Liquid Clay Info

In case some of you aren't familiar with this particular blog, I'd like to recommend today's post by Chris -- wonderful reading for anyone interested in a comparison of the qualities of different liquid clays-- particularly Kato and Fimo (both of which are much better than TLS, in terms of clarity). I haven't worked with the Fimo gel before, so there was plenty of useful information in there that was new to me.

Those liquid clays certainly are exciting! All the possibilities!

Faux Ceramics Experiments

I wrote earlier about the toner transfers I've been playing around with. One other thing I've been trying is different variations on faux ceramics.

I think I mentioned that I tried the "put tinted liquid clay on beads covered in extruded clay" technique with less than stellar results. (It dripped a bit so that there was very uneven coverage, even though I thought I'd heat set the liquid clay.) I may give that another try sometime, but not for now.

I also tried the "use a black clay base with opaque liquid clay" variation. Again, not the results I'd hoped for-- partially because some of the liquid clay I thought would be opaque turned out not to be. I used oil paint to give it more opaque color, but for some reason it just didn't work that well. Probably not enough paint in the ratio-- or maybe I should have included some white paint. . . I guess that next time I ought to test-cure a little drop to check for opacity. Anyway, the ones I made that were opaque still didn't thrill me, so I decided to go back to the more translucent liquid mixes.

These two were the result of making a base bead (in plain white clay), adding some appliqué flowers (also in white), texturing, and glazing with alcohol-ink-tinted Kato. After curing, I used a heat gun to bring out the shine in the glaze.


I liked the way those turned out, but before I could give it another try, I came across that interesting idea in Tina Holden's blog (which I posted about before). She uses mica powders under the glaze. I'd thought of mixing the powders into the glaze-- haven't tried it yet, though-- but not of just touching them to the clay base. That uses less powder, lets you combine different colors of powder (and gives you more control over where they go), and probably adds more depth to the piece than if the entire glaze is full of mica particles.

First, I tried it on a couple of flat pendants. The leaves are just white clay stamped and touched lightly with a couple of metallic colors of Pearl-Ex. I then glazed the piece with Kato liquid tinted with Lettuce alcohol ink. (All the colors of alcohol ink I mention in this post are Ranger Adirondack brand. I like the muted earthiness of the Adirondack line-- plus, because I can get them at the local craft store, I can use a 40%-off coupon on them. Brings the price down nicely!) The butterfly was pearl clay stamped and touched with duo red-blue Pearl-Ex and topped with Eggplant-tinted Kato. You can't really see the mica that well in this photo, but it does show up in "real life"-- especially when the light hits it from certain angles. (This is one of those times when using a more translucent clay is probably a good idea. I'm not sure how well the mica would show through tinted TLS. . .)

I'd like to play around with this some more, too. Different "themes"/patterns-- different color combinations. Paying close attention to the compatibility of the colors (of the mica powder and the tinted liquid clay) seems pretty important with this technique, since you're seeing the powders through the filter of the colored liquid clay. I don't know if any of the combinations would ever be exactly ugly, but I imagine some are more pleasing than others.

I took the technique one step further and applied it to the flower-appliquéd pendants. (I want to improve my appliqué skill, now. I'd like to expand my repertoire of flower shapes beyond what I've done so far. (g) I have a flower catalog-- I just need to sit down and study it.)

All three (in the photo below) started with a base of pearl clay. The butterfly pendant is duo blue-green Pearl-Ex under Stream-tinted Kato. Because the powder had a blue color, it's more subtle under the similarly-colored liquid clay. I dusted the same powder over the rectangular pendant, but because I used a green liquid clay (Meadow, I think), you can detect more of the powder on it. The heart had interference gold powder (I think. . .) topped with Currant-tinted Kato. Again, the effect is subtle, but it's definitely there.


There are so many possibilities! What am I doing here at the computer when I could be experimenting?! ;o)

Top Ten on Tuesday -- Tips for Using Liquid Clay with Miniature Foods

Hey there! I'm back home after a long vacation. Not quite back in the groove, yet, but I'm getting there. ;o) My next "assignment" is getting back into the habit of blogging, so here goes!

I've suggested before that someone interested in making realistic miniature foods (out of polymer clay, at least) really ought to get some liquid clay and play around with it. Today, I'll offer a few insights that I've gathered so far in my own experiments with liquid clay in mini-making.

Top Ten Tips for Using Liquid Clay with Miniature Foods
(in no particular order)

1. Often, when working with teensy things, you'll find it helpful to cure them in stages. (That way, you'll have something to hold on to without constantly worrying about leaving fingerprints or completely squashing your carefully sculpted work.) A dab of liquid clay (hereafter shortened to "LC") acts as a glue between cured and raw clay, when you're ready to continue working on a partially cured piece.

2. Adding a little mica powder (pearl is a good all-around choice, but others can work, too, depending on the application) lends a slight sparkle to your LC mixes. This shimmer can be useful in duplicating the appearance of sugary glazes, certain gravies, and so on.

3. Know the properties of different brands of LC and use them to your advantage. Kato and Fimo liquids are clearer than TLS, so use them when you need only the slightest hint of color.

4. Another hint related to the one above-- For more transparent food items (glazes, translucent syrups, jams), tint your LC with alcohol ink, when possible. This yields more transparent colors. (Obviously, you'll also want to use a brand of LC that cures clearly-- Kato or Fimo.)

5. For opaque food items (chocolate sauce, nacho cheese), try oil paint or powdered pigments to add more opaque color. (In this case, you can use any brand of LC-- clarity is not an issue.)

6. While I generally prefer to use cheap mineral oil for mixing my icings, you can always use LC for that, too. Just mix a few drops into regular clay of the color you'd like your icing to be. Continue mixing and adding LC (a drop or two at a time, as needed) until you like the consistency of the mix. (If you get the mix too sticky, you can thicken it back up by adding more regular clay to the mix.)

7. Don't forget that you can combine regular clay and LC. A gravy made of LC can be poured over tiny "meat and veggies" (bits of regular clay in the right shapes, sizes, and colors) to make a convincing bowl of "stew". (Obviously, in this case, you'd want to use your most translucent LC and coloring agent, or else you may not see much of your veggies through the gravy, and instead of "stew", you'll get "weird, bumpy brown stuff". ;o)

8. Pay attention to sheen. Is the food you're imitating matte or glossy? TLS cures to a more matte finish than Kato or Fimo liquids. If Kato is cured at a higher temperature (or hit briefly with a heat gun), it takes on a higher gloss. (Of course, you can always apply the pc-friendly finish of your choice, once a piece is cured.)

9. If you want a "thick shine" on a piece-- more dimension than you can get with Varathane or Future-- you might try a clear brand (Kato or Fimo) of LC. This could be useful for the suggestion of a little water on top of a pot of veggies, for instance. (You could also use epoxy resin for this, but if you're like me, you may prefer to stick with clay as much as possible. I am going to try resin, one of these days, but honestly, I'm a little scared of the stuff. (g))

10. Don't forget your artist's pastels (or other powdered pigments). Those same powders that make your loaves of bread brown so realistically can be applied to cured LC to add a touch of toastiness. (You'll need to seal the powders in with a pc-friendly finish, if the piece will be handled or worn, as in jewelry.)

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

I am becoming more and more enamored of liquid clay-- not only for miniature-making, but in other polymer clay projects, as well. The more I see of the stuff, the more amazed I am by the possibilities.

Various & Sundry

A little bit of this, a little bit of that. . .

First-- a little extra information on the faux ceramic technique. (If you've looked at the Polymer Clay Web forum thread on this topic, this won't be new.) I'm still learning how the Kato Liquid works, compared to TLS. One thing I've always heard (and have proven to myself to be true) is that if you hit the Kato Liquid with a heat gun or embossing gun after curing (or bump up the temperature in the oven, briefly), you'll bring out the greatest clarity. It's pretty amazing how well that works. It takes a little while for me, using my little embossing gun, so be patient. Just keep moving the heating tool around, and eventually you'll see a big improvement. Once it starts to happen, it's fast.

Well, anyway, I knew about the heat gun improving the clarity. What I didn't know is that it also changes the finish of the Kato Liquid. I've done a comparison of pieces cured normally and those that I've given the "extra heat treatment", and there's a definite difference. The "extra-heated" ones have a much shinier finish than the others. (I hope this doesn't mean that I've been under-curing the others. . . I'll have to recheck my oven's temperature, just to be on the safe side.)

Here's a photo that (kind of) shows what I mean:

All of these pieces have a Kato-based glaze, but the top two were heated with a heat gun, while the bottom two were not. (The bottom two have more of a sheen than you can tell from this photo, but it's much softer than the shine on the other two.) I think both effects are attractive; it just depends on whether or not you want lots of shine.

___________

While looking around at Parole de Pâte the other day, I was very impressed by this entry. It's been put through a translator, from French to English, but those translating programs leave something to be desired. The translated version refers to powder (Pearl-ex) and resin. Based on the comments, I think they really did use resin (two-part epoxy, such as Envirotex Lite) for the clear coating over the powders, though at first I wondered whether the translating program got that part wrong. (I thought maybe the French word for resin tricked it, as so often seems to happen with these programs.) In any case, I decided to use Liquid Kato, as I'm more familiar with that medium and knew I could get it pretty darn clear with a heat gun.

There's still the slightest bit of a haze in one or two parts of this heart, but it's not bad at all, and I might be able to get it to go away, if I gave it a little more heat. (You could probably also eliminate this problem by doing two thinner coats and clarifying between them.)


It's a simple technique, but the result is very nice. I'm going to have to give this one another try. :o) (And don't forget to follow that link and look at the photos on the other site. They're gorgeous!)

___________

There's another (more recent) topic on Parole de Pâte that also interests me. It's a new take on Jennifer Patterson's "Hidden Magic" technique. Very pretty!

___________

A few days ago, a customer asked me if I "do pizza". Not yet, but it had been on my wish list of mini foods for a long time. I'd been drooling over Milo's mini pizzas only days before-- we got pizza over the weekend-- and now comes this question. . . It must be fate, right? ;o) I decided to give it a try:

There are a few more mini pizza photos on my flickr.

It was rather time-consuming. Miniatures often are, particularly when they're comprised of detailed layers-- and of course I had to figure everything out as I went along, so that took some time. But it was fun, and I definitely see more mini pizzas in my future. :o)

Oh, and for those interested in size, each slice is roughly an inch long. Way too big for 1:12 scale, but ok for "Barbie scale" (assuming that your Barbies like large slices of pizza). Since they have eye pins sticking out of them, I suppose it's obvious that they're really meant more for jewelry than doll houses. (g)

___________

Kato's "New Opal"

It's high time for another post. Let's see. . . what can I post about?

Well, here's something:
I tried Donna Kato's "new opal" last week. I've made the opal sheet, but so far haven't done anything with it, beyond cutting it. The results were somewhat disappointing. Oh, it looked ok, I guess, but it was much more brittle than I'd expected.

First, I had a little trouble getting it off the tile. It wanted to crack apart, until I slid a tissue blade underneath to gently pry it up until I could get a good grip on it. Then, when I tried to cut it, the brittleness/crumbliness made things difficult, too.

It's hard to tell much for certain from photos, but the pictures in the tutorial-- and the fact that in her gallery, she's used this faux opal sheet to cover a slightly curved cabochon shape-- look to me like hers were more rubbery and/or flexible than mine turned out.

I can think of a couple of possible reasons for this, right off-- and there may be even more.

First-- I wasn't using the same type of flakes used in the tutorial. I suppose this might have affected my results in more than just appearance. I have yet another brand of flakes (still not the one used in the tutorial, though) that I can try next time, to see if this makes a difference.

Second-- I wonder if I didn't make my sheet thin enough and/or get my mix right. Too many flakes, not enough liquid clay. Ms. Kato describes the correct consistency as being like oatmeal. Unfortunately (in this one instance, at least), I'm not much of an oatmeal eater, so this was a bit of a guessing game for me. ;o)

The tutorial indicates putting the cured and cut opal sheet on top of a base of regular clay. In this step, you have to choose your clay color with care, because some of the base shows through. Well, with my sheet, you can put it on whatever you like, 'cause ain't nothin' gonna show through that sucker. (To put it elegantly. (g)) This is probably another indication that my proportions weren't right and I didn't smoosh it down thinly enough.

All in all, rather disappointing, though I can still try to use the pieces did manage to cut out. I just was expecting to have so much more control over the shapes I could cut from it. (That was one of the reasons I was so excited by this technique.) I suppose one mustn't expect success on the first try with every technique, and once I get this one "down", I have a few twists I want to put on it.

__________________________

Random bit of nothing:
I daren't be explicit, for fear of inciting "flames". . . and of becoming some milder form of a pariah (though, honestly, some days I already feel like one, in some of these silly groups!). . . but I need a vent for my annoyance, even if it's just a muffled, ambiguous little rant on my own personal blog.

So-- You know how "a little knowledge is a dangerous thing"? Well, "a little knowledge" has got nothing on "a (very) little power". And. . . I think that's all I'll dare to write here, after all. I'm moving the rest of what I was going to say to an even less public place than this 'umble 'ittle blog. ;o)

"Transferred" to a whole new world!

Image transfers are one of those "messy" subjects-- one of those things you hope a newbie never asks you to explain. ;o) Not because you're hoarding away your secrets, but because, well, there are so many different ways to do it, and it seems that there's just a little bit of magic involved in each of them. One person swears by this method, while another warns you that said method has never, ever worked for her. Nearly all explanations of the various processes conclude with "you just have to play around with it until you find a technique that works for you".

(That's true of many techniques, actually, but maybe more so than usual with image transfers.)

I've dabbled in image transfers once before-- but only enough to get the very tips of my fingers in the water. I used the T-shirt paper method, in which you use your home inkjet printer to print an image onto T-shirt paper-- the type that you can use to make iron-ons for T-shirts. You then emboss the print-out (image side down) onto a sheet of clay (usually white) and cure the clay for a short period of time. You peel the paper away, and ideally, you're left with a transferred image. (That's the method I used to make these key chains.)

Well, today I finally got around to playing with my new Kato Liquid, which can also be used to make image transfers.

(The Kato Liquid has been "new" since my birthday, back in February. Haven't I mentioned before that I have a problem with procrastinating? I have several other things I want to try with the Kato Liquid, too, so maybe now that I've started, I'll keep going!)

Because Kato Liquid (aka Kato Sauce) is clearer than TLS, it is generally favored for use with image transfers, but both can be used-- as can Fimo Decorating Gel, I'm sure. I'm fairly certain there are a number of ways to use Liquid Kato for transfers. The way I chose was this: Choose a picture/illustration/whatever from a glossy-paged magazine or catalog. (I used a catalog. More on that in a minute.) Trim the piece from the magazine. Apply a thin layer of the liquid clay to the side of the paper bearing the image you want to copy. Smooth it out evenly, trying to avoid bubbles as you go. Pop it into a pre-heated 275-degree (F) oven for... well, the bottle didn't give instructions. Since it was such a thin layer (and would be re-cured, later), I didn't figure it needed too long, but I try to cure for "a good long time", so I left it in for 10 minutes. (I also used an aluminum foil tent, as always.) To get optimal clarity-- if you're using Liquid Kato-- hit the clay side with a heat gun until all cloudiness disappears. (This took longer than I expected, and I was beginning to think that I'd just put on too much clay, but then it suddenly began to clear, and wow, what a difference that made!) Allow it to cool, then soak in water for a while. Gently rub away the paper. Admire the results. ;o)

I'm not sure if I got all the paper off my transfer, yet, so I'm re-soaking it, just to be sure, but I think I got most of it. Here's a photo of my first try, looking down through the liquid clay. (The other side is a big messier to look at, which leads me to think that I haven't gotten all the paper off yet.)

The photo's not that great-- reflections from water on top of it-- and there are a few bubbles that I missed-- but hey, for a first try, I have to say that I'm very impressed with this technique! It was so quick and easy! And now I have a permanent copy of this picture, which I've admired since I first saw it. (It's the "autumniness" of it. I'm one of those annoying "autumn people" who have never gotten over the obligatory adolescent obsession with fall. (g))

The drawback would be that if you're using a magazine photo, you can only make one transfer of each photo. Also, there are some copyright issues you'll have to look into, if you're making things to sell. But if you're just playing around, this seems like a super-easy way to go.

A couple of things I love about the possibilities this technique presents-- the "decal" (the image transfer on the liquid clay) is so flexible that it could very easily be applied to something rounded. (The other method I described would make image transfers to curved objects more problematic.) It would also be simple to trim the decal down to any shape you want. You could probably even cut through it with decorative edging scissors!

If you're like me, you're always finding beautiful images in magazines-- things that you'd love to save and use, somehow, so that you could see them again and again-- but you can only use so much stuff for decoupage or pages in your "inspiration journals". It might not be practical to make image transfers of huge pictures, but this is definitely a simple way to make pendants, charms, key chains-- whatever-- from your favorite smaller "borrowed" images.

Now I just have to figure out what to do with these things-- how best to turn them into jewelry and such-- so I can make more of them! ;o)

On a tangent-- If you don't get a lot of magazines-- or if you don't want to cut up your magazines-- don't forget catalogs. There are lots of them available for free. Try searching the Internet. (For instance, there's this page.) Now, of course I'm not encouraging you to order catalogs if you have no intention whatsoever of making a purchase, because that would be unethical and would kill trees and the fairies and elves that live amongst them... ;o) But what you decide on your own to do is up to you. (g)

• Catalogs for clothing and furniture sometimes have pretty photos of fabric swatches.
• Those that sell home decor often have interesting objects or motifs decorating the objects.
• Wedding invitation catalogs have script-style fonts (if you want text) and details like floral/romantic illustrations and (photos of) embossed patterns.
• Travel brochures and kits that you can request on-line will include beautiful landscape photos-- and maybe even maps.
• Post stamp catalogs have great photos of-- you guessed it!-- postage stamps!
• Don't foget about the glossy sales papers and circulars you get in the mail. Give them a look-through before automatically tossing them.
• Other glossy papers-- like old calendars-- can also be used for this purpose. If you have the stomach for it (some can't bear even the thought of it), you could probably also use pages from illustrated books, if the pages are glossy.

So, I'm going to have to give this some more thought and try to turn my "autumn decal" into something useful...

ETA:
After posting this, I learned a couple more things about this transfer technique and thought I ought to pass them along.

1. You know the side of the transfer that was "a bit messier to look at"? It was mainly "messier" because parts of it were still covered with a slight film of white. So I went back and started scratching it off with a fingernail. It came off, alright, but (a bit too late) I noticed that my scratching was also removing the colors of the transfer! So don't do that! (g) In future, I'll just be happy to use the non-messy side!

2. After realizing that I was scratching away the transfer, I placed the still-wet decal transfer-side down on a scrap envelope. (It was a piece of junkmail with a slightly glossy-textured envelope, in case the type of paper might make some difference.) It dried there, and a day or two later, I came back for it, peeled it off the envelope, and saw that still more color had been left behind on the envelope! I don't know how much-- if it's enough to be visibly missing on the transfer-- but the color left behind on the envelope was obvious enough. So that's another no-no. Don't place your transfer "inked"-side down on something-- especially if it's wet.

I'm thinking, now, that it's best if you just gently rub-- don't scratch!-- away the paper, let it dry with the transferred side up, not touching anything else (or gently dab it dry it with a cloth)-- and use it ASAP, preferably sealing the delicate side with clay, glue, glass--whatever. I'll give it another try one of these days.

No tables, but a link...

Still no sign of the tables, despite phone calls to the "help" line. Apparently it's "out of their hands", now that the delivery company has the boxes. Maybe the delivery guy decided to keep them for himself. ;o) Seriously, if they don't come today, it's going to be time to get a number for the delivery company and contact the local branch directly. This is getting to be ridiculous.

. . . . .

I was redirected to Donna Kato's website today, where I found some new tutorials that she has up. So far, there are tutorials for a carved, antiqued bead, toner transfers, a new style of opal, jellyroll millefiori, and something she calls "layer dichroic effects"-- all very nice. I'm definitely going to try the new style of opal, one of these days. The only problem is that she uses Kato Liquid Polyclay, and I only TLS, which probably won't cure as clear. Maybe I'll get some Liquid Kato sometime. If it's really that much clearer than TLS, it'd be nice to have for some other projects, as well.

--Excuse me a moment while I get rid of this disgusting zinc cough drop. Yuck!!! Well, they might lessen the effects of a cold, but I think I'd rather have a cold than have to take one of those every three hours. Why are almost all medicines so horrible to take? Why can't they taste like pizza or candy? I wish someone would come up with a cough syrup (for example) that is pleasant-tasting-- or at least neutral. Now I need some chocolate or something to get rid of the taste! ;o)

So, back to the website I was writing about before...
There's also a gallery of some of Donna Kato's polymer clay art. Some of it's older, some of it's brand new. Some pretty things there.