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 buttons with Amazing Molding Putty. All well and good, but I often just use scrap clay for making molds. (Just be double-sure to use a […]
Luny’s Half-Moon Beads
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. She responded by posting a how-to so that I could try making my own. How cool is that? So go visit “Luny” at TwistedKneads, too… […]
Impression Glazing Polymer Clay
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 gift! BUT…the recipient isn’t allowed to take it home until we have a class in June! (Sorry, lovey! You’ll just have to “quality control” it […]
Painted Pendants of Polymer Clay
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 need to sand down the polymer bases so that the paints adhere better. I almost think that this technique won’t work for a class setting, […]
Fabrege Egg Swap
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 to find a clever way to display them next Easter. I only hope that my swap partners were as pleased with my polymer clay ATC’s. […]
New Liquid Clay Creations
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, and liquid PC to get the effect I want. I’ll be doing another set of more “scientific” experiments comparing 3-4 liquid clays and how they […]
Polymer Clay Covered Tins at Stamplistic
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 going to be for little surprises for my son, when he has a good behavior day at school. The other one borrowed from MaryAnn’s design […]
Polymer Clay Covered Tins
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!   Â
Polymer Clay ATC’s – Eggs
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 create them, I marbled a sheet of clay, cut it onto the egg-shape and then added the coils with liquid clay. After curing, I applied […]
Photo Inspiration Challenge
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 the left is a cabochon, and the one on the right is also a pendant. I’m really feeling some copper wire work… but we’ll see […]
Snow Day = Clay Day
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 pieces. However, with some of them I don’t mind, and I’m going to “make it work” as Tim Gunn would say! Actually, the top left […]
St. Patrick’s Day Crafts – Sort Of
I’m gearing up for my favorite green holiday, St. Patrick’s Day. Since my birthday is only 3 days later, it’s been something of an extended holiday for me. (BTW, Earth Day comes in second as my favorite green holiday. Sorry.) Anyhoo, I always celebrate with cards for the family, dressing up the kids, sometimes even hitting the parade if the weather isn’t too crappy. I decided to try that new metal-leafing technique and make a batch o’ goodies. I ended […]
My First Hollow Polymer Clay Bead
So I took 2 cabs that I formed over the lightbulb, sanded them, then baked them together using TLS and my embossing gun. The result? My first hollow bead! I’m disappointed that I can still see the seam. Maybe a little alcohol ink over it to cover it a bit? Hmmm. More to experiment with…. Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.
Fun with Foil: Polymer Clay Cabs in Progress
I’ve been playing with a new technique and developing a class for Grand River Beads. My new beady-friend Maryann and I were scheming to come up with a new 2-part class. I’ll teach PC faces, cabs, and buttons in the AM, and she’ll teach us how to whip them into fabulous bead-embroidered pins in the afternoon. The faces and buttons are pretty easy, but I wanted something new to do with the cabs…. so out comes all of my stuff […]
Polymer Clay Covered Altoid Tins
Thinking on my next set of classes for Stamplistic. I whipped up these two tins using the Studio By Sculpey texture sheets as prep for writing my review on them. Anyhoo, I use them for holding my UTEE, so took them to the Art Doll class. They got lots of oohs and aaaahs. Makes me think I need to make some more, trying a few new techniques. There’s always something new to explore! The one on the top, here, was […]
More Polymer Clay Art Doll Pins, pt 2
I had another Polymer Clay Art Doll Pin class at Stamplistic on Valentine’s Day. We had 3 players, and their work is stunning. Thanks to Terri, MaryAnn, and her granddaughter Christina for coming to create with me! Mine is the one with the shamrock… lucky, lucky me! I get to teach cool things to great people!!! For info on other classes I have scheduled, check out my classes and events!
More on Conversation Hearts – Polymer Clay Version
… and more on conversation hearts! Crafty Goat has made a version with polymer clay that really do look good enough to eat. What I like about her tutorial is that she gives you “recipes” for the colors, which really do look close to the original. If you are in to mood to make some, check out her site! Wouldn’t these be cute strung on a necklace? Mine would be snarky, you betcha.
Polymer Clay Art Doll Pin Class at Stamplistic
We had a small but mighty class yesterday at Stamplistic, and a big “Thank You” to Shelly and Alice who come to play with me! I love facilitating classes…. getting to know different artist/crafters, their approach, and the life stories they bring to the table. Fortunately, Alice and Shelly “got” the project, and brought their creative juices! Here’s what they made: I’m repeating the class on Valentine’s day…so if you want to attend, just click on link above for registration […]
Quick Polymer Clay Comparison Using Acrylic Washes
I was doing some class samples yesterday, using some of the new Studio By Sculpey clay in Wasabi. I covered this picture frame and lightswitch cover, using the same clay – but I used a white pearl acrylic wash on the frame, and a burnt umber wash on the lightswitch. Some difference, huh? Just goes to show you can stretch your crafting dollar by using some paint to achieve different effects and hues! Oh, and a little PS: ArtyGirlz are […]
Children’s Books with Polymer Clay Illustrations
I love book time with my kids. And what I love even more is a children’s book with rich, visually stimulating illustrations. Ones that are really works of art. I stumbled across these books by Marian Berkes and Jeanette Canyon while searching for children’s books that utilize song lyrics- and found Over in the Ocean and Over in the Jungle The words are re-vamps of a preschool song (something about a mother duck, as I recall) and retooled to fit […]
