Polymeri Online 17.5.13 | The Rocky Horror millefiori cane, Plaster mold hollow beads tutorial, Embellished bags and Faux ivory polymer clay art

Polymer clay cane
The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Beverley Start is a polymer clay artist since 2009, after she moved to Ontario, a friend gave her a beautiful pendant made of polymer clay. She was fascinated by the technique and went to goggle about polymer. After watching a few hours of how-to videos on YouTube, she was off to Michaels to buy what she needed to get started.
With background in science and engineering, and years of being a cake decorator, her tip for canning is "think three dimensionally".
Here is her "Frankenfurter" cane from The Rocky Horror Picture Show
http://handmadeartists.com/forum/index.php/topic,6758.0.html


Whinnie Poh is sharing with us some of her unique ways for creating hollow beads using molds and plaster or salt dough.
Her beautiful hollow jewelry pieces require delicate technique which gives such an accurate result.

Hollow beads using plaster molds

More of her work here and here .
She gives special directions, tips and "do's and don't" for working with plaster molding. Translation from Russian to English was a bit complicated to understand, if you'd like to experiment I recommend reading her post several times until you feel confident enough to begin :)
http://yablor.ru/blogs/otminka-zapekaemih-plastikov/2492694

Sun and moon wall art decoration

Lisa Rapp started HiGirls! Designs because she wanted to carry handbags that didn't cost a fortune while making a statement about her personal style.
She learned to work with polymer clay first as a way to make beads, then started to discover new ways to use it for practical items, then it become her obsession! Her trademark has become a polymer clay embellishment for each bag.
This is another one of her polymer clay pieces - Sun and moon wall art decoration, Mexican inspired.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/124311822/sun-and-moon-wall-art-polymer-clay

Faux Ivory polymer clay beads

Speaking of faux techniques (I am still with faux ceramics spinning in my head), here is a beautiful real but faux store for polymer clay art by Selena Wells, her specialty is faux ivory pendants and beads, ancient-seeming, history-archaeology-like.
https://www.etsy.com/shop/selenaannewells
http://www.flickr.com/photos/selenaanne/

In exactly 3 weeks I am flying to Liechtenstein to meet old and new friends and teach 2 of my most popular classes - Skyscraper and INKredible.
Preparations are on my schedule, new jewelry, new samples, I promise to post pictures as soon as they are ready.
Have a great (almost) weekend!

"FIMO Pen of the Season" Polymer Clay Themed Fountain Pens

Several weeks ago, just before launching the new Cosmic Ceramic tutorial, while I was still playing with the technique and looking for interesting projects to feature, I got an email from Staedtler's people, asking me to create a series of 4 limited edition fountain pens with their new writing instruments kits.

The theme was "FIMO Pen of the Season".
Technique was free so I could play and experiment with old techniques or new ones.
My mission was to create a pen for each season - Winter, Spring, Summer and Autumn.

Studio time produced pens using the Skyscraper technique, Extrudinary LifeSavers and 2 new pens with the ceramic techniques - "Moon Rock" and "Time for Tea".

Experimenting with the techniques on a different product and surface was another proof that the nice surface treatments will work on every design. Lots of fun.

I am not sure what the future will bring to these pens (the previous set I created for Staedtler was purchased and the money was donated to a children organization) but I am sure they will get a warm and cozy home!

Can you guess which season belongs to which pen? 

"FIMO Pen of the Season"
Polymer Clay Themed Fountain Pens

Time For Tea Pen

Time For Tea Pen

LifeSavers Pen

LifeSavers Pen

LifeSavers Pen

LifeSavers Pen

Moon Rocks Pen

Moon Rocks Pen

Skyscraper Pen

Skyscraper Pen

Don't forget! One of you, purchasing the complete "Cosmic Ceramic" Tutorial set,
will receive this limited edition Staedtlers' fountain pen - Ceramic themed as a GIFT!

and now - back to packing "Cosmic Ceramic" kits!

Cosmic Ceramic Kits!

Wrapped in Boxes

Shhh... Don't Tell Them It's Faux Ceramics! New PolyPediaOnline Tutorial Cosmic Ceramic

There is a tale about King Solomon, relaxing in his royal patio area, when suddenly a small bee stung his nose by accident, believing it's the most incredible flower in the garden.
After forgiving and sending the little one away unharmed, the bee repaid the kings' kindness by assisting him solve Queen Sheba's most complicated riddles - figuring a real flower from dozens faux ones.

The latest "Cosmic Ceramic" tutorial is focused on creating the most realistic faux ceramic designs created from polymer clay.
Like that little bee, you alone will be able to know the difference.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Earthen clay and ceramics were on my thoughts for some time.

Astonished by it's color & elegance, its outstanding glazes effects, attractive forms, distinctive characteristics as well as functional uses, I always wanted to learn anything about it, but mainly, how to produce the exact same wonder with polymer clay.

My opportunity arrived when I met Hilla bushari, a polymer clay artist and friend that has just finished teaching a mini-class on creating a faux ceramic wall ornament.
We talked about her process and being a real creative spirit, a researcher of polymer clay wanting to extract the best out of it, I realized there was clearly much more to be uncovered.

Hilla and I gladly joined artistic forces, and developed the "Cosmic Ceramic" tutorial collection which will "blow your mind away" if you're a ceramic passionate just as much as we are.

The following course set is focused on earthen clay techniques, created exclusively using polymer clay.

The genuine versus. the synthetics?
We stood up to the challenge and claimed success.

The very first material created in the world, The lord's 3rd day creation;
Second is a chemistry wonder, a mixture, developed by man.

One needs 1200 heat degrees to become cured while the other can not take over 110 Celsius.

The "Cosmic Ceramic" set present our worldwide quest to several worlds as well as nations, countries and galaxies; Inspiration converted into polymer clay designs.
Examining each aspect doable, leaving absolutely nothing behind.

You're just about to uncover just about all there is to know on the ways to use polymer clay to mimic the countless faces of ceramic, pottery and stoneware.

 Let's begin the Cosmic journey!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**  4 Vol. of PDF files; Countless step-by-step pictures;
**    3 unique arenas - Beads, jewellery, home accessories & decoration.
**    19 Video clips
**    20+ Projects
**   Special GIVEAWAY of our own test and sample beads! First 50 buyers!

 PLUS - A pampering kit with Disc, tools and materials!

**   FREE CD with all PDF's and video clips of all projects;
**   An additional gallery of 150 pictures to get a close up look on the completed projects;
**   Applicators and sponges to be used when creating the faux ceramic methods;
**  The key element for creating a PEFECT faux ceramic design;
**  The mystery ingredient necessary to create a brand new type of clay.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Press here for more details and photos -

http://www.polypediaonline.com/133688/cosmic-ceramic-polymer-clay-faux-ceramic-tutorial

 

Press here - 

http://www.polypediaonline.com/133688/cosmic-ceramic-polymer-clay-faux-ceramic-tutorial

Polymeri Online 27.4.13 | Watercolor meets polymer clay, Geometric buckles, Jewelry Making Daily free ebook, Frosting without calories and Glass eye tutorial

Flora and Fauna

Sarah-Lambert Cook is the creator of a jewelry series called "Flora and Fauna". Each piece in the "Flora & Fauna" collaboration collection is made using an original small watercolor painting by Sarah-Lambert Cook and a tiny clay sculpture by Laura Johnston of LeAnimalé. These produce a beautiful wearable design.
https://www.etsy.com/shop/SarahLambertCook




A tour on Pinterest led me to Arden Bardol Jewelry. According to her, she is mixing polymer with metal powders to produce unique colors and textures.

Arden Bardol polymer clay Buckles

Textures are rolled onto the polymer and an overlay/cut away process is used to add depth and pattern. She hand cuts and forms geometric shaped tiles that are layered and formed into small objects inspired at a literal level by nuts and bolts. Don't miss her buckles designs.
http://www.artturestudio.com/Art-ture_1/Welcome.html

Jewelry Making Daily is sharing a 15 Pages ebook with 5 polymer clay projects by Ilene Goldman, Patricia Kimle, Donna Kato, Louise Fischer Cozzi and Sarajane Helm. All you have to do it join!
http://www.jewelrymakingdaily.com/media/p/6588.aspx

how to polymer clay frosting

Talty posted an easy tutorial to create polymer clay frosting using LOTS of liquid polymer clay. She has these tiny jars where she keeps her chocolate, vanilla or other frostings.
Miniature food is so cute!
http://talty.deviantart.com/art/Polymer-Clay-Frosting-Tutorial-Video-367253676

how to glass eye for polymer clay projects

Have you seen Mandarin Duck (also called Aniko) Glass eye tutorial?
Aniko is the creator behind beautiful polymer clay journal covers. She is using glass eyes quite a lot in her designs and kindly shares with us how she does it. After watching the video is looks so easy :)
http://www.amandarinduck.com/2012/11/glass-eyes-tutorial.html

Hope you have a great weekend!

Should We Save You a Seat? PolyPediaOnline is Expecting...

As you probably noticed, I am a bit of a perfectionist. :)

This means that I am incapable of sharing any of my tutorials unless they are cutting edge, comprehensive, unique and most importantly filled with tons and tons of innovative knowledge and techniques for you.

This does create a problem from time to time; 
because I really want to share my new discoveries with you, but all the research and trials take me quite some time to create for each new tutorial.

This time it took me almost 4 months...
Yup, this was quite a "baby"!

For the past weeks I found myself thinking as two.

No. I am not pregnant :)

I decided to create my next tutorial along with another polymer clay artist and friend.

Collaboration. Teamwork. Wow.
Collaboration is more than getting together to fuse your creative energy into new work, it doesn't just happen in one day - it’s a long, committing process.

This process, allowed both of us to experiment, take chances, and learn from each other.

This powerful partnership has the ability to generate massive creativity and result in an expanded, well thought out concept.

So now, we are in the final stages of creating this new tutorials set.

As always it offers lots of beautiful projects, comprehensive videos and doubled creativity.

I am pretty sure you will fall in love with this new technique we will be revealing in a couple of weeks. I know I have.


I can't say much (yet) so hold your breath for a fortnight and all shall be revealed....
Meanwhile you are welcome to sharp your blades and get lots of white and cream color polymer clay!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As you wait (don't bite your nails!), I am offering a special discount of 15% that will be available for the next week until April 30th.

45 tutorials are waiting for you to be discovered - 
Press here to learn a new technique and choose your next project -
http://www.polypediaonline.com/133688/Contents-Table 

This is your one chance to purchase your desired class at a special reduced price.

** The 15% discount refund will be sent back to you on PayPal;
**Enter CODE "15OFF" for a refund.

See you soon with more updates!

Polymeri Online 15.4.13 | Polymer clay etching-inking, Sailors penguins, Millefiori eye cane tutorial and 18 karat polymer clay strawberry

polymer clay pendant

Maria Belkomor has a magical touch for  intriguing polymer clay art that keeps me busy, trying to figure out what is she doing here and there. Her latest set is called "etching" although she is referring to ink and it looks more like carving to me but correct me if I am wrong. She mentions this is an intensive hard work but I know the result is absolutely worth it.
http://belkomor.livejournal.com/


More by her is this great tutorial for creating a snake/dragon skin texture. She says it's easy but a slow process. 
Start with the maximum thickness on your machine and with squares cutters kept perpendicular to the table, go straight down like a guillotine but not cutting all

Dragon skin

the way. Then, use something like a light bulb, for example and slowly stretch the joints to be separated. This would cause a texture to spread. She continues her explanation here -
http://polymerclayfimo.livejournal.com/4559185.html

polymer clay penguins posts

Thelittlecreatures belongs to Inês Fonseca, a Portuguese girl living in Scotland with a passion for nature, polymer clay and great stories. Her store is full of cuteness and joyous colors - Dogs, Giraffes, penguins and many more are a part of her Etsy zoo.
https://www.etsy.com/shop/Thelittlecreatures

eye millefiori cane

Eye canning and face canning in particular can be fairly complicated, especially if you are not sure you want to sacrifice many polymer clay packages or end up with a cane that may be distorted due to clay softness. I admit I only did it once with my Dora the explorer cane (18 packages of clay) and did not do it again since.
But it doesn't mean we can't enjoy a good photo when we see one!
Here is an eye tutorial by Polyspoon which shows us some necessary steps to complete a great millefiori cane. Don't miss her other canes (buddha, geisha) previously featured many times online.
http://www.fimo-creations-polyspoon.com/2012/04/cane-oeil-vert.html

polymer clay strawberry

We all love jewelry with out going bank robbed -right? Here is a cute strawberry necklace tutorial featured in quietlioncreations blog. The original piece is by Kenneth Jay Lane and is a real 18 karat gold plated pendant, BUT! if you cannot afford the real one yet, you can play with clay and create strawberries in all colors.
http://quietlioncreations.blogspot.co.il/2012/07/kenneth-jay-lane-strawberry-necklace.html

Polymeri Online 4.4.13 | The Elephant Project, Polymer wavy beads, Graphic flower millefiori cane and The winter girl project

The Elephant Project

My colourful journey flickr gallery led me to find this beautiful tile project called the "Elephant project" by Wendy Moore.
While she was reading a book called "How to Train a Wild Elephant" by Jan Chozen Bayes, the author describes one practice a week to help you be more aware and mindful. She made these tiles using imitative techniques to symbolize each practice for her. At the end of the year she assembled them into a wall piece. She restricted herself to imitations of semi precious stones. You can read more about her process in this post and what each tile represent in the flickr link below.
http://afterthemonsoon.com/2012/07/12/the-elephant-project/
A Colourful Journey is the non profit organization for Nepali women who have survived domestic violence and are developing ways to generate an income for themselves and their families.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/43394774@N04/sets/72157630509750550/
http://acolourfuljourney.com/

Use your old polymer
clay beads

Russian Kaplinka Polinka is sharing with us more of her fun and easy classes. In these two she is showing how to use old polymer clay beads you no longer like and turn them into new beads by covering them with fresh millefiori canes. Don't forget to mark your holes!

Wavy Beads Tutorial

In her second link you can see a cute project for wavy beads using the wavy blade - aren't they colorful! Here is a post from 2011 which showed more of her goodies.

http://www.kalinkapolinka.ru/publ/master_klassy/master_klass_rakushki_iz_polimernoj_gliny/2-1-0-99

Wanda Shum's graphic flower cane

Remember Nat Gernigon fun Cane Scribbles tutorial featured on Polymer Clay Daily a while back?
Talented millefiori artist Wanda Shum took this cane one step further to create a beautiful flower cane.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10799328@N00/8470426378/in/photostream


Rut & The Polar Bear from Sweden posted this photo on her Pinterest gallery which led me to this Korean website -ClayKiwi. This tutorial for making a winter girl is so cute! Although I am not sure they use polymer clay (vs. air dry clay) this can be another cute project with kids.
http://m.pinterest.com/pin/352758583282854618/

Clay - Winter girl tutorial

Don't miss their angry dragon project along with others (scroll to the end to see more related links).
I used Google chrome for easy translating.