My "That's Clever" episode aired on HGTV this morning. My parents happened to be in town for a visit, so we did a mini-watch party. Dad only rolled his eyes and looked embarrassed once, which is not bad for that show. Definitely could have been worse!

I wanted to share with you my templates and a few extra notes about materials I used, etc. If you have any other questions about the projects, feel free to post them in the comments and I'll do my best to remember the answers... or else make up new ones! :-)

Materials

• Polymer Clay: I used Premo and UltraLight Sculpey clay for these projects. The green is a mixture of Premo's Green, Sea Green, and Black. The fence posts are a 50/50 mixture of Premo White and UltraLight Sculpey. The blue for the poker chips is a mixture of Premo Ultramarine and Cobalt Blue.
• Texture Sheet: The texture sheet I used for the grass is by Shade-Tex, part of their Nature One Set.
• Push Molds: I used 3 push molds for the flowers: Sculpey Flexible Push Molds Grow A Garden and Let It Bloom, and Sweetbrier Studios Summer Bouquet.
• Peanuts: Do not bake regular styrofoam peanuts in the oven, as there are concerns that some types give off toxic fumes. You can use cornstarch packing peanuts, which are a biodegradable alternative that are made from cornstarch. (To tell the difference, drip water on your packing peanut — the cornstarch type will melt away.) Or you can replace the peanuts with scrap clay.

Templates

• If you're interested, here are printable copies of the paper templates [PDF] I used for the poker chip coasters and the fence post.

Additional Notes

• This probably doesn't matter to anyone but me, but that's not my craft room. That's my dining room. They couldn't film in my craft room because it's upstairs (hard to get the equipment to) and small-ish. When they prompted me to say this was my studio, I said, "But it's not." "What if you just say it's your work space? You do all your work on that mat, don't you?" So that's what I ended up saying. Still felt like a lie, though.
• Speaking of that mat... I normally work on a green self-healing mat covered with a sheet of wax paper. The wax paper was too shiny for the camera, and the green was too close to the greens in the desk set project, so we just used a sheet of craft paper I had close-by. Paper isn't an ideal work surface for polymer clay since it can leach out the clay's oils if you leave a project sitting on it.
• I don't remember now if there wasn't time to demonstrate this on the video, or if I started doing it later. But I don't recommend making the top (silver) part of the mailbox out of straight silver clay. It makes it much too top-heavy to use comfortably as a pen. Instead, form the mailbox shape out of UltraLight Sculpey or an aluminum foil armature and cover it with a sheet of silver clay.

Overall, I was actually pretty pleased with how my segments turned out. The production crew shot a lot more than that (including a couple more silly parts), so it was interesting to see which things actually made the final cut.

Mostly, I'm glad it finally aired. I'm not sure I would have signed up for it if I'd known then it wouldn't air for 2.5 years. But it was a good experience for me. I enjoyed learning what goes into a production like that. It forced me to get comfortable crafting in front of a camera, something I never would have done otherwise. And it's helped open other doors for me. I'm definitely grateful for those things.

Update: You can now watch my That's Clever segments on YouTube.

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Just a reminder... Set your VCRs, DVRs, flying robots, etc. to record HGTV's "That's Clever" this Tuesday, January 19th, at 7:30 a.m. E/P. I'll be demonstrating how to make two different projects, a Mailbox Scene Desk Set (my main segment) and Poker Chip Coasters (the little mini-project at the end).

A word of warning for you TiVo owners (and maybe this applies to other DVRs too). Ya can't always trust those handy-dandy TV listings. Our TiVo wasn't going to record this episode because our Season Pass is set to record only new "That's Clever" episodes... and for some reason, this episode is listed as a re-run without an original air date. So you may want to double-check that.

And now a nervous disclaimer... This was filmed 2.5 years ago based on projects I created years before that. There are several things I would definitely do differently today. But I'll be posting more about that soon. :-)

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I know it's late to be posting New Year's resolutions, but I'm the type who has to let ideas simmer a while before I decide on them. Goals are too important to rush into! :-)

In the tradition of one-word resolution replacements, I'm choosing simplify as my word of the year. I'm feeling overwhelmed by the physical clutter around me, so that's part of the incentive. But my life also feels busy and cluttered. While some of that busy-ness is good (book deadline, That's Clever episode, and a little boy who now has his legs under him), some of it's unnecessary and negative. I want to focus on simplifying the things I can, the things that add stress and complication without bringing joy.

One reason I mention this is that Craft Test Dummies wrote a useful post about de-cluttering your craft space, including tips on charities who would appreciate unwanted supplies and even finished craft projects. Purging the craft room is a little ways down on my list, but I thought I'd share the link for any of the rest of you who are de-cluttering or cleaning as part of your New Year's goals.

Anyone else doing a word for the year? I'd love to hear about it!

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Have you seen the IPCA Synergy2 Exhibition? They asked nearly 60 amazing artists to explore collabroations with polymer clay and mixed media. They also asked me. :-) I'm humbled to have my name listed with so many polymer clay greats.

You can check out my entry here, and the rest of the gallery here. The pieces are available for sale online now or at the Synergy2 event in February.

More details about my piece are available here.

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Have you guys played with the little bottles of colored flock that are now available in craft stores' paper crafting aisle? I'm not sure how paper crafters use it (I guess glued onto a project like glitter?), but it's a lot of fun to use with polymer clay.

Sold under various names (Fuzzy Fun Flock, Crushed Velvet Flock, Flocking Powder), flock is basically tiny colored fibers. (Think dryer lint, but without all the cat fur.) You can use flock a few different ways with polymer clay:

• Pour a small amount and mix it thoroughly into your clay for a muted mottled effect.
• Brush a tiny bit onto the top of the unbaked clay with your finger, much as you would Pearl Ex or chalks. This gives the clay a fuzzy, fabric-like sheen.
• Apply liquid clay to specific areas where you want a more pronounced effect. Either pour the flock over your the liquid clay like you would embossing powder, or use a paintbrush to dab the flock onto the areas you want to emphasize. You can even do this after your first baking if you want to protect other clay sections from attracting the fibers.

I have tried several colors with each of the above methods. The fibers seem well-adhered after baking, and I haven't noticed any color change from the heat. I love that it gives the clay a softer, more fabric-like look. It's perfect for Christmas-time projects (stockings, Santa's suit, snow), or any other time you want a softer look.

Have you used flock? If so, I'd love to hear about your experiences!

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