Polymer Clay

Fimo and clay tips and tutorials

Today’s Flickr find

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I’ve been lurking, ur uh, I mean looking around our Flickr site for some inspiration today. My muse seems to have left me recently. I sure wish she wouldn’t do that! I NEED her. I know that there are some of you out there with the same stinking situation right now, so today’s Flickr finds are just for us. MG with new shapes

Linda, of NK Designs, made this gorgeous polymer clay pendant and bead set using the mokume gane method.  I just love to see the translucency that you can get using this method with polymer clay. It’s beautiful, as long as you get the colors right. Trust me, get the wrong colors together and it can be hideous. Looks like Linda has the technique perfected! The blue, green and silver play so very nice together in this piece.  Great work Linda, I can’t wait to see more !

SC Diva Now on to today’s next Flickr find, which is a necklace by Lynda of SC Diva . Her inspiration behind this well put together piece are the Maasai of Africa. Here is her description – “The Maasai call the Serengeti “Siringitu”, the place where the land moves on forever. The Serengeti’s ecosystem is one of the oldest on Earth. The colors in the gemstones I chose for this necklace represent the Serengeti’s climate, vegetation, and wildlife. The gemstones are apple jasper, rainbow jasper, and African yellow turquoise.
The polymer clay pendant is a blend of Kato copper and a celedon/light sage color made from Premo Ecru, green and a little bit of Kato yellow.”

Well, it looks like these two, Linda and Lynda, have their muse working overtime. Maybe mine went to help one of them. I wish she’d come on home, I miss her. Maybe the review I’m working on for some products I ordered from Covered in Clay will coax her back. Did I mention I miss her?

[tags]polymer clay, Flickr, jewelry, inspiration[/tags]

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Comments

  1. Thank you so much for featuring my pendant. MG is so much fun and I have been revisiting this technique in the last few weeks. I appreciate all your kind words. Linda

Have you read?

How To Make A Milk Mache Molding Compound

There are some craft projects that feel like they belong on a rainy afternoon kitchen table, and this Milk Mache Molding Compound is exactly one of them. It is part craft, part science experiment, and part “wait… did we just turn milk into something solid?”

This clever little project from CraftBits shows you how to make a simple homemade molding compound using just milk and vinegar. The idea is wonderfully old-school: when the vinegar reacts with the milk, it separates into curds and liquid, leaving you with a soft mixture that can be pressed, shaped, and dried into a hard, stone-like material.

It’s a lovely one to try with kids, especially if you enjoy hands-on STEM-style crafts that do not require a trolley full of supplies. You can use the finished compound to make small charms, beads, ornaments, rustic tags, or simple molded shapes. Just keep the pieces small and thin, as this is not really the sort of compound you would use for large sculptures or anything that needs to be perfectly smooth.

What I like most about this project is how accessible it is. Most of us already have milk, vinegar, a bowl, and paper towel in the kitchen, which makes it a brilliant last-minute craft activity. It also has that slightly magical quality children love — one minute it is liquid, the next it is turning into a moldable material.

A couple of tips before you try it: use whole milk if you can, as it tends to give a better result than skim or semi-skimmed milk. White vinegar is also the best choice, as darker vinegars may affect the colour and texture. And don’t rush the draining stage. If the mixture is too wet, it will be soggy and hard to shape; if it is too dry, it may crumble.

This would be a fun companion activity for our other kids craft ideas, especially if you are looking for something simple, inexpensive, and a little bit educational. It also fits nicely with home crafts and handmade gift embellishments if you want to turn your dried shapes into tags or decorations.

Would I call this a polished, professional clay substitute? No. Would I call it a wonderfully curious, messy, memorable craft experiment? Absolutely.

If you enjoy homemade craft supplies, kitchen-table experiments, or easy projects that make children ask “how did that happen?”, this Milk Mache Molding Compound is well worth a try.

You can find the full project instructions here: Milk Mache Molding Compound