Tutorial : Super Simple Textured bead : Beginner level

Hi !

I was in a bit of rut for the past few months. Its still supremely hot here ( 42 degree Celsius) , and caning is impossible. Most of the premo I have is super soft , and I was very frustrated claying . I was watching TV and I randomly started making these. It felt so good , because it takes minimum effort & great results.
On thinking about it now , these are based on the paper bead making techniques , I just changed the medium & added texture for interest.
I have tried these with canes and I didn't enjoy them much asthe cane work just gets hidden in the spiral.


Materials needed :

1. Polymer clay 
2. Roller / Pasta machine
3. Texture implements 
4. Tooth pick
5. Cutter

In Anti-clockwise order : Roller,A jar cover with texture, Premo polymer clay , Cutters , hand made texture stamp, wooden texture stamp , toothpick

Process :

1. Condition your clay based on your need.You can make around 8 beads from .5 ounce of P.C or a quarter of the Premo! bar I have used for illustration here.

2. After conditioning your clay , roll it to out to an even thickness. In the pasta machine I used , the fourth thinnest setting is ideal or around 1.5 millimeters ( apprx). I found this was best , not too thick but thick enough to take the texture.

3. After that is done , use your stamp and gently impress the pattern onto the clay. Try using a bit of water or a bit of corn flour on the stamp if your stamp is sticking on the clay and/or tearing it.

Clay with the design stamped on it

4. Now get your cutters and cut them in such a way that they have the design on them. I prefer using the narrow cutter as its easier , but it can be easily substituted with round cutters or oval cutters
(Using an oval cutter or a circle  cutter : Cut out a circle / oval with the pattern on it and re-cut it using the same cutter again , making a crescent shape. Discard the crescent and use the other part.)

5. Take your toothpick , the lightly wrap around an edge over it . Then continue wrapping the bead.

6. Once it looks like as in the picture below , slowly ease it out of the tooth pick.Your bead is ready !

7.Alternatively ,use the toothpick to poke a hole into the bead if you are not interested in using the hole already made.If you do so , it becomes a junction bead. The secondary piercing with the toothpick is not mandatory.

8. Now bake your beads as per the temperature on your clay packet , and for the recommended time.

Here  are some baked beads !!!

Note : I had initially made these beads using cold porcelain , so that's a medium you can easily use.

Have fun making these super easy beads ! I would love you to see what you make if you use this tutorial .
Thanks for reading & have a great day !

#2015 PCChallenge , Week 22 : Alliums in polymer clay

Hi !


For the month of June , I have decided to go the floral way. I am going to select a flower for a week and try to make my take on it.
This is  week 22 for the #2015PCChallenge.  I have chosen " Giant Alliums" for the week.

I have seen pictures of these beauties , but I never knew that were part of  the Allium family , which also have onions , garlic , scallions & shallots on their list.

So here they are : Premo! used with mica powder & chalk.Cotton cord & glass beads used as well.

1.Primary piece : Giant pendant with sliding knot

2. Secondary piece : Three part necklace with glass beads & sliding knot.

Both of them have a few remaining touch ups to be done . The first piece is a slight bit crooked so I will not be putting it for sale.

I am planning on making a few more of these as a collection for my store.Some earrings , a few pendants are in the works and hopefully a few cuffs too.

I would love to hear your feed back .

Thanks for reading & have a good day !

Shilpa :) 

#2015PCChallenge Week 17 : Sunburst set

Hi!

I am still kind of hooked onto alcohol inks :) They are just so vibrant!

I made a set with a necklace , bangle and earrings, along some extra pieces as well. I still have to clean up the remaining pieces and put them on for sale.

I wanted to try out colors that were not in my comfort space , so I chose a bright orange and a  vibrant pink.

It reminds of the colors when a cheery sunny day is dawning , the birds are already flying around , and you are looking out with a cup of hot coffee in your hand.

I hope you like these too :)

Thanks for reading  , and have a great day! 

New toys

Hi !

Its incredible that somehow during the  past six months I am almost only working with polymer clay.I  have totally abandoned all other experiments.I might have to  change the description of the blog also, considering I am not doing a whole lot of experiments other than with polymer clay.

I am on a shopping spree this month ! Polymer clay related of course. I bought some Adirondack alcohol inks , the amazing mold putty and Imitation copper and gold foil. Yaay ! I am very excited.And I put in an order for my Dremel :)

Lets see what experiments I can do :)

Have a good day !

Week 1 : Polymer Clay Challenge : Back to back entry !

Hi !

 I entered the #2015PCChallenge quite late , as in the 5 th week. This leaves me for 4 weeks to catch up on.
I had a few completed pieces , but I don't think its fair to enter those , as most had been completed before January.I did not want to come up with brand new pieces either , because my competency level has certainly increased during this month , thanks to the challenge. While this is an excellent change , it does not show progression correctly.

What I have done is , I have a stash of half completed projects, components that needed sanding and buffing and trial canes. My plan for the back to back is to bring some life into them.


These were very first complex canes I made.I still remember how happy I was to be progressing from bulls eye canes and jelly rolls :) .

So Week 1 : Kaleidoscopic floral earrings : Primary piece

Week 1 : Kaleidoscopic Cell earrings : Companion piece 

I could not really bring out the translucency of these canes even after a lot of sanding. I think I might have to get a Dremel soon !

So what I did it was this :

1. I provided a thicker base. ( important learning bit for me  : make the base before hand instead ) 

2.Attached the stud base

3.Sanded from 320 grit to 1500. ( lost a few finger tips)

4.Buffed manually

5.Drilled using a drill vise

6.Made the jump rings

7.Put it together

I can see all the flaws , the finger print I cant sand away because it is in a groove , the browning in one of the studs , uneven application of cane slices.Even then I am happy , because all those flaws have taught me.

Thanks for reading. :)

Comments are always welcome !

Week 5 : Polymer clay challenge

Hi !

I am finally done with my companion bangle.It was done yesterday, but it was dark by the time I got done , so I couldnt take any photos till today.

And Tada ! Here it is : Rustic cuff in dusky rose ( I am going to work on naming them ).

I am happier with this than the blue snaky one.

Thanks for your feedback, and have a great day!

Week 5 : Polymer Clay Challenge 2015

Hi !

Here I am with my first post for the #2015PCchallenge. Hopefully , this challenge is not only going to help me push my creative boundaries , but also teach me some discipline !

I jump started directly on to the week 5 , but this is my first submission.

I had started with 2 bracelet / cuffs last week before entering the contest , I was able to complete one for this challenge.

As usual, all I can see are glaring mistakes and lack of finishing. While these are a pretty good improvement over my very first trials ( you can see the disastrous earrings in the first few entries) , their finish still leave a lot to be desired.

It was very difficult to sand the little bumps.I completely changed the shape of most them trying to get the original colour back. The tiny snakes and bumps were linty and I was lost quite lost trying to clean them up.

If anyone interested in polymer clay is reading,this I would appreciate it if you could share the way you clean out and sand tiny crevices in your polymer clay projects.

There is a partner bangle to this blue fellow , I am trying to clean up that one without distorting the original form. I shall try to put my final version soon .

Thank you for reading.I appreciate comments and feedback. :)

Have a good day!

Polymer Clay : Experiment 2 : Simple canes : Bulls eye

One of the most fascinating things about polymer clay is the ability to make canes.There are many types of polymer clay canes , however for my trial here I have chosen to start off with the bulls eye cane.This seems to be the easiest cane to make.

Items I have used: Detailed explanation here.

1.Polymer clay : I have used purple,gold,black and white colors from Premo! by Sculpey.
2.Dedicated cutter
3.Dedicated blades
4.Rolling pins
5.Plastic sheets
6.Tooth picks
7.Aluminium foil trays : 2
8.Binder clips : 2
9.Oven Thermometer
10.Toaster oven
11.Wire : I have used 20 gauge
12.Cornflour
13.Zip Loc bags


Process : These are very simple to make.I have not followed any tutorial here.I have made some bulls eye canes then just cut them and rejoined them.In two places I have wrapped them again in other colors such as black and white.
It does take a bit of time , but its fun :)

1. I cut equal sized pieces of purple and gold clay.Just mash them with your fingers to soften them , then roll it in your palm to make little globes.Once they are merging seamlessly , the clay is conditioned.Store unused clay in separate Ziploc bags.

2. I made snakes with all the separate colors.Then I used the rolling pin to flatten them.Do this till you have two identical pieces of flattened clay. I cut both the flattened snakes into half.

3.I took one half of both the flattened pieces and rolled it again into equal sized snakes.Wrap the purple snake with the gold piece and gold snake with the purple piece.Ensure it gets covered completely,only leaving the ends free and then cut off the extra from the sheet.

4.This is a bulls eye cane.But I didnt like the look of it a whole lot , soI then rolled them into longer but equal sized snakes.I cut of the ends.

5.You can see how the cane has turned out. I got through the very first step when it comes to making polymer clay canes , not very neatly I am afraid.

So that's the bulls eye cane !

Now that the boring bit was done , I had lots of fun re-arranging them,putting on different colored layers and squishing them to different shaped canes.And this is the fun part , this also takes time though.I used basic colors because I dont really how colors combine in polymer clay and these were safe options.

I made a base of scrap clay, thinly sliced the canes I made , stuck them on the base , used slight pressure on the rolling pin to blend it.I then used cutters to make them into even sized bits and baked them.

Baking

I have baked the items between two aluminum foil pans.I pre-heated the oven for ten minutes for 130 degree Celsius, then baked them for 45 minutes. 

Thankfully , nothing got burned and I was a happy girl !

The very first one is lightly sanded and polished by hand , the other two are quite raw.They do not look professional by any standards yet.

Thanks for reading.Your comments are always welcome :)

Polymer Clay : Experiment 1 : Baking

The story so far :

The first time I stumbled on to polymer clay was during my 12th standard board examinations.I am not quite sure how , but suddenly there were these Google pages full of polymer clay and cool things made out of polymer clay.I saw stars and dreams in a millisecond.Just looking at the fascinating possibilities kept me in check for a little while , then I decided I wanted it.

Accordingly I started searching for its availability in India.Even as I searched  extensively, I drew a  complete blank .There was nothing online and nobody in any craft shops knew what I was talking about.I reached out to some Indian artists working with Polymer clay, I learned that  :

1. They were settled outside of India, where polymer clay is easily available.

2.They have friends/ family settled outside India , who bring the P.C to India or ship it in.

3.They buy it from web stores based outside of India.

At first I was greatly excited by the 3rd option and I thought ,"Wow! I shall now buy it from web stores !".I calculated the conversion charges from foreign currency to Indian rupee." Hmm", I thought",Expensive ? Yes.But not super expensive !I can totally buy this ! ". 

Unfortunately for me , I had not looked through the shipping charges involved.The second I did so, there was a big BOOM ( in my head ). My dreams blew up , and floated down to the earth in little realistic pieces.
You see , the shipping charges were 5 to 6 times the value of the clay.I could not afford it at all.

That rude awakening happened around seven years back.I still found P.C fascinating,I read up as much as I could anticipating the wonderful day where it would be affordable for me.At first ,I checked the prices every few weeks,then every few months , but seeing no remarkable change, I became resigned to my fate and stopped looking at all.

In the meanwhile ,I found cold porcelain around 2 years previously.Its pretty great , and absolutely affordable .The only hitch is that  I don't trust the durability for making jewelry.I found that sometimes, metal corroded in reaction with it.Clearly the metal needs to be put in after the clay has cured (air dried ) completely, but if the metal is not put in immediately , it may not stay in.It was a bit of catch 22. I still love making beads with it , I leave it to dry for a few days and make sure I don't put any metal in it during this time.

Last month we were shifting houses and to alleviate my nervousness and snappy behavior, I started looking at polymer clay art (which calms me down),and somehow I stumbled onto  yahoo answers with the link to where polymer clay can be bought in India.I thought it would be fake or at least misleading ( a lot of links go back to non Indian websites that ship it to India at a very high rate ).This particular link was real enough though, and affordable and I bought a sampler pack !

I was very excited.I tried to make canes, needless to say,it did not turn out great.In the meanwhile I read that toaster oven temperatures are not very reliable so ,I ordered for a oven thermometer to use with  the Croma toaster oven I purchased.
So everything's good till now , except I got impatient. And that's how my first experiment with P.C came in to being.

Note: I did not take any before pictures for the first lot, so only the outcome pics are here for that.
     
Experiment 1 :

Materials used : (Please go through here for a more detailed explanation of the basic tools).The materials italicized are not mandatory for making a bead , I had them so I used them.
1.Polymer clay : I bought Premo! by sculpey. Its a sampler set with 1oz of 12 colors. The quantity as you figure is not much.I just mixed up some colors to use for my first baking trial.
2. Toaster oven
3. Plastic sheets
4. Rolling Pin
5. Dedicated clay knife
6. Dedicated Cutters
7.Oven thermometer
8.Fire extinguisher ( not used , only for emergencies )
9.Some wire : I already had some 20 gauge, color coated copper wire that I purchased from a hard ware shop. If the shop person does not know the gauge,look for a thickness approximating earring posts.Again,any gauge can be used,its just easier to work with this gauge.If you can get regular copper wire ( without color coating) , that is always better
10.Jewelry pliers

If this is the first time you are doing this please set aside at least an hour or two.It is lots of fun , and you know how time just passes by without you knowing anything about it when you are having fun.
I am not going ahead into the making a bead part of it , mainly because I already conducted the first experiment before making this blog and I only have the outcome pics.

What did I do :

1.Condition the clay : The clay is quite stiff when left alone.Before using it for any project , roll it in your hands , or using the roller so that clay softens. Using your hands works out well, because the  heat from your hand  warms up the clay a little , which in turn softens it.Once it becomes soft knead it well, so that all air bubbles ( if any) are released , which ensures that cracking will reduce.

2.Make the bead :I just rolled up two identical pieces of pc in my hand , of a color I liked.I wanted to make a pair of earrings , so I shaped them identically into something vaguely resembling a dagger. Trust me, its quite easy to do.

3.I made a little horse shoe shaped wire piece, and put it into the bead.(One end of the wire is a loop , then it comes together and then separates out).This is not a mandatory step as this further requires jewelry making pliers.You can just poke a hole in the bead and be done with it.

4. Now this has to be baked at 130 degree Celsius (275 Fahrenheit). I thought frankly this was going to be the easiest of the whole job.Oh boy! To put it simply , I set up the rack of the oven , set the dial to 130  and the timer to 30 mins and then I went about my merry way.

5. This was the result :

While I tried to prettify it ,as you can clearly tell, this is an experiment that did not go well.To put it simply it was major burrrn for my "I can get everything done right, the very first time" attitude.It looked like bird droppings hanging from a wire.The whole kitchen smelled really toxic , and I had to open all the windows and doors.While it did put me back in my place ( that of a novice who has no practical knowledge) , I was thankful that it did not poison anyone else and did not set fire to anything.So another thing added to my list : fire extinguisher.

The reason I put up the picture was because there are hardly any pictures of what happens when things go wrong.Hopefully I will get better in time and I wont put up such gruesome pictures anymore.Anyway, to proceed ,

What I learnt : ( After going through search results for " why did my polymer clay get burnt")

1.Invest in an Oven thermometer.Even though your toaster oven may have a temperature dial , its accuracy may be well off. ( My oven is off by around 50 Celsius )

2.Try to keep temperature consistent.Ovens have a tendency to both spike the temperature and cool down sporadically to maintain the temperature on the dial.But this may mean that the oven may heat up to a higher degree than 130 and burn your clay before cooling down.

a. Keep the polymer clay inside two aluminium foil containers ( such as the ones restaurants commonly use for packing food ), clip it and then cure it.The temperature inside the aluminium foil remains more consistent.

b.Preheat the oven before curing clay .I did not know this at all, since I have never used an oven before this.

c.Use ceramic tiles to line the oven and containers that are being used.

d. Do not disappear after putting on the timer.Be physically present so that you may check the temperature to dial it down if required , or to remove the item if it starts burning.

e.I also cook it for an hour at least now.I have found my oven is more even tempered while cooking longer duration's.But do not put pre baked and then painted pieces in for an hour , 10 mins is sufficient.( updated : 19.02.2015)

That's all for today ! In case you were wondering, I did make the beads once more , and it came out all right.I shall update on how exactly I did that very soon.
Thanks for reading.Please do drop in with your comments , they are always welcome.

Basic tools list for the frugal crafter : Polymer clay

To work with  polymer clay does require a few tools ,but many of those are already available at home.

Basic Tools : Rolling pin,dedicated knife,dedicated cutter,sealant,acrylic paint,paint brush,wire,oven thermometer,polymer clay slabs

1. Work space :  I don't have a dedicated work space for my crafting.So wherever that I am planning  to use as a temporary work space,I use plastic sheets to cover the area ( cut up the spare plastic covers ).Paper will also do for a short period of time but it is not a good idea if you are working on it for more than a few mins.If you are using news paper,the print gets transferred to clay at times , which does not look very nice ( unless that was an effect you were going for ).If the clay is left on the paper for long the moisture will also get leached out of the clay making it brittle and difficult to work with.
The best option is find some ceramic tiles on which you can flatten or cut clay.

2.  Rolling Pin : I use a wooden rolling pin that is easily available. Please do not use this for food. If you have to use this for preparing food , please ensure you use a plastic sheet between the clay &rolling pin , so that clay does not come into direct contact with the wood at all.
Another easier option to flatten smaller pieces of clay is to use a glass bottle , or a metal drinking glass.

3. Dedicated clay blade : While I have had better results from a clay blade such as from Sculpey , a cheaper option can be razor blades. These are not very efficient at cutting through large pieces , but they are very sharp and excellent at cutting small canes & thin sheets of clay.
I have used paper cutters & non striated knife for cutting clay as I started out , and they are not a bad option unless you need to cut canes.To cut canes , make sure the blade is sharp.
Another option is hobby cutters. These blades can be replaced when they break or tarnish.

4. Dedicated Cutters : If you can find some cookie cutters that would be useful.They must not be used for preparing food.Another option is to use the household items that are easily available such as bottle caps.There are some good tutorials on making cutters from soda cans etc also.

5.Oven ( to be used with polymer clay) : You can use the convection oven or a toaster oven. I bought a toaster oven from Croma.
DO NOT USE MICROWAVE.
Curing through boiling water alone will not cure the clay as water evaporates at 100 degree Celsius & clay needs 130+ degree Celsius depending on brands.
 Having a dedicated oven for PC is entirely up to you.I have read about the arguments and counter arguments for  having a dedicated oven for polymer clay. I dont think polymer clay is toxic as long as it does not get burned.
Ensuring that you bake your items in between two disposable aluminium pans helps in temperature control , and in case your object burns , it controls the amount of toxic smoke released into the oven.
I have a stand up oven thermometer  which is placed in the oven. This really helps me with my baking as my oven temperature spikes a lot.

6.Colouring clay : Most brands of acrylic paint can be used with polymer clay without any problem. All brands are different so their properties vary. I commonly use Fevicryl acrylic for painting on clay.While they can be used on unbaked clay , they are more commonly used on baked clay.
You can use old (or new) eyeshadow for a shimmery look.
Soft pastels or pencil colours can also be used for a lighter effect than paint.

7. Sand Paper :  This has to be done after curing .This evens out any uneven areas and brings a clear sheen.. Depending on your requirement you can sand from grit 350 to grit 2000. These are available at hardware stores.
It is recommended to sand under water so that the fine powder form of polymer clay does not get inhaled. Adding a bit of  dish washing liquid eases out the process.

8. Sealant :  I use a water based acrylic varnish from hobby line to seal the effect of eyeshadow / soft pastels  or pencil colors. This is not mandatory for polymer clay which is quite strong , however if you use surface treatments ( eyeshadow / foil etc) please use a sealant.
Do not use Modpodge or transparent nail polish as sealant as they sometimes discolor clay or make them melt.

9.Toothpicks : They are always useful and have multiple uses, such as putting holes in beads & buttons , using it to suspend beads while curing ,making patterns , removing  particularly sticky clay particles etc.These are just some , you will discover plenty more uses.

10. Hand sanitizers : These are great for cleaning clay off your hands & cleaning your workspace as well.

I have been working with clay around a year now , and this post has been updated today (01.07.2015) with what I have learned during this year.I live in India , so I have not mentioned Varathane as a sealant.

The best source for clearing your doubts is without a doubt The blue bottle tree , which is a blog written by Ginger Davis Allman.
Another great source , which is quite bigger and a little bit difficult to navigate is the glass attic.This is the polymer clay encyclopedia.

I hope this was a clear post.I appreciate your comments and feedback, so feel free to write in.
Have a good day! :)