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

Workshops Online with Alice Stroppel

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[caption id="attachment_102" align="aligncenter" width="100" caption="Member IPCA"]Member IPCA[/caption]

Trade With Julie Eakes

I had to share this trade with you. Julie and I met for the first time a couple of months ago and we decided to trade our creations.

This pendant  is an amazing piece of art. Not only did Julie make this incredible face cane she constructed the kaleidoscope canes she’s used for the frame.  I’m thrilled to have this wonderful piece but also to have gotten to know Julie and see her work on this piece.  You can see more of Julie’s work on her blog Julie Eakes. Her most recent cane is a beautiful portrait of her grandmother.

This is my part of the trade, the picture shows all side of the bracelet. Once again I think I got the better part of the trade. Thank you Julie

November 20th, 2011 | Tags: , , , , , | Category: bracelet, Face Canes, Pen and Ink, pendant, Trades, Uncategorized | One comment

Lime Green Pendant with Stroppel Cane

I couldn’t let everyone else have all the fun with the Stroppel cane. Can you tell I love lime green? And I think the black and white check sets it off.

Listed in my Etsy shop. I made my own bail on this one.

Oh and just so you know, it is an absolutely gorgeous, spectacular day here in sunny FL. I think this afternoon I need to get outside for a bit. Sitting down by the lake sounds a bit like heaven. Now if I can just tear myself away from this creating mood I’m in……….

October 25th, 2011 | Tags: , , , | Category: Esty Shop, Necklace, pendant, The Stroppel Cane | 9 comments

Artybecca’s Beads for a Stroppel Cane Pendant

Artybecca Beads

Artybecca

Aren’t these beads just wonderful? Rebecca Watkins aka Artybecca and I made a trade and I think I made off with the best part of the bargain. Rebecca hand carves each one of these beautiful beads and now I have these to look at, wear and enjoy. Thanks you so much Rebecca, I’m so happy we got to meet each other in person, I had such a great time playing with clay!

This is my half of the trade, the first piece I made entirely from a Stroppel cane.

Stroppel Cane pendant Artybecca Trade

October 4th, 2011 | Tags: , , , , | Category: Beads, swaps, The Stroppel Cane, Trades | 2 comments

Teaching a Polymer Clay Workshop at Beads F.O.B.

I just have to tell you …. I love teaching …. and …….. I love teaching new caners. The smiles and looks on the faces of the ladies in my class this weekend at Beads F.O.B. in Sarasota just put me in a good mood for the next month at least.

Thanks to Karen at Beads F. O. B. for keeping all the paperwork straight and Marty for all her work and for letting me come join the fun. Looks like I’ll be going back to teach again soon so check back to see when you might be able to come join us.

We made so many canes and turned some of them into beads and some into pendants, I’m only showing the pendants here.

Joan Diehl at Bead Workshop with Alice Stroppel

Joan was having a great time and already had plans for a volunteer project and began working on it before class was over.

Marlene Brownell at Bead Workshop with Alice Stroppel

Marlene

I heard this high little yell from Marlene and wondered what was wrong. It was all excitement  at her table, she had just successfully reduced that little leaf cane and was tickled with herself. It reminded me of the first time I reduced a cane and all the possibilities that were running through my head.

Marty Montague at Bead Workshop with Alice Stroppel

Marty

Marty made earrings and enjoyed the whole creative process. She is one fun polymer clayer.

Lois Mills at Beads F.O.B. Workshop with Alice Stroppel

Lois

I looked up one time to see the biggest grin on Lois’ face. She had just made several successful canes in a great combo of colors and I could see the wheels turning behind those smiling bright eyes.

Christine Kaczmarek at Bead Workshop with Alice Stroppel

Christine

Christine said she couldn’t go to sleep the first night and couldn’t wait to get back to work on her canes on Sunday. Her enthusiasm shows in her work.

Cathe Keck at Beads F.O.B. Workshop with Alice Stroppel

Cathe

Cathe’s work is big and bold. Her color combinations are bright and work so well together.

I’m so sorry that Marina had to leave early and I didn’t get a picture of her work.

(two days later, update) Marina sent me a picture of her work, I’m so happy to be able to include it. I just didn’t feel right for her pieces to be missing. Thanks Marina!

Marina - Beads F.O.B. Class - Alice Stroppel

Marina Montagut

I love how everyone created their own colors and Marina loves to do mini piece. I can’t wait to see what she comes up with.

I also didn’t take a class picture.  We ran over time, we were having so much fun, and people started to leave before I remembered the group photo. Thanks to all my student, I really appreciate how easy you made it to show you what I know, it was great fun.

August 23rd, 2011 | Tags: , , , , , | Category: Beads, Canes, class, Classes, Flowers, pendant, Workshops | 6 comments

More About Polymer Clay Fish Slides

Fish slide polymer clay

Arlene Harrison from Harrison Hollow Designs left a comment asking what a slide was. Well my understanding was something that slides off and on a cord or wire. But later I began to think about the difference between a slide and a pendent with a bail. Or why isn’t the fish with the hole considered a bead? If I drilled the hole more in the center of the fish would it be a bead or does a bead have to have a design on all sides and be round?

What is the difference between my fish and the pendant I made for my class at Beads F.O.B. in Sarasota? I made the “bail” out of polymer clay for the class pendant and drilled a hole through the bail, with the fish I just drilled a hole straight through with no bail.

Class pendant - polymer clayBut  when I googled bail here’s what I found;

Bail A finding that connects a pendant to a necklace. They come in different forms: some clip onto the pendant, some have mounts to glue the pendant to, and some attach to a ring on the pendant. The purpose is to hold the pendant flat when worn.

So maybe the pendant above is really a slide just like the fish?  I don’t know …….I’ll just have to ask Marty and Karen at Beads F.O.B.. But the good news is I can tell you how to make whatever they’re called.

fish with needle toolOnce I’ve finished my mosaic fish I mount it on a piece of clay (double thickness of the widest pasta machine setting) and cut out with a exacto knife.

Then I poke a hole straight through the body of the piece and then insert small rivets that you can purchase in the scrapbook department.

I bake it and then remove the rivets and re-drill the hole with my Dremel tool then replace the rivets with a tiny bit of super glue. Make sure you don’t fill the hole with super glue. The rivets just finish the hole and neaten everything up.

Here are all my almost finished fishies, some are going to my Etsy shop. But I have to finish them by signing the back with my name and the date, so it will be later today.

Fish Slides - polymer clay

July 31st, 2011 | Tags: , , , , , | Category: Beads, cane mapping, Canes, Esty Shop, Etsy, Fish, Necklace, pendant, Slides | 4 comments

I’ve Strayed – Cats, Red Hood and Pen and Ink

Red Hood

This morning I started to do samples of what we are going to be doing in class on Saturday but I ended up drawing a grown up Red Ridding Hood. Grown up you might ask, well the story goes that the wolf died and she lived to grow up right? So here she is, with a silver frame ready for the eye pin and a chain.

Okay so the truth is the hood just showed up by itself and I colored it red. I use photos or pictures as my guides, but I don’t sketch out my work ahead of time. I just dive right in and begin and correct as I go letting the piece create itself.

That’s why I like working with polymer clay as a base and my pen and ink technique, I can easily correct most lines and sometimes colors. I do most of the black work first and add color at the end, then reapply black here and there.

I probably would benefit from more planning including sketching the ideas in my head instead of just making notes, but then I’m not so sure how things like the red hood would ever happen. But it’s something to consider.

International Polymer Clay Association’s Polymergence editor Suzanne Ivester wrote a wonderful article in this month’s newsletter entitled All About Sketching! It’s an interesting read, you’ll enjoy it.

Cat polymer clay, pen and ink

This cat just called to me, no explanations, no excuses. I’m going to post this and get back to my original plan..samples…step by step samples.

June 17th, 2011 | Tags: , , , , | Category: bracelet, Cat, Cats, Cuff Bracelets, Pen and Ink, pendant, Uncategorized | 2 comments

Pen and Ink on Polymer Clay

Face Pendant

I’ve been working on finishing up the face pendants I created at Fandango. This is the first one and I’ve mixed black and white canes with the pen and ink face. I also made black and white beads and strung the whole thing on black Buna Cord.

This is like one of the projects planned for my up coming class on the 25th of June here in my studio. We’re going to make a pen and ink bracelet first, then spend the rest of the class working on the necklace.

The class is full, but I will be posting another one for July 16th, so if you think you might be interested, mark your calendars.

May 31st, 2011 | Tags: , , , | Category: Faces, Necklace, Pen and Ink, pendant | 4 comments

Fandango and Blue Moon Polymer Clay and Pen and Ink

Blue Moon Polymer Clay Pen and Ink

Tomorrow morning bright and early I’m leaving my husband home with the dog and cat and I’ll be on my way to Orlando Area Polymer Clay Guild’s Fandango. I can only manage to get away for one day, but I just couldn’t miss all the fun with the Saturday night auction. Plus I could stand knowing all those clayers were only 2+ hours away and I wasn’t going to see them again this year.

My plan is to see if a can’t get the instructors and demo artists together again like last year for a short video. I have to laugh when I think about last year and how hard it was to get everyone in one place long enough to film. You can watch it here.

I made the Blue Moon above to wear to Fandango, I used my Pen and Ink Technique along with a ploymer clay shape and canes. The shape was made using a stamp from Barbara McGuire’s collection.

May 20th, 2011 | Tags: , , , , | Category: Necklace, Orlando Clay Fandango, Pen and Ink, pendant | Leave a comment

Faces and Shapes – Polymer Clay and Ink

When I came home from Woman Creative – Art and Jewelry Design Center just outside Atlanta, I came loaded down with rubber stamp shapes from Barbara McGuire’s collection. I started playing around with them and because I am so involved with my pen and ink technique I decided to marry the two elements. I, as always have created something I think if incredibly fun and a bit off beat, but I’m diggin’ ’em.

I have tons of old jewelry and buttons and well just stuff (cool stuff mind you) that I’ve be gathering over the years and have decided to continue to use those bits and pieces to accent my work. I’ve added a cool button to the top of the face pendant above.

Face Shape pen and ink and polymer clay alice stroppel

The pen technique is the one I demonstrate in my video for sale in my Etsy Shop and the shapes are rubber stamps from Barbara McGuire’s collection. The ways you can use the pen and ink technique are endless. Use some of these ideas of mine or dream up some of your own. The sky is the limit and the only thing keeping you from floating away is you thinking you can’t fly.

Okay, okay, you can’t REALLY fly, but you can feel that way sometimes if you lose yourself in your creativity. Stop judging yourself and you will be more than surprised at what you can create. I’m talking to myself as much as to you, I produce things I’m proud of when I make them for the joy of it, not for the dollars I might gain.

Learning to let them go to someone else is the next big stumbling block for me, but I’m doing much better at that too. I can’t wear, look at or hang all the things I make, so I find it much easier to let them go than I did in the beginning.

full figure

I’ve also been playing around with whole shapes. I like this girl and really wanted to keep her, but I’m putting her in my Etsy shop. I have ideas for oh so many more. Here I am again, too many ideas and not enough time. Oh well, there’s always tomorrow. Maybe I’ll see you then too.

April 11th, 2011 | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Category: Esty Shop, Etsy, Faces, figures, Necklace, Pen and Ink, pendant, Tutorials | 4 comments