Recycled Project: My Tools Container

I'm back!

I wanted to show you a recycled project I made last night to hold some of my crafting tools.
This project was inspired by a very talented and good friend of mine, Jein, of Hush Potato. 

Here take a look:

Materials used: 2L bottle, cutter + scissors, ribbons and some glue.

As instructed, I cut the bottle using my cutter (be extra careful in doing this cos there's a risk of getting your fingers cut either by the bottle or cutter) and attached some ribbons on top to add some design and to cover the sharp portion of the bottle. 

Due to lack of some materials, I decided to do something made of clay for it's main decor.

I didn't know what to do at first cos of my missing mojo but I'm glad I still ended up with this...

I made this using Nendo polymer clays, Nendo liquid clay and applied a dash of mica powder.
I love using Nendo polymer clays especially when I'm making flowers cos the petals are super flexible and the project much more durable.

For the liquid clay I used it this time as highlighter... This is also the first time I tried using it to attach one clay to another -- and mind you, it works so well! I can't wait for my blank pen tips to arrive from Purplenook... I've lots of projects in mind that I wanna try using the liquid clays! 

And here are the photos of the finished recycled project:

I experimented by stringing some beads to it too... better?

Tada! A new and bigger container!

What I love about this container? Not only is it able to hold all of my sculpting tools, I also find it more convenient to use every time I am working with my clays!

Plus it's much more cost effective and Earth friendly too! ☺

Thank you so much Jein for the tutorial.
For more Hush Potato projects, check out her blog HERE.


Have a crafty week everyone!
xoxo

Cane Challenge: Note Holder

“A cane is a log or cylinder of clay that has a design running through it, so each slice of the cane - the cross-section - contains the design. You can make a large design that’s easy to handle, and then reduce the size of the cane by pressing or rolling it so the cane becomes longer and thinner and the design becomes tiny and delicate.”

For the month of February we, CFSPh, had "I CANE do it" for our monthly challenge. 

The challenge is about creating our own polymer clay canes and turning it into one gorgeous project.

What made the challenge more challenging for me is other than the fact that it's caning and I haven't ever tried making one, I could hardly use my right hand to do anything! And since caning entails a lot of hand pinching for reduction, I had to ask Jein for an extension just so I can submit my entry.  Luckily she said yes.

I had a lot of ideas in mind... Cane projects I'd love to do. But since I know that I can't put so much stress on my right hand while I am having my work-ups to determine how bad my carpal tunnel syndrome problem is, I decided to do something cute but less complicated. 

Below is a step by step photo tutorial in case there's someone like me -- a newbie on caning, who'd like to try it out ☺But first let me show you the black and white canes that I first made but wasn't so happy about plus the crappy projects I made out of it.

At first I thought of following a Retro Flower tutorial through YouTube until I realized just how much black and white clays I've wasted cos I won't be able to use my right hand to reduce it. Instead I tried to make a leaf out of it. It sure looked terrible but I had fun making it, haha!

And then the bull's eye cane technique. I didn't really know what to make of it at first but since it is one of the easiest, I know I had to make it.

Here are the projects I made out of the black and white canes:

A locket

A charm

A label

I posted the three projects on Path and I am happy to see people I barely know liked them. Personally, I wasn't happy about the projects at all. I guess this is why I never really finished assembling them. They're just crappy, lol.

So I decided to make something different... something cuter... something brighter!

What you'll need: 

Clay - white, pink and purple

Cutter

Roll your white clay into a log

Flatten out your pink clay

Wrap around the white clay log with your pink clay

Flatten a thin strip of pink clay just as long as your white log

Cut the log in the middle as shown, be careful not to cut it all the way through

Insert all the way in the middle the thin strip of pink clay, cut the excess

Now for your purple clay, roll it into a log

The pink/white cane will serve as your flower's petals. 

You may opt to make 5 more of the petal cane or just cut it into small equal parts.

Place the petal canes around the purple clay, which serves as your bud, and wrap it with a thin sheet of clay to reduce.

But for this project I decided to do it differently. 

And made a simple flower note/photo holder! 

Since I super love M&Ms, I made a bag of it at the bottom. :-) 

Gorgeous? Nah. I don't think it would fit into that category cos it's really a very simple project but I think it falls under the cutey section! I'm quite satisfied with how it turned out -- I love the colors, I love the design, and I'm happy with its purpose.  

Check out our group's page HERE to see all the other wonderful creations of my guild mates. 

I think my very talented friend Jein of HushPotato will be posting it there this weekend. So feel free to drop by whenever you can. I assure you you'll see lots of amazing projects submitted for the challenge.

PS: Sorry for the crappy pictures. 

I promise to improve. :-) 

TJC Joins BC Bloggers Secret

I have tried several times to join the BC Bloggers Secret... but since I moved sites and changed email addresses, I wasn't really that successful. I think I kind of gave up waiting for it to open again because I keep on missing it...

Until this afternoon when I opened my Y!Messenger and saw an email preview of  a message from Paula, the host, announcing its opening again... It made me all excited because this time I am sure I am hitting all the requirement and submitting the links on time!

What's this BC Bloggers Secret and why I really want to join them you ask?

If you have been in the blogosphere for quite some time now, you'll know that one of the most important part of blogging is link building. BC Bloggers Secret is a neat solution for busy bloggers, like me, who would like to participate in blog exchange of links without having to beg for links!   

More reasons to join the BC Bloggers Secret:

• Aside from no more need to beg for exchange links, with BC Bloggers Secret all the people you will meet is willing to exchange links with you.
• The steps are FAST and really EASY!
• You have lots to gain and nothing to lose.

So what are you waiting for join us by following these 3 simple steps:

1. Copy the html code of the BC Bloggers Secret and place it in your sidebar. The badge is required, without it -- you will not be included in the list. You may get the code in Paula's site by CLICKING HERE.
2. Email your blog/s html code to sweetypaula@gmail.com with the subject: I WANT TO JOIN BC BLOGGER'S SECRET.
3. Make a post about BC Blogger's Secret and spread the word! 

Easy isn't it? Join us and be able to reach more bloggers -- the easy way Ü

First.

Whew a couple of hours late!

Anyhow, I've got 3 things new to show you today for Tuesdays Jabbering Craft...

1. My workstation, as this being my 1st ever entry on Tuesdays Jabbering Craft. 

2. I am also going to show you my first ever attempt in sculpting a dragon, and

3. My first time to disassemble my newly purchased pasta machine!

So since this is the first entry allow me to show you how my workstation looks like...

This is my mini-craft-station... The tiny spot where you will find me claying in the room. The ones stored there are the tools I often use when claying. Below it are really huge cabinets where I store all of my craft tools used in claying and beading + books related to my crafts - polymer clay, beading and crochet. 

Crochet on the other hand has 2 huge cabinets on the other side of the room, where I store tons and tons of my precious imported yarns Ü

The clays you're seeing on the tile are the clays I am using on the project I am currently working on... My 1st ever -- CF inspired DRAGON.

I am not done with it yet. There's still A LOT of things to do to him... And quite frankly I'm still not sure how I'd go about accentuating it. Top that, I also wonder whether the rhinestone I used would melt the moment I bake it with the clay. I guess I'll have to wait for that until I'm done curing, haha. But I am really enjoying this project. I'm so excited to see how it'll turn out! 

Now for the last part allow me to introduce you to my new baby -- my Makin's pasta machine!

If you're having a little trouble checking if it is a Makins pasta machine, just look at the roller (I so love the non-stick rollers) and the handle, colored green - you'll know. Those are, I believe, the things a Makins pasta machine boasts. ♥

Now if you're kind of wondering what I did with it or if there's something wrong -- nothing really serious. However, since the machine was making a weird sound every time I run my clays into it and the handle locking at the thinnest and thickest settings, I had to ask my husband dismantle it for me so I can clean the rollers and check on the gears... Thank God I attended my clay date with some of my clay friends where Jen (Purpleluggage) was able to demonstrate how we can easily clean up our machines, I was able to breeze through the cleaning part and checking of the gears of my newly purchased machine without any problem.

After aligning the gears and cleaning the blades and rollers, I asked my husband to assemble it back but decided to leave the covers unattached. I honestly prefer it this way for easy maintenance. After the dismantling, the cleaning and realigning, my Makin's pasta machine is as good as it should be - quiet, without the lock up problem and working 100% in good condition! Ü

There you go for this week's TJC. I'll see you next week! :-) 

Photo Transfer Technique + Shimmering Mica

Several months ago, I attended my first ever workshop on polymer clay crafting. It's where I learned not just the basics but even special techniques on working with oven baked clays, techniques such as photo transfer and antiquing. If you wish to read more about the said workshop, click HERE.

Then last night, after several months of not doing the technique, I attempted to do another photo transfer using one of the sample print outs given to me by my great and kind mentor, Rocky Villegas-Antonio of Rockybeads using water decal paper.

While most of my co-crafters prefer using heat transfer paper, I find myself more comfortable working with water decal. It must be because I am kind of lazy to heat up my clays so I could tear the paper part off of the clay or I just haven't tried working much with heat transfer paper. I know I have some sample print outs with heat transfer paper too, still from Rocky and a couple more from my friend Joy of Glitz of Joy. I gotta dig one of these days and try using them to find out.

Anyway, the first practice I did which I think was done several days after the said workshop was a failure. I was so heart broken (lol) that I never bothered to do it again... Until last night - - to my surprise, I was able to successfully perform the said technique using my Nendo clay!!!

Here it is (with border decorations of clays already - another reason I prefer using water decal):

messy work area, I know, lol

a closer look at the photo transfer project

Oh and since I just received my complete set of Klayola Shimmering mica powders early Saturday morning, I used them too on this project to see how different it is compared to the 2 other brands of mica powders I have been using...

my project with my Klayola Shimmering mica jar

Since I've been working late already, even if I wanted a darker shade of mica for my leaves, I settled to use #407 of Klayola Shimmering mica. After all, I've been wanting to see how my projects will turn out after this brand of mica has been applied. I will probably blog about more of my mica experience with the different brands in a different post. 

Meanwhile, here is the finish project...

Nice? I'd say it's lovely! Ü

My Comfort Foods

view from outside

One of my favorite restaurants

If you're going to ask me where you can find the best value for money, great tasting Chinese food restaurant in Chinatown I'd say at Yingying Tea House. The restaurant offers - Dimsum, Congee, Rice Toppings, Drinks and Short Orders at very affordable prices with generous amounts of serving.

Some of my favorites served there, other than their radish cake which I wasn't able to take a picture of, are the following:

Yangchao fried rice

Fried Wanton aka Pinsec Prito

Sharks Fin Dumpling

Now on drinks, I love this...

Lemonade

So if you're looking for the usual Chinese comfort food less the fancy, head to Yingying Tea House in Chinatown. They're open daily from 07:00am 'til 02:00am.

Don't forget to tag your family and friends along!Ü

Yingying Tea House

#233-235 Dasmarinas St., 

cor. Yuchengco St., Binondo Manila

#3872797, 7103856, 2416323

Open Daily from 0700am - 0200am

Accepts all major credit cards

What to do with SOFT & STICKY Clays?

After several researches, I found out that there are different ways of leaching soft polymer clays. 

1. You can cool it off by putting it in the freezer; I find this better than the refrigerator because it doesn't develop condensation while in the freezer. 

 2. You may combine it with stiffer clays. Cut the soft clays and flatten it out with the pasta machine, do the same with the stiffer clay. When you have both clays, you may then combine the 2 clays together and mix it with the use of the pasta machine. 

3. If your hands are heating up the clays and making it softer, you can work on a marble surface, which will keep the clay cooler. Or you can periodically dip your hands in cold water to keep them cool. 

4. Work in a cooler area: air-conditioned or a well ventilated room. 

5. Leaching is another option. One reason that the clay is soft is because it may have too much plasticizer, or the clay hasn't settled after manufacturing. Leaching clay will pull out excess plasticizer. 

How to perform leaching?

First you have to flatten the clay out with the use of a roller or a pasta machine, perhaps about half an inch or more. Then take 2 pieces of card stock, the heavy kind of paper you can find in any craft or book store. You may use an ordinary type of paper however card stocks absorbs more plasticizer. 

Then place the clay in between the 2 sheets of paper and press it with a roller. Let it sit for several hours. As it sits, you'll be able to see dark spot on the paper where some of the plasticizer has begun to leach out of the clay onto the paper. 

♥ ♥ ♥

Polymer Clay 101

What is Polymer Clay?

Polymer clay is an oven baked modelling compound. A form of Poly Vinyl Chloride, it remains workable until cured by baking at the specific temperature and time frame recommended for that specific brand of clay. Various brands of clays have different handling and finish properties. I often choose the brand of clay I use by the type of work I want to achieve with the clay. For example, I use stiffer clays for forming repeated patterns which are cut as slices from canes or for my roses. On the other hand, I use softer clays for modelling and blending sculptures. I find softer clays perfect for chibi  or mini-ME projects.

Handling:
However certified as non-toxic, polymer clay is not edible and should not be worked near food or with eating utensils. Use clay specific tools when working with it.

Always clean your hands well after working.

Sanding polymer clays or using metallic powders, should be done with proper dusk masks and with proper ventilation.

Curing:
This type of clay must be baked to set. In the baking process they can give off fumes. Always bake the clays with adequate ventilation and follow the temperature guidelines for your particular brand of clay. Do not burn or overbake the clay. If this happens, immediately ventilate the area. These clays are not safe for microwave.

Storage: 
Polymer clay should be stored in a cool, dry place. The plasticizer in the clay will leach out with time, so use fresh clay if possible. Various additives are available to help recondition older crumbling clays which has less plasticizer. Avoid storing uncured clay in hard containers or plastic wrap.

Store uncured clay in metal or glass containers which are dedicated for clay use and will not be used for food. Once anything has come in contact with the clay, it should NOT be used for food.

Removing excess Plasticizer:
If your clay is too soft when you open the package, you can leach out excess plasticizer by rolling the clay into thin sheets and storing it for several days pressed between sheets of white printing paper. Dispose of the paper safely after the clay has been leached this way.

Curing:
When curing or baking polymer clay use an oven thermometer - don't trust your oven to be accurate. Most ovens are off between 20-25 degrees.

The thicker the items, the longer it must be baked. Small beads may only take 10-20 minutes.

Web Designs: Alexify

Wonder who made our Watchamacallits by Peach n Co. lay-out?

Allow me to introduce you to a lay-out designer, Alexis San Diego.  Alex is only 23 years old from Bulacan, from an average type of family. His father runs a small business in their hometown while his mother is a stay-at-home wife. He has 3 siblings - a brother and 2 sisters who now have their own families plus 3 cute nieces KC, JC & Eula aka The Tres Marias. At the moment Alex is searching for a permanent job in one of the largest companies in the country while maintaining his freelance job in lay-out designing.

What makes Alex's lay-outs different from the rest is his artful combination of colors, typography and graphics. He is able to transform a seemingly complicated website to a simple and elegant one with his lay-out designs. His ordinary items inspired themes, often with a welcome image (flash or not), will surely encourage more  visitors to your site or customers for online shops like mine.

 

No wonder that even during the holiday rush month where people are busy worrying about buying presents to give to their loved ones and preparing for the Noche Buena, Alexify is still packed with lots of customers. 

Read the interview below to get to know more about Alex and how he smoothly comes up with customer's lay-out designs, fast. 

Peachy: Please tell me about yourself. What course you took up from college and anything else you enjoy doing other than lay-out designing?

        Alex: I took up BS Computer Engineering. Other than creating lay-outs, I enjoy singing and movies. 

Peachy: How did you discover your talent in lay-out/theme designing?

        Alex: It started when people told me that my works were good. I never doubt a person's admiration because I know they have the "eye" for a good work. 

Peachy: When and how did Alexify came about?

        Alex: It started last September 2010 when bespren Aizie aka Papster encouraged me to make Multiply Themes. At first my themes were showcased on her site until eventually after positive feedback from clients I decided to build my own.

Peachy: What is a typical day for you like?

        Alex: A typical day would be walking, sleeping late, reading emails, creating clients themes, eating, taking care of Eula, attending to household chores, cooking, computer and lots of computer... Ü

Peachy: If you have other work than Alexify, how do you find the time to do lay-out designing? How many times a day to you spend on this?

        Alex: Let's say I'll have to attend to a particular event or chore, I set a schedule for a particular lay-out and makes sure I stick to it. But since I don't really have a regular job to go to, I really don't see this as a problem right now as I have all the time to squeeze in client's themes. I think I get to spend more than 10-hours a day for it - - and I really feel sorry for my computer for this. I know it also needs rest.

Peachy: What is your inspiration in creating your own designs?

        Alex: Main inspirations would be ideas from webpages, as well as graphic works by various designers. I also find inspiration from things like pillows and curtains; structural designs such as buildings, malls and houses; print materials such as leaflets, brochures and magazines. 

Peachy: Are there any other graphic designers you admire?

        Alex: Yes. One of which is Eljonized. I love the way he mixes weird colors and makes it look nice. So as Angel of AsianVogue, her theme is one of my favorites. And of course Aizie, for her kikayness and super extra-elongated-patience for picky clients.

Peachy: What is your design process like? (ex. Do you draw your lay-outs first?)

        Alex: I just open Adobe and Chrome, that's it. hahaha! I design the wire frame first, add some color then gather or create the graphics that would go along with it.

Peachy: What is your favorite theme amongst all that you have done?

        Alex: That would be my personal theme! ☺

Peachy: What is your favorite tool in doing your lay-outs?

        Alex: Adobe Photoshop CS2

Peachy: Lets talk about the business side of things. What are your typical customers like? Is there a certain age group, etc?

        Alex: Most of my clients belong to the mommy-age-group. A lot of them are business oriented housewives.

Peachy: Your business is mostly focused on pre-made themes. What are the advantages and disadvantages of making pre-made themes?

        Alex: ADVANTAGES would be: 1. Premade themes are created to project a finished look so that the interested client have a clear idea on how their site would look like. 2. It's faster to finish. 3. Revisions are minimal. While there are DISADVANTAGES too and that would be: Some clients may love the theme but would ask to replace certain portions of it - which is some cases acceptable while on most times not.

Peachy: Have you encountered any bad experience in the business? How did you deal with it?

        Alex: Yes. I met an irresponsible payer who left me unpaid. I tried to talk to her but when I was left unanswered, I just erased all her hosted files.

Peachy: What advice can you give out to beginners starting out on this business?

        Alex: We are entrusted with this God given talent, the eye for art... We are to use it wisely and with love.

There goes my interview with Alex of Alexify. Check out his site for more interesting and great Multiply and Blogger themes. Who knows he might just be the perfect lay-out designer you're looking for ☺

How to Write a Movie Review

I've always wanted to try out on writing reviews -- whether it be for a restaurant, book, place or movie, but never really done it due to lack of experience and knowledge. I'd say knowledge in writing an effective one. A review where I express and share my opinion but at the same time help the reader decide on it (say for a movie whether they want to watch, rent or buy the movie). To be able to give out enough details without giving away the essential parts of it.

And I realized that if I really want to be able to write reviews, I better start learning how to do it. So I have made my research and these are the things I have learned through several how-to sites:

1. Choose your movie and be familiar with it - Even before watching the movie, try to know a little about it - the actors, director. See what their past works are. Are they Oscar winners? What they're known for - their styles, etc. Is the movie based on a book or a real life story? A sequel? Knowing the following information will help you understand more about the movie. You'll be able to pick up easily on the details, hints, trademarks of the director or its actors and have more insights of important story elements. You'll be able to impart to your readers if it has lived up to the original, or the book. Important things that helps a movie critic write a solid movie review. 
2. Watch your movie - You'll never be able to give your 100% opinion on a movie you didn't even see. Watch a movie in a place you're comfortable watching so you can focus your attention to it, you wouldn't want to be distracted, would you? Watching the movie the second time also helps you absorb a lot more detail about the movie. Most movie reviewers take down notes as they watch movie review. 
3. Give your opinion - But before doing that, take time to soak in the film. Think about it for a few hours before you start writing. Let all the excitement, appreciation or distaste wear off a bit so you don't write too emotionally. Formulate a specific opinion in one sentence. Your main job as a movie reviewer is to give an opinion of the movie. This may anywhere be between a "Thumbs Up" or a "3 Out of 5 Stars". But give out a specific thesis to drive your critique. For example, "I didn't like this comedy" becomes "The story had it's funny moments but it went on too long." "This horror movie is good" becomes "This horror movie works because it builds suspense right up until the end." Always aim for that specific opinion that will be the foundation of your film review. Just remember that in all journalism, the reviewer should also give impartial details, and allow their readers to make their own mind over an issue the reader would like or dislike. Opinions should be explained give readers the chance to determine whether they would agree with your opinions.
4. Create a good lead - There are general writing tips that apply to most forms of writing. One of those tips is to grab your readers immediately. Of course you'll want your readers to be interested in what you have to say. Grab him in that initial paragraph in several ways: Start with a great quote from the movie, and explain how it reflects the movie; refer to the reputation of the actor/actress and compare it to how s/he did in this movie; compare this movie to another well-known film in a few sentences or two; explain what your expectation was, and if it was fulfilled or not. Then end that first paragraph by writing your opinion statement. 
5. Give an outline of the movie or recap briefly - If you've read professional movie reviews you'll notice that they either give an outline of the movie or recap of it. Give it but never give out essential details such as the end or any surprises. You can tell the people the basic premise of the movie. In fact, you should write about the basic premise, and tell them where the story builds, but don't give away the 'moments', especially not the ending! Keep the movie synopsis brief then get to reviewing.  
6. Support your main opinion with specifics - Now you can talk about why you think the movie took so long. It's time for you to prove it! You can also write about the: actors, on how well you think they acted; structure, if the movie followed a regular predictable storyline or did it get you thinking til the very end?; cinematography and lighting, give details on how the movie was shot and directed. Was the lighting good in the crabby scenes?; music, did it have its own soundtrack or it featured songs from famous artists?
7. Be honest in your appraisal - Even if you hate the actress or love the actor, when writing a movie review remember not to hold back on your true opinion of the film. Set a standard in mind: a comedy should be funny, a horror movie should be scary, etc.; Use those standards to judge the movie and not against any pre-existing opinions you may have. This will make the review more valuable to your readers. 
8. Read. Read. Read - Let your review sit for a few hours and read it back with fresh eyes then edit it. Make sure to read and check your review thoroughly as it can be embarrassing to find errors in your review after it has been published. 

So that's basically all there is to writing an effective book review... Easy, eh? I hope you learn as much as I did.

Good luck in your movie review critic career and don't forget to enjoy the show! ☺

My 1st Ever Workshop: Rockybeads

Originally posted: 10th October 2010

I've always been wondering whether or not I should attend workshops to learn about a certain craft I'm very much interested about. But every time I ask for the workshop fee, I always find myself taken aback by just how much it would cost me. I would always end up telling myself, 'I'll learn it even without taking any workshops', after all, what are my books, e-books as well as available online tutorials for. If I had successfully learn crochet all by myself + online helpful friends, I'd learn polymer clay crafting as well as the others too. 

But one evening while browsing beads sites, I stumbled into one of the country's greatest beader turned clayist, Rocky Antonio's site Rockybeads. There I saw one-of-a-kind beaded-clay accessories. I kept looking and my eyes feasted on all her beautifully hand-crafted accessories. And because I can't stop admiring her works, I felt the need to share it with my hubby. We kept looking until we read about her 1-on-1 workshops. 

My husband immediately encouraged me to attend the workshop. Just like the rest of the other workshops I've known of, I found myself quite hesitant at first because of the fee. But my husband insisted and said that he'd pay for it. And so I agreed and immediately left a message to Rocky.

And so last Saturday, October 02, I attended my first ever workshop. Yes, my first ever workshop since I started with The Joyful Crafter. And to tell you a secret, I have been so much excited about it - since Rocky and I set the date, I have been counting days 'til the workshop. I even prepared a notebook and jot down all topics I'd love to discuss and ask Rocky about. 

Front page of my prepared notebook

What I want to learn...

Unfortunately, due to nervousness and being super excited about it I totally forgot to bring my notebook on the day of the workshop. And so we had to rush to Powerbooks, Eastwood Mall, to get me a notepad and a pen so I can write down everything Rocky will be teaching me. I can tell just by my previous casual conversations with her, even before the workshop, that I will be learning a lot of things. 

the notebook & pen I brought with me during the workshop

Before I had my workshop with Rocky, I normally would end up burning my clay projects... 

I know this was supposed to be something, I just couldn't remember 

because I can't keep myself from laughing now just by looking at this...

this is my blue alien pig

but his feet got burned too...

this was supposed to be a name tag

Or if not burned, it would be under baked like this...

What I love about Rocky is that she is a very flexible teacher. She bothered to ask me ahead of time of what I would like to learn on the workshop. That gave me the idea that Rocky is the type of teacher who plans and prepares ahead of time, making sure that her students would get as much take-away from her workshop as possible, which I think is a very good thing.

The workshop with her is not the typical type of workshop where there is a course outline that needs to be strictly followed. With Rocky, you can ask her almost anything and learn about every thing there is to know about polymer clay crafting - from conditioning to molding to decorating to baking to having one of a kind creations... She even shares the tools and materials she uses for her works and where she gets/buys them! See how generous she is?

And here are some of the photos taken during my workshop with Rocky: 

Rocky showing me how to work with the clay

looking closely while discussing

do you see the smile on my face?

I wanted to just watch Rocky but she insisted on me doing 

and she was very supportive in squeezing out the creativity in me ☺

closer

tada! I can't believe I made them...

such a cutey locket

I learned a lot during my workshop with Rocky, from molding to decorating to antiquing, to pearlex/Beadlady sparklers application to successfully baking a project. But most of all, my major take-away from the workshop is being able to fully trust myself when it comes to crafting to be able to let loose the creativity in me and come up with fabulous works.

On my way home, Rocky also gave me the following... 

lockets... because I opted not to take my break and just continue with our workshop, and...

photos so I can practice more on the photo transfer technique

Now here are my first set of works AFTER the said workshop:

no more burned projects + successful clay molding!

applying pearlex and antiquing white

I consider my workshop with Rocky a successful one because not only did I learn a LOT from it but we also gained a friend in her and in the personality of her son Liam and husband Marlon. They were so accommodating and supportive!

And as per the workshop fee? It was definitely WORTH IT! I'm glad that my husband encouraged and pushed me to take this workshop. Now I know that if she is to conduct another workshop for advance polymer clay crafting, I would surely be one of her repeat students.

I strongly recommend Rocky's workshop to anyone who aspires to learn and even develop (if they're already into polymer clay) their skills. With all the things that she has in store for you and you are to learn during the workshop, you can be assured that every penny paid is well spent.

I give this workshop a 5 out of 5 stars.

*Credits to Marlon Antonio for the workshop photos

Rocky Villegas-Antonio

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