Make Your Flower Canes Stand Out With Translucent Polymer Clay Packing:
Today’s topic is about using a Makins Professional Polymer Clay Extruder Gun to pack the spaces between the petals in a flower cane. Once filled, these spaces become the background for your cane.
Translucent clay is often used for filling in the background of a flower cane because it frames the colorful flower petal design with a neutral border. This neutral border is important when you layer cane slices over each other or place them in close proximity on your beads.
If you look carefully at the flower cane in the photo above, you’ll see teardrop shaped pieces of translucent polymer clay filling the voids around the outer extremities of the flower petals.
These teardrop pieces of translucent clay were made using a teardrop shaped die in my Makins Professional Clay Extruder. A triangle die would work just as well… maybe even better since triangles are not as ‘bulgy’.
By the way, the colors used for making this cane are from the Petunia Color Recipe Palette.
Besides the teardrop shaped packing in the above photo, you should also be able to see 2 thin wrappings of translucent polymer clay. These wraps help to minimize distortion of the flower design when the cane is being reduced.
So next time you are building a polymer clay flower cane, be sure to let your clay extruder lend a helping hand. This versatile tool can be a real time saver.
Your blog has just a wealth of polymer clay information! Thank you.
Thank you NanjoDogz! That means a lot coming from you!
Once again another wonderful time saver. The extruder in my studio will now live next to the pasta machine. I also appreciate the tip about surrounding the cane with thin sheets of translucent in steps. I can see where this will assist in the compression of the flower without distorting. I am blessed for finding you Cindy.
Thanks Illaya! I’m glad to be able to help!
The Polymer Clay Packing~~~~! I like to look very much very out of the ordinary, very beautiful
Thanks Jenny!
Cindy I have made alot of canes, never thought about using trans in different places. The extruder oh wow yet another great idea I had not thought of. See it pays to share with others you learn so much that way. Lynn Watts
Glad to be of help Lynne!
I just love your shortcuts. I never thought of doing 2 thin wrappings of translucent polymer clay, which is probably why I get a little distortion in my flower canes. I have yet to be happy with one. Thanks for the information.
That tip should help Lupe. There are so many tricks to getting a good cane. There is always so much to learn. I find I’m learning new things every day! Thanks for your comment!
What a pretty little flower cane! I’m going to mix this color palette up soon & make some flower canes. I planned to make this palette when I saw you use it in the Mod Cane Video, but I was waiting on my extruder. I’ve had one thing after another keep me from claying, but I’m just about ready now. I just love all of the great tips you have for us, Cindy. Thanks for everything!
I have made several flower canes in the last couple of days and I am finding that when I reduce them the petals do not reduce the same. All are the same size except 2 or 3 on one side are longer than the others. I have been using the teardrop between the petals and one thin layer of translucent on the outside. I will try doing a thin layer then the teardrop and then another thin layer and see if this helps.
@Laura Z: Is the clay in the 2 longer canes a different color or batch of clay than the other petals? Could be that those petals are made with a slightly softer clay and they are reducing faster than the other petals.
Hmmm…The canes are pretty small. Only a couple of squares of a block, so I’m thinking that might not be it. I’ve been reducing right away. Maybe I should wait a couple of hours and then reduce.