Polymer Clay Canes for Beginners 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.
Online Workshops with Alice Stroppel
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 Mokume Gane - Julie Picarello I just sent my registration in to the Orlando Area Polymer Clay Guild for the Orlando Clay Fandango 2010. I excited to be going and to be meeting some of the people I have gotten to know online.
 Fantasy Garden Mirror - Christi Friesen It should be an wonderful experience with classes with Christi Friesen, Julie Picarello and Sarah Shriver. Maureen Carlson and Barbara McGuire will be giving evening demos.
 Sarah Shriver - Beautifully mixed Skinner blends Come on and join me and all the other enthusiastic Polymer Clayers that will be gathering for this 3 day – 4 night Workshop/retreat. They have several different options for you to choose from. Take the full workshop experience or just come and clay on your own. Take a minute to check it out. OAPCG
“and what is the use of a book,” thought Alice, “without pictures or conversations”. ( Alice in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll )
 Metamorphosis - Meta for short That’s how I feel about a blog about polymer clay! What good is it without pictures?
I haven’t been working too much with clay over Christmas and didn’t have any pictures to show you. I still don’t. But I wanted to post something, to let you know I’m thinking of lots of things to do and share. So I’m posting something I did 5 or 6 years ago, maybe more (another one of those that I didn’t date).
She was an accident of sorts. The front of her body came about when I ran the clay through the pasta machine. It just accordioned itself to look like a caterpillar to me. Made me think of Alice in Wonderland. So I had no choice but to use it in some way in honor of Alice. Thus Meta was born.
I have never been able to duplicate the way that clay came out of the pasta machine. I wish I could. But I’m happy I made something out of it instead of mushing it up and running it through again.
Sometimes life hands you something that you may think you didn’t want, but if you can look at it from another angle, chances are it’s something you could use after all.
Thank you all for visiting, for commenting and for linking my blog to yours. It’s been so much fun getting to know some of you. I hope to meet more of you through this blog in the coming year.
Have a Happy New Year everyone! It’s going to be a wonderful year!
 Can You Guess How? This is a fun one! Can you guess how I did this? Leave a comment if you know how I did it. I can tell you it was a blank canvas.
I’ve been pretty busy for the last week. Decorating the tree, buying presents, wrapping presents, putting presents under the tree. Not that there are that many presents, but it just felt like it when I was wrapping.
Everything is done, just need to clean up my space. It’s on the bottom floor of our house and when everyone goes outside to play with the animals and cars, they have to come through my space. It is never really neat, but I feel like I have to make a small effort anyway.
I wish each and everyone of you Happy Holidays. I wish us all a wonderful celebration of life and love.
I’ll catch up with you again before the new year comes.
 Mel's Man Turned into a Santa I was decorating my tree today, I know I’m late getting started, but I came across this ornament I made and had to share it with you. I didn’t date this one, I always date things, so I’m unhappy that I didn’t.
Years ago I was in a cane swap and I was very new to polymer clay. I can’t even remember what canes I sent, I’m sure they weren’t anywhere near as cool as the ones I recieved. But I do remember is was with Nora Jean Gatine’s group. Thanks Nora Jean, your animal skin canes that came with the rest were great.
I received some other wonderful, inspirational canes, one of which was the guy above. It was just the face, no hair no hat. but the teeth and the beard just sent me over the edge. I thought, wow, I can’t believe you can do that with clay. I think the artist’s name is Mel, I can’t remember which Mel, I know there are a couple in Nora Jean’s Yahoo group CITY-o-Clay. So if you’re out there Mel, and recognized this guy, please leave a comment. If it wasn’t Mel that made this crazy cane, well, I’d love to hear from you to set the record straight.
I know he looks like a “bad” santa, but I just think of him as needing some teeth work. Each time I take him out to hang him up, I laugh and remember the fun I had because of this group. Thanks to all of you from back then.
 The back side says, “HO HO HO”
This week has been fabulous and frustrating. So humid all my canes just stuck together like they were magnets and now it’s cool and breezy outside. I like that, the cool part that is.
Good news, I finished my order. Bad news, something was wrong with my oven and several of them had spots on their faces when I took them out. The spots were all the way through and I couldn’t sand them away.
I had quite a bit of time invested in these girls and used lots of canes in the process. In the middle of the night I thought, okay, what can I do with these girls? Freckles are okay on the cheeks, but not down by the chin. I took my Pigma Micron pen and gave a couple of them mask with a bit of hanging fringe. I liked them.
If you want to use the Pigma Micron pens, just be sure to heat set them. The ink will rub right off if you don’t. Either use a heat gun, or pop them back into the oven for a few minutes.
I cleaned the pan I’ve used for years to bake my clay and I hope that that was the problem with the spotting. I also checked the temperature with a gauge, just to be sure.
I have an order in for blue and orange wine stoppers for a University of Florida fan in the oven now and should find out how all my cleaning and checking worked. I’ll let you know.
I still have a several more girls with spots but I’ll have to figure something else out for them as they are the full face girls and I’m not sure the hanging fringe will work. After Christmas maybe I’ll think of something.
Later …I just checked the wine stoppers and they are just fine, no spots. So I guess the lesson for me today is to clean your pan. Don’t know what was on it that could have made spots, but whatever it was, it’s gone now.
I know, you might be saying enough already. Well I think I might just be getting started. Okay, as soon as this order is finished, I think I’ll find some places to go teach. Anyone up for a class in face canes? Leave a comment. Really, I mean it.
Seriously, I’ve been having more fun than I thought I would making these girls. I really don’t like to do the same thing over and over again. Done too much in that in my life. But with the girls each one takes special consideration.
I have to decide what hair color, what color will look right on her and whether she is sweet sassy or showy.
Another wonderful thing that is happening is I’m using up lots of canes and I’ll have to make more. Some of these cane are my favorites and I might make another just like it, and others I’ll be happy to not see them again. Not that they are bad canes, it’s just that I’ve made so many things out of them, I’m ready to move on.
 A few more days to go and I’ll be finished and ready to get to my Christmas doings. After Christmas I’ll start on my next face cane tutorial. Can’t wait.
 But in the mean time, if you want to try your hand at one of these girls, go to my Etsy shop and try my Profile Face Cane Tutorial.
If you haven’t been here before there is a link at the very top of the page that says “Video Tutorials” or just click here.
I’ll be adding more free videos after the holidays.
Let me know what you want to learn, maybe I can help. Leave a comment.
I’ve been working hard on an order for my face canes. It was rainy this weekend. Perfect for clay and creating, I really enjoyed it. Still have more to go. I just thought I’d share some here.
     
 Girls of Color I made this face cane this morning, she’s a girl of color. A step closer to adding color recipes for different nationalities. I have tried in the past and failed. This time I’m closer. I would love some feedback from ya’ll. Especially if you are a woman of color. Just the first of many.
Next week, I will be working on another short video to add as a bonus to my face cane tutorial. I will be showing how to add a neck and tips on adding hair.
If you have already purchased the tutorial, don’t worry, I’ll send you the link.
 First Slice of Tutorial Cane This face is the first slice I took from the cane I made during the filming of the Profile Face Cane Tutorial. I finished her hair and hat today because I have her sold. I’m doing some faces for a shop in New Orleans. How fun is that?
If you think you might want to make some face canes, look up to the left and the link will take you to my Etsy Shop where you can order your tutorial now and watch it before the day is over. It really is kinda fun.
 Another Red Head I also finished this redhead for the New Orleans Shop. She was a slice from the profile face cane I made months ago. Remember that post?
I still have the other two girls waiting too. It may take me awhile, but I usually finish things I start. Sometimes, maybe, depends. Oh shoot, I have tons of things sitting around waiting to be finished. But they will have to wait. I have an order to fill!!!
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