Polymer Clay Artists Guild of Etsy

The theme for the February monthly challenge was “Gemstones and Flowers associated with your Birthmonth”.   The artists had their choice of which part of the theme they would like to depict.  The Flower or the gemstone.  Along with the traditional gemstones, they could choose modern, mystical or even star signs.  Please go to the list of entries to see a more detailed picture and description of each entry before making your decision.  Voting will be from February 1st through midnight Eastern February 7th.  The winners will be announced here on February 8th.            

1. Summer Pendant by M.E. of BeeTreeByMe

2. Red and Burgandy Pillow Beads by Linda of NKDesigns

3. Morning Glories by Kelly of KellyPlaysClay

4. Victorian Rose Necklace by Lynda of SCDiva

5. Faux Amber Bangle by Eugena of Eugena777

6. Cortney’s Life by Angela of ElementalDragons

7. Faux Topaz Cuff Bracelet by Susan of 11BoldStreet

8. The June Twins by Cindy of ArrowDaleArtStudio

9. Celebrating March by Marie of YoungCreative

10. Marigold Clay Painting by Angela of PolymerClayCreations

11. Emerald Beads by Terrie of Cloud9ClayCreations

12. Peridot by Jill of JKollmann

13. Daffodil on Faux Turquoise Bracelet by Janice of BlessedBeadJewelry

Please follow this LINK to cast your vote beginning Feb. 1st through midnight Eastern Feb.7th.  You will directed to a new website to cast your vote.  The voter box is at the bottom of the page.  So please scroll all the way down.

The theme for the February Monthly Challenge is “Gemstones /Flowers associated with your birth month”.  The entry can be interpreted anyway you choose, so long as it is at least 50% polymer clay and has something to do with this month’s theme. 

Every month there are 5 lucky winners chosen at random from the pool of public voters.  Here are the prizes up for grabs this month.

First Row:

 A desk pen set by ClayCenter, a brooch by SCDiva, a magnet set by SilverGate and a necklace by JKollmann

Second Row:

Pendant by MarciaPalmer, Necklace by RMKDesign, pendant by WorthingtonFox and pendant by RiverValleyDesign

Thrid Row:

Pendant by ClayHappy, Set of buttons by PolymerClayCreations, Pendant by LaurelSteven, and a pendat by NKDesigns

Fourth Row:

Pendant by BeeTreeByMe, set of beads by Jencom72, earrings by StudioSchiek, and a pendant by SpiritMama

Entries will be accepted in our flickr challenge pool until midnight January 28th.  Here are two of the beautiful entries so far:

Summer Pendant by BeeTreeByMe

 and a beautiful set of Red and Burgandy Pillow Beads by NKDesigns

January Challenge Winners!

Congratulations to all the winners in our January challenge. We had 13 gorgeous entries depicting butterflies or interpreting the butterfly them, all of which deserved to win!

We are very excited about the changes in the voting we announced at the beginning of the challenge. For the first time, voters were able to choose their top 3 favorites; and we implemented two categories, winners voted by the public and winners voted by their fellow PCAGOE guild members.

The Winners chosen by the PUBLIC are:

1st place goes to Berit of ClayCenter for her beautiful Butterfly Barrette

2nd place goes to Susan of PhoenixRose for her stunning Steampunk Flutterbye

3rd place goes to Angela of PolymerClayCreations for her gorgeous Colorful Millefiori Butterfly on a 3D Flower Artist Trade Card

The Winners Chosen by PCAGOE Guild Members:

1st Place goes to Susan of PhoenixRose for her Steampunk Flutterbye

In a tie for 2nd place, the winners are Berit of ClayCenter for her Butterfly Barrette and Jeanette of ClayHappy for her Beautiful Black and White Butterfly and Flowers Necklace

We also had a tie for 3rd place between Linda of NKDesigns for her stunning Butterflies Necklace and Lynda of SCDiva for her Faux Collage Multiple Layer Image Transfer Pendant

Welcome to the Polymer Clay Artists Guild of Etsy’s January, 2010 challenge, the theme of which is “Butterflies.” When the weather outside is frightful, isn’t it nice to take a mental break and think of warmer weather, Spring and beautiful butterflies?

All the entries were created using polymer clay to depict or interpret a Butterfly theme. The only other rule is that all the entries must be at least 50% polymer clay.

Butterflies are a popular theme among polymer clay artists who specialize in caning or canework, and several of the entries were created using butterfly canes. Also representated are other techniques, image transfers and sculpting, to name two.

Many 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 pieces of polymer clay art.

We have some exciting changes in the voting process to announce, which we hope you will like. First, we now have two voting categories, a public vote and a PCAGOE member vote. Second, you may now choose your top 3 favorites! Many of you have commented each month that you have a difficult time choosing one entry and would like to vote for more than one, and we listened!

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 starts January 1st and goes through midnight of January 7th.  Winners will be announced here on the 8th.

Click here to place your vote.  The voter box is at the bottom of the page.  Please be patient as some computers take awhile for it to load.

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 entrants also love to receive comments about their work, so please do take a moment to leave your favorite entrant a message in the space provided in the ballot box, and please tell us how you heard about the challenge, too. And please leave us feedback on the new voting changes!

JANUARY CHALLENGE ENTRIES: (Click photo to see larger sizes)

1. Butterfly Fairy Pendant by BeeTreeByMe
2. Steampunk Butterfly by PhoenixRose
3. Butterfly Barrette by ClayCenter
4. Butterflies Necklace by NKDesigns
5. Faux Collage Image Transfer Pendant by SCDiva
6. Stained Glass Effect Square Butterfly Bangle by BlessedBeadJewelry
7. Pink Butterfly Pendant by ArtistTooStudios
8. Black and White Butterfly Floral Necklace by ClayHappy
9. Glitter Blue Flower and Butterfly Barrette by KellyPlaysClay
10. Copper Butterfly Necklace by Ashpaints
11. Butterfly Whimsy Cake Topper by YoungCreative
12. Iron Butterfly by LaurelSteven
13. Colorful Millefiori Butterfly on 3-D Flower ATC by PolymerClayCreations
Five (5) lucky voters, chosen at random, will also receive one of the beautiful polymer clay prizes created by our member artists:

JANUARY PRIZE POOL: (Click photo to see larger sizes)

Another change to the challenges we have implemented is a prize pool. Beginning with the January challenge, five (5) voters, chosen at random, will receive one of the prizes shown below. To add to the suspense and your surprise, you won’t know which prize you’ve won until you open the package! But I think you will agree they are all beautiful and all are handcrafted by our wonderfully talented PCAGOE member artists.

1st Row, L-R: 1. Necklace by Ashpaints 2. Barrette
3. Cell Phone Charm and Beads by Juliespace 4. Pendant by YonatDascalu
2nd Row, L-R: 1. Bead Set by 11BoldStreet 2. Pendant by StudioSChiek 3. Pendant and Bead Set by WorthingtonFox 4. Pendant by LaurelSteven

3rd Row, L-R: 1. Necklace by KDollDesigns 2. Pendant by BeeTreeByMe 3. Earrings by LauraBeeStudios 4. Beads by Jencom72 5. Raw Polymer Clay Cane by ToniNZ

4th Row, L-R: 1. Cat Figurine by AlisonEKurek 2. Pendant by MarciaPalmer 3. Pendant by SpiritMama 4. Earrings by ClayHappy

Thank you, and please join us in February for the next challenge, the theme of which is “Gemstones and Flowers Associated With Your Birth Month.” And here is a sneak preview of some of the upcoming challenge themes for 2010, so stay tuned. We have more excitement and beauty in store for you.

Texture (March)
Inspired by Fabric (April)
History/Historical Events (May)
Think Outside the Box (June)