Last fall my crafty BFF Vicki O’Dell, the Creative Goddess (you should check out her site VickiODell.com) and I took a little in-state road trip to the International Polymer Clay Associations’ polymer clay retreat! It was a weekend in Dublin, Ohio, at a hotel…but while the venue was small, it packed it a lot of fun and information!
But…this post is about PACKING for the retreat. You see, it was the first one I’d even been to, and I just find any information on what to bring. So now I’m sharing with YOU what I brought and if it was helpful.
Let’s get going…
360 Bag rolling tote from We R Memory Keepers
I decided to bring my 360 Bag Rolling Tote from We R Memory Keepers. While it was designed for scrapbookers, it is IDEAL for polymer clay as well. (I have a full review of the 360 Bag here.)
What I love about it is the front flap that zips down….
Front flap zips down and clear pockets snap off.
…and clear zip pockets snap in. I could stow all of my tools and supplies neatly in those zip pouches, bringing them out to work with and then snapping back in for storage. It’s brilliant.
So… IN those snap pouches I stowed my mini-cutters.
As you can see, I also keep them organized by using library or binder rings. I made a little video on the JOYS of binder rings here. This video is only 3 minutes long:
So… now for what’s IN the tote.
I’m also a huge fan of Snapware. I love how it stacks, letting you see the contents by keeping categories separate. So in my Snapware, I brought a collection of Pearl-Ex mica Powders.
I love adding color to raw clay, so those were a must.
I also packed some Armor All as a non-stick agent, my little Sculpey conditioning machine, and a few texture sheets.
I brought my clay tool kit- it serves for both my earthenware clay and polymer clay. I have my tissue blades in the lid.
And of course… CLAY! I decided to bring a limited color palette so that I wasn’t scrambling trying to make those decisions on the fly… and I brought lots of white, translucent, and ecru for extra mixing options.
from left: me, Syndee Holt, Barbara Forbes-Lyons, and Vicki O’Dell.
I didn’t take a lot of photos- I was consciously being “in the moment,” just enjoying time with my best friend. But you can see the photos and more of my time there in my post about it!
We laughed, clayed, and cried. Not necessarily in that order.
But to get back to the point of the post, I felt like I had really everything I needed for some fun worktime. It might have been fun to bring a few “projects” or WIPs to focus on…perhaps next time.
Have you ever been to a polymer clay retreat? Did you bring something I didn’t? I’d love to hear from you!
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You must be missing your traveling. Lol! Thanks for the ArmorAll tip.
I”ve not only BEEN to a polymer clay retreat, I hosted one at my house a year ago last August for the Polymer Clay Artists Guild of Etsy. So it’s not fair for me to answer – I only had to scoot back to my work space to fetch anything anyone didn’t have. 🙂
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