Lazy, Crazy Mosaics

(or is it just crazy to bake polymer clay when it is 100 degrees outside?!)

Call me crazy, but I'll bake polymer clay crafts on a 100 degree summer day - but stay away from the oven if it involves food prep all summer long!


And, you might as well go ahead and call me lazy, because I decided to mosaic with polymer clay so that I didn't have to mess with messy grout. But I think this makes a wonderful girlfriend gift, especially if you've been to the beach together!

Warning: polymer clay crafts may be addictive like this project I made on the Carol Duvall show several years ago. Check out HGTV.com for the instructions.

Candleholders aren't the only clay mosaic project you can make for your female friends (but they do make gorgeous gifts!). Carefully cover one side of a piece of glass with translucent polymer clay. (I used FIMO.) Press sea glass, glass globs and shells into one side. Add any extra clay to hold them in and press on sand to give it texture (and hide your fingerprints). Before you bake, add a wire hanger and you'll have a beautiful beach sun catcher - perfect for a fabulous female friend!

My beach shell collection hasn't had any new additions from summer vacations, but thankfully I can find more summer supplies at a local Michaels or Hobby Lobby. So, turn on a fan, get comfy, pull out the shells and sea glass and mosaic away for a perfect summer girlfriend gift.

Wrapping up Cyndi's baby shower gifts

My girlfriend Cyndi is about to have her baby. (YEAH!!) Being a first-time mom at 39+, it is an exciting time of celebration for her, her husband and all of her girlfriends (who consider ourselves to be very blessed to know her!). Read more about her very special shower!


Last night, in her pre-baby insomnia, she found a web site that made her think of me - NameMaker.com (photo from their site). The reason she thought of me, was that for her shower gifts, I made custom wrapping paper for each gift. The They Might Be Giants - ABC's DVD/CD had ABC's on the paper. The Baby Book on being a loved baby were covered with scanned images from the bear drawings in the book. The Sculpey Clay Baby Handprint Kit had blue baby handprints all over the paper. (Cyndi's really crafty, so of course I had to give her a craft-related gift!)

With a decent printer, you can easily make personalized wrapping paper. I used Publisher to layout scanned or created images, but you can use any software you prefer. Print on the largest paper your printer will accommodate and piece/tape together as needed. Add a nice ribbon and suddenly the paper becomes part of the gift (and expresses the extra effort you made to recognize the special event!).

I know Cyndi appreciated the effort and even said she was planning to scrapbook part of the paper with her memories of the shower. If you're not up designing and printing your own custom wrapping paper, consider your options - Kinko's, local printers, Namemaker and other web sites. Check out Cafepress to buy custom gifts or create your own. (I ordered some CafePress Girlfriendology shirts, mugs, journals, etc. and the quality, speed and cost are very impressive!)

Thanks Cyndi for thinking of me and Girlfriendology in your night of sleepless surfing! Good luck this week for the big arrival of beloved baby Daniel! And thanks for inspiring my creativity!!

What GIFTS are great for GIRLFRIENDS?

I just got back from NYC last night and the NY International Gift Fair. As I walked the show, I searched for great girlfriend gifts - especially whose inspiration could be recreated in handmade gifts. Here's a few ideas. I'd love to hear yours!

* Jewelry, of course, is always IN. (What girlfriend doesn't love to get/wear jewelry?!) The trend in jewelry is large/multi-sized loop chains and fun, decorative charms. Why not try making these? I've taken armature wire and made it into shapes, then flattened it by hammering it. (Often using my cement basement floor as the hammering surface!) Then, if you'd like, you can drill holes in the flattened areas and use smaller wire to attach. Add some jewels and other elements to make it totally cool and custom!

* Almost everything in the design world is being influenced by the natural/eco-friendly lifestyle. (No longer a trend, this is now accepted as our lifestyle.) To be honest with you, when I was in the craft/hobby industry there was no motivation to include any project ideas using recycled materials - they didn't pay endorsements or hire you to demo them. (Someone should change that!) Now, as a creative not bound to those pay programs, I love using recycled materials. At the Gift Fair in NYC, I saw recycled cans made into animals, rolled up paper tubes became picture frames and foreign newspapers were made into decorative gift bags. You're creative! Look around. What do you have that you could use? Recycled cans, paper, glass. Or natural twigs, stones and fibers. Have fun being a natural (and creative!) girl!

* Other creative inspirations from the show: adhering pieces/layers of silk flowers to walls or surfaces (like frames or clothing), wool felting in all kinds of shapes and designs, glitter on all types of surfaces (like the glitter paint pens I talked about previously from DecoArt) and lots of shells. Sometimes shells were even with jeweled items - like mixing simple shells with Swarovski beads. Sounds a little bizarre but it was gorgeous and very visually appealing.


* Trend shopping finds in NYC: Monkeybiz Beaded animals from South Africa in ABC Home & Carpet are always amazing. Dishes in Fishes Eddy (across from ABC) featured hula girls, silly handpainted dogs and pigs, strange drawings of politicians and bees. From textured pottery (by Jonathan Adler - who got Oprah to try throwing pottery!) to irreverent and intriguing art from Cite like the 'shopping bag' above and these rose 'kits' - it is all interesting and inspiring.

Take a trip to a local city or visit stores you've never been to. Experience diversity in your shopping trend inspiration. You'll be glad you did! (And then tell GirlfriendologyToo about your adventures!)

Crafting a creative career --- is best with girlfriends!

Last night my beloved friend Lisa Galvin came to spend the night (on her way to a rubber stamping convention! Photo from her Carol Duvall taping.) Six years ago we met at a craft/hobby tradeshow. Now, at tradeshows, we often share a room and travel together. She is a wonderful friend, a trusted advisor and a talented designer. We, along with Katie Hacker (another great designer and author) have a mastermind group where each month we update each other on our goals and accomplishments, as well as share our challenges and advice.

In the past six years, Lisa, Katie and I have 'worn many, MANY hats.'
* Lisa began as a designer, started publishing designs in magazines and books, did a couple books (see below), took leadership positions in creative designer organizations and now reps craft products to stores in several states.
* Katie worked for a publisher in the craft industry, went freelance and did lots of books (a few of hers below) as well as magazines, published a creative newsletter, demos, is a regular on PBS (Beads, Baubles and Jewels) teaches and develops products. She specializes in beading. (She is busy - especially with sweet little Lily!)
* I went from a career in corporate marketing into the craft industry as a designer, TV demo'er (Carol Duvall/HGTV, DIY and Shop at Home; plus QVC, PBS, A.C. Moore), wrote for magazines/books, authored a book, published an industry newsletter, and did marketing and product development for dozens of companies in the craft industry. Like I said, we've worn MANY hats.

Why do I tell you all that? Well, we crafty women need to follow our passion. We can't help it! You can craft a creative career. Look at all the others who have done it before - that's proof! Follow your passion. Live and work blissfully. Go for it! And encourage other creative women along the way! Creative and supportive girlfriends are the best!

Lisa & Katie's Books:

Staying in the G mode ... Greetings from ME!

Through the love and support of primarily my girlfriends along with my family and husband, I had the amazing opportunity to go to South Africa last year with 300 others from Cincinnati. While there we built houses, planted gardens, took care of the sick and loved on kids.

In addition to gifts purchased in South Africa, I wanted to give my supportive friends something from that special place that was completely personalized. First, I printed out THANK YOU Their Name cards and took them along in my suitcase. During a break one day I posed in front of the house we built (I actually laid the block shown behind me in the photo!) with each one of the signs. I cut "Thank You" out of white cardstock. Then I placed the photo in the front of the card so the message could be seen.

As simple as it was, at least they knew that I made a special effort to send them my love and appreciation from the other side of the world. What girlfriends do you need to make feel special? How can you create a custom greeting just for them? Have fun with it - then share it with the rest of us!

Great Girlfriend Gifts and ... what was that other G word??

GREETINGS Girlfriends!

Handmade greeting cards are the icing on the cake for a great girlfriend gift - the total package! (No calories but still very sweet!) And, even with scraps from other projects, you can create a great card through decoupage, layering or altered art.

The card shown above uses a contrasting color of paper along with short lengths of ribbon on card stock. The focal point is a polymer piece (conditioned and rolled through pasta-roller to make it even and flat) with a rubber stamped image on it. (Baby powder and corn starch on the rubber stamp make sure it releases from the clay. Just wash off before using in stamping ink.) Two-holes in the polymer were made before baking. Then, before gluing the polymer element on the card, wrap a mini ribbon through the holes. (Check adhesive guides online for polymer glue advice!)

And, speaking of a Girlfriend Greeting Card - and polymer ... check out my girlfriend Linda Peterson, her blog and her great polymer designs. We've taped together before (Carol Duvall, A.C. Moore, etc.) and always have such a great time together. I'm sure her designs will inspire you! And your girlfriends will love getting gifts featuring polymer accents. Check out Linda's creative clay book

And, come on back to GirlfriendologyToo to read and share ideas for Great Girlfriend Gifts and ... GREETINGS!

G is for Girlfriends ... like Gayle, Glenda, Gina ...

Have you noticed all the home decor elements that focus on our initials? Monograms and letters on all kinds of items are a personalized present.

You can easily create this look to show your girlfriends that you think they're special! Using armature wire, shape the letter. I made mine about 6-8" high but you can vary the size and style. Then I strung glass beads onto thin silver wire (22-28 gauge). I wrapped this around the shaped armature wire. You can add charms, a ribbon bow at the top to hang from, etc.

Have fun with it! More ideas to come. Feel free to share yours too! Enjoy creating great girlfriend gifts and greetings!! (This idea was brought to you by the letter G!)

Easy Girlfriend Gift - bead and metal bracelet

I love to make gifts for my girlfriends' birthdays. (Partly because I really love to receive handmade gifts from my girlfriends!) However, I don't always plan ahead when I have time to really be creative.

Recently I made the above bracelet just for fun. I love working with beads and metal and I like to give gifts that I would actually like to receive - and jewelry tops that list! It is a simple three-strand glass and metal bead bracelet. I spelled out "Girlfriendology" in faux-metal beads - but that could have any word, name or saying. A few sayings that come to mind are:

* Bless this woman (words can be separated by beads or metal findings)
* To me, you are perfect
* Best Friend (or BFF for text messaging gurus!)
* You are Loved
* Follow Your Dreams - etc.!

Have you made a special gift for a girlfriend? Or do you have ideas on gifts and greetings you can make as memorial gifts? Share your comments with us all!