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 was so happy to find this glass company, Behrenberg Glass, because they sell plates without a “foot” on them. Making them perfect for decoupage or glass paint or ……….. polymer clay mosaics like my fish in video that you get when you sign up for my newsletter.
As you can see, I didn’t use a fish mosaic, but something I started a couple of months ago, using up old cane. I just couldn’t wait to make something new, I wanted to see how this would work……NOW!
So here you see the mosaic after I’ve baked it and popped the plate off. The great part about this is now I can use it without the plate, or if I want to be able to put food on it I can glue it to the back of the glass. Cool!
After I transferred the design to the back side of the plate and molded it to fit, I trimmed it and backed it with another thick layer of clay before I baked it.
I still have lots of playing around with this idea before I finished, I’ll share with you what I learn. If you make something this way, please share your pictures.
Here’s another cane I made last year sometime and couldn’t ever figure out exactly how to finish it. I did know however, that I wanted to make something for the wall and I had already sliced and baked the whole cane, so like the canes from yesterdays post, I’ve moved them out of the shoe box and onto my wall.
Again this is just for me, so I give myself permission to do whatever I want. 🙂 And I’m having fun just playing around with foam core and cheap frames. Who knows all this playing around could just lead to something exceptional……or not….but the key word here is FUN! Go have some today.
Oh and I am still working on the idea I told you about yesterday. It’s a way to use the mosaic that you made from my free video you watched when you signed up for my newsletter. You did make something didn’t you? *g*
If you have been playing with clay for awhile, you have to have a box full of bits and pieces of things that are half finished or half burned or just a big question mark. If you’re like me, you can’t even remember doing some of them.
Anyway….I’ve been cleaning and rearranging and wondering if I should just throw some of these older “probably never going to finish” bits away. When I came across this piece that I was messing around with (see it here) and decided that instead of throwing it away or putting it back in the shoebox, I’d combine it with other slices of old canes and make something just for me to hang on the wall.
So here it is, a sample board of canes I’ve made or I like to call it a story board because it’s kind of a story of where I’ve been.
I’ve mounted them on a piece of black foam board that I got from the dollar store and put it in a dollar store frame. So there isn’t much money involved but I’ve rescued some canes and I get to look at them from time to time.
Next….another idea I’ve been working on. See ya’ then.
This is the first all pen and ink design bracelet. I still have a polymer clay base, but the entire woman is pen and ink. I’ve learned quite a bit messing around with the ink. What works and what to watch out for. I promised myself to write a tutorial this month. I had about three tutorials on my must do list and over Christmas I found a product that made me add another to my list.
Anyway, I’m back to being to excited about EVERYTHING, that I’m finding it hard to stick to one thing. But I’ll get over it and get busy here.
This lady is for sale in my Etsy Shop. Thanks again for coming by.
Happy New Year everyone. I’m excited to be back to play…er..I mean work. I hope everyone had as wonderful a holiday as I did. I walked away from the clay table for a week or so and now I am back full force and ready to try new things.
I asked for and got, some really cool Figure Drawing books for Christmas and will be playing around with more Pen and Ink as well as polymer clay faces.
I am also beginning work on some other ideas that I had. My goal this month, forget the whole year, is to get a couple more of my most popular designs into tutorials. And to hit the road teaching, plus have more classes right here in my studio.
In the mean time I’m still producing my bracelets. Here’s the latest pen and ink.
All the canes on this dish are from a cane swap in 2001 in what was then know as the MSAT clayart yahoo group.
This post is for luny (Mickie McClain). She let me know that the face cane I used for my Santa ornament was made by Melanie Taylor .
luny also said she made several canes for this swap and I’m posting this covered dish that I covered with slices of all the canes except the face. I can tell you some of the people that made some of the canes, but not all. I’m hoping that luny will tell me if one of these is hers.
The animal skin canes are from Nora Jean, leader of the group. The Egyptian canes are from Donna Worth, who I was fortunate to meet in Montana. The blue rose is from Jeanette Roberts who I exchanged lots of emails with and I don’t know who made the rest.
I thought I was so clever to save the canes in this way, I just wasn’t clever enough to write down who made what. But I thought this was fun and I keep it on my desk filled with paper clips.
Today was back to work a little for me. I have a project I’m working on for a publication. Nothing giant, just a small part, but fun and flattering. More about it later.
Here’s the other side, if you know who any of these canes belong to, or if they are yours, let me know. I’d love to add your name to the list.
I haven’t been doing very much clay work in the last week, I’ve been painting gift bags, cooking and getting ready for Christmas.
I didn’t want Christmas to be over before I wished you all a very merry one. I hope all your wishes come true and I hope that the Christmas spirit is with you each day of the coming year.
Since I didn’t have anything recent to share, I thought I’d share an ornament I made about 8 years ago maybe. The face is not mine, it is from a member of City-O-Clay cane swap, City-O-Clay is a yahoo group full of very helpful people and a great place to get help with questions about anything polymer clay.
When I saw this face cane, I was so amazed by the detail, that I knew I had to make face canes. The sad part is that I can’t remember who made the face cane. I was so excited to receive it as one of my swap items. If it looks familiar, I’d love it if you’d leave me comment.
He was just a face, beard and those so funny teeth. I started to laugh the minute I saw him and I still laugh each time I see him. I added the santa hat, hair and suit. I added holly and large Ho Ho Ho letters on the back. I love him, he’s so funny and not your typical santa. I enjoy getting him out each year.
A friend saw my Catbleu she wanted a couple for her sister. So I made these guys and they’re ready for the oven. Cats have always been a popular subject, people love their cats. I couldn’t resist caning these two guys. Very Alice in Wonderlandy.
I want to play around with this technique some more, combining canes with figures. 2d with 3d marry to create interesting possibilities.
Have a happy Sunday and just think Christmas with be over by this time next week. Are you ready?
My kids are way grown and gone and I don’t decorate like I use to. I have a smaller tree and don’t have all the “things” sitting around everywhere.
One year about 6 or 7 years ago, I bought a bunch of large plastic “under the bed” boxes and separated all my Christmas things. I made different boxes of Santas, Angels, etc. I gave the boys all their ornaments and still I have hundreds and hundreds. I know, I know, “what was I thinking”.
But the happy thing is, each year I just get out a couple of boxes and that’s it. No fuss no muss. It really has worked out so well and each year I get to look at something different.
This year, I decided to get out a couple of boxes that I haven’t had out in awhile, boxes full of some of the oldest things I have. Mostly kiddie things, teddy bears and all the ornaments that the boys made. It was great fun and I know the kids will love looking at them this year.
There were also tons of things I’d made as well, some that really should never have been made in the first place…yikes, and some things that brought a smile to my face. Like this Raggedy Ann made with polymer clay.
Raggedy Ann - 1980 Something - Polymer Clay
In 1980 something, I found polymer clay. I was dying to try it out, so one Christmas as I was decorating the tree I was hanging a Raggedy Ann and Andy from 1975 made by Hallmark. I wanted to try my hand at something in polymer so I picked Raggedy Ann.
I had made so many things out of dough art with the kids and this was a step up for sure. All the dough figures are long gone but Ann is still here.
Here’s a picture of the Hallmark Raggedy Ann, she was a great model wasn’t she? The Hallmark Raggedy is in another box that I take out more often because Ann and Andy are favorite ornaments of mine, they were some of the first that I bought when the boys were little, actually my oldest wasn’t born yet. So They really take me back to a magical wonderful time.
Hallmark Raggedy Ann - 1975
Thanks for taking the walk in the past with me, I sure enjoyed it.
I must have lost my mind, I’m doing Roosters now, at least this one time. This bracelet is one of two that I made the other day and they are both listed in my Etsy Shop. This is the only rooster bracelet though.
I had fun I must say. But I truly don’t know where the rooster thing came from. I’ve been doing faces, lips and eyes, then Bam! chickens and rooster jump in my head.
Plus I still haven’t finished the necklace I started the other day. But I love that about what I’m doing, I get to do what and when I want. Can’t ask for more than that I guess.
I don’t now about where you are, but I know it’s getting colder here. Needs a hot beverage asap.
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