My 2015 Favorite Polymer Clay Tools And Supplies

Video #713: This concept of doing a year-end, favorite tools review, may just become a tradition here at the blog.

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IN THIS POST: — polymer clay tools — year end review — 2015 — polymer clay supplies — polyform — sculpey souffle — sculpey tool organizer — souffle clay — atlas — atlas 150 wellness pasta machine — lucy clay tools — lucy clay extruder — czextruder xxl hd — heavy duty extruder — polymer clay extruder — lucy clay slicer — cane slicer — we r memory keepers — precision glass cutting mat — work surface — kortools — kor rollers — pattern rollers — texture rollers — texture stamps — neverknead — conditioning — simple stories — timholtz — tonic studios — titanium snips — carpe diem — planners — chalkboard — chalk markers — kitchenaid convection oven — polymer clay oven — toaster oven — (Topics marked with an asterisk* are discussed in the Comments Section below).

Every year I get a lot of new products that come into the studio, which I test and spend time with. Some are sent to me by the companies for review purposes, and many I buy myself.

Over time I get a good feeling of which ones emerge as favorites… based on what I use the most.

I often get questions from people a year later, after doing a demo, like… “Are you still using that?”

So I thought that at the end of every year, I would share with you what my favorite products were from the previous 12 months, and what I ended up using the most.

I have 12 items that I would like to show you today, and explain why they became my favorites for this 2015 year.

I have already done separate videos for most of them, and I will provide you with links to those clips, so you can check each one out in more detail.

I hope you enjoyed my favorite products for 2015. I would love to hear what your favorite products were this year, so make sure to leave your feedback for me in the comment section below.

Video Transcript - English

00:00:03 –> 00:00:06 Hi Guys! This is Cindy Lietz, your Polymer Clay Tutor in today’s Studio Tip,

00:00:06 –> 00:00:13 we’re going to do the Polymer Clay Tutor’s Favorite Tools and Supplies for 2015.

00:00:13 –> 00:00:21 Now, every year, I get a lot of new products and some older ones that come into my studio

00:00:21 –> 00:00:25 that I test and and spend some time with.

00:00:25 –> 00:00:32 Some are sent to me and some I buy myself but over time, I get a good feeling for what

00:00:32 –> 00:00:36 becomes my favorite what I– what ends up staying out on the table, what I use the most

00:00:36 –> 00:00:42 and get a lot of questions about things after I’ve done a demo, a year later people will

00:00:42 –> 00:00:44 say oh so have you, you know are you still using that.

00:00:44 –> 00:00:48 So I thought I would do this every year at the end of the year.

00:00:48 –> 00:00:53 What my favorite products were and what I use the most this year so I’m going to go

00:00:53 –> 00:00:57 through a bunch of different things here, I’ve got 12 of them that I’d like to show

00:00:57 –> 00:01:05 you, a couple of them weren’t really bought last year but they haven’t really been include–

00:01:05 –> 00:01:11 I used them a ton of time this year, that’s what I’m trying to say, OK, so the first one

00:01:11 –> 00:01:13 is my Kitchenaid Convection Oven.

00:01:13 –> 00:01:17 Now, it’s not sitting here because it would have been a pain to have try to haul it over

00:01:17 –> 00:01:22 to the spot besides, it was too big but I’ve already done a video on it that you can go

00:01:22 –> 00:01:27 check out and I’ll make sure to put links to all of these different things in our description

00:01:27 –> 00:01:34 or the write ups that are with the video because I’ve done videos on most of these, a couple

00:01:34 –> 00:01:38 I haven’t, but most of them I have, so you can check them out in better detail but the

00:01:38 –> 00:01:43 Kitchenaid Convection Oven, I love, I’ve used it absolutely tons this year, it’s exactly

00:01:43 –> 00:01:52 the right size for me, it’s big enough but not too small and it’s got it– because the

00:01:52 –> 00:01:57 temperature has been absolutely consistent and I have put hours and hours on that machine

00:01:57 –> 00:02:03 every time I baked polymer clay, I put bake it for an hour so every single batch has been

00:02:03 –> 00:02:06 in there for you know, an hour and I’ve got hours and hours put through it and I love

00:02:06 –> 00:02:11 it still is staying consistent, it’s a beautiful machine so that is one of my favorites this

00:02:11 –> 00:02:13 year for sure.

00:02:13 –> 00:02:22 Another one that I got a lot of use out of this year is this We R Memory Keepers Glass

00:02:22 –> 00:02:23 Cutting Mat.

00:02:23 –> 00:02:27 Now, it was designed for the Scrapbooking Industry but it’s absolutely perfect for polymer

00:02:27 –> 00:02:34 clay, you can leave your raw polymer clay sitting on here and it’s not going to leach

00:02:34 –> 00:02:40 out into anything because you know, it’s non porous, its being glass and there are a few

00:02:40 –> 00:02:44 things that I really love about this design first of all it’s a nice workable size, it

00:02:44 –> 00:02:50 is 13 inches by 13 inches, it’s got a great grid on here so you can cut some nice straight

00:02:50 –> 00:02:57 lines, because it’s glass it’s– you can cut right on it with Exacto Blade or your tissue

00:02:57 –> 00:03:01 blades, clay knives and that kind of thing, cookie cutters, you can slide your blade underneath

00:03:01 –> 00:03:06 it along, it’s nice and smooth, you can use paints and inks and all kinds of stuff and

00:03:06 –> 00:03:09 just clean it right up with a baby wipe.

00:03:09 –> 00:03:18 I love this machi– this piece of glass is beautiful, done a video on that as well another

00:03:18 –> 00:03:28 thing that I have loved this year is my Atlas 150 Wellness Pasta Machine, it has the anodized

00:03:28 –> 00:03:32 aluminum rollers which means that there’s no black streaking.

00:03:32 –> 00:03:38 I’ve had zero black streaking this whole entire year that I’ve had it.

00:03:38 –> 00:03:42 I haven’t seen and you have to kind of look underneath to see if there’s any clay build

00:03:42 –> 00:03:45 up, I’ve had no clay build up from underneath.

00:03:45 –> 00:03:47 The gears have worked beautifully.

00:03:47 –> 00:03:53 Now, there have been a couple of people that I’ve– I heard that have ordered these after

00:03:53 –> 00:03:58 seeing my video last time and had a couple problems with it but in– I think they’ve

00:03:58 –> 00:04:03 sent them back and got that rectified but I have absolutely loved my machine and had

00:04:03 –> 00:04:07 zero issues with it and have been very happy about that purchase.

00:04:07 –> 00:04:16 OK, so another thing that I have used a lot and really love this year is the Lucy Clay

00:04:16 –> 00:04:25 Czextruder, it’s a clay extruder that this happens to be the XXL so it’s the extra large

00:04:25 –> 00:04:32 one basically, it is the barrel on it is just around eight inches long you put these discs

00:04:32 –> 00:04:40 in it and you can extrude the clay out, it is so strong and the gears on it are beautiful.

00:04:40 –> 00:04:46 I’ve done a better video on it that you can check it out but that not the gears but the

00:04:46 –> 00:04:49 threads on it are really strong, super durable.

00:04:49 –> 00:04:51 I love this extruder.

00:04:51 –> 00:04:57 Now, I have the hand-crank attached to it right now because often, I just need a little

00:04:57 –> 00:05:01 piece of extruded clay so the hand crank is just the easiest thing to do and I could just

00:05:01 –> 00:05:07 grab onto and crank a little bit of clay out but I– also if I’m doing a large cane like

00:05:07 –> 00:05:15 the Christmas Sweater Cane I did last year, then I would just hook up the adapter for

00:05:15 –> 00:05:23 the power drill and I could crank it out, oh I wish I had had this extruder when I did

00:05:23 –> 00:05:31 that– that tutorial back then because I ended up breaking the– the extruder that I had

00:05:31 –> 00:05:32 at the time.

00:05:32 –> 00:05:38 Now, that Lucy Clay– Lucy Clay Extruders, also you can get tons of these great discs

00:05:38 –> 00:05:44 with tons and tons of patterns, I have a video on how I store my disks and some of the examples

00:05:44 –> 00:05:48 of disks actually you want to check that out.

00:05:48 –> 00:05:56 Now, as far as getting the Lucy Clay Tools and things you can actually get that from

00:05:56 –> 00:06:01 Diane Bruce which is from VanIsland Jewels and that’s from Etsy.

00:06:01 –> 00:06:07 I will have the links for all of these places but she has– is been a great distributor

00:06:07 –> 00:06:14 for the Lucy Clay products and people have let us know that she’s just– they’ve ordered

00:06:14 –> 00:06:17 from other places and then gone back to her because she’s so great.

00:06:17 –> 00:06:21 OK, I said that I’d mention her ’cause that was another great thing from this year.

00:06:21 –> 00:06:29 Now, also talking about Lucy Clay tools this here has is an absolute beauty it’s kind of

00:06:29 –> 00:06:36 one of those Cadillac, Mercedes, Rolls Royce type of things, luxury items that you don’t

00:06:36 –> 00:06:41 think you would necessarily be able to justify but then when you have it you can’t imagine

00:06:41 –> 00:06:42 living without it.

00:06:42 –> 00:06:50 It is a cane slicer, you can use it for slicing slabs, it’s– the plate moves forward and

00:06:50 –> 00:06:56 back, it’s very precise and I absolutely love it, it’s especially beautiful for cutting

00:06:56 –> 00:07:05 large canes or Mokume Gane sheets or Mica Shift and that kind of thing, so it’s a beauty.

00:07:05 –> 00:07:11 Diane Bruce also carries those.

00:07:11 –> 00:07:19 Another great product that I have loved this year is the Sculpey Soufflé Clay that comes

00:07:19 –> 00:07:21 in lots of beautiful colors.

00:07:21 –> 00:07:27 This is by the same makers that make Premo Sculpey, it is in the same ballpark as far

00:07:27 –> 00:07:36 as quality goes, baking temperatures handling, that kind of thing as Premo Sculpey, I really

00:07:36 –> 00:07:40 love how it feels it handles a little bit differently, it almost has a little bit of

00:07:40 –> 00:07:47 a dryer feel to it because it has a bit of a– a suede-type finish.

00:07:47 –> 00:07:52 Now that some people have said well it’s not really suede not like a sweet pair of boots

00:07:52 –> 00:07:57 more like ultra suede so that super smooth kind of suede that’s got a little bit of a

00:07:57 –> 00:08:01 bumpy texture, it’s just a really beautiful clay to work with.

00:08:01 –> 00:08:07 It is not really based on the artists pigment colors is more designer colors that they have

00:08:07 –> 00:08:17 so the color mixing is a little bit I– it’s not quite as intuitive but you can mix a beautiful

00:08:17 –> 00:08:22 colors with it there’s a huge line of them, I think 20, I don’t know, 30 colors or something,

00:08:22 –> 00:08:25 I can’t quite remember but I love this clay.

00:08:25 –> 00:08:30 Oh and as far as getting this if you’re in Canada, I know that the Soufflé Clay isn’t

00:08:30 –> 00:08:37 really available that much in Canada but Diane Bruce of VanIsland Jewels, she’s carrying

00:08:37 –> 00:08:45 the Soufflé Clay and she’s on the West Coast here and on the East Coast, Wendy Orlowski

00:08:45 –> 00:08:52 from Shades of Clay is carrying the Soufflé Clay so it’s a– if you– I need to get it,

00:08:52 –> 00:08:54 it’s a great place to get that.

00:08:54 –> 00:09:00 Now, another great tool it’s kind of a Sleeper Tool one of those ones that you wouldn’t think

00:09:00 –> 00:09:05 that was all that interesting has turned out to be a great one for me I use it every day,

00:09:05 –> 00:09:15 I never it never leaves my counter top it is the the Sculpey Tool Organizer I’ve got

00:09:15 –> 00:09:20 a video on this as well and I just got all my texture tools, my rolling tool.

00:09:20 –> 00:09:27 In fact, I actually store my extruder right in one of the square spaces in the back here

00:09:27 –> 00:09:36 and I can get an absolute ton of things on there even my Brayers so I love this one.

00:09:36 –> 00:09:40 This has been a good one from Polyform and you can get those at Michaels, I’ve seen them

00:09:40 –> 00:09:43 there.

00:09:43 –> 00:09:44 Hi Guys! This is Cindy Lietz, your Polymer Clay Tutor in today’s Studio Tip. We’re going

00:09:44 –> 00:09:45 to do the Polymer Clay Tutor’s Favorite Tools and Supplies for 2015. Now, every year, I

00:09:45 –> 00:09:46 get a lot of new products and some older ones that come into my studio that I test and and

00:09:46 –> 00:09:47 spend some time with. Some are sent to me and some I buy myself but over time, I get

00:09:47 –> 00:09:48 a good feeling for what becomes my favorite what I– what ends up staying out on the table,

00:09:48 –> 00:09:49 what I use the most and get a lot of questions about things after I’ve done a demo, a year

00:09:49 –> 00:09:50 later people will say oh so have you, you know are you still using that. So I thought

00:09:50 –> 00:09:51 I would do this every year at the end of the year. What my favorite products were and what

00:09:51 –> 00:09:52 I use the most this year so I’m going to go through a bunch of different things here,

00:09:52 –> 00:09:53 I’ve got 12 of them that I’d like to show you, a couple of them weren’t really bought

00:09:53 –> 00:09:54 last year but they haven’t really been include– I used them a ton of time this year, that’s

00:09:54 –> 00:09:55 what I’m trying to say, OK, so the first one is my Kitchenaid Convection Oven. Now, it’s

00:09:55 –> 00:09:56 not sitting here because it would have been a pain to have try to haul it over to the

00:09:56 –> 00:09:57 spot besides, it was too big but I’ve already done a video on it that you can go check out

00:09:57 –> 00:09:58 and I’ll make sure to put links to all of these different things in our description

00:09:58 –> 00:09:59 or the write ups that are with the video because I’ve done videos on most of these, a couple

00:09:59 –> 00:10:00 I haven’t, but most of them I have, so you can check them out in better detail but the

00:10:00 –> 00:10:01 Kitchenaid Convection Oven, I love, I’ve used it absolutely tons this year, it’s exactly

00:10:01 –> 00:10:02 the right size for me, it’s big enough but not too small and it’s got it– because the

00:10:02 –> 00:10:03 temperature has been absolutely consistent and I have put hours and hours on that machine

00:10:03 –> 00:10:04 every time I baked polymer clay, I put bake it for an hour so every single batch has been

00:10:04 –> 00:10:05 in there for you know, an hour and I’ve got hours and hours put through it and I love

00:10:05 –> 00:10:06 it still is staying consistent, it’s a beautiful machine so that is one of my favorites this

00:10:06 –> 00:10:07 year for sure. Another one that I got a lot of use out of this year is this We R Memory

00:10:07 –> 00:10:08 Keepers Glass Cutting Mat. Now, it was designed for the Scrapbooking Industry but it’s absolutely

00:10:08 –> 00:10:09 perfect for polymer clay, you can leave your raw polymer clay sitting on here and it’s

00:10:09 –> 00:10:10 not going to leach out into anything because you know, it’s non porous, its being glass

00:10:10 –> 00:10:11 and there are a few things that I really love about this design first of all it’s a nice

00:10:11 –> 00:10:12 workable size, it is 13 inches by 13 inches, it’s got a great grid on here so you can cut

00:10:12 –> 00:10:13 some nice straight lines, because it’s glass it’s– you can cut right on it with Exacto

00:10:13 –> 00:10:14 Blade or your tissue blades, clay knives and that kind of thing, cookie cutters, you can

00:10:14 –> 00:10:15 slide your blade underneath it along, it’s nice and smooth, you can use paints and inks

00:10:15 –> 00:10:16 and all kinds of stuff and just clean it right up with a baby wipe. I love this machi– this

00:10:16 –> 00:10:17 piece of glass is beautiful, done a video on that as well another thing that I have

00:10:17 –> 00:10:18 loved this year is my Atlas 150 Wellness Pasta Machine, it has the anodized aluminum rollers

00:10:18 –> 00:10:19 which means that there’s no black streaking. I’ve had zero black streaking this whole entire

00:10:19 –> 00:10:20 year that I’ve had it. I haven’t seen and you have to kind of look underneath to see

00:10:20 –> 00:10:21 if there’s any clay build up, I’ve had no clay build up from underneath. The gears have

00:10:21 –> 00:10:22 worked beautifully. Now, there have been a couple of people that I’ve– I heard that

00:10:22 –> 00:10:23 have ordered these after seeing my video last time and had a couple problems with it but

00:10:23 –> 00:10:24 in– I think they’ve sent them back and got that rectified but I have absolutely loved

00:10:24 –> 00:10:25 my machine and had zero issues with it and have been very happy about that purchase.

00:10:25 –> 00:10:26 OK, so another thing that I have used a lot and really love this year is the Lucy Clay

00:10:26 –> 00:10:27 Czextruder, it’s a clay extruder that this happens to be the XXL so it’s the extra large

00:10:27 –> 00:10:28 one basically, it is the barrel on it is just around eight inches long you put these discs

00:10:28 –> 00:10:29 in it and you can extrude the clay out, it is so strong and the gears on it are beautiful.

00:10:29 –> 00:10:30 I’ve done a better video on it that you can check it out but that not the gears but the

00:10:30 –> 00:10:31 threads on it are really strong, super durable. I love this extruder. Now, I have the hand-crank

00:10:31 –> 00:10:32 attached to it right now because often, I just need a little piece of extruded clay

00:10:32 –> 00:10:33 so the hand crank is just the easiest thing to do and I could just grab onto and crank

00:10:33 –> 00:10:34 a little bit of clay out but I– also if I’m doing a large cane like the Christmas Sweater

00:10:34 –> 00:10:35 Cane I did last year, then I would just hook up the adapter for the power drill and I could

00:10:35 –> 00:10:36 crank it out, oh I wish I had had this extruder when I did that– that tutorial back then

00:10:36 –> 00:10:37 because I ended up breaking the– the extruder that I had at the time. Now, that Lucy Clay–

00:10:37 –> 00:10:38 Lucy Clay Extruders, also you can get tons of these great discs with tons and tons of

00:10:38 –> 00:10:39 patterns, I have a video on how I store my disks and some of the examples of disks actually

00:10:39 –> 00:10:40 you want to check that out. Now, as far as getting the Lucy Clay Tools and things you

00:10:40 –> 00:10:41 can actually get that from Diane Bruce which is from VanIsland Jewels and that’s from Etsy.

00:10:41 –> 00:10:42 I will have the links for all of these places but she has– is been a great distributor

00:10:42 –> 00:10:43 for the Lucy Clay products and people have let us know that she’s just– they’ve ordered

00:10:43 –> 00:10:44 from other places and then gone back to her because she’s so great. OK, I said that I’d

00:10:44 –> 00:10:45 mention her ’cause that was another great thing from this year. Now, also talking about

00:10:45 –> 00:10:46 Lucy Clay tools this here has is an absolute beauty it’s kind of one of those Cadillac,

00:10:46 –> 00:10:47 Mercedes, Rolls Royce type of things, luxury items that you don’t think you would necessarily

00:10:47 –> 00:10:48 be able to justify but then when you have it you can’t imagine living without it. It

00:10:48 –> 00:10:49 is a cane slicer, you can use it for slicing slabs, it’s– the plate moves forward and

00:10:49 –> 00:10:50 back, it’s very precise and I absolutely love it, it’s especially beautiful for cutting

00:10:50 –> 00:10:51 large canes or Mokume Gane sheets or Mica Shift and that kind of thing, so it’s a beauty.

00:10:51 –> 00:10:52 Diane Bruce also carries those. Another great product that I have loved this year is the

00:10:52 –> 00:10:53 Sculpey Soufflé Clay that comes in lots of beautiful colors. This is by the same makers

00:10:53 –> 00:10:54 that make Premo Sculpey, it is in the same ballpark as far as quality goes, baking temperatures

00:10:54 –> 00:10:55 handling, that kind of thing as Premo Sculpey, I really love how it feels it handles a little

00:10:55 –> 00:10:56 bit differently, it almost has a little bit of a dryer feel to it because it has a bit

00:10:56 –> 00:10:57 of a– a suede-type finish. Now that some people have said well it’s not really suede

00:10:57 –> 00:10:58 not like a sweet pair of boots more like ultra suede so that super smooth kind of suede that’s

00:10:58 –> 00:10:59 got a little bit of a bumpy texture, it’s just a really beautiful clay to work with.

00:10:59 –> 00:11:00 It is not really based on the artists pigment colors is more designer colors that they have

00:11:00 –> 00:11:01 so the color mixing is a little bit I– it’s not quite as intuitive but you can mix a beautiful

00:11:01 –> 00:11:02 colors with it there’s a huge line of them, I think 20, I don’t know, 30 colors or something,

00:11:02 –> 00:11:03 I can’t quite remember but I love this clay. Oh and as far as getting this if you’re in

00:11:03 –> 00:11:04 Canada, I know that the Soufflé Clay isn’t really available that much in Canada but Diane

00:11:04 –> 00:11:05 Bruce of VanIsland Jewels, she’s carrying the Soufflé Clay and she’s on the West Coast

00:11:05 –> 00:11:06 here and on the East Coast, Wendy Orlowski from Shades of Clay is carrying the Soufflé

00:11:06 –> 00:11:07 Clay so it’s a– if you– I need to get it, it’s a great place to get that. Now, another

00:11:07 –> 00:11:08 great tool it’s kind of a Sleeper Tool one of those ones that you wouldn’t think that

00:11:08 –> 00:11:09 was all that interesting has turned out to be a great one for me I use it every day,

00:11:09 –> 00:11:10 I never it never leaves my counter top it is the the Sculpey Tool Organizer I’ve got

00:11:10 –> 00:11:11 a video on this as well and I just got all my texture tools, my rolling tool. In fact,

00:11:11 –> 00:11:12 I actually store my extruder right in one of the square spaces in the back here and

00:11:12 –> 00:11:13 I can get an absolute ton of things on there even my Brayers so I love this one. This has

00:11:13 –> 00:11:14 been a good one from Polyform and you can get those at Michaels, I’ve seen them there.

00:11:14 –> 00:11:15 Another great tool that has been really great I–I’ve really enjoyed these ones these are

00:11:15 –> 00:11:16 the Kor– K O R clay rollers. So there’s the rollers and there’s stamps and you stamp them

00:11:16 –> 00:11:17 into the clay, roll them in and you get this wonderful textured clay. Now, the designs

00:11:17 –> 00:11:18 are specific particularly unique and detailed. I really love these rollers, you’ll want to

00:11:18 –> 00:11:19 check out the other video for that because I’ve got samples of each of these rolled out

00:11:19 –> 00:11:20 to show you how the clay is actually textured. They are really stunning and just a little

00:11:20 –> 00:11:21 side tip I found some of these acrylic boxes from this is actually an iPod box from quite

00:11:21 –> 00:11:22 a while ago and an iPhone case and they were perfect for storing my rollers and stamps

00:11:22 –> 00:11:23 in. Now, another tool that I really love. Now, this is kind of one of those tools that

00:11:23 –> 00:11:24 you may not need but you will really love if you have it, unless of course you’ve got

00:11:24 –> 00:11:25 a mobility issue in your hands and then you might find it an absolute godsend because

00:11:25 –> 00:11:26 what it does is, I’ll turn it a little bit it’s called the NEVERKnead and it’s quite

00:11:26 –> 00:11:27 heavy, it’s a big machine, pretend this is a unwrapped block of clay you just squash

00:11:27 –> 00:11:28 it down using the arm here and you can condition your clay really quickly and it’s wonderful

00:11:28 –> 00:11:30 for conditioning really stiff and hard clay and especially if you have arthritis, carpal

00:11:30 –> 00:11:36 tunnel syndrome and other kinds of mobility issues. You can absolutely save your hands

00:11:36 –> 00:11:42 with something like this. One use that I use it like I don’t condition a big masses of

00:11:42 –> 00:11:47 clay a ton of time so originally I had set this off to the side of it but then I found

00:11:47 –> 00:11:54 that every time I was rolling out a sheet of clay for my Pasta Machine I’d really want

00:11:54 –> 00:11:59 to warm up that clay even if it had been conditioned and I’d want to flatten it right out and I

00:11:59 –> 00:12:03 use this tool all the time so it came right back to my counter top and use it every day

00:12:03 –> 00:12:09 but I like to squash it down so it’s thin enough to run through my Pasta Machine without

00:12:09 –> 00:12:19 you know making my Pasta Machine have to work so hard, so I use this to all the time. Here

00:12:19 –> 00:12:25 is another tool that I really really love, it is something that I would not have without

00:12:25 –> 00:12:34 in my studio again. It is the 7-inch titanium snips, I believe they’re called they’re made

00:12:34 –> 00:12:39 by Tim Holtz and Tonic and they are usually in the scrap booking section you can get them

00:12:39 –> 00:12:43 just about everywhere now but I found these ones that Michaels and in fact, I picked up

00:12:43 –> 00:12:49 a second pair so I can have them in my other studio. These are a pair of scissors that

00:12:49 –> 00:12:52 it– if your family steals your scissors and cut something they’re not supposed to cut

00:12:52 –> 00:12:58 with, they won’t wreck your scissors. You can cut anything with them. They have a very

00:12:58 –> 00:13:05 fine micro serrated edge which will leave little serration mark so if it’s– if you

00:13:05 –> 00:13:09 want to do super fancy cutting like, what they call it, fussy cutting and stuff if you’re

00:13:09 –> 00:13:16 doing fine paper work where the little serrations on the edge would show then you might not

00:13:16 –> 00:13:21 want to use these scissors for that but other than that, you can use it to cut leather,

00:13:21 –> 00:13:34 chipboard, fabric, wire, thin metal, foil, cork they cut duct tape beautifully because

00:13:34 –> 00:13:40 the tape won’t– the gummy stuff won’t stick to the– to the blades so I just absolutely

00:13:40 –> 00:13:44 love these and you can snap this little protector on and just keep them, they’re perfect for

00:13:44 –> 00:13:49 the studio and also, the nice part, about the size of the hands and the flexibility

00:13:49 –> 00:13:56 here, I have quite wide hands, my hands are quite broad, my fingers are quite wide and

00:13:56 –> 00:14:02 I find scissors quite uncomfortable quite often and these are great and Tim Holtz being

00:14:02 –> 00:14:07 a guy, probably had those similar issues as well and he– and even if you have a small

00:14:07 –> 00:14:11 hand it works beautifully but for a large hand they’re a beautiful pair of scissors

00:14:11 –> 00:14:18 as well. Now, another thing that I haven’t talked about but I will be talking about next

00:14:18 –> 00:14:23 year I’m especially in January when people are really talking about organizing and that

00:14:23 –> 00:14:30 kind of thing. One thing that I’ve become completely hooked on, is planners. Now, they

00:14:30 –> 00:14:35 are hard planners and we for a while there I was trying to go to the computer into my

00:14:35 –> 00:14:41 phone and using that for organizing my life but I found that I’m a very tactile person,

00:14:41 –> 00:14:47 in the computer I was losing stuff and wasn’t seeing it and I wanted to just go back to

00:14:47 –> 00:14:51 a planner and then planners got super hot out there again and they’re so fun and pretty

00:14:51 –> 00:14:59 now that I am totally addicted. Now, I started off with these two binders and the system

00:14:59 –> 00:15:05 and then I just– last month or whatever– just got this new planners, it just come on

00:15:05 –> 00:15:10 the market. I’m only going to just skim through this because I want to go into, in detail

00:15:10 –> 00:15:20 later but this is the new Carpe Diem A5 planner from Simple Stories and generally the Simple

00:15:20 –> 00:15:29 Stories is kind of a scrapbooking kind of type company and anyways what this is a beautiful

00:15:29 –> 00:15:36 planner this they’re calling, it is cute Vegan Leather but Vegan Leather it’s just basically

00:15:36 –> 00:15:42 Faux Leather but it feels really are beautiful it’s got some great pockets you can see I’m

00:15:42 –> 00:15:48 going to Michael soon, I’ve got some coupons in here, I’ve got little bits of like grocery

00:15:48 –> 00:15:54 list or to-buy list and dreams and little decorations and stuff then you do your general

00:15:54 –> 00:16:02 kinda calendar planning but what I love is you can really customize these types of planners

00:16:02 –> 00:16:10 for an artistic life and because I have such involved life with the studio and all that

00:16:10 –> 00:16:16 my creative stuff that I have to do, I can– I’ve got a section for blogs so I’ve got on

00:16:16 –> 00:16:23 my video planning. In fact, today’s video will be written into one of the squares here.

00:16:23 –> 00:16:27 I’ve got all my tutorial planning is here, previous tutorials that I’ve already done

00:16:27 –> 00:16:33 and as you can see, I’ve done hundreds of tutorials and then I’ve got tutorial ideas

00:16:33 –> 00:16:41 Studio Cam planning, all kinds of neat stuff then I’ve also got some neat personal and

00:16:41 –> 00:16:47 inspiring things little pictures, pictures of Doug and Fisher with neighbor tiny little

00:16:47 –> 00:16:54 pockets to put polymer clay things in, I’ll go into this much more in detail later and

00:16:54 –> 00:17:01 also, I’ve got a section for color so I’ve got color swatch printouts of all the different

00:17:01 –> 00:17:09 products that I buy regularly, Copic Markers, Prismacolors, Adirondack Inks and this way

00:17:09 –> 00:17:13 I can take this whole binder into Michael’s with me when I go shopping and I can see what

00:17:13 –> 00:17:20 colors I already own, what I need to buy, what’s coming up for tutorials and I can take

00:17:20 –> 00:17:28 this planner with me. I’m also using this planner system for color so I– we are coming

00:17:28 –> 00:17:32 up with some new color recipes. I have a couple sample see, I’m not really going to show you

00:17:32 –> 00:17:38 because we’re– but and this is black and white but we can put the color recipes into

00:17:38 –> 00:17:45 the binder and then I’ve got a little color chips, a baked polymer clay in all the different

00:17:45 –> 00:17:50 brands which I will go into more detail later but I just wanted to say that one of my favorite

00:17:50 –> 00:17:56 things this year, is a planner and being able to use that in my studio life. And lastly,

00:17:56 –> 00:18:01 now, this is just kind of an added thing but I use it all the time. One thing that I’ve

00:18:01 –> 00:18:07 really loved this year is my new a chalkboard and I got this at Michaels, it’s just a cute

00:18:07 –> 00:18:13 little chalkboard and some chalk board markers and I’ve got a bunch more colors than this

00:18:13 –> 00:18:21 but they are really great, they’re like a felt pen, you write on the board, it dries

00:18:21 –> 00:18:28 and looks like chalk and then you can use like a baby wipe or whatever and wipe it clean

00:18:28 –> 00:18:34 and get it all ready to go. So those are the things that I used most this year for 2015,

00:18:34 –> 00:18:38 it was a great year there was a lot of other great products but obviously, we would be

00:18:38 –> 00:18:43 here for the next three days if I talked about everything. So these were my favorites and

00:18:43 –> 00:18:49 I hope you enjoyed that I would love to hear what your favorite products were this year,

00:18:49 –> 00:18:53 leave those in the comments section below I’m sure everyone else would enjoy hearing

00:18:53 –> 00:18:59 about them as–too. And if you like this video, do let us know and if you’ve got suggestions

00:18:59 –> 00:19:06 for future vi–future videos, products you like me the test, topics you don’t understand,

00:19:06 –> 00:19:13 anything about polymer clay or living a studio life, then make sure to leave those in the

00:19:13 –> 00:19:17 comment section below Alright, so we’ll see you next time and bye for now.

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  • Harriet Russell says:

    Thanks for another helpful video, Cindy.
    One thing I was wondering about was whether you know if it’s possible to get replacement anodized aluminum rollers that I could put in my existing Atlas Marcato 150 machine? I couldn’t find any parts sources at all.
    Thank you! Harriet

    • Hi Harriet, I have not looked into that option myself. I don’t whether or not a company would offer parts to the public on something like that, though. The machine isn’t really considered that high end of a machine as far as commercial products would go and for the retail market, they might not want consumers to be taking the machines apart and fixing them, themselves. I would not be terribly surprised if the parts were not available to the public at all… but it would be nice if you could fix it rather than just get a new one. Would be way better for the environment that way!

    • Harriet Russell says:

      Hi, Cindy;
      I agree about the environmental aspect of fixing vs. buying new. That’s a big part of why I want to find parts. It bothers me, too, that I already have one cutter attachment that I don’t use…although I, too, have thought I would try it with the clay someday. The other reason, of course, is money! … Harriet

  • Dixie Ann says:

    Hi Cindy, I really liked the My favorite Tools Video. Only 2 things I didn’t have and that was the shears, (already had a pair like it) and the tool holder which of course I didn’t need since I had made mine out of PVC pipe which is about twice the size of Polyforms and I really love mine. So many of us look forward to seeing what little gem you are going to come up with next and we are so glad that companies will send you things to try and rate for us. I so hope they continue to do so in 2016 because there are so many of us worldwide and for you to get the word out probably makes a terrific impact on their sales and also feeds our frenzy for new gadgets that we just can’t do without. Thank you for all your long hard hours you put in for us in 2015, (Dougs included in this) and I am so looking forward to all the new things that are going to be available in 2016, including the new website which I am sure everyone is waiting for with their tongues hanging out including me! Wishing you all a Happy, Healthy, Prosperous New Year!

    • Dixie Ann, I just want to add a quick note here to thank you for the PVC organizer idea. I saw yours on Pinterest and made one too!
      Mine isn’t as neat looking as yours. I used a wooden tray as a base and glued a bunch of couplers into it. It’s very haphazard looking, but fits ALL my tools! Thank you for the idea!

      • Dixie Ann says:

        Hi Doll, happy to know you liked the tool organizer. I’m sure yours is just fine for what you needed. I am such a gadget nut, I really needed something bigger. Mine is totally full and I am thinking now of buying the Polyform Organizer! :) Happy New Year everyone.

  • I love the WeR glass mat! I use it all the time, too! I actually found small square glass cutting mats, about 12″ square (with Christmas designs on them at Bronner’s World’s Largest CHRISTmas Store, in Frankenmuth, MI, for $10.00) that work great, too! I suggested to my students to use the smaller ones so they are easier to carry to class.
    I would love to try the new pasta machine. Have you had any trouble with the handle falling off? I’m ready to switch if the handle is better.
    I guess I will have to try the tool caddy. If I can find away to carry the whole thing-full- to class that would be even better! Otherwise, I might have to invest in double EVERYTHING so won’t forget anything when going to class.
    I would like to see more miniature projects. Whether they are of food, fairy-related or flowers.

    And lastly, I can’t wait for the new website to be launched! So excited!!

  • You have chosen some of my very favorite tools as well.
    I have found the slicer to be so useful even for smaller canes , I am sad to say that I have wasted so many canes with uneven slicing . I am still amazed whenever I use my Lucy clay slicer. The slices are so perfect .
    For my particular needs I have added a set of veiners for the flowers and leaves. I use them every day. And they do make my life easier.
    Isn’t it amazing when you think of the tools that we now have that we couldn’t live without. Hard to remember what we did without them. But as David always say ” You need the right tool for the job. And when you find it the cost is worth it because it will help you do the job easier and better than if you try to make do with the wrong tool.” I do love that man of mine!
    Thanks Cindy for reminding me to be grateful for the tools I have that I couldn’t live without .

    • Karon, you and Dave are some of the sweetest people I know! He is right about the having the right tool. Sure you can hit a nail with a rock… but a hammer works a lot better! :) Happy New Year! Hope 2016 is a happy and healthy year for you both!

  • Anna Sabina says:

    Love all your great ideas. I would like to see a tut on more efficient ways to use and extruder. I have two green Makins Ultimate extruders and use them A LOT. I am not ready to switch to another brand. Sometimes I would love to just zip the clay through. I know some people also use a caulking gun and others use an adaptor for an electric drill. Options that work with few brand of extruders will be apprciated; Makins, Walnut Hallow Czextruder.

    Thanks for all you do.

    ANNA

    • You’re welcome Anna! I will add your request to the list. I will have to look into options for making the other more available brands of extruders more efficient to use. Thanks for the suggestion! Hope you and your family have a Happy New Year! It has been a pleasure having you around all these years… you are big part of our happy little family!

  • I’m totally with you on the Lucy slicer and the glass working mat. My favorite tools this year! I’ve actually been caning more now, because I’m confident that the slices will be even and neat at least, even if the actual cane doesn’t work out.

    Another favorite tool I got recently, inspired by your videos is the Tim Holtz ruler. It makes it easy to mark things out and cut a very long straight line. I only wish they made it in longer lengths!

    I really like the idea of having a record of all the supplies I own. I’ve reordered something a few times recently! I’ve been trying to find a good inventory type system that will help me keep track of things and also act as a warning system when I run low on some clay color. Just writing them down and color coding them seems like a good idea!

    Also, for future tutorial suggestions, I’d love a tutorial on an inro design and on clay boxes. I’ve made some with cookie cutters and things, but it’s not as seamless as I like!

    Wishing everyone a happy New Year! Looking forward to a year filled with creative ideas!

    • Thank you Krithika for the great feedback! I am so pleased that our videos have helped you with your process and choosing the tools that work best for you. I will put your tutorial request on the list. Inros and boxes are beautiful made out of polymer clay! Happy New Year to you and your family. We are honored to have you as part of our polymer clay family! :)

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