27 videos, step by step, beginner cane workshop
What people are saying about this tutorial.
jennifer rose
Just finished this first workshop on how to make canes, and I must say I learned so much. This is exactly what I have been looking for, someone who could explain cane making in a step by step that process that I could replicate. I watched the videos, went into my studio and began to create all of the canes Alice showed. I finally have results I can be proud of, and I say thank you so much for doing this workshop. My only question now is when do we get more workshops. If you are only going to take one online class let it be this workshop. Thank you Alice for your hard work, and your dedication to helping others learn the joys of polymer clay.
I’ve been using the canes from my Tropical Leaves Tutorial to make a couple of bracelets. This is first one over a brass blank. I was getting my blanks from the Clay Store, but alas…they are no longer in business. But I’ve found another site that has the blanks for a reasonable price. Beadwork-Supplies. I haven’t ordered from them yet, I have quite a supply, so let me know if you do and how you like them.
I’ve used most of the canes I made in my tutorial plus other small canes with pops of color. The Tutorial gives you the basic leaves, all you have to do is add other accents or change the color palette for the leaves. I’m making beads for the other bracelet and I hope to get it finished tomorrow.
Tropical Leaves Cane Bracelet - the other side
I wanted to hurry up and get these pictures up because I have to clean up my studio for a clay day with my friend Sherry. We’re going to take apart her pasta Machine and give it a good cleaning and get rid of those pesky covers. Find out how to take your apart on Desiree’s How To site. She has lots of wonderful things there. You’ll learn a lot.
I made 9 face beads, had so much fun, and now I’m selling them one at a time. I’m showing them here before I list them on Etsy. I started taking pictures of each of them, front and back, cutting each one out, putting them in separate files and decided that it was way more work than I wanted to do and not as much fun as making them. I rather spend my time making them…………
So here they are for a day or two before I start listing them on Etsy. They’re $8.00 each, about 1″ around and slightly flattened from front to back, not completely round.
If you think you might be interested in purchasing one or two or all, email me. alice@polymerclayetc.com. I’ll send you more information and pictures. If you have a paypal account, it’s easy.
Thanks to all those who shot me a quick email or left a comment on one of my post here on the blog. I heard from a lot of you after my newsletter, it nice to know you read it.
And thanks to all of you who have ordered from my Etsy shop, it’s greatly appreciated.
I posted this short little video on Facebook for an old high school friend. We have been following each other there and she has been watching all my posts about canes. She sent me a message asking about the canes and wanted to know what they were exactly.
So if you’re a clayer already, you’ll probably just want to skip this short subject, but if you are new to polymer, you might enjoy it. Either way, this one was made because Karen Pepper Ingram asked. Thanks Karen!
If you have been looking for me, I’m still here. I’ve been working on a new tutorial for tropical canes. I’ve finished the instructions and I’m just beginning to film the video to go with them. Can’t wait to get it all finished and listed in my Etsy Shop for sale.
So if you don’t hear from me for a while, you’ll know where I am. I have to confess, I miss posting so I’d better hurry up.
I’m so easily distracted. I needed something to go with an outfit and had some cut slices of canes from other projects that I didn’t use and put them together like my fish mosaic (sign up for my newsletter if you want to see how to) and made this bracelet. Baked it and wore it that night. I love that part of polymer clay, the instant gratification.
I’ve been creating tropical canes. I’m going to do several color combos but I made one skinner blend and it resulted in these canes. I went ahead and made these different canes with the same colors just to record what I did. When Laquita Cater was here, we were looking through my canes and she asked how I made some of my tropical canes and to tell you the truth, some were so old (or maybe it’s me that so old) that I couldn’t remember exactly what I’d done and certainly not how I reached my mixed colors. So I’m kind of on a mission at Laquita’s request, to create a tutorial of tropical leaves and plants.
I do want to show how to use one skinner blend to end up with all these diverse canes. I’ll be choosing the different color combos and maybe listing several of them in the tutorial.
Just looking out my window gives me lots of inspiration, plus there is always the internet with tons of pictures of tropical plants. So I’m off to create.
Yesterday I worked on colors, today I blended and cut and shaped polymer clay into one main cane. I cut the large cane in half and then cut that half into three pieces.
The first piece I shaped it into the first leaf and you can see how I shaped the other two pieces. I now have three different leaf shapes to use and all from the same cane.
Then I cut another piece from the original cane and cut and formed the bud/pod thingy. Not happy with the white part, but I’ll fix it later.
I love the way the colors make me feel. As I blend, I can feel myself getting excited about the way things are beginning to look. That’s what keeps me coming back for more, the excitement of what’s just around the crank of the pasta machine.
Now on to making more leaves and things to go with these so I can get excited about putting them all together to create something else. Sweet!!
Okay, time to add new things to my polymer clay adventures. I am venturing into the land of beads. Didn’t think I really ever wanted to do jewelry, because everyone does jewelry. Then I found that the cuff bracelet were a great canvas for my face canes and didn’t require a lot of finishing. Which by the way is the most important reason why I didn’t want to do jewelry. I didn’t have the equipment, didn’t really know how to put things together professionally and wanted to spend all my design time claying, not jewelry making.
But the more time I have to clay, the more canes I make and have to use up. I love making canes, they really can be satisfyingly creative. Using them to make focal beads maybe something that maybe able to help me continue to experiment with color and design.
I’m learning about finishing and my friend Laquita said she’d help me with any questions I might have. So nothing ventured nothing gained.
I have this quote on my wall from Shel Siverstien. (Where The Side Walk Ends). I live by it. The only thing is the line that says, “she ate from the plate called TASTE ME and down she shrank so small” is not true in my case! Wouldn’t it be lovely if it worked that way? I taste…right to my waste.
ALICE
She drank from a bottle called DRINK ME
And up she grew so tall,
She ate from a plate called TASTE ME
And down she shrank so small
And so she changed, while other folks
Never tried nothin’ at all
I am so relieved. My internet connection is actually working today and I was able to upload the following video featuring my new bracelet.
This New Bracelet video gives my Etsy customers a better look at these new bracelets and a simple explanation of what a cane is. Visit my Etsy Shop for the bracelets that are for sale.
I didn’t get the video uploaded, but I still have hopes that my connectivity problems will be solved soon. I’m happy to be able to upload a couple of pictures of another finished bracelet.
Actually, I’ve finished all 13 bracelet made from this face cane. I like this one because of the blue flower. It really stands out when you wear it. I always give my bracelets a test wear, I wore this one yesterday to the bank, grocery store and a neighborhood party.
The woman at the bank noticed it right away and told me how much she liked it. A woman in the grocery store made a comment and several people at the party couldn’t get over the fact that it was all clay and no paint. We all run into that I know.
I’ll be listing several more in my Etsy shop this afternoon. Next week, it’s on to another face cane like this one only better. (saying that with my fingers crossed) I learn from each try and hopefully get better as I go.
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