Polymer Clay Canes for Beginners

27 videos, step by step, beginner cane workshop beginner Cane Tutorial 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.

Online Workshops with Alice Stroppel

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Mystery Project


I’ve been having so much fun on Facebook with this project. I posted pictures of the first part of the project featuring six of my girls with the tag line, “Bet you can’t figure out what this is going to be”. So many of you had great guesses and wonderful compliments, I thank you so much for playing along because it made it that much easier for me to continue working on it until it was finished.

Alice Stroppel polymer clay table Alice Stroppel polymer clay table Alice Stroppel polymer clay table Alice Stroppel polymer clay table Alice Stroppel polymer clay table

As I continued to work and post pictures you continued to guess.

Alice Stroppel polymer clay table Alice Stroppel polymer clay table Alice Stroppel polymer clay table Alice Stroppel polymer clay table Alice Stroppel polymer clay table

It kept getting taller and taller. ……..

Alice Stroppel polymer clay table Alice Stroppel polymer clay table

……until I finally finished it and here is the big reveal…TADA…It’s a table.

Alice Stroppel polymer clay table

I found two base metal lamps at my local thrift  store and combined pieces from each to create this crazy table. It’s very sturdy and well weighted.  You might even classify this project a found object project.

I have a couple more lamps that I bought but they don’t come apart so I’ll see how they work out in the oven.

By the way, I bake in a full size oven that I have in my studio and it was easy to bake this table because is was in pieces. The next ones will be a challenge I think.

I cover a bit of each piece with clay and then bake it so I won’t mess up what I’ve just done. when it’s cool, I add more clay and bake again. I can do this as many times as I want and bake for as long as I want because I have calibrated my oven and I know that it is always on the correct temperature.

So what’s your next big project?

Alice Stroppel polymer clay table

Fun with Polymer Clay Canes

Polymer clay Hands

I bought two hand molds at a flea market several months ago with the intention of coming right home and covering them with clay. It certainly wasn’t right away but believe it or not, I’m proud I actually got one of them covered before the year was out. Usually projects like this sit around staring at me forever.

This is one hand, I’m just showing you both sides at the same time. I still have some work to do on it before I begin on the second one. I have a bit of ……*choke, cough, choke* ………sanding to do and buffing it up. You see how much I wanted these, I do not like to sand or buff. but it will be worth it.

These are colorful, funky and a perfect sampler of many of my canes. I’ll be happy to have it to remind me of them all.

These hand are molds for rubber gloves. The flea market vendor had about 20 of them and I wanted to buy them all. I know, I know, I’m having trouble finishing two so what would I do with 20? Anyway, I’m glad I bought the two. You can find plenty of these glove molds online should you be so inclined to cover one.

Even if you didn’t cover them, they would make great display pieces just like they are. Hang your necklaces or bracelets from the fingers.

glove mold

now…..what should I do with the second one. Black and white? more color? hmmmmmm.

Balancing Act – A Polymer Clay Figure

Balancing Act

Balancing Act

This week-end, I continued to stick to my resolve to begin (and complete, hopefully) projects that I have been thinking of for what seems like forever. This project is actually at least 7 years in my head. This is figure #1 in a series of 8.

Balancing Act Here’s a shot without the experimental background, that’s another story. But this story begins in 2003 when I was director of the Highlands Art League. We were having a children’s furniture painting class one summer and I was in a thrift shop looking for inexpensive chairs and I found these beveled glass light shades.

There were 8 of them and only $1.00 each and I couldn’t walk away. We were restoring 3 old houses from the 1920s and I thought maybe we could use them somewhere.  I also saw bases for figures in my head. Mixed media art dolls if you will. Maybe a class when I had time?

I bought them and donated them to the cause.

I left the art league for a couple of years around 2004 and didn’t return until 2006. While cleaning and sorting, I came across them in a box on a shelf. A volunteer said, “We have no idea what they are or what to do with them.” I laughed and decided nothing was ever going to happen with them there, so a took them home with me a create  those figures in my head.

Her nose is kind of big and there’s a reason. It’s been awhile since I’ve done any sculpting and on the second baking, I covered her with tin foil again, but not well enough and her nose got very, very brown.

I had to cut off her nose to spite her face and build a new one. It ended up a tad bit bigger and not quite as nice, but I save her I happy to say.

Then next baking I remembered to cover her nose with polyfil after first heat setting with my heat gun.

I’m still playing around with what will be inside the beveled glass, but I just wanted to get her picture up and start another one. Practice, practice, practice.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Polymer Clay Face Cane Necklace – Or?????

Necklace - Polymer Clay face Cane - Alice StroppelAnother day of experimenting. Mica powers and Barbara McGuire Stamps, found jewelry and a piece of the face cane. Can’t decide if I want to make it a necklace or a large lapel pin. It measures 4 1/2″ x 3 1/2″ so it’s large.

This is one of those that, like Kate from Shibori Girl Blog felt about her latest cuff bracelet, this one is going to have to stay with me.

Somehow it baked too long and turned brown, so I had to add the leaves to the hat and bake again. The face is still to dark, but I’ll wear it or just hang it on my wall. I loved making it because it was so different.

I did add one of the bracelets to my Etsy shop in case anyone thinks they just can’t live without it.

I’m still having fun in the studio after all this time.

Found Objects and Polymer Clay – Video

Bakers Man

Baker Man

Boy have I had fun the last few days. Filming the video on found objects and polymer clay really got me excited about all the projects that I have promised myself I was going to do when I wasn’t working anymore. So watch out..I might be on a roll. I say might because I always have great intentions.

I could have made this video an hour longer, I had that many found objects that I could have shared with you, but I figured you would thank me if I kept it at 15 minutes.

The photo above is just one of the projects that I used some of my found objects on. Kitchen items from my husband’s grandmother and a necklace from a garage sale. I love using items that have meaning to members of my family. He is going to hang on the Christmas tree and once a year we will be reminded of grandma and the fabulous things she use to make for the holidays. Easter pie was a favorite, even for Christmas.

Embellished Book

Embellished Book

This photo is of an old flea market book and one of the pieces I made in this video. Old watch part from my dad, who is no longer with us, fabulous magnifying spectacles that belong to a long ago relative.  A great coffee table book.  Enjoy the video!