Video #245: “I am in the middle of a very important project and am stumped as to how to go about making clover flowers.” ~Karon-C
Recently, a request came in from a fairly new member, desperately needing some design advice for a very special project. She has been commissioned to come up with an authentic looking, polymer clay version of the Red Clover, Vermont’s beautiful little State Flower.
Cindy, I am in the middle of a very important project… well for me anyway, and am stumped as to how to go about this. I need to figure out how to make a clover flower… you know the pretty little round flowers???? Cannot figure this out and can think of no way around making this. Any ideas would surely be appreciated… not sure why I am undertaking this – must have been out of my mind when I said, “I think I can do that.” So of course I thought of you and our group here to try to get this little flower done. For such a pretty little flower to cause so much consternation in my life! Oh yes, another minor detail… it must be a sculpted flower, round not flat. Thanks so much. ~Karonkay-C
Now I can’t always jump to every request, but I happen to just LOVE clovers… all wild flowers actually… as you probably have already gathered from my many color recipes based on wild flowers… and from the different flower beads I have teaching lately.
Ever since I was a child, I used to pull the tiny petals from the clover blossom, and suck on them to taste the sweet nectar inside. I really was a bit of a flower child.
Any way, when Karon asked for a clover, my brain couldn’t help but start buzzing. What a cool challenge! All those tiny lily-like petals. The translucency of the blossoms and the colored tips. I knew this could be done, with a little thought and ingenuity.
Karon’s Clover request also got Monique to put on her thinking cap. She even started trying out some different clover flower ideas on her own, which was incredibly supportive of her. That is what I love about this community, thank you Monique!
Karonkay, I zoomed in on a high resolution pic at the USDA website and was amazed at how intricate this “humble” little flower really is. The numerous (hundreds?) of individual petals all radiating out from the center, each petal looking like a miniature lily (like Cindy showed in Vid-016-1 Calla Lily Beads). I was wondering if you had tried using the extruder cane with the skinny “spaghetti” end. What about a felting needle? It has all those little needles, maybe you could use it to brush out your strands. You made me curious yesterday so I made a couple of attempts. I found the Premo too soft (or I don’t have a light enough touch) but I found the Kato clay more suited to something that delicate. Really found mine looked more like a Chrysanthemum with denser blossoms. I don’t have the felting needle so I put a couple of twin needles together and poked all over a small ball of clay then turned the center inside out and put it on the end of a pen to reshape it. Anyway, you may have tried all these things already. In any case, thanks for making me take a closer look at one of nature’s tiny works of art. They grow wild everywhere here in Eastern Canada and are considered weeds! Hope you will let us see how your project turns out. ~Monique-U
Well I promised Karon that I’d put a tutorial together, showing my polymer clay version of the Red Clover Flower… and here it is. Coming up tomorrow (Friday, March 2, 2012) in the Vol-046-1 members video at the Polymer Clay Tutor Library, I will be teaching all of you how to make some pretty little clover flower beads, which can be used for jewelry and many other creative projects.
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Please Note: A general prerequisite for all of my weekly tutorials is that you have a good understanding of the polymer clay basics, including: conditioning clay, using a pasta machine, clay blade and other simple tools, making Skinner Blends or Teardrop Blends, baking clay, as well as sanding and finishing. If you need help in these areas, my Polymer Clay Beginners Course will get you up to speed quickly. There is also plenty of free information on this blog. Use the search box at the top of the page to find articles on specific topics.
Supplies & Tools: Video-046-1 Red Clover Flower Beads:
- 5001 White Premo Sculpey
Polymer Clay.
- 5101 Pearl Premo Sculpey Accents
Polymer Clay.
- 5527 White Translucent (Frost) Premo Sculpey Accents
Polymer Clay.
- Alcohol Inks. I used:
– Ranger Adirondack Watermelon
– Ranger Adirondack Wild Plum
– Ranger Adirondack Citrus
– Ranger Adirondack Sail Boat Blue
- Round tapered tool like a knitting needle or the blue small modeling stick from the Wilton Gum Paste Flower Tool Set
. I will be using this set in future tutorials so you may want to pick it up some time. Besides it is a great general sculpting set that works wonderfully with polymer clay.
- Rubbing Alcohol.
- Paper towels.
- Clay Blade
.
- Small art brush.
- Plastic Palette or small containers for mixing alcohol ink.
- Non-porous work surface such as the Sculpey Work’N Bake Clay Mat
- Amaco Bead Baking Rack
.
By the way, if you did not already know, those “shopping” links I provided above for the various tools and supplies, are “affiliate” links. That means companies like Amazon pay me a small commission if you click on the links and end up making a purchase at their site. It’s not a lot, but every bit helps in keeping the cost of my tutorials so low… at only $3.32 per month ;-)
The full version of the Vol-046-1 Red Clover Flowers video will be posted in the Polymer Clay Members Library on Friday March 2, 2012.
The full version of the “Clover Flowers” preview video shown above, is now available for purchase at the Polymer Clay Library in the Vol-046 Back Issue Package.
Customer Feedback About Membership Value:
Hi everyone. When I first subscribed, back at the end of issue 36, I was disappointed in the initial offerings (perhaps you’ll remember our emails, Cindy?). I wanted to give PC Tutor a fair shot, though, so decided to give it one quarter to see what happened. Well, I am happy to say I couldn’t have been more wrong. I’m having a great time with PC Tutor. Cindy, I have become a bona fide admirer of yours. I love the videos. They are filled with tips and tricks and I love the happy manner in which they are delivered. I’m also very happy with the color recipes. Frankly, the only thing missing is… I want more! I see myself being a follower of PC Tutor for a long time to come, hooray. ~Angela-M
Hi Cindy, I got your beginners course 2 days ago, finished it last night and became a member today. I signed up for the membership plus the 3 month backdate offer. I want to tell you that you have helped me more in the last 3 days than all the reading I’ve been doing for the last 3 months. Thanks Cindy. ~Linda-F
In this busy world it is sometimes easy to forget to say THANK YOU. So I am just saying a BIG THANK YOU to Cindy, Doug, and kids. I love all the colour palettes, the photography, videos and mind blowing information that you so generously all give. My membership is one of the best value things I have ever invested in. With all the troubles in this world, both man-made and the natural disasters, it is great (for a few hours) to slip into “Cindy’s World” where I can lose myself in a kalidascope of colours, learn fab. new ways to create mini works of art, or just read comments, tips and tricks from other members. So a BIG THANK YOU to everyone who contributes to this wonderful site. ~Elaine-F
The following topics are included in this week’s Polymer Clay Tutor Library, Red Clover Flower Beads video tutorial:
- See examples of clover flower beads in a couple of color ways and made into beautiful dangling earrings.
- Find out how simple it is to create these realistic looking flower beads, by just following along to the step by step instructional video.
- Learn the reasons why you may just want to look in the baking aisle next time you’re looking for polymer clay tools and supplies.
- Plus, with some creativity and ingenuity, there are many ways to come up with other unique designs of your own.
The full version of the “Clover Flowers” preview video shown above, is now available for purchase at the Polymer Clay Library in the Vol-046 Back Issue Package.
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All I can say is wow! I love clovers, I use to make crowns out of them when I was little. Thank you Cindy, these flowers bring back wonderful childhood memories.
Ok, you did it this time! What an amazing little flower!! When I first saw the photo, I thought: “Why didn’t she use a photo of the actual flower bead like she always does?” Then, I realized, IT was the ACTUAL photo of the BEAD!! Now, I’m a lost for words. (I know some of you may find that hard to believe :) LOL!
You did it! Karon is going to flip out! Friday please come FAST!! How long did it take you to figure this one out? Now, I know all things are possible. :-)
I thought the same thing about looking like the real flower! This looks like it will really be fun to do. Can’t wait.
I’ve never heard of red clover but I have white. Always made crowns out of those. These are beautiful and I love those earrings. Thursdays are getting really hard after watching these because then I have to wait all day till Friday LOL.
Oh My, loving the earrings SO much!!
Can’t wait to see how you did this, it’s Amazing, it’s Brilliant, just freaking out right now ;D
Cool Cool Cool and perfect timing Spring has arrived in western NC and I am SO happy that you are going to teach us how to make these! YIPPY
I’m going to be up early to watch the tutorial because I have to leave for a music workshop for the day and Saturday. I’m so excited!!! The flower bead looks so real! Thank you Cindy for an awesome tutorial.
Everybody is excited !!! What a response. I never imagined you could make a Clover flower out of PC. But, Cindy, you did it !! Doesn’t that make you feel wonderful. To answer a fans request. You are the VERY BEST !!!!!!!! Can’t wait til tomorrow,tomorrow,tomorrow…………..; )))
Soooooo awesome. I am so excited to learn how to make this lovely little wildflower. I just knew you could help me. I do so appreciate your dropping me into your ever so busy schedule and helping me get this done. You have always inspired all of us with your abilities. And just a quick note to monique, you are an especially sweet person to have tried to make these flowers and help me with my project. What a brilliant group of clayers we have here in this group. I can say that this is the most supportive and awesome group here. I know that several of you are watching the progress of my flowers of the week and I do appreciate your wonderful comments and likes on my page. Bet you cannot guess what flower will be flower of the week next week… see you are amazing…. you’re right- it will be the red clover flower! Ohhhh thanks Cindy Friday will have to start about 2:00 am. cause I cannot wait for a normal time to view this tut.
Oh my goodness!!! This is amazing! what a beautiful bead. I’m running out of superlatives….lol. Another can’t wait til Friday!
Reminds me of the Chive blossom too, I can’t wait for tomorrow!!!!!!!!!
Growing up in Vermont we had these pretty little flowers in our yard. I also would make crowns and remember picking a handful for my mom. She always made me feel like I just gave her the most beautiful bouquet of flowers. How I miss her.
Cindy I’m looking forward to the tutorial and can’t believe how real they look. You’re the best!! XX
Wow! So pretty. Really looking foward to tomorrow and my claying weekend. I love those earrings! Cindy, you rock!
OH MY GOSH, this looks amazing!!!! I love the colors. Can’t wait to see this vid. ;o)
Oh boy!! these are so beautiful, being a day ahead of you guys, I have to wait to Saturday, but it being a weekend, I can sit and play all day. am looking forward to this one to. Now what can I make out of these, the brain is humming. Thanks heaps Cindy. You are so clever!
Childhood memories of a sunkissed hayfield. Gazing at the pearly- white fluffy clouds sleepily moving across an azure blue sky. Picking a Red Clover flower and sucking each petal to beat the bees to the sweet nectar.
No wonder they buzzed past, rushing to get their share. (Sorry bees) for stealing your Bee Bread (another name for Red Clover)
CINDY you have really caught the very essence of this beautiful little flower, I can almost smell the perfume. Although tiny (Trifolium pratense) is very powerful and is used in many beneficial ways. As a cream to treat certain skin ailments, as a tonic and also a sedative!
Farmers grow fields of it and use it as a soil enricher as it is ploughed back into the earth to increase the nitrogen content, (so important to grow good crops.)
I will have to wait till next week to view tomorrows tute as am off to Wales for a few days (an 8 hour drive into the mountains) So have fun all you clayers as I think this looks to be quite a challenge…………..Cheers xx
PS Did anyone used to search for hours in the clover patch to try and find a Lucky 4 leaf clover?
Sure did!! and was lucky enough to find several. Love those childhood memories. Have a wonderful trip.
Wow, Cindy! You never cease to amaze me! It seems you only have to see a shape, or hear of something someone’s looking for and your brain gets into gear and – hey presto! You are so talented, I count myself extremely fortunate to be in your club! Thank you so much to both you and Doug, what you produce together is truly priceless – and for such a fantastically low price!
It’s just after 6am here in London, I just couldn’t wait to see your new design – and it was worth it!
Thanks again – Marion
All I can say is wow. I love it, you made it so simple for me . I cannot believe that they are so pretty.
Thanks so much for your delightful way to do these. I am off to make these pretty little flowers…. Love them.
You are so awesome to take them and actually make them look easy to make. I can hardly get my mind to believe that you made them.
Thanks for your great work and support of your students here at your site.
Karonkay
You are more than welcome Karon! I look forward to seeing your clovers!
Hi Cindy, Just watched your video on the Red Clover Flower Beads. You made it so EASY!! Can’t wait to try them!!!!!
Thank you Cindy!!!!
Stephanie
Love this tute but still having some problems with my sight from the shingle virus. Not quite there yet but sure I will be soon. Now I have something to look forward to. Love the flowers and like you as a kid use to pick clover flowers for the sweet taste. Loved the tute and the filming was awesome. You and Doug are truly amazing. I so hope I will be able to tackle this tute very soon. Thank you both for sharing all your wonderful talent with us.
Oh, Peggy, I do hope you feel better soon! Aren’t these flowers amazing? I hope to try these today. I haven’t been feeling all that well either. But, nothing what you have been going through. Hang in there.
Peggy I am so sorry you are still ill. Please get better fast… we need you to start claying again!
I enjoyed watching your clover leaf bead. I was thinking about using it a skirt for a fairy. Smiles to you and I hope you have a wonderful weekend. I look forward to my Fridays so I can play on Saturday and Sunday.
LOVE your fairy skirt idea Sandy!
Wonderful! Am in a spring flower challenge and this tute could not have come at a better time. Off to roll lots of flower petals. You are simply amazing Cindy (but then I am sure you have heard it before) Luv ya!
You have the patience of a saint. Those are beautiful. Looks like I have to go to Michael’s to get that set. LOL
Thanks for another great tutorial.
Unbelievable! If you set these in a field of clover one would be hard pressed to identify which are nature’s and which are pc. Can’t wait to try these. Also, as Peggy said, the filming just gets better and better. I so appreciated being able to watch you build the whole flower and the catchy tune was a bonus. Thank you!!
Hugs,
Elizabeth
Fantastic, I wish I had just a small portion of your ability to think through a process like this. I’m a gardener and even I thought the photo introducing the video this week were genuine plant material. Now for the $64K question, are these a vining plant or do they grow in a mound? I have NEVER regreted joining the member video tutorials, I don’t know how you keep hitting it out of the park all the time.
Hi, Ken, I love to garden, too. But, I have to admit I’ve been trying to get rid of the clover in my lawn :-) but, I may have to rethink this! My clover is a very low growing vine that will choke out your lawn if not maintained. Because they attract bees I keep them at bay.
I’m beginning to think Cindy has a little army of polymer clay elves to help her! She must never sleep! ;-)
I dont know about other areas, but here where I am in northern Pennsylvania the clover is more of a grass than a vine. It grows mostly in fields and pastures and anywhere the dirt is freshly disturbed. You see it all along the roadways. I love it because it is sweet and smells so good when the grass gets mowed. They did have another variety in Arizona when I lived there. That one was more viney and a ground creeper we called “goats heads” because of the distinctive seed pod they made. But they did look similar to these. Hope this helps.
It does, I had an idea but i’m not sure of how feasible it actually is.
Well good luck with whatever you do try. I hope you take pictures. :}
Sorry Ken, I meant to pop in here the other day when you said these very kind words. It means a lot to me to hear that from such a long standing member. I am glad you still are getting value after all this time!
I see the others have answered your clover question. Around here we have several varieties of clover. Some that vine and creep along the ground, choking out the grass and not really having much for blossoms. Then there are some that are taller and more plant-like with big fat blooms on them, like these Red Clover . The leaves are a little different from the typical four leaf clovers or Shamrocks that people associate with Saint Patrick’s Day. and have a different flower on them altogether, which I am not sure if it is even a real clover after all. Would have to Google that one to be sure.
Thanks again for being part of our happy little clay family. We love having you here. It is always nice to have a few guys around, keeping us women on our best behavior. ;-)
amazing as usual. Beautiful .
Elly
After reading all the comments – I am still in awe of your talent ! You make something that looks soooooo difficult – soooooo easy. Your teaching ability is amazing. You break everything down into doable ( is this a word?) bites. That in itself is a great talent !
Love, love these little guys. They are so pretty. I will make these BEFORE very much coffee though LOL. Shakey hands are definitely NOT needed here..tee hee. See you in a few days -got to make clovers – yeah! A BIG THANKS for a wonderful tute !
Love how this intricate looking flower has been made doable by ‘our Cindy’. Can;t wait to try these.
There are definitely some of these in my claying future. I did a quick look for pictures and saw they also come in white.
I also had a little ah-ha moment thinking about using the tool instead of my fingers for applying rose petals. On that note, inking the rose petals is also a great idea. I’m not always happy with how my rose petal canes turn out so I like having alternate solutions.
As long as I’m thinking about it, any suggestions for applying veneers to glass? Particularly glass vases. I’m debating on what finish to apply. I have Future, resin (maybe mask off the clay-less areas would help it not make a mess?), and Minwax handy.
Hey Katie, that is a great idea to use some of the ideas from this tutorial, on a different kind of flower. I think all ideas should be adaptable like that. Who says we all have to do things the same way? Not me!
As far as veneers on glass, I haven’t really done much of that myself. There is probably someone else here that would have more experience that could help you with that. Unless you are covering the entire vase with clay, you may need to glue the polymer to the glass after baking otherwise it may fall off. But, like I said, I haven’t really tried covering a glass vase with a clay veneer, so I would only be guessing. Hopefully someone else will pop in and help you with that. Good luck!
Katie C: Check out this archive from the Carol Duvall show to give you a few ideas:
hgtv.com/crafting/polymer-clay-stained-glass-vase/index.html
I know cleaning the glass well, pre-curing a thin layer of liquid clay and allowing the cooked piece to cool slowly are other suggestions I have come across.
Katie – I’ve done a lot of the glass bottles for the Bottles of Hope program and also quite a few miscellaneous jars and I’ve used Future on them, mainly to keep the cost down. And it’s also not messy to deal with. If I haven’t textured the clay and just left it smooth, I do sand it down really well and then apply at least 3 coats of the Future. I use Future on the textured ones too. They seem to turn out very well. I usually cover the whole bottle but have done just a few where I haven’t. For those, I have added just a tiny amount of Weldbond glue to make sure the clay adheres well.
“WOW!!!! You are sooooo smart Cindy…. not sure I have the patience to make 100 of those little petals for a pair of earrings….. maybe I can speed it up like on your video! I love your videos, I learn so much and your subscription price just cannot be beat! Wish I had found you before I spent sooo much money on books!”
OMG!! I think this is my favorite tut you have done! You make it look so easy to do. They are so beautiful!
Hi guys. Long time, no chat. Real life is a demanding taskmistress! But I just had to write in and say Bravo! These are truly inspired. Like Ken, I honestly thought those were real flowers at the beginning. Wonderful work Cindy and great time lapse too! I am so close to having a work-able claying area I can smell the alcohol inks! And I think this will be the first thing I make when I am able. Thank you so much for all your tutorials Cindy. It is still the highlight of my week to get your email. Even when I cant comment here with everyone else. I try to “skim” through when I can. Please dont ever stop. (Wow that sounded uber selfish!) But I cant remember not getting your weekly tutes and hearing your cheery voice telling us something new and amazing to do with the clay. Friday just wouldnt be the same.
Jaimie you have no idea how wonderful it was to see you in here again old friend! Welcome back! So glad to here you are doing fine and almost have your claying space ready. It has bee a long road for you!
Thank you Cindy. That it truly has been a long road is an understatement hahaha. I guess its true what they say, The best way to make God laugh is to make plans LOL. So many things have happened and so many changes that my head spins just to think of them all. Some good, some not so good. But thats life isnt it? And it seemed that just as things would calm down and I would even think of getting back to “the room” Bam! Something new would pop up. But I have made some progress. And I have cleared at least my worktable and a small area therein to hopefully soon begin getting back to my clay at least. My beading and wire work might have to wait a bit to have their own areas. But I can make do I think. So no pics of my work area yet! Sorry! But I want to wait til the whole shebang is done. Then watch out cause I have so many ideas from you my fingers are gonna fly! Starting with these beautiful clovers. Im already pinching pennies and scouring coupons to get those Wiltons flower sets you are using. Plus a few more nifty tools you use. And thanks to a wonderful friend I do have a good supply of alcohol inks and a lifetime supply of pearl ex powders. Plus a very generous Valentine gift from my Hubby of the Swelligant patina kits from Christi F. have me literally itching to start.
Now comes my question to you. I have a Deni countertop convection oven which I plan to use for baking my clay. It was a steal when I got it and I like that its all glass and I can see my pieces inside from all sides. The only thing is…I know it takes less time to cook food in a convection oven, and I was wondering if that would also apply to the clay? If you or anyone has any experience with using one? Any tips would be soo appreciated. Thanks in advance. Hope everyone had a relaxing weekend and will have a great week! :}
Sounds like quite the adventure Jamie! Don’t worry I won’t start pressing you for pics… seems I scared you away last time when I did that! lol Just love having you around again, even if you can’t get to claying quite yet. A lot of it is about the learning and the inspiration anyway.
I am sorry I don’t have any advice on the oven. Haven’t worked with one yet myself. It couldn’t hurt to bake for the full hour though, since you can’t over bake it, and the hardness improves the longer it bakes. Maybe someone else will pop in and let you know more. Have a great week yourself!
I can’t find the recipe for the color succulant red!
Hi Mickey – The recipe for Succulent Red is in Vol-017 B-series. That palette cycled through the weekly newsletter in October-2009 and October -2010. So if you were downloading the complimentary recipes in either of those two months, you should have the succulent red recipe card in your personal collection.
BTW… now would be a good time to remind everyone how the recipe cards work….
Paid subscriptions include 24/7 access to the weekly videos and A-series color recipes. All purchased back issues include a full A-series palette of color recipes as well. At this point in time, the A-series color recipe are not sold separately.
For the complimentary B-recipes, currently you must download them to your computer when the email newsletters arrive in your inbox each Friday. But please note that due to issues with digital theft, the links to the B-recipes in the email newsletters expire after a couple of weeks. So you need to be diligent about grabbing them while they are available.
There have already been several discussions about the digital theft. You can use “digital theft” as the keyword in the search box for more info if interested.
Also if you did not already know, the B-recipes do cycle through the newsletter twice. So you will get a second chance to download ones that you may have missed on the first pass, when they circle ‘round again.
Finally, you may also be interesting in knowing that Cindy and I are working on setting up a secure archive section at the library, that will make it more convenient to access all of the recipe cards. However, this resource is not yet ready.
once again you have made something that is complicated into something that is quite simple and easy to do. Thanks again Cindy. marvelous.
Hi all, well Cindy this is just gorgeous.
We have red and white clover here in Australia, but I never thought much of the red clover, I do now.
am off to try my hand at this lovely video.
Thanks so much Cindy and Doug for your undying efforts to keep up our interests with always new twists and turns.
Love
E. K.
Hi Everyone: I went to Michael’s today, I went with a 40% discount off coupon in hand to buy that Wilton Flower Set that Cindy made the Dogwood flower from recently. I was so excited…I was like a kid sitting in the parking lot – checking out the 26 page booklet that came with the Flower Set !! I am quite excited on the focus of natural flowers in this polymer clay group, I live in the mountains and I see them quite frequently.
I am moving towards a second round of Polymer Clay, meaning that I went through a rather long block of time that I just did not have any inspiration after having a blast of several years of machine-like learning this medium. I have recently realized though, after all this time, I relied on the Skinner blend all too much to get my colors that I wanted to use in my projects. I must be color challenged, I did not know until joining this group – how to put together different color parts to make a particular shade of a color. I have been using colors right out of the packages – cutting triangles and Skinner blending everything to death. I do like pastel shading and perhaps that is why I started that way – it is time to expand my knowledge….that is why I came here!
I just want to say I really like what you do Cindy, keep up the good work.
Great tute this week. I can’t believe how real you made these look Cindy. It’s going to take patience to make these but I will have to make enough for at least one full set of jewelry for myself. They are so pretty and bring back so many good childhood memories. Thank you for giving us this tute.
As a side note – it’s fun to see you use a quote from a post I’ve previously made. Just another way you make me feel noticed and special. Cindy, you are truly one of the very best and I appreciate you :)
Angela M
Cindy – Love the Clover! TIP: I used a 2mm disc in my extruder (Makin) and made the strings in less than a minute – all uniform. Keep up the good work!
Hi Elizabeth! Glad to see you got right to making clover beads, that is excellent! With the disc thing, although it is quick, you may lose the loose organic feel that hand rolling does. But of course whatever works best for you is the way you should go. Like I already mentioned in another comment, it is going to be important that we don’t give away too many of the secrets to this tutorial in a public thread like this. Doug and I put a lot of effort into bringing unique ideas like this to all of you at an extremely low price, so we have to be careful about what get’s said here in these conversational threads… especially on my unique “signature” techniques such as this clover bead. I hope you understand what I am saying. Thanks for your comment. I really do appreciate you trying to help help everyone out!
Maybe at some point, Doug will be able to set up a special forum that would only be available to those who own the tutorial. That way you guys could really talk shop with each other :-)
Hi All
As you could probably tell from my earlier comment I was super excited to try this tutorial
So with yesterday being my 50th birthday and knowing that my mom and husband were taking me to the local fire departments BINGO night at 7pm I knew I needed to be as still as possible if I was going to be able to go out that late– which I was and we did :)
Got out my clay stuff and 3 hours later I put my 2 red clover beads in the oven:) Made a quick pair of earrings and wore them to bingo
Learned a lot during this lesson and next time I think I’ll add less white and pearl clay and alot more ink solution to my ink colors so the beads will be more transparent
I’m off the Cindy’s FB page to post a couple of pics, cant wait to see everyones pictures
Oh yes I forgot –
my hands are quite warm so next time I think I’ll put the base in the freezer while working on the rest so the inside hole doesn’t wallow out
Tantesherry you are amazing! You go from watching the tutorial, to walking out the door with a new pair of earrings in such a short time. You are an inspiration! I like the freezer idea for the core. Another option would be to prebake it and then use Bake n Bond for adding the petals. We have to be careful to not give away too many secrets in this thread though. I’d rather people learned from the tutorial than reverse engineer it on their own. Happy Birthday by the way.. I hope it is a wonderful day for you!
Yikes so sorry but your right :)
I think we just get a bit excitied and forget
liking the prebake idea a lot
Thank you again for such an inspiring tutorial it really is brilliant
Cindy, Thanks again, they came out wonderfully, though darker than yours. I enjoyed doing them and am sure that mine had to be larger for my project than the ones you made. I love, love love them. They are perfect and now there are eight of them gracing the vase. I will take photos later but am sure glad that they are done.
I would love it if Doug were able to make a space for all of us to really chat about what we are doing. It would certainly add a needed spot where we could compare notes and give each other more ideas. sometimes it is hard to keep quiet about what we are doing and everyone is so good about sharing ideas here. how nice it would be if we could openly say where we had issues with a project or what we did maybe a little differently so it would work for us. I totally understand the reasons not to say too much here but if we had another forum it would be oh so helpful sometimes.
Again thanks for all your help and they are terrific little flowers and perfect for my needs.
Karonkay
Wow, these are soo pretty. My mom taught me to wind the clover blossoms into garlands….we’d make crowns and bracelets from them too. Those were with the smaller white, pinkish clover. Now along the river banks I see mostly the ones you’ve made Cindy. I love how you made the earrings, simple but lovely.
Oh, my mom did too! We would sit outside (I’m from Illinois) and patiently wait until she completed beautiful clover “jewelry” for us.
Wonderful as always, Cindy! Very entertained by your “high-speed” clover-building; now if we could do all the OTHER STUFF that fast, I would choose to do my claying in SLO MO! Thanks so much, Cindy and Doug!
Hi everyone,
Back home after my trip to Wild Wales. Managed to buy a dear little carved love-spoon for my DH and was given a leaflet with the meanings of all the symbols.
I watched the red clover tute with my mouth open and the earrings look really pretty so cannot wait for some spare time to complete these. Thanks Jeanne C, yes I did have a wonderful trip and it was great to see my younger sister who has been so ill (with heart problems) for a long time and is due to have an operation at the end of the month. So I will make her these earrings as I know she will really love them. Especially when she’s able to dance again!
Good to know that sometime in the future we will be able to purchase the B series colour palettes as the recipes are wonderful and I missed a lot of the earlier ones. Thanks Doug for thinking of us. Well Cindy it’s now past my bedtime but couldn’t sleep knowing I had not watched your latest greatest videos………………Cheers xx
Hi, Cindy,
I absolutely LOVE tutorial – red and purple cloversare so pretty. An you took me back to my youth (a VERY long time ago) with your beginning commentary. I, like you, would off the little petals to suck the nectar – did the same with trumpet flowers. You certainly brought a smile to my lips.
Charline
Hi Cindy – always happy with your tutes. Loved the clover flower. Here is my version, yes it got a little big and long, but I love it and the process. I have a feeling there are many more colors to come. First time that I have worked with the inks. Gonna try some shaving creme dyeing next. I used to dye my own wool for my rug making, but that has become too hard on the body, yards of wet wool vs. polymer beads and a palette with dyes. I guess were one door shuts, another opens, if you look for it…
Btw, thank you for introducing us to ‘little’ Cindy – we are kindred spirits. I use to walk to school unchaperoned, in 2nd grade, there were some days I didn’t get there in time, not that I didn’t know what time it was – I did. Not that I didn’t want to go to class – I did – but like you, I had to stop and take in the beauty of the flowers, especially this time of year, spring fever would hit me bad!!! Thanks, for taking me down that street again, now I can laugh – boy did I ever get in trouble then!!!
:)
rita
Love it, Rita, it’s beautiful!!
Lovely Rita XX
FYI – Another (larger) photo from Rita is posted over at this link:
>>> Clover Flower Beads (by Rita-H)
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Cindy,
Thank you for making your tutorials available online. I may not make everything you share but usually pick one or two things up from each tutorial. Recently I decided to sculpt a shoe and have been using your technique you demonstrated for clover flowers. I have taken your idea and adapted it to create purple loosestrife. I hope to get it all done soon and submit it to a local art show. This is my first real sculpture and so far so good.
Thanks again,
Shelley L.
Wonderful! Post some pics on the members gallery page if you get a chance. I’d love to see your shoe sculpt. ~Cindy
I’m very happy that I stumbled upon you. I bought the clover flowers video. They are so gorgeous! I’m talking to a friend who’s a master florist, suggesting that if she designs the arrangement I can do the flowers. That really grabbed her. So many ideas…so little time!
Thanks to you Cindy, because I have never sculpted before. But I’ve done all kinds of art work and crafts since my daddy taught me to draw a straight line and cut with scissors at age 5. I’ve taught myself most everything…I get impatient with having to relearn everything I already know and that’s what usually happens to me in most classes. So I go at it alone. But IMAGINE! Now I came across you and some other awesome artists that not only give me the fundamentals I may have missed but that are willing to SHARE all this wonderful knowledge. It’s a totally different experience for me learning this way. And all of you in the ‘polymer community’ are willing to share unreservedly of everything you learn and do! You all contribute to each other but you all have your unique style and forte.
I’ve gotten some commissions at work that I have to finish and a very serious lead that could be ‘big time’ for me. I wasn’t looking for it but the opportunities seem to be knocking on my door and I’d love to go at it. Love ya! LET’S CLAY!
Hi All
If anyone is still on the fence about signing up for Cindy’s paid membership—-
I posted a bit of proof on Cindy’s Facebook page
the single bead was made about a year ago (lost the other one) the new set I made yesterday :)
Thank you Cindy I could not have done it with out YOU
For everyone’s convenience, here is a copy of the pics that Sherry posted at facebook… Beautiful work Sherry!
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PS: You should post your pics over at the PcT Facebook Photo Gallery as well. A lot of clayers and other members that don’t usually make it over here to the blog, have that FB page bookmarked.
Like I mentioned over in Facebook Sherry, nothing makes me happier or more proud to see your improvement over time! You are the perfect student. You not only watch the tutorials… you do them. Then later, you come back and do them again… only better! That is exactly what I love to see. It NEVER matters where you are. It ONLY matters where you are going. And you can only go forward if you DO. Watching is not learning… doing is learning. And you get that Sherry. I am very proud of you!
Lovely, Sherry! Congratulations! I can tell how proud you are of yourself and your work and I know we are, too! Just think what heights there are yet to climb!
I would love to make Chinese lantern earrings and necklace. Do you have a technique for this?
Hi Nancy, although I don’t have a tutorial for making Chinese Lantern Flowers yet, I would love to take on the challenge! I’ll put it on the list of ideas to figure out. Thanks for the inspiration!
Hi Cindy,
I just subscribed to PCT last week. I bought the beginner lessons, 3 of the back issues and the monthly service.
I was a stone-cold beginner and don’t consider myself very crafty, but after watching the beginning videos, I gathered my courage together and made your red clover flower design… and it turned out spectacularly!
It was so beautiful that a friend asked if I could make a much larger version for her garden. But I’m not sure that the Premo would be a good choice for a larger, outdoor garden art piece. (Premo is almost impossible to find locally. I’ve had to order it from Amazon.)
Can you make a suggestion as to a type of clay that would be suitable?
Thanks so much,
Heather Pier
Hi Heather, I am very happy to hear of your success! I think that Premo would be just fine for putting outside, but I think it may be possible that the ink will fade with long term exposure to bright sunlight. If that is ok with you, then try it. You could spray it with PYMII (use the search box to learn more about that) to protect it from UV rays, but it could fade anyway. Another option would be to use tinted glaze and paint on the color, but that would have to be experimented on. Since she is your fried, maybe she would like you experiment in her garden? I haven’t done pieces that have spent much time outdoors, but others have with success. Good luck and let us know how it goes!