Polymer Clay Daily

Cold cut flowers

Jenny Patterson slices extruded flower canes after they are fired on PolymerClayDaily

Maintaining the shape of extruded polymer clay flower canes as you reduce them is nearly impossible. At a recent gathering, Minnesota’s Jenny Patterson reminded me of a clever workaround.

She extrudes her canes and slices them after they’re cured!

Jenny sells at big shows (she’ll be at the Balloon show in Albuquerque) so her production skills are well honed.

She cuts the cured extrusions once they’re cool or slightly re-warms them to make them pliable depending on the brand of clay. Try it both ways to see what your clay prefers. She punches a hole in each thin slice with hole punch pliers.

Her flowers are made using extruded stacks of disks of clay colors (a la Bettina Welker) with her own extruder disk designs.

We’ll be talking about several newly learned lessons (and cool new tools that make them happen) in this week’s StudioMojo. A week off the grid did my heart and my brain good. Come see why.

Spring slotted flowers

Anne (Baublehaus_) reminds us how to draw tulips #polymerclaydaily https://wp.me/pegT3-7iZ

Did you draw tulips like this as a kid? Me too. Which may be why Seattle’s Anne (from Baublehaus_) is so absolutely right today.

Slotted shapes of leaves and flowers are slipped together to bring simple tulip blooms and leaves to life in polymer. What could be better?

Brass circles having a moment

Anna of Bi.Clay looks ready for the holidays in this brass flowered wreath earring on PolymerClayDaily.com

Anna of Hong Kong’s Bi.Clay illustrates for us how brass circles embellished with polymer clay are having a moment.

The wreath shape makes a beautiful ornamental earring.

You’ll see half-circles, succulents, flowers, vines, and much more added in polymer. The trick is to make the design cling sturdily to the thin brass. Very trendy.

Speaking of trendy, you’ll want to check out the cherries picked for this Saturday’s StudioMojo. We’ve sussed out the best classes, newest designs, coolest findings – all coming to your inbox every Saturday. 

Keep the garden going

Kathy Koontz keeps her garden going with scraps on PolymerClayDaily.com

A discarded 11″ x 27″ cabinet door leaning against the garage wall called to Kathy Koontz (Flowertownoriginals). The door begged for a second chance and Kathy was in a mood to grant it.

She painted the door and scooped up all the scrappy polymer bits lying around.

Stems and leaves grew first. Then the scraps organized themselves into jolly layered blooms.

The playful process made Kathy remember how much fun wall art can be.

Throw scraps on the walls

Jess Erickson and her daughter celebrate their scraps on PolymerClayDaily.com

Michigan’s Jess Erickson (cryingheartcraftco) and her young daughter show off the scrap flowers they cut out to decorate her bedroom.

I get misty thinking about how my daughter and I discovered polymer together as we made cakes and pizzas for her dollhouse.

There’s no better way to boost a kid’s confidence than to decorate their space with bright happy memories of creative times together.

Spring on steroids

Sherstin Schwartz makes gardens that climb the walls on PolymerClayDaily.com

Minnesota’s Sherstin Schwartz (lifeofapaintbrush) admits that she’s an alien.

She sculpts flowers, pods, mushrooms, and other vegetation in eye-popping colors and mounts them on square tiles.

Sherstin calls herself an alien floral designer and her exaggerated shapes and lush colors help you understand why.

The effect of her polymer gardens gathered on a wall will wake up your Monday.

 

Spring fever is contagious

Mary Anne Loveless spreads spring fever on PolymerClayDaily.com

Now that February is thawing in this hemisphere, we’re thumbing through garden catalogs and skewing our palettes to pinks, yellows, and greens.

Utah’s Mary Anne Loveless can’t wait. The green sprouts in her garden prompted her to heap flowers on these earrings in her spring collection. Let’s celebrate Spring Fever!

Over at StudioMojo, we’re still harvesting tips from this month’s online conferences and classes. If you’re in the mood tor the best homemade tools and the most clever new designs, hop over to the right column and sign up for Saturday’s newsletter.

Coming up roses

Ann Havlach-Duncan's patriotic garden grows as you vote on PolymerClayDaily.com

Illinois’ Ann Duncan-Hlavach brings red, white, and blue to her polymer roses. She swirls thin cane slices around each other and hides a pearl in their centers.

So here’s hoping that we swirl around each other and find the pearl we want in the middle.

You’ve voted already, right? That’s the best way to keep your garden growing!