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 !

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 :)