Faux Labradorite | Polymer Clay Tutorials Vol-057

Love the look of these stones. Such pretty striations.

I am so excited to watch this video and start making this gorgeous stone. After looking up images online for it and comparing it to
yours Cindy, it is amazing how well you duplicated it with polymer clay. Thanks to Jocelyn for sending you that photo.

Cindy, for you and the stone….because sometimes music is just better…..

Troggs, 1966, Wild Thing

What UV resin and light do you recommend? There is a Lisa Pavelka light and corresponding resin on Amazon. I have a gift card from Christmas, and I was thinking I would invest in these things. I noticed your post about getting a small fee back if we link through your site. Do you have a place with links for these or other products of this kind you might recommend?

Thanks.

Gina

I have a question which is sort of related to this project. I recently made some faux stopieces that involved essentially the same technique (layering the clay and then cutting out the shapes). I work and work until they look perfectly smooth, and then, after baking, the surface almost appears to have the faintest suggestion of—well, forgive me for the reference, but the surface almost looks like cellulite—like there are lumps and bumps below the top surface. Sometimes it is very subtle. Sometimes it is very pronounced. I assume this is trapped air that expands during baking. It drives me bananas because I will have a really nice looking piece that I feel is essentially ruined. Before I try this project, I would like to figure out what am I doing wrong?

Thank you Jocelyn for the perfect answer for Gina! I truly couldn’t have said it better myself!

Just glad to be able to help. So excited to hear about your other work. Cindy has a Facebook Photo Gallery Site as an adjunct to this main site, established primarily for pics since it is hard to post pics in these threads.

Her husband and partner here, Doug, is an outstanding video photographer, and you have to oogle his work there. Daughter Willow is coming up fast too, lots of her nature pics are being used to inspire the color palettes. We just love the the young bro Fisher, he cracks us up.

We love pictures! Please put up a few pics of where you are going even if they are formulating. And also, check out Cindy’s Pinterest site for visual fun.

Hi all

Wanted to pop in and say WOW
Loved making this FUN faux labradorite !!
( it’s on the counter cooling off )
Thank You Cindy for creating such a Wonderful tutorial
AND Thank You Jocelyn for putting Cindy’s imagination on this path :D

off to sand :)

I don’t actually know Anna, that is a good question! Is the element exposed? If not, then you probably won’t need to tent your pieces. It would be a good thing to check though. Put a light piece of clay in there and crank up the heat higher than usual and see if there are any spots that are darker than others. DO come back and let us know. If my oven ever quits, I probably will get a convection oven myself and I know several others here have them, so it would be great info to have. Thanks! Hope you’re well!

This is a really beautiful technique, Cindy, with lots of useful tricks that can be applied to other things. Your method for making the striations is particularly clever!

I love faux stones and surface effects — in my mind this is closer to the latter due to the subtle/striking viewing angle thing that even large slabs of real labradorite have, but that’s me being a pedant ;) — and it’s a real treat to get two of “my” kinds of tutorials in a row. Many thanks! :D

I can think of a whole bunch of different things to try based on this technique, and hope I can squeeze some time for claying into what will be a busy and probably sleep-free weekend. If not, I’ll definitely have to give it a go next week because I’m really itching to try it… I keep sneaking into the studio to start, but my conscience doesn’t let me stay there for more than a few minutes! LOL

Elaine, you are the sweetest. Hope you are feeling better.

I love it! You hit a home run again, Cindy and Doug!

Lordy, the “OHHHHHHH” just popped out of my mouth. Wow. Did you get a nice buff on those babies or what? Thanks for the share!

Simply gorgeous Sue! I am very impressed. Would you mind if I pinned your pictures to my Pinterest Board? I’d love to put them in the Student Gallery.

:-D

Thanks Christine! :D

No, some of the steps and some of the materials are quite different to the tutorial, although I got lovely results by following the tutorial too, and that’s definitely where the inspiration for my variation comes from. I just like to experiment, and I’m not terribly good at following instructions in the first place anyway, so I tried various things until the result approximated the mental picture I’d started out with.

I’ve refined my variation a bit since then and would be happy to share the technique, but I’m not sure how best to do so without giving away the parts that are Cindy’s, like her wonderful method for producing the striations.

Hi Sue! I love your Labradorite pieces! I have bought Cindy’s tutorial but I would love to hear about your variations! I am unable to find the white translucent Premo right now as all the stores that carry it in my area are out! I saw that you offered your variations to Cindy and gave her permission to share with her tutorial customers but thought it might be easier to go directly through you to get this information. If you aren’t willing to do this I will reach out to Cindy per your offer. I just thought it might be more expedient to go through you rather than bother Cindy. Either way I appreciate your artistry and your willingness to share your techniques! Keep up the beautiful work and again thanks for sharing your beauties!!
Lorri

Cindy, I have to point out that you spelled pendant wrong in the name and descriptions of the tutorial.It’s pendAnt, not pendEnt.

Hi Doug,

According to the OXFORD COMPLETE WORD FINDER published by Readers Digest
Pendant/Pendent is a hanging jewel suspended by chain or rope etc. worn around the neck. So you see you ARE correct as it is one of a number of words that can be spelt either way …………………cheers xx……………………

Of course, to complicate things further it depends on whether it is ‘pendent’ adjective or ‘pendant’ noun!

In this instance it should have been pendant, *as you would have normally put* …….as the video was regarding a noun *object*….. Although haha, it is a noun WITH an adjectival use…….that is, describing a condition of hanging, either figuratively or literally! Pendant would actually be a mis-spelling for the adjectival use….

Confused? You will be! :D LOL!!

I have a friend in Norway who sells it. I have given him Cindys details to make contact. If you look above I put his website in my last comment. The item is not currently shown there on his site….but you can drop him a message. I have told him that there may be some interested people if he gets it on his site or one of his other locations soon. x

Cindy, I have a related question……

Do you know how long the alcohol inks last inside finished polymer clay items?
Are they subject to sunlight issues?
Do the colours fade over time?
What are your experiences?

Thanks Cindy. Yes partially it does. I was thinking that the outer coating would play a part in it keeping it vibrant. I am also interested on whether there is a chemical change (ie any breakdown in the binding spots) between the inks and the polymer over time too…… but I guess time will tell on that issue. :D

Over time, the latest person looking at or wearing an item would not know the original status anyway….. So I was more meaning changes possibly occuring within five years or so really.

You know how some customers can be, if you do not advertise every minute detail of the product prior to sale….. so I am just checking bases to get all the facts…..or as many as poss anyway! :D

Cindy – do you think the white area (left side ) on the large faux labradorite piece I made could have been caused by me not making 100% sure the inks were dry? (photo at Cindy’s FB page)
I want to get this right and that’s the only reason I can think of
thanks guys :)

Aha– went back and watched the 3rd video and yup that sounds like what happened ;/ thanks – Sherry
….where is my hair dryer….

Hi Cindy,

Love the look of this “stone”, however, I have attempted to make this three times and am not having any luck. I think it might have something to do with my translucent clay {I use premo} I can’t find any white premo translucent, so I tried using white fimo translucent…no good. Then I made one with the premo….still no good. My third attempt was with the premo, but I made sure the top two layers were as thin as I could get them. The piece came out very cloudy, you can only see a hint of color underneath. What am I doing wrong?????? Is it my translucent clay?

Thanks for your wonderful tutes!!

Jan

Thanks Cindy! I actually baked the pieces for an hour at ~ 275 degrees. The last one I did had a lot of plaquing so I may have conditioned too much. I’ll try using less silver next time and keep my fingers crossed! I do love the look.

Thanks for coming back to share that cool tip with us Priscilla!! Wish I knew that one before I shot the video! :)

Hi Karen, I have used the wax for a year now and I usually buff my bead first then put a coat of wax on it, let it sit for a minute or so and then do a final buffing with the dremel. It puts a beautiful finish on it. By buffing the bead first It brings out the clay shine and the wax enhances that shine. Hope this helps.

Cindy – thanks for your help with my subscription renewal. I enjoy your videos too much to ever give them up.

Hi Carolyn,

I too used silver Jones Tones foils when I did the foil version of this tutorial.

I found that the Jones Tones foil needed quite a bit of rubbing to get it to adhere to the clay properly, but once I used my fingers directly to do this, instead of the normal piece of paper, it worked much better. Using my fingers directly generated much more heat, and that distinct warmth seemed necessary to get it to stick. It transferred very nicely once I’d done this, however!

The other thing to watch out for with Jones Tones foils, presumably because they don’t adhere quite as naturally/strongly to polymer clay, is that if you use too much alcohol ink too many times (as I did on one test piece trying to get the patterning I wanted!), the foil will start to fracture and break into pieces which detracts from the look.

I hope that helps,

Sue

My dear dear Cindy,

Thank you sooo much for helping me get all of my library account issues figured out. So grateful… thank you for your patience.

I don’t know how you do all what you do and still manage to keep your sunny personality. You are my hero, lol.

Yours truly from cold, but sunny Sudbury, Ontario. Come visit sometime!

Melodie

Hi Sandra,

Premo Frost is one of the clearest translucent clays. It has a slight salmon tint to it, but it’s not normally so opaque that you can’t see through it, particularly if the layer is thin. (I’m a total Katomaniac, but even I think Premo Frost is the best all-round translucent; there are others that are clearer but I don’t think they’re as nice to handle. I use Premo Frost with this technique, for what it’s worth.)

Sometimes translucent clay appears opaque due to plaqueing (plaquing? computer people can’t spell! ;D), which happens when moisture gets into the clay. If it looks like there are circular to semi-circular areas of greater opacity, it’s probably plaqueing. Jocelyn C had a bunch of really useful suggestion on minimising plaqueing earlier in this thread. One other possible cause of plaqueing is moisture from your hands when you’re handling the clay… I know some people wear latex or similar gloves to prevent this (although I’m too lazy to!).

Cindy also had a few other suggestions on a range of possible causes for a lack of clarity in the translucent top layers, so perhaps that might help too.

I don’t think it would matter too much if you sanded all of the top layer off, although you’d want to make sure the coloured layer is covered or sealed so that it doesn’t fade.

Premo Frost normally buffs to a nice shine… if it doesn’t buff to a high shine after proper sanding, perhaps the clay isn’t cured to maximum strength. Sometimes rebaking, for a longer time or at a higher temperature helps with that kind of thing. (In my case, because everything is Kato clay except for the Premo Frost, I bake my items at Kato temperature, i.e. 150C/300F. It doesn’t seem to cause a problem with Premo Frost particularly if the layers are thin, and it sands and buffs well.)

One last side-note on clay shininess… Even though Kato Translucent is probably the LEAST clear of the translucent clays, it does buff to an amazing shine. Sometimes mixing in a bit of that with your other clay can help it achieve a higher shine. For translucent layers you wouldn’t want to add too much because of how opaque Kato is, and you’d need to make sure the mix was used in very thin layers, but it can give a handy although minor boost to coloured and mica clay.

I hope that helps,

Sue

I live in Co Kilkenny Ireland. I design and handcraft beaded jewellery and bookmarks. I recently discovered polymer clay whilst on a jewellery course and am now totally addicted. I find Cindy’s tutorials invaluable as there are no courses etc available here in Ireland also they allow me learn at my own pace usually late at night when my sons are asleep and I can grab a few minutes of bliss a great escape from my day job as a nurse caring for people with Dementia and Alzheimers.

Sue, this work is simply stunning. Thanks for the share!

Incredible Sue! Awesome job. I love your use of color and the smooth more streaky way you added the ink. Also really like the striation color. Did you add a little Pitch Black with the Butterscotch instead of Slate or is it just the lighting in the photograph? I just picked some up some Pitch Black ink and have been wanting to test it out, to see how it looks.

Gobsmacked ( an old old southern expression) to me it means picking my jaw up off the floor after seeing your pics !!
Just beautiful :)

That’s cool to know :)

Thanks, Sandra! :)

I actually don’t use foil in my version so cracking isn’t an issue for me. There are some things that I do exactly as Cindy taught, like her wonderful method for producing the striations, but there are other things that I do completely differently; the coloured reflective layer is one of those. This blog is public rather than being restricted to subscribers and I don’t want to give away the parts of the overall technique that are Cindy’s, or I’d describe what I do in more detail. But I did send Cindy the details, and I’m happy with her sharing as much of it as she wants to either here or in the relevant subscriber area.

However, if you *are* using foil, my suggestion based on other foil-based projects would be to make a piece of faux labradorite large enough that you can compress it horizontally to close up any cracks that might occur. That is, instead of allowing the foil layer of the faux labradorite to stretch as you wrap it into a bracelet, press the faux labradorite horizontally back into itself as you wrap it, preventing the foil layer from stretching and compressing the lower layers instead as it bends. I hope that makes sense… it’s one of those “I know what I mean” things!

Beautiful pieces Sue! You really take it up a notch girl!

Hi Sue, wonderful work.
Love the colors.
really professional.
Haven’t been doing much PC lately, am missing out.
I am in Aus, the tropics, where are you?
XXX

Amazing work Sue!

Hi Lisa,

First, I want to say that as far as I know Labradorite is not a stone that is synthesized or simulated, i.e. someone tries to use natural elements or compounds to recreate a mineral in a lab environment (as is done for spinel, alexandrite, diamond, sapphire, opal, etc.). It is a member of the feldspar family and similar minerals are mistakenly called Labradorite, or may be misidentified as such. For example, there is a stone people call “Black Labradorite”, which is wrong and is usually another feldspar really named Larvikite. So if it is some kind of natural mineral your piece may mislabeled (innocently or deliberately) rather than “faux”.

But if it appears to really be some man-made/man-altered material like glass or clay, then shame on the person who did not tell you it is faux. I certainly can’t speak for every crafter/artist but I would say most of us do this because we admire and respect natural beauty. It can be something of a challenge to try to recreate the colors and patterns found in nature.

Yes, in some cases the real thing can be quite expensive. But it could also be hard to find really nice examples of some stones, because a small amount of the material is gem quality or the source is mined out or too dangerous to work further. (And rarity does not necessarily make something expensive, demand is usually a better indicator of price.) Or maybe it would be unethical to use the natural material so we try to create it out of another material, e.g. ivory or certain corals.

But even with an inexpensive commonly available material, sometimes I just want to put my own twist on something natural, i.e. I want to make large oval shaped beads but this material can only be cut as slabs. Or I want the look of banded agate with colors that have not (yet) been found naturally.

Labradorite is one of my favorite stones and I have way more natural pieces of it than I am likely to ever use, but I am still planning to use Cindy’s technique to make my own homage to this fascinating material.

Oh Lisa, isn’t everybody here so cool! They gave you such wonderful answers to your question, “Why would someone make a faux gemstone?”

Here, I was going to say… “Because we can!”

But I like Bertha and Sue’s answers much better! :)

Hi Cindy!
I was so excited to try the faux labradorite but I am on vacation and can not find the white translucent by Premo. Every store I’ve called is out of it. They all have the regular translucent but I’m afraid it won’t be clear enough. Have you used it and if so did you have good results? Thanks for your input!

Well now I found the white translucent. Thanks for the answer on the white frost! i will remember that if I can’t find the white translucent.

I do so like this idea of a private area to discuss specific “Cindy’s tricks of the tute” amongst members, but, would sure like to see it as a function that links to the general blog discussions visibly so that non members would be encouraged to purchase the tute to learn more. Once we hit the “open private discussion to each blog entry” link, password required.

Do not wish to see the paid membership take off to their own area and leave the general blogs completely because all this discussion information is critical and Google searchable for those paying to learn.

Dixie, you’d make a great moderator, and I so appreciate you volunteering.

Of course, I would expect to pay more for this feature, if you do add it.

I didn’t originally see the need for a moderator, but if there was one — and if the software supported it, of course! — the moderator could either move or duplicate comments to ensure that the public blog wasn’t neglected, and that sensitive content went into the relevant private area.

Different people have access to different tutorials, so access to unrestricted discussion on each month’s material would logically need to be limited to those members who had purchased that particular month.

And since access to a particular month’s paid content is already limited to members who have purchased that month, wouldn’t that level of access control be sufficient to allow or deny participation in an unrestricted discussion area about that month’s content? I really don’t see any need for an additional password, or any benefit in having one, which is what recent comments seem to imply. (You can’t have a single all-members password to a general members discussion area because we don’t all have access to the same tutorials. And it would not be practical to have a different topic-related password for each topic-specific member discussion area… I have *way* too many passwords to remember as it is! All members already have their own password which accesses the content they’ve paid for, so the sensible thing to do is to tie it in with that.)

The way I envisage it, once you’ve logged into the membership area and are viewing a particular paid video set or colour palette (or individual video or colour recipe for older content), there’d be a discussion area at the bottom of the page on which that confirmed-as-paid content is displayed. I don’t know what the specific technical capabilities and restrictions of the paid content management platform are, but it could be as simple as being able to post comments that all go into a single semi-threaded stream (much like how we can comment on the public blog postings now), or as complex as a structured, multi-level discussion forum (where discussion could be grouped into separate titled threads, e.g. why is my top layer hard to see through? how do I deal with foil cracking? and what is that variation that Sue-F is being so mysterious about?).

By attaching the discussion area to individual paid content pages, the approach described above should tie in technically with existing subscription management mechanisms. It should also help keep discussion “on topic” and together. Comments on blogs are notoriously bad at the latter compared to more traditional discussion forums, but I suspect that the blog approach would be easier to implement on the current platform. (To clarify: blogs are more for enabling the blog owner to post articles and gather comments on them from multiple other people; discussion forums are more for enabling anybody to raise and respond to topics for discussion in a structured manner.)

I do like the idea of being able to discuss each month’s techniques in detail without worrying about giving away too much information. It could possibly even be an additional enticement to purchase individual tutorials… when questions that go too much into the heart of a technique come up in the public blog, whether directly or about variations as has happened with this technique, people could be directed to the relevant paid area instead of us just doing the electronic equivalent of mumbling and looking at our toes.

In that line, it would also encourage participation if more people posted photos of their work. I’m sure there’d be lots of questions about what we’re all doing, if only we could see! Note also that not everybody uses Facebook — some people like me wouldn’t use Facebook even if we were paid megabucks to do so — and I think it would be nicer if tutorial-related photos were more closely tied to the content, whether that be the overviews in the public blog or the details in a potential future subscriber area, than being entirely separate on that Facebook thing that isn’t even directly linked to from the standard blog pages. Photos could be posted in the public blog as teasers, but also in the month’s unrestricted discussion area, for example if they illustrated specific questions members wanted answered. (Maybe I’d even do and post photos of all the tutorials if that would help the discussions along, instead of dodging all the floral ones like I currently do! ;D)

Quick answer, yes, I would participate in a members only forum. And I think you guys are doing a pretty good job at keeping the content separate enough (especially with putting tests and techniques here) that I would spend time in both areas.

Hi, I would love to see a private discussion area. I think it would be a big help.

I would use it, it would be a boon to those who had specific questions on a given lesson that couldn’t be asked through comments.

I would love to have this ability. I would be able to ask questions without restraint, and would be awed by the ability to ask “Where did I go wrong” without everyone in the world knowing that I was not adept at a given process. It would help each of us to gather knowledge and help each other with all aspects of a tutorial.

Doug and Cindy

One more idea for the private area. It seems to me it would be vital to let members show pics or videos of their work (from the cell phone, lol), in the blog thread, so that other members could help them solve a certain problem. Not many folks want to download a problem or half finished piece at youtube.com to be viewed by the general public. Is this a possibility?

Yes, I would appreciate to have this option. I am a new member and I need good advice from the pro. Have a nice day
Joane

it’s a yes for me too
a lot of good reasons posted
that I didn’t even know I needed ;)

This is such a good point. If people are really interested in polymer clay arts, they might be encouraged to join & will quickly see how valuable membership is.

I wonder how many non-members post anyway? Are there a lot?

I am trying to write thiws from my IPad .. I had written one message saying why it would be a grreat to have a members only BB but , I lost it. so I am just goiing to vote a loud YES. Thanks for asking Barb

Yes I would love to see a private discussion area available to owners of the paid tutorials.

I too would appreciate the paid members board; helping one another out when we encounter a problem or have a suggested variation to a tutorial that we’d like to share. Lots of great ideas and suggestions have been made on this topic. I’ve been following it with great interest.

They’re all good points. I just hope people wouldn’t think they had Cindy “on call” though just because we had a paid membership discussion board.

With your last comments in mind, and this is just an idea to think about. (maybe it’s what’s you meant too!)… there could be one of her non-tutorial videos where she addresses an issue/technique that’s been brought up on the private boards. There’s a lot of potential for this to really enhance membership and could actually bring in more paid members as we share with others in the clay commnity about how beneficial this site has become.
I’ve only recently become active on the board, after getting beyond not feeling qualified to share an opinioin! 80)

Christine, I wholeheartedly agree with Doug as I am a prime example of feeling not qualified to share an opinion. After I got over my shyness and began contributing, you build up confidence and feel so good about sharing your experiences with others. (((hugs)))

Thanks for the encouragement! Exciting things happen around here!

I have a query I am hoping someone can answer. I have searched the site but couldn’t find a related answer. After making a pendant such as the Labordorite with the translucent on top, foil in the middle and set on a black base, the sides of the piece show this triple layer.
No amount of sanding hides it, it just makes it nice and smooth. I don’t want to wrap it in copper foil and I don’t want to set it in a bezel.
I already have it sanded and ready to drill a hole for the bail so I don’t want to wrap another strip of clay around the sides as I have a nice rounded edge. Does anyone have a suggestion or technique for finishing the sides?

Sue, I love that idea for Dixie. I am going to use it myself. If you use a black layer underneath, I suppose you could hide layers just using a Sharpie permanent black marker, after sanding the piece. Pretty sure the marker ink would hold up through the buffing process.

The other idea I have used is to extrude a thin rectangle of your clay through the Makins/Walnut Hill extruder, then use this strip to run around your edges.

Having done this, I can share a few tips. I make sure the clay is extra conditioned and warm the extruder on my every present heating pad (lol), then push ever so slowly and steadily to get the clay to come out. I find if I use too much pressure, the strip gets raggedy edges and twists, which makes it harder to use and just requires more finishing.

A third method is to borrow an idea from Iris Mishley and create lovely stripes or checkerboard poly fabric from where she cuts thin strips to wrap around the layers. It adds a color pop and it a fun look, but, not sure it would work for faux stone.

Just to be extra safe, before I apply the strip around the edge, after sanding the edges, I apply a thin layer of poly bonding glue. I don’t want to monkey with the strip to much so I think the glue helps the bonding process.

Last, I think that if you used the same fabric as faux lab, and did the same, the thin hiding strip would be gorgeous. Or you could use the base color and just a crackled metal top for the finish strip.

One more thing to consider. Due to the ink, the layers and the tendencies of transparent, you might want to first bake the pendant, then apply the strip with glue and rebake. Afraid that if you sealed the layers on the first bake with a strip, it might prevent the escape of air and cause more bubbling.

Hope all is well with you and yours. How’s the moving going?

Sorry for the misunderstanding, Dixie. Did you round the edges doing the plastic technique or did you use the acrylic plate shaping technique to round the edge.

Cannot wait to see pics of your new work!!!!!!

Hi Dixie, I see everyone has jumped in here to help you out! I actually like the look of the layers on the side, so I don’t see the need for myself to disguise them. But if you prefer not to see the layers, the easiest thing to do is to use the tinted translucent as your back layer as well. Replacing the black. Therefore you won’t see the transition between layers. Without revealing too much of the secrets, if it is the foil layer you don’t like seeing at the sides, then Jocelyn’s idea for using thicker plastic for rounding the edges will help stretch the top layer over the foil layer.

Hopefully between the three of us you will have the help you need to make your Faux Lab’s look how you want them to look. Remember you can also add the technique to a bezel, eliminating the need to worry about the sides at all. Good luck!

Dixiem so glad you will be in your new home and settled by the Fall. Sure wish I could be at the tag sale prior, lol!!!!

Using acrylic plates (like the one you use to make gorgeous lentil beads) is a fee based tute that I have not been able to yet afford. If you scroll through Tonya’s tute FB site, or google it, I am sure you can find specifics. I have asked Cindy to put it in her tute request file, because I am sure she will bring her own natural talents to bear on it and add her own spin.

From what I can tell, you use acrylic plates to shape the edges of your product by placing it on the center of the object, then toggling back and forth in all directions until you have the curvature you wish. I have tried my purely speculative version of it, and honestly, I like it better than the Glad wrap technique because it pulls the surface of the object to the sides and rounds it off nicely, hiding all the layers you might have.

I also like the look you get if you use a plain baggie, place it over the clay, then use your finger to burnish the edge. A double layer baggie also makes a great shaped edge when you use a blade too, though after, kiss the baggie goodbye, lol. I find the single Glad wrap sheet and blade effect gets stuck in the clay, and when I try to peel it off and out of the grooves, it marks the clay.

Also variously sized and shaped acrylic rods are used to make super accurate cane shapes. Again, this is my take. You purchase various acrylic shapes, each about a foot long, triangle, rectangle, square, etc., and use them to press up against the clay cane with brayers etc. to mirror the exact shape of the rod. Tried it with the square shape and was extremely pleased with the result, the cane reduced beautifully and the perfect square shape allowed me to use the cane slices to make wonderful fabric..

Hope this helps. All best!

Hey, Dixie, for the rods you might want to check the Quilted in Clay home page; I remember Jennifer had a little video about making their designs, and I’m pretty sure she sold the square rods on her site (but this is going back a few years). The other lady Jocelyn mentioned may be Tonja (sp?) Lenderman who also sells supplies. Her FB is Tonja’s Treasures, I believe.

Hope everyone has a great and restful long weekend!

Yep, I use the heavier zip lock variety. Glad brands, since the plastic formula is compatible with clay, but, for just a slice, you can use just about any type of double sided bag. Had some good results using some heavier plastic bags used to ship stuff online too.

I will provide links to the tute info for the acrylic toggling technique and the cane shaping technique soon, it’s on my list of things to look up today.

Michelle, thanks! You are correct in naming the sources for both, and those two folks should get total credit for their methods.

Folks, keep in mind I did not purchase these tutes nor get the materials from those listed, just kind of “gimmicked” around with it until I was pleased with the results for my own non-Art projects.

Thank you ladies for your help and suggestions on finishing off the sides of my pendant. I am going to try the pen (Sue)
the baggie (Jocelyn) and the translucent back (Cindy L) so I can test them all. Eventually I want to learn how to make my own metal bezels to put them in. Gotta get this moving sale out of the way first. God’s blessing to all on this Easter!

Looks fantastic, Dixie Ann! Awesome!!! :D

Call me a fan, Dixie. Your version is gorgeous!

I saw that Dixie Ann! Great job! I am very proud of you. I pinned it to our Students Work board on Pinterest as well. I think others will be very impressed with what you have done with the tutorial!

A treat to share! Right as I am typing, in the corner of the screen on the plastic edge, I am able to glance up and see the most lovely sight.

Been struggling with a hospitalization, COPD, and until yesterday oxygen and tanks (stupid bombs, really). After a successful rehab, my blood oxygen tested out at 99% post the 6 minute walk. YAY!!!! Now, the cessation of nicotine is next.

To reward me for passing unit inspection (try vacuuming entangled in a 30ft green line supplying breath support) and following my medical plan, I contacted Cindy to see if there were any of her spectacular faux lab pendants still available, and was able to purchase a beauty! It arrived two days ago and matched the decor in the bedroom, so I used teachers putty and stuck it onto the corner of the flat screen. The light dances off it, and striations and gold highlights keep the surface appearance constantly shifting. I just love it.

Cindy so appreciate the share, and I will treasure it forever.

I love being able to view your videos on my iPad cause I can have it with me and do whatever it is Cindy is teaching and I can stop and start as I need.

Hi Denise, yes I leave the pin in while baking. If it gets stuck, just use a pair of pliers and give the wire a twist before pulling on it. Metal won’t bond to polymer clay, so once you wiggle it a bit, it will definitely come out. Hope you had fun making your faux Labradorite!

Hi Cindy!

I’ve a quick thought about your tutorials…
I’m a curious sort, that likes to see things right to the end, and all these neat pieces you work on during the tutorial, you usually put aside before you bake… like the faux labradorite for example.
I would LOOOOVE to see the finished piece. Is there somewhere I can see these?
This one specifically off the top of my head.

Thanks!
:D Carrie

Hello Cindy,
I have finally gathered all the items I need to make the Labradorite pendent but I have searched high and low for a circle 5mm or 1/4″ cutter. Help I can’t find one anyplace. I have even started looking around the house for small circles but they are either to small or to big. Please where did you get such a small cutter I even tried square but it still is to big.
I love watching your videos and still getting older tutorials, but this cutting has put a big stop in making the Labradorite pendent.

You don’t have to print this I am just begging for help.

Sandy D.

Hi Sandy, you don’t actually need a small cutter to do this tutorial. Did I even show one in the video? Either way, if you are looking for something small, Dixie Ann is gave you a couple of ideas. Another thing I have used is different sized straws for round or even square cutters. Milkshake and Bubble Tea straws are great for larger holes. Hope that helps!

Good eye Assena! It is easy to miss mistakes even with spell check when there is more than one spelling for words. We try not to miss them but when we’re busy the mistakes sometimes sneak through. The sneak peek it an easy fix… I’ll let Doug know about that one so he can fix it, but the one in the title bar is too difficult to change without re-editing and re-rendering the video… so we’ll probably just have to try and ignore that one. Thanks for letting us know!

Hi Cindy!
This morning’s mini tute was great. Putting round cane slices on beads sounds as though it ought to be easy to figure out and easy to do. Despite that I found this info really helpful. I never cease to be amazed by how very much I learn EVERY time I watch your videos. Each little trick that you share makes my life easier! On another note….one thing I would really love to see you do would be a really in depth look at using the Jool Tool. I am lucky enough to have one, but have yet to completely bend it to my will ( ie: Help!) I can’t help thinking that I am missing a trick or two which could make a big difference. There are bowls of dull beads all around me that are yearning to reach their potential…..a Jool Tool shine!

Hi Cindy,
Great videos as ever and love the results, just one minor question please and a request. First the question, when placing the pin in the clay to make the hole is this just to make drilling easier once baked or does the thickness of the pin depend on what you want to thread it on, or are the shield type pendants with this position of hole only meant for thin threading?
Now for the request – having watched the videos and seen all the images of Labradorite on Google I then thought how cool a local stone, only found in England ( in the area of Castleton) would look, and this is the Blue John Stone. I have no idea how to go about working out how to make a faux version of Blue John stone and wondered if you could once you are filming new tutorials again include one on the Blue John Stone.
Many thanks for your continued great tutorials.
Marie

I Agree with Fran, Marie what a beautiful stone! I will let it brew around my head and see if I can create a good mock up of the Blue John Stone for a future tutorial. Thanks for the suggestion!

Hi Marie, the fact that you were able to explain your steps, means that at least you know what you did ‘wrong’ and do it differently next time. By your comments, I see that you understand that mistakes are a big part of learning. Good for you! As far as what to do about the foil not releasing… the hairdryer idea might work. I have had trouble with certain foils and ease with others, even in the same line, so I sometimes wonder if the batches are different sometimes. Since you do have some mobility issues with your arm, then the leaf may be an easier option for you… as you discovered on your own. For the slicing through… you could have just pushed the sides back together… that would have fixed that issue. With the piece that you ‘messed up’, why don’t you treat it like a stack of mokume gane and take some slices off it that you can add to beads or something? Sounds like it may not look exactly like the Faux Labradorite, but it might make a really great Faux Marie-ite! :)

Can you use a dremal to sand