Vid #111: Transforming the Modified Skinner Blend Plug into a Beautiful Clay Rose:
Today’s photo shows the polymer clay cane that was used to make the Sculpted Rose Beads introduced in Part 1 of this mini tutorial series. You can click on the link to see a preview video clip of those clay roses if you like.
For all paid library members who have already watched the full version of Part 1, hopefully you have your translucent colors all mixed up and blended into variegated polymer clay canes.
Because in Part 2, you’ll learn how to create the actual sculpted roses beads. The full version of the Part 2 video will get posted in the members library on Friday June 19th, 2009.
By the way, how did you like the modified Skinner Blend Plug technique? It’s a super quick and easy way to create realistic looking flower petals. I’ve not seen anyone demonstrate this before, so it was especially fun to share it with all of you.
Here’s just a few of the comments that have come in so far…
Dear Cindy, Thankyou-thankyou-thankyou!!!! I really needed to see the whole process because I have read instructions on how to make flowers and they were as clear as mud. Your instructions however are so clear and the colour blending is so logical and practical. I can see myself making all sorts of flowers using this technique. I can’t wait for next week. Your online classes are so fantastic and I look forward to each one! Thanking you again. Your grateful student. ~Cara
OHHHHHHH!!!!! You’ve been batting a thousand recently. WOW! Again I can’t wait until Friday and then to have to wait until the 19th. I’m sure glad I watch these videos initially during lunch at work where I can’t just drop everything and start to play in clay. I could see these being made larger into sculptures like capodimonte (not sure if it’s one word) and even other flowers. ~Ken
Another idea for those gorgeous roses is to make a dresser set… roses attached to combs, hair and make up brushes, hand mirrors, kleenex boxes, attached to the sides of those mirrored perfume trays, and on the lids and on centered on bottle neck chain labels… would be “to die for!” All custom done to match your own bedroom or bathroom colors. Betcha they’d be hot sellers, too. ~Jocelyn
It’s wonderful to see how everyone’s ideas keep building on each other! There are so many exciting design possibilities for this Variegated Sculpted Rose Bead project. To view an introductory clip for Part 2 of the mini series, click here: Sneak Peak (or scroll down the page to the video player posted below).
Information about how to get signed up at the members library, is posted further down on the page (under the video player). I hope you can join me and the many other students who have already enrolled. You won’t be disappointed.
Here’s That “Link Below” Referred To at End of the Video
>> Polymer Clay Tutorials <<
The full version of the “Rose Bead” preview video shown above, is available for purchase at my Polymer Clay Bead Making Videos Library in the Volume-013 Back Issue Package.
For a bullet list of topics covered in both the Part 1 and Part 2 segments of this mini-series, click here: Sculpted Rose Beads
Here in Philadelphia the Hydrenga(sp) are just starting to bloom, I cut a few off to bring inside for my mother and I was looking at the flower and thinking how much this technique could be used to make these blooms, with a little bit of armature to hold the many little flowers that make up one of these blooms (like clay covered wire). I can’t wait till Friday.
Question: will the bendable clay mix with the other brands and still retain some of it’s flexability? (thinking about flower stems in a sculpture).
I was very impressed by the modified skinner roll/plug. Another great new technique by Cindy. It reminds me of a rainbow. We have to come up with a name for this wonderful technique. Cindy, I know you are swamped but hope you can clone yourself and write an article about these techniques for Polymer Cafe.
Hi Cindy. First of all I would like too thank you for your great homepage. I am an absolut amateur with polymerclay, but with your help I’m getting better and better.
I have 1 question: Why can’t I see part 2 of the variegated rose bead?? Have a nice day, and excuse me for my english.
Helle from Denmark
@Ken – Adapting the rose bead technique for making hydrangea blossoms is a great idea!
@ Anna – Thanks for your comment about the modified skinner roll/plug. Let me know if you have any good name suggestions. And if anyone has seen this technique demonstrated elsewhere, please speak up. For good reasons, PolymerCafe focuses on publishing only original content… it’s one reason why they are such a great resource. I searched and was not able to find any references to other tutorials that demonstrate my roll and fold method. But there is always a chance that I may have missed a reference somewhere. Looking forward to continued feedback on this. I know there are members here that have been active in the polymer clay industry for longer that I have.
@Helle – Welcome to the Library [Velkommen til biblioteket]! It’s great to have you join the community all the way from Denmark. My husband has had the opportunity to go to Copenhagen a couple of times and says it’s very nice. I made him promise to take me with him next time :) — Anyway in regards to your question about Part 2 of the Variegated Rose Bead Video… it will be available in the library in just a couple of days on Friday. Every week on Friday is when the new videos are released. I’m so glad to here that your polymer clay skills are improving as a result of watching the videos.
Cindy what a nice technique much easier than mine I should add… Thank you so much for doing this video for us I really enjoyed and learned a great deal from it…
One thing I wanted to know is u mentioned to drop beads in ice cold water for translucent beads, do you need to wait till the beads are cool or put them in ice cold water right outta oven? And the other thing I wanted to know is do you bake it for an hour @ 275?
Thanks so much again for doing this video I am trying to make my rose with the cane but I need a lotta practice making the cane I think lol…
Hugs, Tania
**PHOTOS ADDED: The following link will take you to a Spotlight Article featuring some pictures of Tania’s beautiful work: Rose Bead Jewelry
Thank you Cindy, I loved this tutorial! I want to make a large rose, kinda like the Capodimonte flower in Italy. They would make great gifts and your roses were awesome! If possible, down the road, could you show us how to do the leaves that could surround the flower at the base. Thank you again, you are awesome!
@Tannumoni: I bake at 265F – 275F for an hour. (My oven fluctuates a bit so I tend to stay on the lower end at 265F. I would love to see your roses when they are done. Bet they will be beautiful!
@Theresa: That’s a good idea. I’ll think about how I can do that. Thanks for your comment!
Another excellent tutorial Cindy! Im so glad you made this one. Roses are my most favorite flower because my Grampa grew them and I remember him showing me how to prune them and care for them. He was so proud of them. Every time I see one I think of him, and I always plant roses wherever I live. So now I can make lots of them and share them with everyone I know. Even in the endless winters we get here, when I miss my flowers being gone so long! And I agree with Ken. I think this method could be adapted to several flowers quite easily. I thought of Peonies right away. (which were my gramma’s favorites) But also maybe Dahlia’s or Magnolia’s. And if you’re really adventurous perhaps Zinnia’s or Marigolds. Certainly there are many flowers this could be applied to. Thank you very much for such a useful and versatile tutorial. XOXO Jamie
Hi Cindy,
I cannot wait to make some roses! I have a quick question regarding something you said about translucent clay. You mentioned putting it in ice water? Is that to be done after you bake the rose in cornstarch?
Thanks again for all your wonderful advice Cindy!
@Tannumoni: Sorry I just realized I didn’t answer your ice water question. Just pop them into the ice water, straight out of the oven. It doesn’t make a huge difference but it does help to clarify the translucent some.
@Jamie: Thanks Jamie! This technique would be great done as other flowers as you suggested! You could use different colored and shaped canes, as well as different types of centers. Will have to play with those a bit and see what I can come up with. If you happen to try some of these different flowers, do send pics. I’d love to see them! :-)
@Mary: Sorry I didn’t clarify that better in the video, Tannumoni asked that too. Yes, toss them into ice water after they have been baked in the cornstarch. It helps to clear up the translucent a bit!
How about “Lietz modified blended plug?”
@Jocelyn – thanks for getting the name game going :)
@Everyone – Have a look at this photo of the traditional red roses that Tania Kathuria just made. Absolutely gorgeous!
Thanks so much Cindy for your kind remarks…
I am still learning and I must say learning a great deal from you:) Thanks so much for answering those questions about the baking instructions and cold water treatment…
Here’s another picture of some peach rose jewelry I made. Hugs, Tania
**MORE PHOTOS ADDED: The following link will take you to a Spotlight Article featuring additional pictures of Tania’s beautiful work: Rose Bead Jewelry
All of these roses are absolutely gorgeous. Those suede finish clays make me want to try blue suede roses to match my high heel shoes, LOL!
Anyone try a beach rose yet? Along the Atlantic coastline, the shore is lined for miles with these beauties almost forming hedgerows before access to the beach.
The pink to deep rose colored flowers, offset by that beautiful orangey-gold center would be perfect done with the Lietz Teardrop Blend and the Lietz Modified Blended Plug methods. Sometimes the flowers are the size of your hand, and the smell from potpourri made from the petals, centers, and rose hips bring you back to the memory of your last walk on the sand.
Heading for the Jersey shore for 10 days over the 4th of July weekend. Plan on taking many pics and gathering up a supply to add to the polymer clay, so that hopefully, I get the smell as well as the “look” of my favorite simple rose.
Two questions. How should I do the center? How can you make a balanced hole sideways in the flower (instead of the shown up and down hole) so that you can string them side by side? For reference, I found the perfect picture of them at the following site: hannonartworks.com/fineart.htm.
Appreciate hearing your thoughts, any and all.
Can’t thank you enough cindy… hugs
I love all these roses. They are beautiful And Tania, I love the traditional beautiful red roses you did.
Cindy, I guess you could use all the same technique but keep the petals in closer for buds or just blooming buds. I wish had known how to do these before I bought a bunch of little calla lilies as I could have used this and only did one wrap of one petal for a calla lilly.
Thanks Laurel :)
@Jocelyn: The beach roses sound fabulous! Can’t wait to see them! I’m not sure what the centers of them look like so I find it difficult to advise. If it is a sculptural thing like a wild rose, you may have to ‘build’ a center first, bake it, then put the petals around it. As far as drilling a hole through the side you can do that by carefully sliding the rose off the pin, piercing it and then trimming the back flat. May have to do a post on that since others have asked as well.
@Tania: You’re welcome! You’re a talented girl!
@Laurel: You can definitely create a more bud shaped rose, by clustering the petals closer together and using fewer petals. Calla Lilies can be made in a similar fashion. Too bad you bought them already. Use those up fast and then make your own from now on. :-)
@ Cindy
Thanks, hun! Check this site for a beautiful pic of the beach rose. hannonartworks.com/fineart.htm
Anyone give me some ideas on how to recreate the center of the rose?
Appreciate any and all advice.
Thanks!
You could make a skinner blend cane for the center in yellows and cut a slice to press into the flower once you remove it from the pin.(Unless you want the hole to run through it. Otherwise you could run the pin through the base sideways before you bake it.) Then add little balls of clay to the outer edges of the center and use a needle tool to texture them a bit to get the ruffled look in the picture. Not sure if you should bake the flower first and then add the center so you dont muss your petals while you work on the middle. Dont know which would be easier. Maybe try both and let us know? XOXO Jamie
@ Jamie
Thank you very much, that is just the type of feedback I was looking for!
Thank you too Jocelyn, for the idea. I might try doing them myself in a white shade. They look a lot like the wild roses I have growing on a trellis in my front yard. XOXO Jamie
Jocelyn: I might use little itty bitty sead beads to texture around the middle edge. That might look cool. I love wild roses too. If you and Jamie make some, let us see how they turn out.
Ooooo great ideas guys! Do send pics when you end up making them!
**PHOTOS ADDED: Some project pictures have just been added to a Spotlight Feature showcasing Tania, a member who is very much appreciated here at this supportive polymer clay community. Click on the “Rose Bead Jewelry” link by my name above to have a look.
Laurel, thanks so for the suggestion. Think the seed beads must be part of the centers for these beach roses to really make them pop. Being a former beader, I have tons of different sizes, finishes, and colors to choose from, and thanks to Cindy’s videos, I now can figure out how to keep them in place after baking.
Question for you all. These roses are display objects, and as all things do, get dusty. How do you folks clean your polymer clay art roses?
Do you just dunk and swish them in water and let them dry, or do you use a duster brush, or do you use a cleaning compound or liquid?
Would appreciate any input on this and thanks in advance.
What about canned air for cleaning, the kind used for electronics?
I use a soft wet paintbrush to clean my delicate polymer clay pieces and then I let them air dry. Dish soap diluted in warm water works well for most situations, and the brush gets into all the little nooks and crannies. A quick rinse with the same brush using clear water is sufficient to remove the soap. For less delicate pieces the same solution applies, except I use a soft cloth. XOXO Jamie
That’s a good idea Jamie to use the paintbrush for cleaning the flowers. I use soap and water on my pieces too. Since the clay can be sanded in water, they can be washed without harm.
**PHOTOS ADDED: Some project pictures have just been added to a Spotlight Feature showcasing Melinda Herron, a member who is very much appreciated here at this supportive polymer clay community. Click on the “Polymer Clay Sculpted Rose” link by my name above to have a look.
Just have to say that I made my most successful roses, after years of making them in sugar paste, after watching your rose tutorials. And my nephew loved the resulting earrings I made for him to give to his girlfriend for their first anniversary – young love, eh?
That is so cool Judy! Thank you so much for sharing that story. The passion for polymer clay can go in so many creative different directions :-)
Here are my first three varigated roses. The color is a little too pinky pink for my liking but my daughter will adore these while I work on easing up the colors… I’ve just been down and out for so long now that I was super excited to get going immediately and didn’t want to spend the time to blend some nicer colors. These are so easy and they come out so beautiful! I can definitely see these going on barrettes, earrings, necklaces etc. Love it!
This is the second batch of variegated roses I made. Interestingly they’re from the exact same cane and colors as the first batch. The lovely sort of creamy salmon color at the tips is the result of Kato translucent clay being baked longer than previously and at a slightly higher (but still in recommended range) temp. I understand that the packaging suggests only 10 minutes on some of the colors, and 10-30 for others but I can’t bear to bake anything for less than an hour or so. I baked these the same way as the other batch buried in corn starch, but I left them in longer than an hour and also put them at a higher temperature, 320 instead of 300 because I was concerned about my temperature dipping. Earlier today I was making a heart for my daughter with the translucent Kato and baked it for about 45 minutes at 300, tented as usual, and the lovely white looking raw translucent clay turned a brownish yellow. I might consider trying to bake kato translucent for the actual recommended time, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to stick to that. I am really loving the consistency and feel of the kato clay though. I got so fed up with the Premo black I have been getting where there are big pockets of oil in the large blocks and no matter how much I leach the clay it is still so sticky that I can’t touch it at all without leaving fingerprints or put it through the pasta machine without getting a million bubbles. I literally saturated several anyways of paper getting to get one piece more in line with the other colors’ consistency. Argh!
Since opting to try the kato I also discovered it has one interesting quality I hadn’t seen mentioned by anyone else before that can be a good thing or a bad thing. It is not flexible like premo once baked. Obviously that can be bad for a lot of situations, but I’m kind of excited to try it for the cuff bracelets I make with a clay base because the Premo ones warm up on my wrist and then get too loose and want to slip off.
So anyway, experimenting with Kato has been interesting today and even though I probably will not like the discoloration of the translucent clay on almost anything else it made those too pinky pink roses absolutely beautiful to me. :)
Thanks so much Katy for sending us these pics! Your roses have turned out really pretty. As you may know I have worked much with Kato because the smell bothers me so much, so I can’t really offer any input there myself. As far as the Black Premo goes, it sounds like you got a weird batch. I have never run into that kind of issue with oil pockets in the Black clay… though from time to time I have experienced inconsistencies between batches.
One year my Translucent was way softer than all my other colors and the White was way harder. But then another year the White was pretty soft. I have had batches of Black that were softer but never with pockets of oil in it. After all these years of using Premo, I do find that the overall the clay is fairly consistent and there doesn’t seem to be an actual correlation between the color and it’s softness or hardness. It is more of a batch to batch or how fresh or old the actual block is that you end up with. Just because you order them at the same time, it doesn’t mean it will be the same age.
This seems to be an issue across the board with all the polymer clay brands. If I remember correctly, there was some complaints awhile back about one of the Kato colors (Magenta maybe) that was way too soft. I think it is a tricky balance sometimes. If a clay sits around too long it will get too hard, so the companies make the clay softer to avoid getting the complaints. Then the people who get the fresh stuff complain that it is too soft.
I have found that my clay that is about a year old is just perfect for my needs. Not too soft or too hard. But also like I mentioned above, it can be a little inconsistent from batch to batch as well, so it is not an exact Science.
The good thing is we are able to adjust the consistency by either leaching it or adding oil. So in the end it all works out! :)