The Nature of Things!

Turquoise Jewels
Beth Petricoin




Treasure the Moment
Michelle Stuckner

These beautiful tins are brought to you by Beth Petricoin of Create My World (top) and Michelle Stuckner of Michelle's Clay (bottom). Beth's work is an inspiration.  She has a wonderful, unique way of incorporating the organic with polymer clay and the fusion is seamless.  Her work incorporates vines, leaves, shamrocks, and even real pressed flowers.  When I look at her designs, I think how nice it would be to have a dried flower from a wedding bouquet or a coursage lovinging preserved in a piece of jewelry, keychain, or plaque.  Her use of color in her tin is stunning!  You can view more of Beth's designs in her etsy SHOP or WEBSITE or follow her blog at http://www.createmyworlddesigns.blogspot.com or her Facebook Fan page.  Here is a fun mosaic of her other creations!  The Hydrangea pendant is one of my favorites!

1. St. Patty's Scrolls Necklace, 2. Hydrangea Real Flower Pendant,
3. Funky Chalkboard Pendant Necklace, 4. Pop Pendant Necklace
Created with fd's Flickr Toys
Michelle's Work is wonderfully unique and is filled with warm animal visions - especially horses.  She says, "I am inspired everyday by other artists, nature, people, animals.... the list goes on.  I use a lot of earth tones and nature inspired designs in my work. I occasionally make mold of leaves, sticks, buttons, but often times find them and use them once (or until the leaf wears out!). Textures sheets are sometimes used, but often times I just use what I find interesting and use household items." Her chunky photo transfer bracelets are wonderful and a great way to preserve a memory.  You can get more inspiration from viewing the wonderful items in her etsy SHOP.  Below is a selection of Michelle's creations.

1. Shake, Rattle and Roll Elvis Chunky Bracelet,
2. Saved Necklace Autumn Warmth, 3. Pony Pendant, 4. Horse Pin
Created with fd's Flickr Toys
Today is the last day to vote in June's PCAGOE Challenge! It is also the last day to  bid to take home the wonderful tins our members created.  All proceeds will go to Polymer Clay for a Cause - a wonderful guild sponsored children's charity. Voting and Bidding go through midnight EST tonight and the winners will be announced tomorrow.  All of the tins have starting bids and the bidding today is bound to be fierce, but with bids starting at only $10, you can still get a wonderful treasure for a special birthday gift, graduation present or a keepsake for yourself.   Nothings is better than getting a one of a kind treasure and supporting a wonderful charitable cause while doing so!  If you still need to vote or bid, you can do so HERE. Remember, 5 lucky voters will go home with a prize from the guild created prize pool and one very special winner will take home a wonderful matching pendant and tin created by Jeanette of Clay Happy

Life will be returning to normal shortly (and my sanity shortly after with any luck) as graduation visitors return home and we settle into a summer routine with the kiddos.  I've been putting in many hours polishing off the new Member Gallery for the soon to be released PCAGOE website update!  I'll make sure to keep everyone posted when the new site becomes live!  It's going to be wonderful - filled with good information, tutorials and member hints, links to our favorite shopping places, etc etc!  Now is a great time to become involved in the PCAGOE if you've ever thought about it.  In the mean time, I've been doing some sketching on new designs that I should be putting together soon and am looking forward to sharing them with you!  For now, here is another blast from my past!  This is an old self portrait that I drew in a spoon as a freshman in college.  It's wonderful and whimsical and has a great memory, too!  The spoon I used was a silver baby spoon that was a gift from my godparents.  It is one of those wonderful treasures that always reminds me of how valuable the people in my life are!   Make sure to let the people in your life know how much you treasure them, also!  *hugs*