Polymer Clay and Alcohol Inks

So I've been experimenting with alcohol inks and polymer clay.  Here's a step-by-step:

1. I started with black Kato Clay, rolled it to #3 on my pasta roller, and laid down some foil composition leaf in gold.  
2. Then, I took a few drops of blending solution and spread it lightly over the foil.  
3. I dripped on various alcohol ink colors, allowing them to blend.  
4. I added some more blending solution with a tiny paintbrush to help lighten and blend the colors.
5. Dabbing at the whole thing with a makeup sponge helped blend.
6. Set it aside to dry and then cover it with a very thin (#6) sheet of translucent clay.  I used Premo because it is more transparent (MHO) than Kato Clay.  
7. I then cut it into shapes - rectangles, triangles, etc. for pendants or earrings and then used my needle tool to etch designs into the clay.
8. Bake per package directions (300 degrees for 10 minutes) and allow to cool.
9. To accentuate the carvings, I covered the whole thing with black acrylic paint, making sure to get into the grooves.  With a damp paper towel, wipe off the surface, revealing the paint left behind in the crevices.
10. I lightly sanded the edges and very lightly sanded the front and back, careful not to sand through the translucent clay. 

Now I just have to figure out how I want to finish the pieces - necklaces, earrings or what?  

Here I started with white polymer clay and no foil.  I used white acrylic paint in the crevices.  I sort of like the effect:

This one is my favorite, I think.  I plan to add a bezel of some sort, probably black with a loop for cord to wear as a pendant.

So, that's all for now!

Welcome!

Happy 2015!  A new year brings on some new ideas, so I thought I'd begin my new year with a new blog.  Ta Da!!

Let me introduce myself:  I'm Barbara, and I like to make things. 

I am a mother to a beautiful girl, wife to a great guy, and a sibling to six other brothers and sisters, with roots in Minnesota farm country.  Dairy.  Funny, that today as a 50+ year-old, I'm lactose intolerant.  What's up with that??  Oh well.

The "road less traveled" for me included living and working in Minnesota, California, Israel, Indiana, Montana, and Maryland.  My husband, daughter, and I have lived in Maryland for 15 years now, so I think we might stay here for a while. 

My "day job" is that of an Educator.  I started out as a music teacher, but today, I'm an instructional specialist for Media Arts for a large urban school district in Maryland.  I get to help teachers and other grown-ups learn how to integrate technology, the arts and all facets of media into their teaching and learning.  I'm fascinated with the Maker Movement in Education, and have lots to learn about coding, robotics, and circuits, but I see so many connections to the Common Core and to integrating the Arts that I really want to dive in and swim for a while.  I get to do that in my day job.  Cool, right?  I really love my job!

And then there is crafting.  I've been a crafter off and on since I was quite young.  Lately I've been felting and nuno-felting and have a renewed interest in working with polymer clay.  I have been a Stampin' Up! demonstrator for 10 years (10 years!) but it's been mostly to get the discount and supply my craft room with creative paper-crafting materials so I can make greeting cards and scrapbooks.  I surely have not made any money in that venture and I have no plans to quit my day job!  It is just lots of fun, and I have a few customers who help me maintain my minimums and keep my demonstratorship active.

So, enough about me.  I want to hear from you!  Are you a crafter?  An educator?  Feel free to submit a comment or two and introduce yourself.

Please check back frequently to see what I've been up to lately.  I'm headed to my craft room now to work on some polymer clay ideas that use alcohol inks and metal foil.  I plan to post some pics very soon of past and present COs (Completed Objects).

Ta ta for now,

B.