Video #281: I can now wear my bracelet again without smelling like a wet dog! ~Cindy Lietz
I love the look of Hemp Macrame and Polymer Jewelry, but have always hated the smell when it gets wet. To me it smells like a wet dog that has not been bathed in a very long time! Yuck!
Working from home, I am always fitting in household chores like dishes and laundry. Plus, many polymer techniques can get messy, so that means a lot of washing up. As a result, I would always think twice about wearing hemp bracelets, such as the one shown in today’s video with the Arizona Beads. Like I said, hemp smells terrible when it gets wet.
Well, one day when using some PYMII to seal a finish on some polymer beads, it dawned on me that this unique pym product would be the perfect solution to solve the stinky little problem that was happening with my hemp macrame bracelets.
If PYM can waterproof a piece of paper (which amazingly it can), it only made sense that it could also prevent water from soaking into the hemp cording. And since it is compatible with polymer clay, ceramic, stones, metal, glass and anything else I might make a hemp bracelet with, I could spray the finished piece as a final step… and waterproof the whole darn thing!
Problem solved! I can now wear my bracelet again and not worry about smelling like a wet dog!
PYMII can be used for all kinds of mixed media projects besides just waterproofing your hemp cord. It was originally designed to seal the surface on metals, which means it is a great way to preserve a patina on metals or to protect it from tarnishing. But it now mainly used for Scrapbooking (hence the name Preserve Your Memories II), since it is acid free; protects surfaces like paper and photos from light and water damage; and can seal in finishes such as glitter and paint.
It also is one of the only spray finishes that is polymer clay safe. This is why I’ve been singing its praises for awhile now here at my blog. You can type pymii into the search box at the top of this page for a list of articles with lots more valuable information.
PYMII is available at many retail locations. You can also pick some up directly from the owners/manufactures Doug and Donna Sheppard, at www.pymii.com. Tell them the Polymer Clay Tutor sent ya. They have gifted me a few sample cans in the past, and I try to give them “plugs” when ever possible… mostly because I really love what this product can do.
PS: Donna and Doug Shepherd are having a customer appreciation sale. PYM II 12 oz cans normally sell for $11.95 at the www.pymii.com web site, but up to the end of September 2012, the price is only $9.95.
  |
what a great idea!! I never would have thought of it myself……..:)
Oooooo, most timely post with this, as i’m in the process of making a Chainmaille/hemp kumihimo necklace for myself. Thank You Cindy!!!!!!
Now why didn’t I think of this?! You know I love PYMII. I have been using hemp cording (.5mm) for Kumihimo bracelets and necklaces. Since Don passed away I don’t much wear my ‘good’ jewelry ’cause he isn’t around to fasten them on me. So I made myself a hemp Kumi and used a magnetic clasp. Yes, the hemp stank when it got wet – and faded. So, now I’ll try the PYMII on my next one. See, I learned a valuable lesson about magnet clasps for bracelets: DON’T USE THEM. I have lost two bracelets now. I think if I get to close to other metal half the clasp clings and pulls the catch apart. I do hope those who found the bracelets will enjoy them … until they, too, lose them.
FYI: my tree trimmer cut down a few large trees for my neighbors after they saw how well he did on mine. More business for him, but the REAL blessing is: much, much better internet connection for me. Their trees must have been blocking my signal. So I’m back and hope and pray that I will be able to rejoin our group after this long absence due to illness and then this internet problem. (Hi, Ken! Enjoy your kumihimo.)
Oh Dear Caroline you do seem to have hard times but your faith and what wonderful faith you have always sees the good side of it. You are a Blessing to us all and am I ever tickled pink to see your posting today. I’m not around very often either. I have been fighting shingles for over a year now with my dear friend Elizabeth Schydlower. Both of us have them on our face only I got mine in my eye. also. But we both continue to be haunted with them flaring up quite often. So I stop in when I can. So welcome back and it is a delight to hear your internet problem might be fixed and I always have you in my prayers for better health. I always miss everyone and all the fun and great information when I have been gone.
Glad I caught this video though because Cindy like so many I just don’t wear hemp jewelry because of the stinky stuff. It’s not just bracelets either because I have so many hot flashes and my neck gets so sweaty I can’t wear the necklaces either. Like Caroline I don’t know why I didn’t think of this either because PYM is one of my favorite things to have around. I have a can in my house and my studio. Just used it this past weekend making stencils out of paper on my Cricut machine. The Grandkids had a blast making T-shirts. If I remember right Caroline was one of the first places you could buy it through. So Thanks to the Lietz family I will be wearing hemp jewelry for sure.
Have missed you all and sending Uuuuuggggs to everyone! Have a great weekend I am off to make a hemp necklace!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Good to have you back
Natalie Herbin
Carolyn it is wonderful to have you back!!! We missed you terribly around here. Am looking forward to hearing from you often. You always have brought so much value and friendship to this blog with all your great comments. Really happy that you have returned!
Welcome Back, Carolyn, you have been truly missed. Have thought of you so often and look forward to reading your comments again. Hugs and Welcome,
Welcome, Welcome….
Welcome home Carolyn, I’ve got the chainmaille section finished, and am hoping to start the kumihimo portion tomorrow. I’ll need to go back and watch the video to refresh my memory.
Carolyn
it is so nice to hear from you again
just yesterday I was searching pymii and what a great tread you guys had going
– and here you are..so cool
so wonderful just knowing your back and your better
Carolyn! Wore your mica shift earrings and necklace to the Drs this week, and was mobbed with compliments. So glad to see you back. Is your site open? Do you still sell PYMII?
Almost forgot Cindy I love your Bracelet with the Arizona beads!
I came across you on Pinterest. I have been trying to find out whether I am using the correct poly clay. I am making long spaghetti shaped pieces that I then form into a spiral and bake. I need the clay to be as flexible as possible yet really durable. I have been using Premo as I find it works the best. Since I roll those pieces by hand, it’s not possible to be exactly 1/4″. When I bake, I bake it at 275 for 30 min. as directed for the 1/4″ even though there may be spots that are slightly larger or smaller.
Generally, the pieces come out OK. I am wondering if that is the best clay or if there is still another more flexible and durable kind.
Also, since I make a lot of them, rolling by hand takes a lot of time. Are you aware of any machine that is made for polyclay that would be available. I am thinking something on the order of making spaghetti.
Thank you for any advice you can give me. Paula
I haven’t tried this yet, but I was going to add a little Sculpey Mold Maker to some clay that’s being rolled into vine then wrapped around a metal frame. I thought it would give it more flexibility. Has anyone ever tried that?
Yes definitely try adding mold maker to your clay Michelle if you want it more flexible. It works. All you need is a tiny amount to do a great job! Let us know how it goes.
Welcome Paula!
As luck would have it, we can extrude polymer clay into a variety of shapes. Just go up to the search facility and pop “extruding clay” into the box, and you should get reams of info discussed here on the blogs and comments, and some neat tutes using the extruded clay.
The two brands names of extruders most often in clay are the Makins Extruder and the Walnut Hill extruder.
My favorite tute using them is this one… Aurora Technique
Have fun!
Hi and welcome to THE nicest place on the net Paula
Jocelyn hit the nail on the head about the extruders :) if you do wind up getting the Makins brand get the green metal one
I use Premo most of the time – so not a lot of help with that
but while you are using the search box above check out something like
‘baking time
‘ also lots of info in the comment area too – in the mean time don’t worry about the 1/4 inch part its more about correct temp
(: Sherry
Jocelyn
I agree with you … I locke making the Aurora beads using the Walnut Hill extruder.. everyone is amazed at what you can make with this technique. .. I have made a lot to hopefully sell at my first bug outdoor craft fair at the end of the month
Hi
Can someone tell were I can buy PYM ll….. Amazon does not have it and I love buying things there
…also
Cindy : I make a lot of pc barrettes … Can the girls were them in the water …. I have been sealing them with Pledge Witj Future Shine?
Also I love the bracelet you were wearing did you. Do a tut on it….. I have a lot of beads that Made and was going to put them one memory wire with store bought beads between but I like the looki of the hemp…were would be the best place to buy hemp …
Also next week ACMoore has a 50percent of coupon …. Don’t you just love the coupone… I never enter the store without one!
About rain checks ….Micheals is no longer offer rain checks because they now have bulk order…. If they don’t have what you want that’s on sale … You can order as many or as few as you want at the sale price….you have to pay up front but. You have ( I think). 60 days to return it with the reciept… Not a bad deal …. But I am even luckier ….I still have a rain check for Premo. At $.99 from last year and a since they never have the full quantity that is written. Down …. They are still honoring it …
Alotheranother good thing…Great to be friends with the store manager….. I picked up a tube of Welbound that was on the wrong hook( the large tube) … The hook said $2.49 … Since we could not find we’re it realy belonged she told me to tell them at the register to Ring it up at that price…. The real price should have beeen. $6.49 what a deal I got …/ better than a coupon…
Natalie Herbin
P.s. If any one wants to see some of my work …I would love it if You(Cindy) would view them and give me you. Opinion
Looking forward to any comments
Natalie, just googled Preserve Your Memories II and found a number of online retailers, but the best news is that on their main site, it is on sale for the month of September.
Hi Nathalie, sorry to take so long to respond, but I see others have come in to help, so that is great.
I took a look at your work. You have been working hard I see, doing lots of different things. You mentioned somewhere in one of these threads that you were going to be doing a craft fair soon. Have you done that yet? How did it go? What was the response from people who saw your jewelry?
One thing I would like to see you doing is a little bit of sanding on your pieces rather than just putting Future floor finish on them. In fact I tend to shy away from using any of the clear liquid finishes on my beads, opting for sanding and buffing for smooth pieces or sometimes using an alternate finish like a glaze, paint or gilders paste. It gives the beads a professional look that sells well.
It sure is nice to see you putting in the effort to make and improve your work. I bet if you look at some of your very first pieces, that you can see that your work is getting better all the time. Thank you for being an active part of our community. Glad you’re having fun!
What a great tip, Cindy. Love that bracelet also. Thanks again.
So glad I eventually got my PYMII although it took weeks to arrive by sea and shipping was quite expensive but know it will pay for itself with all the different applications and to use it on hemp cord is a brilliant idea, thanks CINDY.
I have a question for all the guys and girls that bake their beads covered in baking soda. I want to dry a heap of different flower petals and wondered if anybody had covered their flower petals in baking soda and put them in their toaster oven or other oven instead of using the microwave? I have a teeny tiny microwave but a large gas oven.
I bake my beads in my kitchen gas oven enclosed in a foil (igloo) the oven has three shelves and the middle one seems to be ideal for bead baking once it reaches 265 degrees. The top shelf is too hot and bottom shelf not hot enough but thought it would be ideal for drying out flower petals but I do not want to keep opening the door to check on the petals. So if anyone has used this method please let me know or I will just have to don my mad scientific hat and experiment tomorrow……………….cheers xx…………………………………..
Elaine, I dried flowers/ferns three ways. First, pressed flat in old phone books or in a flower press. The second way was to hang them in bunches in a dry dark spot. Or set them in racks like old window screens to hold the bloom the way you wish it.
Lots of folks use microwaves and silica gel. I suggest you google “drying flower petals.” There’s a ton of suggestions and methods to explore.
The best flowers I got were from drying flowers in fine silica sand, layering them in old tins. The problem is that breathing in the fine sand is toxic, so if you go this route you must always use a filter mask and eye protection. I’ve heard that others use cornmeal to get the same effect.
The last batch of pansies I did in silica, I sprayed with PYMII. It’s been over two years, and the colors remain gorgeous.
Wish you the best of luck.
Hi JOCELYN
Yep, I’ve dried flowers and ferns using all the methods you have mentioned. Somebody suggested kitty litter (the white one, new not used!) Also a mixture of borax and cornmeal, never tried sand, will have to try that as well and great to know I can use my new can of PYMII, think I am going to be busy. So thanks for that info.
MICHELE, A good idea is to put your (naked) pens in the oven @ 256 degrees on cardstock for about half an hour. If they havent warped or melted in that time then cover them in PC. after they have cooled down. Better to sacrifice a couple of different type empty pens than waste all that hard work covering them first.
I also give them a thin coat of white craft glue and let that dry first before covering them in PC and find that if I toss them into ice water when they are baked for 1 hour it seems to” shock” the clay into holding tight to the pen! Try it and see………………..cheers xx…………..
I didn’t even know you had a place where you sold things! I learn new things all the time from you now that I became a member! Where can I find your store on your site? I really need some if this and have been looking everywhere but found the S&H to be about half the price of the product! I was also wondering if anyone could give me any info about baking polymer clay covered lens from Boston Clayworks. I have done a lot of the Bic lens but would like to do some nicer ones now that I’ve for the hang of it all. I just recently became a member here and I didn’t know about baking the PC for longer than it says on the package. So I’m wondering if the one hour baking session for the pens would be ok? Anyone know? I’m thinking they may melt if they are in the oven for such a longer amount of time. If anyone does pens I would so very much appreciate any tips. Thanks!
Hi Michelle, Like I said in the email I sent to you, I actually don’t sell/ship any hard goods at this stage. With regards to PYM spray, it is also sold in retail scrapbooking stores under the brand name CI Superseal or just Superseal. You may be able to find a local supplier in your area. If you use Superseal as the keyword in the search box at my blog, you will find some references where the topic has been discussed. If you find a good source, be sure to post a note at the blog to let others know.
So sorry. I mean PENS not lens! Auto correct is wrong once again!
Thank u for the help with my question. I also have another question that is somewhat off topic but I need the help ASAP! My pasta machine broke about a week 1/2 ago and I am going crazy trying to find a good one with no problems!! I’ve looked everywhere for info and I also have purchased 3 that had to be taken back to the stores!!! And of course I has a show coming up that I have to have items for by the 30 th of this month because it is a juried show!!! URRRR!! Please help. I have bought Amoco and Sculpey brand machines and they all had problems like MAJOR streaking and even one that I could only run my clay through on the 2 thickest settings because the other ones wrinkled the clay. I have gone through all of Cindy’s info and read all of the comments and I am still confused. I would so very much love and appreciate as much info as anyone has they can offer me. I have to order one tomorrow so I can get it in at least a day before I have to show my pieces for this big show which is for 2 days, the night of thanksgiving day and the day after! Thanks in advance!!!
Expensive, but, to me, worth the investment: Atlas Pasta Machine With Motor
Got machine/motor 3 weeks ago. Bliss. Just need to remember to tie my hair back, lol.
Best of luck with your project!
Hi Jocelyn,
Looking back on past comments I wonder if you ever tried PYMII to cover your pasta rollers or did anybody else try this? As my can was sooo expensive to ship to the UK I’m treating it like gold-dust so do not want to use this on my pasta rollers (cannot take it to pieces) unless it works to stop streaky clay. I do use wipes, etc. but usually have to use alcohol directly on rolled out white clay and as CINDY once said. Isn’t it about time somebody invented a better machine that didn’t cost the earth. I would buy it tomorrow!!!
Also a less expensive cutter for really uniform cane slices…………..cheers xx………..
Elaine, I think it’s a great idea and worth a try, first on an old machine to test. My Dad had me try WD-40 on my streaky rollers a decade ago, and it worked for me, too. Apply on paper towel then to rollers.
Never ever heard of or had a streaking problem with the Atlas brand I purchased above, which is why I saved and treated myself. I am still in heaven using it, especially with the motor.
This has taken forever to type, in a bad flare…my hands are useless. Please excuse my lack of participation recently.
help plz
rcvd my pym2 today :)
came here to re read all about it
But the search box did nothing when I clk’d
so I put in some other search items & the only one that worked was rose cane
— Just Weird —
anyone have any idea what’s happening?
Sounds like you need to clear your cache and cookies in your web browser. The way to test if this is a problem is to open the site in another browser on your computer (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, Safari, etc) and see if the search box works. I just tried a search on my end and it worked fine. Hopefully this helps.
Thank you Doug
worked like a charm :)
the silly thing is I *almost* clicked on video trouble – but no …
silly me
thanks again – Sherry
btw – JUST Now I noticed that when I went back and added the * above it worked smoothly/normally
Just recently WAS having problems in the comment area every time I tried going back in to correct typos ect
SO does this mean that Anytime we have little glitches we should follow your advice from above?
yes… the advice I gave about clearing cache and cookies solves most browser related issues. Glad that helped.
Hi everyone, in regards to the PYMII Spray, I really like this product and use it a lot. There is one thing I have run across that I want to share with you. The easiest thing to do is grab some newspaper and lay your item on it and spray it. However, you are risking the chance of picking up print from the newspaper and there is no way you can get it out once the PYM II spray has dried. A lot of times you won’t know it until you go to pick up the piece and turn it over to spray the other side. Of course by then it’s too late. It has happened to me. What I did to correct this is to lay a piece of plain white paper on top of the newspaper and then spray my piece. Hope this helps any of you who have or are going to use PYM II. “Happy Spraying”
Hi Dixie
thanks for the heads-up ;)
hope this finds you claying -Sherry
Thanks so much for help with my questions. I ended up going to the site on line that makes the pymll and bought 2 cans and only had to pay S&H for the price to send 1 can. So I saved money that way! I’ve used it on some beads and I realized that it really doesn’t give that much of a shine to the beads but its much much better than using the goofy gloss that makes things look like plastic and remains sticky forever. I can’t remember the name of it. Anyway, I really like the product and I am still playing with it trying to figure how many coats to put in and how exactly do I make sure I’ve gotten the entire bead.
Neat scrapbooking video on SuperSeal from 2009 [by Emily Pitts from Studio Calico]. Superseal is another brand name for PYM II.
Hi Cindy,
You mentioned in your message about using PYMII for spraying on a hemp bracelet, that the manufacturers of PYMII were offering a discount on the product through the end of September 2012. Did you mean 2013? Please let me know. I would love to purchase some. Thanks.
I just love all of your tutorials! You are so gifted and you are so willing to share your knowledge and discoveries. Thanks!!!
Hi Dorothy! Unfortunately the date of the blog and the discount applied to 2012. Here is a link to list of suppliers from the PYM II site, hope it helps.
hi,
I want my hemp braided storage basket with some transparent glossy look….. what should i use to acheive that look
I would think any wood varnish would work for something like that. I would ask someone in the paint department of any Home Improvement store. They should be able to help you get the appropriate product.
Hi Cindy. I just LUV your tutorials. Thanks for sharing your knowledge. I’m in the initial stages of working with polymer clay and I’ve been reading everyone’s material about sealing your clay projects. I happened to link to your video on “PRESERVE YOUR MEMORIES” and was so excited to find out about PYM II … especially since I also am learning macramé (again).
Unfortunately I don’t think PYM II is made anymore. Can’t find anything.
Do you have a supplier? Or is there a replacement product?
Thanks!
Thank you Pat for your kind comments! Yes PYMII is no longer being manufactured. The only replacement that I I know if is Helmar USA Crystal Kote Matte Varnish but it also doesn’t seem to be available on Amazon right now. So unfortunately I don’t have a good solution for you at this moment.