Polymer Clay tutorial « Polymer Clay Etc.

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.

Found Objects to Use With Polymer Clay

Several days ago, I promised you a video showing how to use objects you might have around the house to imprint polymer clay projects. Or you may want to use that interesting found object to embellish one of your creations.

I “found” all of these items while I was clean out and cleaning up. You might say I “re-found” them. Most are things I have collected over the years because they were interesting and I just knew one day I’d “make something from them”. ( I think there is a name for this illness……..most of you have it too I think!) Some are just everyday items.

Even my husbands work space didn’t escape the scavenger hunt……don’t tell him though, he gets scared when I venture into his garage with that look on my face.

Today, I’m working on samples and tomorrow or the next day I’ll post the video. Start looking around you, I know you’ll find lots of things to play with. Roll out some fresh clay and experiment. Or be ready with your treasures for when you watch my new video and we can experiment together.

Just remember, if you use something from your kitchen for clay, you won’t want to use it again for food.

A Nod to Naama Zamir and Her Special Stripes Cane

Naama Zamir's Special Stripes Cane

While I was searching for the author of the eye cane tutorial at the bottom of this post, I came across this tutorial from Naama Zamir. She Posted this tutorial on March 1st, 2009! I made my Ancient Mystery Bracelet on Aug.10, 2009.

I didn’t see her tutorial until 10 minutes ago. In fact I had already started this post to look for the author of the eye cane tutorial.

Ancient Mystery I

This post is to acknowledge that she thought of the technique before I did! It just must have been floating around in the air and landed on me. Take a look, she explains how to do it wonderfully.

Now to the reason I was searching the internet… this ikat cane tutorial.

Ikat Eye Cane

Do you know who wrote this tutorial for an Ikat Eye Cane? It was on a website several years ago.

I printed it out and I use it sometimes for my face canes. I copied and pasted it into another program to print it to save ink. I usually labeled things I printed out with the author’s name and the website address. But somehow I’ve lost that information.

I’ve searched for it online for quite some time with no luck. I’m afraid that it is no longer available. I would like to suggest this cane for my face canes and send people to this tutorial. If it is no longer available, then I would like to be able to share the technique.

If you know the author or the website address, or someone who might be able to help me, would you please leave a comment or email me at alice@polymerclayetc.com? Thanks in advance for any help you can give me.

Update.. Several people were kind enough to leave comments or email me about the tutorial. Click here to go to Kerstin Rupprecht’s Ikat Eye Cane Tutorial. Kerstin shared this tutorial in 2002, thank you Kertin.

Using Old Polymer Clay Canes

Ancient Mystery I

Here’s how this started! I was going to shoot a video to share about all the items I found while cleaning that I can use with my clay work.

But as always, I had to clean up my clay space before I could begin. There sat slices of canes that I used in my (not finished yet) Polymer Clay Collage Project…. you’ll see a line of red squares across the bottom. Some were slices that I messed up and then there was this small little piece of cane left.

If you have been following this blog at all, you know me well enough to know that I do not like to make scrap clay. So, I layered the messed up slices with a layer of black #7 on the pasta machine. Then I sliced the remaining cane and added those slices with the black layers in between. Ending up with a new cane.

Why I didn’t start filming this for you, I don’t know, except that I didn’t know that it was going to come out this cool.

I sliced this cane into thin slices and added them to a sheet of black. Then placed the whole thing on my bracelet. It looks pretty good, I liked it anyway.

Then I had just a couple of slices left of this scrap cane (and I’m laughing here)! I didn’t want to scrap the rest of the cane I didn’t use because I liked it.

So I decide to play with what I had left. this next bracelet was the result and I like it way better than the first one.

Ancient Mystery II

I laid the left over slices out on a skinny strip of black and ran it through the pasta machine. It was ragged along the edges and I kind of liked that, so I put it on a layer of ecru clay and covered the bracelet form, added dots and there it was.

It was interesting and fun to experiment and the best part is I made something out of clay that was going to become a gray blob.

But..I still haven’t made the video with the found objects to use with clay. It will have to wait now, I have a special request for more girl bracelets in my Etsy shop, so I better get moving.

I’ve listed the other two bracelets there, so cross your fingers that summer sales will happen.

Cover a Business Card Case With Polymer Clay – Video

Are you like Arlene Harrison? Do you have business card cases that you purchased and they’re still in the box they came in. Okay, maybe you opened the box.

(Of course you did, what was I thinking, we are internet ordering specialist aren’t we? When the boxes come, we open before the mailman can get out of the driveway.)

But maybe you just didn’t exactly know how to apply the polymer clay to the case. So you thought about them for awhile. Then you thought about them some more. Then you forgot about them.

Then one day you came across them in the bottom of the drawer or the back of the closet. How did they get there? You promise yourself you are going to do something with them soon. Hey, if they were going to make great Christmas presents last year, well, they still will this year right? You have plenty of time, it’s only July.

You put them on top of everything else in the drawer. If they’re on top, you’ll be sure to see them now and you’ll get around to figuring them out soon.

Well, procrastinate no more. After Arlene watched my video she finished her “closet” cases and you can too. Who knows, you might even purchase more. I purchase mine at Polymer Clay Projects.

Watch the video below and combine this technique with your favorite polymer clay technique to create your own fabulous cases. Enjoy!

I’d love it if you’d leave a comment now and then to let me know how you like my videos and maybe a picture of what you do with your cases.

If you enjoy this video, be sure and take a look at my other videos.

New Polymer Clay Video – Fish Mosaic Tutorial

Fish Mosaic

The fish mosaic tutorial is my newest video and available through my newsletter sign up on the upper right hand corner of the page.

Simply add you name and email address and you’ll have access to 20 minutes of instruction on how to create your own mosaic. Let me know how you liked it. Was it helpful to you? What else would you like to learn to do?

Leave your comment here on this post and we can talk.

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Found Objects to Use With Polymer Clay

A Nod to Naama Zamir and Her Special Stripes Cane

Using Old Polymer Clay Canes

Cover a Business Card Case With Polymer Clay – Video

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