You’re right, I did go pretty crazy with the purchases, but I’ve not used them yet. I’m still trying to set up my work area/studio (haha) so that I can get my supplies back out and leave them (organized) in the same spot. It’s been difficult before this, having to put my projects away because they were in someone else’s way. Now I’ve just about got everything I need (new shelving, tables, drawers, storage, etc.) to finish my clayspace. I should be able to work efficiently, and yet drop everything and leave it if I need to lay down and rest. It’s been really hard getting to this place, but I’m nearly there — really close. Without my car, I’ve been at the mercy of others for shopping trips and getting things I need, so it’s been a huge hassle & mess. Now that I have everything (except the food processor,) I plan to organize & set it up over the weekend. By next Monday, I should be able to clay. If it happens before that, all the better. When the last tool is organized, and I’m ready to clay, I’ll be wanting the food processor. If I haven’t found a used one by then, I’ll grab the the new one from the cupboard and get to work. I’m so excited!

I’m very eager to try the new stuff, but I have so many things on my to-do list. I need to prioritize the things I want to make, or I’ll be overwhelmed and not get anything done. It’s going to be so great to actually clay again! My back had better cooperate! But even if it doesn’t, I’ll be able to start and stop any time I want,without worrying about putting my “mess” away! Yay! Sorry for the long story, but I’ve been waiting a long time for this. It’s finally within reach. I hope you are feeling GREAT tomorrow, and get some claytime for yourself, too! Uuuuggs to you, Peggy! ~Kat

The Firefly Pluffy clay sounds pretty interesting, actually; I just read about it at the Polyform website. It sounds like it might be related to Ultra-light (the fact that it’s fluffy & it floats..?) There are lots of colors, including glow-in-the-dark! I hope this clay is a nice, strong one — it would be wonderful for there to be an excellent polymer clay for kids to use, one that will bake good & hard. A kid’s clay creation needs to last, not break. No one wants an upset child, crying over their ruined art (like with Sculpey III!)

Cindy, perhaps a review is in order for this new clay…?

I walked up to a lovely new display of poly-FUN! The Studio by Sculpey tools have been repackaged (and changed around a bit) as Sculpey tools. They had Linda’s new extruder, which is like the Makins’, but with a cool folded crank-handle. (Linda reviewed it on the the Makin’s Extruder post.)

They have another Walnut Hollow product — an embossing set for clay. It has all kinds of textures, cutters, stamps, and a case to fit it all in. Looks cool, but I couldn’t afford it that day.

I saw some Premo brand items: a great set of 12 mini shape-cutters, and glitters – reg. & metallic. There were also texture plate sets, metal powders, texture stamp/shape cutters, new blade sets, a Sculpey (?) instructional DVD, jewelry kits w/clay & findings, 2 different Sculpey doll molds, a wave comb (that can be used for textures & measuring,) and some other things I can’t remember!

They had a bunch of Lisa Pavelka stuff, too. Waterslide transfers, border molds, pendant bezels, foils, PolyBonder, Claying Around DVD, etc. No Magic Glos, unfortunately. I would have been a little too excited to find that there! Uh, where’s the ladies room? (LOL, you know I mean bladder control, right? Sorry!)

The jewelry section has new stuff, too! Metal working tools — YAY! They have a chasing hammer, anvil, metal shears, metal-shaping pliers, metal punch, files, dapping block, dapping set, metal sheets, rivets, and lots more. Again, I was so surprised to see this stuff there! I bought the chasing hammer, but I’m not sure I like it. It’s very (too?) light-weight, and is not domed. I don’t know enough about these hammers to question quality, but I think I’m going to take this back and order one with a half-domed side, instead. If anyone uses a flat chasing hammer and has advice for me here, I’d love to hear it!

Looks like Michaels is trying to catch up to the needs of jewelry makers & polymer clay artists. It’s awesome, but I didn’t find the new metal-working stuff at the 2nd store I went to. Maybe they hadn’t put it out yet. As far as the polymer clay items, the new products were mostly sold-out at the 2nd store. I bought the little cutter set, but the Lisa P. stuff was already gone. Good thing I bought a couple items at the 1st Michaels! I imagine if it sold that well, though, they’ll be getting more…

One other item: in the dollar bins, I found little 4-pack sets of micro glitters and flocking powders. I bought a jar of the Martha Stewart flocking before Easter, but never got around to trying it. These are much cheaper, so I went ahead & bought some of these cute flocking color-sets. It seems like they’ll look so cool. I want to roll some clay into the flocked powder and end up with a velvety-soft bead. I’ll let you know how they turn out…

I’m flat on my back today, recovering from yesterday’s shopping trip. But I hope to start claying tomorrow. Oh, please, let me feel good enough to try out my new stuff! I apologize for the long post, though. I just had to spread the word about new goodies at the craft store!

Michael’s polymer clay aisle was getting very thin, product-wise. The Fimo clay had been on clearance the last time I was there, very picked-over. The tools were the same old ones they’ve carried forever (which I either owned or didn’t need because they were geared more towards ceramics.) Now the Fimo clay is completely gone, unfortunately. I mostly use Premo, but I hate to see the original clay go “bye-bye.” Anyway, Michaels now has some very cool, new items in their polymer clay aisle (and in jewelry, too!) It’s VERY EXCITING!

In the future I will be doing a wire bezel tutorial, but that won’t be for a couple of months yet. Until then I’ll keep my eye out!