Toy of the week 2: Seamless cutters

Ever since I heard the word ‘seamless’ I’ve been wanting some of these cutters for my polymer clay use. My round metal ones were getting a bit bent out of shape from their constant use and I needed some teardrop shaped ones.
Btw…my reviews of these products are based on products I purchased, although I wouldn’t mind if companies were going to offer me some for testing, even if my reviews may not be 100% positive, they will be honest. I really wish I had had these cutters to try since although there are 9 cutters in a box, they are not exactly inexpensive. I thought ‘wow NINE cutters, that’s awesome!’ I sprung for the investment because I thought they would last me a long time. But wait there is more! They are safe in the oven up to 160Degrees Celsius or 320Fahrenheit. Great if you wanted to use them for bangles or perhaps for making boxes. They are nested like this…
and you can take out the smallest first, but if you want the largest cutter or anything in between you have to remove them all, because they are concave, that is curving inward rather than convex and curving outward as I think they should have been made! I’ll demonstrate…

I rolled some clay on a #1 (or 9 card thickness). I used the teardrop and a round. You can actually see the the cutters aren’t 100% smooth and will require a bit of sanding on your part. I’m getting more and more annoyed. So I just used my nails to scratch off the roughness and you can see that the edges on the clay just aren’t smooth at all…I rather have a seam on one tiny part of the clay that I can cut away with a blade rather than the whole circumference being rough. But that isn’t the only thing that bothers me…

The other thing is that because the cutters are concave, when you cut out an item, it actually shows. Sometimes I like to use butcher wrap over the clay before cutting to get a nice beveled edge, and even though these cutters create a beveled edge, the bevel is way too pronounced for my liking.

But what about using it to make boxes? Well, the cutters are nice and deep and although concave-ness could work in favor of a box…here is the stupid thing…there is a ridge at the halfway mark! Why? I have no idea…

…but I see two useful purposes for these cutters in regard to polymer clay…One is using them for shallow boxes and for the round cutters, use certain sizes as a bangle sizer/shaper while baking. And the other useful thing is for those with small children because I’m annoyed that I have to play the stacking game to get them back into the container…largest first…

Ok, those were just initial observations from a seamless newbie ;)

Edited to add...yes sanding has helped quite a bit. Observation is the nylon should be thinner for the smaller cutters. I also would prefer straight walls instead of concave. However, all in all the price is right...about $17 for 9...not bad.

Toy of the Week: Viva Decor Inka Gold

I’m adding a new feature to my blog, showing you some of the products I purchase that are useful and a great addition for your polymer clay addiction. I might even show you some products that might be better suited for other crafts.  The ‘Toy of the Week’ will be a glimpse into what you might see when you have the product in front of you.
I’ve been wanting to try more products from Viva Decor and I still plan on writing about them, but the first one on the list is Viva Decor Inka Gold. It’s a combination of metallic paint and waxy rub-on, however, it is water-based, so if it dries out it can be rehydrated with a bit of water. One can’t do that with petroleum paints and waxes. Like Viva Decor Pardo Clay, the Inka Gold main ingredient is beeswax. It is non-toxic, safe and easy to use. Besides polymer clay it can be used on wood, paper, plaster, ceramics and much more. It comes in 18 brilliant and inter-mixable colors.
The sampler kit includes 18 of the colors. The little pots hold 12.5g, but you can buy bigger jars of 50 and even 100grams. The sampler is a great economical start if you want to try all the colors.


These little pots, some of them have black lids and some have silver lids. The ones with black lids have inner lids with a sticky tab, that when removed might be better suited for mineral make-up. A couple of my pots had a messed up sticky tab with dried paint caked on them. The pot on the right has a different inner lid. Anyway, I removed all the inner lids and put them inside plastic baggies. This was a messy job and had to wash and wipe my fingers after removing every one of them. Why not just toss the lids? because frugal me will probably use the paint that is still on them.

Apparently my dry paint pots (and they are really flaky dry!) I’m supposed to simply rehydrate it with some water. I poked holes into the paint and added a few drops. By tomorrow it is supposed to be creamy again. The caution is not to add too much water on the surface or the paint could become mouldy as there are no preservatives. I’ll let you know how it turns out… and I’ll show you a little bit about how it will look on your clay…This was just the teaser, lol.
…stay tuned…
 In the US you can find Viva Decor products at this wonderful Site, Polyclayplay

Viva Decor
The site says they have 20 colors, but that is a misprint.

Pearls and a new Resin obsession

Pearls and Polymer Clay: The last couple of days I’ve been assembling some of the many “Batik & Shimmer” and “Low Relief” pendants I’ve been creating and amassing into a rather large collection. I’m rather happy with these 3 and 5 pendant necklaces with pearl clusters and chains. The chains are a little longer than how I can fit on the bust and sit more in line with the beading.

Resin and Cabochons:
Besides my continual work with polymer clay, my usual application of surface resin has turned into a bit of a resin obsession. Right now I’m in the mood to create sparkly dichroic-like cabochons. These are actually my first pieces with a new type of resin I wanted to try. They will get better I’m sure, but am really very happy with these.

I am so impressed with this stuff. For one it doesn’t have any noticeable odour when mixing or curing. Second, it is easy to measure with a 2 to 1 ratio (rather than UV method, or the standard 1 to 1 ratios with the smelly types). If you are odour sensitive like I am, you will really appreciate this. Third, and I think this may be helpful with polymer clay creations…the resin stays bendy for a period of time before curing to its full hardness. This allows one to manipulate the resin piece into a curved shape! I haven’t tried baking a cured piece with my clay yet…will report if it’s ok or not…Fourth, the site has plenty of tips, projects, inspiration, even video tutorials and helpful supplies such as doming ‘drip trays’.

This resin and system is the brainchild of Fran Valera of “Little Windows”. I have to admit that I’ve had immediate success with this system, better than any other type. 1 to 1 ratio resins while satisfying when they worked, sometimes they would stay tacky, disappointing when you made a big batch of pendants! or my Epoxy UV resin would suddenly only cure on the surface and then slide off the project (NOT Magic Glos, that UV resin is fine) The other downside with the Epoxy UV resin, you can only cure thin layers at a time and wouldn’t be able to mix dark inclusions into this as light can’t penetrate dark matter to allow curing underneath. With this Little Windows ™ resin you can mix in all kinds of dry things such as embossing powder, glitter, mica powders, metal pulver…
Fran teaches you how to make these beauties with this and other fun videos…
Btw…if you do decide to make a purchase and want to try this for yourself, there is a little referral on the site. You’d make me really happy if you said Tina Holden sent you.

Want a Signature Stamp?

Have you considered a signature stamp for your polymer clay items, but the expense has been holding you back? You need no longer delay. You can get one for Free! Huh?? Really?? How!? Through Vistaprint!  How can they can give away things for free or for so cheaply? I’ve been dealing with them for quite a while now and have been very happy with their products and services. Less than 2 weeks ago I ordered 100 Postcards (both sides printed), 250 business cards (both sides printed), 280 matching address labels, 250 Earring cards(both sides printed) and my signature stamp, just $35 including tax and shipping. Pretty amazing, huh?
My real signature isn’t decipherable, so I wouldn’t want one with my actual signature. I didn’t choose the free one either since I wanted to have control of the font size (that's a penny in the left photo beside the stamped polymer clay piece). Still, for less than $4 I now have what I’ve been wanting for a while. The self-inking stamp with personalized plate comes un-mounted which is great since I just want to use the little rubber stamp to imprint my polymer clay work. The box says ‘made in Austria’

This is one of my Earring Cards. I have some customized printing on the back. The front is nice and simple. Vistaprint has all sorts of photos and designs to choose from, one can even upload their own designs or jpg. I used to print my own earring cards, but the cardstock isn’t as sturdy as this business card is.

No, they didn’t compensate me for this great review, lol, but I wanted to pass this good deal on to you. Oh, and yes, the earrings are for sale…

Inkjet and Faux Jade Rose Earrings

I made two earrings this week for the 52 Earrings a Year Challenge. The theme was Twigs for #13 and for #14 I chose to make Faux Jade Ear gauges. I believe I’m now caught up with the challenge!

Well, trees aren’t exactly twigs, but these leaf-less trees reminded me of twigs, so I made Inkjet transfers on Kato polyclay and then covered them with resin. I altered the sky to give it a pink hue. Some ‘twigs’ of coral beads and iris purple glass beads dangling from them complete this pair.

For #14 I chose to make a Faux Nephrite Jade and turned them into faux ear gauges with some roses. I couldn’t fit the stud properly on the hard bust. They fit a person much better, but I don’t have any live models. the little swirl on the stud isn’t supposed to be sticking out, but one gets the idea of the look.

#15’s theme is going to be Easter. I’m not into Bunnies and Eggs sort of thing, so will have to think that one out…maybe I’ll be inspired by something a bit more spiritual…stay tuned.

Reusing and simple photography box

Who these days still listens to cassette tapes? Probably no one, but hey, if 8-tracks and LP’s could make a Retro comeback, why not these! I still have a dozen Maxell cassette tapes in their wrapper if they should become a collectible, lol. And a cassette tape recorder in working order. Well, the quality just isn’t like digital is, but neither are 8-tracks or LP’s. Maybe they just take us back to the good old days.

Anyway, I stored my polymer clay on a shelf but thought it wasn’t such a good idea in the winter since I have the heat on a lot and heat rises…so when hubby asked me if I wanted 4 old cassette tape drawers I immediately thought of clay storage. They have convenient slots, but the problem was when I opened the drawer, the weight of the blocks would knock themselves over and off the back of the drawers which made it impossible to close again. So I cut some cardboard from a cereal box (Cornflakes anyone?) and made backs for the drawers. Now they work. I have plenty more clay refills in a bigger box stored in a cool dark place, but for a quick fix I have these drawers. I just labelled them so I know where to find which colour. My printer sits on one and open blocks of clay are in a decorative tin.

Here is my photo studio. I accidentally deleted a photography how to from 5 years ago…oops. But here is a simple way to photograph your items…with a frosted tote bin. I lined it with white poster board, but use other decorative papers (and some of my water colours) as backdrops. My desk lights are long daylight tubes, so I don’t need any other lighting.

Tentacles and out of the box

I’m really in the mood to make some non-regular Earrings, ear hangers, gauges, posts, clip-on type. Although I like any style of familiarity when it comes to earrings, I feel the need to get out of using the same style of hooks and just dangling something from them. Those have become too routine and I need to get out of the box and explore a bit more. Anyone else feel like that?

Just recently when I made these dragons #8, my mother who is turning the big seven O this year requested to please send them to her. I asked if she really would want to wear these and she replied “oh YES!” I already had someone else request them, so made another pair. Then she saw these and wanted them too. She still looks good with her auburn long hair, so yes, I can imagine them, but requested a photo…not sure if she’ll let me post it here tho, lol.

So, after my daughter snagged these earrings, I went about and created this similar pair as well as the next with faux glass droplets which is number 12 on the 52 earrings a year challenge. Both use my crackle technique.

The next is #13 and has a Theme…”Twigs” and a few people have already begun to post them…so I better work on that, although the above pair looks kind of twiggy.

Happy Spring!

It’s officially Spring, but can’t tell by our weather…we had snow today. Wondering why we couldn’t have had this on Christmas, lol. Actual Winter seems to be starting later and later, although I heard Saskatchewan had summer temps of 26 Degrees. Weird or what! We’ve been having Hurricanes and pelting hail, then sunshine, all in one day but the only heat is from the fireplace…

Anyway, about winds…the last couple of days were an absolute whirlwind, since my newest Crackle Technique was Featured on Polymer Clay Daily! The result was just like the title says! Absolutely amazing! Thanks Cynthia! lol

I wanted to post these earrings sooner. They are my #11 in the 52 Earrings a Year Challenge on Flickr. The theme is ‘Spring’ and fitting for this 1. day thereof.  Wondering which ones to submit??

Playing catch up

I’ve had to do some catching up with a whole bunch of things at home here, but also meant to post more earrings and I’m behind. So I’m posting my #9 and #10 Earrings at the same time. This is for the Earring Challenge which you can visit by clicking on the widget to the right of this post.

These earrings weren’t really challenging in the sense of execution, but a challenge with the time limitations I’m having at the moment. Hope to come up with something better for #11 which has a Theme “Spring”. wish me luck! (it’s been stormy, hailing and snow.I could use a little Spring, lol)

#9 are some Faux hammered Copper Earrings. To make the hammered look, I used a stylus to emboss the clay and then applied metallic copper mica.

#10 Hawaiian Hibiscus Crackle with resin. I used my New Crackle Technique along with one of my stencils. I silkscreened the Hibiscus with copper paint.

52 Earrings a Year #8 Lucky Dragon

Number 8 is considered a Lucky number in Chinese and Japanese Culture although for slightly different reasons. It’s only fitting then that my 8th earring would be a dragon since this is also the Year of the Dragon. In the Chinese Zodiac, the Dragon is the mightiest of the signs. Dragons symbolize such character traits as dominance and ambition. Dragons prefer to live by their own rules and if left on their own, are usually successful. They’re driven, unafraid of challenges, and willing to take risks. There is much more to be said about this sign, but Dragons aren’t just found in Asian Culture but pervade much of Nordic and Germanic Mythology also and probably many other cultures as well.
2012 is the year of the Water Dragon. Water calms the Dragon’s fire. Water Dragons are able to see things from other points of view. They don’t have the need to always be right. Their decisions, if well-researched, are usually better since they allow others to become involved. This is my interpretation for an earring…You can be involved in commenting about it…


“Pyra”, a Fire Dragon, is not too amused having this little guy crawl all over her, but she’s fairly patient. She’s turning a little red, so I better give her a breather and put this nameless little guy in the ear of the Venus bust…Just a little fun! Can be worn a few different ways…

While I was at it I made another pair of simple spirals which can also be worn a few different ways…

or like this…

SSSSlithering precioussss ssssomethings, these ones were made with a crackled texture…I think I’m going to make more along those lines.