You Might Be an Artist If...

News that Inspires Imagination! The Preferred Place for Clay Push Molds.  December 2012 Issue of My Molds Newsletter. Is this email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. Dear Readers, Tis the season to be jolly, give joy and love others. Here at Mad About Molds, we believe that now is also the time to give your molding creations to your friends a family. Handmade trinkets such as jewelry, gift toppers and ornaments will remind your loved ones of you for years to come. Did you read our newsletter last month, when we posted about Hand-made products? In-case you missed it, here it is again. Last months issue was chuck full of goodies, so it's worth another look. This month we have a cute article that might remind you of your younger self as an emerging artist. Or it might confirm your suspicions of a child you know. Either way, it's a fun read and you are welcome to share this with a friend who you might have this in common with. This month’s article. “You Might Be an Artist If...” Please take the time to sit back and enjoy this issue of My Molds! All the best, Marjorie with Mad About Molds News that Inspires Imagination! "Let the Holiday Season Begin!"   Create Homemade Christmas Ornaments With five simple molds you can make this beautiful angel. They make great ornaments, package toppers or even candle rings! Instructions to make this beautiful piece can be found on our website here. (Larger pictures and easier to read.)   It's time to start thinking about personalized gifts for Christmas, and this is just the project to make it easy. All you need is a few molds and a little clay. Instructions can be found here. (Larger pictures and easier to read.)   Featured Molds: Find the molds above here. You Might Be an Artist If...   Some people just always knew they wanted to be an artist (I’m lumping craftspeople in here, too, because I refuse to discuss possible differences), but other people came to their talent late in life. They may have endured emotional hardship and isolation because their talents were misunderstood. Maybe this guide will help you recognize your own inner artist, or help you diagnose a loved one before it’s too late. You might be an artist if… …when you were little, you drew/colored/painted to an extreme extent on your walls/bathtub/little sister or dog. Especially if this was an unusual event in your family—the idea that anyone would need much more than a couple sheets of paper to draw—and your family is still talking about it. Fifty. Years. Later. …when you were presented with a food you didn’t like (canned peas, or sauerkraut), you didn’t just hide it under your napkin. You did interesting things with it. Like sculpted a mountain with a little road, and decorated it with tiny pieces of broccoli for trees. (maybe...) …you heard the phrase, “Well, you can’t make a living with art” more than twice in your lifetime. Ask yourself: Why are people always telling you that? (not me) …you liked to collect “cool stuff,” and your definition of cool stuff wasn’t baseball cards but rocks, shells, funky pieces of old metal, string, driftwood, etc. Bonus points if your family called it “trash” and kept tossing it out, leaving you broken-hearted. (I think so :) …other girls played with “Barbie” dolls, but you made her house out of tissue boxes, made teensy ashtrays for her out of lumps of candle wax, and sewed her dresses out of socks. Bonus points if you altered Barbie dramatically for an art project. (totally!) …your folks took you to a craft fair, and you spent all day in the potters’ guild tent, watching them demonstrate, and you even forgot to eat, and returned to your parents completely covered in mud…er, raw clay. …you once got a paint-by-number set and wondered where the rest of the colors were, and why they only gave you enough to make one picture. (it's called mixing paint right?) …after reading the story of how American artist Benjamin West made his very first paintbrush with hairs he pulled from his cat’s tail, mysterious bald patches suddenly appeared on Fluffy. …your parents began hiding scissors from you at a very early age, and school pictures of your siblings always showed them with very odd haircuts. Bonus points if your guinea pig had a Mohawk or dreads. …you never had a favorite color. Who could pick just one?! (I still do that!) …the other kids in school were always asking you to draw stuff for them. Bonus points if they were willing to pay. (or in candy) …you noticed things, like on sunny days, shadows on snow are…blue! Bonus points if you actually painted them like that. Double bonus points if you got in trouble in art class for doing that. Be forewarned. Early intervention is helpful, but you never really lose the desire to simply make stuff. And remember—no one who truly cares for you should ever try to make you lose that desire! (for sure!)   Friend on Facebook Follow on Twitter Forward to a Friend   Fun Links: Home Free Stuff Free Downloads Creative Ideas Gallery Instructions Subscribe Newsletter Archives Molding Accessories Mobile Site    Contact Us!  Comments Welcomed!  How are we doing?  Let us know what you are thinking!  Shop@MadAboutMolds.com  www.MadAboutMolds.com The Preferred Place for Clay Push Molds! When it comes to service, we break the mold! Thank You! Copyright © 2012 Mad About Molds, All rights reserved. Mad About Molds periodically sends a newsletter to its customers. You received this newsletter because you opted in to receive this newsletter, inquired about our products, or ordered from Mad About Molds. Our mailing address is: Mad About Molds 624 3rd Ave. Brewster, MN 56119 Add us to your address book  unsubscribe from this list | update subscription preferences  Feel free to send this newsletter to a friend. If you received this newsletter from a friend feel free to sign up for our newsletter. We don't want to lose touch with you! We will not sell, trade or give away your personal information or email address.

Grateful for You!

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We want to thank you! In this time of gratitude, we give thanks for you. We value your patronage and appreciate your confidence in us. Counting you among our customers is something for which we are especially grateful. You are not an outsider in our business, you are part of it. Thanks again! We look forward to serving you for many years to come. Sincerely, Mad About Molds #201                  #202                 #329   Enjoy the little things Thank You!   Friend on Facebook Follow on Twitter Forward to a Friend   Fun Links: Home Free Stuff Free Downloads Creative Ideas Gallery Instructions Subscribe Newsletter Archives Molding Accessories Mobile Site    Contact Us!  Comments Welcomed!  How are we doing?  Let us know what you are thinking!  Shop@MadAboutMolds.com  www.MadAboutMolds.com The Preferred Place for Clay Push Molds!

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Shop, Make & Give Handmade - November Issue of My Molds!

News that Inspires Imagination! The Preferred Place for Clay Push Molds.  October 2012 Issue of My Molds Newsletter. Is this email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. Dear Subscribers,   Have you noticed how fast time is passing? Before you know it, it will be December already! Are you ready for everything December Brings with it? Gifts! Treats! Parties! and Fun! Do you have the molds to make those gifts, candy treats, party favors and fun projects for the kids and family? If you take a little time to update your molds, you'll be ready for many of Decembers festivities!   So after you get your molds in the mail, you are going to be excited to get started. So be sure to stock-up with your favorite clays, paints, or other castings of your choice. Most people use Polymer clay with our molds, but you are not limited to just clay. Check out our castings page to learn more about materials you can use to cast in our molds HERE. Since clay is used the most, we will focus on Polymer Clay today to help inspire you to dive-in and create with gusto! This month’s article. “7 Reason's I Love Polymer Clay” is an interesting read to start you thinking about the many ways clay can play a part in your creative days ahead. Please take the time to sit back and enjoy this issue of My Molds! All the best, Marjorie with Mad About Molds News that Inspires Imagination! "Let the Holiday Season begin!"   Shop, Make & Give Handmade Goodies I support handmade. I buy handmade. I live handmade as much as possible. I know many of you do too. As a seller of my own handmade products, I know how important it is to put my money where my mouth is. Luckily, today, it's easier than ever to buy great quality handmade items for everything we need. The handmade revolution has spilled out from the Internet into local boutiques and neighborhood fairs. Soaps, plants, food, clothes, furniture, linens...really anything you want, you can find. I love looking around my home and seeing items that other people have made, or that I have made. Including friends and family. Can you do or say the same for yourself? Some big chain stores in the US have caught onto the handmade movement and are pushing their own lines of handmade ornaments made in third world countries. I’m not sure making those handmade ornaments for department stores gives these workers any more opportunity or better treatment than the people next to them working in factories that produce ornaments that aren't labeled handmade. If you think about it, everything is handmade to some level – even ipods. Somebody’s hands have to put the pieces together or guide the machines that do. So what is handmade then? So for me, handmade is: Made by the person selling it to me. Enriching the life of the person who builds it when I purchase. Made by me or someone I know. Local, stateside, or coming from an on-line handmade shop like us! :) There are so many benefits of buying handmade, and it's not just for the artiest and craftsman who make them. This blog gives you 101 reasons to buy handmade. It's very interesting. 101 Reasons Announcements: Are you a Fan of Mad About Molds? If you aren't a fan yet, be sure to visit our Facebook page to get the latest news, project tips, special offers, and more! You won’t want to miss out on our newest molds, tips and techniques, special features and articles! How do I do this? Just “Like” us HERE to be able to see our many tips and first-hand notifications about things we think you would want to know about. OR ~ Text the words “Like madaboutmolds” to 32665 (FBOOK) to subscribe to our page/updates. NOTE: If you text it, and you are already a fan of ours, you will receive a text reply stating that "you can not become a fan because of an error." (the error is because you are already a fan.) Did you know that you can now browse our molds directly from our Facebook page? Just click here. You can still go to our website at www.MadAboutMolds.com where you will find an endless amount of information about using our molds as well. What Color will 2013 Be? Pantone has just announced their choices for the colors of 2013. Use these color palettes in your crafting projects so they can coordinate with all the new trending colors that will become the rage next year. If your working with clay in our molds, now would be the time to start looking for these colors so you can start your projects early. Check these colors out!   Mad About Molds Mobile App We are very excited to offer our NEW Mobile App for Android! Now you can check your orders on the go, by signing into your Mad About Molds account right from the app. Browse our store from your favorite cozy chair or read through our past newsletters to get loads of inspiration. This beautiful app allows you to take us with you, so you can share us with all your friends at your favorite craft clubs, classes or with your local guild. It even has an option to share the app in the menu, or share us with your Facebook friends and Twitter followers. We are sorry, but this app is not available for Apple at this time, since they do not allow downloads from other sources. This App includes a coupon deal for a discount on your next order! And best of all, it's totally FREE! Get this FREE App here! Image Clips Mobile App Need a smile? Check out these very creative pictures! They are sure to get you laughing, wondering, inspired, motivated, amazed and completely fascinated! It's got all the eye-candy anyone could wish for.  If you are subscribed to us on Facebook you might be familiar with our "photo of the day" that we posted daily for years. Unfortunately, we stopped posting these pictures, to free up time to work on more important matters, such as filling orders. Instead we have compiled all of these wonderful images in this app for you to enjoy. If your not subscribed to our Facebook page please take the time to "like" our page now so you can receive FREE Projects, Tips, & Inspiration! Mad About Molds on Facebook. Subscribe to our Inspiring Newsletter to get the latest news, project tips, special offers, and more! You won’t want to miss out on our newest molds, tips and techniques, special features and articles! Just click here. Get this FREE App here! This Month's Article: 7 Reasons I Love Polymer Clay I love polymer clay! Here's why I am so crazy about it: 1. Color! My very first reason for loving polymer clay- not just that it comes in so many colors but that I can mix just about every color of the rainbow myself. The better clays come in artist colors so making the colors I want is at least half the fun. You can mix colors completely or leave them marbled to create different effects that stay after baking. 2. Baking! It is easy to cure a piece, you just have to bake it in a regular oven at 230-270 degrees, no kiln needed, so you can jump right in. 3. Metallic’s! I admit it, you can't make every color - like metallic colors that shimmer but several clays have metallic colors that shimmer and gleam. 4. Faux Items!  You can use it to create almost any effect, I've seen "denim" buttons that look like fabric, faux gemstones, rocks, flowers, trees, almost any item can be made out of polymer clay. 5. Firm yet Smooth! Most polymer clays are firm enough to add tiny details and textures so you can add beads and all sorts of mixed media. Still most are not too difficult to condition so they are smooth and easy to work with. 6 Great for Beginners! We all start as beginners. You can find polymer clay in most craft stores. Polymer clay only requires your hands and the clay to start. There are lots of free tutorials online. 7. Great for Experts You never can go too far with polymer clay. There is so much you can do with it - jewelry, miniatures, sculpture, and so many techniques. People come up with new techniques constantly. There are blends, mixed media, caning, sculpting - so many things you can do and then perfect.  You'll ever run out of things to do with Polymer clay! Go ahead, get your molds out! Friend on Facebook Follow on Twitter Forward to a Friend   Fun Links: Home Free Stuff Free Downloads Creative Ideas Gallery Instructions Subscribe Newsletter Archives Molding Accessories Mobile Site    Contact Us!  Comments Welcomed!  How are we doing?  Let us know what you are thinking!  Shop@MadAboutMolds.com  www.MadAboutMolds.com The Preferred Place for Clay Push Molds!   When it comes to service, we break the mold! Thank You! Copyright © 2012 Mad About Molds, All rights reserved. Mad About Molds periodically sends a newsletter to its customers. You received this newsletter because you opted in to receive this newsletter, inquired about our products, or ordered from Mad About Molds. Our mailing address is: Mad About Molds 624 3rd Ave. Brewster, MN 56119 Add us to your address book  unsubscribe from this list | update subscription preferences  Feel free to send this newsletter to a friend. If you received this newsletter from a friend feel free to sign up for our newsletter. We don't want to lose touch with you! We will not sell, trade or give away your personal information or email address.

The countdown has begun! – October Issue of My Molds!

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My Molds Newsletter
News that Inspires Imagination! The Preferred Place for Clay Push Molds
	Dear Subscribers, Are you kidding?! How did it get to be October already?! We hope that you are enjoying everything Fall has to offer you, and that you are seriously thinking about Holiday projects. We urge you to take a peek at what we have to offer and maybe we can help you out in making your plan of action. When you’re ready to get started you’re going to need focus! So, be sure to check out this month’s article. “Getting Through Your To-Do List!” It will help you stay on task and keep on track! Please take the time to sit back and enjoy this issue of My Molds! All the best, Marjorie with Mad About Molds	October 2012 Issue
		Fun Links: Home Free Stuff Free Downloads Creative Ideas Gallery Instructions Subscribe Newsletter Archives Molding Accessories Mobile Site
		Contact Us! Shop@MadAboutMolds.com www.MadAboutMolds.com Find Us on Facebook
		Comments Welcomed! How are we doing? Let us know what you are thinking! Shop@MadAboutMolds.com
	ANNOUNCMENTS Are you a Fan? We made a few changes to our Facebook presents. We now have a Facebook page. (or a fan page) instead of a profile. What does that mean to you? Well, you have to “Like” us to be able to see our many tips and first-hand notifications about things we think you would want to know about. You have more privacy on your profile and more updates on your feed-page from us. So If you are not already a Fan, be sure to look us up HERE! And if you are, you are our biggest Fans!!
	FEATURED MOLDS Oh… Cameos! They are everywhere! They are both classic and traditional, and people love them. •         Tips for using cameo molds •         Samples of cameo molds •         Shop for cameo molds I hope this helps you out. Cameos do take practice, but they are worth it in the end! THIS MONTH’S ARTICLE Getting Through Your To-Do List! With everything going on this month and that I see ahead – hello, deadlines – I have to be quite organized to get it all done. Here are some tips for accomplishing all that’s on your to-do list. 1. Start with a written plan. Clear, written goals are essential. What is the major goal and what are the sub-tasks? It lets me focus easily and assures I don’t forget anything. 2. Prioritize the tasks and set deadlines. You need to determine when all the sub-tasks need to be done for the goal to be completed. I also like to build in a little extra time. And, you might find out that not everything on your list will get done, so focus first on those activities that have the greatest impact on results. 3. Make a daily schedule. Take time either first thing in the morning or the night before to plan your day. Then take daily action toward your goals. How you work toward your goals will vary. You may like to work on one project to completion or divide your day into large blocks for different tasks. 4. Create and use systems if possible. I allow extra time if needed. 5. Not everything on your list will get done. Remember the 80/20 rule. Twenty percent of your activity results in 80 percent of your results. Concentrate on work in the 80 percent; that’s where your ROI (return on investment) will be. 6. And, finally, let go of perfectionism. This is a hard one for me. One of my mentors says to work to “good enough.” It might be that you set a timer for some of the tasks and what you accomplish in that time is “good enough.” One of my favorite resources for getting things done is Nirvana.com. There’s many other recourses online, but this one works for us. How do you handle getting everything done on your list?
	Feel free to send this newsletter to a friend. If you received this newsletter from a friend and want to sign up for your own copy, please click here. If you would like to change your email address please request the change here. We don't want to lose touch with you! We will not sell, trade or give away your personal information or email address. If you no longer wish to receive our Newsletter, please reply to this message with "Unsubscribe" in the subject line. To ensure that you keep receiving our e-mails to your inbox add shop@madaboutmolds.com to your address book or safe list. Copyright © 2012  |  Mad About Molds, 624 3rd Ave.,  Brewster  MN  56119
	When it comes to service, we break the mold! Thank You!