Shoebox: Clay Pins and Switch Plate Covers, Sock Snowmen

It was the leftovers that Linda sent in--a whole batch of the cute and clever little "purse pins" that she makes from the misshapen and distorted ends of some of her clay canes. The purses, which measure about 1" x 2", are made entirely of the clay, but she uses a variety of other products and tools to fancy them up--interference powders, glass beads, craft wire, telephone wire, rubber stamps, etc.--and no two are alike. What a wonderful way to not only use your leftovers but to make them disappear.

The next items out of the Shoebox were a number of switch plate covers sent in by friends and business partners Judie Conner and Kim DeVoe of Knoxville, Tenn. Judie and Kim also work with polymer clay, but in this case they specialize in "jewelry for the house" by decorating the switch plate covers to match the decor of the room in which they will be used. The examples of their work that they sent to the Shoebox included a plate cover featuring a beautiful hydrangea, another with several sunflowers and, my personal favorite, a number of ladybugs climbing up blades of grass. The ladybugs were of the clay, but their feet and the blades of grass were painted on the cover. They work entirely with white clay, so they can then paint the items they make to match the color scheme of the customer’s room.

Some of you will recall the Christmas Workshop from a season or two back when we featured some very funny and very dear little sock snowmen made by a class of preschoolers. This time the tables were turned when members of Bobbie Frazier’s family gathered for their holiday celebration and not only the children but all of the adults made the sock snowmen. Bobbie sent a photograph with everyone...well, everyone except the 3-month-old...holding up the snowman he or she had made. They all looked as if they were having a totally fun time. Bobbie lives in Asheboro, N.C.