I've already shared some ideas for things you can re-use and recycle with polymer clay -- things like tin can lids and cardboard. But today I'd like to talk about "recycling" the clay itself.

One of the nice things about clay is its built-in reusability. Nothing's permanent til it's baked. So if you decide halfway through your project that there's no hope, you can just wad up your clay up and start again. (Or if you're like me, carefully pick apart the separate colors first. Course, I was also the kid who didn't let different foods touch each other on my dinner plate. Maybe this is the grown-up version of that?) Not every medium is forgiving enough to let you start over mid-way without any waste... Aren't we lucky?

Here's a few more ways you can reuse & recycle your polymer clay:

Continue reading "More Recycling Tips for Polymer Clay" »

Posted in: Inspiration , Polymer Clay | Comments (6) | TrackBacks (1)

Lisa at Polka Dot Creations made my day yesterday by giving this blog a "You Make My Day” award. So today I'm sharing some of the blogs that inspire me on a daily basis. I've mostly picked blogs that are NOT focused on polymer clay -- I figure if you're a regular reader, you already know which polymer clay blogs I enjoy cuz I'm always linking to them!

• Ronna's Blog: Ronna is a Canadian artist and publisher of the ATC Quarterly zine. She frequently shares her own delightful ATCs on her site.
• StampingMathilda: I love Godelieve's stamping style & her project photos -- plus she's very generous with her techniques. Course, I think I especially like it cuz it's bilingual (Dutch/English) -- it's just kinda fun to see Happy Birthday cards in another language! :-)
• Paint Slinger: Nancy's a friend-in-real-life, & a wonderful artist and writer. Her blog is new, but the posts are superb! Don't miss this post about finding your voice and this one on artistic realism.
• Take Back Your Brain!: Lynn shares ideas for using advertising in a whole different way -- to advertise your goals to yourself. I love her tips & have implemented several in my daily life.
• HELLO, my name is BLOG!: Scott's posts range from marketing advice to creative inspiration. I love that each post ends with a question & a challenge.
• Feeping Creatures: And yes, one polymer clay blog did sneak in here. Daily photos of quirky polymer clay creatures make this one of my favorite light-hearted reads. What fun!

Thanks to this Google Reader tip (also from Lisa!), I finally made a blogroll to share more of my favorites with you folks. (Long overdue on this, I know!) My sidebar's not long enough for it all, so I've created a separate blogroll page. Check it out for a long list of those who inspire me.

Have a wonderful day!

Posted in: Inspiration | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

Being a "conscientious clayer" (or blogger or artist) often entails keeping track of what inspired you. If someone blogs a tutorial or technique you plan to try, it's important that you have a way to find it again -- not only so you can double-check the instructions as you're doing it, but also so you can share the source of your inspiration with others.

But with all the information available online, it can be tricky to remember where you saw something. If you don't have a good system in place, the best intentions in the world (& sometimes all the searching in the world!) won't help. So here's a few online tools that have helped me keep track of polymer clay art that's inspired me:

Continue reading "How to Keep Track of What Inspires You" »

Posted in: Inspiration , The Business of Crafting , Tips & Techniques | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Polymer Clay Central has announced the November 2007 Challenge theme: Dragons & Fantasy.

Ideas

• Dragons, castles, elves
• Fairies, unicorns, mermaids
• Gnomes, goblins, gargoyles
• Wizards, witches
• Lord of the Rings- or Harry Potter-inspired creations

Tips & Tutorials

• Polymer Clay Express offers a simple Scrap Dragon tutorial.
• Maureen Carlson's Polymer Clay Winged Dragon demo includes tips for making a delightfully-colorful dragon, along with instructions for an easy bulls-eye wing cane.
• Sue Heaser's Fantasy Fairies tutorial includes full fairy instructions -- dainty petal dress, hair & a translucent wing cane.
• For more on wings, check out Jenny Cox's TLS Fairie Wings or our older post with more wing-making links.

Inspiration

• Jill from Studio Willich uses a variety of media in her goblins, faeries & art dolls. The descriptions indicate which ones include polymer clay. I love all the character in her creatures' faces!
• Browse through the galleries on Katherine Dewey's Elvenwork site for photos of beautifully fantastic creatures. The site also includes artist tips and a sculptors' forums.
• CLBCreations (creator of the dragon at the top of this post) has Flickr pages full of inspiration. She also blogs about her own & others' polymer clay creations.

Books

• Dragons, by Christi Friesen
• Creating Fantasy Polymer Clay Caracters: Step-by-Step Trolls, Wizards, Dragons, Knights, Skeletons, Santa, and More!, by Dinko Tilov

Mail your entries in by November 15, 2007, for a chance to win one of three prizes. Good luck!

Posted in: Inspiration , Polymer Clay | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Polymer Clay Central has announced the October 2007 Challenge theme: Faux.

To enter to win one of three prizes, mail your entries in by October 15, 2007. Not sure where to start...?

Tips & Tutorials

• Tutorials for faux techniques are pretty easy to find, so I'll just mention a few good ones to get you started:
  • Faux Rose Quartz
  • Faux Fossilized Agatized Coral
  • Faux Turquoise
  • Faux Ivory / Bone
• Here's a few faux formulas if you're just looking for some general ideas.
• And here's some great tips from MossyOwls. While she's talking specifically about creating realistic miniature foods, it's good advice for making a realistic version of anything else:

“You need to hone your skills of observation. Pay close attention to every aspect of the food's appearance. Unless you've seen a food so often that you can picture it clearly in your mind's eye-- and even then, actually-- you'll probably do well to locate a good, large photo of the food... If you have a sample of the actual food, use it as a model.”

Inspiration

• Polymer Clay Central has a pretty good range of "faux" photos: including their prior challenges (October 2004 & February 2000) and the always-inspiring Clay Pen Chats (Faux & Faux 2) & Clay Play Days (1 & 2).
• Or try searching Flickr for polymer clay faux photos. Definitely inspiring!

Books

• Faux Surfaces in Polymer Clay by Irene Semanchuk Dean
• Polymer: The Chameleon Clay by Victoria Hughes

Polymer clay is wonderfully fun for making fauxs. Hope you enjoy yourself -- and best of luck if you enter the challenge!

Posted in: Inspiration , Polymer Clay | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Polymer Clay Central has announced the September 2007 Challenge theme: Cultural Design.

Here's a few ideas for cultural designs from around the world:

• Patterns: Pattern sourcebooks are a great place to find royalty-free images for use as patterns, image transfers, or just inspiration. For a nice selection, try 1000 Motifs for Crafters -- it has about 85 pages of culturally-inspired designs. Or try one of Dover's excellent clip-art books: they have books available on Celtic Designs, Egyptian Motifs, Medieval Illustrations, North American Indian Motifs, and Oriental Designs.
• Textures: Shade-Tex makes a Cultural Pattern Set that includes textures inspired by these cultures: African, Asian, Celtic, Egyptian, Islamic, and Latin American.
• Colors: As you create, keep in mind the cultural significance of different colors. Here's a few cultural color guides:
  • History, Origin and Significance of Africana Mud Cloth
  • Ancient Egypt Mythology: Colors
  • Japanese Traditional and Ceremonial Colors
  • Global Graphics: Color - Designing with Color for an International Market
• Inspiration from Flickr: Try browsing these photo pools:
  • Textiles from Around the World
  • Egyptian Art & Sculpture in Museums
  • World Culture
  • FOOD FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD
  • Muslim Cultures
  • Africa
  • India and Indians

But there's more to cultural design than other cultures. What about folk art? Or pop culture? Think of all the soup can & cartoon character possibilities!

Mail your entries in by September 15, 2007, for a chance to win one of three prizes. Good luck!

Posted in: Inspiration , Polymer Clay | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

In the spirit of Lisa's comment on my "faux ceramic monkey" burned bead, I thought I'd share these recent quotes from Yahoo's Polymer Clay People group:

• "There are no mistakes in art, just unexpected changes."
• "There are no mistakes, only happy accidents."
• "There are no mistakes, only opportunities for creativity."
• "There are no mistakes, only design elements."

Have any to add? Here's to a happy weekend of mistake-making!

Posted in: Inspiration | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)