Welcome to the Polymer Clay Artists Guild if Etsy’s July challenge! Our theme for July is “Faux”, one of our most popular themes. As you can see, 24 PCAGOE members took the challenge this month to create something “faux”, and we have 24 gorgeous entries showcasing faux gemstones, faux glass, faux mosaics, even faux food!

Go HERE to cast vote for your top three favorites in the pull-down voting box shown AT THE BOTTOM OF YOUR SCREEN. DEPENDING ON THE SPEED OF YOUR INTERNET CONNECTION, IT MAY TAKE A FEW MINUTES TO LOAD.

Only one vote per person, please. One (1) vote consists of choosing a 1st, 2nd and 3rd place entry. If you choose an entry for 1st place, please do not also vote for it as your 2nd and/or 3rd place choice. Duplicate votes will not be counted.

Voting will be by the public and by PCAGOE team members. Voting begins July 1, 2010 and ends July 7, 2010 at midnight, Eastern U.S. time. Winners in each voting category will be announced at here on July 8, 2010.

Five lucky voters from the public, chosen at random, will also win beautiful polymer clay prizes created by one of our many, talented member artists! Winning voters will be notified at the close of voting and have one week from the date we contact you to furnish us with your mailing address so we can send you your prize. If you do not respond within one week, another name will be pulled from the pool of voters.

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1) Tide Pool Pendant by BeeTreeByMe

Mary Ellen’s description of her entry: I am fascinated by the possibilities of combining the look of a heavy rock with the lightness of polymer clay. For the challenge I wanted to make a very Special rock! My inspiration was a unique rock tide pool in Bahia Honda State Park, Florida. The ocean tides have slowly carved the stone into marvelous nooks and crannies. This amazing Sea Sculpture is accented with wonderful little creatures that have made a home there. This pendant is my tribute to Mother Ocean’s creation The Tide Pool.

2) Faux Raku Pendant and Beads by RiverValleyDesign

Christi’s description of her entry: This is my interpretation of raku, made with polymer clay, acrylics, alcohol and a texture plate. This piece was finished with handmade beads of the same veneer, and green glass beads. Pendant and beads received liquid polymer clay as a sealer, and then were machine buffed to a high gloss finish.

3) Faux Chinese Turquoise and Antique Copper Necklace by SCDiva

Lynda’s description of her entry: I love Turquoise. Of all the gemstones I work with, it is my favorite. I prefer Turquoise with little or no matrix, like the 16mm round Chinese turquoise beads shown in my entry. I created the copper banded turquoise focal beads to match, using translucent clay, embossing powder, and my signature blends of turquoise and copper clay. The beads were cured, sanded through 8 grits of wet-dry sandpaper and buffed to a glossy finish. There is no applied finish or glaze on these beads.

4) Faux Pebble Bracelet by OneandOnly

5) Faux Turquoise and Pebbles Bracelet by CraftsbyCAG

6) Faux Amber and Lapis Lazuli Necklace by StudioSChiek

Arlene’s description of her entry: Faux Amber and Lapis Lazuli beads strung on sinew with silver accent beads

7) Faux Opal, Bronze and Coral Necklace by RMKDesign

8) Faux White Leather Cuff by 11BoldStreet

Susan’s description of her entry: Slightly tapered, the top layer was tooled with a spiral pattern and antiqued to simulate old leather that really fools the eye. A copper wire was embedded for strength.

9) Faux Serpentine Necklace by VyaKyasha

Polly’s description of her entry: The necklace is made from olive green and translucent clay for added depth and inclusions of black embossing powder to give the look of stone. The pendant is textured with leaves. The mounting of the olive pendant is black polymer clay textured with a block pattern which extends over the bails onto the back of the pendant. The accessory beads include a variety of shapes made from the olive faux stone including drum beads with an abstract design, circle beads with the leaf texture, and small round beads. Several black polymer clay beads are included as well as black pressed glass beads.

10) Oriental Totem by JanGeisen

Jan’s description of her entry: It is made entirely of polymer clay, except for the metal vertigris chinese coin.

11) Faux Venitian Glass Mosaic Pendant by PatiBannister

Pati’s description of her entry: It is entirely polymer clay with the exception of the antique gold-bronze mottled glaze on the reverse.

12) Faux Cinnebar Trinket Box by JKollmann

13) Faux Jade Pendant by KellyPlaysClay

Kelly’s description of her entry: I made this pendant for my daughter’s 5th grade Stepping Up Graduation ceremony. Her dress was the perfect shade of green to make green faux jade. The chinese words are “I Love You.”

14) Faux Rock Box by ArrowdaleArtStudio

Cindy’s description of her entry: My faux rock box came about because with a heatwave in the Northeast, and our air conditioning out of commission, I’ve been reluctant to turn on the oven, and until it is baked, my first piece couldn’t be assembled. One of the other Guild members suggested that my entry need not be cured to be photographed so I set out to begin again. Hmmm…faux. Faux. Faux what? Faux jade? Turquoise? Amber? All rocks. Faux rocks. Faux rock box! So there it was.

15) Dagwood Sandwich by Polyclarific

Amanda’s description of her entry: Each sandwich half is around 10mm long x 6mm wide and have holes in the corner so they can be used as beads. Inside the sandwich you will find cucumber, cheese, lettuce, tomato and salami. Enjoy!

16) Faux Jade Fish by ThePleasantPheasant

17) Brick by Brick Necklace by HiGirls

Lisa’s description of her necklace: This piece just evolved. I was mulling what to do for the challenge while I was waiting at Starbucks drivethru. I looked out and there were bricks-aha!

18) Faux Amber Beads by MarciaPalmer

Marcia’s description of her entry: I have been wanting to attempt these for quite sometime. The PCAGOE July Faux Challenge was just the motivation I needed.

19) Fe Faux Necklace by LaurelSteven

Laurel’s description of her entry: Faux turquoise slab nestled between faux carved white rocks and ringed with faux brown stones. A smattering of silver beads and spacers. Very “Fe.”

20) Faux Stained Glass Votive Candle Holder by ClayCenter

Berit’s description of her entry: I paint faux stained glass window clings, so my thought was to translate this to Polymer Clay. I made a kaleidoscope cane of clays mixed with translucent and covered the glass votive with it. Then I embellished it with some faux bling.

21) Imitation Lapis Lazuli Beaded Cabochon by MirameCreations

22) Faux Amethyst Agate Necklace by BlessedBeadJewelry

Janice’s description of her entry: Faux Agate in different shades of purple with lavender and purple velvet Swarovski crystals on sterling plated chain with purple jump ring accents.

23) Faux Southwestern Mosaic Inlay Tin by RenGalSA

Deb’s description of her entry: This was fun and I think I learned a lot while doing this. I wanted to make it look like an inlay piece between the borders of silver. Experimenting with different mixtures and adding different color and texture to the different ‘faux’ inlay stones was a learning experience. I never knew what would happen with the final result and decided that with faux stone - especially the malachite - you can never use enough translucent. The color takes it over and you just get more ‘glow.’ The stones used for most inlays are matrixes - splashes of color held together by resin. In this piece yellow jasper, coral, lapis, and turquoise. My one exception was the malachite where I wanted to play with the layering and add an extra design element. I made a fun big cane and will probably use it for other fun designs as well.

24) Faux Dichroic Glass Polymer Clay Beads and Pendant by PolymerClayCreations

Angela’s description of her entry: A new experiment using colorful foils and liquid polymer clay to achieve a faux dichroic look. The colorful glass-like beads and pendant are strung on a triple strand necklace with a variety of glass and crystal beads.

Voting is from July 1st through July 7th, 2010.  Please click this LINK to cast your vote for your top three favorite entries.

Remember 5 lucky voters win one of the fabulous prizes shown below.

The theme for this month’s challenge is “Faux”.  There are so many possiblilties with this.  A wonderful theme for showing off the great diversity found with this amazing medium.  Go to our flickr challenge photo pool to see the superb entries we have this month.  Voting will be from July 1st through Midnight Eastern on July 7th.  There will a link posted when voting starts.  Below is a pool of gorgeous works of art from our members that 5 lucky voters will recieve one.

They are from left to right, top to bottom:

1st Row, L-R:  pendant - ArrowdaleArtStudio; cell phone fob - 11BoldStreet; pendant - ClayHappy

2nd Row, L-R:  faux wood - JKollmann; bracelet - CraftsbyCAG; barrette - NKDesigns

3rd Row, L-R:  earrings - RenGalSA; necklace - PipsJewellery; earrings - PolymerClayCreations

4th Row, L-R:  pendant - SCDiva; pendant - RozPetalzStudios; pendant - RiverValleyDesigns

Come back here on July 1st to cast your vote for your favorite entry and be in to win one of these fabulous prizes.

Welcome to our very special June challenge! This month, our theme is “Think outside the box.” For this challenge, all the entrants started out with the same sized, rectangular aluminum tin, which measureS 2.5″ wide by 2″ tall. This is the tin the members started with, and just look at what we did with it! 29 works of incredible polymer art!

And to make this challenge even more special, you will also be able to bid on your favorite tin or tins to have as your very own! All the entries will be auctioned off during challenge week to the highest bidder, to raise money for our team charity, Polymer Clay For A Cause. The bid form is also located at the bottom of this page, below the voting pull-down menu.

Beginning June 1, 2010 and ending at midnight, Eastern US time June 7, 2010, you may bid on one or more of the entries. Bidding for each tin will open at $10 U.S. currency. Payment will be by PayPal only. The highest bidder for each tin will be notified as soon as possible after the challenge ends. Payment will be due immediately. PCAGOE reserves the right to cancel a high bid if payment is not made within 24 hours, and in that event, the next highest bidder will be notified.

Polymer Clay For A Cause was created by PCAGOE member Angela Anderson in memory of her daughter, Cortney, who passed away at the age of 14 after a long battle with Muscular Dystrophy. Angela says of Cortney: “Cortney had an incredibly artistic mind, but due to her Muscular Dystrophy we were not able to find a medium that she could do. So in turn during her years of living at Childrens Hospital she would tell me GREAT stories and I would try to bring them to life through polymer clay. Clay became both of our worlds, just in different ways. Cortney left this world at the age of 14 to go dance for the first time, but I try to continue her spirit through clay and charities.” (Cortney would grow her hair out, just to donate it to locks of love.)

And please check out the PCFAC shop at Etsy, too. PCAGOE members regularly donate items we create to the shop, and Angela donates the proceeds from the sale of these items to a designated children’s charity. To date, we have raised more than $500 in Cortney’s memory. We hope you will help us honor her memory by bidding on your favorite tin or tins.

The mosaic for the entries can be found here at our PCAGOE Challenge website.  The mosaic of the challenge entries this month is a large one and, depending on the speed of your internet connection, it may take a few minutes to fully load, so please be patient and wait for it to fully load. We wanted to give you the best possible views of all the entries this month! The wait will be worth it, we promise, but if you can’t wait, you may also see the mosaic here. Thank you!

Five lucky voters will also receive one of these beautiful polymer clay items created by our member artists. Winning voters will be contacted as soon as practicable after the challenge ends. Winning voters have one week after notification to claim their prize by furnishing your mailing address.

JUNE CHALLENGE PRIZES:

PCAGOE June Challenge Prize Mosaic

1st Row, L-R: ThePleasantPheasant, RenGalSA, NKDesigns, ToniNZ
2nd Row, L-R: ArrowdaleArtStudio, HiGirls, 11BoldStreet, CraftsByCAG
3rd Row, L-R: ClayHappy, YoungCreative, PolymerClayCreations, LaurelSteven
4th Row, L-R: BeeTreeByMe, ClayCenter, NKDesigns, Polyclarific

Beginning June 1, 2010 and ending at midnight, Eastern US time June 7, 2010, you may bid on one or more of the entries. Bidding for each tin will open at $10 U.S. currency. Payment will be by PayPal only. The highest bidder for each tin will be notified as soon as possible after the challenge ends. Payment will be due immediately. PCAGOE reserves the right to cancel a high bid if payment is not made within 24 hours, and in that event, the next highest bidder will be notified.

VOTE HERE now until midnight Eastern June 7th, 2010.

The theme for our May challenge is “History or Historical Event.” The only rules were that the entry must be at least 50% polymer clay and must interpret or depict the theme in some way.

This was a very exciting challenge for many of us. It is fascinating to see what moments in history, public or private, historical events or time periods influenced the members’ entries. We think you will agree, however that they are all stunning and beautifully executed. Some members chose to interpret an event or time period which affected them personally. Some entries depict history in a humorous, light-hearted way. Some are profoundly moving testimonies to survival and perserverance. All are certainly memorable.

Please vote for your top three favorites in the pull-down voting box shown AT THE BOTTOM OF YOUR SCREEN ON THIS PAGE. DEPENDING ON THE SPEED OF YOUR INTERNET CONNECTION, IT MAY TAKE A FEW MINUTES TO LOAD. (This link will take you to another website)

Only one vote per person, please. One (1) vote consists of choosing a 1st, 2nd and 3rd place entry. If you choose an entry for 1st place, please do not also vote for it as your 2nd and/or 3rd place choice. Duplicate votes will not be counted.

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1) Fly Me To The Moon Pendant by BeeTreeByMe

Mary Ellen’s description of her entry: “My inspiration is July 20, 1969, MAN WALKS ON THE MOON! I watched live coverage on my black and white TV. Every kid wanted to be an astronaut! The Space-age inspired, awed and humbled us. This is my tribute to people who made dreams come true.”

2) Australian ANZAC Slouch Hat Brooch by Polyclarific

Amanda’s description of her entry: “This month we remember our fallen soldiers on ANZAC Day (April 25). We remember fallen Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) who fought at Gallipoli in Turkey during World War II.”

3) The Day The World Changed Forever by NKDesigns

Linda’w description of her entry: “On 9/11/2001, 2973 innocent people perished in a horrendous act of terrorism at the World Trade Center. Living in New York, this is very close to my heart. This tin will not be for sale in my shop. It sits on my desk to remind me of the Day the World Changed Forever. Inside the tin is a Flag of Honor with tiny names of the 2973 victims of 9-11 who gave their life.”

4) Medieval Manuscript Cane Set by ZoeOwyn

Laura’s description of her entry: “This set of 4 canes are all based on pieces/design elements that you could find in medaevil illuminated manuscripts. I took a class to the museum to see an exibit, and I fell in love with the little detail work in the illuminations.”

5) Headline 1920: U.S. Women Get The Right To Vote! Commemorative Brooch by SCDiva

Lynda’s Description of her entry: “My entry commemorates the ratification and passing of the 19th amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which finally gave women in this country the right to vote in 1920. It also honors the first women in my family who were legally able to exercise their right to vote, my Great Grandmothers: Caralie Douglas Medlock Stoney, Julia Elizabeth Craft Moseley, Cora Lee Taylor Page and Pezzie Hinson Forrester.”

6) My Great Grandmother’s Steamer Trunk by ArrowdaleArtStudio

Cindy’s description of her entry: “This trunk represents the hard choices all of our great-(?)-grandparents had to make when they left their homes and families - all that they knew, to come to a new life in America. My great-grandparents came in the latter half of the 19th century, along with 33 other families after massive flooding for several along the Rhine left their farms useless. As I think about them packing up what little they probably had left after selling everything to survive, I imagine that final packing must have been so difficult.”

7) Ancient Shards Earrings by OneAndOnly

Maria’s description of her entry: “These have been made using inspiration from the minoanss in Greece, the palace of Knossos has still some amazing frescoes that were made 1700BC, flowers and the spiral designs are evident in may of the works.”

8) Italian-Inspired Terracotta Necklace by YoungCreative

Marie’s description of her entry: “Indulge your daydreams of Italy with this bella necklace reminiscent of ancient terracotta pottery. The focal point is a pendant, featuring inset hand-stamped images of Michelangelo’s David beside a map of Italy.”

9) Famous Painters of the Renaissance by PolymerClayCreations

Angela’s description of her entry: “My choice was this tin with photos of three of the most famous painters and paintings of the Renaissance. Botticeli, Da Vinci and Michelangelo on a tin covered with gold, copper and pearl mokume gane.”

10) Sunface Kachina Pendant or Wall Hanging by RenGalSA

Deb’s description of her entry: “My entry is a tribute to Native Americans. It is the Hopi Kachina, Sunface. The Sunface Kachina represents warmth, shelter for the old, bright future, and playfulness for the young.”

11) Bathtub Gin Bootleggers by AlisonEKurek

Ali’s description of her entry: “1920 through 1933 marked a period of decreed alcohol abstinence in the United States. It also marked a period of bootlegging, bath tub gin, gangsters and general upheaval in American society.”

12) Caveman’s Wheel Pendant by IansCafe

Ian’s description of his entry: “You can’t talk history of modern invention without a homage to the birth of the wheel.”

13) Come To The Tea Party by AshPaints

Arlene’s description of her entry: “Not a political statement, just a reminder of one of the turning points in American history when patriots joined together to fight oppression.”

14) Popular Toys of the 20th Century by BlessedBeadJewelry

Janice’s description of her entry: “All of these toys, the crayons, the lincoln logs, Raggedy Ann, the teddy bear, Mr. Potato Head, and the Slinky were invented before after 1900 but before 1960! Mr. Potato Head was the latest one, in the early 1950’s.”

Voting will be by the public and by PCAGOE team members. Voting begins May 1, 2010 and ends May 7, 2010 at midnight, Eastern U.S. time. Winners in each voting category will be announced here and at pcagoechallenge.blogspot.com on May 8, 2010.

Five lucky voters from the public, chosen at random, will also win beautiful polymer clay prizes created by one of our many, talented member artists! Winning voters will be notified at the close of voting and have one week from the date we contact you to furnish us with your mailing address so we can send you your prize. If you do not respond within one week, another name will be pulled from the pool of voters.

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First Row, L-R: Barrette by Polyclarific, Covered Tin by ClayCenter, Bracelet by YoungCreative, Necklace by ArrowdaleArtStudio.

Second Row, L-R: Bracelet by HiGirls, Necklace by 11BoldStreet, Earrings by PolymerClayCreations, Earrings by ClayHappy.

Third Row, L-R: Pendant by JKollmann, Pendant by NKDesigns, Pendant by SCDiva, Charm by JenCom72.

Fourth Row, L-R: Pendant by BeeTreeByMe, Pendant by RiverValleyDesign, Pendant by LaurelSteven, Raw polymer clay cane by ToniNZ

Several of the entries are also available for sale in our members’ etsy shops, so please check them out to see these and more one-of-a-kind works of polymer clay art.

You may sign up for our monthly e-newsletter when you vote. We would love to be able to tell you about our upcoming challenges and our special promotions and charitable projects.

Our members love to hear your comments. Please take a moment to do that while you vote. Thank you!

Please join us again in June for a very special challenge. Our theme for June is “Think Outside The Box”. The members all started with the same sized blank aluminum tin and have been challenged to cover and decorate it with polymer clay however they choose. The entries will all be auctioned off to the highest bidder during challenge week June 1-7, to raise money for our team charity, Polymer Clay For A Cause, which was created by one of our members in memory of her daughter. You will be able to vote for your favorite tins and bid on them as well! Our members really put their creative thinking caps on for this one, and all of the entries are fantastic. If you are a subscriber to our newsletter, you will get a sneak peak at the tins in our May newsletter!

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