6 Videos #416 to #421: A unique cane design where the colors shift along the entire length of the cane.
Did you know that the Purple Coneflower (aka Echinacea) is a plant that is commonly used in immune boosting health products and medicines? It is very effective at treating the common cold.
Well, the same thing is true about our PcT Cone Flower Canes Tutorial. It is a well known fact (well around here anyway), that the PcT Cone Flower Canes Tutorial will boost your polymer clay skill level and is a very effective treatment for creative block!! It’s true you know… try it, you’ll see :)
All kidding aside, I think that you will find this tutorial is not only fun and easy to do… but it will get you thinking differently about making canes and how to use them in creative ways. If you run with it, I am positive you’ll be able to come up with some really neat versions of your own. Taking you polymer clay skills to a whole new level.
Posted just below is a Sneak Peak and overview of this months Cone Flower Canes Tutorial. The rest of the 6 part video series will be posted tomorrow (Friday, August 2, 2013) in the Vol-063 section at the Polymer Clay Tutor Library.
BTW, if this Cone Flower Polymer Cane tutorial looks exciting to you, please do click that YouTube Like button. Many of you have been giving the Thumbs Up to the weekly YouTube videos, which is great… Thank You! However, these monthly intro clips need some love as well. When they don’t get as many likes, it makes it look like they are not appreciated as much… which surely can’t be true with all the nice comments you all leave :)
Vol-063-1: Video #416: Introduction: In this 6 part video tutorial series, you will learn techniques and tricks for creating unique and stunning color changing cone flower canes. Use them in jewelry making projects like beads, charms, decorative headpins, earrings, bracelets, pendants, pins, brooches and more. These beautiful polymer clay flowers can also be used in a variety of mixed media art projects including, buttons, bookmarks, scrapbooking, art journals and other great looking polymer clay projects.
Vol-063-2: Video #417:
Creating the Teardrop Blends:
In this video you will learn the tips and tricks for making custom color teardrop blends that will make your cone flower canes gorgeous and arty looking. The neat thing about my secret blend is that it is super easy and it will have you looking like a pro, the first time you try it! This custom blend will be used for both canes (the seed head and the petals) that are used in this tutorial.
Vol-063-3: Video #418:
Sead Head Cane:
In this video you will take a section of the teardrop blend which you created in the last video and build a cane that resembles the cone or seed head of the cone flower. You’ll love how the colors are laid out to create the shading in the cone, making it dimensional and realistic looking.
Vol-063-4: Video #419:
Petal Cane:
In this video you will take the remaining sections of your custom teardrop blend and build them into a color shifting petal cane. What’s is great about the way this cane is made, is that each slice that you cut from the cane will be a slightly different color. This means that you can build several different cone flowers in all the colors from a bright sunny yellow, to a deep dark purple… just like real cone flowers!
Vol-063-5: Video #420:
Making the Cone Flowers:
In this video, everything you have learned so far, starts coming together into beautiful polymer clay cone flowers. I will also show you how to securely embed a wire to create an awesome decorative headpin that you can use as a headpin… or you could shape the wire into a bale so your flower could be used a charm or other types of jewelry items.
Vol-063-6: Video #421:
Finishing:
In this final video of the Cone Flower Canes series, you will learn how to give your polymer clay flowers a flawless and satiny smooth finish that will take your piece from Nice to Wow! Plus I will share with you a ton of other creative options so can use this tutorial for all kinds of different mixed media projects.
Other Supplies:
- Please note that you may or may not need all the supplies listed below, or in the suggested list above. It just depends on if you decide to do all the different techniques shown.
- Dish of Water with drop of soap.
- Smooth ceramic tile and file folder for baking.
- Soft cloth for buffing and waxing.
- Playing cards.
- Spray bottle of water.
- Ruler with metal edge.
By the way, many of the “shopping” links I provide for the various tools and supplies used in my tutorials, are “affiliate” resources. That means companies like Amazon and the other suppliers I refer, pay me a small commission if you click on the links and end up making a purchase at their site. It’s not a lot, but every little bit helps in keeping the cost of my tutorials down. And, the prices for products that you may purchase through my links, are exactly the same as what you would normally pay, even if it is a “sale” price. So please feel free to click whenever you need to pick up a few things for your studio. Thanks so much for your support.
The full video series for the Cone Flower Canes tutorial described above, is available in Vol-063 at the Polymer Clay Library.
If you would like to receive 3 free beginner videos right now, plus some free color recipes that get sent out each week in my Friday email newsletter, please click this link: Polymer Clay Tutorials
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… Please Note: A general prerequisite for all of my monthly library tutorials is that you have a good understanding of the polymer clay basics, including: conditioning clay, using a pasta machine, clay blade and other simple tools, making Skinner Blends, baking clay, as well as sanding and finishing. If you need help in these areas, my Polymer Clay Beginners Course will get you up to speed quickly. There is also plenty of free information on this blog. Use the search box at the top of the page to find articles on specific topics.
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Customer Feedback About Membership Value:
Hi Cindy, loved the set of French Barrette videos. Such a lot of priceless information and different techniques. Have always wanted to do silk screening, so a BIG thanks Cindy, you made it look so easy. Love rivets, eyelets and other metal fasteners. Now have to decide what to make first. Also a neat way to use those canes that you haven’t made into beads… love it… cheers xx. ~Eliane-F
Hey Cindy and all the Lietz Family! Congratulations! You did it! And what a beautiful job of it, too! As for me, I loved all the PcT Roadtrip videos, seeing all these great faces and wonderful projects. I vote that you do it again! Love you all for your hard work, but most of all for all the joy you put into it which just pours right on out back at lucky us. ~Andrea-P
Cindy and Doug – What a wonderful series of videos. Each is timed perfectly, and each segment builds. Love the super close ups Doug, and the clarity of the picture in the HD format. Just love this, a summer vacation memory bracelet for all of us who love our beaches and spend time tossing the wrack, lol. I dumped a jar of Matunuck/Charlestown beach findings, and the memories flooded back of the miles of beach I walked and picked while rehabbing. I would love to see Bohemian bracelets from each part of the country, showing the shells and wrack findings from that area. For me, I already make the spiral moon shell, and can see improvements I can make on it from your tute. We get Irish moss, starfish and sea urchins, beach glass, feathers, fatter white spiral shells, rope, bits of old wooden fences, buffed metal can tops, puffy sponges, periwinkles, blue mussels, tiny molted red crab backs, oysters, scallops, and the most fabulous quahogs with pink to deep purple marked ridges. And jellies, lots and lots of jellies. Gorgeous sections of little uniform pebbles, they look like kidney beans. I can make beach glass using the Frosted Rainbow Beads tute, the puffy sponges look like Faux Stonewear, feathers from the Feather Cane tute, of course, the Faux Pebble tute. Myself, cannot imagine it done without a few Polymer Bead Cones with copper tentacles. The Faux Wood tute and all the Texture tutes, too. To get flashes of metal, I’d also use some distressed Embossed Metal. And the Fossil Shell Bead tute mimics some shells, too. Whew. Think that’s a pretty good deal for my money. ~Jocelyn-C
Love making the headpins. I have some sterling wire, 20 and 21 ga – bought it when it was still cheap and had it tucked away. So, I can feel good about using it for headpins, they are 36 cents + each in sterling at fire mountain gems! That tute alone is worth a fortune to me! ~Cheryl-D
The full video series for the Cone Flower Polymer Canes tutorial described above, is available in Vol-063 at the Polymer Clay Library.
If you would like to receive 3 free beginner videos right now, plus some free color recipes that get sent out each week in my Friday email newsletter, please click this link: Polymer Clay Tutorials
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oh this is gonna be FUN:)
Agree with you Sherry, this is a fabu project, love the interpretation and options on this beloved flower. Cannot wait.
Love the way the finals are finished, back and front, they glow.
Love the subtle shift in colors, and so many ways to use these amazing Cone flowers thanks Cindy. ……………….Cheers xx……………….
Cindy,
As a long time member, I just love you and more than happy to spread the word about your website. Sometimes I actually get into conversations with folks at Michaels around the Premo clay and tell them about your website. I always let everyone know that you are my polymer clay hero!!! lol
This is going to be fun as all of Cindy’s tutorials are, not to mention amazing. If you ever want to learn anything and everything about polymer clay, please join Cindy.
Yet another gorgeous tutorial Cindy! For anyone wondering whether to subscribe, this is brilliant! …… so much information, handy tips and beautiful projects. Join, and you’ll never look back!!!!
These look so funky and fun, I can’t wait! I love all the colors and how they blend from one to the next. You must stay up 24/7 just creating polymer clay pieces. Where in the world do? you store it all, lol. I think we need a video on how to organize and store your creations once they’re done. My stuff is scattered all over the house. :o) ~Michelle-A
Hi Michelle,
I had a problem wit storage as well then I bought a bunch of tea cup hooks and now I have everything organized and hung in rows on the studio wall, it lets me see at a glance what I have.The larger necklaces and strung beads for making them are on strips of wood with wooden pegs in rows as well. It looks really pretty and is quite efficient.
-Cheyrl
Wow, sounds so organized. Thank you for the tips.
What a great cane with multiple possibilities, Cindy… I bet your graphic buttons would be the perfect accent on a bold handmade purse or tote!
I look so forward to the 1st Friday of the month. Great tuts worth every penny!
Your tutes are worth every penny, I have learned so much from them, thank you. There isn’t anyone teaching the way you do and for so little a month.
What a funky little tutorial. The button and hairpin really got my attention. The cane looks very detailed and I really like the way the colors change. So many possibilities
with this one!
The colour shifting idea is definitely very cool, and that’s a beautiful colour combination to demonstrate it with. Lovely finish on the sample pieces too!
There are countless ways these ideas could be applied to other projects for non-flower people like me too :D and I’m looking forward to trying some of them out.
I’ve just watched this series, and the beads are so lovely. can’t wait to give this a go. AM possible going away tonight and not have access to internet so will have to wait until sunday afternoon. Thanks heaps Cindy and Doug for another awesome tutorial.
Cindy, by now, have watched the series in full 3x, and am thrilled. Even though the sand and buff process is “like watching paint dry” in a comment you made, if you made the effort to follow all the instructions to get to finishing, that is the most crucial stage to master so that in addition to loving what you make, you can sell it to others to recoup your investment in time and product, and from the profit, get more good clay and the rest of the goodies to play with.
The first time for me hearing “3 mins” minimum at each sanding level, front and back, and that was seminal, lol. Up until that point to me sanding was a mystery sort of, and mimicked how I felt about how long and how much I brushed my teeth. Was it right? Enough? More flossing?
Using a finish, being Renaissance Wax or butcher block paste, and buffing etc, makes the object art. Watching you do it in real time helps me improve my own techniques, which I am so grateful to you for.
Hi Cindy – thanks for this tutorial series, I really enjoyed watching it. You’ve also cracked a problem for me; I’ve been trying to work out how a cane was produced in a Polymer Cafe article. When the author wrote back that she couldn’t remember how it had been done it set me puzzling, but in vain. Your tutorial suddenly had me saying out loud, “Ahaaa!” So I am doubly grateful to you Cindy, for a really great tutorial series with lots of amazing tips and tricks which has also provided the answer to my problem!
Marion
Thank you Marion for your kind words! I am very pleased to hear that something I taught you in this tutorial, was able to solve a mystery for you in another persons tutorial. Sometimes just seeing how something is done i a video rather than just reading it and looking at pictures can make all the difference in the learning process. So glad I was able to help!
Hi-Cindy As a Grandma I immediately saw a lot of little fairies or ballerinas dressed in your flowers dancing on a bracelet. Beautiful tutorial.
Btw, is Doug ok that really didn’t look like his usual camera work? Hope all is well. Everyone has an off day occasionally and you two have more reason than most probably burning the midnight oil to finish this tutorial for all of us who wait with bated breath just to see what you have in store for us every Friday. If I haven’t said it recently…. Thank you for all the had work and attention you shower on your students.
-Cheyrl
Thanks Cheyrl for your kind words! It is nice to know that you appreciate all the hard work that goes into making these tutorials. I’d have to go back through the videos to see if there were any spots where the filming wasn’t as good as it usually is, but you are perceptive to notice that we have been extra tired lately trying to pull everything off. There is a lot that goes on behind the scenes, just for us to make this business work and there are many things that we would like to improve on or tweak as we go along. We do put our hearts and souls into giving our best for you all… it is really nice of you to notice and care about our well being!
Cindy I wanted to take a moment to thank you for all your efforts. Sometimes I feel like an ungrateful child always demanding more, more , more!
I loved this series and you have once again inspired me to get back to work.
It is raining here so I have no outside work to be done today so I will be making cone flowers.
Thank you so much.
Karonkay
Just started about 6 months ago with polymer clay. I feel in love immediately. I have watched many of Cindy’s videos on u-tube and by far enjoy her style the best. Just signed up for a paid membership today. This is stress therapy for me and it works!
Cindy, YOU ARE THE BEST!
yep – Cindy, you rock!!
I love the tutorials. I’ve been in a guild now for a year with some very talented people but you have shown me things that they have never covered at any of the meetings and I’ve only been a member a short amount of time. Thank you so much. I love the fact that you assume we know nothing and explain everything to the Nth degree and there is no problems with learning your techniques.
Cindy, I think your subscription videos and past-purchasing of videos is very reasonably priced. There is 1 PC “tutor” who charges much, much, much more and I had bought from her in the past. I am not knocking her at all, I do love her work and originality, but even without access to all past videos you are still a great bargain and the BEST teacher. I will be with you forever, God willing.You AND Doug are the best (along with the kids, too!)!!!
Hello! I haven’t posted much lately but I am here! Trying to get my creative self back into gear. These are really cute and I may just make these today. Looking for ideas for gifts to take to my cousins in Colorado next month. Plus, I have a wedding to attend in Oct! Won’t these be awesome? Got to get some of those bails. Thanks again Cindy! Hope you and Doug are well.
I’m always telling my friend how wonderful your videos are and can’t wait for the next one. Love them!!!! There is only one problem. There’s not enough hours in the day.
Hi Cindy just finished watching the cone flower tutes and am confused about the cane in Video 5. You put together a beautiful Yellow section of the flower, however in the last video you showed the flower finished but the petal section was much darker. I am wondering if this happen while baking or if you used a finished flower in the darker petals to show the shine from waxing? I really liked the bright yellow petals.
Hi Dixie Ann, the color doesn’t change when baked. The sample I showed in the sanding process was one I did earlier and was cut from the darker more red orange section of the cane and not the yellow section at all. If you want lots of yellow flowers in your cane you can add a bigger teardrop of yellow than I used in the tutorial. In fact you can change all the colors if you wish. Hope that clears up your confusion.
Thanks Cindy, that answers my confusion. I probably need to pay more
attention eh? Just got too excited over this tute! :)
Great tutorial as usual Cindy I only discovered PCT last January and have learned so much all easy to follow , I love the headpin idea and already have so many possibilities in mind for decorative headpins, something I often struggled with before to finish my jewellery pieces. Thanks again
Hi Cindy,
I just want to say that you are a very talented teacher and I enjoy a lot your tutorials.
Debbie from Denmark
I used the tumbler for my beads and then renaissance wax and I have beads now that feel like butter and have a nice sheen, Thanks for your help Cindy my round beads are so soft and pretty.
The Other Cindy