The next meet is scheduled in less than 2 weeks! We will have one demo and Sue Heaser has generously allowed us to photocopy a section of her book so we can try it ourselves. 

The demo will be done by Shelley and it is for a faux labradorite veneer. Taken from Ludmila Bakulina's YouTube tutorial, this will be a slightly shortened/adapted demo.
​
For this you will need to bring:

• Tissue blades, both flexi and rigid
• Pasta machine and roller
• Clay - 2/3 different shades of both blue and green
• Pearl, silver, copper, gold, black and scrap.

There will be a project from Sue Heaser's book "The Art and Craft of Polymer Clay" which teaches how to make a container from Chapters 25 and 26, which covers boxes bowls and bottles.  

If you have this book, please do bring it on the day so we know how many photocopies to make (and you can let us know in the RSVP).

Please also bring:

• a ruler and squared paper
• ruler and scissors to make a square box,
• a former, such as a cookie cutter or a small glass jar, to make a different  shaped box,
• a round cutter to make a bowl, 
• an acrylic roller to make a small bottle. It would be helpful to have some veneers to add to the piece or pieces.  

We will have all of the usual activities on the day so do bring a prize for our raffle and anything else that you may want to share with the group. 

​Remember to send your RSVP to:
​apcg@live.co.uk

ClayDay started off with Enid's demo. She showed how to use 'wet sanding' technique and how to buff it even more using a Dremel tool. There are different grades of sandpaper which has to be used if you want it to have that natural shine!

Members tried the same technique on their own polymer clay creations and had success.

Before Sue started her demo, she briefed the members about colour theory and showed them the colour wheel and how to choose the right matching ones.

After the lesson, she taught how to do a colourful colour wash technique

It was so interesting so obviously members had to have a go at it. Everyone produced such unique results.

We had all of our usual tables and members are getting more and more talented as they are now more experienced - just look at their latest creations!

We hope all members had a good time and patiently wait for the next ClayDay next month!

The next ClayDay is less than 2 weeks away! Since it has been a year since we implemented the annual membership fee, please make sure that you check your membership card and bring £30 if your membership is expiring.

The first demo will be from Enid and she will be showing us how to polish beads like a pro! Enid's workmanship is a labour of love and you will learn her technique of sanding, buffing and polishing. Make sure you bring some beads that you want to polish so you can try it out too.

Although this is her second time showing this demo, it works as a refresher course for some and new members will definitely benefit from her technique. 
​
Members would need to bring:

• Some beads and/or a pendant to work on
• Two small shallow dishes for water
• An old face flannel or a piece of towelling
• A Dremel Drill, if they have one

 
Enid will provide some sanding materials if you do not have any.

The next demo will be from our new member, Sue. She will be demonstrating a variation of Maggie Maggio's colour-wash technique. She  will also talk a bit about colour theory and bring her colour wheel sphere to talk about the 3 dimensions of colour! We can't stress enough the importance of understanding colour since polymer clay is an art form.

For the demo everyone needs to bring a small piece of 3 different colours that go well together - they should be strong colours, with no white added. 
If you are unsure about which 3 colours to choose from, do not fret as we are sure that Sue will be able to advice you on the day.

Also bring:

• white, black and scrap clay
• a cutter
• some grease proof paper or baking parchment
• pasta machine/clay conditioning machine

So make sure to reserve your place for the next ClayDay as it will teach you extremely useful knowledge that will be used in your everyday claying.

​ Send your RSVP to 
​apcg@live.co.uk

The clocks changed and we had another successful meeting at the village hall. We are thrilled to welcome another new member to the guild.

Enid demonstrated first on how to make a new cane. She made mirrored patterns like Kaleidoscope in clay. By stretching and dividing and rejoining again - it is so easy to make simple repeated patterns to create a stunning piece. 

Anne demonstrated how to make a pattern that look like watercolours. She starts off with laminating a piece of clay tinted in alcohol inks and layering a thin piece of translucent clay on top. Using cutters, she cuts out shapes and layers them. When the clay is baked, the inks look like it is painted on

Our members tried out the new techniques and produced good results:

Members had also brought some of their recent makes to the meet. 

Sculpey generously donated some clay to us again. Everyone received a block of Bake Shop to try. We also had a chance to re-stock our own clay supply by purchasing discounted polymer clay which is sold by the guild. 

The meet had all the usual tables and we hope that everyone had a good day and enjoyed themselves. 

Time sure flies since our next ClayDay is only a week away! Be sure to book your places for another exciting day of claying with other polymer clay enthusiasts.

Enid will be teaching how to make these gorgeous square canes since members have requested that we learned how to do more canes. 
Please bring polymer clay in black, white and 2 coloured clays of choice, a ruler or squared surface, and two pieces of acrylic or wood about 5 x 15 cm to help square up the cane.

The other demo will be from Anne and she is demonstrating a watercolour technique to make a veneer. You will need usual clay tools, small round graded cutters, a small paintbrush to apply inks, white, black, pearl and translucent clay and alcohol inks.

We will have all of our usual activities so make sure you bring your latest make, anything you would like to sell or even donations for the raffle. But before that, do make sure to book your place by sending an email to 
​apcg@live.co.uk

Our first ClayDay for the year kick-started with our usual activities, demonstrations plus we also had a new member joining us for 2018! Unfortunately we also had to say goodbye to Anne Murray as she was moving back to Scotland so it was her last ClayDay but she taught us a new skill before parting ways. 

Members also received a giant block of Premo clay courtesy of Polyform and everyone was grateful to receive their favourite brand of clay for free! Here is a short picture summary of our 2 demos from Enid and Anne. If you did miss out and wanted to know more about the process, do visit the APCG Facebook page to get step-by-step instructions for each process. Shelley has curated every single step on the guild's Facebook page so you will never miss out. 

In Anne's demo, she showed how to make this faux ceramics easily using liquid clay, alcohol inks and a textured sheet:

Enid showed us her technique of making a hallow bead - in a rectangular box shape! She mixes scrap clay with Sculpey Ultralight and covers the finished bead with a veneer. The result is a large bead which is hallow and doesn't feel heavy which is perfect for jewellery making. 

Members of the APCG are a talented bunch since they produce so many beautiful and unique items. ClayDay is the perfect opportunity for members to share their makes with other members.

We are pleased that our guild had a good start for 2018 so we hope all of our members can look forward to a whole year of claying. ​

The first ClayDay for 2018 will be held in less than 2 weeks! To kick off the new year, there will be 2 demos and plenty of clay for sale. Our usual tables will also be available such as the Tool Library, Raffle and "I made this".

The first demo will be from Enid that will teach us another way to make Hallow Beads. The beads photos here have been made using the technique Enid will be demonstrating. (please note that the veneer isn't demonstrated). As usual Enid will also have spares for some materials if you do not have any. 

You will need:

• Baking or layout paper
• Sellotape
• Scissors
• Ultralight clay, if you have it
• Small piece of coarse (about 120 grit) wet or dry sandpaper
• Scrap clay
• Little dish for water
• Ruler, or squared work surface
• Liquid polymer clay
• Needle tool
• Small round cutter
• Polymer clay veneer of you own choosing

The next demo will be done by Anne Murray. She will teach a clever technique to make faux ceramics. If you don't have all the materials there will be some spare for you so that you can try it out yourself. 

Please bring:

• White clay.
• Cutter shape of your choice to make pendant (not too small).
• Texture sheet of your choice (make sure that when transferred to clay it gives you depressions to hold liquid.
• Liquid Clay or Bake n Bond.
• Two contrasting colours of alcohol inks.
• Something to mix in (metal paint pallet is good).
• Cloth (baby wipe left to dry out is ideal).
• Gloss varnish.
• Paint brush.
• Cocktail sticks.
• Bail (if you want to use one). You can cut a hole in the pendant if you want.

Please bring any raffle donations, craft items you want to sell and even something new that you have just made to show to other members. We hope to see you so do join us by sending an RSVP to ​apcg@live.co.uk

It was a wonderful meet-up with a big group of 12 clayers. In the morning Nadia showed how to make seashells with different effect clays and how to make a simple bow.

In the afternoon Anne demonstrated an easy but effective way of making beautiful patterns with clay. 

Members had a go with what they have just learned from Nadia and Anne.

We have such talented members who share some of their most recent work for other members to see.

We had all of the usual tables including clay for sale, the raffle, trash to treasure, and the tool library. Members were also given some sample clay from Sculpey.

It may be the last meet of the year but it was a good one with a great attendance. 

We would like to wish all members a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Have a great holiday and see you again in January next year!

This will be our last demo for the year so make sure you don't miss it!

There will be 2 demos on the day.

Anne will be teaching how to make these beautiful designs

To try this, please bring:

• 3 colours of clay for a skinner blend - I have used coloured clay in one picture and pearl clay in the other
  
• set of same shaped cutters in graded sizes ( I prefer round but any can be used eg square, oval, star flower etc)
• usual clay tools- pasta machine, blades, tile to work on
  
• large cutter for pendant- if you want to make a pendant
  
• sanding equipment if you want to polish the pendants

*Anne will bring her dremel if anyone wants to use it.

Our second demo comes from Nadia. Learn to sculpt your own sea shells instead of taking them from the beach. Shells are random in size and colour so you can play around with it.

Seashells. Hollow polymer clay sculptures not from mold. Mottling pattern on shell with seashell texture.

You will need:

-Neutral colour clays like white, beige, sand
-stone effect clays like graphite, marble, etc.
-you can use scrap clay too
-blade
-long blade 
-hollow bead maker (you can borrow this on the day from the Guild Library) or large marble

We just confirmed dates for 2018's ClayDay dates. Please take note in your diary for next year. We hope you can attend a whole day of claying on these dates.

                   28th January                   
25th March
20th May
22nd July
 23rd September
 4th November

We will have all of the usual tables and we appreaciate any donations for our raffle. Let us have a fun ClayDay. Book your place by RSVP-ing at

apcg@live.co.uk

A ClayDay a week before the BPCG Anniversary event! We had all of our usual tables plus 2 demos

In the morning Karen's tutorial showed us how she made these flowers

Members tried making flowers using Karen's technique. So many beautiful flowers

Nadia demonstrated how to use various resins in the current market. Bezzeling is very easy using clear resin.

Here are the usual tables on every ClayDay. Members usually sell any craft supplies and we had FIMO on sale too.

Our members make a lot of beautiful items using polymer clay

We hope members who attended the BPCG event had a great time. Here is our own Guild table during the weekend celebration.

If you missed this ClayDay, make sure you attend the next one in early November