Polymer Clay podcast and TV

Hi Everyone! We're back in action- we filmed 12 episodes of Polymer Clay TV and Polymer Clay Classroom last weekend and had a blast. We're doing the videos in a new format and we hope you love them. We will be showing basic gold leaf techniques next week, so don't miss that. LISTEN to to podcast right here! [display_podcast] We reviewed a book called Clay Techniques with a Pasta Machine, by Maureen Carlson (who we interviewed in the Synergy podcast- be sure to listen to that one.) This book is published by Design Originals- www.d-originals.comhttp://www.d-originals.com"www.d-originals.com. We really like it, it is my favorite book to point people to when they want to know why they need a pasta machine. I don't know what I did before I got mine (actually, I remember lots of failed attempts to make nice smooth flat sheets) and we highly recommend it. We will be giving a copy away to a lucky listener this month, so be sure to sign up for our newsletter or comment on the site. We enter everyone who does into our monthly contests. Next month, we will be unveiling the first of several new elements of Polymer Clay Podcast - our Monthly Call for Creativity. We are hoping that with a little "directed inspiration" we can all challenge ourselves to be creative and learn new techniques. So each month, we will announce three things- an overall theme, a technique, and an object to focus on. For example: Theme: Ocean, Technique: Silver Leaf, Focus object: lightswitch plates. Then, you can show us your creativity by making something either for the focus group (a lightswitch plate) or the Open Call- which means you would make anything you are inspired to make, using the Ocean theme and silver leaf. We will be building a special board in our forum where you can discuss the theme, show your pictures, and vote for the People's Choice Awards. The winners will receive a gift from us- and we will also randomly choose a winner from the folks that come over and vote. We haven't completely "fleshed out" this idea yet, but we will be announcing our first Call on October 1 in our Newsletter and we hope that our first month is fun and inspirational for everyone. Please consider donating Bottles of Hope or polymer clay supplies to our friend Barbara Reider for distribution at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in MA. She has been very active in getting a Bottles of Hope program going there, and we think it's a great cause to support. Please support our show by reviewing our podcast, either at itunes, Meefeedia, or anywhere else you pick up our podcast or videos (youtube, google, myspace, etc.) We really appreciate the kudos, thanks to everyone who has helped to increase our rankings! Be sure to sign up for the newsletter this month, and come back next week for our Silver and Gold leaf video!

This week, Ilysa shows some of her work and discusses her experience with art and craft shows. Enjoy the video. We plan to film our next series of instructional videos this weekend, hopefully the fates will allow it! We have great plans in store for a slightly new format that we know you're going to love and the best part is, we took our audience's advice. We love your feedback, so please keep it coming!

This week we review Polymer Clay Treasures from Heart in Hand, Lisa Pavelka's demo video. Visit our site, polymerclayproductions.com, for full shownotes and links.

Learn how to use polymer clay with rubber stamps to create popular jewelry items. Visit polymerclayproduction.com for full show notes.

Today we give you interviews with Seth Lee Saverik, Sarah Shriver, Maggie Maggio, and Maureen Carlson. They have each told us a little about themselves, and something about the conference, which is happening next February in Baltimore, Maryland on the East Coast of the US. It promises to be an exciting event, so be sure to check out the class catalog at the NPCG's website. Enjoy. This is a long podcast- an hour and 3 minutes. It may take a few minutes to download.

Watch today's video and see us demonstrate the use of liquid dye inks with polymer clays such as fimo, premo, sculpey, kato, and cernit. Dye inks change the color of clay, are a little messy to work with, can be mixed into new colors, and are not the right inks to use with stamps. The color will bleed. But that quality makes them fun to use! Listen to last week's podcast for more information about dye inks.

While at Summer CHA 2007, Ilysa and Kira met three of the polymer clay artists that we "knew" from other places- the forums at Polymer Clay Central, various places where clay, canes, and beads are sold, and Kira and Lynne Ann did a swap a while ago. It is nice to finally put faces to names. Lynne Ann and Tommie were winners in the Bottle of Hope awards, too. Enjoy, we did. Thanks, you guys! You Rock.

For your viewing pleasure, here is part 2 of Amaco's Bottle of Hope awards, which we filmed at the Summer CHA show in Chicago. Lisa Pavelka is the MC, and in this part of the ceremony she will announce the winners.

Here's part 1 of Amaco's bottle of hope ceremony.

If you get this on an RSS feed, you will have to visit our site to watch this week's video- Join us as we discuss our experience at the CHA show (Craft & Hobbies Association) in Chicago last weekend. It was great fun. We met a few polymer clay artists as well as representatives of the three polymer clay suppliers- Amaco, Polyform, and Makins. We did video interviews with Lynne, Tommie, and Cat which will air next Friday, and filmed Amaco’s Bottle of Hope awards. You can watch part 1 today, and part 2, as well as the interviews, will air next week. We saw Polyform’s new product, Studio by Sculpey, and got a few samples to share with you. We also talked to Donna Dewberry about the upcoming release of Studio clay in December, as well as the Home Décor projects she has planned. Some of the things displayed in the booth included wall mirrors, vases, candlesticks, votive holders, and garden tables. The clay was used sculpturally to make floral and leaf designs, as well as made to look like faux tiles. It was interesting and we will share more about this new clay as Polyform gives us the info.   It was so much fun to visit the show as Press. We were treated really well by CHA, the Press has a quiet room away from the hustle where we could have a hot drink or get cold water, sit for a minute, and conduct our interviews. This is also where we picked up catalogs and samples left by companies that wanted to get the word out about their new products. Definitely visit a CHA show if you get the chance!   We also picked up some great product samples to review and try, and some to give away. Coming soon to our shop- a prize gallery, where if you win a monthly giveaway, you can pick your prize!   Here are some links to things we talked about today- www.studiobysculpey.com (nothing there yet but stay tuned) www.makinsclay.com (air dry polymer clay…and wonderful tools) www.amaco.com (check out the Bottles of Hope auction!) www.riverpoetdesign.com (Lynne Ann Schwarzenberg- check out her classes) www.catherienarts.com (Cat- check out her free video demos on Monday nights) www.pcagoe.com – vote on your favorite representation of “Summer memories‿ to win a prize!   Don’t forget to leave us comments on our site in order to be entered to win one of our Studio by Sculpey clay samples. Also please consider writing us a review wherever you download your podcast- itunes, meefedia, yahoo, google, odeo….reviews help our rankings, so we thank you for taking the time!

Surprise! Your video is one day early. We hope you enjoy it, and we can't wait to report back to you from CHA! It's been an exciting week as we get ready and hope that we don't forget to bring anything with us! Last week, we talked about pigment inks and now you get to see them in action, being stamped, rubbed, painted, and mushed onto and into polymer clay. We used Tsukineko Brilliance Dewdrops, which are small but thick and juicy stamp pads. They have a pointy edge so you can really get them where you want them to go, and a broad end for bigger areas. We would like to take a moment to gently remind you to give us a review wherever you pick up your video and podcasts- itunes, meefedia, youtube, google videos- they all have a review system in place and it would really help if our audience members started telling others how they feel about the show. Thank you and we'll talk next week!  

There are two general types of inks that you can use, referred to as Pigment inks, which we talk about today, and Alcohal or Dye inks, which we saved for our next podcast in two weeks. The main difference between the two is that pigment inks stay where you put them, and dye inks "bleed" and tend to dye whatever clay is around them a new color. Pigment inks are created with ground pigments, much like the pigment powder we discussed last week, and a wetting agent or "binder." The simplest binder is water, but the company creating the ink decides what else to put in the ink to create it's many properties- such as how long it stays wet, how flexible it is, how opaque it is, and whether or not you need to heat set it. Most pigment inks need to be heat set on polymer clay so they won't smear. That makes using them with clay very convenient, since you have to bake it anyway! You can use pigment inks on top of uncured clay, you can mix it in to change the color of the clay, you can partially mix it in- which creates a marbled effect, you can use a stamp to make an image, you can use the stamp pad, your finger, or a brush to put ink exactly where you want it. You can put it on the raised areas of a design, or you can paint it into the cracks of a textured design. You can even use it as a mold release instead of water or cornstarch. You can stamp onto a baked piece of clay if you want to see the stamped image clearly. You can brush or smear it onto baked clay to create antiqued effects or to highlight a portion of a design. Pigment ink is so versatile with polymer clay you will never run out of ways to use it. Be sure to come back and watch Polymer Clay TV next week, when we will demonstrate everything we discussed in our podcast. Special thanks to Tsukineko- they sent us a box of goodies to try out and we selected DewDrop inks in metallic and pearlescent colors to feature in this episode, and also in Polymer Clay Classroom- our downloadable full length project tutorial where you can watch, learn, and create along with us as we make two different light switch covers using polymer clay and DewDrop inkpads. I'm publishing early tonight- Harry Potter 5 is calling and I must answer the call! I will never grow up...

In this third edition of Polymer Clay TV, Ilysa and Kira demonstrate how to add some flair and flash to your polymer clay artwork using powdered pigments. We show you how to put it on top of a raised area of clay to highlight it; how to use it as a mold release to keep your clay from sticking to a stamp, texture sheet or mold; how to make your own pigments from chalk, pastel, or makeup; and other types of powdered pigments available at the store. We demonstrate the Pink-Gold powdered pigment available in our shop, beautiful on black clay or colored clay. And finally, we show you how to use pigments as an inclusion- this means putting it inside the clay to change the actual color of the clay from the inside out. After watching and playing with your clay and powdered pigments, why not stop in at our forum or flickr group to show us what you made, or discuss your learning process, or ask questions if we weren't clear to you? We look forward to hearing from our viewers! Don't forget to sign up for the newsletter. You could be a winner, like Cynthia T. who won our monthly prize for June and got a free kit!  

So, you've seen powdered pigments at the craft stores, packaged under names like Perfect Pearls and Pearl-ex, and even online manufacturers of beads and scrapbooking supplies have gotten into the idea of selling pigments. What are they and how do you use them? That�s what we are talking about today, and will be showing next week in our videocast. You must come back next Friday to watch the show, because that�s how you will really understand what we are talking about.   Pigments have been used since art was born. Cave dwellers used natural materials such as plant parts and iron ores to leave marks on cave walls�now kids have the same idea when they use manufactured chalks on the sidewalk. A powdered pigment is by nature, dry. You can try anything with polymer clay- eye makeup, shavings from pastels, fine glitters�but you will really want to try using finely ground powdered pigments made especially for the task. We have our own line, and in the future you will see many more carefully crafted colors.   Powdered pigments work great with clay because the clay is tacky before baking, and anything (everything!!! Including lint and cat hair!!!) will stick to it easily. So for this technique, you will be exploiting the tacky nature of the clay. Powdered pigments go a long way. You do not need a lot to cover a piece, in fact when you get really excited and work with it a lot, you will probably lose/waste as much as you put onto the clay. Don�t use it on a windy day�it will blow away. In fact, don�t sneeze in it�s presence- same result. You can apply it with your fingers or a brush. Ilysa likes to use her fingers, Kira has a special soft brush that was actually made for watercolor painting. You can use one color, or a few, on the same piece. As long as you have bare clay showing, you can get pigment stuck to it.   Here�s a starter list of ways to use powdered pigments: Ã�·        highlight the raised areas on a textured piece of clay Ã�·        use it on a stamp as a mold release Ã�·        mix it into translucent clay to add tint and sparkle Ã�·        mix it into liquid clay to add color Ã�·        mix it into your sealer as a final splash of color and sparkle coat your clay, stamp into it, bake, and then sand off the high parts- see the pigment stuck in the cracks?     You will invent your own ways of using powdered pigments, why not come over to the forum or post on our flickr group to show them off?   Next week we will show you all this and more on Polymer Clay TV�and we are also releasing our second Downloadable tutorial. This one shows us making mini books using textured clay covers with pigment powders and papers by Basic Grey. They were kind enough to sponsor the show and sent us a selection of papers and fibers to play with. Their paper is so fun we had a really hard time deciding which ones to use! But we have created three fun kits for you, if you purchase the kit you can follow right along with the video to make your own book.   Remember to sign up for the newsletter this week! We will be releasing our first one shortly, and also announcing the winner of this month�s contest. All newsletter subscribers are automatically entered. This month you could win one of our kits!   Visit www.polymerclayproductions.com  

You can click right here to play on your computer, or download to your ipod on itunes, or use the link on the sidebar to get our show in other podcast and vidcast directories. Online Videos by Veoh.com Have you ever wondered how polymer clay artists get such wonderful visual textures on their clay pieces? This episode will show the basics- how to choose a texture tool with a nicely impressed image or design, and how to get your clay into and out of the texture tool easily. First of all, you need a rubber stamp, texture sheet, rolling pin, or some other tool with a texture on it- and that texture should be “deeply impressed.‿ What that means is if it isn’t deep enough, it won’t leave a good mark in the clay. Here are some pictures of the stamps we used. Before and while using your texture tools, you need to decide if a release is needed. If your clay is too mushy and sticky, or if it’s hot and humid, or if your stamp or tool is really deep and your clay gets stuck in it when you practice, you will probably need a release. This is just something that will get between your clay and your tool and keep the clay from sticking inside the tool. Water is a great release with polymer clay because the clay is not water soluble. Cornstarch is another good one- but only in certain circumstances. Cornstarch will stick to your clay and get onto it- but after baking, it dissolves in water. So it’s a good choice if you are going to decorate your clay after baking it. Not a good choice, say, if you want to decorate your clay with powdered pigments or inks prior to baking, because the cornstarch will stick to the clay and get in the way of the other things you might want to put on the clay. If you have some pigment powders you can try using that as a release. Just dust the clay and stamp with powdered pigments and stamp away. You can also try using pigment inks- I stamp all over the texture sheet and press my clay onto it. The ink gets into the crevices of the stamp and the wetness keeps the clay from sticking. Experiment and see which release works best for you! We will be releasing our first downloadable project in our Shop shortly, and it is a full length video that teaches you how to make four polymer clay magnets from start to finish, using the texture sheets available in the shop. A companion kit will be available too, so check it out!