Craft Test Dummies

I’m a big fan of Halloween- always have been. And when I learned about Mexico’s Day of the Dead (Dia De Los Muertos), I was even more smitten. To celebrate both, I created these glow-in-the-dark Calaveras of polymer clay, my version of the traditional sugar skulls. I’ve made a few photo collages to help you [...]

I’ve been a jewelry maker for about 15 years. It’s funny, because almost everything that crosses my desk is fair game to become a piece of jewelry. Martha Stewart Crafts Crafter’s Clay is no exception. I molded some leaves, and they just spoke to me- so I turned them into earrings. They are pretty easy [...]

Valentine’s day is right around the corner- who doesn’t need a little heart-shaped button or two? With this “faux ceramic” technique, I’m going to show you how to use rubber stamps to make an impression into clay, glaze it with tinted liquid clay, and then finish it into a durable button using resin. Of course, [...]

Last week I showed you how I cut polymer clay with my Cricut- basically, I made a very thin sheet of polymer clay and cured it, making a veneer that I could then cut with an electronic cutter. But I got to wondering- which brand of polymer clay would make the best veneer? You need [...]

A while ago my pal Lisa Pavelka was showing off her fabulous Pardo Jewellry Clay by Viva Decor at CHA Winter 2011- it’s so flexible after baking, you can actually use a paper punch to cut it! So I got to thinking- why not cut it with a Cricut? I played around a bit, and [...]

Here’s a great, quick Father’s Day gift you can whip up in no time. I originally published this tutorial on CraftsUnleashed, but I thought it should be shared here, too. These would also be cool zipper pulls for luggage or backpacks, too! Sometimes it’s a little, functional gift that shows Dad how much you care- [...]

Here’s a little polymer clay pin that I designed last year and taught as a class. So just for you I’ll show you how to do it yourself! You’ll need: black polymer clay translucent polymer clay (I used Lisa Pavelka Signature Art Clay by Viva Decor) metal leaf (silver or gold is ok) alcohol inks [...]

Ali Edwards came up with the “One Little Word” concept- picking one word to guide your intentions, resolutions, actions. As an artist/crafter/maker, sometimes one little word is all you need as a springboard to inspire you. I decided start the year off  with a project featuring one of my favorite mediums, polymer clay. For this [...]

Last Saturday we had a GREAT Polymer Clay 101 class at Grand River Beads (check out their website for their calendar.) We had 6 enthusiastic participants, and we covered the following: brands of clays and their properties prepping clay texturizing release agents application of pigments tools curing ….and some of my own little tips! We [...]

I am a big fan of Steam Punk, and a big fan of Polymer Clay… so how much am I loving the two together??!! Yeah, about that much. So I’m really excited to share that CF Originals is offering a FREE download of the SteamPunk Heart project (among some other free-bees and “for-cost” projects, as [...]

You have to check out this video from Ana Arujo… it’s a hoot. She’s trying to convince her daughter that dough ornaments are a good thing… and her daughter is not enjoying the mess. That being said, bread dough ornaments ARE fun, easy, and cheap!!!! They would be fun to make on a snow day, [...]

We’ll be making a polymer clay gift set with a pin and coordinating keepsake tin. We’ll fashion a block of clay into a great gift for your favorite Mom or Grandma or to keep. Class fee of $42 includes all materials.  Age 10 and up may work independantly but under 10 must be accompanied by [...]

I’ve been making Mokume Gane pendants and beads, and my dear friend Eva (who owns Grand River Beads in Rocky River, Ohio) used one of my beads to wire-wrap for a group she’s in. Her group, Creative Wire Forum, is doing a “piece a week” project, encouraging members to make-yup, you guessed it- one piece [...]

I had a lovely class last night at Grand River Beads, and we had a great group of 5 ladies making polymer clay beads for bangle bracelets. As usual, I was so “in the moment” that I forgot to take any photos! I did promise, however, to put some of my favorite resources up for [...]

I’m finishing up a new batch of Mokume Gane beads, and I fell in love with this one so much I stuck a “taco bail” right on it and started wearing it. I have a gazillion beads in this color way, so I took some over to Eva at Grand River Beads, and she’s going [...]

Just to let you all know I’ll be teaching “Bead on a Wire Bangle” at Grand River Beads in November. (The 8th, Saturday afternoon, and the 13th, a Thursday Evening.) We’ll be making swirly lentil beads with inclusions, and you’ll get the bonus of learning to make wire coils to complete the bracelet in class. [...]

I found this cool craft using glass votive candle holders, and my old favorite, polymer clay. This comes courtesy of PCPolyzine circa 2003.  Check out the link for the step-by-step, but I’ll give you the basic gist. You’ll want to find a glass votive and cover it with a uniform thickness of orange polymer clay, [...]

And I mean that as the highest compliment… she took a normal, cheap-o electric toothbrush, and turned it into a detail sander for polymer clay. (Although it would be handy for any small, detailing job.) She went from this: to this: to this: How clever is that?? I need to get over to the dollar [...]

I taught my “Luscious Layers” class at Grand River Beads on Thursday night. We had a lovely turn out of 4 ladies, all new to my classes. They made great pieces! I was only prepared for 3 (we had one last-minute drop-in), so I had to use some scrap black clay for the base, instead [...]

I was making my blog rounds this morning, and ran across this idea from Crafty Goat. And since I love polymer clay AND bottle cap art, this worked for me! (Alternatively, I could use my polyclay and then have a brew. That also works for me!) Anyhoo, she suggests making your own molds from cool [...]

As it is with most of us in the blogosphere, I do a fair amount of surfing other blogger’s sites. “Luny” is a polymer clay-er that belongs to one of my Yahoo Groups, and she had showed us some of her half-moon beads. I really liked them, and left a comment to tell her so. [...]

So this is the technique that I’ve been most obsessed with lately- impression glazing. I stamped some polymer clay, baked it, and then mixed up some mica powders with TLS (translucent liquid Sculpey) and glazed over it. I wired it up and added some bead and glass danglies…. just in time for a special birthday [...]

I’ve been working on some enamel-like effects on polymer clay pendants, and I made these a few weeks ago. I love Lumiere paints- they are acrylics with mica powders in them, which make them metallic and shimmery. However, I had problems with them bubbling when I went to heat-set the glaze on top. Maybe I [...]

OK, so we didn’t really swap fabrege eggs… we made Artist Trading Cards inspired by them. I got these last week on Wednesday, right before we headed out of town for a funeral. I apologize for being late to my wonderful swap-ees, Trish, Katherine, and Agnieska (from Poland!) These are gorgeous, and now I have [...]

So, my friend Eva is showing my some new goodies she bought in Tucson – large focal components with glass enameling. As always, my snarky comment is “I bet we could do this in polymer clay.” Go figure. I’ve been playing in the studio, trying to find the right combo of pigment, glazes, inks, paints, [...]

I taught a class at Stamplistic today – of ONE! I had only expected two, but then….well, life happens. So it was just Sue and I and a bunch o’ clay.  We made happy pieces (sorry, I forgot my camera!) but I did take a snap of the class sample I made last week.  It’s [...]

Well, I’ve been working on a new set of classes, this time covering old Altoid-style tins with polymer clay.  I also was playing with a new cane, and came up with these. I think they look like orange poppies!     

I’m in a swap at my CPS group, and our theme was Faberge Eggs. I played around with several ideas, but since I’m on a polymer clay kick, well, I thought I could make it work. I also used some lovely German Scrap from ArtChix and some rhinestones to finish them off. Whaddaya think? To [...]

We had a challenge in my Ohio Beaders Yahoo Group to make something that was inspired by a photo. Our group’s moderator provided us with 20 or so pictures, and I was moved by this one: And these were the pieces I made: The top piece is horizontally pierced for a pendant, the pod on [...]

We had a blizzard here the past coupla days, so we hunkered down and stayed cozy and safe. I decided to play a bit more with my new extruder, and my brain is buzzing with possibilities. Unfortunately, I was so over-stimulated that I forgot to mind the clay oven, and I scorched a number of [...]