Tile Inspiration

If you are like me, when you look at these Mexican Talavera tiles, you see patterns for polymer clay canes.

While daunting because of the intricacy of the patterns, I find these tiles intriguing and would like to create similar patterns in polymer clay. Are you intrigued, too?

Send us photos of your experiments. We would love to see your work. 

Photo credit: Mexican-Tile.net

The Body as Canvas

While it is not suggested to cover your body (or anyone else's) with polymer clay, it would be difficult not to see the possibilities inspired by the Body Painting of Trina Merry. The color palette is evocative of flower canes by our own Marcia Tzigelnik, of Israel, trading on Etsy as marsdesign; and Ivy Niles of Omaha, Nebraska, known on Etsy as ikandiclay.

Body Art by Trina Merry. Polymer clay canes by Ivy Niles on Etsy as ikandiclay.

Body Art by Trina Merry. Polymer clay canes by Marcia Tzigelnik on Etsy as marsdesign.

(Photos are the property of their individual owners. No copyright infringement is intended.)

Really Easy DIY Color Matching System

Every day in my Inbox there is a lovely (and convenient) array of color chips from DesignSeeds.com. But what if I, say, want to make a special polymer clay gift for my sister to match her Laura Ashley Bramble comforter and bed linens? Ask Sherwin-Williams!! Their online "ChipIt" color matching tool lets me turn any image into a vibrant color palette. There are two palette options available for each image accessed by just pressing a button and I can re-order the ten color chips it gives me to create a truly personalized palette. Let me show you how it works.

First, I went to the Sherwin-Williams website http://letschipit.com. I watched the demo - and you should, too. There is a neat trick. Next, I scanned a Bramble pillow sham. Then, I followed the directions to upload the image, clicked on one button, and voila there was my beautiful color palette. Just by clicking the "Edit Colors" tab, five more selections popped up. I added them to the image below to show you, even though when you do it yourself, it will look slightly different because of how I save files on my computer.

OK, so it worked on a piece of scanned fabric. What about a regular photo? I tried it on one of the images Aniko sent from Malta. Same results. Perfect. Look!!

Is this cool or what? Now, aren't you glad it's the weekend so you can go and play?

(Bramble by Laura Ashley. Blue Lagoon by Aniko Kolesnikova)

Announcing Sculpey Soufflé

It's always exciting to announce new products and today it's Sculpey Soufflé from Polyform. This innovative new clay is reportedly lightweight with a beautiful suede finish when baked. According to Polyform, Sculpey Soufflé has the strength and ability to hold detail making it perfect for advanced techniques like Mokume Gane, bargello, and caning. The clay is strong and self supporting. This means you can make larger pieces without worrying about cracking. Sculpey Soufflé comes in 22 colors that are right on trend for all the jewelry and home décor projects you can imagine. Here is a handy color chart. Click on the image for a larger size.

Photo Credit: Polyform Products revised by pcPolyzine.com

Happy Belated National Scrapbooking Day!!

Photo Credit: Patti Stoll published July 2005 in pcPolyzine.com

Scrapbooking and polymer clay is a match made in craft heaven. Polymer clay's versatility allows us to make our own scrapbook elements to enhance the pages we create. We can achieve just the right colors and elements to match our photos and memories, giving us an unlimited range of creativity at a cost that doesn't break our crafting banks.

So, in honor of National Scrapbooking Day (May 3rd) I searched the pcPolyzine Archives for an article to celebrate. In addition to our resident Queen of Scrapbooking, Linda Hess, whose creative pages have appeared in past posts, this week we feature Embellishment's by Patti (Kutz Stoll) from July 2005. Although Patti's business has moved into a different phase and she no longer offers customized handmade scrapbooking elements, her approach provides enormous inspiration and highlights what we can do to make our own scrapbooks (and handmade cards, collages, and altered books) truly one of a kind. Patti customized scrapbook elements that included color-coordinated theme kits and sometimes used materials collected from famous places - red dirt from Sedona, Arizona, for example mixed into translucent clay - to add a natural element with imitative techniques, carving, and antiquing.

We hope reading about Patti's former business venture will inspire you to draw on your own polymer clay abilities to create distinctive scrapbook elements that demonstrate your personal polymer style.