Last week we discussed using polymer clay to make all kinds of mosaic artwork. This week, Ilysa shows you what that looks like! Enjoy.

Polymer Clay is such a fun medium to use for your own mosaics. You can use it cured, partially cured, or fully cured! Do soft on soft, bake your tiles and push them into soft clay, or bake your tiles and use them like a traditional mosaic with grout and everything. You can even use them in the kitchen or bath, as long as you seal them with a resin to make them easier to de-germify (polymer clay is porous, so it can harbor germs if not sealed.) Ilysa's mom is not well, so it's a short podcast this week while Ilysa hangs with her. See you next week on PCTV!

Check out this week's video demonstration, where Ilysa shows you more about mixing polymer clay colors. It's important to learn about color- better color produces more interesting designs for your jewelry, accessories, and home decor items!

Ilysa and Kira discuss the advantages of knowing how to mix colors, and how to learn more! Your designs will almost always look better if you don't use the clay directly out of the package, but learn to create your own variations. Be sure to visit next week, when you can see some ideas on how to mix your own clay colors.

If you love Halloween like we do, there's almost no better time to enjoy the various and sundry ways to use clay- to imitate surfaces, to decorate, to scare up a good time! Check it out as we take you on a tour of fun things to make with polymer clay for this spooky holiday.

This week, I'll show you how easy it is to use a silicone mold, UV resin, and polymer clay to make a beautiful pendant. You can use any silicone mold that is not too deep- the UV light from the sun or a special lamp has to be able to penetrate all areas of the mold. You can also layer the resin in a deeper mold, it will stick to itself. And you can bake it! We used Magic Glos, a Lisa Pavelka product.

Listen as Ilysa and Kira discuss what's going on this week in polymer clay. Kira has a special technique to share with you, making a mold with Amazing Mold Putty and then layering UV curing resin to create her own molded clear beads! Next week she'll show you on Polymer Clay TV. If you are new to clay, or even an old hat, be sure to check out our workshop on www.CreativeWorkshops.ning.com. With over 2 hours of video, 10 videos on techniques and 2 project videos, plus direct interaction with us in a private forum, it's well worth it, and it will be fun! Also check out the challenge at www.PCAGOE.com this week, you could win a prize just for voting!

Clay characters are fun to make. Thanks to Owen, who was interviewed last week on our show and has the website address www.FiendishThingies.com, we have taken a fresh new look at the category of funky polymer clay characters and monsters. Enjoy this little tour through Etsy and Flickr!

Owen, who makes awesome polymer clay character sculptures, contacted us this summer about somehow getting involved with our website. So we asked him for two things- an interview, and a portrait of us in polymer clay! Of course, we pressured him to do the "glamour shots" version. We'll see what he comes up with! Enjoy the interview, and visit Owen's site: www.fiendishthingies.com.

Watch as Ilysa does a demo on how to hand sew on raw polymer clay! She also shows off an eyeglass case, ready for embellishment, that she baked, then sewed. Polymer clay is so versatile, you can do anything with it- even turn it into an emroidery project. Have fun!

Why not trying sewing on polymer clay? Cured or pre-cure, there are lots of ways to do it. You'll see some next week.

The company sent us some to try, so Ilysa will tell you all about it in today's video. It's a spray, and lots of sprays do pose a problem with polymer clay. I suspect it's something in the propellant, although I'm not a chemist. But most sprays stay sticky and never dry on cured clay. I learned that the hard way long ago when I spray-sealed something with a Krylon fixative and ruined a large, important piece. The stickyness often doesn't show up until later- sometimes months later, so be warned- when trying a new sealer, use test pieces and give them time to age. But PYMII appears to test well with the clay. We suggest sealing your pigment powder and Magic Transfer pieces with it for longevity of the finish. Enjoy!

Next week, we'll be showing PYMII- Preserve Your Memories II, as a sealer. It is a spray that was sent to us by Precision-Blue.com, and some folks in the polymer clay community have been mentioning that it works great as a sealer, so we're going to test the theory! We also reviewed this month's Art Jewelry mag, so have a listen!

Check it out- Ilysa playing with the "new" Pardo clay from Viva-Decor. We got some from them at CHA this summer, and we'll be showing it and talking about it some more soon. We even have some to give away, so if you want to win, just send us a nice email to polymerclaypodcast@yahoo.com.

Sorry folks, a little late due to the fact that we have Lynne Ann Schwarzenberg in the studio filming her first DVDs, as well as Tommie Howell doing some video with us on his area of expertise- figure sculpting. Their videos will be released in time for the Holiday shopping season- so stay tuned for that! Well, the CHA show was a blast as usual- although the only clay company in attendance was Viva-Decor, who gave us lots of Pardo, as well as a couple other products, to try out. The one I am most excited about is actually an air-dry clay that can be reconstituted with water. I am imagining the possibilities right now. Next week we think we'll show our tests with Pardo clay, so be sure to come back for Polymer Clay TV.

Thanks to Lisa Pavelka and Viva-Decor, who discussed and showed off the new Pardo Clay from Germany. By the way, Viva-Decor has WAY more than just the clay. I am very interested in some of their paint products, and plan to try them out on some mixed-media projects I have coming up. We got lots of Pardo to try out, and we'll be doing a PCTV on the clay in the next month or so, so stay tuned!

Today, let's take a tour of flickr. I searched for "polymer clay food" and these are some of the wonderful artists that came up. Shay Aaron appears to be a pro- creating a prolific variety of perfectly executed miniature food items in dollhouse scale. Other artists, such as FilthyFox and Weggart, create food novelty item jewelry with realistic pizza, desserts, donuts and other sundries! Check them out, all their names are in the video so you can find them on flickr. We've created a fun project related to faux food, over at Polymer Clay Classroom-learn a citrus cane and make a fun dessert!

We decided to talk about faux food this week. Polymer Clay can mimic almost anything, and many artists are using it to make very convincing food. You could make miniature food, for say, earrings or a dollhouse...and you can also make food intended to trick the eye. I have seen faux chocolates made from pc that I would pick up and try to take a bite out of! Just google faux food or do a search on youtube, and you can find lots of ways to try this technique. We'll show some next week on PCTV.

If you enjoy making your own beads from polymer clay, Amaco has tools for you! There are quite a few bead rolling sets which make several types and sizes of beads. The great thing about them is that you can make beads for a set that are all exactly the same, which makes them look more professional and less hand-made. Sometimes that can be a good thing. Enjoy the demo!

Amaco sent us some bead rollers and bead baking racks to try out. I must say, I never tried using them before, and there is a learning curve, at least for me. I'll show you next week on Polymer Clay TV. Enjoy the show! Ilysa and I are going to CHA at the end of July, so remember to drop us an email if you'll be there and you want to meet us!

Last week we talked about how even a 15 year old boy loved the new polyform Bake Shop clay, which is really economical at 99 cents per 2 oz pack, very soft and smooth out of the package, comes in 12 colors, and is just fun to work with. We didn't feel that this is a "professional" grade clay, as it remained pretty soft and spongy after baking and we're not sure about it's strength- but we don't think that's the point. It was just plain fun. Watch Ilysa's demo and see!

Magic Glos is a UV cure resin, single step product that has so many advantages over 2 part resins. First of all, no mixing. Second- it cures in 15 minutes! No waiting overnight to work on a piece. Third, you can bake it!!!! Think about what you could do with this stuff. Best of all, if you live in a sunny area, you don't need special equipment- you can use the sun to cure your items. But, if you're in an area where the sun is unreliable, you can always get a little uv lamp, like the kind at nail salons, to cure your stuff. Check it out. Thanks to Lisa Pavelka, www.heartinhandstudio.com, for letting us try it out.

We discuss Lisa's Magic Gloss UV Resin, as well as the upcoming IPCA Guild retreat, our Synergy II Proposal, book submissions, and other stuff.

This week, join us as we add polymer clay embellishments to our wall decals by LanaKole.etsy.com.

Those vinyl decals for walls are so pretty. Did you ever think about adding some clay embellishments to make them even cooler and more personalized? Be sure to come back next week to watch Polymer Clay TV, where we will show you what to do. Other talking points this week- the book Handmade Nation, the Rise of DIY - was an awesome read. Be sure to check it out. It's about DIY craft artists in America. We also discussed Penni Jo's generous gift- 10 kits to make the cameo you saw last week. Listen to find out how you can win one.

That's right, she bakes a handmade cabochon, stamps a basic image on it, and then builds up color using oil pencils. They blend so beautifully, and Penni Jo makes you feel as if you could do it too. Maybe you can- follow her instructions and watch! The demo is long- be sure to come to our site for the rest.

Christi is such a fun artist to have for a teacher. Her brain is always "on" and her animals just come to life under her deft fingers.

Be sure to visit Polymer Clay TV.com for the whole video- it was quite long!

Be sure to sign up for the Mother's Day Gift Guide, as well as to submit yourself and your Polymer Clay Guild for possible inclusion in our new book about Polymer Clay Guilds around the world! Check out our site for the details. Be sure to come back next week for Polymer Clay TV- a very special demo by Christi Friesen that she did at this year's Orlando Clay Fandango retreat.

This week we're talking a bit about Fandango, also commenting on the articles in the Kalmbach mags Bead Style and Art Jewelry (a good one about Melanie West!) and inviting you to be part of the Mother's Day gift guide- a video with your photos and shop url that will be posted on April 24, all around the 'net. We won't take it down, either. So you'll be advertised forever. For just 5 bucks. Sign up on our sidebar and email us your photos.

We all know and love sugary, sweet, cute Peeps! Ilysa and I are fond of the yellow bunnies. So we're going to show you how to make a set of realistic Peeps earrings you can wear as a Spring Celebration- and keep long after the real ones go stale. Enjoy!

In this video, Kira talks about the texture makers and a few things you could do with them.

This week we talk about life, current events, and using the Studio by Sculpey texture sheets to make a cool project- which you'll see next week on polymer clay tv.

Check out our examples of how to show off your business with a nice card holder- and see the whole project at www.polymerclayclassroom.com.

What could be a better introduction to your work, than whipping out a beautiful card case covered with your style of polymer clay art? Next week you'll see Ilysa's version. I should do one too, I'll show you whenever I get to that! Also, coming up is the Orlando Clay Fandango in March. Be sure to stop by their website to see what's new. We'd like to thank them for sponsoring our trip- last year, and this year coming up. It is so great to be able to visit the show and film the artists and share it with the greater community! Speaking of sponsors, we needed to make the business decision this year to skip the Winter CHA show due to lack of personal funds to make the trip. We were contacted by several companies asking us if we would like to film at their booths- which is a great offer, however, first we need to get there. So this year we'll be working on ways to fund upcoming travel opportunities. You can help, just go to the Support our show page and see what you can do to contribute. Thanks everyone, and enjoy!

Using only polymer clay, clay tools, and an inexpensive mirror from the craft shop, you can make a gorgeous and fun mirror! Transfer designs on the back are very popular too!

Ilysa and I talk about how, once again, polymer clay can do almost anything! Pocket mirrors are a great small item that you can do so much with. Ilysa will show you next week how she made hers, using colored pigment powders graciously sent to us by Jacquard to add to our collection! Think about the little blank canvas presented by the pocket mirror- steampunk, caning, mosaic, image transfer...anything goes. Just be sure to embed the mirror securely so it doesn't break or fall out.

Today we discuss how fun it is to make your own garland that looks like cookies or candies, but will last a lot longer than the real thing! And we give a shout-out to our Holiday Gift Guide winners, plus we discuss the French Blue craft totes we got from Creative Options. You won't believe what we fit into these amazing bags. We both brought them to our last filming session, filled with the supplies we would need to film 6 projects! Including pasta machines, tools, clay, and everything else we use. It's amazing. We love these bags and highly recommend them for anyone who travels with any type of craft. I have put yarn and needles in mine for crocheting, and am considering giving one to my sister who knits, too. Be sure to come back next week to see the video. And, making faux candy garlands will be available as a video project at www.polymerclayclassroom.com.

This week, watch what we've done with waterbased Glimmer Mists by www.mytatteredangels.com. Because they are waterbased, they create a puddled or droplet affect on the clay. They do not mix into the clay like a dye, and they must be sealed. But watch out- some of the darkest colors, like Red Velvet, don't take well to sealing- they might smear. But the lighter colors didn't smear and look great! Use on cured or uncured clay, just be sure to let it dry before touching the clay. Enjoy!

Check out how easy it is to add color, depth and sparkle to your polymer clay art. Use embossing powder to create raised, stamped effects on clay that is already cured, or mix it into your clay to color the clay and create faux stone effects. There are hundreds of colors of powders available from many different sources, and they can all be used. UTEE can even be used as a glaze for polymer clay. Have fun and experiment!

Well, we decided to go nuts with embossing powder. We used it in the clay, one the clay, and made some beautiful stuff. Be sure to come back next week to see polymer clay TV and the embossing powder demo. We also received play-packs filled with new Cernit clay from Jacquard. The new colors are beautiful (there are 35) some of them even have inclusions built right in. This is the new series, which unfortunately is indistinguishable from the old series in the stores because the manufacturer didn't change the packaging. But it's pthalate-free, which has become a concern in the clay industry. The consistency is great, and we'll have more to say about it in the future. It's a new clay for both of us. If you want to try some, check out www.clayfactory.net, or go to your nearest Pearl Art Supply store.

This week we're talking about a product we discovered at CHA, called Glimmer Mist, and offered by www.mytatteredangels.com. It's an acid-free, archival, water-based mist that includes color and micro-glitter. Next week we'll show you how we used it on our polymer clay designs. I made a flower, and Ilysa created some gorgeous silk-screens that started off with a sheet of clay spritzed with this stuff! Don't forget to sign up for our newsletter or give www.polymerclay.ning.com a try, we'll be choosing winners for our two Polymer Clay Holiday Gift Guides from among our community soon! And stay tuned- Cernit has agreed to send us some of the new formulation to try our and review on the show! I saw it at Pearl Art Supply last week and nearly flipped my lid. Our friend Marie's artwork is on the point-of-sale display and it looks great!

Check out the fun and amazing polymer clay art being offered this year for your Holiday Gift buying season! Don't forget, we have two prize packs, including some of the artwork shown, to give away to a ning network member, and a newsletter subscriber. Stay tuned to your email to see if you're a winner!

Listen to what Patricia has to say about how she got started as a doll artist.

Be sure to visit our site, www.polymerclayproductions.com, to see Adam's work in this week's post!

This week, we'll talk about two more men we met in Baltimore this past February- one at Synergy, and the other at the ACC show. Two very different styles which you'll see next week on polymer clay tv. We also talk about Kalmbach's new book, Bead Journey: Jewelry from around the world. We loved this book, and there are lots of ethnic-style ideas that could be easily translated into polymer clay beads, especially for the large gemstone and wood beads featured. Please take a moment to vote for us, and don't forget to sign up for our monthly newsletter to become eligible to win all our monthly giveaways! (and put our email addy, polymerclaypodcast@yahoo.com, in your friends list so we don't end up in spam!)

Get out your spooky and macabre images folks, because today you're learning how to transfer them onto polymer clay to make one-of-a-kind, funky Halloween jewelry. Not just for the holiday, these designs will inspire the skull-lovin' crowd any day of the year. Now gather up your tools- you need Whipped Cream Studio by Sculpey for a super-fine transfer, or regular white of any other brand of polymer clay- and some magic transfer paper, and an image. Try Ken's images from www.craftedonline.com, that's what we used! Enjoy!

We decided to do something a little different this year for Halloween. There are many tutorials online about how to make things like pumpkin canes and ghost beads..so we thought some skull imagery would be fun. We used Magic Transfer paper and Ken's mortality images from Craftedonline.com, and created some fun earrings and necklaces! Check out our different styles next week on polymer clay TV, the free demo, and also at www.polymerclayclassroom.com, where you can download complete projects from start to finish. We also have some news about the Jaquard new G-clay series, which has been stopped in favor of just adding the planned g-clay to the Cernit line (we think.) Stay tuned, we will be getting an update from Jaquard representatives soon. And, don't forget to link to us and let us know- you'll be entered to win prizes from our Holiday Gift Guide. And, please come to www.polymerclayproductions.com to vote for us in the Start-up Nation competition- you can actually vote once a day, through October. Your votes help us to rank in the contest, thank you so much for helping out!

Watch as we interview three influential men who work in polymer clay- Grant Diffendaffer, Jeffrey Lloyd Dever, and Mike Devine. Enjoy! PS- don't forget to stop by our site to vote for us in the Start-up Nation competition! Ends Sept 30. Thanks!

There are several men involved in polyclay these days, and we happen to have interviews with them from Synergy in Feb '08. Jeffrey Lloyd Dever, Mike Devine, and Grant Diffendaffer are three that you'll meet next week (possibly a fourth if the footage fits! or, we'll show his work another time...)

There are other men involved with the clay, for example you can see an interview with Tommy H. in our video archives, and hear Seth Lee Saverick in a discussion about Synergy late last year. Just search them on our site to find the info.

Don't forget- please vote for our biz, and check out the Books and Stuff page for a link to Grant's book- check out how he treats clay almost as if it were metal or wood and carves it with mechanical tools.

See you next week at PCTV!

 

We got some great bags from Creative Options recently, and we are giving one away to a lucky newsletter subscriber- so hurry up and sign up if you're not on our mailing list. Subscribers are always included in our contests. Also, check out www.polymerclayworkshops.com. There's been a lot of activity over there and lots of new polymer clay classes and events are posted for your reviewing pleasure. Next week be sure to come back and see Creative Options' booth at CHA where they are demonstrating some of their beautiful crafting totes and storage items.

Lisa does the greatest demos at CHA. Always on the lookout for new and pretty things to do with clay, here she is showing us how to embed angelina fibers under a transfered image.

Ilysa got to visit with Lisa again at CHA, I'm sorry I missed this one. I have a packet of Angelina fibers just waiting to be played with. Next week we'll all see what Lisa does with it. Don't forget, Ilysa is putting together a Polymer Clay holiday gift guide, that will be uploaded as a vodcast to itunes and a bunch of other places, so if you would like to be featured be sure to read all about it on our site and get pics and/or items to Ilysa. Visit www.magictransferpaper.com to bypass our site and get magic transfer paper if you want some- and enjoy this week's conversation!

This week, I will show you just how easy it is to create a leaf cane. It's all in the cut and flip! And, as a bonus, I am caning with Studio by Sculpey clay. Some people say don't bother caning with it, I say- you just need to work with it a bit and learn its properties. You can't have-at-it as if it were Fimo or Premo, because it's not. It goes thru a pasta machine like silk- even to a number 9, without rippling like the more sticky clays. Enjoy, and don't forget to check out Polymer Clay Classroom.com, where I will be doing a project using this cane and show you a Palm leaf too.

Next week we will be demoing the leaf cane, as I do it.(Kira) It is an exciting cane because there can be so many variations! And I will be doing a full length project for Polymer clay classroom, as well. Our site has a virus linked to it, not our fault and it's been a heck of a thing trying to get rid of it. But we're working on it. You are safe if you're on a MAC or if you have anti-virus software, which most people do. You have to click the link to get the virus, so just don't click anything fishy-looking. Enjoy the podcast- I created this one using Garageband and my system audio, so Ilysa sounds a tiny bit far away, but heck, my voice is always softer than hers so this week I get to be the star :)

Watch as Ilysa, the master of covering anything that can't walk away with clay, as she shows the virtues of covering glass, with salt and pepper shakers as her willing victims! Check out the full project at www.polymerclayclassroom.com.

Come listen to Ilysa's report about the summer 2008 Crafts and Hobbies Association show in Chicago, we talk about covering glass with clay, discussion about the upcoming BOH awards, and other fun stuff.

A slightly different video format, Kira has gone it alone this week but we think it works! Let us know, we would love some feedback. Amazing mold putty molds almost anything in about 15 minutes. Check out the video to see us mold a brass filigree! And check out polymer clay classroom for a full length video project using brass and molds to create gorgeous pendants.

This week, Kira is in NY at her sister's wedding... and Ilysa is preparing for a trip to CHA next weekend. We talked about a fantastic new product we found for making molds and textures. It's silicone based, and you just have to push it onto whatever you are molding. No release is required, and the mold putty sticks to itself- so if you don't make the mold perfect the first time, you can add a little and make it perfect. You can also bake your clay right in the mold! That makes it easy to use your liquid clay in the mold and also helps when you have a delicate mold, so you bake your piece in the mold and then pop it out- no distortion. Be sure to come back next Friday, to see a demo of how Amazing Mold Putty works with your polymer clay.

Please stop by our main site, www.polymerclayproductions.com, to take our demographics survey. We would really like to know who our listeners are, and so would our podcast sponsors. Ilysa is going to CHA next month, and is planning on talking to the companies that would be interested in our show, and they will want to know the info we are asking. It will really help us and will take less than a minute of your time. Thanks!

This week, Ilysa talks about how wonderful it is to use tiny silkscreens to transfer patterns onto your clay. We also discuss the internet topics, What is a podcast, and What is an RSS feed? It appears that some of our audience aren't totally familiar with the terms. A Podcast is basically a privately run radio show (videocast being the privately run TV show) and an RSS feed is a way to search blogs and sites for a specific topic, and have updates delivered to you via a "feed" that comes through a feed site, or your email. It's a quick and easy way to get updated information from your favorite sites on your favorite topics, without having to visit 50 websites every day to check for updates manually.

 

Check out this week's demo on how EASY and magical it is to use our Magic Transfer Paper. It's a new product that we scoped out for you (and for us!) to make everyone's life easier.

You can buy it in our shop, www.polymerclayproductions.com/cart.

 

This week we're talking about how easy it is to make transfers with our dissolving paper! Be sure to check out next weeks polymer clay TV to see just how easy!

We also discuss some little tidbits of our knowledge gained from various business experiences in polymer clay over the years. Enjoy.

 

Enjoy this week's video, we show how to cover metal tins with Studio clay.

In this episode, we talk about Linda Peterson's new book, Creating Polymer Clay Beads. We discuss covering metal tins with clay, and be sure to come back on Sunday June 1 for our Anniversary Party, Live!

This week, enjoy our follow up to last week's podcast. Faux wood is fun and can be easy to make, be as precise as you want with the grain and design!

Enjoy our video discussion on how we like the newest polymer clay by Polyform, Studio by Sculpey!

 

Enjoy!

We’ll show you our two different takes on how to embed tiny but strong rare earth magnets into your clay. I pushed mine into the clay and baked them right in, while Ilysa made impressions in the clay to fit the magnets and glued them in after baking. Either way, adding magnets to your clay is a fun new way to create an easy but strong clasp. Ours are a bit chunky because it was our first time trying out the technique, but I could see how with some practice you could make some really interesting magnetic items with your clay. We’ve added in some other tidbits of footage from our travels this spring. Enjoy! And don’t forget to visit Polymer Clay Classroom for two full projects using magnetic clasps to make necklaces. One more thing- be sure to come back on Sunday to view and upload pictures of this week’s bottles of hope in our Sunday guestbook. This week's theme is Pink! Thanks for posting last week, there were some awesome animal-themed bottles!

In this episode of Polymer Clay Podcast we show how to make polymer clay magnetic clasps. Magnetic clasps make putting on jewelry a breeze. These type of clasps are perfect for older folks and for people who are  disabled as you don't have to fumble with a clasp. We also share a book review and share some other news.

Make sure to check back next week for a new episode of Polymer Clay TV & Polymer Clay Classroom. Don't forget to check out our latest endeavor http://www.craftedonline.com

This week, we review Make it Mine magazine, Creative Caning by D-originals.com, and talk about covering un-bakeables with clay decorations.

Come back next week for Polymer Clay TV, for a demo of what we did with our ID badge holders.

Ilysa and Kira are back from the Orlando Clay Fandango retreat 2008- listen to what they have to say about the experience.

 

It's our post-conference discussion! Hear about how things went at Synergy, and who we talked with and interviewed. Be sure to come back next week for great video.

Linda Peterson, Maureen Carlson, and Kathleen Dustin share something about themselves and their work. Enjoy.

To see more about Bottles of Hope, visit www.bottlesofhope.org

Our friend Lisa Pavelka once again served as the Master of Ceremonies for this winter's competition, entitled "Hope on a Rope." Contestants created themed necklaces each featuring a bottle. Necklaces will be auctioned off and the proceeds given to cancer research charities. One of our PCAGOE members entered a cute necklace with a delightful sculptured monkey, and the Best of Show award went to an incredible rendering of the familiar monsters from "Where the Wild Things Are."

Watch and see... and we'll be creating a slide show of closeups of the entries for you to enjoy.

This week, watch our video demo where we talk about how to do ATCs and ACEOs, what the difference is, (ATCs are trading cards, ACEOs can be sold) and see a couple of examples. We also show Hearty and Lumina air dry clays, which we rolled flat and put through punches and colored on with Copic markers…fun stuff!

Listen to Nita tell us about the upcoming clay retreat in Orlando, Florida. Also, learn the difference between an ACEO, and an ATC.

 

Here is a video demo using Jones Tones foils with polymer clay. Create cool metal and faux dichro glass effects.

Yup, the moment you've been waiting for. How do you get the foil to stick to the clay? Watch our video demo and find out.

This week, we will show you how to take boring and ugly scraps of clay and turn them into beautiful objects by covering them with slices of canes. In Polymer Clay Classroom, available on the 7th, we show you how to make the cane pictured and create a fan pull.

Enjoy!

This week, we had some news- Amaco and Staedler are joining forces to bring you the Spring Bottle of Hope awards at CHA in California, and we will again be covering the show.

We will also be going to Synergy soon, and then the Clay Fandango retreat in Orlando.

Studio Clay by Sculpey is going to be $2.99 a bar for 2.8 ounces. A pretty good deal (unless you're used to getting your clay at Michael's on sale, unfortunately Michael's isn't carrying it- yet.)

We discuss the Jan/Feb Belle Armoire Magazine, graciously given to us by Stampington and Co, and there will be links to two polymer clay artist's blogs for you to learn more about color- come check out polymerclayproductions.com to find out more about that.

Finally, our topic for today is covering lumps of scrap clay with slices of cane. A very useful technique. In Polymer Clay Classroom, we show you how to make a bullseye skinner blend cane and then cover clay and shape it to make a pretty fan pull. A great way to decorate!

 

This week, Ilysa went-it alone for our video. I am studying for the Florida teacher's exams, and felt a little stressed about meeting for a weekend to film our next episodes before the test which is in early January. We hope you enjoy the show, and later next month we'll be filming the next series.

Ornaments are fun- you can cover glass, or just use clay. Use all the techniques you have learned so far- texture them with texture plates or stamps, run pigment powders and inks on them for sparkle and color, embed things into them- I wonder how much cinnamon you would have to put into the clay to make it smell like cinnamon even after curing? If someone wants to do an experiment and share the results with us, drop an email to polymerclaypodcast@yahoo.com- Ilysa and I will randomly pick a winner and I'll send you a New Year's gift.

 

 

 

This week, we talk about making ornaments for the holidays or just to hang on your walls, we review Donna Kato's book "My Favorite Things in Polymer Clay," and we have a discussion regarding the new Studio by Sculpey clay- because Kira talked to her Regional Trainer, Jane Zhou, about it.

Enjoy! Come back next week for the video demo on ornament making.

This week we bring you an interview with Tamara Marble, who created the company Design Canes. She makes very cute small canes, in shapes (no filler around the shape). For example, a fish cane would have the outline of a fish, a bunny will have a bunny outline, etc. She then bakes the canes and cuts them into 1 inch pieces that are sold on her site, www.designcanes.com, and at various retailers. We saw some at the Orlando show being sold by a company called Sparkle n’ Sprinkle (we talked about her millions of colors of glitter and embossing powder, which you’ll see next week in part 2 of our video tour of the show.

 

Tamara tells us how to use her canes, how she got started, and about her success. With a simple creative idea, this interesting lady has created a business – Think about what you could do!

 

Enjoy the podcast and be sure to visit Tamara’s site to see the hundreds of canes she has designed. If you live in her area, she is now teaching classes, too. Be sure to Sign up for our Newsletter, and you will be entered to win the generous prize Tamara gave to us this month- three sets of canes and a slicing board.

Enjoy this week's video on using inclusions! Don't forget to listen to the podcast next week, when we share our interview with Judy Belcher.

Halloween is just around the corner and you can make your own mask this year, we show you how to get started.  Hope you have lots of fun creating some masks with polymer clay!