“Cindy, you are a
mind reader! I’ve been
trying to figure this out for
some time and your idea
sounds so obvious.”
~Hanne-R
On October 19th, I posted an introductory preview clip for the custom Embossed Metal Stamps tutorial.
Today, the full version of this video lesson (Vol-029-3) is available for viewing at the Polymer Clay Members Library. Here is the link: Making Your Own Personalized Embossed Metal Stamps
For anyone who is not yet a paid member, if you did not know, the cost works out to only $3.32 per month. This gives you 24/7 access to the full versions of my Friday video tutes. Plus you also receive four A-series color recipe cards. This week’s color is: Beach Granite (Vol-029-3A) from the Beach Pebble Polymer Clay Color Palette.
It’s mind boggling to think there are people out there that don’t realize your site is the BEST out there. Your videos are clear and very informative. I own Polymer Clay books, although I have learned from them they don’t even come close to what I’ve learned from watching your tutorials. The other great reason for being a member is the fact that you are constantly trying new products such as the Micromesh pads, Ultra Dome etc. that keeps us on the top of the Polymer Clay world. With out you and Doug, life as a clayer would be so mundane. You encourage all of us to explore all possibilities and push the envelope to be creative. The cost to be a member is so minimal for what we get. We definitely get a bang for our buck!! Besides, there aren’t any other sites where you can state a clay problem your having and get so much helpful suggestions. Everyone here has been there done that so as a newcomer everyone takes you under their wings to help you to bloom in the new and wonderful craft of claying. ~Jeanne-C
Cindy. I soooo appreciate all that you do for us. Thank you for giving us so many tutorials at a such a low, low price. You publish daily, answer questions, and now you’re offering prizes! You’re always having to come up with ideas to please a bunch of members who have different wants and tastes. (We’re getting so spoiled!) Please forgive me for the times I’ve acted ungrateful. You ask nothing in return, except that we show how inspirational your tutes and this blog have been when we submit our spotlight entries. Let’s not forget, that we need to be using Cindy’s tutorials, variations of them, or those we’ve come up with on our own. (Or things the blog has inspired us to try, as in the team effort to help Cherie make her Faux stone beads!) Cindy you’re so amazing for putting up with us! I say this all the time, but I don’t know how you find the time to do it all. Thanks so much for this fabulous tute! ~Phaedrakat
If you want to become a paid member, here is the link:
Polymer Clay Video Library
Or if you are brand new to polymer clay, the best place to first learn all of the fundamentals is here: Polymer Clay Beginners Course
To browse other video tutorials that are available for purchase without becoming a subscribing member (in other words… just a one time fee), you can go here: Polymer Clay Video Back Issues
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Open Mic… Please use the comment sections of these Friday posts to discuss polymer clay challenges that you need some help with… success stories about your bead and jewelry projects… requests for upcoming video tutorials. In other words, it’s an open mic :-) .
Listed below are the topics that were discussed in the last Friday’s Open Mic comments:
- A fun “get paint all over yourself” technique.
- Precious metal clay vs polymer clay.
- A new Gravatar debut here at the blog… yay!
- Memorial and keepsake flower petal beads
- Building a business… asking the right questions.
- Creativity has no limits.
- And more…
If you need to catch up, here is the link to the article where last week’s topics were discussed in detail: Distressed Paint Finish
Otherwise, you can use the comment section below to start talking about some new topics and ideas. Happy Friday!!!
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OHHHHHHHHHH ! I can’t believe how easy this is and how effective !!! What fun we will have with this tute ………. I plan to make a bunch (lol) of these over the weekend. Thanks for keeping all of out of trouble !!! We can’t keep up with you if we don’t do all of your wonderful stuff . I just love this site:::::::::}}}}}}}}}}
I like this tutorial and the fact I can use the seal from the coffee can before investing in the embossing foils. My first idea was to make name plates for my granddaughters bedroom doors, also to make a welcome sign and to make magnets. So many ideas!! Thanks for a great tut.
I hope everyone has a great weekend. XXX
BTW: speaking of metal things. How about a tute on bracelets made from the materials used in the metal bezel tute? That would nice. (posted elsewhere, but think this is a better place LOL) P_L_E_A_S_E ????????
I noticed that when you used the coffee can seal that the ‘back’ of the seal looked like it had little indentations in it. Do those transfer? Or would it be better to smooth out both sides before using?
Could you put this through the pasta machine with the clay? Would it last if you did that?
Great tute Cindy! I like how you always find the cheaper way to do things. It really helps!
Open mic day, right? First, thank you, Cindy, for this great tutorial. I love the fact that you can use “found” items to make this, so I am on the lookout for products that use them! On another note, I was distressed by the Joann’s I go to today. They moved everything around in the store, as stores are wont to do every so often, but I couldn’t find the polymer clay anywhere. When I was about to give up, I stumbled into the children’s section at the very back of the store and there it was! Premo (as well as all Sculpey) was on sale, but the selection seems to be shrinking. I am sad to see that this Joann’s, at least, has relegated this craft to only children! Which is not such a great idea, seeing as you must bake it. Have I lost my mind or was it not with the kids crafts before? Sorry to complain, but had to vent somewhere!
Nice tut Cindy! I can see so many ways to use this, thank you!
Someone earlier mentioned bangle bracelets…I have seen some great geometric styles lately. Any chance we could see a tut on something like that soon?
Thanks again…this is the best place I’ve found to learn about clay.
Cindy is so resourceful! YaY for recycling :) This kind of information cannot be found anywhere else online. Thank you Cindy for making this so easy.
Although I don’t have much time to do all this with a new baby, I’m still learning and collecting tools (and ideas) for future projects. Thank you Cindy for making this so easy.
This tutorial is fantastic, Cindy! Love how you use recycle materials. I can see many uses for this. Thank you very much! Off to go make some. Though I will have to look for this Well Bond. I have never heard of it.
@Lupe Meter: I buy it at Michaels, I bet you can find it at most craft stores. :)
@Jeanne C.: Thanks Jeanne! I also checked ACE Hardware today and they have it as well!
I loved this video. I love, love, love that I can use the seal off my chocolate milk powder ;).
Hi all, thanks for this weeks tute Cindy, really cute and useful.
I will be looking at all my foil covers from the coffee jars from now on with covertous eyes (if that is a real word?), not that I ever threw them out, as I always look at everything re recycling.I dont know about the Wellbond tho, may not be able to get here, so may have to improvise on that. Tell you later
Bye
Love
Elizabeth
XXX
Becky, that makes two of us disappointed with JoAnn’s today. Polymer Clay magazine was no where to be found where I shop BUT Christmas merchandise is taking over the shelves…that means time to look for the Buffalo Snow..it is there. The clay area here is very small and they’ve taken the Studio Scupley completely off the shelf. Good thing we have Michael’s here, four of them ten miles of each other. Sculpey is on sale like you said. Does anyone know what other stores have the Polymer Clay Magazine?
Oh, the possibilities! Love this tut. Thanks Cindy and Doug.
Joyce M: I couldn’t find the Polymer Clay magazine at my Joann’s, either. Very disappointed in them. Hobby Lobby’s selection of clay and tools is not much better, either, but they do at least carry Kato Polyclay. I will have to go look at Michael’s tomorrow, too. We have 2 within 20 miles, so I can search both of them!
Just checked out the foil rolls at Amaco. cindy you mentioned you would be using them in the future; would this foil be the same one you would use to make a little embossed charm or do you need a thicker sheet?
Just popping by on this busy weekend… thanks everyone for your great comments, feedback and suggestions! Even though I can’t respond to each and every one of you, I do read and appreciate all you guys say here. Thank you so much!
@Cherie: I’m not totally sure what you are asking, but the Amaco Embossing Metal I used was in Light and Medium weight. Both work great. As far as making charms with it, I haven’t tried that yet, but as always, it couldn’t hurt to try!
@Becky C., I know what you mean when stores switch their merchandise around. I work at Michaels and just came back after a 6 week medical leave and I have a hard finding things!!
Why Joann would keep the polymer clay in the kids crafts is crazy! At least you found it. Michaels is going crazy with customer service right now. I know from experience that Joann doesn’t have good service. I asked someone where to find unfinished hair combs to, of course, put polymer clay on, and they just told me on the other side of the store. When I tried to tell I looked over there they said someone over there could help me!!! There was no one there! At Michaels that should never happen! (FYI, I only shop the competitor when Michaels is out or don’t carry a particular item.) :)
@Cherie, at my store I just clearanced all the Amaco Metal screens, sheets, ect! I kept wondering if I could used them with clay! Well, I missed the boat on that. I started to teach some polymer clay classes at Michaels And to come up with some simple projects that kids can do is challenging! I didn’t realize how “advanced” I had become with our PCT, Cindy! We will be working with the Eraser Clay! Only ten minutes to bake and they work! Now to come up with my own color recepies, yikes!
Joyce M: our local bead shop carries Polymer Clay magazine; I have never seen it in our JoAnn’s. Barnes and Noble also carries it in their store. Re this tute: from the pic for this thread I’ll bet you could make some very interesting Raku type beads. I have some ceramic ones with the raised swirls, so with the “mold” and color washing (might use the different colors distressed technique from last week), voila!
Koolbraider, thank you for that info, I’ll call Barnes and Noble before heading out that way tomorrow. It may be a little early yet for a December issue and they should be able to tell me that. Thanks again.
Catalina, seeing you are back to work you must be feeling better, even 100% hopefully? That’s great, continued good health.
The magazine you are looking for is Polymer Cafe, not clay. It can be found in most book stores and in some grocery stores magazine area.
@Joyce, yes, I’m doing a lot better! It is amazing how much you can do without having constant pain! The hardest part was not being able to go downstairs and play with my clay. I had to settle on doing some Indian bead jewelry.
It’s sad, but I always have a hard time finding Polymer Cafe magazine…when I do come across an issue at Michaels, JoAnn, etc., I have to dig for it in the back of other titles. Either it’s very popular, and sells out quickly, or they only order a few of them. I guess I should speak up and tell them I am interested in seeing them there! (Of course, it’s always cheaper to subscribe to the magazines…I used to love using the 40% coupons at the craft stores, but they no longer let you use them on periodicals. Darn!)
@Catalina: So happy you are feeling better! I’m impressed to hear you’re teaching polymer clay classes. How cool is that for Cindy? The Polymer Clay Tutor’s “tutoree” is tutoring…awesome!
@Joyce M: Hi Joyce…Funny, I had the same idea! ;D Buffalo Snow IS there in the stores, alright. I was at Michael’s the other day, & it dawned on me I should check to see if it was in stock yet — I wanted to spread the word in case anyone was looking for some “snow” to make some of Cindy’s cool Faux Opals.
I even used my phone to take a picture at the store (since the bag I have at home is kinda torn up…not very ‘photogenic’.) But then I remembered Cindy already posted pictures of the Buffalo Snow packaging here at the blog.
Easy to refer to, if you want to make sure you’re grabbing the right product! It’s cool that the price is the same as last year–no increase…the 3 oz. bag of iridescent Buffalo Snow flakes is still $2.99 at Michael’s. The bag lasts a long time, too, and goes a long way. Just look at how far Peggy’s bag went last year! (Peggy is an angel with all the sharing she did…she made sure everyone got a chance to follow Cindy’s tutorial and make some of the beautiful Faux Opals. Such a lovely lady!)
Open Mic Question: I have a toaster oven, but don’t have any way to control the temperature. Can I use a paragon digital kiln to fire my Premo clay?
@Mary – What an interesting question! If it’s digital could you not program it to the temperature needed for polymer clay and set a time on it as well?
I’d LOVE to have one of them because I am interested in so many things – including glass and metal clay. Wow – you’re lucky!
@ Joyce M: Studio by Sculpey will no longer be manufactured after December 2010. Anyone who likes this clay should stock up on it before it’s all gone.
For those wh have never used it, don’t worry about it…it was designed for making flowers and other items for home decorating and was never meant to be used for beads.
I am new to the world of polymer clay. I made a series of lentil beads with fired silver clay on one side and polymer clay on the other. After firing them at the suggested firing temperature for the polymer clay, some of the lentils separated and some of them did not. What did I not do or what did I do wrong?
Hi Mary, this is rather complicated…are you baking these in your kiln, or an oven/toaster oven? (I’m curious because of your previous question…) I’m not experienced with metal clay, but I thought I’d try to gather some more information to help you with this issue. How did you make your beads? Did you make the lentils, then cut them in half and add already fired silver clay, or ?? If you tell us exactly how you created your beads, it might help determine where the problem is.
With regard to the “separated” lentils, were they burned? Was the clay completely firm (completely cured?) Another question, if you used an oven, did you use a separate thermometer to measure temperature? The temperature for polymer clay is critical…but the time can be extended. You can usually bake for hours, as long as the clay does not get too hot. Cindy typically recommends baking for an hour at the recommended temperature…as long as you monitor the temp with a good oven themometer. If you’re using a kiln, though, it might be difficult to regulate the temperature enough… Can you give some more info about the process you used? We’ll try to help (and sorry it’s taken awhile to get back to you…) Busy around here!
@Mary: Two more questions — sorry! One is, did you thoroughly condition your clay before you made your lentil beads? The other depends on the method you used with your beads. I’m wondering if you made them like I mentioned above…perhaps the heat from the metal caused the polymer to get too hot and separate from the silver? Does anyone have experience with baking PMC and polymer beads together? (at polymer clay temps, of course.) Okay, I’m out…leaving it to those with more experience in these matters!
@Phaedrakat: I fired the silver clay half lentil first in my programmable kiln. Then I conditioned the polymer clay. Filled it in the silver to complete the lentil and fired it at a consisten temperature in my kiln. I tried to follow the Nested lentils in Patricia Kimble’s Designing Jewelry with Polymer and Metal Clays. All five separted after firing. However, I have another piece that the silver came up and over the polymer clay. That one so far has stayed together.
@mary davidson: I looked for a picture of the nested lentils, to get an idea of what you’re attempting to make. But from your description, it sounds like the reason one of them worked was because the clay was physically held in place by the silver piece. In the others, you probably need glue…polymer clay won’t bind with silver. It sticks to it temporarily while you’re working with it, but after curing, you have to add glue to metal findings to make a permanent connection. This is the case with eyelets or even with little eyepin bails on small polymer charms — you have to glue them back in again after baking, or create a “physical” connection (eg: a wire bent back on itself, baked into the clay) that cannot come undone.
You mentioned the polymer lentils “separated” in your original question, so I’ve been trying to figure out what might be wrong. But if you only meant they are coming out of the silver “nests”, then the only thing you really have to do is glue them in. You could try adding liquid clay instead (TLS, Bake and Bond, etc.) and then cure in place. But glue would work just as well. You could use something like E-6000 or Weldbond (which Cindy swears by, and uses for everything!) This article has information about which Glues to use with Polymer Clay, as well as tips on the uses for each.
Of course, if the polymer lentil beads themselves are separating, like cracks or something like that, then there’s more troubleshooting to do. If this is the problem, could you please give the best description of the separation you can? Then we’ll try to get to the bottom of what’s going on with your beads… :-) Good luck, Kat
I really appreciate all the help. Looks like Weldbond is the answer to attach the polymer to the silver. But in all my readings there was never any mention of glue. I haven’t had problems with the beads themselves separating. Many, many thanks.