Day 28: Writing Challenge:: AWESOMENESS Easy Peasy Free Tutorial:: How make a puzzle piece out of polymer clay...

I don't know why I didn't think of this before, but here's a easy way to make a simple puzzle piece.  There are a lot of variations to this piece.  When you have mastered it, which will take about 1 try, you can add cane, change colors,  add different colors.  I'm keep this simple just so that you can see how easy it is and jump right in.  A beginner can make this puzzle piece.  I am assuming that you know how to condition clay and cut it with a blade and cookie cutter.  Easy peasy.



What you will need::
Small Amount of polymer clay
blade
small cookie cutter

Begin by conditioning the clay, then on the third thickest setting of your pasta machine, roll out the clay and fold in half.  Cut a square or rectangle out of the clay the size you would like the puzzle piece to be.

Using a very small round cookie cutter,

on the edge of your square, cut a partial circle from the clay.

Take the half circle out of the clay, and place it on another side of the puzzle.  It doesn't matter where you put it, that's the design you create with your puzzle piece. 

You can do this again in your design. 

Gently roll with an acrylic roller to seal the half circles to the main part of the puzzle piece.  Make sure that both pieces are the same width as the puzzle piece.

Poke a hole in your puzzle piece.
Bake according to manufacturer's directions.

Easy peasy.

You. Are. Finished!

Enjoy and experiment.

Easy Peasey Polymer Clay Tutorial - Heishi Beads

Heishi beads are easy to make using polymer clay.

Here's how you do it!

I took a chunk of scrap polymer clay.

I took a small piece of my clay and rolled it into a thin log.

I decided that I'm not crazy about this method, but it does work.

I slit the clay down the center of the log, but I didn't cut all the way through.

I inserted a mandrel I use for lampworking, but you could use a ticker wire such as 18 gauge instead.

Leaving the mandrel inserted in the log of clay, I rolled the clay thinner sealing the cut.

This is where you have to be careful.  You need to roll the clay enough so that the hole in the log will be round.

The other way to do this is to roll out your clay into a log and insert a mandrel or piece of wire through the log.  The only problem here is that the hole might be crooked through the log of clay.

I pulled the mandrel out of the log.  The hole is left in the log of clay.  Bake the tube of clay according to manufacturer's directions for half an hour.

After 30 minutes of baking, take the bead out of the oven.

Using a sharp knife or cutter, begin to cut the clay while it is still warm.

Be careful not to burn yourself.

I cut the bead into 1/8" pieces.  You can also cut the clay into 1/4" pieces.

Easy Peasey

Heishi Beads!

Easy Peasy Wire Earring Tutorial - Doodles in a Half An Hour or Less

These earrings are quick and easy to make.

You can add a little bead on the end to dangle. 

I will later, but for now,

I didn't.

So here's what you need.

A mandrel - I used an American sized 13 knitting needle

2 feet of 20g craft wire

a pair of ear wires

a ruler

a pair of wire cutters

a pair of round nose pliers

Take each 12 inch length of wire and wrap around your mandrel in a tight spiral.

Remove the wire from the mandrel and flatten.

Slowly and gently pull the flattened wires apart until they are the same length.

Make a loop on each end of the wire.

Attach one loop of each wire to an ear wire.

(Optional: add a wire wrapped bead to the other end of the looped wire.)

There you have it!

Doodles!

Learning to make cane is difficult enough but when you aren't happy with the results...Easy Peasy Cane from Cane Tutorial

I've made enough cane right now with polymer clay that I can truthfully say, some of it is really bad!

So, here's what I do to make new cane from old cane. 

It's easy, and I often like the results far better than the original cane.

I pull out canes at random that I did not like or did not turn out well.

I cut this cane into segments to make it easier to work with in the new cane.

I begin to build my cane by using the segments pressed against each other.  This cane will be round.

Cane is almost ready.

I added a layer of black and reduced the new cane made from old cane.

Ta-da!

And I like this much better!

Easy Peasy!

Now, show me what you do with your old canes.

Easy Peasy Rolled Polymer Clay Bead Tutorial

I was watching a tutorial on You Tube on how to make a paper bead.

The beads were beautiful and easy to make.

All of a sudden,

I realized that this technique would probably translate easily into polymer clay.

Here are the results.

Here's what you need to make these rolled beads.

Supplies:

pasta machine

small bamboo skewer or mandrel

polymer clay

blade

acrylic roller (maybe)

Condition polymer clay in the pasta machine.
 

Using your pasta machine, roll out clay on a medium setting.  I use an Atlas machine.  For me, that setting is either a 4 or a 5.  I like 5 the best for this bead.
 

Cut a rectangular sheet of polymer clay about 3- 4 inches long and 3-4 inches wide.
 

Using your blade, begin by cutting a long triangle of clay from the top to the bottom of your piece of clay.  I can usually get 3-4 pieces of clay for rolling this way.  How many pieces of clay you get is determined by the bottom width of the triangle. 
The smallest width of your triangle can simply be a point at the top.
 

Separate the triangles.
 

Lay out your first triangle with the larger end near you.
Place your bamboo skewer on top of the large end of clay.
Begin to roll your clay starting at the bottom. 
 

When you have finished rolling your clay, gently press the top of your triangle to the rolled bead so that it doesn’t pull apart.
 

 Remove the bead from the skewer.

 Bake according to manufacturer’s directions for one hour.  I cover my beads up with a sheet of aluminum foil so that they don't burn.

Let your beads cool.  They will harden up when they are cooled.When your beads have cooled, you can add a patina to your beads and a sealant.  

I love the look of these beads!

New Tutorial - Making Organic, Rustic Discs out of Polymer Clay

See these discs?

And these discs?

You can learn to make them using my new tutorial on Etsy.

Click 

HERE

to see the tutorial.

I'll teach you how to make these discs.

Even a beginner can make them.

The tutorial is only $10.

This would make a great gift for you or a fabulous Secret Santa gift.

It's instant download, too.

How fun is that!

Soon, you'll be making fabulous discs.

Thank you all for this past year!!! Here's a free, easy peasy fiber bead tutorial to say: THANK YOU!

Fiber beads are quick and easy to make.

They make great beads for earrings because they are very lightweight.

Not, only that, you can make them look plain and simple or very elegant.

Here's how.

Here's what you need.

Supplies

4" craft wire cut into two 2 inch pieces
round nose or rosary pliers
nylon jaw pliers
wire cutters
ruler
scissors
2 yards yarn cut into one yard segments
clear tacky glue

Directions

1) Using your nylon jaw pliers, straighten your wire before cutting it.

2)  Cut your wire into 2 pieces of wire 2" long.

3) Make two eye pins with your wire.

4) Cut the fiber into two lengths of 1 yard each.  If you use fabric, you would probably use less in terms of yardage.

5) Add a small drop of glue to your wire.

6) Make a small tail on your wire and wrap the fiber over and around the tail covering the glue.

7)  Going up and down the wire, wrap your fiber on the wire.

8)  Add a small drop of glue to the tail of the fiber to hold it in place.

9) Let the glue dry.

10)  Add ear wires for earrings or make more beads for a necklace or bracelet.

Easy Peasy!!!

Easy, Peasy Way to Make Earring Cards Tutorial

The show is getting closer and closer.

Now, I need earring cards.

Here's what I did.

I used an old piece of wood, some mailing tags, paper clips, and my dremel with a drill bit.  I think it was the 3/32" size of bit.

I put the paper clips in the places where I would want the holes for the earring cards.

 I used the paper clips as a guide for placing the holes.

I was just using my eyes.

You can measure exactly where you want the holes.

I clipped 5 cards together with the paper clips.

Then, using the wood as my base, I drilled holes in the cards.

See what I mean?

Easy peasy!!!

Can you stand it? How about another tutorial that's easier than easy peasy! Fingerless Gloves and you only need 2 things....

You need a pair of clean, long socks,

and 

a pair of scissors.

This pair took me about 5 minutes.

I bought socks at the dollar store.  

You can use a clean pair of old socks, too.

Lay the socks on top of each other.

Using you scissors, cut off the toes.

Cut off the heels.

Now, I didn't proceed beyond this point, but you can.

Fold the edges over and stitch a small hem on your socks where you made your cuts.

Mine work just fine without the stitching.

These gloves keep my hands and arms warm.

The socks go above my elbows.

I was finished in five minutes.

These gloves are beyond easy peasy!!!