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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.  Member IPCA |
Both this bracelet and the one below are the newest additions to my Etsy shop.
I was working on several things this weekend, more girlfriend slides in my Etsy shop and several of my new bracelets. Two of the new bracelets were for the International Polymer Clay Associations competition Progress and Possibilities. I have never entered any competitions with my clay work except in a monthly Viola polymeristas once or twice. I hadn’t planned on sending anything to this competition until my friend Suzanne Ivester asked me why not. I told her , “I don’t know, I don’t know what I would send? She kind of wagged her email finger at me and made me think it was time to see if I could come up with a design. I’ve been working hard to make my work as professional as I can, as smoothly finished and well made as possible. Now it’s time to take the next step and start pushing those other buttons like others approval, how will it measure up, and just plain ol’ fright. Yep fright! You might think that is totally crazy coming from someone who blogs all the time, exposes my work to thousands of readers everyday, makes videos of my techniques and shows myself in these videos from time to time! But it’s true, asking someone else to judge your work is totally different than just sharing it with those who want to take a look or actually buy something you’ve made. But I don’t think I’m alone in feeling this way, so I’m going to pass on my challenge from Suzanne to you, make something and enter it in Progress and Possibilities 2011. There are three categories – Art Jewelry, Functional Objects and Sculptural Objects with three levels of expertise – Beginners, Intermediate and Professional. So you see, even if you are a beginner there is a place for you. If you are Intermediate like me, then I double dog dare you. If you’re professional…..well enough said. I double dog dare you! In the meantime, I’m still sending girlfriends to Etsy. I’ll show pictures of my new bracelets another day.
I’ve just posted this new girlfriend bracelet in my Etsy Shop. She’s the third one I made and I can tell you the truth, I’m having a blast. Each bracelet uses a bunch of clay and canes, but it’s worth it in the end because these bracelet just make everyone smile. On another note……… I want you know that I continue to be amazed at all the incredible polymer pieces that are being created by artists around the world using the Stroppel cane. From France to Romania the Stroppel cane has taken many shapes and been including in many designs. I’ve have been gathering each one as they come to my attention and “pinning” them to my Pinterest page. If you make something using a Stroppel cane, please let me know and I’ll added it to my Pinterest board. If you want to watch the video it’s just to the right at the top of this page.
When Randee Ketzel sent me two of her Stroppel cane bracelets, well I was blown away by her thoughtfulness. I will always treasure them. I wanted to send Randee something in return so I decided to make a girlfriend wearing something well…..Stroppel! If you want to see her in her Stroppel cane sweater, she’s on Randee’s flickr site.
I sat down to make more girlfriend slides and thought why not do a series of Stroppel Sweater Girls. So now I’m just laughing and making sweater girls. I figured you can wear one or two or even three. You could collect as many as your neck will hold. lol… Okay now I’m just being silly. Both of these girls are for sale in my Etsy shop and there will be more to come. Thanks Randee for the inspiration. I just want to take the time to thank Cynthia Tinapple from Polymer Clay Daily once again for another feature about the Stroppel cane. This morning she linked to several polymer clay artists that have been experimenting with the technique and I have to say that I am truly delighted by the results. Thanks to everyone who is playing and posting about the Stroppel cane, it’s been so much fun! Now on to what I’ve been playing with……new profile face bangles.
I’ve been working on these new bangles in between having so much fun with the Stroppel cane. In fact the one on the bottom of the pile is one I was working on while on retreat and it has some Stroppel cane on it. But in my head I saw this style bracelet made with my face canes and a couple of other ways I haven’t been able to out of my head and into clay yet. These are just the prototypes, still working on perfecting the process. But I’ll have some up for sale on Etsy before the week is out. I’m working on more ideas, so be sure to check back and see what mischief I’ve been up to. I just noticed how much purple is in each of these, well, I like purple and I guess it shows. And lime green……….
This is a view of the backs. These bracelets really make a wonderful canvas for just about anything you want to create. I’m having fun again, but when don’t I have fun when clay is involved? Thanks to Laurie Prophater and her inspiration bracelet that I’m so lucky to own from our trade. It was the shape that just made my head start to whirl. It was the first time I’d held one like it in my hands and had the free time to ponder. Retreats are a very good thing, gets your imagination jumping. Laurie’s blog is Ornamental Elements or you can visit Laurie’s Etsy site. This might be a long post…just so you know…. Thank you, thank you, and thank you some more. All of you who left a comment, joined my newsletter list, emailed me, ordered one of my videos from my Etsy shop, left a comment on Polymer Clay Daily or just stopped by to take a look at the Stroppel Cane. I was truly blown away by the amount of traffic that my funny little blog generated in just a few days. I owe a great deal to Cynthia Tinapple at Polymer Clay Daily and to my blog and newsletter followers. I knew I liked my new cane, but really didn’t realize just how much everyone else was going to like it. I’m thrilled to be able to share it with everyone. When I first started with polymer clay, I learned so much from the generous people on the internet and it was all free. Now, just to keep up with all the fees out there one has to make a little money here and there, but I will always give away as much as I can, kind of a play it forward kind of thing. So feel free to share the Stroppel cane with anyone you think would enjoy it. Again, it makes a big difference to know that there are people out there reading, watching and interested. The comments that you all left really meant so much to me. Thank you all. Now on to other things. This picture is of what I did yesterday between answering all the wonderful correspondence. These are bracelet blanks covered with clay and baked. I call them canvases because they are ready for the next step of ink, markers and TLC. I have several reasons why I needed to make these blanks. 1. I need more stock in my Etsy shop
I cover the blanks with a layer of black, then sections of white and in between I place black and white canes.  Laurie Prophater The first trade I made was with Laurie Prophater and I already have the bracelet and have been enjoying it so much. It is simply gorgeous, I am thrilled. Laurie’s blog is that fabulous one we all love to visit Ornamental Elements. Here’s more good news, you can own one of these fabuloso Faux Ivory Bangle Bracelet bracelets for yourself Just visit Laurie’s Etsy site.  Laurie Prophater Each side is different and so lovely, plus she makes the accent pieces herself. I need to hurry up and get her piece finished. I have a couple started and will probably give her a choice like she so graciously did for me. I’ll let you in on a big secret. Laurie’s bracelet has given me so many ideas to try using my style and she has given me the okay to use the basic idea. But if you know me, you know my crazy mind will take me places no one else has been before. lol. I already have one (actually two) made, but am not ready to show you yet, when have I had time anyway? The past few days have been very busy and so much fun. And I’m all about the fun!
The bracelet on top is more colorful and I’ve added some canes for hats and accent pieces. The bracelets on the bottom uses more of the white background giving the faces a kind of gothic feel I think. Next group, I’ll do just black and white and red lips, maybe some color in the eyes, like some of the first bracelets I did when I developed my pen and ink technique.  Pen and Ink Class I’m teaching a class on the 15th of the month in Mount Dora, FL at the Mount Dora Center for the Arts. Come on and join me, you’ll love this quaint southern town that loves the arts. Here’s a link to the information and the phone number for registration is 352-383-0880. Back to drawing faces. Thanks again for everything, you guys are the best.
You might be wondering if you are in the right place. This happy girlfriend place has not gone over to the dark side, not in the least. This is the time of year to get out there are buy yourself a skull to use as a guide when you are building a foil base for your polymer clay heads. I’m teaching a sculpting class after the first of the year and I have a very large skull I bought years ago that has the bones showing on one side and with the skin covering the bones on the other side. But it was not cheap, so for my class I’m suggesting that they buy an inexpensive plastic skull for my class and to have for future reference. This skull is about 4″ x 4″. Or you could go large and buy a scarier big one. Next thing is to always be on the look out for anatomy books at garage sales or used book stores. I have some really fabulous books I’ve picked up along the way and they help me a great deal. So if you want to try your hand at sculpting some day, get out there before the serious Halloween party animals and get yourself a plastic skull. Have you ever had that “slap your forehead” moment, you know the one, the one where you say to yourself “why didn’t I think of this sooner?” Well that was me yesterday, here is the result……….girlfriend slides. And why not I ask you, why not slides to go with the bracelets or instead of a bracelet? I know pins are good too but I love the necklace idea. Sorry I know it sounds bad to say you love something you just did, but hey…..I would not be playing with clay if I didn’t kind of love what I was doing right? So I’m off now to list these plus a fish slide in my Etsy shop. Dancing girl la la la girlfriend queen da da la la \/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
I know I said I wasn’t going to post today, but I wanted to say Happy 4th of July to everyone here in America. It’s a grand day for our country so celebrate and enjoy. Plus…….I finished this girl last night and wanted to share.
When I was little my sister had a set of paperdolls that she drew herself. She created a girl and a guy and the girl had the most wonderful clothes. I loved the way they looked and wanted so badly to be able to draw just like my big sister. The paperdolls aren’t around anymore, I wish they were I’d love to look at them again. When I made this girl I was reminded of my wish to be able to draw my own paperdolls, somehow I feel like that little girl wish from years ago kind of came true. The difference is her clothes are made from polymer clay and can’t be removed. Still having fun here and fulfilling dreams.  Face Patterns These are some of the sample items I made for my class last weekend and I think they are a good mix of styles from the same group of patterns. The face on the bracelet in the middle is the same face that is one the figure in blue surrounded with black and white canes. If you are a student in my P&I class the patterns in pdf form are emailed to you after class, usually the next day. If you can’t make it to the South East anytime soon, you may want to consider my tutorial and these patterns. Both are for sale in my Etsy shop. Now that I’ve started coloring on clay, and I kind of feel like I’m 10 and have all these wonderful coloring book pages in front of me and all the colors to go with it. I just can’t stop. |
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