeting for August 2011

We had a great time at our CIPCG meeting this past Saturday.  There were 7 of us and everyone was working on a different project.  Click on the pictures below to get an up-close look at what we were working on.

Pam brought some polymer clay rings and pendants she had made.  They were really neat!  She’d also been working with hammered silver solder – what a great idea.  I loved her music note pendant.  Oh and her tile bracelet was beautiful!  And there were these micro-tile leather bracelets, too…. yummy.

Scott joined us for the first time, and Pam taught him how to make a Retro Cane with the Makin’s Clay extruder (the green one).  Scott is an art teacher and wants to share polymer clay with his students.  He thought the Retro Cane was a really interesting technique.

Linda’s son is getting married, and she wanted to make a necklace to go with the dress she picked out for the wedding.  After looking through Julie Picarello’s book, she decided to make a Lazy River necklace in complementary colors.

Liz worked on mixing colors to go with some geode beads she’d purchased, and also on a cuff bracelet, while Diane conditioned a beautiful mint green color of Sculpey III to make some beads.

Ann was there, and though I didn’t get a picture of it, she was working on a beautiful mini vase, covering it with polymer clay.

I worked on a polymer clay cane in the shape of a triple leaf.  This cane is for fimo nail art, and will be used as a fingernail decoration.  The cane starts out at about 3 inches in diameter.  By the time I’m done reducing, it’s 1/4 inch in diameter.  You can see the progression of the cane below.

Now we can’t forget about the food!  Of course we had a potluck lunch again, which is a highlight of our guild meetings.  Sub sandwiches, cookies, hummus and chips, rice crispy bars, and milkshakes!

If you’re in the Peoria area and would like to join us for a CIPCG meeting, you are welcome to join us.  Meetings are free and open to the public.  We meet at the Hobby Lobby store in Peoria on University Street.  Either contact us for details and to be put on the mailing list, or watch this website for the September event.

JO-Ann Fabrics VIP Discount Card

I was at Jo-Ann Fabrics last week, and one of the handouts they put in my shopping bag was a flier for the Jo-Ann VIP discount card.  With this card, you can get 10% off on the total of your purchase, including sale items (some restrictions apply).  This card can be used both online at joann.com, and in your local Jo-Ann Fabrics Store.  In order to qualify, you must be at least ONE of the following:

• a creative professional with a tax-exempt number;
• a member of a registered 501c3 non-profit organization;
• a card-carrying member of an official guild or club.

To get your VIP card for Jo-Ann’s, you will need to go into the store and show the Store Manager two proofs of identification:  your CIPCG guild membership card, plus your state photo ID card or driver’s license.

To qualify for your CIPCG guild membership card, you will need to be a local member of  the Central Illinois Polymer Clay Guild, and have attended at least one class or clay day.  To get your CIPCG membership card, you can contact the guild President, Pam Miller or the Webmaster, Charlene Therien.

Image Transfer Class

We had our January Class & Clay Day on the 15th.  Pam, Ann, Cat and Eli attended.  At 1:00 pm Pam began the class, and she taught how to make image transfers using toner-based images and liquid clay.  Pam had Kato liquid, Eli and Ann had Sculpey liquid, and Cat had Fimo liquid.  Cat and Pam had also brought some waterslide transfers to share.

Ann worked with liquid clay that she tinted with alcohol-based inks.  She was making an abstract, raised pattern on a square of clay.  She also was making a cat piece for one of her granddaughters.  She was really excited about how the transfers she did had come out, because she had always had trouble with the technique previously.

Cat was working on making retro earrings.  She had made the green ones and brought them into the class to show them.  She made the black ones for her daughter.

Eli was working on three transfers:  a clock, a retro pattern, and an oriental image.

Pam was making a keychain for her son, using the Paris image, as a reminder of his trip to Europe that he enjoyed so much.  She also made a tiger pendant, and the tiger was painted by one of her co-teachers.

Everyone brought some food to share, and we had lunch together as we worked on our projects.  Eli had to leave early, but the others stayed until 5:00pm.

Hello world!

This is the official website of the Central Illinois Polymer Clay Guild, affiliated with the International Polymer Clay Association.  2011 is a new year, and a good time to transfer over our old guild website to one with greater capability.

I’ll be adding content from our old guild’s website to this one over the next few hours and days.  I hope you enjoy what you find here.  If you’re in the Central Illinois area and are interested in learning about polymer clay, we invite you to contact us about joining us for one of our monthly “Clay Day” events, which includes an inexpensive technique class followed by an afternoon/evening of sharing and using our clay together.