Vid #132: “Mica shift! You must have been reading my mind. I’ll be so happy to get your tips on it.” ~Dawn-B
A new blog feature was added last week… thanks to Sue Werner for making the suggestion. Now you guys can count on receiving a Supplies List in advance of when the new tutorial videos are posted in the members library each Friday. This is in addition to the Intro Clip that I will continue to provide as well.
Knowing before hand what materials are required, means you will be able to get going on each project right away, without first having to race out and pick up stuff.
Thank you Sue for your “supplies list” suggestion and Cindy for your response to provide us with this information. Now Fridays will have more time for the actual creation. ~Joyce-M
LOVE LOVE LOVE the supply list! It’s going to help out a bunch! Thanks Sue and Cindy!! ~Phoenix-F
I love the list of materials, too, Cindy. This site just keeps getting better and better. Love it. Clay on, everyone!!!!!!! ~Helen-S
I agree. Thanks for the idea Sue and Cindy you always come through for us. Just like a teacher always wanting to give the best to her students. Looking forward to Friday. ~Peggy-B
The upcoming polymer clay video that will be posted this Friday November 20th, will be all about How to Master the Elusive Mica Shift Technique.
Mica shift! You must have been reading my mind. I’ve been playing around with this technique lately. I’ll be so happy to get your tips on it. ~Dawn-B
Cindy, I am excited too about the mica shift. I have read about it and tentatively tried it but it will be great to see a video demonstrating it. Thanks for all your help and for always seeming to be able to read our minds. ~Laurel-B
Supplies List: Video-018-3: Mica Shift Technique:
Polymer Clay:
- Pearl and or Metallic Clay any color. My preferred brand is Premo Sculpey because of its high mica content. To copy the colors I used in the video, you can mix the following recipes:
- Dusty Grape Pearl:
>> 1 part Blue Pearl (Premo)
>> 1 part Red Pearl (Premo)
>> 1 part Silver (Premo) - Olive Green Pearl:
>> 1 part Blue Pearl (Premo)
>> 1 part Gold Pearl (Premo) - Watermelon Pearl:
>> 1 part Red Pearl (Premo)
>> 1 part Gold (Premo)
>> 1 part Pearl (Premo)
Tools:
- Pasta Machine.
- Acrylic Roller.
- Clay Blade.
- Clay Cutters or Cookie Cutters.
- Piercing tool (optional).
- Deeply Etched, Simple Pattern, Rubber Stamp or Texture Sheet (No fine details).
Other Supplies and Materials:
- Cornstarch.
- Curved Surface (Bottle, Drinking Glass, etc.).
- Ceramic tile and piece of card stock for baking beads on.
- Sanding and Buffing Kit.
- Full knowledge of baking flat items, as well as proper sanding and buffing techniques. See my Polymer Clay Beginners Course if you need help with these basics.
I love your course, it is great, really helpful when you are starting out and you make everything look so easy. I love it and all your weekly video back issues too. Money well spent. Many thanks. ~Karen-B
The full version of the Vid-018-3 Mica Shift Tutorial will be posted in the Polymer Clay Members Library on Friday November 20th, 2009. But if you would like to see a sneak peak intro clip right now, scroll down the page a bit to the video player below.
Here’s That “Link Below” Referred To at End of the Video
>> Polymer Clay Tutorials <<
The full version of the “Mica Shift” preview video shown above, is now available for purchase at the Polymer Clay Library in the Vol-018 Back Issue Package.
Customer Feedback About Membership Value:
I have been following Cindy Lietz for a while now. She is WONDERFUL and her site is so full of fabulous teachings about polymer clay. I can not say enough about all that I have learned from Cindy, My Polymer Clay Tutor, and her tutorial videos, her course, and her daily blog posts. Yes, I do have her first course, and I am a paid member to her Video Library. The knowledge Cindy imparts on all of us there is priceless. I would suggest that anyone who is at all interested in working with polymer clay, jewelry making, or in finding fellowship with like minded people, go to her site and become part of the community, sign up for her courses, and all that Cindy has to offer. Both experienced clayers, and beginners can benefit greatly from her. I am just one of many who has learned so much from Cindy. Cindy’s videos are the best. The videos are high quality in all ways (content, picture, and sound). Cindy is such a precise and considerate teacher. She anticipates all of the questions that one might ask, and she answers them, and shows great examples as she answers them, with fun and easy to follow videos. Cindy’s daily posts are something that I look forward to every day. Don’t waste any more time… check her out, and you will be so happy you did… I certainly am!!! A Loyal BeadsandBeading Follower :) ~Cindy-E
The following topics are included in this week’s “Mica Shift Techniques” video tutorial:
- See examples of several different pendants and beads made using the mica shift technique.
- Discussion of the type of clay to use and how to get your own unique colors. As well as options for using mica powders for custom colors.
- Demonstration on how to properly prepare the clay so its ready to use.
- Learn a simpler method for doing the technique then most people teach.
- Discussion on the types of designs to use for success.
- Importance of proper baking, plus sanding and finishing to get professional results.
The full version of the “Mica Shift” preview video shown above, is now available for purchase at the Polymer Clay Library in the Vol-018 Back Issue Package.
This looks like a fascinating technique and I look forward to finding out how it’s done on Friday! Thank you Cindy I am amazed by everything you do.
Susan from Florence, Italy
Cindy, where can I buy single tiles for baking flat items? Does Home Depot have them? I’ve not worked with anything flat yet… I’ve read your blogs on the how to – I just need the tiles. The tiles should be smooth glazed ceramic, right? And what size? 12″x12″? (I use my regular oven to bake my clay.)
~Lisa
@Lisa, I bought my ceramic tiles at Lowes so I assume that Home Depot has them. Just ask at the flooring area and they will lead you right to them.
@Cindy, I’m very excited about the mica shift… can’t wait until Friday.
@Susan – welcome to the blog… all the way from Florence Italy! Thank you for letting everyone know where you are from. It is wonderful to see such an International community coming together here.
@Melinda – THANK YOU so much for being quick to address Lisa’s question. As this community grows, it is becoming more and more difficult for me to respond to everything as fast as I would like. You guys interacting directly with each other is a HUGE help. It is one reasons why so many clayers are coming here for inspiration and support.
@Lisa – if you use “home depot tiles” in the search box at the top of the page, you will find several references where the topic of purchasing ceramic tiles has been discussed before. And here’s another search tip that is very helpful once you click through to an article page. It’s a big time saver especially at article pages which have accumulated lots and lots of helpful comments. At the top of your web browser is a menu bar with an Edit option. Click on it and a drop down box will appear. In the drop down box is a secondary search feature called Find or Find on this Page. This will allow you to quickly find where specific keywords are mentioned on a page in the article and/or in the comments section. I use this feature ALL the time and it saves me a lot of time when I need to find something quickly.
I love those colours! And I love mica shift too. :)
Love the mica shift but have not perfected my technique so I look forward to the Tut for ideas.
Clay is on sale at Hobby Lobby this week and there are some Premo’s in a new looking package. The new packaging is nice and will not get mixed up with the Sculpy III.
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Oh and I have successfully used stamps with fine details, but it’s tricky and in my opinion the bolder patterns look better.
One thing I love about mica shift is that because you’re using a single colour of clay, if you don’t like the pattern you make you can just mush it up and start again – no waste if you get it wrong.
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Cool!!!!! This is one I’ve wanted to try but did not have the courage to jump into the pool so to speak. I can’t wait.
I have done this mica shift technique before and it is super neat. I am sure as all your videos I will still learn a lot more. I always get so much out of your videos the more I watch the more I learn. Cindy you sure do come close but I don’t think anyone out there will ever know everything there is to know about polymer clay. Just when you think you have seen it all another technique comes out. That is why we all love it so very much. Can’t wait once again for another Friday to come.
Thanks Cindy
My insomnia lead me to mixing up those colours very late last night, they don’t look quite the same as on my computer screen but they are really pretty.
I also used every different combination of the base colours for each recipe in 1:1 ratios, like red pearl and silver, blue pearl and pearl, etc, which came out beautiful.
And then I went mad!
I mixed every recipe from sculpey.com/sculpey401c.htm (some gorgeous ones there too).
Then I made a lot of other colours simply by the process of “That’s a lovely purple, wonder what happens if I mix it 1:1 with red? Ooh I like that one too, now I’ll mix 1:2 with pearl to get a lighter version…”
Of course I kept samples of each colour and made notes of how I made it. Perhaps I should share my pearl recipes here? Anyone interested?
I’ve done mica shift before, but everytime you have a video on something I’ve already done, I find out something new. Have to add to my supply of pearls.
Freda from Wadsworth, Ohio
Sure, Silverleaf…recipes are always great!
Just been putting together a spreadsheet to keep track of my pearl recipes – it involved maths and everything! I knew learning about ratios at school would come in useful some day. ;)
I have 32 recipes so far – 3 from Cindy on this page, 10 more from the sculpey page and 19 of my own. Guess I was busy, lol.
I’m planning on photographing the colours so I can share them. Tomorrow, when I have natural light.
As a recent convert to Premo (I used Fimo before), I just can’t believe how pretty the Premo pearls are. And they shift beautifully too.
@Silverleaf: Hi Anna, I was reading this and saw your offer of 32 pearl color recipes…what ever happened with that? I know it was a long time ago…just wondrin’… ;-)
@Phaedrakat:
Hi Kat, what happened is, I forgot! Oops! I’ll add it to my task list for this week – I think I probably have about 25 or 30 recipes of my own. I don’t want to duplicate recipes that I found elsewhere in case it looks like I’m “stealing” them to pass off as mine.
All my pearl colours have been made into magnetic chips now, so photographing them will be easy at least!
High Silverleaf where do you get your premo,I Want to try it but not sure were to get it I use fimo but have heard good reports on premo Is the polymer clay pit a good place for price and availability. I cant wait to see your picturesI have never done mica shift so i am really looking forward to it.
Hi Ritzs, I got my Premo from Penny, clayaround.com/index.php?cPath=28. Her prices are good, £1.79 for Premo, £2.05 for Kato and £1.45 for Fimo. If you spend £30 you get free delivery too, and if you let Penny know that Silverleaf sent you I’ll get 10% off my next order! (I’d recommend her anyway, discount or not).
I really do like Premo, definitely worth the extra 25p – the only thing that kind of tempts me back to Fimo is the coloured translucents. I’ll have to see if I can get the same effect with Premo Frost and alcohol inks.
Oh and mica shift is such a cool technique, you’ll love it!
Wow, maths fail there! Of course I meant 34p. Oops. :/
thank you silverleaf as soon as i get home on Sunday i will send an order and most definitely give your name i am leaving Chicago today , cant wait to get back to my workroom in beautiful wales
I have sent my first order to Penny so i hope you get the 10% of your next one thanks againsilverleaf @Ritzs:
@Silverleaf: I look forward to seeing your pictures Anna! We could do a special post for you where you can share your recipes. Let me know, I’d be happy to do it! You could try adding a pea sized amount of regular clay to the Frost to get some nice translucent colors. If they still aren’t what you want, there is no reason why you can’t use the Fimo for some things and the Premo for others.
Oh thanks Cindy, I might just do that! Do you want me to email you the recipes and you mix them up and photograph them, or should I just send you photos along with the recipes?
And I’ll certainly try mixing colours with Frost, thank you.
Probably best if you mix them up and send me the pics… otherwise it’ll just go on my big pile of stuff to get done… you know those piles that always seem to get bigger, but never smaller :-)
hi Cindy
the Mica shift tut is wonderful. I have seen and read plenty on it before but have never had it so clearly demonstrated as to make me feel I can go right to it and get it right.
i’ll be back when I have done some.
Thanks again you wonderful Poly lady
Love
XXX
E.
WOW thank you for this Cindy. I have always loved the mica shift technique, but was never good at it. you taught me something new that will help a lot, and that was the putting the clay on the rounded surface to slice. I am anxious to try the slicing that way. I am not good at the bending of the blade. Thanks again for a great, informative video. Kriss
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Awesome as usual Cindy, can’t wait to try, and. . . I have those exact texture plates!
This was certainly worth the wait! What a beautiful effect. I also like the metal-lined hole in the pendant, is there also an easy way to do this? I too, love easy techniques! Thanks Cindy.
Cindy, that was a great Mica Shift tutorial. I especially like the idea of putting the clay on a bottle to cut it. If you aren’t used to bending the blade, it can make some really deep gouges. I learned the hard way.
When I cut my beads out, especially with the pearl and metallic colors of Premo, I put a piece of Saran wrap over the clay first and it gives them a beveled edge cut. Great video, I look forward to Friday’s to see what new and wonderful things you are going to do next.
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Cindy – LOVE this week’s video – question – on the two sided pendant, is that a copper eyelet placed on each side and then baked?
Thanks,
lk
Thanks for the new added suggestions. I never had much luck bending my blade without gouging out too much in some areas. It’s a fun technique. What did you use for a final finish?
Cindy,
Thank you for another wonderful tut!! Can’t wait to try it.
Thanks Guys! Glad you liked this week’s Mica Shift tutorial lesson! That copper eyelet was added after baking. I drilled the hole just big enough for an eyelet to fit tightly, one on each side. The thickness of the pendant was just right that the eyelets almost touched in the middle. They could be filed shorter if the pendant was thinner.
As far as the finish on these pieces, there is none. Just sanded and buffed. Best finish there is if done right and definitely worth the effort! The techniques for that beautiful finish are in the Basics Course if you need to learn how (see link by my name).
I’m a bit late on the discussion about creating colours – but another thing you can do, apart from Cindy’s idea of a pea sized piece of colour added to Pearl, is to use Kato’s concentrates – these are specifically for colouring translucent, pearl and white – and are so very economical because you use such a small amount.
Fantastic Vid, can’t wait to try it. Question though, can you add regular color clay to the white pearl to get other colors or do you have to just mix between the metalics and the pearls. I just received access to the last two back issues of videos, I now have the complete set(yea!!!!!!), next stop, the 39 video lesson collection (after the Holidays though).
yes – you can add regular colours, or cocentrates to the Pearl – as long as you have plenty of clay with Mica in it.
@ Penny
Thanks for the quick answer, I thought it might be alright and you wouldn’t have to be as careful of how much you add as you do with the translucents. I have several primative designs on rubber stamps but I think they would look better with somewhat brighter colors.
sorry – dyslexia rules: concentrates!
Great tip Penny!
Ken you can add other solid colors but you have to be careful that you don’t lose the high concentration of mica by adding too much. The Kato concentrate would be better. But I find you can you can get almost any color you want by just using pearls and metallics. Congrats on having the full set of back issue tutorials! Thank you for your support! You will love the course too, when you can get it. It will fill any ‘holes’ you may have in your knowledge of polymer clay!
I would think two or three 11mm balls of color like I use with the translucent for jade shouldn’t blend away the mica content of a full package of white pearl. Like I’ve said before so many ideas so little time.
Once I purchased the subscription videos and seeing what you get with them, it really was easy to justify going back and acquiring the full set of back issues in the members library.
Cindy–I just watched the Mica Shift video. As I got into polymer clay a year ago, every time I looked for a tutorial, your site popped up. I resisted joining for a long time, who knows why. For the last few months it has been such fun to work with you! Every time I see a new video I get great new ideas from you. this week, using the right pearl clay, and using a rounded bottle for the cutting were inspirational. Thanks so much! Jacqui
Well I didn’t get to watch the video on Friday because of a migrain but I felt better so I gave it a shot and loved the video as I always do. I have done the mica before and love doing it but I do have to admit curving the blade and skimming off the top sometimes got the best of me and I have to roll my clay up and start over. One good thing no waste. So I am looking forward to trying the clay on a bottle. I do learn something new everytime I watch a video. Thank you again for adding to my collection of Cindy’s fantastic tips. Your the best and now it is back to bed for me, I am not going to chance another migrain. I have too much clay fun to look forward to today.
Have a clayfull weekend everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wonderful tut Cindy. I have struggled to shave the top of mica shifts in the past, with not so good results. How did you think to curve the clay on a bottle? Wonderful! I am off to attempt it. Thanks.
I tried the tut technique with the bottle. I found it helpful to cut the clay into 3X3 inch squares before cutting off the top layer. I found with a larger sheet it was difficult to keep track of the slicing and keeping the getting the sliced clay crumbs off the sheet.
Hi Cindy, I have NEVER been good at mica shift. I normally screw it up by slicing too deep.
Your technique made me like it a lot better. And MAN the sanding and buffing really makes the pattern pop. I am so excited. I am going to be a mica shift fool for a while. In the photo are three of my first pendants I made from this technique. Thanks for showing me and the entire group a better way to do this fascinating technique.
Hi Cindy,
So glad you did this tutorial! I’ve wanted to learn how to do this for a long time. Just a quick question, is it possible to get the shift results when applying the sheet to a round bead core for a round bead? Have you (or anyone else out there) tried it? Or is it necessary to use the sheet on flatter objects? Just curious.
Awesome Kriss, they look great!
I too got the mica shift mood and did some great ones thanks to your tutorial. I especially loved the clay on the bottle trick. It makes the slicing down so much easier. And you are totally correct in the sanding and buffing makes all the difference in the world. I had a couple that didn’t even look like the shift happened until I sanded them. Way cool technique and your tips make all the difference (as usual) :)
Ritzs – you get 10% discount on your order too – and a further discount if you recommend anyone! Silverleaf – you are a star!!
Once again, a HUGE Thanks goes out to all of you for your great comments!! So glad to see you enjoyed the technique!
Isn’t Kriss just fabulous for sending such great pictures of her beads so quickly like that. That is really awesome! Great job Kriss!
@Sue: Doing a round bead is tricky, since adding a flat sheet will show all the joins. You could try to do the technique directly on a round bead, but that would definitely take practice. If you are able to do it let me know!
This is the video that convinced me to become a member. I just love this effect and can’t wait to try it. I’m REALLY new to clay so I’ll have to start slow, but one day I hope to be proud of my creations.
Thank you for all of the tips and tutorials!
Jayne
Hi Cindy
I´m so happy to receive your polymer clay tutor. Since I live so far away,Chile, it´s very good to receive the latest things of Polymer clay.
I want to know, why you cut the upper part of tne mica designs?
So great to have you here Jayne! Thank you so much for becoming a member. Hope that you learn a lot and have a lot of fun!
Great question Rosita! The way the mica particles line up when you run them through the machine, makes them shiny on top and dark inside. When you cut off the top layer, the dark inside shows though and the shiny side that was stamped is still there, even though the surface is now flat. Looks like it is 3-D when it is not. Really cool effect! Hope that makes sense.
Cindy, Here is my first attempt at Mica Shift. I think I may have
shaved it a little to much in places. I have also sent a pic of the wire work I was doing in Chicago. The links are meant to be joined with a large jump ring but I want to put a bead in instead. My problem is getting it to hang right I am still playing with that one. I don’t know if it is of interest to anyone but I herd of how to age copper wire with an egg, maybe you already know how to do it. If not I would be more than happy to share with you all.
~Ritzs (Wales, UK)
Very nice Ritzs! It is so nice to see that you are making these techniques work for you. From the sheen in your photos, it looks like you did a great job with your sanding and finishing on the mica beads. And your copper wore work looks very fluid. I like the design.
In regards to the aging wire with an egg… this technique has been described in another comment thread (see link by my name). But feel free to add your own input. It deosn’t hurt to have the same information posted in several places. This makes it more likely that the information will be found and used by other visitors too.
Keep up the great work.
Wow Ritzs very pretty. I just started with the mica shift since watching the video. I tried to use the Fimo Effects and they don’t work like the Premo pearls do. Great technique and great tips Cindy.
Hi Cindy! I made my first attempt at mica shift a couple days ago.
I was pretty happy with the sheets I made so I got out my cutters and made some earrings! I sanded with 400, 800, 1000, and 1200 grit sandpaper and then buffed with my Dremel. I added a thin layer of Studio by Sculpey Glaze to really make the colors pop. I hope you like them! Carrie.
@chitzngigglz – thanks for your input. I like Premo best to :-)
@Carrie – awesome shift! Great job!
Cindy – Here are a photos of my mica shift pendants, finally.
The oval one is wrapped in copper foil (the kind you use for stained glass work) and has copper twisted jump beads hanging from it.
The heart one is accented by my “fauz Lapis” beads made with polymer clay.
I think the mica shift came out awesome in these two. I had another one that was a flop though. LOL
Laurel
Well I found a spare moment to get your mica shift pics posted. Thanks so much for sending them in. Your Faux Lapis beads go nicely with the blue clay you used for your shift.
Wow, nice work everyone. I really love that technique. :)
On your main mica shift pendant you have some type of ring thing at the top that your jump ring goes through. Is this some kind of metal ring or is it also made from clay. If it is clay can you tell us how you did it? If it is metal please explain that. I really like the finished look of this rather than the jump ring going through just a hole in the pendant. Thanks for your help on this. If I missed it somewhere, please let me know that also. You are great and so responsive. There is tons of stuff on the web about polymer clay but it is so good to have just this one place to find the answers and very clear instructions. Thanks!
Thanks Silverleaf and Caroyln!
That is metal that you are referring to in the large pendant. It is actually an eyelet used for scrapbooking. I used two of them. One pushed in from the front and one from the back to make a nice clean (and strong) metal hole going through the pendant. On a thinner pendant you can just use one from the front.
I did this technique in the Butterfly Pendant Tutorial awhile back. The link by my name will take you there.
NEW PHOTOS ADDED:
Hello to Everyone,
Some new Spotlight project pictures that relate to the topic of this page (Mica shift Technique), have just been added in another post. They were submitted by Ritzs. 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.
Hi there, Cindy
Jewellery manufacture and design is a personal passion on many levels, and I came across your website during the course of my research. I’ve been experimenting with dichroic glass jewellery in the form of pendants and beads, and whilst looking for tips and techniques I found you.
This mica shift technique with the polymer clay really gives a great visual effect, one that can not always be consistently replicated with the real glass. Once you fire up the kiln you never quite know what exactly is going to come out once the cycle is completed.
I think it is time to get my hands dirty and to start playing around with your techniques a bit too. There is definitely great scope to expand my hobby in this manner.
Keep up the good work.
Annette Raymond
South Africa
@Annette R: Welcome, Annette! I think you’re going to enjoy getting your hands dirty with clay. It looks like you’ve been looking around — did you try the search box? There’s one at the top of every page. If you have trouble finding anything here, let us know — we’ll be glad to help (any of us!) This is a friendly group, so feel free to jump right in! Glad to have another member from S. Africa — this is quite the international community! I’m from Riverside, CA, USA, BTW. :D ~Kat
Carolyn!
I must simply rave about my treat. I decided to do it in the original tut. It is now midmorning, and cluckhead me is sitting in khaki capri’s, a “wife beater” and the most gorgeous jewelry, which looks fabulous. Big grin on my face too, I can feel it. LOL!
I always try to wear some spiritual necklace, a habit from childhood. This necklace with the silver chain link combined with the silver gromments and that spiral mica shift pattern (works either way…), and the cross hanging below, is just perfect. The earrings are like air in my ears, compared to how hefty they look. And also beautiful.
I cannot thank you enough for creating this work. I think I am making a long dress in the olive khaki, but to add a special touch, I’m going to use purple ribbon peek out trim on all the seams. You are an extremely talented lady and I wish you all the best.
Jocelyn
@Jocelyn: I’m trying to picture you like this—you look pretty darn happy!
Thanks, Kat. A look that only works when it’s steaming hot, LOL! I still use my dairy farm grandmother’s treat for all us working cousins. First thing in the morning it was someones job to iron spanking white T shirts, fold them, and put them in a paper bag in the fridge or freezer. At 7 pm, those who worked “the best” that day, got to wear the popsicle. Bliss on that porch surrounded by family. And bowls of homemade coffee ice cream.
Carolyn, I wonder if I could ask that you post a pic or the link to the pic so that folks can oogle that beautiful set of jewelry I am wearing.
@Jocelyn: Beat you to it … same thought … posted on Cindy’s Facebook Gallery Page. I’m so glad you are loving it!
I truly am totally happy and satisfied with this piece, I like the weight and feel of it, and the burnished finish. Almost looks like wood, the knotting.
Love this video, awesome technique and very cool effect! This question is not about Mica but about the pendant in this video. What is the finding called which is used on the purple pendant where the jump ring goes through? Thanks :)
@Rada Francis: Rada, I can’t be sure exactly what Cindy used here, but my guess is that it’s a copper grommet. You can usually find these in the scrapbooking supplies…and they come in various finishes.
@Rada Francis: Linda is correct, that is a copper grommet used for scrapbooking!
Cindy, I was just wondering where you managed to get the oval shaped cutter you use in your video on mica-shift. I cannot find one. I thought I had but it turns out it is an eclipse.
Thanks
@Sandra J: I think I got that oval cutter at Michaels. It could have been in the baking section though, with the Fondant cutters. But since you are in Australia, I’m not sure if this helps you that much. As far as I know, the Michaels Store chain has not gone down under… not yet anyway.
nope they don’t, more’s the pity. I’m from New Zealand by the way, which is to the east of Australia and down a bit. we call Aussie NZ’s west island, hehe. Loved the Aurora Borealis Technique. Am going to try that one out very soon.
OH Boy, this is so great,to see the results of reqular peoples attempt at Mica Shift, it makes me feel I could get good at this too. Cindy I do love your TUTs. After trying the MICa shift the way you showed us I was jumping up and down with excitement. I’ve had books on polyer clay for years and after doing all the softening of the clay,then trying the techniques I’d feel so disappointed in the results, that I’d wonder if I’d ever see my dreams of prefecting the medium come true. I’d hear my critic say,you’ll never get it, or this is too difficult to understand. Well Cindy watching and following your video have given me such confidence, I’d hug you if I could. so Here is a virtual hug. thanks thanks thanks.
@stephanie jordan: Congratulations, Stephanie! I loved reading your comment; I agree Cindy really makes techniques super easy to follow in her tutes. I’m a fan — watching her videos makes all the difference, even for us ‘regular people’ ;D ! ~Kat
I’m learning the mica shift technique and I’d like to know if you’d do a tutorial about how to use rivets for cold connections in polymer clay. Your Mica Shift video shows a lovely two sided pendant with a riveted hole and It gives a very finished look to the piece. I’d like to learn how to do the same thing. Thanks, Anne
@Anne R: Hi, Anne R – Cindy did not use a rivet … it is an eyelet … like you can find in scrapbooking sections of craft stores. She explains it a bit more above. Do a ‘find’ on this page and key in eyelet and you’ll see more. I tried it and it works great!
@Anne R: Hi Anne, I found Cindy’s comment about the eyelets, in case you didn’t feel like looking, LOL! The eyelets really DO add a lovely finished look to clay pieces.
Just in case you were looking for more, though, I wanted to mention that Cindy showed off some rivets in her Faux Metal Mokume Gane video.
There were a lot of requests for a tutorial on that topic afterwards, so perhaps Cindy will bless us with a riveting or cold connection tute some time in the future!
@carolyn: Good to see your comment here, Carolyn! Hope that you are feeling much better these days and well enough to do lots of fun stuff~
Played today, and had a few episodes of both deep and minimal gouging. Stupid hands, lol.
Found that if I slowly stopped in place, backed out the blade, and then gently tapped or rolled that area a little, I could go back to it afer resting, slice again, and have no evidence of the original mistake.
Woohooo!
Woohooo is right hon
What a cool tip !!!
Thanks, Sherry