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Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Good Bye

Oh my goodness! I'm going to miss the FES kids so much. If you're reading this, I want you to know that I had so much fun and I'm proud of you. I hope you had fun. Feel free to e-mail me any time (my address is to the right). Tomorrow we head for Oaxaca city, and Thursday we fly back to Arizona.

Tucson kids, I've missed you. I'll see you next week!

Fimo or Sculpey Tissue Paper Effect

You can make very realistic-looking tissue paper or cloth with polymer clay by simply pinching it very thin little by little. I like to try and see how thin I can make it. The nice thing about a tissue paper effect is that it doesn't matter if the clay tears (which it tends to do when it's so thin).




To make this package, I started by forming the clay into a cube. I didn't make the cube hollow. I just made and indentation with the end of a paintbrush. I also didn't make the whole puppy. Just the part you can see! To make the paws I pressed a few lines in the clay with a toothpick. The beautiful star pattern for the wrapping paper was made with star glitter. Confetti and glitter are great additions to clay projects. Just make sure you press them in firmly. I also made a cute little top to the box with a simple square and clay ribbon.

Check out my polymer clay project tutorials on etsy!

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Fimo or Sculpey Cherry Pie

Yesterday was so much fun! We had the "clausura" or graduation program for the students. It was great to celebrate their accomplishments. Here is another fun project. If you ever want an explanation, just comment or e-mail. Sometimes I'm too lazy to add instructions, but I will do it for the asking. Enjoy!

It takes a very sharp knife or blade to cut the pie well. I use a varnish or resin to make the filling shinny.

Check out my polymer clay project tutorials on etsy!

Friday, February 19, 2010

Flower Canes

Yesterday evening I held a class for the moms. We all huddled in the school building against the rain. It was great to have a chance to hang out with the moms as well as the children. We made roses and canes. Here is a link for a great how-to on Flower canes. The great thing about working with others is that we could all build on one another's ideas! I'll post a how-to on the roses later.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

More Lizards

Here are some variations on the lizard theme.


Check out my polymer clay project tutorials on etsy!

Trip Update

This morning we woke up to rain. Until now, it's been warm and sunny. Both have been beautiful! Words can't express what a blessing it has been to be here. I'm just a small part of a great program. The projects have turned out to be wonderful. I'm so proud of the students! I hear laughing and playing all day long. I don't think I've ever missed being a kid quite as much as I have during this trip. This is the school building in the distance.

Monday, February 15, 2010

Fimo or Sculpey Animals (Polymer Clay)

OK everyone, group picture! Smile!

For lots of great polymer clay ideas, visit my facebook page, Polymer Clay Bakery!

Does your little creation need a tartan kilt, argyle tie, or gingham apron?  Check out my tutorials on etsy!

How to Make Polymer clay (Fimo or Sculpey) Cinnamon Rolls

Here are the step by step instructions for the cinnamon rolls Louis made in a previous post.




Sunday, February 14, 2010

Market Day

I've made it to Oaxaca, and it is even more beautiful than I remember. The little apartment on "campus" where I'm staying is so peaceful and simple. So much nicer than my crazy messy room back home. Life in general seems so peaceful. Probably only because I'm just visiting. There are no demands on my time. I can sit here as the breeze blows through the screen door, and create to my heart's content. This morning I met some of the kids I will be teaching. They are playing right outside the door.

We also went to the Sunday market where I bought a new apron and some oil cloths to keep the tables nice while the students are working with clay. I absolutely LOVE the market. Beautiful light and color and faces everywhere. If only I wasn't such a reticent photographer.


How to Make Fimo or Sculpey Polymer Clay Lizards

Here is yet another project to make will the geodes once they've been opened!





Students often add toes, spikes, eyes, and all sorts of thing to make their lizards unique.

Check out my polymer clay project tutorials on etsy!

Friday, February 12, 2010

Fimo or Sculpey Swans on a Pond

My bag is almost packed. It's so funny to see the huge suitcase full of colorful clay and supplies and only one little section dedicated to my clothes. I guess we know what's really important! Here is another project with water. Ponds are so much fun to make. There are so many things you can add!


Oops! I think baby swans are grey! I don't even know what you call baby swans!

Check out my polymer clay project tutorials on etsy!

Polymer clay (Fimo or Sculpey) Dolphins


I use silver clay for these dolphins, but gray works just fine. This is one of the many things you can do with swirly blue clay that looks like water. The important thing about the wave is to just squish the clay down onto the table so that it is balanced and can stand upright.

How to Make Fimo or Sculpey Waterfalls




I fold the clay over and over again, keeping the lines as straight as possible. You can use this technique any time you want stripes in the clay.

To make sea foam, moss, or fuzzy fur, just scrape the clay repeatedly with a toothpick. Then apply the fluffy crumbles to your project.


The rocks are full of tin foil to conserve clay.

Check out my polymer clay project tutorials on etsy!

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Fimo or Sculpey Butterflies, Turtles, and Dragonflies

So what do you do with these wonderful geodes? I like to cut them into slices and use them for all sorts of things.

Today certainly holds the record for the most blog posts in one day! It's a beautiful rainy day and I'm sitting at Cutter's Point with my friend Lisa. I have so many more projects to share with you, but I guess I'll save them for another day. Three days 'till I leave for Mexico!

Fimo or Sculpey Geodes! Polymer clay for kids!

So, are you ready to see my all time favorite project? My students and I discovered this together one day. It was such a fun class, and the students have been making them ever since.

I always have a mixed clay box to collect all the left over clay. This clay can be used to make beautiful "geodes". I let the students make them, or I prepare them ahead of time. You never really know how they are going to turn out!


I keep brown, black and grayish clay in a separate mixed clay box.



I roll the covered ball over a rock or stucco wall to make a lava rock texture.



These make great sea turtle shells!
Check out my polymer clay project tutorials on etsy.

How to Make Fimo or Sculpey Cakes Doll house miniature (Polymer clay tutorial)

To see fancy versions of these cakes, check out my Polymer Clay Bakery display.








The pictures tell it all! The only thing I want to explain is about the frosting. One would think that a flat piece of clay wouldn't be able to cover the top and sides so smoothly. However, if you gently stretch and smooth out the clay, it will seamlessly cover the cake.

Fimo Tea Party

The easiest way for me to gain instant popularity is to announce a "free day" for clay. I'm always impressed by what the students come up with. Louis made this whole delicious spread.

Sarah and Abbie had a particularly brilliant and generous idea. They made several different cakes and cut them into enough pieces for each student in the class to take one home (after I baked them of course). It was their own miniature bake shop!



Check out this tutorial for miniature polymer clay tea sets.