It's Halloween Time!

It's getting to be Halloween time and to inspire those creative juices I'm sharing a polymer clay bead pen I made recently. I bought the pen from The Beadpen Group.

I again unintentionally made my whole yoga class break out in hysterical laugher. We were doing a new yoga move where you are standing and holding your ankle. It reminds me of what a sleeping flamingo looks like. I, along with the rest of the class ,was having a hard time holding the position. I continually lost my balance and either had to put my leg down or hop around.

I found the perfect solution in my yoga buddy, Mr. Choi. He was positioned perfectly without a smidgen of wobbliness so I moved closer to him and used his shoulder as my anchor. As I began to teeter, I grabbed onto his shoulder.

This idea was not my intention of disturbing the class but it did. The entire class started to laugh including the teacher. Choi asked me why I couldn't do the move without hanging on to him. He really didn't understand why I was having so much difficulty. Let's just say my balance needs improving. It doesn't help my self esteem to also know that I am the youngest where everyone else is in their 60's or 70's. I am amazed at how limber and the endurance of these Koreans I take class with.

I don't know if I will ever be able to sit cross-legged for 20 minutes like they do or any of the other 100 yoga moves that I can't do but it keeps me striving to be more. They are my inspiration!

Create & Decorate Magazine

I have a polymer clay project in the August issue of Create & Decorate magazine. It is a butterfly and caterpillar and can be found on page 61.

On a scarier note, we received an email from the U.S. Embassy in Seoul warning Americans to stay away from the beef protests this weekend. They are saying that 1 million Koreans are going to protest the resuming of U.S. beef imports. This has been going on for a few months now but it is getting a lot more violent. Here is the email:

The U.S. Embassy in Seoul is transmitting the following information through the Embassy's warden system as a public service to all U.S. citizens in the Republic of Korea. Please disseminate this message to U.S. citizens in your organizations or to other Americans you know.The U.S. Embassy urges American citizens throughout the Republic of Korea to exercise caution during demonstrations and vigils protesting the resumption of American beef imports and the policies of the Korean Government. The protests, which began eight weeks ago, have become more violent in recent days. Korean authorities stated on June 29 that they would crack down further on violent protesters. They have begun using water cannon and fire extinguishers to stop the advance of demonstrators and have stated that they reserve the right to use tear gas. Up to this point the demonstrations have not been overtly anti-American in nature, but American citizens are nevertheless strongly urged to avoid the areas of the protests and to exercise extreme caution if within the vicinity of demonstrators. The center of protests in Seoul has thus far been Seoul Plaza in front of City Hall, with demonstrators frequently attempting to move north along Sejongno toward the Blue House, the Presidential residence. American citizens should stay current with media coverage of local events and be aware of their surroundings at all times. The U.S. Embassy in Seoul will continue to keep the American citizen community informed of any changes in the overall security situation via this email system and the Embassy websites at http://seoul.usembassy.gov and www.asktheconsul.org. The Embassy encourages all U.S. citizens to register their presence in Korea with the American Citizens Services office at the U.S. Embassy or via the Internet at http://travel.state.gov/travel/abroad_registration.html or http://www.asktheconsul.org/.

We weren't planning on going into Seoul this weekend and will definitely being laying low. American beef sales just resumed this week and the first store to advertise selling U.S. beef sold out in 5 hours. It was also 30% cheaper than Korean beef.

This whole beef about the beef reminds of the problems Oprah had years ago with Texas beef producers. I'm learning that no matter what country you are in, DON'T MESS WITH THE BEEF!

Tonight is dinner out with a co-worker of Curt's (hubby) and his family. They have two kids who will also be going along. Dessert is at our house and I'm cracking open that box of brownies I paid way too much for.

The Carol Duvall Show on HGTV

I just noticed I have a few segments airing from HGTV's The Carol Duvall Show. The first is
dog house magnets made with polymer clay. It airs today, June 11, 2008, 7:30 a.m. ET/PT.



The clay kitty votive segment is airing June 25, 2008 at 7:30 a.m. ET/PT. This is a photo with my segment producer, Denise.



The mice clay box segment is airing July 2, 2008 at 7:30 a.m. ET/PT. This photo is with Carol. Don't you just love all the hair styles. Yikes!

My New Book is Out!

My new book with Leisure Arts is out! I am so excited because this book was so much fun to do and a totally new direction for me with polymer clay. I want to thank Debra Nettles of Leisure Arts for her belief in me from the very beginning. This is my fourth book with Leisure Arts and it's been a wonderful experience.

There is a lot of hard work and nurturing that goes into each book project along with a healthy amount of stress. Sleepless nights as the deadline approaches, making sure I've included every step needed to complete the projects, packing it all up in individual Ziplock bags and finally, mailing it off praying the post office doesn't loose the box (I haven't had that happen). Then the book is published and all that hard work pays off.

Snowman Magnet/Pin

Snowman Magnet/Pin

Materials:

Polymer clay: White and orange

2 "E" size black beads

2" 2mm black Neoprene cording

2 10mm red pompoms

Round toothpick

Blush and cotton swab

Glue gun and glue

Round magnet or pin back

Circle template, optional for measure ball size

Instructions:
1. Flatten a 3/4" white ball. For the eyes, press the two black beads into the head. Use a toothpick to indent two squint lines by each eye.

2. For the nose, roll a 7/32" orange ball into an oval and press onto the head under the eyes. For the mouth, use a toothpick to indent 7 holes in the shape of a smile. Use cotton swab to blush cheeks.

3. Bake in a preheated 265 degree oven for 20 minutes and let cool.

4. For the earmuffs, hot glue Neoprene cording and one pompom to one side of the head. Press and hold until the glue has cooled. Do the same with the other side.

5. Hot glue magnet or pin back to the back.

In the words of Ozzy Osbourne, "Mama, I'm comin' home." Tomorrow we fly to the States for a three week visit. I hope to post some during our stay but we will be pretty busy seeing friends and family. Also, can't forget to get our Donatelli's, Chipotle, Panera Breads, chili's... fix. I do miss American food.

I'm interested to see if there will be any reverse culture shock. Will I miss NOT being stared at, not having adolescent boys excitedly come up to me to say "Hi," not being able to understand most of the conversations going on around me? How much has the U.S. changed in five months? Will I remember how to drive after not driving for five months?

Have a wonderful Holiday and I can't wait to see what 2008 brings!

I Got a Job!

My Korean friend, Ji Young, found a polymer clay shop in her neighborhood. Today we visited the shop while a class was in session. They are using air dry clay. I was allowed to take pictures of only the work area. Apparently like the maedeup shop, they have a lot of "secrets." The walls were covered with shelves of clay figurines.



Here a gal was working on a Santa figurine.


She did a great job. I brought a long a few of my books to show the owner and she wanted to hire me to teach. I'm not in possession of a work Visa so it was decided to do a trade. They also teach Hanji. I am going to teach or help a children's class on Wednesdays and on Thursdays, I will be taught Hanji. A win-win situation.

The owner wanted me to start next week but we are flying back to the States for three weeks in December and I'm working on getting things done just for that. We decided that I would start in January. Ji Young thought she should become a headhunter.

The Carol Duvall Show

This time of year always makes me think of HGTV's The Carol Duvall Show. I taped quite a few
Christmas segments and was also lucky enough to be on two of her Holiday Shows. It was some of the best times of my life and it was so hard to see it end. Carol and her staff became family to me. In fact, my first producer has become one of my closest and dearest friends.

Carol has a new book out called "Paper Crafting with Carol Duvall." If you want to check it out at Amazon.com. Now, if we can just get her to write her autobiography. She has had a fascinating life.



Behind the scenes, waiting for the taping to begin. The director is giving me some last minute pointers.


This is one of the Holiday Shows and I'm just waiting to begin. The Holiday Shows were so much fun because they included a studio audience. The set was always so beautiful.

Before my segments began and sometimes after, I had a lot of wonderful talks with Carol. She is still such an inspiration to me and a lot of other crafters.

This is just part of the staff that is "behind the scenes." I never realized all the people and work that goes into a television show. They worked such long and hard hours!

I have some old shows that will be on HGTV during the Holiday season:

Snowman Pen on November 28th, 2007 at 8:30 am ET/PT

Exhausted Santa Box on December 12th, 2007 at 8:30 am ET/PT

Cat and Fish Ornament on December 17th, 2007 at 8:30 am ET/PT

Happy Halloween!

I made this pumpkins for my new Korean friends in honor of Halloween. I also noticed that I have yet to put a tutorial on my blog or website. So here is the first of many to come, enjoy!

Halloween Guy
By Becky Meverden


Materials:
Polymer clay: orange, white, black, brown and green
Round toothpick
Small paintbrush
Stylus
Plastic straw, optional
Circle template, optional for measuring ball sizes

Instructions:
1. Condition clay according to manufacturer’s instructions.

2. Pumpkin: Roll a 7/8” orange ball. Use a toothpick to indent lines around the entire ball. Stem: Use the blunt end of a paintbrush to make a hole in the top of the pumpkin. Roll a ¼” brown ball into a teardrop. Press the widest end of the teardrop against a flat surface to flatten. Use a toothpick to indent lines randomly around and on top of the stem. Press stem into the hole. Leaves: Flatten two 5/32” green balls into teardrops. Indent veins onto each leaf and press leaves onto both sides of the stem. Vine: Roll a 1/8” green ball into a 1/16” diameter log. Use your fingers to coil and press onto pumpkin.

3. Eyes: Flatten two 5/32” white balls into teardrops. Press the narrowest ends together slightly and press onto the pumpkin. Pupils: Roll two 1/16” black balls and press onto each eye. Nose: Roll a 5/32” orange ball into an oval and press onto the head below the eyes. Eyebrows: Use a toothpick to indent. Mouth: Press half of a straw end just under the nose and remove. It leaves a great smile. A toothpick can also be used to indent the mouth. Use a stylus (or toothpick) to indent both ends of the smile.

4. Bake in a preheated 265 degree oven for 30 minutes.