Comments on: Polymer Clay Tutorial | Jupiter Planet Beads | Clay Extruder Gun

By: Sandra

Sandra — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 04:33:06 +0000

Hi there, I received my Makin's clay extruder the other day, and just got it out to play with, and had a go at this Jupiter bead, what a cool look!! I can't believe how easy it is use to use this tool. I used an old leopard cane with a caramel clay, and it turned out really well. Thanks for a neat tute Cindy.

By: Cindy Lietz@Polymer Clay Book Beads - Unique Bookmark Gifts for Pastors

Cindy Lietz@Polymer Clay Book Beads - Unique Bookmark Gifts for Pastors — Wed, 12 May 2010 17:30:13 +0000

NEW PHOTOS ADDED... that relate to the theme of this page... Jupiter Beads Made With a Clay Extruder. Click on the link by my name for the full story from Carolyn-F.

By: Sue F

Sue F — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 17:26:26 +0000

Thanks for that info, Cindy! I hadn’t seen them at any of my normal suppliers or during my wanderings on the web. I’ll check out shadesofclay.com (I bought Helen Breil’s tutorials from there a while ago, and they were friendly and helpful and lovely to deal with) and riogrande.com (I know of them but haven’t looked at their web site… yet!). No doubt I’ll find all sorts of goodies other than just the stronger extruder to buy!

By: Cindy Lietz@Jelly Roll Cane - Glow in the Dark

Cindy Lietz@Jelly Roll Cane - Glow in the Dark — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 16:58:34 +0000

Sue, the stronger extruder is called the Makin’s Professional® Stainless Steel Ultimate Clay Extruder. It is smaller than the green one and was designed for silver metal clay but would be perfect for polymer clay, just in smaller batches. It is about $50 instead of the $25 but because it is stainless steel instead of aluminum, it would be way stronger. As far as I know the dies are interchangeable. shadesofclay.com and riogrande.com have them as well.

By: Sue F

Sue F — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 16:40:51 +0000

@Phaedrakat: No, I didn’t know that Makin’s had a stronger metal extruder! That would be very handy. I’ve only ever seen their squeeze/syringe-type model, which I think is plastic, and the screw-type metal model which I have.

This is the model I have:
firemountaingems.com/details.asp?PN=H203378TL

Or here, from Makin’s own web site:
makinsclay.com/Australia/eng/products/ultimate.htm

What’s the stronger extruder called? Do you have a link to it? I haven’t seen it before, and I can’t find it on Makin’s web site. They DO have a photo that appears to show a different extruder (at the bottom of this disc set web page):

makinsclay.com/US/eng/products/discs.htm

but I don’t see it listed as a product in its own right.

And no, sorry, I haven’t had a chance to photograph my Jupiter beads yet. It’s very busy at work and overloaded with family birthdays at home… I really wish there were more hours in the day! I’ll let you know once I’ve got my act together and have taken and uploaded some pics. ;)

By: Phaedrakat

Phaedrakat — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 11:38:54 +0000

@Sue F: Maybe you already know, but Makin’s has a stronger metal extruder. It’s more expensive, and has only half the clay capacity of the one you had, but it probably won’t break as easy with your Kato. Just thought I’d let you know, just in case.

Also, I was wondering if you had a chance to put your Jupiter beads online yet. I’ve gotta admit, I’m eager to see your beads!

By: Phaedrakat

Phaedrakat — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 09:34:09 +0000

Wow, Sue! I thought I was a perfectionist! (Just Kidding.) But I have recieved all kinds of grief over the years for being too meticulous, fussy, or “perfect.” Family members jokingly say I have OCD, or that I’m anal-retentive; but I can’t help wanting things done a certain way. I don’t think I’m being unreasonable, though. I just have a hard time enjoying things if they aren’t the way I think they should be.

However, I’ve had to “relax my standards” considerably in the last few years because of my back surgeries. When you can’t do something yourself, and rely on someone else to help you, you’re kind of stuck with what you get. Oh, believe me I tried in the beginning. But I needed quite a bit of help, and got it from people the opposite of perfectionists. So, I’ve learned to let go a bit. (It’s still hard to do!) I’m glad that you are able to enjoy being meticulous and doing things your way. Someone should get to!

By: Cindy Lietz@Kato PolyClay Color Recipes By Sue-F

Cindy Lietz@Kato PolyClay Color Recipes By Sue-F — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 07:48:55 +0000

@Sue – Your meticulousness is just what makes you… well… you! And it’s the reason why everyone appreciates your input around here!

By: Sue F

Sue F — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 07:42:24 +0000

@Cindy: Many thanks for that extremely generous suggestion, which I’ll definitely keep in mind. 340 pixels wide is actually a pretty small photo when I view it on my computers though, and while I know that very few people use the same screen resolution and display settings that I like, how it looks to me outweighs how it looks to the rest of the universe. (Pretty unreasonable, eh? That’s me! LOL) Anyway, I’ll have a play with photos on Sunday and see what I come up with and will take things from there. Thanks again! :)

By: Cindy Lietz@Polymer Clay Inlay Technique

Cindy Lietz@Polymer Clay Inlay Technique — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 07:17:37 +0000

@Sue F: You said… “There are various techniques you can use for optimising small images, but simply reducing them to the smaller target size generally doesn’t ‘do it’ for me.”

You are welcome to use whatever photo techniques work best for you and send them to me in the format that meets your standards. I promise not to “blog-ise” them. The photos I post in the comments area of this blog can be as wide as 340 pixels… which is actually a fairly large photo.