CHAUNCEY DESIGNS

This is my first featured artist post. I am hoping to do one a week.

Today it is my pleasure to feature a friend of mine from the Boomers and Beyond Etsy Street Team, Eileen from Chauncey Designs. I LOVE Eileen's work, and I am so honored to have the privilege of owning one of her pendants!! Thank you Jessica, Todd and kids!!! Isn't it lovely?! It looks perfect on my black jet beaded necklace!!!!


To get to know Eileen a bit, here is a portion from her Etsy Profile:

"Hi, I'm Eileen, I live in Philly, and in a nutshell..... I just plain love making stuff. Always have. Over the years some of the things I've enjoyed are photography, machine embroidery, silk screening and candle making. Glass caught my interest almost 10 years ago and has been my #1 passion since.

The name Chauncey is a nickname that an old friend of mine and I call each other. Its the main character from the movie Being There but more importantly when I hear it, it reminds me that good friends are one of life's best pleasures."

One of the things that I wasn't expecting when I opened my Etsy shop was interacting with other sellers, finding such lovely people, and in the process making new friends. What a delight it has been getting to know fellow artisans from all over the world!! Now I too have come to think friend when I see the name Chauncey.

Let's look at a few of my favorite pieces from Chauncey Design.

Isn't this the prettiest blue...and oh the shimmer and depth.....sigh....

This one is now on my want list! Love the soft pink and the rose!!!

Oh, and this one is so sweet!!!

To see more of these beautiful pendants, please click on the link to Chauncey Designs and visit Eileen's shop, you will enjoy your stay!

blessings, ZudaGay

WELCOME TO MY FIRST BLOGGY GIVEAWAY!!!

I decided when I first heard that Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer was hosting a give away carnival I knew I wanted to participate. So here it is....ZudaGay's first bloggy giveaway!!!! I am giving away one of my lovely big flower pendants. This pendant features sculpted petals made from my own color mix of polymer clay on a matching base with a gorgeous vintage button in the center. It measures 2.5" across and has two wire bails near the top for hanging. I am including an adjustable double black cord but you can wear this pendant on a ribbon of your choice or if you do beading it would look amazing on a beaded necklace. To enter this drawing, all you have to do is leave a comment on this post. I will then put all your names in a hat and have one of my grandkids draw out a winner and two runners up on November 4th. If your name is drawn, I will contact you for your mailing information. The two runners up will receive a surprise.

This is the give away pendant:




















I invite you to take a look at my Etsy shop.
Blessings, ZudaGay

I Heart You!!!

Hearts are a big thing on Etsy! I got so excited with each new heart the first few weeks my shop was open. I kept thinking....."They like me, they really like me!!!!" hehehe..... What is that from, anyway? After five months I am still thrilled with each new heart. I don't get quite as excited, but I am still a bit in awe that they like me. I always check out the shop or profile of the the new heart-er and their other favorites just to check out the company I am with. Getting hearts is fun!!!!

Making hearts is fun too! It seems like if I get a lump of clay in my hands with no idea of what I am going to make it becomes a flower or a heart. In the case of these hearts - both. I even do this when I'm playing with play-dough with my grandkids. Or I make a pinch pot....I don't know why I never make a pinch pot with polymer clay. Hummm, I will have to think that one over.

These hearts have all been sold over the course of the last five months. (and quite a few others as well) I think it is a paradox to sell my hearts to those who may have given me a heart.

HEARTS:










I just have to share the blog of a very sweet lady who has featured me. I am honored by her lovely and kind words. Take a moment to visit Carol at Ingeniously Creative. Thank you, Carol!!!

blessings, ZudaGay

The Story of My Name, as I remember it

I've had many questions about my name as it is a bit different. One question is, "What kind of name is Zuda?" The answer is, I have no idea! I had someone leave a comment on my pbase photo site that Zuda is her family name and she lives in Germany. She is the only person I've come across with my name...even though it is her last name.

So here is the story as best I remember it. I have one sister who was born while Daddy was serving somewhere in the South Pacific in the Navy during WWII. Mama named her Donetta after Daddy and Kay I guess because it goes well with Donetta. My brother came along seven years later and Mama had a name all picked out and named him Charles, I guess because she liked the name and Marshall which was Daddy's father's middle name....his name was Nova Marshall. I came along 5 years later and Mama had a name all picked out, I think it was Candita or something like that. Well Daddy thought it was his turn to get to name the baby. Mama didn't think so, after all she was the one who did all the work giving birth and all. Mama's mom gave her a talking to and convinced her to let Daddy name the baby. So my Daddy named me Zuda which was his mother's name. She died shortly after his birth. No one knows were the name came from. And he decided on Gay as my middle name. He had a good friend when he was growing up named Gay (who was male) and he always liked the name. And that is how I became named Zuda Gay.

Mama never did like the Zuda part and so I was called Gay most of my life. Daddy called all three of us kids Butch for the most part - big Butch, Butch and Little Butch. Hehehe.....I'm not sure why.

I had a thrill when I woke up Wednesday morning and saw that I was featured on Cynthia Tinapple's Polymer Clay Daily blog. Oh my goodness!!!! I've read PCD practically every day since she started it. To say that I am thrilled and honored and shocked would be putting it mildly.

I want to share some of my favorite pieces that I've made recently.

A Study in Golds and Browns

Red Flower on Gold Leaf Pendant


Fairy Garden Pendant

blessings, ZudaGay

A Long Time Ago....

Well it seems like a long time ago, I started this blog with very good intentions of posting several times a week. I'm not sure where last week went. Our bathroom remodel is pretty much completed as of today. Hurray!!! It took about 3 weeks. I have a very itchy rash that has attacked my face and neck. I look so pretty! I am really bad at not scratching. I've always had that trouble and this lack of self-control hasn't improved with age. Well enough about my failures, faults and afflictions....I will share some pictures of things I have created in the past week, at least the ones I've gotten around to photographing.

blessings, ZudaGay

All On A Sunday

First off....I get to do a meme....my very first on my blog. I was tagged by Lisa at Polka Dot Creations.

Here are the rules:

1. Link to your tagger and post these rules.
2. List eight (8) random facts about yourself.
3. Tag eight people at the end of your post and list their names (linking to them).
4. Let them know they’ve been tagged by leaving them a comment on their blogs.

Fact 1. Some years ago (I won't say how many) Danny and I competed in target archery and some 3-D shooting. I won the Illinois State Tournament a couple of years in my division and the Regional Tournament one year.

Fact 2. I love to read. I read all kinds of things. Right now I'm reading grandson T's Harry Potter books. I'm on the fourth one. T thinks Gramma is cool.

Fact 3. I love music. I have daydreams of being a piano bar singer leaning on the piano or heading a big band like Doris Day. I play my guitar and sing in the praise band at our church which isn't quite the same thing, but I get to use what musical talent I have.

Fact 4. I have been sewing since I was tall enough to stand and see the needle and step on the pedal. I would cut out doll clothes and wait until Mama got up from her machine and sew my seam while she pressed hers. Mama took in sewing for a while when I was growing up and was an amazing seamstress.

Fact 5. Daddy was a printer. We owned and ran the weekly newspaper in LaGrange, MO when I was small. He could spell every word there was....I can't spell worth a fig!

Fact 6. I am the baby of the family. I was a bit of a surprise. I still am!!

Fact 7. I love old movies and movie stars. Bing and Bob and Danny and Cary and Fred and........

Fact 8. My goodness, this is harder than I thought it would be! I love cats! I get to have one, his name is Rusty and he is the prettiest red tabby with a bullseye marking on his side. After he uses his litter box he runs out of it as fast as he can go to escape the smell. That is a random fact about Rusty, but it will have to do.

I don't think that I have many readers, yet, so I will just leave this open ended. Anyone who hasn't done this one yet, consider yourself tagged!


I had fun yesterday in my studio. I am stuck on making big flower pendants. I love them and I think they look so pretty hanging on a ribbon or cord. So, I will end this with a few pictures of big flower pendants.





Blessings, ZudaGay

Wonderful Wednesday!

This week is half over and it just got started. Monday holidays always seem to throw my internal calendar off. I can't believe how well my sunflowers are being received. It seems like I put one up and it quickly sells. It is a good thing that I am having so much fun making them. I am also enjoying using vintage buttons in my work. I think they go very well with polymer clay. I like how the different materials contrast with the clay especially metal and leather.

METAL BUTTON CENTERS:


LEATHER BUTTON CENTER:



We are having a lovely day in Illinois. It is in the mid 80's.....but I'm holding out for 70 degrees or so. I love the cooler temps of fall. It won't be long I'm sure.
blessings, ZudaGay

Studio Time

Life has been a bit busy and....ummmm.....messy this week. Our one and only little bathroom is being remodeled from studs out. That means they ripped out all the old plaster and lath. Today we have use of the shower and the toilet and have hot water. We've been borrowing Jessica and Todd's shower and using the toilet at the church, which is a block away, when ours was out of commission. I also used the one at church when there were men in the basement and there were holes in the bathroom floor.......like a 2' hole!!!! Not tinkling with men down below!!!!! Needless to say I needed some time of quiet and creativity!

I spent quite a bit of time in my studio today. It was very nice and I enjoyed the time so much and I love the results!!!!! One pendant I listed in my Etsy shop this evening, but I'm going to show all of them here. Lord willing, I am going to work in my studio most of Monday.







I don't think that I will post tomorrow as it will be a busy day. We have our time of worship and then a family picnic. Just what Sundays are suppose to be full of - worshiping our God and spending time with our loved ones......what a joy!!!!
blessings, ZudaGay

A Little Art Nouveau

What a lovely day it has been in west central Illinois!!! I can handle 70 degree temps for a while.

Today I listed this Art Nouveau pendant. It is really different from the direction I've been in here lately with flowers and leaves. I'm not stopping flowers, but this is fun once in a while. I've done this style before in years past and the clean lines and simplicity always feels peaceful to me. The only problem with this type of piece is it takes three bakings. I can do a Flower Garden pendant in one.

I've included a back view of this piece just to show my signature cane. It is a Z and a G together. I had someone ask me one day what it was, so now you know.

blessings, ZudaGay

A Black Day

I get out a color scheme and I get stuck in it for a little while. I try not to do this, but it seems like the color scheme needs to get out of my head before I can go on to the next thing. So I have black to share today. I like black, I like to wear black and it seems I like to create with black. So, for your viewing pleasure.........a study in black, with some pearly white, grey, silver and oh my, what is that...red?