Attention Clayers! Our next ClayDay is in 8 days and please remember to bring your donation for the 'Beads of Courage' and anything that you want Enid to sell at the BPCG anniversary celebration (held the week after).

If you have anything you want to sell, please make sure that you follow these guidelines to make it easier for our representative to sell them on your behalf. We are not taking a cut or charging you to sell your items so take this oppurtunity to show what a diverse and active group we are.

• each piece should be securely labelled with a tie-on label.
  
• the label should have your initials and a number code on one side, and the price on the other.  For example, Enid's piece will be labelled EW1, her second EW2 etc.
  
• complete the form on the day (Item code, decription and price) with the necessary information.
  
• Securely and safely wrap your pieces, put them in a box, and lightly seal it.  Put your name on the outside.
  

Our first demo for the day will be a first from member Karen. She will show us how to make these garden stakes which you can use to decorate your garden.

To try out this demo, please bring

• Polymer clay cane (flower petal, bulls eye or color blend)  
• 1.5cm dia and approx 15cm long
• Polymer clay snake(s) any color you like 1.5cm dia and about 15cm long total
  
• Polymer clay for making flower backing and centres, any colour you would like to use with your flowers (or you could use 1cm and 2cm dia cane slices if you wish)
  
• Texture mat/tools
• Baking paper eg parchment or greaseproof
• Burnisher (old plastic store card?)
• Liquid polymer clay
• Twisted wire or thin bamboo skewer
• Cutting blade, pasta machine, tile or work surface

In the afternoon, Nadia will give a workshop on using resin for crafting. She will be demonstrating 2 part resin, UV resin and even a pre-coloured resin (in white) and how to use them with molds. Since Nadia works in miniature, she will be sharing us tips on using resin. She only uses a little at a time so she will show you a cool trick on mixing little resin at a time especially if you are just mixing resin to make a clear dome.

Resin can be quite useful for polymer clay artists since you can mix them together and if you don't have resin, Nadia will even demonstrate how you can use liquid polymer clay as a substitute.

If you have any questions or simply want to be guided in using resin on the day, please bring your own:

• UV resin (this can be cured in minutes and easier to show on ClayDay)
  
• Any piece you want to emboss in clear resin
• Disposable gloves
• Mixing containers
• alcohol inks or oil paint
  
• cocktail stick
  
• any molds that you want to create a cast from
  

As usual, please RSVP your place at apcg@live.co.uk

See you very soon!

We are pleased to have another new member in our guild. Despite the gloomy weather we all managed to gather at the village hall for another day of fun with polymer clay.

Enid will be attending the BPCG 20th Anniversary weekend to do a demo and will also have a sale table for the guild. If anyone would like to sell some of your own work (you do not have to attend), please bring your item to the September ClayDay and Enid will sell it on your behalf on our very own Anglian Polymer Clay Guild table (no charge).

In the morning, Gill demonstrated how to create an amazing swirly pattern using extruded clay. It was not that hard to do and everyone had fun trying out the same technique using their own choice of colours. This pattern can be used on it’s own as a pendant or to cover beads. Either way you will always get a design which is totally unique and random.here to edit.

In the afternoon, Trish taught us another new technique which is transfering images from a paper napkin directly onto clay! We never knew it could be so easy and effective. She made them into bookmarks but of course we can make it into other items like coasters.

All of our usual tables during ClayDay including 'Trash to Treasure', 'Raffle' and our very own guild tool library.

If you missed ClayDay this time, do not fret as we have another upcoming ClayDay in September! Don't forget to subscribe to our mailing list so that you don't miss out

It is only a week away 'til our next meet and make sure you don't miss out on these exclusive demonstrations by our members.

Gill's demo
Tools and materials
Extruder kit
Cutters - shapes and sizes of choice
Texture/poky tools
Lightbulb or similar dome shape
selection of coloured clays, some pearl would be good, max of 1/4 block per colour.
Pasta machine/work tile/blade etc.

Trish will also be demonstrating something very unique on the day with napkins.

You will need:
Pretty napkins preferably with no writing as is will be reversed.
Non-stick baking paper or wax paper
Cutters (optional)
Soft white clay

We will also have all of our usual side activities so make sure to bring anything you would like to share with the guild (magazines, articles, your recent work) and some raffle donations. There will be guild tools for you to borrow and even clay to purchase. You can also sell your own surplus crafting tools with members on the day.

Please send your RSVP to apcg@live.co.uk

We look forward to seeing you!

We had the most amazing day with our two special guest artists, Fiona Abel-Smith and Ange Smith, who very generously divulged their know-how with two very different demos. Fiona took the morning demo, showing us her fun fish project. Starting with the cane for the fins, she then went on to show us the 'Natasha' body and how to finish the project.

After lunch, Ange showed us her beautiful translucent beads using, translucent clay (obviously), silver/gold leaf and alcohol inks. Using a Mokume Gane technique we picked ours colours, stacked our layers and sliced away, revealing absolutely stunning results. Unfortunately I completely forgot to take photos of our endeavours but they were all very very good. We cannot thank Fiona and Ange enough for such a fabulous day. It was a pleasure to have them both visit us.

​We had seven entries in our 'Curtain Ring Challenge', all of which were very good but there was one clear winner. ENID WINDER with her hanging piece covered in pretty roses. Well done Enid enjoy your prize.

​Also on the 'I Made This' table, more outstanding creations from Guild members.

That was a great ClayDay and don't forget our next meet is on July 16th. Hope to see members for another great ClayDay.

A reminder to all that our next ClayDay is only 3 weeks away. During this ClayDay we have 2 special guests Fiona Abel-Smith and Ange Smith. For the days workshop, Fiona will be showing us the cute and quirky fish project and Ange will be show us how to make these beautiful translucent beads. So we will have not 1, but 2 different projects to learn. 

For the fish project:

If you have a selection of your own canes at home that you think would make great patterns for the fish bodies, do bring those with you too, although everything you need to make the fish from scratch will be covered on the workshop.

To make several different coloured Fish you will need to bring with you:

•  4 x colours of polymer clay of your choice, 28g of each colour, cut into 4 equal 7g pieces
•  35g of white clay, cut into 5 equal 7g pieces
•  2g black polymer clay
•  Pasta Machine
•  Tissue blade and blunt ended round tool (knitting needle is good)
•  Craft Knife and cocktail stick
•  Clay roller
•  Wet wipes
•  Tile to work/cook on

Just as a thought, and it’s not essential, but if you wanted to give yourself more time on the day, conditionthe clay in the individual 7g pieces before you arrive.

The following will also be needed, and while I have some to borrow on the day, if you have any of the following to bring, they would be very useful, and would save having to share my limited numbers:

•  Teardrop shaped cutter (1 inch / 2.4cm in length) also known as a petal cutter
•  Mini round cutters (0.7 and 0.4cm diameter)
•  Mini heart cutter (0.4cm)
•  Squared measuring sheet
•  Liquid Polymer Clay/PVA glue
•  Fish scale texture sheet (I use the ripple one from the Makins set A of clear thin plastic texturesheets).
• Texturing material

Members and new members please take note!

After a suggestion was made to introduce a yearly membership fee, all members were contacted and asked for their opinion. The overwhelming majority voted in favour of this, so as of the May meeting, the Anglian Polymer Clay Guild will be introducing a yearly membership fee of £30. This will cover all 6 meetings, in which we hold morning and afternoon demos, and include any workshops with a professional guest artist. This will also entitle members to sell their masterpieces when we hold a Sale Day.
Memberships can be paid by cash or cheque (cheques made payable to Anglian Polymer Clay Guild) at our next meeting on May 21st. All members will receive a membership card. 

In our last ClayDay, members were taught how to prepare curtain rings to be used in projects. Be sure to get your 'Curtain Ring' projects ready before the next ClayDay to enter it into the Curtain Ring Challenge. All entries will be judged to win a special prize! (pssssstt, the prize is going to be a tool for polymer clay of course!)

As usual please RSVP by contacting apcg@live.co.uk

We look forward to seeing you!

Our Clay Day is just 10 days away so make sure you R.S.V.P to confirm your attendance. We are doings 2 practical demonstrations on the day so plenty of time to experiment on our own.

In the morning, Shelley will do a short demonstration on how to prepare curtain rings and decorate any way we like it.

Enid's demonstration is called “Clean your pasta machine in under 15 minutes”. 
Bring an old tea towel or something similar, a medium crosshead screwdriver, a 10 mm spanner, and some surgical or methylated spirit. Enid will lend members any of those. This is a great way to kick off Spring Cleaning! Just make sure you don't forget the pasta machine from home.

We will also do all of our usual activities. Please make sure you bring along any new tools or materials that you would like to share with your fellow clayers. We also appreciate any donations to our raffle table.

Just remember to R.S.V.P by emailing apcg@live.co.uk

The bad weather did not stop our members to attend the 15 January meet - we even had a new member attend!

Anne demonstrated her technique in producing wood grain pattern in the morning so we could all have a go and create our own wood designs. 

By end of the day everyone created such unique patterns and even made their own 'faux wood' bottles which looked really great. 

In the afternoon, Nadia demonstrated how she makes realistic exterior surface textures on miniature walls and doll's house scenes. 

It was a good start to kick off 2017 and we hope our members keep enjoying our meets. 

We will be looking forward to the next ClayDay in March.

This first ClayDay to kick start the New Year is only a week away. There will be 2 demonstrations from our own members and our usual activities. 

Nadia will be demonstrating how to make faux wall surfaces from Polymer Clay. You can use this technique to create looking surfaces on anything at all.

You will need:

• Polymer Clay - Stone / Graphite / Marble effect / Terracotta 
• White Polymer Clay
• Toothpick
• Pastels
• Liquid polymer clay or Bake and Bond
• Tile surface to work on

Anne will be doing a Faux wood demonstration. This is another practical technique which you can apply to making jewellery, accessories and dollhouse items. 

You will need:
Polymer Clay - 4 contrasting  "wood" colours of clay,eg light brown, dark brown, cream, copper or gold etc
Blade
Roller
Pasta machine
Baking paper
(optional)To make a dish - helpful to have a small oven proof mould or dish to bake it on
(optional)For coaster - large circular cutter
(Optional)Pendant - cutter
(optional and will be provided by Anne) Bottle

We had our first 'Come and Try It' open day and table sale on 6th November. 

It was the perfect chance to see everyone's creation and each member had their own distinct style. There were many different things up for sale. 

Several people from the village came to our open day. We had members who volunteered to teach them a thing or two about polymer clay. They had fun making their own pieces and even got to take it home with them. 

Enid gave a demonstration on how to make a kaleidoscope cane. She used a diamond extruder and came out with dazzling results.

Shelley also gave a demonstration on how to make a flower petal cane. She always uses these bright colours to get amazing results

That was our last meet for 2016! We would like to thank all of our members for attending the meets and hope to see you again for 2017. 

The dates of 2017 Clay Day is:
January 15th
March 19th
May 21st
September 17th
November 5th

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Anglian Polymer Clay Guild

This is a reminder that our next Clay Day for the year is this Sunday! 

We are doing a 'Come and Try It' open day for visitors around the village so you can sell your polymer clay items whilst giving them a demonstration of your skills (if you want). This event has already been advertised in local newsletters and around the village so we hope to get some people in. 

You can also sell any of your creations on the day so visitors can get something just in time for Christmas. Just make sure to email us beforehand (with the RSVP) to let us know what you are selling. 

The usual activities will also run throughout the day including 2 cane demos from Enid and Shelley.

For Enid's demo you will need:

• white clay
• clay colour of choice
• extruder with diamond shaped disc
• talcum powder or cornflour to dust.

For Shelley's petal cane demo, please bring:

• Pasta machine
• two colours
• either black or brown

Make sure not to miss this wonderful cane workshops by confirming your reservation via apcg@live.co.uk

Hope to see you there.