Every Cube Needs Some Flair

While 80's inspired trends like bleached jeans and neon pops of color rule Back-To-School this year, I'm still into last years skull trend. I might be a little over skulls on clothing, but I'm definitely loving this Paul Frank Skurvy bike and this Skull bow from Tarina Tarantino's new City Girl Collection and this super cute Babydoll Skull plaque! It's been awhile since I've done a project, and I've been wanting to try out the X-Treme Dimensions™ line, so this project seemed perfect! Plus my cubicle at work could use a little flair. I'm the only person at iLoveToCreate who's cube isn't plastered with projects! Here's my finished project, proudly displayed outside my cube:So cute! My only disappointment is that the black ran a bit. Oops, I guess I was a little too anxious to brush on my Pure Brilliance! If I were to do this project over, I would definitely let it dry a little longer, and also sponge on my first coat of Pure Brilliance, and then brush on my second coat. One other issue I encountered was that my X-Treme Dimensions™ were pretty old, so they had thickened and were hard to squeeze out of the bottle. Luckily this problem has a quick fix! I just added a few drops of Duncan Thin 'n Shade, stirred it into the X-Treme Dimensions™, and they worked perfectly! It was totally worth the extra work. The multi-colored specks (you can see them better in the professional photo) give the piece such a cool effect! So this is what people see now when they walk into my cubicle. Pretty intimidating, right?! Yea, I'm hard core :)

Some people get all the talent...

In my early blogging days, I told you all about the IADCCT regional and the 50 Duncan Certified Ceramic Teachers that took iLoveToCreate by storm. As a thank you to iLoveToCreate for hosting the event, Arlene Smith and the Southern Stars chapter of IADCCT presented this beautiful quilt to Larry Duncan. Check it out:
These people are amazing ceramists AND quilters?! Not fair! I’m working on developing just ONE creative talent! This quilt is not only beautiful, but it has special meaning to the iLoveToCreate team, as every square contains a picture of something Duncan related. If you look closely, you can see pictures of Erma Duncan, the Duncan family, pictures from the IADCCT regional, and the Duncan University logo. Thank you SO much to Arlene and all the members of the Southern Stars chapter. The quilt is such an amazing gift, and we’re working on finding the perfect place to display it so that all iLoveToCreate team members can enjoy it!

Have you heard?!

Duncan Enterprises is changing its name to iLoveToCreate™, a Duncan Enterprises Company!

It is with great pride that we announce, on July 25, 2009, Duncan Enterprises will begin doing business as iLoveToCreate™, a Duncan Enterprises Company. Nothing else about our company is changing - just the name!

What began with one woman, Erma Duncan, wishing to share her passion of ceramic arts with others, has become an entire company of team members and associates, all dedicated to sharing the love of creativity with the world. In January of 2009 www.ilovetocreate.com was launched, igniting consumers' creativity, regardless of their product of choice, brand preference or consumer type. With the successful website launch has come the exciting opportunity to embrace change, and on July 25, 2009, we will begin doing business as iLoveToCreate™, a Duncan Enterprises Company.

On the ceramic side, we see this as an exciting opportunity to strengthen the Duncan brand. The Duncan logo and brand will now be dedicated exclusively to the Ceramic Arts business. We're excited about the future as iLoveToCreate™ strives to explore new avenues of creativity for it's core brands, Duncan® Ceramic Arts, Tulip® Fashion Art, Aleene's® Crafting Adhesives, Crafty Chica™ and ilovetocreate.com™.

Share the Inspiration...Share the Information...Share the LOVE!

A Creativity Confession

My faithful followers, I have to admit that I haven't been 100% truthful with you. I didn't lie, but I haven't been as forthcoming as I could have been about my creative past. While it's true ballet has always been my art of choice, I did spend a few good summers at a local contemporary studio called Color Cafe. Those days were years ago, though, and mostly forgotten until I stumbled upon the evidence at my parents' house yesterday. Check out these beauties... Notice I even made sure to take pictures of my initials for all you skeptics! I actually remember using Concepts and French Dimensions to paint these pieces! I think the box was painted with CN Bright Aqua, CN 181 Light Kiwi, CN 062 Bright Salsa, and maybe CN 032 Bright Butternut? The box definitely has FD 270 French Deflt, and maybe CN 171 Light Kelp, CN 112 Bright Delft, and CN 261 Light Purple. I think it's so funny that the summer before my Freshman year, when I was dreaming of becoming a professional ballerina, I was actually using the products I would someday be helping to develop and market! Funny how life works out, huh? Not that these pieces are anything to brag about, but they're a fun reminder of how Duncan products have touched the lives of even us "uncreative" ones!

The Trendy Ceramist

Every Tuesday, my friend Jen from The Trend Spot publishes an in-house newsletter that looks at emerging trends. This week she examined the huge resurgence of Michael Jackson inspired trends. She discussed how Michael Jackson may become larger in death than he was in life, and predicted we may be seeing a lot more crystal gloves, military-style jackets, and high-water pants as a tribute to the "King of Pop". At Duncan Enterprises, we often rely on Jen to keep our new products on trend. It made me think, could there be any place for Michael Jackson in ceramics? It seemed unlikely, but boy was I wrong....

Some quick-thinking ceramist hopped right on that trend, and for only $3.25 on eBay this Michael Jackson ceramic bust can be yours! But once again, why buy it when you can make it?! For all you talented people, simply sculpt yourself a bust and paint with OS Opaque Acrylics! And who knows, if the trend really takes off, we might just be seeing "King of Pop" shaped Duncan Oh Four Bisque in the near future! Only kidding people... I hope.

I love to create...

cupcakes! I've discussed before my love of cupcakes, especially Sprinkles Cupcakes! For our 4th of July potluck at work today, I decided I had to make Sprinkles Red Velvet cupcakes. They are AMAZING, and with their white cream cheese frosting, and some blueberries on top, they make the perfect 4th of July treat. All I needed was some Sprinkles Cupcake Mix and my handy cupcake carrier, and I was good to go. Feeling very domestic, I took my time, making sure I did everything perfectly. Once I finished frosting and arranging the blueberries, I carefully placed the cupcakes into the cupcake carrier, went to put on the lid, and realized....they didn't fit. I was devastated! I had just spent two hours making these cupcakes, and now I was going to have to squish them together and ruin everthing! Luckily, working at Duncan doesn't just encourage artistic creativity, but it encourages you to think more creatively as well! I am proud to present to you my new cupcake transportation device:

As you can see, I used four wine corks to add height. I no longer had to worry about the frosting getting smeared everywhere! I then wrapped the entire thing in saran wrap. It kept the wine corks in place, and prevented the cupcakes from getting stale. I was so impressed. Here they are, safely delivered to work:

Not a blueberry out of place! Not to toot my own horn, but I've been getting rave reviews from my co-workers. I might just have a new career in cupcakes :)

Welcome to a "World of Creativity"

I have been dying to talk about the exciting things going on here at Duncan, and finally the day is here! Duncan Enterprises is proud to announce 7 New Duncan University Courses! World of Creativity is a series of courses featuring animals from the seven different continents. Travel the world with Duncan as we take you from the jungles of South America to the glaciers of Antarctica. Isn’t that such a cool idea for a series?! And it gets even better. For the first time ever, students who complete all seven courses will earn a bonus credit for a total of 8 credits toward their Duncan University Awards! Check out these AMAZING pieces using a wide variety of product lines and techniques:

North America

Winged Wonder

South America

Rainbow in the Jungle

Antarctica

Emperor of the Arctic

Plus the Special Bonus Project...

An Arctic Tail

Asia

Underwater Excursion

Europe

Wintertime in the Wild

Austrailia

Looking for Leaves

Africa

Spotted Savannah

The participant supply list can be found on the Duncan University page of www.ilovetocreate.com. Contact your local Duncan Ambassador to sign up for this amazing series! Aren’t sure who the Duncan Ambassador is in your area? Use the easy Ambassador Locator tool on www.ilovetocreate.com, and contact them today! Leave me comments about your favorite projects, I'd love to hear your feedback!