Polymer Clay Tutorial | Mica Shift Technique [VIDEO]

This looks like a fascinating technique and I look forward to finding out how it's done on Friday! Thank you Cindy I am amazed by everything you do.

Susan from Florence, Italy

Cindy, where can I buy single tiles for baking flat items? Does Home Depot have them? I've not worked with anything flat yet… I've read your blogs on the how to – I just need the tiles. The tiles should be smooth glazed ceramic, right? And what size? 12"x12"? (I use my regular oven to bake my clay.)

~Lisa

@Lisa, I bought my ceramic tiles at Lowes so I assume that Home Depot has them. Just ask at the flooring area and they will lead you right to them.

@Cindy, I'm very excited about the mica shift… can't wait until Friday.

I love those colours! And I love mica shift too. :)

Love the mica shift but have not perfected my technique so I look forward to the Tut for ideas.

Clay is on sale at Hobby Lobby this week and there are some Premo's in a new looking package. The new packaging is nice and will not get mixed up with the Sculpy III.
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Oh and I have successfully used stamps with fine details, but it's tricky and in my opinion the bolder patterns look better.

One thing I love about mica shift is that because you're using a single colour of clay, if you don't like the pattern you make you can just mush it up and start again – no waste if you get it wrong.
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Cool!!!!! This is one I've wanted to try but did not have the courage to jump into the pool so to speak. I can't wait.

I have done this mica shift technique before and it is super neat. I am sure as all your videos I will still learn a lot more. I always get so much out of your videos the more I watch the more I learn. Cindy you sure do come close but I don't think anyone out there will ever know everything there is to know about polymer clay. Just when you think you have seen it all another technique comes out. That is why we all love it so very much. Can't wait once again for another Friday to come.
Thanks Cindy

My insomnia lead me to mixing up those colours very late last night, they don't look quite the same as on my computer screen but they are really pretty.

I also used every different combination of the base colours for each recipe in 1:1 ratios, like red pearl and silver, blue pearl and pearl, etc, which came out beautiful.

And then I went mad!

I mixed every recipe from sculpey.com/sculpey401c.htm (some gorgeous ones there too).

Then I made a lot of other colours simply by the process of "That's a lovely purple, wonder what happens if I mix it 1:1 with red? Ooh I like that one too, now I'll mix 1:2 with pearl to get a lighter version…"

Of course I kept samples of each colour and made notes of how I made it. Perhaps I should share my pearl recipes here? Anyone interested?

I've done mica shift before, but everytime you have a video on something I've already done, I find out something new. Have to add to my supply of pearls.

Freda from Wadsworth, Ohio

Sure, Silverleaf…recipes are always great!

Just been putting together a spreadsheet to keep track of my pearl recipes – it involved maths and everything! I knew learning about ratios at school would come in useful some day. ;)

I have 32 recipes so far – 3 from Cindy on this page, 10 more from the sculpey page and 19 of my own. Guess I was busy, lol.

I'm planning on photographing the colours so I can share them. Tomorrow, when I have natural light.

As a recent convert to Premo (I used Fimo before), I just can't believe how pretty the Premo pearls are. And they shift beautifully too.

High Silverleaf where do you get your premo,I Want to try it but not sure were to get it I use fimo but have heard good reports on premo Is the polymer clay pit a good place for price and availability. I cant wait to see your picturesI have never done mica shift so i am really looking forward to it.

Hi Ritzs, I got my Premo from Penny, clayaround.com/index.php?cPath=28. Her prices are good, £1.79 for Premo, £2.05 for Kato and £1.45 for Fimo. If you spend £30 you get free delivery too, and if you let Penny know that Silverleaf sent you I'll get 10% off my next order! (I'd recommend her anyway, discount or not).

I really do like Premo, definitely worth the extra 25p – the only thing that kind of tempts me back to Fimo is the coloured translucents. I'll have to see if I can get the same effect with Premo Frost and alcohol inks.

Oh and mica shift is such a cool technique, you'll love it!

Wow, maths fail there! Of course I meant 34p. Oops. :/

thank you silverleaf as soon as i get home on Sunday i will send an order and most definitely give your name i am leaving Chicago today , cant wait to get back to my workroom in beautiful wales

@Silverleaf: I look forward to seeing your pictures Anna! We could do a special post for you where you can share your recipes. Let me know, I'd be happy to do it! You could try adding a pea sized amount of regular clay to the Frost to get some nice translucent colors. If they still aren't what you want, there is no reason why you can't use the Fimo for some things and the Premo for others.

Oh thanks Cindy, I might just do that! Do you want me to email you the recipes and you mix them up and photograph them, or should I just send you photos along with the recipes?

And I'll certainly try mixing colours with Frost, thank you.

hi Cindy
the Mica shift tut is wonderful. I have seen and read plenty on it before but have never had it so clearly demonstrated as to make me feel I can go right to it and get it right.
i'll be back when I have done some.
Thanks again you wonderful Poly lady
Love
XXX
E.

WOW thank you for this Cindy. I have always loved the mica shift technique, but was never good at it. you taught me something new that will help a lot, and that was the putting the clay on the rounded surface to slice. I am anxious to try the slicing that way. I am not good at the bending of the blade. Thanks again for a great, informative video. Kriss
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Awesome as usual Cindy, can't wait to try, and. . . I have those exact texture plates!

This was certainly worth the wait! What a beautiful effect. I also like the metal-lined hole in the pendant, is there also an easy way to do this? I too, love easy techniques! Thanks Cindy.

Cindy, that was a great Mica Shift tutorial. I especially like the idea of putting the clay on a bottle to cut it. If you aren't used to bending the blade, it can make some really deep gouges. I learned the hard way.
When I cut my beads out, especially with the pearl and metallic colors of Premo, I put a piece of Saran wrap over the clay first and it gives them a beveled edge cut. Great video, I look forward to Friday's to see what new and wonderful things you are going to do next.
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Cindy – LOVE this week's video – question – on the two sided pendant, is that a copper eyelet placed on each side and then baked?
Thanks,
lk

Thanks for the new added suggestions. I never had much luck bending my blade without gouging out too much in some areas. It's a fun technique. What did you use for a final finish?

Cindy,

Thank you for another wonderful tut!! Can't wait to try it.

Thanks Guys! Glad you liked this week's Mica Shift tutorial lesson! That copper eyelet was added after baking. I drilled the hole just big enough for an eyelet to fit tightly, one on each side. The thickness of the pendant was just right that the eyelets almost touched in the middle. They could be filed shorter if the pendant was thinner.

As far as the finish on these pieces, there is none. Just sanded and buffed. Best finish there is if done right and definitely worth the effort! The techniques for that beautiful finish are in the Basics Course if you need to learn how (see link by my name).

I'm a bit late on the discussion about creating colours – but another thing you can do, apart from Cindy's idea of a pea sized piece of colour added to Pearl, is to use Kato's concentrates – these are specifically for colouring translucent, pearl and white – and are so very economical because you use such a small amount.

Fantastic Vid, can't wait to try it. Question though, can you add regular color clay to the white pearl to get other colors or do you have to just mix between the metalics and the pearls. I just received access to the last two back issues of videos, I now have the complete set(yea!!!!!!), next stop, the 39 video lesson collection (after the Holidays though).

yes – you can add regular colours, or cocentrates to the Pearl – as long as you have plenty of clay with Mica in it.

sorry – dyslexia rules: concentrates!

Great tip Penny!

Ken you can add other solid colors but you have to be careful that you don't lose the high concentration of mica by adding too much. The Kato concentrate would be better. But I find you can you can get almost any color you want by just using pearls and metallics. Congrats on having the full set of back issue tutorials! Thank you for your support! You will love the course too, when you can get it. It will fill any 'holes' you may have in your knowledge of polymer clay!

@ Penny

Thanks for the quick answer, I thought it might be alright and you wouldn't have to be as careful of how much you add as you do with the translucents. I have several primative designs on rubber stamps but I think they would look better with somewhat brighter colors.

I would think two or three 11mm balls of color like I use with the translucent for jade shouldn't blend away the mica content of a full package of white pearl. Like I've said before so many ideas so little time.

Once I purchased the subscription videos and seeing what you get with them, it really was easy to justify going back and acquiring the full set of back issues in the members library.

Cindy–I just watched the Mica Shift video. As I got into polymer clay a year ago, every time I looked for a tutorial, your site popped up. I resisted joining for a long time, who knows why. For the last few months it has been such fun to work with you! Every time I see a new video I get great new ideas from you. this week, using the right pearl clay, and using a rounded bottle for the cutting were inspirational. Thanks so much! Jacqui

Well I didn't get to watch the video on Friday because of a migrain but I felt better so I gave it a shot and loved the video as I always do. I have done the mica before and love doing it but I do have to admit curving the blade and skimming off the top sometimes got the best of me and I have to roll my clay up and start over. One good thing no waste. So I am looking forward to trying the clay on a bottle. I do learn something new everytime I watch a video. Thank you again for adding to my collection of Cindy's fantastic tips. Your the best and now it is back to bed for me, I am not going to chance another migrain. I have too much clay fun to look forward to today.
Have a clayfull weekend everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wonderful tut Cindy. I have struggled to shave the top of mica shifts in the past, with not so good results. How did you think to curve the clay on a bottle? Wonderful! I am off to attempt it. Thanks.

I tried the tut technique with the bottle. I found it helpful to cut the clay into 3X3 inch squares before cutting off the top layer. I found with a larger sheet it was difficult to keep track of the slicing and keeping the getting the sliced clay crumbs off the sheet.

Hi Cindy, I have NEVER been good at mica shift. I normally screw it up by slicing too deep.

Your technique made me like it a lot better. And MAN the sanding and buffing really makes the pattern pop. I am so excited. I am going to be a mica shift fool for a while. In the photo are three of my first pendants I made from this technique. Thanks for showing me and the entire group a better way to do this fascinating technique.

Hi Cindy,
So glad you did this tutorial! I've wanted to learn how to do this for a long time. Just a quick question, is it possible to get the shift results when applying the sheet to a round bead core for a round bead? Have you (or anyone else out there) tried it? Or is it necessary to use the sheet on flatter objects? Just curious.

Awesome Kriss, they look great!

I too got the mica shift mood and did some great ones thanks to your tutorial. I especially loved the clay on the bottle trick. It makes the slicing down so much easier. And you are totally correct in the sanding and buffing makes all the difference in the world. I had a couple that didn't even look like the shift happened until I sanded them. Way cool technique and your tips make all the difference (as usual) :)

I have sent my first order to Penny so i hope you get the 10% of your next one thanks againsilverleaf @Ritzs:

Ritzs – you get 10% discount on your order too – and a further discount if you recommend anyone! Silverleaf – you are a star!!

Once again, a HUGE Thanks goes out to all of you for your great comments!! So glad to see you enjoyed the technique!

Isn't Kriss just fabulous for sending such great pictures of her beads so quickly like that. That is really awesome! Great job Kriss!

@Sue: Doing a round bead is tricky, since adding a flat sheet will show all the joins. You could try to do the technique directly on a round bead, but that would definitely take practice. If you are able to do it let me know!

This is the video that convinced me to become a member. I just love this effect and can't wait to try it. I'm REALLY new to clay so I'll have to start slow, but one day I hope to be proud of my creations.

Thank you for all of the tips and tutorials!

Jayne

Hi Cindy
I´m so happy to receive your polymer clay tutor. Since I live so far away,Chile, it´s very good to receive the latest things of Polymer clay.
I want to know, why you cut the upper part of tne mica designs?

So great to have you here Jayne! Thank you so much for becoming a member. Hope that you learn a lot and have a lot of fun!

Great question Rosita! The way the mica particles line up when you run them through the machine, makes them shiny on top and dark inside. When you cut off the top layer, the dark inside shows though and the shiny side that was stamped is still there, even though the surface is now flat. Looks like it is 3-D when it is not. Really cool effect! Hope that makes sense.

Cindy, Here is my first attempt at Mica Shift. I think I may have

shaved it a little to much in places. I have also sent a pic of the wire work I was doing in Chicago. The links are meant to be joined with a large jump ring but I want to put a bead in instead. My problem is getting it to hang right I am still playing with that one. I don't know if it is of interest to anyone but I herd of how to age copper wire with an egg, maybe you already know how to do it. If not I would be more than happy to share with you all.

~Ritzs (Wales, UK)

Wow Ritzs very pretty. I just started with the mica shift since watching the video. I tried to use the Fimo Effects and they don't work like the Premo pearls do. Great technique and great tips Cindy.

Hi Cindy! I made my first attempt at mica shift a couple days ago.

I was pretty happy with the sheets I made so I got out my cutters and made some earrings! I sanded with 400, 800, 1000, and 1200 grit sandpaper and then buffed with my Dremel. I added a thin layer of Studio by Sculpey Glaze to really make the colors pop. I hope you like them! Carrie.

Cindy – Here are a photos of my mica shift pendants, finally.

The oval one is wrapped in copper foil (the kind you use for stained glass work) and has copper twisted jump beads hanging from it.

The heart one is accented by my "fauz Lapis" beads made with polymer clay.

I think the mica shift came out awesome in these two. I had another one that was a flop though. LOL

Laurel

Wow, nice work everyone. I really love that technique. :)

On your main mica shift pendant you have some type of ring thing at the top that your jump ring goes through. Is this some kind of metal ring or is it also made from clay. If it is clay can you tell us how you did it? If it is metal please explain that. I really like the finished look of this rather than the jump ring going through just a hole in the pendant. Thanks for your help on this. If I missed it somewhere, please let me know that also. You are great and so responsive. There is tons of stuff on the web about polymer clay but it is so good to have just this one place to find the answers and very clear instructions. Thanks!

Thanks Silverleaf and Caroyln!

That is metal that you are referring to in the large pendant. It is actually an eyelet used for scrapbooking. I used two of them. One pushed in from the front and one from the back to make a nice clean (and strong) metal hole going through the pendant. On a thinner pendant you can just use one from the front.

I did this technique in the Butterfly Pendant Tutorial awhile back. The link by my name will take you there.