Polymer Clay Tutorial | Faux Opal Bake & Bond Technique [VIDEO]

Hurray! Thank you for publishing the list of things we need cause now I know I have them all and I can try it on Friday! If I didn’t have things here I couldn’t just pop out to get them locally so would probably have to order online and that would feel like forever waiting.

I have now started actually using your videos instead of just enjoying watching them and I am really impressed with how easy they are to follow. There are so many little tips that you share that I am sure you wouldn’t get in a written tutorial. It is nice to be able to see you doing it so I know I can do it just like you (well I can try ;)

I know I am a little off topic here but I would like to add my request for learning how to make the bail used in the beautiful piece pictured yesterday.

Whoopeeeeee this one i have been waiting for (as if i don’t wait every Friday) Just to show you how your blog has got to me i am now talking to myself, when playing last evening i was saying i think this is how Cindy does it and my husband came into my work room and wanted to no who i was talking to LOL????

Yay, these just shimmer – can’t wait…eagerly awaiting another Fabulous Friday!!

Canti wait for Friday!!! Opals are my mom’s birthstone and she had a beautiful expensive one given to her by her uncle (who worked on a ship) from Africa. She lost it many years ago but also talked about it. i saw the ring once. I am going to make her an opal pendant or earrings as her fingers are now swollen with arthritis and she also had a stroke two years ago. She still loves to wear earrings so I think that’s what i’ll do and send it to her. She lives with Dad in India so far away- I miss them.

First, I just love the modern world. I’m sending this while enjoying a beautiful day outside using a WiFi hotspot in Wilmington DE. Opal is the reason I became interested in PC, I can’t wait for Friday! Opal this month and Jade next, i’ve died and gone to PC heaven. Thank you Cindy

Just how excited are we all, thinking of Cindy’s “fopals” on Friday? There’s more than a whiff of pc fever in the air! Thanks for the advance notice you give on upcoming tutes, that’s such a help, Cindy, in getting our ducks in a row. Dare I say, Friday is my birthday (I think I’m about 259 now) so it will be a v. special prezzie for that. Already thinking of lots of projects – pendant, mend my opal ring… what fabulous fun! XX Mary

@Mary: I did a pendant :) four leaf clover using the extruder it turned out really cute. My doctor told me that I should be living in a beach house making jewelry. *LOL* Now wouldn’t that be nice. All credit goes to Cindy and Coug for their awesome tuts…

@Brenda: well faith and begorrah, Brenda – good for you. Your shamrock pendant sounds terrific; part of getting that beach house could start with seasonal marketing of things like your Paddy’s Day things. All good. Have a pint of Guinness!

@Bonnie: Sorry, 2 more wake-ups…

Oh” look out craft stores here I come…. Opals are my Birthstone. Did you know that Opals and Turquoise are spiritual stones.. I am part Cherokee and researched a long time ago as to why Indianians loved Opals and Turquoise.
The Opal helps those who use it to see possibilities.
It correlating with our emotions. Clarifies by amplifying and mirroring feelings, buried emotions, desires including love and passion. Less inhibition, more spontaneity. Visualization, imagination, dreams, healing. Easily absorbs, stores emotions and thoughts..

The Turquoise: is used for opening communication, creativity, serenity, spiritual bonding, upliftment;Opens the heart for giving/receiving. Symbolizes our source (spirit/sky) and spiritual love for healing, help. Like amethyst, it protects and detoxes from alcohol, poison, pollution, x-ray/sun radiation. Ancient absorber of “negativity”; protection from “evil eye”. Brings wisdom. Helps anorexia, headache, fear, etc. Throat, lungs, asthma, infections, teeth, hearing, high blood pressure, creativity block, depression. Thought I would share.
PS. I looked this info up to share because I knew they had strong meanings behind them. It will put more meaning into your stones when making them :)

@Brenda: That is REALLY interesting information you posted about the spiritual significance of opals and turquoise. I wonder if those meaningful attributes still apply to our faux versions of these little beauties?! I for one would like to think that they do :-)

@Brenda – PS1: Let me know when you are set up in your Jewelry Making Beach house. I’ll come visit you. Doctors orders! :-) :-)

@Brenda- PS2: That’s funny about the Coug-Doug typo. With all the work he does behind the scenes to make everything run so smoothly around here, maybe we are actually morphing together as one person… LOL. Both Doug and I got a chuckle out of this. Thanks for the Friday funny.

By the way… HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Mary. She is 259 years young today!!!!

@Peggy: Thanks for the 3 cheers. I LOVE FRIDAYS and all of you guys and your wonderful positive attitudes.

@All: I can’t wait to hear from more of you about how your Fopals are coming along… Or maybe we should call them Fropals (Friday Faux Opals) Hehehe.

@Brenda: OMG… I need spell check this morning *LOL* Sorry for the typo’s. I promise I’m not an idiot. “read” and “Said”. I blushing…

Cindy, I haven’t tried these yet (still need some B&B — bake and bond,) but I was wondering if you do the ice-water plunge after baking with this method? I know it aids clarity with regular translucent clay, but does it help with B&B as well? What about the heat gun method, right out of the oven? Or, did you just pull them out of the oven, let ’em cool, and then sand & buff? I guess I’m just so amazed at how clear & beautiful these opals get — truly gorgeous!

BTW, I believe that our creations carry the properties we put in them. So don’t think ugly thoughts when you’re making your fropals, or any faux stones…!

@Mary: I did the same thing with the red as the others, just didn’t push it down as firmly to the surface, so it stayed rounder.

@Phaedrakat: Yes plunging in ice water is a great idea. I always do that with all my beads so I forgot to mention that. No need for the heat gun though. Just sanding and buffing will do it!

@Brenda: LOL wish I had one of those paid workers… would come in quite handy! You don’t need to have the same colors of alcohol ink at all. You can even skip that step if you want and there is still lots of colors that show in the iridescent flakes. That is up to you.

@Cara: Could you add a drop or two of alcohol to thin out the inks a little or dilute the color in the “bright patches”?

@Cara: Forgot to say “Sorry” about your mirror. Even if you aren’t worried about the bad luck, what a mess to clean up! GOOD luck to you, and I hope your opals come out of the oven gorgeous like Cindy’s!

@Brenda: So sorry to hear that, puts my borken mirror into perspective. Take care x

Cindy,

Wish I could have watched the neurons firing when you came up with this faux opal tutorial. You’ve outdone even yourself, and that is no minor feat. Oh, these are so beautiful! Sadly for me, my big ole bag of Buffalo Snow was something besides the flakes you used, but I will hit the party supply stores tomorrow in search of a usable substitute. In the meantime though, I bought some cellophane gift wrap stuff at Hobby Lobby which will allow me to practice the technique. Are you sure I can’t borrow just a tiny piece of that creative brain of yours? As I have said before, I will give it back, I promise (well, maybe).

@ Mary: Happy Birthday to You! I hope you’re having a wonderful day.

@ Brenda: I’m keeping MIL in my prayers, along with you and your husband.

@Brenda: Maybe some Sculpey Dilutent? It works well for thinning TLS. I hope everything turns out OK.

Hello, I am new to Cindy’s tutorials and so far I am loving them. Cindy, about how long do you bake your fropals and at what temp? I know some PC artists use lower temps and longer bake times but what about you? Thank you in advance. I can’t wait for some time to call my own so I can try out your fropals. Opals are my birthstone and I think I am obsessed with them.

Brenda, I feel very impressed to tell you that your Mother-in-law and your entire family are in the best of hands. There is a beautiful song called “He’ll do it Again” (sung by Karen Wheaton) about the miracles we can claim and believe in. You said yourself that your Mother-in-law is a 20 year survivor. Remember, NOTHING is impossible for those who love and trust Him. I say to you and your Mother-in-law, BELIEVE. That is all, believe. With all of these wonderful people lifting you all up in prayer you are surrounded by angels. I would be honored to add my prayers as well. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to pray for you.

@Cindy Lietz from How to Bake Polymer Clay: Thank you so much Cindy! I can’t wait to get started making these amazing faux opals. I had never heard of plunging the baked clay into ice water to clarify the translucent clay until I discovered your site. Thank you very much for that also.

As always Cindy adds that super flair…. I have tried other faux opal techniques and was not happy with the outcome… this one looks wonderful… Thanks Cindy.

Hi All, I just got back from the hospital. MIL Is doing well. Thanks for all the kind support.

The Fopal project has been interesting project. I couldn’t sleep last night so I stayed up trying to takle the fopal. I made them but man they are tuff. You have to sand & sand & sand & sand… Mine are clear.. The B&B is super thick and stringy like honey. I found it hard to work with. I am not giving up though :)

Cindy,

On the way the opals are made do you think it would work with the rose petals? Just using translucent clay and roses, cover with the bake and bond.

Which were the different in finishes between the bake and bond and the glossy glaze? I’m just wondering which one to try in getting a better finish.

Off the subject: Have you ever tried to make flowers (like the gum paste ones) with the polymer clay? There are videos with gumpaste on youtube. There is one lady that makes orchids with polymer clay.

Michelle

@Ken H.: I’m sorry Ken I didn’t address your comment. I can’t see why you couldn’t try dipping it though you could run into problems. B&B is so thick and sticky that it may not dip well and since it is a liquid, dealing with the drips could be tricky. But you know me… you won’t know if something will work unless you test it. So why don’t you try it on one and see how it goes? Don’t forget to tell us what happens. I am curious about this!

@Michelle: Looks like I missed your comment too Michelle. Sorry about that! Phaedrakat had a good response to this. I do love to try things and although I have stuck rose petals onto beads with B&B , I haven’t tried coating them with it yet. Why don’t you try it out yourself and see how it goes? Let us know what your results are and any problems you may have encountered.

Also the Glossy Glaze is just a shiny coat to add after all the sanding and polishing was done. It can not replace the B&B as part of this technique.

@Peggy Barnes: I also have fibromyalgia and sanding cramps up my hands quickly. A few month ago I found Desiree McCrory’s website, where she had a link to a tutorial on creating a sanding tool out of a battery-operated toothbrush. The tutorial required a different head for each grit of sandpaper, which I thought was not necessary, so this is what I came up with:

Buy a cheap, battery-operated toothbrush with replaceable batteries. Use a hot-glue gun to completely fill in between the bristles in the round section that spins, so that those bristles become rigid. The round section still needs to spin, so don’t glue it to the stationary bristles.

Cut out a circle of sandpaper in each grit, the size of the circle of spinning bristles that you just filled in with hot glue. Using strips of velcro (with the hooks and loops joined together) cut circles the same size as the circles of sandpaper or use pre-cut vecro dots.

Use the hot-glue gun to glue the sandpaper circles to the back of the loop (soft) sides of the velcro. You now have a “sandwich” with the sandpaper on the top.

Hot-glue each sandwich, in ascending order by grit, onto a long strip of cardstock, leaving enough room to write the grit number above each sandwich. Use a waterproof pen, like a Sharpee.

Finally, cut one extra round of velcro and hot-glue the back of the hook piece to the round spinning area of the toothbrush bristles. Now all you have to do is choose the grit you want to sand with and separate the hook and loop of the velcro. Stick the sandpaper/velcro loop piece to the toothbrush/velcro hook piece and you’re ready to sand.

When you’re done with a grit, stick it back to its velcro hook piece that’s glued to the cardstock.

When any of the grits or pieces of velcro wear out, just glue on a new one.

I always wear a surgical glove on my left hand while I hold the toothbrush in my right.

Hi Michele, have you seen Cindy’s rose videos? Her Variegated Rose Beads are lovely. They are part of back issue Vol-013, which includes tutorials on Rubber Stamping texture, Anjou Pear Beads, as well as the Sculpted Rose Beads.

These links are to the articles about them; to get to the actual tutorials, you go to the members video library (link at top of page,) and scroll down to “Volume 013 Back Issue Package.” Underneath it in red it says “Click Here:” That will show you previews of all 4 videos in the volume. I haven’t seen this one yet, but it’s on my list. I eventually want to get them all – they’re so good!

Concerning your question about the rose petals — I see no reason why it wouldn’t work. The only thing you need to remember is the flowers need to be completely dry first. Cindy did an article about Rosary Beads using Bake and Bond. There are links to several other articles in this post that will give you lots of info on the subject. (Don’t forget to read the comments – lots of ideas, tips, & even pictures!)

She also has videos with flower inclusions. If you want to look at those, it’s Volume 003 in the library. You can check out the video previews the same way described for the Rose beads, or I think they’re on one of the posts linked to in the Rosary Bead article.

Ooops, make that “bad luck”…

Right, I finally have some time to try this! I only have liquid Fimo so I’ll try that and see how well it works. I have a feeling it might be too runny so will probably require several layers but experimenting is part of the fun!

@Phaedrakat: I am using the B&B It is super hard after baking. It seems to be harder than regular clay. I sanded mind both the wet and dry way the grit is coming off into to clay when I wet sand though. Mine are a little lumpy and my thumb has a blister from the sandpaper hitting it :( So I through them all in the tumbler. They have been going all night so I will let you know how it goes later today.

@Cindy Lietz from Drywall Sandpaper: @Phaedrakat:

Fimo gel doesn’t work very well at all. It’s far too runny so you can’t get a thick layer to cover the flakes, and once it’s in the oven it runs some more and pools over the tile around the piece. I thought that maybe I could build up successive layers to create the same effect as the B&B but after 4 layers it still looks awful and lumpy so I gave up.

Also I found that the Wild Plum ink I used leached out into the gel and stained it, so I ended up with colourless flakes and bright pink gel, not quite what I was after. :( Think I didn’t let the ink dry enough in my impatience!

I’ll be ordering some Bake & Bond later.

I did try something different with the Fimo gel though. I extruded some black clay with the small rectangular die and laid it around a metal cookie cutter to form a “frame”. Baked on a tile and removed the cutter, then filled the frame with several layer of flakes and gel, baked for 15 mins or so for each layer. Looks pretty cool so far so we’ll see what happens – I want to add a layer of trans with flakes to the back of it to make it different on the reverse, and less transparent.

@Silverleaf: Thanks for sharing your findings with the Fimo Gel. That was really interesting. I had a similar thing happen with the ink bleeding into the B&B when I let it sit for several hours before baking. I like how the turned out though. Looked like some sort of Easter Egg Opal! LOL

@Silverleaf: I noticed the red bleeding in mine as well. I mentioned before about the blister on my thumb “right” well my husband had got me some rubber coated gloves “LOL” like what he uses on his job. I never used them*hehe……. I showed him my beads and told him that the big red spot where from my thumb. I think he actually believed me. His comment was “I gave you gloves” Got to love em… :)

@Phaedrakat: Thanks, I like them I wore them today to see if anyone complemented me on them. One client did.

*giggles* No’ I got no sympathy. I told him that I was joking. We cut up all the time like that. He is so funny. He showed me those gloves again this morning. “you should really get a pair of these things” he said. I did get a cut though the dremel got me.

@Silverleaf: Thank you… The irregular shape is growing on me.

@Cindy, Our Fabulous Tutor!: Thanks, Cindy. I enjoy talking with everyone. I wouldn’t go that far – guardian angel! I’m definitely blushing…

@Phaedrakat: LOL The rock tumbler made them look white and beat them up pretty good. All I can say is Cindy your the queen of Fuax Opals!

@Brenda: I figured you have a southern accent, and were typing like you spoke! LOL, JK. No need to blush, now, it’s just spelnig, I mean spelling…As for the beach house, I understand completely! I love the “idea” of living by the beach. But the practicality of it is a bit scary – as are hurricanes!

I hope all is well with your mother-in-law. My thoughts go out to all of you!

@Peggy Barnes: Hi Peggy, I’m not familiar with the Poly-Bonder, is it just an adhesive or is it a liquid clay, too?

If it’s just an adhesive, then no, you would still need Bake & Bond, or at least a liquid clay (like TLS, Fimo Gel, or Kato Sauce.) You could use a small daub of it to put the “snow” in place, but then you’d have to use the liquid clay to cover the snow. (This is the important step she mentions, where she squeezes the B&B around & around like ganache.) She mentions the use of TLS as an alternative in the video; but above she states you do get better clarity with the Bake & Bond.

I haven’t tried tumbler sanding, as I’m still waiting to add one to my supplies. But, since Bake & Bond is still a polymer clay, you should be able to sand it the same way you do your other beads. In fact, Cindy recommends wet-sanding the opals, so using the tumbler should be okay too. Cindy did warn that this project requires a deep sanding, so you’ll probably have to add some hand-sanding, too. At least the tumbler can cut down on some of the effort.

Has anyone tried this yet, who can give Peggy more advice?

@Brenda: You did it! That is so great Brenda, I knew you could. Don’t worry about the shape, the more practice you get the rounder they will be. I love the colors on the larger one in the background. and the earrings turned out great! There is a lot of depth to your opals.

The Dremel was a good fix for you, glad you figured something out. Silverleaf is correct about the ink bleeding, if you let the ink dry longer and bake the beads quicker, there is less chance of the color seeping out into the liquid clay.

Your husband was right about the gloves… they’re good for avoiding blisters.

Thanks for sending in your photos. It will be encouraging to all of those out there who have found this technique a challenge and a bit advanced for them. Now they know with a little perseverance they too can do it!

I just saw these. Wow Brenda, Very nice.

@Freda K: Freda I had a look at your opal photo on Flickr and I have a couple of things to point out that should help a lot in the making of these faux stones. This is a bit more of an advanced technique than the others I’ve shown, so it may take a bit of practice to get yours to look like mine.

First of all, I think you are probably using TLS instead of Bake and Bond which ends up looking milkier. You can use it for this technique but it is not ideal. Also, the coating is not as thick as it should be since the surface is still very bumpy from where the flakes are sticking out. You would need to add another coat to get them to look right.

You said you sanded through all the grits, but I can still see quite ragged edges and bumps on the surface. The courser 220 and 320 grits need to used until the surface is completely smooth before moving on to the next higher grit. If you just kind of scratch at the surface for a minute or two and then move on, you won’t end up with a glassy surface like the ones in the video. They will end up bumpy, scratched and white looking.

As far as shapes go, you may find shapes other than the smooth round cabochon shape that I used, to be quite difficult to coat properly with the B&B. It won’t be able pull evenly over the sides. So try the domed cabochon shape first before moving on to harder shapes.

And lastly, that brings me to the shape itself. These particular faux opals work best when they are treated like a cabochon and added to a bail or background piece of polymer clay. They weren’t designed to be used as beads with all of the surfaces showing

If you want to make faux opal beads that are in shapes and seen from all sides, just do the first part of the tutorial and skip the B&B stage. This will create the type of opals that you have probably already seen out there, which although they do not have the same depth to them, they are still very pretty.

Hope that helps Freda. Good luck!

I did googled real opal bracelets, and found that they’re mostly cabochons set in some sort of bezel. So this project’s Faux Opals in cabochon form vs. a round bead, is more “authentic.” To use them in a bracelet, you could make a small polymer bezel/backing for each f’opal. Then put holes in both ends of each bezel, and link them together with jump rings. You can find lots of other designs by looking at jewelry made with cabs; your creativity will be sparked and the ideas will flow…

@Sue F: That is so cool Sue! I will have to try that. I only have a teeny piece of Frost left, does it work with trans? Or only Frost?

@carolyn: I’m here to pat you on the back as well. Your work is stunning! :-) To reply to more than 1 person I reply to one and copy the message and code to my computer clipboard, then cancel reply. Then I reply to next one and paste the previous message above it. It’s a little bit cumbersome but it works.

@Brenda: I am so sorry to hear that. :-( My thoughts are with you all.

@Hobokenmary: LOL that’s too funny!

@Ken H: Oooo Ken I see why you love that necklace… it is gorgeous! I was thinking you could try and make two half spheres, do the whole technique, bake and then glue them together and bake again. Would be a ton of work, but if you made a few bigger beads it might be worth it. Another option would be to stick the flakes onto a round bead with the B&B like you do but then bake it before adding the top layer. Then you could try dipping it. May get a lot of drips, but those could be sanded off. Just an idea or two to try.

@Marion K: Hi Marion! I don’t want to say too much, or give Cindy’s video secrets away in this “open forum.” Still, did you use Bake-n-bond as shown in the tute? You mentioned using certain Fimo glitter clays…was that instead of flakes? Did you limit the amounts, & did you mix w/regular translucent?

If you followed the steps in the video, then you probably need to sand more, as that’s where alot of members had difficulty (the Bake-n-bond bakes up really hard, so start with a heavy grit…or break out the Dremel.) Also, try reading comments on this page & other “opal” posts for more tips…
Good luck!

@Ken H: Wow, that is stunning, Ken. I can see the attraction…

What about wrapping the “extra stuff” around a round bead? You know in the video where Cindy takes the excess B&B and flakes and smears them on the parchment to bake for ‘other projects’? She mentions using it for inlays, but maybe you could make lots of that, and wrap it around a bead made with trans/white with flakes, already shaped into a round shape (maybe even pre-baked and attached with more B&B?) Just another idea…

@Ken H: Wow, I can’t imagine a reason for someone to say they don’t care for this necklace! The opals are brilliant! There are people who prefer other styles — this is a classic, knotted necklace with gold clasp. A simple piece in design, but anything too elaborate might detract from the glossy beauty of the gorgeous opals. I can only imagine how they look in “person.” Good luck in your endeavor to create fabulous, round “fopals”… :D

Hi all,

Here is a picture of my faux opal pendant. I’ve gotten so many compliments… thank you! The picture really doesn’t do the piece justice as compared to seeing it in person, but I thought I’d send this along anyway!

@Phaedrakat: Hi there Phaedrakat and thank you for the compliment. In the sunlight the pendant and ring is absolutely amazing. I use Patera bezels from Nunn Design. They are a bit expensive but the end result proves worth it. I also made a ring and earings in the fopal and instead of the Buffalo Snow flakes which I couldn’t find I found some iridescent decorating shred (or Easter basket grass) and cut that up instead.

@Hobokenmary: Wow looks great! Did you use red clay as a base?

I have just baked my second batch of fopals. The first lot I didn’t bake long enough but I didn’t realise until I had sanded and sanded but they were too soft and didn’t sand well at all.

This batch baked for a good long time and they feel very different – hard. I think they should sand up OK. Too tired to do it tonight so will have to wait til tomorrow. I’ll let you know how they turn out!

@Hobokenmary: I like how you have it set in a Patera. Love it!!!! I need to think outside the box more. ;)

@Freda K: Hi Freda, it’s called Studio by Sculpey Bake and Bond, but maybe there was and earlier version of it that didn’t include the “Studio” name? Does it say that it is a bakeable adhesive clay? Does it look anything like the picture in this Bake and Bond article?

Let us know if you have the right thing and if it is in different packaging. If you have something else, let us know where you got it. Plus it would be good to know what to look out for — or what not to! Good luck, Freda!

@Freda K: I’m thinking that it is probably the new packaging Freda. Polyform has streamlined their products and some of the Studio by Sculpey products including many of the tools, now just have the Sculpey branding. So you probably just have the same stuff in a new package.

@Cara: Mine was pretty thick too. The edges I cut away with scissors before I started sanding. You have to sand pretty thin to see the flakes. My hand could not take the sanding that is why I got the dremel out. I can’t wait to see your Fopals though. I visited your blog and love your work…

Can’t seem to post pics on my blog just now for some reason. Will try again later. Thanks Brenda I think I probably need to sand more. I’ll give it a try.

@Cheryl Hodges: Thanks for reminding me of that tip – I will try that to see if my bake and bond will run better.

Could you take the whole tip lid off and sort of splurge it over? I guess that would mean more sanding though so it may not help.

I hope you get some answers so you can play with your clay without pain!

Cindy, speaking of faux stones, today I posted on my blog a reconstituted amber cab that I wire wrapped. dovedesigns.blogspot[dot]com I direct attention to you again as I do in so many of my blogs. I bet you could dup this stone … yes? It would be fantastic!

@Cindy Lietz: I did manage to get thick layers and snakes of Premo Frost almost fully transparent and amber in colour by deliberately overbaking it when I was seeing how closely I could replicate an internally-ridged encasing lampworking technique in polymer clay a while ago. I’d used a higher than normal temperature for Premo (but not high enough to “burn”; this was more like caramelising it) with a much longer baking time, and was quite surprised at how clear it became. It really did look like amber glass. I don’t have the details immediately to hand but will see if I can dig them up.

@Cindy Lietz from Cracked Kato PolyClay Beads: Cindy-thank you ever so much for the compliment on my wire work. I so admire all that you do and praise from you is high praise indeed!

@carolyn: I too love the wire work. I am learning how to do the wrapping too.

Carolyn, your wire wrapped amber is absolutely magnificent! How long have you been using wire? I’ve attempted wire wrapping but my piece looked like I did it blindfolded using my toes, in other words, a complete disaster! Any suggestions?????@carolyn:

I won’t give up. But I was hoping it would be a little easier to work with. I always have these grand illusions that I will try something new and the first time I try it I will produce a Picasso — then reality hits! The good thing is that I don’t give up easily. Thanks for replying…@carolyn:

Great minds think alike!@carolyn:

@Brenda: Brenda, I’m sorry to hear that about your mother-in-law. My thoughts are with you and your family.

@Brenda: My Don is watching me from heaven … it’s real hard to feel those back pats … but I think he’d be proud of me.

Well I decided to wait until I have the B&B to try my opals but my grandkids and I had fun with other crafts, mostly making Easter cards. So still no clay work for me.

Brenda I love your opal earrings and the other beads exspecially the smaller blue one. I am so sorry to hear about your MIL news. As you said she is a fighter and she has all of us on her side. I will put all of you in my prayers and you MIL on my churches prayer chain. God bless her.

Hobockenmary I love your pendant and I bet the sun compliments it so much. You and Brenda have inspired me. There is so much talent in this lovely community of Cindy’s.

Ken I am sure you will do that necklace proud. I hope you have fun making the opals.

I just want to thank of course Cindy and Doug but everyone else here at this blog you are all so full of information and wonderful help to all. I am really proud to be a part of this group.
Uuuuuggggggs to everyone, Peggy

No need to apologize. If it wasn’t for spell check, I’d be in big trouble!!!@Peggy Barnes:

@Cheryl: Thank you! Now all I have to do is try to make some of these faux opals. I think they scare me. Have you tried them yet?

@Phaedrakat: Alcohol inks would certainly give better clarity than tinting with opaque clay. But you might not need them… when I was playing with the above process it was the controlled overbaking that turned the translucent ultra-clear. The overbaking also resulted in the translucent becoming somewhere between pale gold and pale brown depending on the brand and how much it’s overbaked, which is exactly what you want for faux amber anyway despite being something you usually try to avoid. You’d probably only need alcohol inks if the colour variations through overbaking weren’t sufficient for the effect you were trying to achieve.

HI there Cindy and everyone else.
Love these faux opals. I’ve already made just one using Crystal Aurora fusible film, but chopping it up is a pain.
Buffalo snowflakes are non-existent in the UK (even on Ebay) as are the other makes you suggested – but … I have just got hold of some ‘wedding table confetti’ made by ‘Bright Ideas Marketing Ltd’ and it looks to be perfect – irridescent, large flakes in a 90g jar.
School holidays started today (I’m a Reception teacher) and I can’t wait to begin.
Judy

Sounds to me like we could start a separate fibromyalgia club. Thank God mine is fairly well under control and has been ever since I broke my back and had to go to a spine and pain specialist. The arthritis is in check also. My son used like to make up words and he said that I had arthralgia. Believe it or not, arthralgia is now a listed medical condition. Cindy, you really do help those of us who have limitations. You teach us how to make complex pieces with the least amount of strain. Thank you so much!

Just wanted to let you all know that you can get the Arnold Grummer’s Iridescent Flakes from Donna Kato’s site: prairiecraft.com
Right now they only have mint green and icy blue available. They are on sale now for $3.50 for 5 oz. I went to the Ace site to buy Buffalo Snow but by the time I checked it out they had something called Buffalo Snow Hi-Lites but it looks like thin red tinsel. Hope this helps anyone that is still looking for Buffalo Snow.

Where are you?

@michelle: Hi Michelle, I’m from SoCal, too (Riverside.) I’m sorry, but I haven’t been able to find Bake & Bond locally, either. Not at JoAnn’s or Michael’s, anyway. We used to have another big craft store (Beverly Craft,) but it closed last year. Do you have any other large craft stores in your area? I’m curious…

@michelle: No, but Kit Kraft looks interesting! I checked the website. Hobby Lobby’s website shows no California stores. Did you hear about them coming here? That would be cool. They seem to carry more polymer clay items (or at least more clay.) They carry Kato, which Michael’s & JoAnn do not. Have you placed your order for Bake & Bond yet? I still haven’t done it. I have too much chaos going on right now. I just need to sit down and make a big order. Maybe tomorrow… :D

@michelle:
Hi Michelle, I was in Galesburg, IL yesterday taking my grandaughter home and they have a Dick Blick Art store there which has the 4 oz. bake and bond for 3.99. I also contacted Trish at polyclayplay to see if she could add it to items she sales at her site. She doesn’t offer it right now but she does have a lot of Polymerclay items she does sale so maybe she will be able to get the bake and bond also. If you have a Dick Blick art store near you try them. I also think if you google their name you can find out if they have ordering over the internet. I will let you know if I find it anywhere else. I haven’t been reading the blog everyday because of my health or busy with other items. So I did not realize people were still looking for it. I hope this information helps you and others still looking. Good Luck. Also I plan to experiment with my tumbler and faux opals this week. My hands can’t take all that sanding. My husband will help but he does so much for me now I hate to ask if something else will do the trick. Will report back if I have any luck. I am going to rty some of the grits that I got when I bought my tumbler they are for rocks so who knows what will happen. I will say a prayer and give it a go.
Uuuuuuuuugggs to all, Peggy
I forgot to mention I live in Iowa on the boder of IL so Galesburg is only 60 miles that’s my half way spot I meet my daughter at when I am getting or taking my grandchildren. If all else fails I can purchase some and mail it to you just for the actual cost no added shipping and handling fees the others pile on. Let me know if I can help anyone out with the B@B. I also got so more buffalo snow if anyone is still looking for it.

@michelle: Hi Michelle, Unless you read this in the next few minutes, this won’t help. But perhaps they’ll repeat this offer in the future! The Clay Store (.com) has free shipping, but today’s the last day. They do have Bake and Bond, and since they’re in another state, no sales tax. I hope you get this in time!

@Bonnie Blasingame: Hi Bonnie — whew! I guess I’m behind on blogging, too…as my reply 3 weeks later can attest to, LOL! I got my hands on some Bake & Bond thru mail-order (and then found it at JoAnn soon after, of course!) I notice it’s pretty available in the stores these days, so I think I’m okay with my supply level. Thanks for letting me know, though — very ‘cool’ of you! Here’s hoping you had a wonderful holiday season, and that 2011 is totally fabulous for you! ~Kat :D

anyone try to put them in the rock tumbler? or are they better looking with hand sanding?

Hey Cindy and all, I have visions of us all looking for dead bugs to include in our amber pieces…..lol. Down the road I would love to have a tute on this. It’s among my favorite gems.

This place has been a God send for me because I was trying to learn all this from books and seeing it and reading all the tips and hints has been wonderful.
Andrea

NEW PHOTOS JUST ADDED:

Hello to Everyone,

Some new Spotlight project pictures that relate to the topic of this page (Polymer Clay Faux Opal Tutorial), have just been added in another post. They were submitted by Carole-H. The link by my name will take you to where you can see them, along with a bit of a write up. Hopefully they will inspire you to achieve great things with your own polymer clay projects.

BTW: Thanks to everyone above, who took the time to comment in this thread. Your feedback, support and engaging conversations are always such a wonderful part of my day. Although I don’t get a chance to address everyone individually, please know that I do read everything. ~Cindy

@michelle: The Bake and Bond seems to be much easier to find, now. I see it whenever I go to JoAnn’s, and it’s at Michael’s now, too. (In my area, Riverside, CA) Cindy’s tute was ahead of it’s time! :D

@Tanya L: Try some rough sandpaper or the low grit drywall paper and grind down the too-thick layer of B&B. Then start sanding them smooth—maybe they look better under that rippled layer of Bake and Bond than you thought??? (The melted glitter might have made some cool effects in some of your beads…)

I’m really sorry that happened. You must have used a plastic glitter with a low melting point. Next time–metallic glitter (or the Buffalo/X-mas snow!) I hope that your book beads turn out well! Fingers crossed… ~Kat

@Tanya L: Congrat’s on your books and bookmarks! So cool when something works on your first try. I just love those little book beads; they’re such a cute invention by Cindy. As for the opals, I could send you some snow if you want. I bought a bag of Buffalo Snow last Christmas, and it will take forever to use all of it! I could put some in a snack baggie, enough so you could experiment a bit and make some opals without worrying about melting glitter! Let me know if you want me to—then you could ask Cindy to give me your address or something. I need to remember where I put it, though (I have so much clay, as well as all the “other stuff” that goes with it!) ~Kat

@Phaedrakat: Hi Kat. Got the word from Cindy- she sent you my info! (No, I’m not excited or anything..!) I’d love it if you’d email me..

OFF TOPIC >Phaedrakat: (We’ll see if my link (?) thingy worked) Thank you so much Kat! I don’t know that that’s being weird. I’m always running all kinds of spyware & adware programs to try to keep my computer clean. And I’ll be watching for your email!

@Tanya L: I’m just testing to see if this will work… hopefully this will be in bold and this will be in italics.

If it does then I’ll tell you how I did it!

@Silverleaf: Oops, even with adding the spaces the code got applied to the page, sorry!

Okay, I’ll try again. For bold, type “b” surrounded by angle brackets/arrows. They look like < and >. So < NO SPACE b NO SPACE > then the text you want in bold. Then turn off the bold by typing exactly the same but with / in front of the b.

< NO SPACE b NO SPACE > bold text < NO SPACE / NO SPACE b NO SPACE >

For italics use i instead of b.

@Silverleaf: I saved the link to that page. Yeah, it’s really difficult to explain something that’s pretty easy, especially when things disappear on you! Thank you Silverleaf! :)

@Silverleaf: Ok, my test: bold for bold, italics for italics. Fingers are crossed!

@Silverleaf: Nope, no text colours. Oh well, it was worth a try!

Woohoo! Thank you, thank you Silverleaf!

OK, Cindy.. No more playing, just in case! I know the secret now, so I’m content.. :)

@ Brenda – I want to make round faux opal earrings for my mother. She has arthritis and doesn’t wear neclaces. It’s her birthsotne and she lost the real opal her uncle had given her. I could use a metal back or a bezel but I don’t think she would like that type of earring. Your opal earrings are gorgeous. Could you help me, tell me how to go about getting a round stone?

@Linda K.: When I was on Vaca in Las Vegas a few years back I saw a strand of round opal beads in the shops at Caesars, I will try to find the link to the photos ( the store has closed it’s brick and mortar shops and went totally on line).

@Brenda: Brenda you had to really have a hard time making them. I can’t for the life of me figure out how you’d do it! And they are simply stunning!

@Phaedrakat: Its not that big of a secret.. I used alot of B&B with the Snow then chipped away the ruff stuff. I then sanded like crazy. It took a week just to make those two beads.

The link to the photo is further up in this blog, but since there are SO many comments on this one here it is again- opalsandgemsofaustralia.com/crystal-opal-bead-necklace-556mm-gold-3500-p-103.html

Just add the www in front and it should work

@Tanya L: I dug a little deeper and discovered a 10mm version of the necklace almost $12K. I wanted to do full round beads from day one when Cindy announced the Faux Opal technique, haven’t been able to devote the time to figuring out how to do it though.

@Ken – Just had a look at the site. The opals are stunning and they’re round!

All I can say is sand, sand, sand, And bring out the big tools because that B&B is harder than a rock after it bakes.

@ Ken – That’s a really good way to make faux stones, study the real thing and try and get as close as possible. your jade beads are so real looking and simply perfect. I have to try doing some jade. I have some carved tube shaped beads of bone and i would love to replicate them in jade so i have to make a mold; two halves I guess and will have to join it.

I have been trying forever to get buffalo snow flakes. My local Michaels does not have them. I have ordered on line several times only to be told that they are no longer available. Could someone please help me find them?
Thanks Kathy B

@Phaedrakat: It was so nice this morning to read all these wonderful comments from you all over the blog. Nice to have you active again. I missed that! Hope your holiday was a good one and that you are rested and refreshed for another exciting year of polymer clay. Happy New year to you my friend!

@Kathy Bloom: Ken had some good advice should you need it. I also know that Terry Morris (our favorite UV Resin Guy at epoxyjewelry.com) is looking into carrying the Buffalo Snow for you all. He asked me what the UPC code was on the bag so he could find the right one. Don’t think he has it in his shop yet but I would keep checking if you’re having trouble finding it elsewhere.

@Ken H: Thanks Ken for helping Kathy! I had kind of forgotten about the Grummer Flakes. Thanks for the reminder!

To Kathy Bloom…..I bought 3 bags of the the Buffalo Snow Flakes just before Christmas and have not had a chance to do anything with them. i would be happy to share 1 bag with you. I know how frustrating it is to see something really cool and get all hyped up about it and then can’t find it. When I get rich I am going to start a Polymer Clay store and have EVERYTHING ever needed or will need by the Polymer Clayer…..don’t get real excited….getting rich doesn’t look like it is about to fall in my lap or anything…..but still will share.

@Kathy Bloom: I am on Facebook. Looked up your name there were several…I am pretty careful whom I contact, if I am not sure…..but I am on there and I am probably the only one.

Has anyone else since this was posted used the tumbler? I bought some small white rocks to use in it. and anyone try to buff with it too?
just curious.

Boy this is a busy time of year for me! Which is obvious since I’ve been MIA here at the blog for several months now! I am building up inventory, as I am scheduled for 23 festivals this year! (including a 9-day one!) I am also excited to share that I was accepted to an actual “art show” in a nearby town!
I did, however, finally get around to trying the fopals today. I couldn’t find the exact same flakes that Cindy has but I found irridescent confetti flakes at the Factory Card Outlet. They seem to be doing what they are supposed to in the fopals so far. My problem is that mine are coming out cloudy. I am sanding like crazy, am I not baking long enough or at a high enough temp.? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

@Carrie N.: It is so great to hear from you Carrie! Sorry I didn’t get back to you sooner. I read your comment when it came in but didn’t have the chance to answer right away. Then it somehow got buried until now. Congratulations on all your success! I am very proud of you. You must really have a sense of accomplishment. I know how busy and stressful those kind of events are.

Although the faux opals are really cool, they may be too much work for you to be making for an event like this. You may want to try the flat bezel version with the UV Resin instead which is a lot easier and quicker. The technique is in the Katiedid Video (linked by my name) but you could use any type of bezel instead. They use the same flakes and Bake and Bond, but there is no sanding involved.

As far as the ones you have made, it is difficult to know the problem without seeing them. It could be temp, time, not using ice water right out of the oven and/or the sanding process that needs more work. Most Faux Opals made this way do have a cloudiness to them, so unless I can see them, I can’t help that much.

Thank you for answering Bonnie’s question so well!

@Bonnie Blasingame: I think Carrie did a great job helping you out. The only advice I would have right now is to do some Googling like she suggested and to also see if the International Polymer Clay Guild has some helpful information on the events and festivals available in your area.

Hi!
Of course i cant get the iri snowflakes over here. What i can get is iridescent foil, but i guss i cant use that as its only onesided. I ordered some flakes in a nailshop hoping that will work. Is there anything else i can use. I saw iridescent paper somewhere but i think thats too thick?
Thanks,
Marion

@Ken H: Oh yes, the Arnold Grummer flakes are gorgeous, such pretty colours! I organised an inchies swap over at polyclay.co.uk recently and one of the ladies who took part sent me three little bags of the flakes along with her swaps, in different colours, and I love them. They are nicer than the flakes I already have, that’s for sure, but I think she had to order them from the US.

@Marion K: Whereabouts are you? I have more iridescent flakes than I could ever use and I’d be happy to send you some – I couldn’t find the flakes at all in the UK but I finally ordered some from a company called Economy of Brighton.

Are you on Facebook by any chance?

@Silverleaf:
Hi Silverleaf, in in the netherlands. I thought i finally found some at Save-on-Crafts.com but-again- the aswer was: Thank you for contacting us. Unfortunately, we only ship within the United States at this time. We do not currently have plans to expand our business into the international market.

Im not at facebook, ive tried but seem to do something wrong,i get errormessages all the time when i try logging in. Changed password servral times, but it doesnt help.

If youre sure you can miss some of your supplies i would be very grateful!!
Just tell me how i can pay you -maybe with paypal?

Thanks so very much!!

Marion, why don’t you make up a list of the stuff you need, and next month, after 8/1 ahem, I’ll purchase it for you at online wholesale outlets here, then pack it all and mail it to you anyway you want? Be glad to do it for you and others who cannot get items due to isolated locations?

@Marion K: I will extend this offer to you and a few more since will be stuck inside in A/C for August and be more than glad to combine stuff and send if off from me.

You can order from as many online stores as you wish, just have them send it to me, and I will repack all and send it to you the cheapest way I can from my house. Or if you need the credit card help fronted, contact me on Facebook. I am Bluesuede Shoe there.

All I plan on doing is using the cheapest or best (whichever is your choice) system to get it there. All the major carriers stop here daily, as many have their meds bulked via them.

I will come back with a list of my fav online stores…..

@Marion K: Lovely to get the email from you! I’ll be writing back later today. To solve one mystery, due to MS and the way the heat/humidity triggers flares, I spend most of August inside in air conditioning, lol!

These faux opals are great! Should rename them faux-pals!

Of course you can try that Gina, but it can be harder to get the nice even clear layer on top, when you do it that way. But as always, whatever works best for you, is the way to do it!

What a sweetheart you are Bertha to remind everyone to pick up some Buffalo Snow while its cheap and still in the stores. Thank you so much for thinking of everyone! Merry Christmas!