[Bottles of Hope] Spreading Good Cheer through Art

"Hello.  My name is Princess Zita.  Would you like to have tea with me?"

"Have Tea with Me"
Polymer Clay

Isn't she adorable?  She is going to a special patient as part of Bottles of Hope.  The Bottles of Hope project started in  1999 by Diane Gregoire, a polymer clay artist and cancer survivor who used her talents to bring cheer to cancer patients by covering glass medicine bottles with art and giving it to them.  The members of the Houston Polymer Clay Guild has been actively participating in this endeavor.  I always look forward to coming to the guild once a month to chat, to learn and to see what projects the others have done.

Houston Polymer Clay Guild
Bottles of Hope
March 2014

Look at these unique pieces of art.   There are a variety of techniques that were used to make each bottle - oh, the wonderful world of making canes! 

Houston Polymer Clay Guild
Bottles of Hope
February 2014

Last February, I made a bottle using colors that were southern/rodeo inspired.  I also added rope and tassels.  As always, all the bottles were beautiful but one of the hits that brought us to the moon (no pun intended) was this NASA astronaut... oh, the details on the logo and flag were just amazing!

It is my prayer that each bottle of hope would bring love, joy and a sweet smile to each recipient.

Blessings!
♥ michelle

[Flashback] August & September 2013: Cakes and Bakes

We are looking back at August and September 2013.  

Wow... these 2 months were filled with baking and sweets - lots of it!  

I've always wanted to learn new skills and techniques so I joined a Wilton class at my local craft store.  I enjoyed every bit of it and was able to apply what I learned thereafter.

Isn't the hydrangea cake beautiful?  I bought a small round icing tip and tried my hand in making dainty "lace."

The rose cupcakes were for my little friends' tea party.  It's caramel cake with light butter icing.

The green cake on the bottom is Pandan chiffon cake that I made for a sweet 16 birthday celebrant.  The topper is handmade from polymer clay.

These are some of the handmade cards I made: for an infant, a girl, and an adult lady.  I'm running our of ideas, here.  LOL.  The heart pendant is for one of the girls at church whom we find so friendly, kind and sweet.  She always greets and chats with us after the service.  Oh, she won an award this year for having the most "stickers" in class.

It was in September when the Houston polymer clay guild hosted the Lone Star Retreat.  Wow, I had fun meeting and being in one room with creative polymer clay folks.  My beaded polymer clay pendant necklace won 3rd place in the "Friends and Faux challenge."

[Flashback] June and July 2013: Service, Sports and Recreation

Part of the group from our church

We are looking back on June and July today.  Wow.. time flies, huh?!

The month June brought us another opportunity for service through "L♥ving Houston."  

Our church was among those who volunteered and we were assigned to clean Olivewood Cemetery which was the first black cemetery in Houston. 

There no burials there anymore, the last was in the 1960's.  It is poorly maintained and seems to be neglected.  The area was huge with only 1 caretaker and limited equipment and resources.  He was a nice man and he felt so blessed to have people come and trim and clean up whatever we can.

July was the start of Mr. C's volleyball tournament.  Saturday after Saturday, we rallied and cheered their team.  It was their first tournament and they won 1st runner-up.  They did really well in competing with other teams who were very good as well.  

It was this time that I learned how to cook (and not to cook) Rice congee or Arroz caldo.  LOL.  We used 12 cups of rice and a lot of water / broth which still ended up sticky.  It was a blessing though because I was able to "re-do" the soup the next day that served more people after the church service.  

It was also in July that Mr. C volunteered to be a teacher in our Vacation Bible School.  Oh, he had fun with the children.

My craft room was busy this month.  The Philippine Polymer Clay Guild had our challenge on Mosaic where I made a "Hope frame."  I also joined the Challenge of Color for BrandiGirlBlog (green rectangle pendant).  There were other challenges this month  such as the Bead Hoarders Blog Hop and Studio Sublime's Focus on Life.

See those round pendants?  Oh yes, I got a bit obsessed with fabric.  LOL.  

Have a wonderful day!  Thanks for visiting Cabby Craft.

♥  michelle  ♥

[Christmas] HPCG 2013 Party

The Christmas season is filled with parties left and right and I am loving it!  The HPCG had our Christmas party this past Sunday hosted by the gracious Ms. SP.  I brought home made Chicken Enchiladas.  We had fun exchanging and stealing gifts - there were a couple "hot items" that were a hit!

I gave these:  LP's Magic Gloss, a set of bezels and a mother-of-pearl pendant/brooch.

I initially picked up a set of Lumierre inks but it was "stolen" from me.  LOL.  I ended up picking a book:  "How to Make Polymer Clay Beads" by Linda Peterson.  It's just what I need.

Until next year!  Now I'm off to more parties!

♥  michelle  ♥

[Challenge] I'm a Winner! Polymer clay faux stone

Do you remember the "Serenity Necklace" that I shared HERE?  Well, it won 3rd place among 16 entries during our guilds' recently concluded retreat challenge "Friends and Faux."  Wooohoo!  I have been doing the happy dance since the weekend.

Premo Sculpey Polymer Clay Faux Larsonite Stone Embroidered Necklace

The left photo is the original piece but I decided to add picot edging which turned out pretty nice.  The cabochons were made using Premo Sculpey polymer clay and alcohol inks.
Someone told me that it looked like Larsonite or Gary Green Jasper.  According to Hetties' website: 

[via]

"Larsonite is also known as Gary Green Jasper, or McDermitt Green Jasper. "Wood, algae, other swamp vegetation and mud were covered by volcanic ash between and 11 and 14 million years ago. Water carrying minerals seeped in creating the green colour while it petrified. The colours are from a combination of iron (44,600 PPM), Alluminum (11,000 PPM), Potassium (5,030PPM), Sodium (1,550 PPM), and Calcium (1,020 PPM)."

I was humbled by the recognition that I received from my peers.  This inspired me to practice and be more creative.  It takes a lot of patience and love for the craft or whatever it is that we are doing to come up with something wonderful.

Have a wonderful day!

♥  michelle  ♥

[HPCG Aug 2012] Faux Dichroic Pendants

Welcome back!

We recently had a demo at the guild (Houston Polymer Clay Guild) on faux dichroic effects by one the members, Laura.  I tried using Lisa Pavelka's foils and UV resin before but never got hooked on it.

The demo was very informative and interesting.  It opened ideas on how to make better use of the products.

These were the projects that I made a few days after the demo.  I still have to apply resin though it looks pretty good without it.  Oh, I just hope my resin application would be perfect and bubble free.

Stay tuned for that.

Happy crafting!

♥  Michelle  ♥

[HPCG] Bottles of Hope

Hello friends!  Welcome back.

Have you heard of "Bottles of Hope?"

 The Bottles of Hope is a project that was started in 1999 by Diane Gregoire, a cancer survivor and polymer clay artist.  She used her skill and talent as an artist to create art that would cheep up the lives of cancer patients who were undergoing chemotherapy, as a symbol of hope

The Houston Polymer Clay Guild, of which I am a recent member, regularly share these bottles.  

This is my first bottle of hope.

The process in making this project was fun - I thought of the person who will be receiving this, that she would find hope and be reassured that everything will be ok.

Stay tuned for more.

♥  Michelle  ♥