Video Tutorials:
1: Texture Plates;
2: Distressed Paint Finish;
3: Embossed Metal Stamps;
4: Pumpkin Canes:
With yet another month gone by, the Volume-029 Back Issue Videos have now been added to the Polymer Clay Library. If you missed your chance to see these tutes as they were released each Friday during the month of October, now is your chance to add them to your collection as a convenient bundled package.
Today’s photo shows thumbnail images for the 4 videos included in this Vol-029 Package:
Video-029-1 Sculpey MoldMaker Texture Plates: As a jewelry designer, you should always be looking for ways to give your beads that extra special, one-of-a-kind look. You want your work to reflect who you are as an artist, with designs that really speak to that originality. So how can you do that if everyone is using the same mass produced texture plates? Make your own of course!!
Video-029-2 Distressed Paint Finish: The versatility of this medium… Polymer Clay… never ceases to amaze me! One cool technique is distressed paint finishes, which look especially great on textured polymer clay surfaces. And since you just learned out how to make your own texture plates in the previous Vol-029-1 tutorial, this is the perfect time to show you how to add a distressed finish to your polymer clay beads and pendants.
Video-029-3 Embossed Metal Stamps: Would you like to make your own word stamp or signature stamp to use with your polymer clay projects? One way to do this is with the Sculpey MoldMaker technique that I taught in Video-029-1. However, with word images, you need to reverse them in your mold so they “read” normally when imprinted into your clay. That can get a bit tricky. So another method for making word stamps, is to emboss metal… using supplies that you probably already have in your recycle bin.
Video-029-4 Pumpkin Canes: No matter what time of the year it is, this tutorial on making Pumpkin canes will provide you with valuable tips and techniques for making ANY shaded polymer clay picture cane. The pattern or picture you use for your cane design, can be a simple line drawing that you sketch yourself, one you’ve found in a coloring book, or even a piece of clip art. So many possibilities!
Also included in this Volume-029 back issue package are the A-Series recipe cards from the Beach Pebbles Color Palette.
To read feedback from members who have already benefited from the videos and recipes in this Vol-029 back issue package, click here: Sculpey MoldMaker Texture Plates | Distressed Paint Finish | Embossed Metal Stamps | Pumpkin Canes
And, Sneak Peak Preview Clips are available for viewing here: Polymer Clay Tutorials [Videos]
If anyone else would like to add a review for any of the videos or color recipes in Volume-029, I would love to hear from you. Or if you have not yet purchased this back issue and have a question, ask away. In either case, use the comments section below.
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This just in….
Sue-F just shared some great information (and pics) about how she converted her spare bedroom into a an extraordinary polymer clay studio workspace. The link by my name will take you to her post. Thanks Sue… for sharing!
I need to press things like embossed plastic sheets into a 1/4″ x 8″ x 8″ sheet of uniform clay.
My first try with sculpey stuck to the sheet. Tried sculpey 3 and it imprints great with fine detail and doesn’t seem to be sticky but seems to be difficult to knead and make a “sheet.” Suggestions?
What is best way to get sculpey 3 through a pasta roller? Which brand roller is best? What pan/board to put on when baking that will be easy to lift clay up and not stick to the pan ?
THANK YOU !
Cary Henrie
@Cary Henrie: Hi Cary, welcome! It’s late at night, and I’m really sleepy & “out of it”, LOL, but I wanted to see if I could help with some of your questions. First, though, I didn’t understand what you meant by ’embossed plastic sheets’? But the “sticking” part. :D Spray with water, or dust with corn starch, baby powder (or several other “resist” products — try searching, see below.) These products keep the clay from sticking…you should then be able to peel your sheet off easily.
Sculpey III can be a difficult clay to work with, since it’s very soft, and not super-strong after baking. It’s one of Cindy’s least favorite clays — see the article Sculpey III…Makes Me Mad to see why.
You asked about what type of surface is easy to bake on, and convenient to lift clay, non-stick, etc. Smooth, glossy, ceramic tiles from home improvement stores are a great way to go here…they’re cheap, come in many sizes, you can put them directly in the oven (they keep the temperature more “even”,) and much more. I have larger 12 x 12″ tiles for bigger projects, smaller 4 x 4″ tiles, and some in-between sizes, too. They all cost less than a buck…really economical! This post tells a bit more about them — Baking Polymer…Ceramic Tiles.
You also asked about pasta machines…there are some discussions here at the website with tips about them, as well. The search box at the top of each page is helpful for finding all sorts of information. Type something like “pasta machine brands” or “best pasta machine” into the box, and you’ll get a list of relevant articles where they were discussed. Be sure to look in the comments section, as well…there’s often even more info there than in the original post! Especially when the discussion gets a lot of input or Q & A.
The best way to get started with polymer clay is to get Cindy’s fundamentals/beginners course, aka the Polymer Clay Basics Course (link at the top of this page.) It has 39 short-and-to-the-point videos that help you watch and understand the various steps, so you completely “get it” and avoid the mistakes most beginners make. It’s a great course, and will answer those questions that come up when you’re starting out. Cindy’s videos are really well done. They’re clear, up-close, with great sound — it’s like you’re right there with her. You can get 3 free videos (a great way to see what they’re like) if you sign up for her free newsletter. You’ll also get free color recipes each week from her custom palettes. Great deal!
Corn starch is super-helpful, & can be used in lots of ways with your clay. It can act as a resist, as mentioned earlier (or you can try some of the other good ones…try using the search box for “release agent”.) Also, the article Corn Starch…things that belong together has some good tips. Try reading some of the articles I’ve given links to, and try some searches. If you still have questions, feel free to leave more questions. I’m sorry if I wasn’t able to help more. Hope you enjoy it here…Cindy is a wonderful tutor! Good luck, and have fun claying!
~Kat, Riverside, CA USA *Where are you from?
@Phaedrakat: Thank you so much for your comments, I can’t believe there is a such a world of polymer clay activists!
I am so new at this and the corn starch solved a lot of my problems with rolling out the clay.
I am developing a new form of art with 8×8 custom designed embossed printer plates pressed into clay. Then painted with acrylic then oil. So far very interesting.
Pluffy seems very easy to roll out and takes imprints really well. I can even tear it after baking. Sculpey 3 was getting very difficult to even roll out.
Someone also mentioned spraying my plates with armor all as a resist and this worked great too.
Thanks again !
Cary Henrie
Cindy and Doug, thank you for a wonderful month of tutorials! This month flew by, as it was rather “crazy” for me. But you two were wonderful, providing your fantastic videos and lovely color recipes, as usual. Thank you for giving us so much (for so little!) I hope you both know how appreciated you are!!!
I am new to polymer clay…. love what you can do with it! Love this site! Help, I baked it and it all melted… didn’t burn… what should I do??? Can you “toast” (don’t laugh) or does it have to be baked? And can you use the regular oven instead of the toaster oven? Thanks for your help! Vicki
@Vicke P: Hi Vicke, it is so nice to have you here! Since you said your clay melted, this makes me think that it isn’t actually the bake-able kind of polymer clay. Is it possible it is an air-dry clay? Or maybe a modeling clay like plasticine?
As far as baking polymer clay, you can’t put it into a toaster with the slots, it needs to be a toaster oven or a regular oven. I wrote an article about baking in toaster ovens that should help you. Just click the link by my name to go straight to it. Hope that helps!
I was wanting to know if you can bake clay in a metal bezel? a pre-made bezel, not made from metal clay. and then cover the clay with resin?
@Sarah: Cindy just did a tutorial video on this topic last week (using Katiedids bezels from Katie Hacker.) The Katiedids Bezels video also shows how to use the bezels with liquid clay or Bake and Bond…to make Faux Opals!
@Sarah: I’ve been pretty successful with metal molds, but I always monitor the oven temp with a thermometer and dunk the object in ice cubes and water to unmold. Not sure about baking with resin…..you can check by using the search facility in the upper left hand corner of the screen. Adding “baking resin” will bring up tons of information, I’m sure…I just can’t remember, lol.
Best of luck Sarah, and let us know your results.
I have made 1″ sculpey disks, baked them and put on a gloss glaze made by sculpey. Now, I need to write on them and ideally put some color on them. What kind of pens would you suggest to use? I have tried Sharpies brand and they simply smear.
@Sherry Ehret: Hi Sherry. Yeah most pens won’t write on the gloss glaze. They will just bead up. I have found success if I sprayed the surface first with PYMII then wrote on the surface with a Sharpie Pen and then sealed it again with PYMII. I will be doing a tutorial on writing on polymer clay at some point, so stay tuned.
I have been beading for about a year and was window shopping and saw some beautiful beads. I talked with the shop owner and she told me they were polymer beads. I thought no way can I make them even near that nice. I started to look online to see what lessons were available and found Cindy’s site. The Beginners course got me started to see if this was a craft that I wanted to stay with. The way she teaches makes it so easy and fun. My beads might not get as good as the ones in the window but I know I can get close. Pennie
@Pennie Farnham: Hi Pennie! So glad you found Cindy — and us the family of clayers Cindy has brought together through our love of polymer clay! We all discovered Cindy through her fantastic tutorials, and realized how much better our beads can be…whether we start as absolute beginners or have ‘clayed’ for years. (Is “clayed” a word?) Stick with Cindy, and practice what you learn in her videos…very soon, you’ll be making beads that rival those you saw in the window.
Don’t forget, you can always ask questions if you run into problems. Or for a quick answer, use the search box at the top of the page to find what you need. There’s a ton of information here at the blog…just about every topic has been discussed in these pages. Welcome to this fantastic clay journey, Pennie. You’re going to love this friendly & helpful community here at the blog, too… ~Kat
Pennie,
Thank you so much for taking the time to write those very kind words. Sharing feedback like this really gives others great insight about what they can expect from the video tutorials. I truly appreciate your help.
Very much looking forward to hearing more about how your beads and jewelry projects are coming along.
~Cindy
Cindy,
I have learned so much from the beginner series I purchased. You do a great job of explaining everything in detail. Thank you for all of your hard work and great tutes! Amazing!!!