polymer clay.... who knew?

If I'd known how much fun I'd have with polymer clay, I wouldn't have hesitated at all when I bought my first supplies, last week.
My inspiration was 'the button' (see post from earlier) and a video I saw on Beads Baubles and Jewels (of course I can't find it now) and then the true inspiration came when I saw this video:
http://blog.craftygoat.com/2008/01/video_how_to_make_button_molds.html
which was particularly good because it showed how to deal with the shank (embed a jump ring BEFORE de-molding). I wrote to Angela with a question about baking with a shank (in a bed of cornstarch which has worked well for me) and she wrote back with encouragement. I bought her book but it isn't here yet and I'm galloping along without it. Hope it arrives soon!

So in my earlier post you saw my first try, which didn't work well, and my second try which came out much better.
Here are some molds I've made with the original button and the resulting copies:

Notice how I used only the central part of the first one... and I put a hole in it to use as a pendent or charm.
I learned while teaching myself bead work that every piece is a lesson. I'm learning SO much. Also notice the copper color in the 'Cinderella coach' mold. this is from PearlEx powder. One site said to use it as a mold release. I didn't like this idea for a couple of reasons:
- the 'release' effect caused the button to come out of the mold before I was ready. I have not had a problem with clay sticking in these molds.
- all of the powder didn't come out and now it is hard to get out, but comes out on the buttons.
So I won't be trying that again.
Another way to apply the PearlEx is with a fingertip. My fingertips must be larger than average... I end up with the powder on parts of my finger that I can't angle properly to apply where I want. The powder seems to get everywhere.
When I put the powder in the mold I used a q-tip. I think I'll use that when applying the powder next time to see if that goes better.[Later: It did not go better! With a finger it goes only on the raised part. With a q-tip is gets between and causes a different effect. I keep getting it under my fingernail... I think I'm trying to go too fast. Patience!]

OK, now things get fun. I watched TONS of videos while waiting for my supplies. Mostly from PolymerClay TV:
http://polymerclayproductions.com/
Ilysa and Kira are great. Their videos are interesting and well done. They also vary quite a bit. Sometimes it is mixed media, other times it is very basic 'how to' stuff with clay. I have not found a place where I can just go through them in order. I found myself at YouTube and just sort of watching randomly. At first I wanted the basics and now I find myself going back to watching the more advanced ones again.
They have taught me so much and Ilysa even visited my blog. She probably doesn't have time to read all this but if so, Hi Ilysa!)

Two new terms I found:
- cane: these are 'logs' of clay, usually with a design embedded inside. Everything from a simple 'bullseye', to a spiral, to a kaleidoscope, and more is possible. I'm doing very basic things now but hope to learn more.

-  Skinner blend: Named for Judith Skinner, this clay sheet starts with two separate colors which are blended cleverly into one continuously varying sheet. I've tried making a few but somehow I do something wrong at the beginning most times and end up with something very long and skinny. A couple of times I've done it correctly and it is cool, but even when I mess up, I've been able to use the result anyway. This learning phase is fun! If I get something I didn't expect, I use it anyway. This is helping me see things differently and transform my attitude.

As I'm learning 'more is possible' is an often used phrase with polymer clay. Another great line is 'nothing is a mistake'. I think this may be 'my medium' :) And Ilysa says 'Have fun with it!'.... I am!

So, Ilysa's video about putting clay on glass got me excited on Saturday so I found a blue glass dish that was given to me (from the same friend who liked the 'Cinderella button', Hi Linda!) and tried covering it with clay:

It doesn't look like much, but parts of it are very nice. Notice the black spots on the top on the left... this was very close to the element in my toaster oven. I've since turned the shelf upside down to give a little more head room. I really like the copper color on the base with the texture. I actually made the color by mixing PearlEx powder into the clay. I wish I'd put a contrasting color of PearlEx on it... but I'll be making more like this so I'll do it on those. This was a test piece. I made a simple cane and cut slices off it but then ran out before the piece was covered. So I made another one, but they are very different. From another angle you can see the dark outline of the second cane better:

I was very pleased with this test. I liked the way the light shone though the translucent clay but the small dish made it difficult to see this.
I tried again using another dish from the blue set, this one is just a plate:

but wow!
It looks like slices of agate or something. I am just loving the way the texture is visible through the translucent clay. I put some translucent into each color. In part to alter the color but also I have a big block of translucent and not much of anything else.
In this piece, the color is all from the glass. the clay is shades of grey/silver.
I also stretched the slices of cane in the pasta machine. Different thickness when slicing produced different effects after stretching. Using a roller it was easier to keep the slices round.

I went out to the store and found a bunch of inexpensive glass to try covering. I also got some additional clay colors.

As soon as I got home I made this:

This was a clear glass globe and the clay was blue. This was taken in low light with a candle inside. Here it is with the lights on:

It still looks pretty good. That first dish doesn't look as good with the lights on.

After that I made another one:

This looks blue too but it actually purple with a lot of pearl(the stuff that won't condition by itself) mixed in. This piece is not baked yet but I just love how I made the spiral cane into a square... I just formed it that way... this stuff is amazing!
I don't like the diamond texture as much as the swirly texture on the other piece but I thought it would be good with the way the square spirals are arranged in a diamond pattern. I also smeared a lot of PearlEx on the texture to make it pop, but maybe too much. We'll see after baking. I think it might need a band at the top too.

So that's about all I've done so far. If I keep this up I'm going to need more clay soon.
I'm a little worried about ordering from Amazon again. Those big bricks are nice and the price is good but one of two bricks I ordered had a problem. I've read that quality can be a problem due to heat and storage in warehouses.

I went to the store Sunday and bought some 2oz Fimo clay blocks. Some of them say 'soft' on them. Mixing these with the 'bad' Pearl block makes a nice usable clay that works ok in canes. I didn't mention it earlier but until yesterday, all the clay I had was Kato.

Off to do a few chores and then more clay!

Who could resist?

In my earlier post, I mentioned a large purchase from Fire Mountain Gems which arrived last week. One of the items in it was a bag of electronic resistors!
<should show some resistors here>

First, I had fun sorting them. I bought them with the idea that I'd use them in jewelry. Serendipity in action, one of our lead engineers is retiring this week and I'm making as many pairs of resistor earrings as I can by the party.

So much fun! Now I just hope the others at the party think so too!

These are pretty geeky. For the true geek, here is a picture of the meaning of the color code (stripes) on the resistors.... I guess true geeks would already know the code.

I shamelessly stole this from a web site... and I don't even know which one.

Anyway, resistance is futile! I must go and make more....

The button that started it all

Remember this button?

I posted it to this blog months ago when I was first getting into vintage buttons.
A friend at worked saw it and loved it.... I actually found another one that didn't have nasty paint all over it.... and I gave it to her. I didn't know what I'd do with that one button and I had so many. But I loved it too. It looks like a Cinderella coach... but it is actually an early automobile.  It is plastic so I knew it wasn't valuable or antique. I looked for more info and found out in the 60's they made buttons like this for 'car coats'. Which was a short-ish coat, to be worn in a car... easier to get in and out of the car, I guess.
Anyway, while watching Beads Baubles and Jewels I saw a bit on using molding compound and polymer clay to make duplicate buttons.... Aha!
Of course, this meant getting 'into' polymer clay...... is it something I want to try? I seem to just go from technique to technique and never settle on anything.
But the button jewelry goes nicer when there is more than one of a particular button and I have a lot of nice, single buttons.... so I put the supplies in my 'cart' at Fire Mountain Gems and realizing I hadn't bought anything from them since last July I decided it would soon be worth splurging.
In parallel I was planning another month-long leave of absence from work. When that came through I decided to make the purchase.... after thinking about it for another weekend.
The 12 lb package arrived last Tuesday and I spent all evening and the next day sorting and repackaging it all... luckily there was a blizzard, and I spent the whole day with the supplies.
By the end of the day Wednesday, I had made a mold of the button above, and even tried filling it with a gold-ish colored clay. I'd mixed it with some of the 'concentrated colors' of Kato and some translucent Kato. I used a jump ring for the shank. I brushed the tops with some PearlEx and they looked very cute.
I looked up how to fire them with the shank and the design on the front and decided to  put them on a bed of baking soda.
I bought myself a small toaster oven and tried baking them.... 300 degrees for 10 minutes. They seemed hard so I took them out.
Later I wondered how strong they were and to my dismay, they broke easily! :(

Somewhat discouraged I did more reading and I believe I didn't cook them long enough. While 10 minutes is what it says on the package, when I read what people say about their own use they say 20 or 30 minutes.... as long as the temperature isn't too hot, the clay won't burn.
 Another problem may have been the concentrated color clay I mixed in.... too much concentrate? Not mixed in well enough? At any rate, I never expected to have them come out perfect the first time.

Undaunted, I pressed on. I made up more clay, silver this time*, and tried again with a longer bake time.
Here are the results:

Aren't they adorable? These are brushed with a blue/pink PearlEx. The one second from the left looks like it could use some sanding. I'll also admit, I haven't tried to break one of them.

* Silver - My big block of Pearl colored Kato is flawed. It won't condition. I tried adding some liquid clay to it (I only had black so I ended up with grey after mixing it into the pearl) and finally got it to behave a little better and used it for these buttons.

The original button was black w/ silver. I bought only a small block of black clay. I'll get to the black button copies soon.

That's enough for my first post in my new  leave of absence. I actually have several posts to get to.... stay tuned!

Spring ahead

we offer an hour
held in reserve until fall
to the gods for spring