Inspiration, pumpkins and girlfriends ... a perfect Autumn combination!

Funny how ideas and events coincide. Fall arrived this week. On Wednesday. In one day, it went from air conditioner weather to 'where did I put my sweaters?!' temperatures. I felt drawn to decorate for Fall. I filled the flowerbox with mums and now - I need pumpkins!

An email from my creative girlfriend Linda Peterson brought me to her blog on clay, crafts and creativity. There on her top 'story' was her version of baking pumpkins - Fimo pumpkins (shown here, using scrap polymer clay!). Wouldn't that make a great decoration for you or a girlfriend?!

Along with the great creative ideas (thanks Linda!) was Linda's blog about loving fall, craving pumpkin pie, enjoying the cool weather and anticipation of fall leaves. Sharing that sentiment with my girlfriend many states away was like a little visit together. Like sharing a cup of tea and laughing together as we wrapped ourselves in blankets and enjoyed the cool weather.

Thanks Linda for the great ideas and for sharing your creativity through your site. And thanks for the tea and pumpkin 'recipe.' Fall is a perfect time to create. Why not call a girlfriend to join you? Or create something special for someone special? Or make this pumpkin and send it to a friend in another state? You'll get to enjoy Fall together - now that's perfect! Happy Fall, Girlfriends!


P.S. Just a girl-friendly reminder ... It is almost officially half way through October and the 1st Girlfriendology Contest is going on! And, it is bringing in some great stories on girlfriends. Don't miss out! Share a story about your best friend, your childhood girlfriend, your girlfriend group - "whatever-girlfriend" and be eligible to win coffee at Starbucks with a girlfriend on Girlfriendology. Not only do you get time together, but we'll spotlight the wonderful gift of her friendship on the blog to recognize her. Join in girlfriend!

Girlfriends are the spice of life, right? Then add some flavor to your life and make this fun girlfriend hostess gift!

This polymer project keeps it simple with black and white salt and pepper shakers. I used three colors - white, black and translucent. (I used Fimo and found the white polymer a little stiff to work with so mixed it with the translucent.) Condition your clay. Probably the hardest part is keeping the white (mixed with translucent) - white! It seems to pick up any color remnants from your clay space/pasta roller so clean before using. Then prepare your black clay.

Apply a thin cover of polymer over your glass salt and pepper shakers. (You can get a package of several sets of these shakers at Wal-mart.) Make sure you cut around the opening so that the metal cap will fit back on. Then I made very simple canes - checkerboard and jellyroll* and applied them to the shakers. Flatten these elements (into the clay covering) or leave them dimensional. Bake per the clay guidelines then cool. You can either leave them like this or apply a glaze. Polymer glaze is available in a craft store or you can use floor wax before to add a shine and cover up any fingerprints.

Make a whole bunch of mix and match sets to have them on hand to give to your friends. Your girlfriends will love them and think of you each time they spice up their food!

* If you'd like to find out more, my creative girlfriend Donna Kato (she is a blast to hang out with!) wrote 'the book' on polymer clay - The Art of Polymer Clay AND her new book The Art of Polymer Clay Creative Surface Effects - very cool!

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.

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!