Polyclay Addicts Anonymous

Sandra McCaw is coming to Nottingham on 23rd and 24th January 2010 - she will be demonstrating her spectacular cane. It is a 'must' workshop. Go to Helen Cox's blog to get details of how you can book: http://www.polymerplaydays.blogspot.com

'Cindy's girls' are keen to promote polymer claying in the UK. We have already met twice (once in Manchester and more recently at the Craft Exhibition at the NEC) where we were able to discuss ideas. We have already come up with some thoughts as to how to do this (this blog is one), but need lots more. If you have any ideas please let us know - the more the better - even crazy ones (for valuable ideas can develop from crazy ideas!).

I love this technique by Tonja Lenderman! It's a fantastic way to use up your scrap clay.

Here's how I do it:
Bits of leftover clay, including a a cane end and a couple of slices. I chose mostly purples and greens rather than random colours. A little metallic and/or glitter clay looks really good.

Raised parts shaved off and pattern revealed! I especially like the dove.
The hardest bit - smoothing the surface. I used a roller, rubbed gently with cornflour then put it through the pasta machine to get the sheet even. Not shown, I added a scrap clay "backing sheet" to make the whole thing thicker.
Pendants and disk beads cut from the sheet, edges rounded off, waiting to be baked. I also used the shavings to make round beads which I'll show once they're finished.

Color by COLOURlovers

I've been collecting clay colour recipes for quite a while now over at Cindy's site, mostly because some come in a package with the videos I subscribe to, and because some are free. Strangely, I'm yet to actually use them!

So many people seem to struggle with colour. Colour mixing gives them endless problems and produces great heaps of scrap "mud" clay and even if they get a colour they like by accident they have no idea what other colours to use with it.

It's not a problem I have really, I've always had good colour sense and find it easy to create whatever colour I want in clay - I'm very thankful for that ability, but it does tend to restrict me in that I stick to combinations I know work well and never experiment with new palettes.

This is where COLOURlovers comes in. Basically it's a site where people create colours and palettes to share with others, and it's full of the most gorgeous combinations. You can see a couple of mine on this post! I love to browse and "favourite" palettes to inspire me later when I want to stretch myself with something new, and those of you who are more "colour challenged" could use it to find colours that work well together.



Color by COLOURlovers

Have a play with it. You can even create a palette using a photo, the site sort of "grabs" colours from the pic and then you can choose which ones you want for your palette. Sort of like an automated version of the way Cindy creates her palettes, and good fun as well.

I'd love to see your favourite palettes!

Oh and by the way, I have created all of Cindy's palettes in COLOURlovers, as a convenient way of storing them for myself. I hope she doesn't mind, I just took the colours from the pictures on her site, and I've linked back to the original posts.

Glowing skulls by CraftyGoat

All you clayers need to get ready for Halloween - are you aware that Fimo and Sculpey III have glow in the dark clay? And Sculpey Premo does too - and Premo also have fluorescent colours you can mix in. Making little ghosts or simple beads for necklaces that glow and you will delight the children. And I am sure you can come up with loads of other ideas - so add them here!

Well if I have done this right you might just see my first blog, I thought i'd have a go while waiting for some varnish to dry on my new polymer clay beads. Oooo its getting exciting now.

Here goes then

Posting now :)

Sparkles

The title says it all... we're completely obsessed with polymer clay! As Penny says,

 "We are all irretrievably addicted to playing with, creating with, holding, looking at, smelling and developing new ideas with polymer clay..."

We're a group of girls from the UK who met through the lovely Cindy Lietz's site and decided we had to meet in person! We did just that in October 2009 in Manchester and had such a great time talking clay that we decided to create a blog in order to share ideas, tips, inspiration and general cool polyclay-related good stuff with the world.

Signed up so far, in alphabetical order:

Penny I discovered polymer clay only a year ago, and have been researching the topic systematically ever since, and of course learning the techniques. I wake up thinking ‘colour’ these days. I realised very quickly however that whilst I am a capable crafter (I have been a craft teacher for 40 years or more) I haven’t the flair that others have – so decided to sell the spades to the gold diggers! Hence my new website www.clayaround.com. You all need clay – and I have got it! What is good however, is I have learned so much about the craft in my research in the last year that I reckon to be a ‘theoretical expert’ who can answer most questions.


Silverleaf (me!) I describe myself as having the brain of a scientist and the heart of an artist. I've been claying for 14 months and I mostly make jewellery - I seem to be constantly searching out new techniques and experimenting with them, so every piece is unique! I also knit little cuddly hedgehogs to raise money for hedgehog rescue charities.
When I'm not claying I enjoy singing (I'm in 3 choirs), growing organic veggies, cooking and baking, birdwatching, roleplaying games (like Dungeons and Dragons), geocaching and rehabilitating sick and injured wild hedgehogs.

Sparkles

Stick around, we're fun! :)