Originally posted as Secure Sculpting: A Quick Tip to Keep Your Ceramic Tiles in Place by Sandy. Many of us who work in polymer clay use ceramic tiles as work surfaces. I personally have a whole arsenal of tiles ranging in sizes from 12”, 6” and 4” squares to long 4 x 8’s and even little 1 1/2” squares. They work great as the clay easily sticks before curing and peels off cleanly after baking.  This video is an example of a project that uses quite a few ceramic tiles: But I encountered a problem a few years ago when I got a new work table. The tiles slid around whenever I applied any pr ..read more

Originally posted as Fall Fairy Garden House Tutorial – Polymer Clay Pumpkin Fairy House by Sandy. Did you know I used to have a series of polymer clay fairy garden accessory tutorials in a magazine? Sadly, Polymer Café magazine is no longer in publication, but tuts for cute things such as a fairy garden house, mailbox, birdbath, swing and more are now available in my Etsy shop. The popularity of these projects led me to make you a video tutorial of an adorable autumn fairy house in a pumpkin. One of my favorite things about this autumn polymer clay project is that we build it on a glass jar ..read more

Originally posted as This Beginner-friendly Polymer Clay Project Is So Cute And Easy To Make! by Sandy. This project began with wanting to use a silkscreen in a design. But I quickly realized that what I REALLY want to do was to sculpt all those twisty turny tentacles. So you get two options in this video: silkscreened AND sculpted tentacles. The color blending on the tealight base is done in an unusual, but super easy way. It’s much quicker than making a Skinner blend, and gives different results. I make a LOT of tutorials for experienced polymer clayers, but decided this one would focus o ..read more

Originally posted as How To Create BOHO Butterfly Earrings by Sandy. Recently it came to my attention that butterfly jewelry is trending. Did sweet little butterflies ever go OUT of fashion? I wasn’t aware, lol. Honestly, I don’t follow trends, but who am I to say “no” if what I already enjoy aligns with what people want? These polymer clay butterfly earrings use a fun peek-a-boo technique to show off a pattern behind an overlay. I think it’s especially fun to dig through your stash of veneers and technique sheets to find something that works perfectly behind the outline. As I show in the vi ..read more

Originally posted as How to Find Your ART Style by Sandy. One of the questions I hear most from beginning artists is, “How can I find my unique artistic voice?” It’s an important one to answer, and yet often tricky to discover. In this video I have for you a simple exercise to help find your personal artistic voice and focus your creative energies on what’s most meaningful to you. Be sure to watch to the end for two other tips that will aid in your journey of artistic self-discovery! It’s easy to see that my style is organic, not geometric. Supplies needed for exercise: Sketchbook or plain p ..read more

Originally posted as Easy Metal Clay Jewelry-Sculpt FINE SILVER Flowers by Sandy. This is my second attempt with Precious Metal Clay (PMC3) and this time I used almost an entire package to make a floral pendant. It was just as much fun as the first try! It may look complex, but if you can cut out shapes and do simple sculpting in polymer clay, you can make this pendant. Well, you also need to be able to handle a torch. <g> But that’s not hard, it just requires care and attention to detail. About Precious Metal Clay PMC3 comes in 5, 15, 25 and 50 gram packages 15 grams ($50 i ..read more

Originally posted as Create Gorgeous ART Effects Easily with EF Color Powders by Sandy. Many of you have shared that sometimes you buy cool new art supplies, but then are afraid to use them. If you have EF Color enamel powders sitting on a shelf, no worries! I finally opened mine (it ONLY took a year and a half) and am going to show you all of my experiments and exploration so far. These powders are super easy to use, just sprinkle them on! After a brief time melting at 300 F. they have the appearance of glass enamel and are quite durable. I’m primarily using them on polymer clay, but you ca ..read more

Originally posted as Quilled Polymer Clay Snowflakes by Sandy. If you’ve been hanging around the polymer clay world for any amount of time, you know we love to borrow techniques from other media. In today’s video you’ll learn how to adapt the paper quilling process to create beautiful polymer snowflake designs. Watch to the end to see my fails and what NOT to do! Tools and Materials: Polymer clay, about 1 oz., either a solid color or a stripey sheet Clay blade Craft knife 1” diameter acrylic roller or wooden dowel Pasta machine Scrap piece of paper to cover dowel Scrapbook adhesive Knitting ..read more

Originally posted as Try These 8 Creative MIXED MEDIA Materials to Revive Your Art! by Sandy. It’s no secret that I love to find unusual ways to use supplies in my art. If your eyes are always open for unexpected materials to include in your creations you’ll never get bored. The eight ideas in this video are only scratching the surface of possibility. I hope they excite your imagination. Photo used with permission of Debbie Crothers. Links to related items shown in the video: Feathers Air dry clay Sand Pebeo Fantasy paints Photo used with permission of Stephanie Kilgast. Links to items with ..read more

Originally posted as Try This Amazing Ocean Coral Sculpting Technique by Sandy. Have you ever tried just “doodling” in clay? That’s how this technique came about. Sometimes, the best creative discoveries are made when you’re playing and exploring. There’s something intriguing and mysterious about a design that hides as much as it reveals. It’s also the perfect opportunity to add depth with layers. In this video: How to create this organic, coral-like texture Options for alternate tools for texturing Suggestions for a variety of ways to add color to your pieces Ideas for how to use it in yo ..read more