Well, Sunday marked the last day of the 97th (?) Central Florida Fair here in Orlando.  My polymer clay guild has had a booth there for the last five years to show our wares and bring a little more attention to the fine art of polymer clay.  Unfortunately, this year I did not get enough participation from the members to man a booth for ten days.  A real, real shame, because people just STILL don't understand enough about polymer clay...and they need to.
Anyway, as with all the CFF's, artists are invited to enter their work for judging and prize money.  The CFF has $10K every year to award, and I am not stoopit!  I enter every year in every category I can enter in!!
Well, this year I took over $500 in prize money...talk about just a bit of validation, huh?  Today, on the way to the bank, validation looked kinda green...!!!!  My forays into competition are not always this good...there have been many times that the pieces I 've entered in a competition have been ignored or...well, ignored.  That's one thing that chaps my ass about some of these juried competitions...they NEVER tell you what was wrong or what you could do better and they never communicate at all.  You just pay your money for the judging, and then hear nothing.  Rude, rude, rude.  I realize there are hundreds of people entering these contests, but PUH-LEEZE....the people judging should prepare to at least send some kind of personal refusal of the work...doncha think?  I can't see how turn downs with no feedback can foster continued creativity from someone.
Anyway, here's a photo of one of the pieces for which I placed first ...I love covering tins, especially for the Hospice House here in Orlando.  We give these tins filled with baubles to the residents and try to bring a little brightness into their waning days.  This tin is about 6" X 6" and, of course, the style is "borrowed from the wonderful Christi Friesen...she's such a hoot!

I've just spent the last two days going through old jewelry I've made...and believe me, there's LOTS of it!.  I do that periodically, not because I need more beads, but because I find I really have changed and grown in my jewelry making over the last few years.  Soooo, I pull things apart that don't quite "thrill" me anymore...expecially when I find something I made with crap and Swarovski crystals...things I made with cheap plate and fine silver or gold-filled on the same piece...you get the idea.  I had no concept of what I was throwing together several years ago...I just thought  that it "looked pretty" at the time.  Anyway, after taking everything apart (that's an all-morning affair on the patio in front of the T.V.), and getting everything sorted out into separate containers, I cart it all to my workroom to begin the laborious process of putting all the beads away.
Then (and only then) it hits me:  I have more beads than I'll probably use in a lifetime...!!!  Why don't I realize this all the time?  Well, probably because I'm not smacked in the face with it until I have to sort and put away!  Matching beads and pulling them out to create something is fun, fun, fun!  Matching and putting away beads is a pain, pain, pain.  But is that going to stop me from buying more?  Duuuuh....I'll give you maybe 1/2 a guess on that one!  There's always something out there that's gorgeous, that I'll use later, that "will come in handy" at some time or another.  Whoever gets my "stuff" when I die will wonder just what kind of life I had beyond beads!!!!  I don't suppose anyone is selling will power, are they?  I'll take one gross if they are!!!!
The weather in Central Florida is beyond beautiful...THIS is why I love living here...the jasmine is blooming, and we have many visitors.  This little guy was so busy slurping the blooms, he sat still long enough for me to snap him.

Kato came out with colored liquid clay a little while back, and since I love the liquid clay that's been on the market for forever, I wanted to try it.  So, of course, in my predictable fashion, I bought all the colors!  I really, really like them and the possibilities you have with them.  Just curing in the oven doesn't quite get it, though.  It's really best to use a heat gun on them to cure the liquid to glass-like consistency.  I've cured in the oven, then hit it with the heat gun, which helps in cutting down the time spent.  The colored liquid will come out of the oven with a matte finish, and then I use the heat gun to clear it up to look like glass.  It doesn't work well all the time with other than Kato clay, as the Kato can stand up to higher temps, but with a little care, it will work with any clay.  The earrings (attached) were made with a Premo! base, and the bottle (attached) was done with Studio clay.  It helps (actually, it's imperative!) to work with very, very thin coats of the liquid, and build them up to the consistency you desire.  If not, you have to apply too much heat, and will burn the underlying clay...even the Kato will burn.  Once you cure a layer of the liquid, let the piece cool completely before applying another.  With the bottle, though, the first layer drew in on itself when I applied the second coat...gave the glass a kind of pseudo-crackly effect.  I think I like it, but of course the next time I try to recreate the effect it won't work!!!

Well...farted around.  I have recently started using Studio Clay quite a bit.  And, I gotta say, I love the stuff!  The texture is just velvety heaven on the hands, it doesn't like to stick to the rollers of the pasta machine, and it's tough enough to stand up to cane making.  The only problem is that it also doesn't like to stick to itself...so you have to work with it slightly.  I find, though, that the end result is worth the little extra effort.  The colors are absolutely scrumptious, and it blends well with other clays.  As a matter of fact, it gives other clays a bit of the velvety texture it has...giving me the best of both worlds.  I've attached a photo of some simple beads I made with Buttercream, Peapod and Avocado...and blends of all.