Vol-075 Cymbidium Orchid PcT Tutorial (Intro)
Video #550: Sculpted polymer clay orchid flowers… perfect for pendants, headbands, brooches and home decor.
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** This post is an introduction to one of our paid tutorials.
Warm Summer days bring to mind, scented breezes and gorgeous exotic flowers. Why not make a stunning focal jewelry pendant of a lifelike Cymbidium Orchid (using polymer clay), to go with your Summer wardrobe!
It’s way easier to create these exotic flowers than you may think. Using just a few, easy to use flower cutters (or you cut the pieces by hand if you don’t have the cutters), and some simple-to-follow instructions, your home and your wardrobe will soon be filled with beautiful lifelike Orchids!
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Hi Cindy - what a beautiful project! Thank you so much for all the fantastic tips and tricks. You not only show us how to manipulate the clay but also how to support the petals, how to colour them and how to put the whole thing together! Brilliant!
Marion R
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So feminine! These Orchids bring compliments galore! Thank you Cindy and Doug - each tute is better, or at least very different, than the previous one. Makes my head dizzy with ideas. Keep them coming, we will be busy forever. Love your Tutes!
Patt W
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Well those turned out beautiful! So smart of you to figure out a way for us to adjust the size of our flower. Every time I wear my dogwood pendant from your Vol-044-2 tutorial, someone complements me on it -- this orchid is going to be another awesome necklace to make. I love it!
Sherry L
Transcript coming soon...
Transcript coming soon...
Our goal is to translate these videos into as many languages as possible. If you are interested in helping with this initiative, then please do contact us and we will figure out a way to make it worth your while :)
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Baking petals twice without cracks/tears:
On my first orchid I had all but one of my petals crack after I baked them twice. It was suggested that it was the wire expanding, but I had a different theory — so I did some tests.
I noticed that my initial less-bent petal did not break on my first orchid. I believe the problem is bending the first-baked petals and then re-baking. When you bend the warm first-baked clay, it is stretching/thinning that clay upon the bend and putting stress on that area. When you re-bake the clay gets soft (the wire doesn’t get soft of course) and it tears and pulls apart where you’ve bent it the most — which looks like cracks.
I tested this theory by making some petals and bending them before I baked them. I then baked and cooled them 3 times. No cracks/tears at all.
Moral: Bend before baking if you are going to re-bake.
Lena, I ran into the same problem and had to resculpt some of my petals after I figured out what was happening. Now they are all bent and laid over a tube before going in the oven. :)
I just saved a toilet paper tube for my next batch! I had tried to roll some cardboard and it was not smooth. Then I had that “duh” moment when I looked at the toilet paper tube. LOL. Paper towel tube would probably be better – but I don’t have one of those right now. (:
Lena, you could also roll up some parchment paper, or some kraft brown paper and paper clip the ends like I did. Also an all wood rolling pin etc; lots of things available if I use my brain power, LOL. :)
Good ideas! Thank you!
Thanks so much Lena for coming in here to share your insides and help! I am glad you were able to figure out a way to keep the pieces from cracking… that not only helps everyone here, but that helps me as well. Thanks!
You are quite welcome. I had a similar problem on a bracelet and thought I owed it to myself and the community to do a little testing. Hopefully, it will help everyone skip past the same mistake I made.
Hi Cindy, I am finally getting around to making the Orchids in your previous tutorial and thought I would offer a tip to everyone to make the orchids in smaller sizes since I like earrings to match my flower and jewelry products. Instead of trying to cut them smaller, I took the actual cutters and drew around them. Since most printers today have a reduce feature, I took the 100% size of the cutter drawing and recopied it at 50%, 60%, 75% and even down to 40%. From there I cut out the newly reduced sizes and pasted them on cardstock and cut around it so I would have a permanent copy. The nice thing about this is you can always have the same size flower and no guessing on the cutting out each piece!
Very cool tip Dixie Ann! Thanks for letting everyone know about it!
I love this tute! I’ve enjoyed making the orchid and have also tried it using a lily flower shape and a plumeria flower shape in smaller proportions. My only issue now is that when I put it on a neckwire they fall forward when I pick it up. Is it supposed to do that or am I doing something wrong with the bail? I know when they are worn that the body itself will stop the piece from falling over forward, so is it just the nature of the way the bail is built along with the weight of the flower? Thanks for any advice! :-)
Hi Karen, yeah the design is such that it falls against the body to keep from flipping over. The only way to avoid that would be to make a much taller bail that stuck out above the flower. You could try and change the design, but I really like the way the bail is hidden behind the flower and find it sits quite nicely on the neck. You didn’t do anything wrong… I meant to make it that way. :)
Ok, whoops…. I just rewatched one of the videos because I needed to do it along with you while you explained it. Had I not been talking to my husband the first time around while that one section of video was rolling I would have caught the answer to my question. Sorry!!! :-)
Hi Cindy (or anyone else who might know),
What did you use to wrap the piece in for the headband? Is it just floral tape? Without giving too much away for those who haven’t purchased it, I’m assuming you would just wrap the “stems” in the tape, and wrap the tape around the headband? Did you secure it with glue or anything like that?
Thanks so much for your amazing work – I’m floored every time I watch the new month’s tutorials!!!
Hi Cindy,
I’ve just finished making the Cymbidium Orchids.. WOW you are such a talented teacher.. they came out perfect the first time because of your detailed step-by-step method of instruction. And camera work is so perfect!
Thank you for being there for me… I’m logged on often reviewing your videos to improve my skills. I’m also learning to use the search engine at the Blog – that’s amazing!
AND thank you for your introduction to the JoolTool.. I’m now using mine successfully and can’t wait to see more demos.
This membership, Cindy, is the best thing I’ve done for myself in ages! Thank you so very much.
Best Regards,
Donna Schnare
Airdrie, Alberta
Thank you so much Donna for saying that! I am so very pleased to hear that you are enjoying what you’re learning! I think you are going to love the JoolTool training videos we have prepared. It really is a wonderful tool!
I have made a few of these so far as hair ornaments to match my outfits…I have had many compliments and now have been inspired to create a pair of cherry blossom earrings!
Couldn’t find the reply link for your message Chelsea and Cindy, so leaving it here.
Chelsea – thanks for your message, I will look into the exciter pack :) amazon prime membership doesn’t apply to shipping to Australia. And no we don’t have dickblick, but I buy from them online. Again costly shipping…you guys are so blessed with all these at your finger tips!
Cindy – thanks, I forgot about the search option. Will search for embossing powder and ways to use it with polymer clay now. I’ve been meaning to learn more about what effects it can give. Bit fuzzy to me this EPstuff…
You both take care :)
Thanks Cindy yes you are totally right…I don’t know how I could have got that wrong. It’s even on the video screenshot…sigh, I went and bought a bunch already and will use your tips on how to use it with raw clay or to use a heat gun but have to be careful with not overheating the wire part etc. thanks for the tips!!! I keep being amazed at the creative ways you use clay!!! All your projects are explained sooo well (minus the clumsy student, myself of course : p ) thanks again for a wonderful tutorial!!!
Hi Cindy, thanks for the video. The flower is stunning! As you know I’m a bit new to it all and it is my first time seeing the lumiere paint in action, the effect is beautiful and I will be ordering that in the future. One question though, because of the beautiful effect it gives I went to look it up. They seem to all say that lumiere paint is a heat set paint. I’ve noticed that there was no heat applied to the piece after the paint has been put on in your video and I wanted to ask you if there is a reason for that? Would the paint still set? Is heat not really necessary to set in your experience? Many thanks, Joyce
Hi Joyce, the paint I used in this tutorial is not Lumiere paint. I actually don’t have any of the paint… yet. Sounds like it would be an interesting one to test! Though being heat set, it would need to go on the clay at the raw stage in this case, because once the wires are baked into the petals, they do not like being baked a second time… it cracks them. (I tried so I know. It is most likely due to the metal expanding the already hard clay and causing it to crack.) I suppose it might work on the baked pieces if you used a heat gun and were careful to to heat the wired area for too long. The golden paint I used is called Pearlescent and it is just a liquid acrylic and not a heat set paint at all.
I wanted to pop in and answer this question only because I knew the answer for you and because I have a whole set of Lumiere paints – it is only required to be heat set on fabrics. The Lumiere line was intended to be made to be soft to the touch when painted on fabrics and thus the reason for heat setting. That said, it can be used on nearly any porous surface. I have used it on paper, canvas, quilts, polymer clay, styrofoam, and wood. I am sure there are more uses out there. :) I hope that helps.
Thanks Chelsea for your message. It sounds like it is a very versatile medium to use. And you have a whole set too! I will definately play around with it. I’m sure I will enjoy them. :) I really liked the lightness of the pearlescent paint that was used in the tutorial though…will have to be a future order then, shipping is so expensive for Australia…
Joyce – I totally understand! I am an Amazon Prime member just because of shipping! It also allows me to do things like try out the Lumiere exciter packs (which are basically samplers of colors) to see if I like them and not have to pay for shipping. Then when I did decide on what I liked, I was able to put in an order for what I wanted. I ended up liking the entire line of Lumiere set of paints so much because they can be both air brushed with (after watering down – I use Golden Air Brush medium though I know many that just use water) and screen printed with too. The reason I sought them out though was for a massive quilt project I had done for my mom and the Lumiere colors were vibrant, flowing, soft, and the metallics are incredible – especially on dark backgrounds. I also like that you can get almost the entire set of Lumiere colors in exciter sizes (0.5 ounce) in 9 pack sets for about $12 USD from Amazon. It is a great way to try out the colors with out having to commit to purchasing a full 2.5 ounce jar or more. For most colors I had to go through Jacquard because I needed the full 12 oz jars at the time, but currently I have enough paint to last a year or so :). I think the pearlescent is in one of the exciter packs available on amazon (and quite possibly at an art supplier. I don’t know if you have a Dick Blick or something like it, but they may have exciter packs locally you can check for. All my best to you! ~Chelsea
Thank you so much Chelsea for helping out Joyce! That is exactly what I meant in today’s post!
Cindy that makes perfect sense. I never thought of the existing baked petals and the impact it would have on baking them again. With all the wired petals I made last winter, I never rebaked any of them so I never experienced this problem. So glad you popped in and let us know about it.
I was sort of hoping that someone else would ask this question, but in video 3 the wire you used is a rose gold Artistic Wire. You say that it is a 20g wire and the package says it is a 24g wire. Do you actually use 20g and are using the package for illustration purposes? As I know you were running very low on the wire maybe no longer had the pkg of 20g wire left so showed the 24g) Or did you use 24g wire in the petals and it was just an error? Or does it really matter, would 20g work just as well as the 24g? (I am very familiar with wirework, but a novice with wire inside of polymer clay so I don’t know if there would be a very big difference to how it would affect it’s bendability, resilience, etc.) Thanks so much for answering!
Hi Chelsea, my mistake! I should have said 24 gauge in the video, just like the package said. You could possibly use 20 gauge, but it would be a little stiff. 24 gauge is better for this project.
Cindy,
Thanks so much for responding. I thought that the 20g would be too stiff but I just was not sure as this would be my first time incorporating wire into poly clay in this fashion. I really appreciate your feedback! I can’t wait to finish my project now! ~Chelsea
Looking forward to this tutorial. Haven’t worked with my clay for awhile and this would be a great tute to start the creativity flowing again.
Thank you Cindy and Doug for another wonderful tute.
Peggy, how wonderful to hear from you! It has been a while. Hope you are doing well. I am very pleased to hear that this tute has you fired up again!
Yea, thanks, Cindy!!! Love the Cymbidium Orchid Series!!!
Cindy you are making me crazy with the last tutorial and now this one! What beautiful napkin rings they would make. Thank you so much for your great tutorials. Love all of them.
P.S. Got a request for spiders. Can you believe that!!!!
Pat, go see Cindy’s Christmas Spider tute…these creatures are adorable, for any time of the year!
Cindy, you and Doug have done it again. I sat enraptured through the entire series. So many cool ideas to try! Especially love the “size down” technique angling the cutters to make smaller version of the orchid. Bet this cutter technique can be used for more than this project, and will be experimenting with my cutters this week. Thank you for always providing us with wonderful tutes!!!
This is beautiful. I wonder if you could use the floral tape and then brush over it with liquid polymer clay.
…and rebake it, obviously…haha.
You know…with the bail on the back, you could also slip this over a scarf.
Gina, that is a terrific idea! I don’t see why that wouldn’t work as long as you cover the tape with liquid clay first so your tape doesn’t burn. They actually make floral covered wire that you can use in low temps and bake in the oven.
You could also cover the wire with PC and layer it with a coat of liquid PC.
Hi Gina and Dixie Ann, Unfortunately I don’t think that idea will work very well. Not because of the floral tape (which may or may not work because it is impregnated with a kind of wax like product) but more because the wired petals don’t seem to bake well more than once. (At least that was my experience.)
It seems like the wire is fine when it is baked into a raw petal, but when I tried to re-bake them, they cracked along where the wire was. My thought is that when the clay was raw, it was able to stretch a little when the heat caused the metal in the wire to expand. But later after the clay had hardened, the expansion in the wire caused the clay to crack. This may not happen if the clay was thicker, but on these thin petals, everyone of them cracked.
I had originally planned to gather these flower petals together and re-bake on a clay covered hair stick. But every attempt failed and I didn’t have time to figure out a way to avoid the cracking.
So I am afraid, that you idea of covering the wire with the liquid clay would most likely cause the same issues.
So feminine!!! These Orchids will bring compliments galore……….Looking at pictures of these beauties, you realize what nature has done. LOVELY. Can’t wait to get started.!
Ty Cindy and Doug -each tute is better, or at least very different , than the previous one. Makes you head dizzy with ideas……….Keep them coming and we will be busy forever……………
Love your Tutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Beautiful flowers Cindy really detailed petals just absolutely stunning in my opinion.
Hi Cindy,
I just watched the videos while getting ready for work, oh I can’t wait to get started! Thank you again for your wonderful lessons, and all the work that you and your hubby do to make it possible for people like me to feel like an artist :)
Ginny
Hi Cindy – what a beautiful project! Thank you so much for all the fantastic tips and tricks. You not only show us how to manipulate the clay but also how to support the petals, how to colour them and how to put the whole thing together! Brilliant!
Well those turned out beautiful! So smart of you to figure out a way for us to adjust the size of our flower. Every time I wear my dogwood pendant someone complements me on it — this orchid is going to be an other awesome necklace to make. I love it already ;)
These look so real and beautiful! I get so many compliments too, when I wear my Dogwood flower pendant.
I just bought my first set of mica powers (with my 50% off coupon of course) so I can’t wait to try.
I have been one of Cindy’s students for a number of years now. Have gotten a lot of enjoyment out of her tutorials and she is also very good about responding to any comments or questions you may have.