The chips for the games at polymer clay conferences have become coveted items and a good way to show off new techniques. These chips by Susan Detwiler of Shepherdsville, Kentucky are a case in point. Susan uses translucent clay for her base and paints it with alcohol inks (center picture) followed by a layer of […] Read more
I’ve been making some translucent polymer clay petroglyphs canes for my rocks following the techniques developed by Kathleen Dustin, Marla Frankenberg and others. Slicing the soft image canes thin enough is an art in itself. The nail technicians at the Beauty Tech Shoppe are way ahead of me and have opened up a new niche […] Read more
You’ve probably figured out that I’m scrounging around the house for polymer clay fixtures to show you. The weather’s too nice to spend the evening web surfing. Here are the lights from my copper bathroom. We made the tub surround from sheets of roofing copper…here’s the sink. The little pendant fixtures from the lighting stores […] Read more
Israel’s Sagit Levi has mastered the polymer clay pillow bead shape. Her beads juxtapose their soft shapes with a riot of strong colors that look very much like lampworked glass beads. Sagit uses translucent canes in bolder colors and more dramatic combinations than we’re used to seeing. She’s got Etsy and Flickr sites and more. […] Read more
Ronna Weltman has been playing with her polymer clay extruder in a much more freestyle way. “I put in little blobs of this and that color (not randomly picked, but for harmony) and delight in the serendipity of my multi-hued bead caps,” she says. “Yesterday I played around with randomly placing the strings on translucent […] Read more
It’s turning cold. Nearly time for snowflakes. As a kid I loved folding and cutting paper to reveal an endless variety of snowflake patterns. Sandy from Canada is having a grand time doing the same thing in polymer clay with a simple cane pattern she’s developed. She calls it "cookie cutter caning." I found this […] Read more
Maine’s Melanie West resisted the urge to make a face cane until her idea was just right. It was worth the wait. The resulting round beads are cheerful and fun in her new Etsy gallery. Melanie’s work took a leap forward after her classes in Italy this summer. Take a look at the great translucent […] Read more
Vancouver Island’s Tina Holden was inspired to create this polymer clay necklace by a recent drive in the countryside. She added copper, variegated and gold leaf into a jade translucent polymer clay. The necklace itself is crocheted and four-strand braided with recycled glass, smokey quartz and other beads. Holden also "rocks" and has swapped with […] Read more
Colorado’s Karen Sexton says that these luminous polymer clay pins she just finished are the result of a simple process. She lightly painted Pinata inks on thin alternating layers of translucent and pearl clay and stacked the layers. She impressed the stack with various tools, mokume gane style. Thin slices of the resulting cane were […] Read more
Using an upside-down glass votive, a light (from FactoryDirectCraft.com) and translucent polymer clay, we watched as Leslie Blackford created another of her fanciful and mythic nightlights. Leslie is genuinely surprised when we tell her that not everyone can conjure up the delightful stories and animals that fill her head. We’re going to give it a […] Read more
