How to use transfers and patterns to create polymer clay beads – A short tutorial

Using transfers and patterns to create polymer clay beads is a very quick and rewarding process. I even risk myself and say it’s for the “lazy” ones amongst us (and I consider myself sometimes lazy too!)

It’s really 1-2-3 and you’re done – buy a pattern or draw your own, transfer it onto the clay and cut your bead. Sounds easy, right? oh yes.

I got a chance to play with Becky from “Nunn Design” findings again, this time it’s bezels with an open hole – round and rectangle. The findings are available in several colours, I like to work with the “goldish” style simply because all my other findings (rings, ear wire etc) are gold plated.

Since I was in the mood of creating cabochons for my macrame art I took the same patterns and used them along with Becky’s metal findings.

I am sharing with you the short process of layering, cutting and assembling the clay beads inside the metal. There is not right and wrong, simply the way I do it :) If you do it differently I would be happy to hear more about it.

#gallery-2 { margin: auto; } #gallery-2 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 50%; } #gallery-2 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-2 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */ Start by preparing your patterned sheets. I chose to separate them into sections so it would be easier to handle. The sheets are quite thin (no. 4-5 in an Atlas pasta machine) Choose and measure your cutters according to the opening/hole of the finding. Lucky for me I found an almost exact cutter to match the opening of the metal circle. Layer your sheets. I am using purple on the back (visible) side and scrap clay on the inside (un-visible) side. Top layer would be the pattern sheet Place your transfer/pattern sheet, position the cutter Cut all the way through the layers. My bead was quite thick due to the height of the metal finding. I wanted it to fill nicely the circle so I used a medium setting on the bottom (purple), thickest folded in half (scrap, 2 laters), and then top pattern layer (thin sheet) The is the cut out bead Carefully insert it onto the metal finding. You may need to take it out after baking and reinforce with glue on the “walls” of the metal Press to secure the bead inside the findings and to fill the space completely Ready made beads You can texture the back side using a coarse sanding paper All beads from front side I’ve added a stamp on the back side with my name on it (optional) I’ve tried adding a strip of pattern onto the outer border of the metal findings but eventually I didn’t like it and took it off. Same process to create a matching earring set – placing the patten on a sheet of clay Inserting into the metal findings Pressing to fill the space completly Flip to add texture (and stamp) Here is a set ready for baking.

Bake according to manufacture instructions.

Once the beads are baked and cooled, I added clear resin on top to give them a nice shine and as a protective later.

Here are additional beads made with the patterns, this is too much fun, can’t stop!

Have fun! :)

Iris.

“Resin-ing” | Adding 2 parts epoxy resin on image transfer polymer clay beads from PolyPediaOnline by Iris Mishly on Vimeo.

 

Every year at about this time, parents deal with THE challenge – Summer vacation :)

This is the time to “re-invent ourselves” thinking how can be keep our children happy (and busy!) while they are away from school.

Traveling locally or out of the country, outdoor activities, going to the beach, BUT! How about staying in the cool air condition and play with clay for a full week?

A Polymer Kids Camp! This past week was dedicated to the younger generation in my city – A “poly-summer camp” with enthusiastic ladies and one 12 yrs boy (yes! rare but happened! ;)

Projects ranged from decorating photo frames with miniature food, playing with textures, stamps, stencils, creating a mobile hanger, making a decorated utensil set, covering a pen with millefiori canes and even building a “brocade collection” zippered purse! Pure fun!

So I prepared my home accordingly, covered the table with a VERY thick table cloth, placed 2 pasta machines to the service and off we go!

Wait… Several tips about working with children – 1. It’s always a good idea to have ready made samples for a visual proof of the project you are about to teach. Children doesn’t always visualise what would be the end result of a 2 hours session and can’t see what you are seeing in your mind. Always make one of two samples of the offered project, play with colours, techniques and show the variations of each idea you are offering to sparkle their imagination (which brings me to the 2nd tip).

2. Creativity is a wonderful thing but consider the amount of time and children around your craft table. It’s easier to give the same instructions to 10 children and almost impossible to give 10 different instructions to 10 different children doing 10 separate projects and stay in time frame. If you want to encourage creativity and “do what you wish” approach that is fine as long as you realise that may take longer than expected (or with “quick” artists – some will stay “out of work” if they complete their project ahead of time). I tend to give one or two options. They can always get some clay and experiment more at home.

3. Floor. Your floor with be filled with clay bits after each workshop. You can either place some kind of protecting surface (vinyl, plastic cover taped all around) or simply acknowledge the fact that you’ll need to slowly clean all the dots and leftovers sticking to the surface once everyone is home. It’s not such a big deal but it’s work :) You can leave 10 minutes at the end of the class and ask the children help – it’s only reasonable that each person clean after him when he is finished.

Ready to see fun polymer clay ideas to do with children this summer?

1. Photo frames – These simple wooden frames were purchased in a craft store. I chose wood because I wanted to paint it in colourful acrylic paints and bake them in the oven along with the clay. If you prefer to use a plastic frame and bake your clay separately – that’s a good option too. I think IKEA has nice non-expensive plastic photo frames. The heart shaped photo frames were decorated with basic miniature food (cakes, bagels, cupcakes, egg, candy) and a 2nd frame was decorated with stamped squares baked along with the frames. After cooling down all items were glued to secure them in place.

2. Covering utensils – I chose metal items to be able to bake them in the oven but wooden utensils would work as well. Make sure the children know they can’t place these beauties in the dish washer or… Only manually washing. Pinterest is an amazing source of inspiration looking for ideas to cover forks, spoons and tea spoons with polymer clay. Once of my students made a minion out of it!

3. Mobile hangers – This project is a fun opportunity to hang little clay objects using threads and tree branches. It can be a carefully planned project or leftover beads from all other projects you made with the children. I chose to use cookie cutters and stamps and then thread all items on a coloured tree branch taken from my garden. The branch was painted with acrylic paint as well. The millefiori butterflies can either be taught during class or demonstrated by yourself and divided between the participants (what I did). Don’t forget to pierce the items before baking or you’ll have a million items to drill manually! :)

4. Covering pens – This project was my opportunity to teach the children a bit about millefiori and canning. We made a mosaic cane and then covered our pen and holder. I use the sushi analogy to explain the slices and identical pattern – it turns out kids love sushi! ;) Make sure you use oven proof pens, secured to place in the oven. I use BIC pens and take out the ink before inserting into the oven. I don’t know if BIC can hold in high temp (such as Kato clay requires but make sure you try ahead of time). After the pen is cool I insert the ink back.

5. Creating round purses – This project was always something I wanted to try with children and see if it was too complicated or not (it’s not :). Since the process involve multiple baking I chose a simple version of my “Brocade Collection” and used powders. If you want to learn about advanced options for this design you are welcome to check out my class and kit – “Brocade Collection” tutorial.

 

6. Sculpturing – Polymer clay is the perfect medium to sculpt figurines. In this project we chose to create a small princess (or “Arrow Guy”) figurine and place it as a cover for a small glass candle holder. A sweet souvenir to save small jewellery, candy, change or even sweetener tablets!

There are many additional projects you can created with kids – keychains, bookmarks, buttons, brooches, hair accessories, there is really no limits to the number of ideas, as long as we keep it simple and clear to the future young generation of artists!

Good luck and have a great (cool) summer!

Iris Mishly :)

 

 

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12 NEW self-adhesive stencils – Perfect for polymer clay!

Transform your polymer clay sheets into colourful, beautiful printed sheets with 48 different patterns – Tribal designs, elephants, 3 different mandalas, lotus flowers, dream catchers, hamsa, geometric patterns, star of david, dove, small butterflies, arrows, frames, hearts, butterflies, geometric, feathers, dots, stars and circles, leaves, doily, borders and many many more!

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The stencils are long and narrow (4.5 on 8 inch / 11.5 on 20.5 cm) offering several patterns in a single stencil!

They are self-adhesive and will work perfectly on your polymer clay and other projects. The stencils are compatible with acrylic paints, chalk inks, chalk pastels, powders etc.

Here is a video demonstrating how to “neutralize” the adhesive back –

Samples made with these stencils (taken from the “INKredible 2” class)  

Don’t miss the special offer –

15% OFF ALL stencils Until June 10th 2016!

–> Click on link below to choose your stencils! SPECIAL SALE! 4 DAYS – 15% OFF ALL stencils! –> Click on link below to choose your stencils! https://www.polypediaonlineexpress.com/product-category/tools/stencils/ FREE Worldwide SHIPPING! NO extra costs! NOTE – No need to type a coupon – Price will be reduced after added to cart.

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**** NOTE – No need to type a coupon, price will be reduced after added to cart

When becky from “Nunn Design” offered me to play with her findings and add polymer clay and micro macrame I couldn’t say no :)

Becky is the fairy of findings. She has a unique collection of beautiful products called “Elements of Inspiration®” creating wearable art and elegant jewelry. Bezels, shanks, pendants, glass, earrings, rings, bracelets, pewter, gold plated, silver plated and so much more – Anything for your art, style and colour.

So I headed to her catalog and chose findings to create with. Hard choices! So many great stuff there! but I was having polymer clay in my mind and how to use it along with her findings: clay sheets covering metal channels or combined together inside loops, tubes, circles and earrings. I couldn’t stop at polymer alone so I’ve tried it with macrame knotting as well. Haaaa! what a joy! The final result is so stylish and elegant! A complete upgrade of your regular findings!

Polymer clay & alcohol inks sheets – Free Polymer Clay Tutorial

My first on the list were the cuffs and earrings, I made a polymer clay sheet decorated with inks and goodies. The technique used here was a part of my “INKredible Polymer 2” class using various materials on clay and adding alcohol inks

First step was to prepare the sheets with colours and patterns. The sheets were rolled medium-thin in the pasta machine to fit the cuff channel blank (see on top of the photo). I used a piece of paper as a template to measure the exact size I’ll need for the metal blank. I have used my beloved stencils for both sheets – the “Doily” stencil pattern and the “Infinite Stars” pattern. (as for all the other secrets ingredients you’ll have to own the class to know ;) Second step was to decide where to place the template (hard decision!! LOL), I think I changed my mind a hundred times :) Placing and cutting. Liquid polymer clay was used to adhere the raw polymer clay sheet onto the metal blank, this will assure a good bondage of both layers together after baking is complete. Make sure you work on the rounded edges to fit your design. You want the cuff to slide onto your wrist without scratching your skin. Remember to fix the cuff size BEFORE baking. Polymer clay is not flexible after baking and if you change the size of the blank after the clay is baked you may crack or break your pattern. Ready to bake!  I’ve added a pair of earrings to go with it by simply cutting a circle smaller than my metal loops. If you want to embed the clay inside the circle, either use an x-acto knife and cut around the inside of the blank or look for a circle cutter fit the diameter of the loop. I didn’t have such a cutter so I made them smaller. They dangled nicely on my ear. Clear resin was placed on top of all my beads to protect the pattern from rubbing off in time. Using clear resin on curved shapes is tricky so I used very little amount of it, making a thin thin layer. If you prefer to use a spray (PYM spray or other varnish), choose your preferred sealer. #gallery-5 { margin: auto; } #gallery-5 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 50%; } #gallery-5 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-5 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

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Want to see what I made with Becky’s Tube beads & a simple micro macrame pattern?

Micro macrame can be knotted into many shapes, sizes, widths and lengths. I chose to use channeled beads and fill them with knots. I could fill them with polymer clay but for these findings I wanted a different look. The knots used here are called “Cavandoli” knotting. This kind of knotting creates a tapestry design, a geometric pattern and is very common to create special visuals such as letters, pixel drawings etc. I’m sure some of you did it when you were children making friendship bracelets. :)

The cavandoli knotting is based on the Vertical Double Half Hitch knot (VDHH) and can be created freely or with a planned pattern. (If are not familiar with macrame knots, you are welcome to check out my “INKredible Macrame” 29 classes set divided into B.A, M.A & Ph.D levels which include basics and comprehensive video patterns.)

In the tube beads I used leftovers of cords from other projects and created lines of knots. Leftovers are perfect for this type of knotting. I’m using Brazilian “Linhasita” 0.8 mm wax coated cord and created a main holding cord with cords hanging on it (using the larks head knot). The number of cords depends on your cord thickness and the size of the bead channel. I placed 11 cords (folded in half = 22 cord) and knotted for 8 rows (counting the first top mounting row as the first one).

After completing the design (whether planned or spontaneous) I made sure I have 2 sets of cords to secure the sheet onto the metal tube bead (like a small carpet wrapped and knotted around a log).

This means I left 2 sets of cords longer from the sides to be able to tie them after completing the row knotting. If you want to have more knots – leave longer cords on the edges, (next time I would leave 3 sets – one from the top, one on the bottom and one in the middle to get a tighter closure)

Here is a very short knotting video showing the movements of the cords and hands (no sound) –

That’s it!

A gallery of the final pieces – Aren’t they beautiful? 

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~~~~ DON’T MISS!!  ~~~~~ A special offer available for “Nunn Design” subscribers – Use coupon code “nunn” on checkout and you will get an EXTRA 15% discount on all tutorials including the “INKredible Polymer” series and the “INKredible Macrame” series!

You can order them separately (each project individually) or as a set with kit, CD and goodies!

Thank you! :) Iris Mishly

Have you ever wanted to create quick patterns using stencils? Lupe Meter, one of my students, took my stencils freebie and made a whole new parade of beads! Aren’t they fabulous?

Stencils are the “low cost” version of silk screens. You can use them with paints, chalks, sprays, inks; You can use brushes, sponges or even your fingers! Their holes/patterns are large enough so they will not get clogged or blocked with paint, they can easily be cleaned with baby wipe or water and some of them have an adhesive back so you can also use them on other surfaces such as paper, metal, glass, ceramic, wood and polymer of course!

When I use stencils, I personally prefer to neutralise their adhesive back using cornstarch. This way I can handle their positioning easily and lift and re-arrange them on my clay sheet if necessary.

To neutralise the adhesive back I use a small fabric bag filled with cornstarch and punch the stickiness away. you can use an old sock with no 2nd partner or a disposable fabric wrapped in a rubber band as the cornstarch holder. The cornstarch prevents the stencil from sticking to the clay. This usually works for 4-5 uses and after that I repeat the “corn starching”.

I use my stencils in many of my classes including the INKredible 2 & the Cosmic Ceramic “Time for Tea” & “Xiang Incense sticks” class.

Here is a free video to learn how to use stencils on polymer clay as faux silk screen sheets creating beautiful fabric patterns – In this express tutorial we will create funky cool and colorful earrings using stencils as patterns, chalks or soft pastels and embossing powder to mix in our clay.

For the projects we will need — * Embossing powders in all kind of colors, textures or patterns; * Stencils; * Cutters (earring shapes); * Soft pastels / chalks;

► How to create quick and easy silk screen patterns using stencils – polymer clay earring project

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* – * – * – * – * – * – * – * – * – * – * – * – * – * – * Have fun and enjoy!