In my previous post, I talked about some of the basic techniques for stamping on polymer clay. Today we're going one step beyond the basics and talking about "masking." Masking is a technique frequently used in rubber stamping, where you cut out a stamped image and use it to block (or "mask") the finish you're applying to the surrounding area. (Here's a nice masking tutorial if you're not familiar with the idea.) For today's project, we'll use a bird mask and chalks to create a coaster from polymer clay.

Materials

• 1/2 - 3/4 block white polymer clay per coaster
• Pasta machine
• Clay blade
• Deeply-cut rubber stamps (I used Flourishes by Rhonna Farrer and a bird stamp from My Heart Stamps for You)
• StazOn ink pad
• Card stock
• Sharp scissors or craft knife
• Chalks and applicator
• Stamp cleaner and paper towels
• Cork coasters (pre-cut round or square cork coasters are available at craft supply stores, or you can buy the rolls of cork and cut them down to size)
• Super glue, Sobo, or a hot glue gun

Instructions

Inspirations & Variations

There's a huge online rubber stamping community, many of whom very generously share their techniques. Try subscribing to a few blogs whose stamping style you like. You might see a technique you can convert to use with polymer clay.

You might also try finding polymer clay techniques you can enhance with rubber stamping. For example, these coasters were based off of faux finish tutorials on Polymer Clay Web:

Keep your eyes open, and you're liable to find all sorts of wonderful ideas for rubber stamping on polymer clay.

Posts in This Series:

1. Rubber Stamping Basics for Polymer Clay
2. Rubber Stamp Techniques for Polymer Clay
3. How to Make a Rubber Stamped Coaster
4. Video: How to Heat Emboss on Polymer Clay
5. How to Make an Ultrasound Frame

Posted in: Polymer Clay , Project Instructions | Comments (10)

So you've stocked up on all the right supplies for stamping on polymer clay... Now what? Not all of the basic rubber stamping rules for paper apply to polymer clay. Plus there are some options for stamping polymer clay that you just don't have with paper — like using your stamp as a texture tool. Here's an overview of some different ways you can use stamps with polymer clay.

Stamping On Unbaked Clay

Stamping clay before you bake it gives you some neat texture options. It also has some slightly different rules than typical stamping. For example, when you're rubber stamping on paper, rocking the stamp back and forth is a big no-no (it's likely to cause smears and double lines). But it's okay to do a little rocking when you're stamping polymer clay. In fact, do whatever you need to do to get a really deep impression. I often stamp standing up, so I can put a little more muscle into it. Here are some options for stamping unbaked clay:

• 
  Dry Stamped
• 
  Dry Stamped & Antiqued
• 
  Dry Stamped & Dry Brushed

• Sutton Slice Technique. This is an interesting technique where you press clay into the stamp, then add a second clay color to show the contrast. Check out these Sutton Slice instructions on HGTV for more info.

Stamping On Baked Clay

Stamping clay after baking is more like stamping on paper — you've got to be careful to get a clean, firm impression the first time without any rocking. There's a couple of different ink options when you stamp after baking:

Other Stamping Hints

• Image Cut-outs: You can cut out individual stamped elements either before (using clay blade, cookie cutter) or after (using scissors, craft knife) baking. It's often easier to smooth the edges if you cut the clay before baking.
• Work Surface Tip: If you're planning to make a really deep impression with your stamp, consider working on a surface you can also bake on. It can be tricky to transfer these stamped sheets without distorting or tearing them.

Of course, these tips just brush the surface. As you experiment, you'll find plenty of interesting things to do with rubber stamps and polymer clay. And you can often find new ideas and inspiration in regular (non-clay) rubber stamping technique books. In my next post, for example, I'll show you how to use a masking technique on a polymer clay coaster project.

Did I leave out a favorite technique of yours? Leave me a comment...

Posts in This Series:

1. Rubber Stamping Basics for Polymer Clay
2. Rubber Stamp Techniques for Polymer Clay
3. How to Make a Rubber Stamped Coaster
4. Video: How to Heat Emboss on Polymer Clay
5. How to Make an Ultrasound Frame

Posted in: Polymer Clay , Tips & Techniques | Comments (4)

Rubber stamps are handy tools to use with polymer clay. They're easy to find in a wide variety of styles and designs. And there are all sorts of ways to use them with clay, whether you're wanting texture, surface decoration, or some other effect.

Still, all the different types of stamps and inks can be a little overwhelming for folks who are new to stamping. And even if you're an old pro at using rubber stamps with paper, there are a few things you have to keep in mind when you're using them with polymer clay. So I'm starting a series of posts on using rubber stamps with polymer clay. Today we'll talk about the basics, including which inks and stamps to use, tips on release agents, and suggestions for cleaning your stamps.

Inks, Inks Everywhere... But Which Kinds Can I Use?

All inks are not created equal. You need to pay attention to more than just the pretty colors when you pick up an ink pad at your craft store. Here's a run-down of the different types of inks:

Choosing the Best Type of "Rubber" Stamp

The term "rubber stamp" incorporates several types of stamps — some of which aren't rubber at all! Here's info on some of the different types of stamps that are available:

To use clear stamps or unmounted rubber stamps, press the stamp into the clay with your fingers, or use a clear acrylic block with double-sided removable tape to temporarily mount them for stamping.

Polymer Clay Brands and Release Agents

Most clay brands work fine for stamping. If your clay is especially soft or sticky, you may need a release agent.

Use a release agent any time you have trouble with clay sticking to stamps. Water or corn starch are good options (read more in my comparison of release agent powders). Some people also like to use Armor All.

One clay brand I don't recommend using is Ultralight Sculpey. It's not good with stamps by itself, as it tends to get stuck in the stamp. BUT Ultralight is good at absorbing inks and other surface treatments. Try combining Ultralight with another clay (I like 2 parts Premo, 1 part Ultralight) to get the best properties of both. Note: Do not use a water release with Ultralight Sculpey; water turns Ultralight into a sticky mess!

How to Clean Stamps

If you're planning to use your stamps later with paper, it's a good idea to clean them after clay use, whether or not you also used inks. Unbaked clay may leave an oily residue that will later make ink bead up on the stamp. There are stamp cleaners available, or you can use a baby wipe soaked with rubbing alcohol.

• Clear stamps are usually washable with soap and water. Be careful which stamp cleaners you use on your clear stamps, since StazOn brand cleaners may damage clear stamps.
• StazOn inks dry quickly and can permanently stain stamps. You'll need the StazOn brand stamp cleaner to clean off this ink — and you'll need to clean it immediately.
• If clay gets stuck in the crevices of a stamp, press a ball of softened clay into the stamp to remove the extra clay.

Hopefully these tips will help stamping newbies feel a little less lost in the craft store, and help rubber stampers feel more confident about which of their supplies they can use with polymer clay. Next in the series, I'll talk about some of the rubber stamping techniques you can use with polymer clay, both before and after baking.

Have any hints on your own favorite inks, stamps, etc. to use with polymer clay? I'd love to hear from you...

Posts in This Series:

1. Rubber Stamping Basics for Polymer Clay
2. Rubber Stamp Techniques for Polymer Clay
3. How to Make a Rubber Stamped Coaster
4. Video: How to Heat Emboss on Polymer Clay
5. How to Make an Ultrasound Frame

Posted in: Polymer Clay , Supplies & Tools | Comments (5)

Katherine Dewey's Creating Life-Like Animals in Polymer Clay book has been on my wish list for a while, so I was thrilled when my sister gifted it to me. I was even more excited when my sister, who's still new to claying and all its possibilities, hinted that she'd peeked inside and was extremely impressed. She started asking about armatures and baking time, and I thought, "Aha! A good book for converting new clay enthusiasts!"

After bringing the book home and trying a couple of its projects, I too am extremely impressed with it. But I'm not so sure it's a good book for new clay-ers.

About the Book

Dewey's book has instructions for 10 different polymer clay animal sculptures, including a mouse, rabbit, seal, bear, dog, fawn, fox, frog, bird, and kitten. Her style is realistic, not the cartoon-style sculptures you find in many polymer clay animal books. And she does a wonderful job of leading you through the creation of these animals. Each animal has 20-40 steps, and each step includes a good-quality photo, leading you gently from ball of clay to finished, painted sculpture.

Not only are Dewey's project instructions wonderful, but she also does one of the best jobs I've seen of going over clay basics. She talks about clay's chemical make-up and leaching in a clear, interesting way. She has a section on making your own tools (and not just the standard stuff, either), plus how to make basic shapes and armatures.

I also like Dewey's painting lessons. She gives great information about going beyond the basics in painting: doing dry-brush coats and color washes, and using tiny little paintbrushes. This book really helped me get my head around some more complex painting techniques.

And she tries to help you take the next step, including instructions for changing the pose and size of the animals (her discussion of volume on p. 116 was illuminating to me). Each project in the book includes several line drawings of the animal, to help you visualize its structure. At the end, she recommends several art anatomy books to use for reference in continuing your animal sculpting.

My Experience

I jumped in and tried the book's first project, the field mouse, right away. I'm pretty new to sculpting, so I learned a lot during that project. Such as... sculpting takes a long, long time (at least for me)! The mouse took me 6 hours to make, not including baking or drying time. Now granted, I tend to be the slow, meticulous type, so your sculpture may go faster. But that leads to one of my complaints about the book. I made some beginner mistakes on that first piece. I misunderstood her measuring method (so my mouse wasn't the right size), then I didn't make my texture deep enough to work well with her painting recommendations. I wish she'd had a more basic project — something that didn't take 6 hours — so I could have figured some of that out with a smaller time investment.

After dragging my feet a bit, I finally tried the book's second project and felt much more confident about it. It still took me 5+ hours (even without the painted finish she suggests), but at least I didn't feel like I'd wasted my time with silly mistakes. She introduced some new techniques in the second chapter, and a glance through the other chapters gives me the impression that she'll continue to build on previous lessons. So while you may not have to do the projects in order, you'll probably need to at least read through some of the preceding chapters to know what you're doing.

I don't feel (yet) like I could take this to the next level and sculpt animals from drawings in an animal anatomy book (or by studying my sleeping cat, for that matter). Maybe that will come with continued practice, but I wish Dewey had included some tips on making that leap. Maybe a chapter with sketches of 4-5 more animals and a few pointers on how to try them on your own...?

If you're ready to invest some time in learning about polymer clay sculpture, you can't beat this book. Dewey's photo tutorials do an excellent job of leading you to a finished product. But if you're interested in quick projects and instant gratification claying, this book may not be for you.

Summary

Title: Creating Life-Like Animals in Polymer Clay
Price: $16 + shipping (Amazon)

Who It's Good For

• Intermediate clayers. It has sufficient step-by-step photos for a beginning clayer, but the scope of even the early projects is huge. I'm afraid all but the most determined beginners would get overwhelmed and frustrated.
• Clayers interested in learning about realistic sculpture.
• Clayers who want to learn how to enhance their sculpts with painting.

Pros

• Covers clay basics better than many books.
• Great painting tips for folks more comfortable with clay than with paint.
• Lots and lots of photos to guide you through the steps.

Cons

• Projects are all very involved (mine took 5-6 hours each), making it a poor choice for beginners or impatient types.
• I would like to see more of a bridge from the step-by-step examples to making your own animal sculptures.

Posted in: Reviews | Comments (3)

All too often, the first question I hear from polymer clay newbies is how to keep their clay from burning.

I hate that question. Not because it's a difficult question to answer — but because I know the heartbreak reflected in having to ask it. I've had my share of burned pieces over the years, and some of them were just devastating. I'm not usually overly emotional, but I've definitely shed some tears over ruined work. And I know that kind of disappointment can be enough to keep a new clayer from ever touching the stuff again.

Plus, maybe it's like the Murphy's Law of Polymer Clay, but it seems to me that more work you put into a project, the more likely you are to run into problems baking it. One clay artist calls those burned pieces her "sacrifice to the clay gods." (The quote stuck with me, but not the name of the artist I got it from — please leave a comment if you know.)

In the interest of keeping those sacrifices to a minimum, here's a few tips on keeping your polymer clay pieces from burning:

• 

  Get a good oven thermometer. I've never had a toaster oven where the temperature dial was accurate. I bought a Taylor brand oven thermometer I really like on Amazon for $12 and leave it in my toaster oven at all times. Other oven thermometers would probably work, too, but I noticed the cheap-o one I had was slower to register temperature changes and harder to read accurately.

  It seems worth mentioning here that burning clay is a temperature thing, not a time thing. If the oven temperature goes above the recommended temperature for that brand of clay, it will start to burn. However, baking for longer than the minimum time should be fine.This is nice for complicated pieces, since it allows you to bake in stages. Plus many folks feel that clay that's baked longer is stronger. I've read that some brands' lighter colors may start to brown slightly (but not burn) with longer/multiple bake times — see more on solutions for that below.

• Preheat the oven. I'm not sure "preheat" is the right word, actually. In my toaster oven, the temperature soars to over 400 degrees before settling on the right temperature after about 10 minutes. So maybe "pre-cool-down" would be more accurate? Regardless, be sure to let your oven get to the right temperature before putting your polymer clay in. If I were to put my clay in as soon as I turned my oven on, it would definitely scorch.

• Consider changing ovens (maybe). Some of the most reliable toaster ovens I've had were $5 or less at a garage sale, so I certainly don't think expensive ovens are necessary. But if you run some tests with your toaster oven and find that it just can't keep a consistent temperature, it may be time to try a different one.

  Some folks love their convection toaster ovens, saying those are better at keeping a consistent temperature throughout the oven. I tried a couple of different convection ovens from JC Penney's Cooks line, and I couldn't get the convection oven settings to work on either. It wouldn't stay at clay temperature no matter what I tried. I was able to get the toaster oven portion on the same ovens to work, though, so all wasn't lost (and they're big, so they have plenty of room for baking lots of stuff). Still, not all convection ovens are created equal. Do some research and get some recommendations before investing in anything.

• Be careful with certain clay brands and colors. Some polymer clay brands are just more susceptible to getting toasted. Original Sculpey white and some lighter colors of Sculpey III are especially bad about this, though I generally wouldn't recommend those brands anyway since they tend to be more brittle after baking. But you may run into the same problem with better brands' whites or translucents. If so, try taking some extra precautions (such as polyfill or tenting) when baking.

• 

  Try polyfill and/or tenting. If I have a tall sculpture with a piece that's a little closer to the heating element than I like, I'll often use polyfill for some extra protection. Polyfill's good for preventing the slight browning of lighter clays.

  Another method many clayers swear by is tenting with aluminum foil. I've only done this a few time, so I'll refer you to Glass Attic's baking page for some tips on tenting and otherwise enclosing your clay while baking.

• If all else fails, paint. Sometimes a browned piece can be salvaged with a little acrylic paint. At least try it before you throw that masterpiece away!

While the occasional "mis-fire" may still occur, I hope these tips will help keep those heartbreaking burned pieces few and far between.

I'd love to hear your tips, too. Just leave a comment below.

Posted in: Polymer Clay , Tips & Techniques | Comments (21)

Pam sent me a nice email the other day. She's thinking about starting an Etsy shop and asked the following question:

"I'm wanting to photograph my work but have no idea whatsoever how to showcase the color, texture, etc. Obviously, just sitting a piece on a countertop and taking a picture doesn't work ~ so, what do I need to get started (cheaply) to take some really nice, crisp photos?"

I'm no photo expert. In fact, I used to really hate taking photos. Until a couple of years ago, I tried to get away with scanning everything — cards, jewelry, even 3-D items. But I finally decided to work on photography, and it's made a huge difference. So here are 5 tips that helped me improve my photos:

1. Start with great lighting. Some folks have access to great natural lighting, setting up next to a window or even doing all their photos outdoors on sunny days. Our house doesn't have the best lighting — and I'm just not patient enough to wait for a pretty day to take all my photos — so we bought some clip-on lights and some daylight spectrum light bulbs. Since we wanted a solution that would work for lighting both photos and videos, we found a tutorial and put together some homemade light stands to clip the lights onto.
2. 

   Use a light box. Using the clip lights (or other bright light sources) by themselves isn't ideal. Bright lighting creates more shadows and harsher colors than soft, filtered lighting. One easy way to control your lighting is to use a light box. My light box is the one thing that made the biggest improvement in my photo quality — and it was cheap and simple to make, following Strobist's light box tutorial.

   In front of my light box, I have a mini-tripod set up. Tripods help get a stable, non-shaky picture (shaky pictures are blurry pictures). And since my mini-tripod doesn't always give me the height I want, I keep a stack of notebooks to set the tripod on. I'll add some or take some away, depending on the angle I want for a particular photo.

3. Get to know your camera. I used to be afraid of cameras, but when I decided to get serious about taking better photos, I took the time to explore my camera's different functions. Glance through the manual, or just flip through the menus. You might find it has a function that's just what you need.

   For example, when I'm doing photo tutorials and need to photograph both my hands doing something, I use my camera's delay setting. (You probably need a tripod if you want to try this yourself.) I'd done this for quite some time with varied success — sometimes it worked great, but sometimes I'd move at just the wrong second and get a blur. It was a bit of a pain setting the timer up and doing the pose again. One day I found the multi-burst function on my camera, which takes multiple photos in quick succession. One or two may be blurry, but there's a pretty good chance I'll get at least one good one in the series. Exploring your camera's options may help you make a similarly useful discovery.

   Speaking of cameras, it's easy to get overwhelmed by all the camera options out there. If you're buying a new one, read some reviews from a trusted source, preferably from people who have used the camera in ways similar to how you'll be using it. But keep in mind that you don't have to have the newest, highest resolution camera to get a good picture.
4. Get some software. I always do some clean-up on my photos after shooting. Usually I just crop it down and do any necessary color correction. If there are specks or dirt, I'll also use my software's healing brush tool to get rid of those. Because of my computer background, I have (and prefer) the full Adobe Photoshop package. But it's expensive and has a pretty big learning curve — so it's probably not be the best choice if you're a beginner or just doing basic photo editing. I've heard good things about the cheaper and more scaled-back Photoshop Elements... and there are plenty of other options. Here's a few software reviews to get you started.
5. Finally, play. The nice thing about digital cameras is that you can try lots of things and get rid of the shots you don't like. Try different angles to see which one works best for a particular photo. Notice photo styles you like on Flickr and Etsy, then translate those preferences into a style that's your own. Try photos with and without background props to see what appeals to you. (This Etsy how-to video has some tips on backgrounds, among other things.) As you practice and play, you'll start to discover what feels most comfortable to you.

I still have a lot to learn when it comes to photography, but after following these steps, I can tell a real improvement in my pictures. And the best part is I actually enjoy it now! When I write tutorials, I have fun trying to figure out the best way to tell the story through pictures. And when I find myself with a good pic (or get a compliment on Flickr), it feels great.

I hope these tips help Pam and any of the rest of you who are trying to take better product photos. I'd love to hear what works for you, too.

Posted in: The Business of Crafting

I love that Irene Semanchuk Dean's Faux Surfaces in Polymer Clay book has two parts for each imitative surface: first a recipe, then a project. Not only does she show you how to mix up a realistic-looking mother-of-pearl, but she also shows you how to incorporate that into a typical mother-of-pearl inlay project, enhancing the perception that it's the real thing.

Her book helped me look at faux in a whole new light. It's not only how good the surface looks — it's also what you do with it. Your faux turquoise surface may look perfect, but you have to consider shapes and sizes of natural turquoise if you want to really hit the mark with your finished project. If a stone is typically carved, then digging out your carving tools after baking will help make it look more realistic.

And the same applies to leather. If you lived through the 70's, you probably had a leather kit with carving tools and hand stamps. So what says leather more than those familiar motifs?

Available at some craft stores or online, leather-working tools are a great addition to your polymer clay stash, especially if you want to give faux leather a realistic look. The nice part is that polymer clay takes the impression of these stamps much more easily than leather. (If you have trouble with the metal tools sticking to your clay, try dusting the clay with cornstarch or spritzing it with water first.)

Some of the tool kits also include patterns. Mine had great tips for combining individual stamps to create borders and other designs. Using their ideas made it easy to create good-looking designs that have a definite leather look to them. (You can also find free leather patterns on Tandy's site.)

I got my set of 7 Tandy leather tools at my local Hobby Lobby for $16.99 and have really enjoyed them. Combine these tools with this great leather recipe from Polymer Clay Web for a fun faux leather look.

Posted in: Quick Tips , Supplies & Tools