Vol-071 Foxgloves & Raindrops PcT Tutorial (Intro)
Video #502: Inspired by the saying, “April Showers Bring May Flowers”, this Spring Tutorial has a little of both!
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** This post is an introduction to one of our paid tutorials.
This tutorial is one of those types of projects that came together, when everything else wasn’t… coming together, that is.
I was working on the idea I had for a different tutorial for this month, but no matter how many samples I made, I just couldn’t get excited about the idea. The more I stressed about it, and tried to force it to work, the more stubborn the idea became. It was as though it was telling me, leave me for another day.
Having had this kind of thing happen before, I decided to listen and leave it for a day or so, to see if fresh eyes would help me come up with something better.
With spring around the corner, I kept hearing the saying April Showers… Bring May Flowers, so I set out to make some raindrops with translucent polymer clay… even if it was just a temporary distraction from my frustrating attempts at completing this month’s tutorial.
Some playing ensued, and before long, my workbench was covered with raindrops, rainbows and foxgloves galore!
So… out went the stubborn idea… and in came the fresh new easy idea. Much like another Spring related saying for March, In like a Lion… Out like a Lamb!
Wow! Sometimes you just got to let nature take it’s course! Or in this case, let the course take on nature.
So here it goes… enjoy!
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Just love this tutorial! You tuck so much info into each video. I love the translucent with marker Skinner blend, love the wire wrapping, and of course, love learning how to make the kidney wires. Where else can one get so much value from one tutorial? Well done, Cindy and Doug!
Michele H
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This is a great video... Easy! Thank you Cindy for this tutorial and including the wire earrings and wrap.
Cindy P
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Wire working - as you do it, Cindy - takes the fear of messing up, out of the project. Thank you so much for taking the time to make sure we see each and every step. It's quite the confidence builder.
Sherry L
Transcript coming soon...
Transcript coming soon...
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How do you make foxglove charm with polymer clay can you send me the tutorial please.
Hi Isabelle, here is the direct link where you can purchase the Foxglove Tutorial… Enjoy :-)
I watched the full tutorial for this when it was first posted but I hadn’t yet worked it hands on until today. It’s so much fun and easy to follow! I was amazed at the beautiful blended translucent colors from Sharpie Markers! ~ Who would’ve thought? ~ I made both the Raindrops and Foxgloves and they came out so pretty. Wonderful fun tutorial…Thanks Cindy!?
I used Premo translucent not white translucent. Is that Premo Frost? Have to try it again.
I made earrings but the markers were drying really fast or maybe the ink in the pen was drying up. I was not too happy as it did not turn out transparent. I used Premo translucent clay. however, they turned out pretty and shimmery and very pastel and both the pairs are sold.
Hi Cherie, did you use Premo Translucent or Premo White Translucent (aka Frost)? I always use the White Trans for this kind of project… it looks whiter and not as yellow. If your pieces are not getting as translucent as you would like, try pushing up the temperature a little. Translucent likes it a little hotter. That is cool that your pieces sold already though. They sound like they turned out lovely!
I’ve always told my son…”If you have to force it, then something’s not right.” This holds true for work, play, & relationships. Love your work. I’m inspired!
Great video!! I made a comment on a video, somewhat like this one and now I emails every time some comments. Please help me to turn off these email. I went out to look for a place, scarded I was going to block your new videos. PLEASE help!!!
Hi Stephanie,
Any automated emails that come from this web site will always have a link at the bottom that will allow you to “Manage Notifications” — when you click on the link it will take you to a page that will allow you to decide what notifications you do or do not want to receive.
And so that you know, the reason you would be receiving those emails in the first place, is because you will have checked the box by the “Submit Comment” button, that says, “Notify me of followup comments via e-mail” — For future reference, if you don’t want to receive email notifications from this blog, but still want to leave comments, just make sure you uncheck that box before submitting your comment.
Make sense?
I try the sharpie pens tonight with the primo trans. and it seem like the sharpie just dry real fast on the tile, it didn’t look like that wet look like went cindy did it on the tape.I don’t know what I am doing wrong. I used a cheep marker I use for doing water color on card and It made a great rainbow tomorrow I will cook them in the oven and see what happen. Any Ideals why the sharper are not working
Hi Judy, it could be a couple of things, first your surface maybe too porous and soaking up some of the ink. It could be that your pens are a little dry or that you are taking too long before transferring the ink. Try doing just one color at a time and see if that works.
Hi Cindy and Judy;
There is a new product by Tim Holtz called ‘Distress Marker Spritzer’ which I purchased from Scrapbook.com for $15 and I think that I saw it the other day at either Hobby Lobby or Joann’s Fabrics. Scrapbook.com has a demo video on its site. It works with any size or brand felt tip marker. I have not had a chance to try mine out, because I am packing up everything for my move. I am working on designing my studio in half of my second bedroom. I probably will be moved in by the end of May.
Until then, maybe someone can check out the Distress Marker Spritzer and see how it works and if it will solve Judy’s issues mentioned above.
Also on page 11of the May/June 2014 issue of PolymerCafe, Sculpey is advertising a new line of clay called ‘Sculpey souffle’. It says that there are 22 ‘trendy’ colors that are “strong and will not crack in thick pieces” and that are “amazing for mokume gane and caning”. Very interesting.
Cindy, hopefully you will do demos on these new products.
Mari
Well like I mentioned a couple of days ago I made a pair of Foxgloves
…but I learned a big lesson—- if your clay is too ‘dry’ your in for some frustration
So today I will be trying again– and since both my Premo White trans and Frost are too dry I finally have a reason to open the pack of Pardo Art-clay Trans I’ve been hording —- fingers crossed that it is nice and pliable
Hi Sherry, did you try softening your translucent first with a drop of oil? I really can’t see why that wouldn’t help. Would love to see your pieces when you’re done. Bet the Pardo will look great!
Hi Cindy, well I didn’t us oil, I used tls. Posted a couple of pictures at your FB site. Lol, you can Totally tell which is which:) The Premo Foxgloves looks like a flower that just endured a hail storm :D
The Pardo was very easy to use with this type of tutorial right out of the package– of course with the blending it was well conditioned by the end. And now that I’ve opened the pack I’m sure it will be easier to try it with other tutorials as well.
Thanks for this months lesson it was real easy to do the way you taught us
I haven’t been around much as I’m fighting a very serious case of bronchitis since April 8th and it has finally decided to leave me but am so tired and weak. I am chewing at the bit wanting to try the Crocus and Foxgloves. I had just gotten my beads for the Crocus necklace and ended up sick. These are such delicate spring flowers. I spent a sad birthday in bed sick but was treated to a hot meal, another year of Polymer Clay Cafe, more jewelry for the museum again, beads from my grandaughter and assurances of a new jewel tool when it is available with the new kit! All is not lost! Am so looking forward to May and warmer weather. 40 degrees here today.
So glad to here you are finally on the mend Dixie Ann:) I made two foxgloves, for a pair of earrings, they are about ready to come out of the oven…but when I saw you were finally starting to get better I just had a need to say YAY for you!!!
Thanks Sherry, hope the earrings are fab. Poor Bella I think she is getting my bug. Poor cat is sneezing like crazy! Hope you post them when you get them finished. Would love to see them.
So sorry to hear that you and Bella have been under the weather, but happy that you are resurfacing again. Happy birthday btw! You’re going to love the JoolTool when we have the kit ready. Looking forward to seeing your new pieces… you always do such a nice job with the tutorials!
Love this tutorial! just finished a bunch of crocuses so I cant wait to move on to this! My question Cindy is why use Sharpe markers instead of alcohol inks. I dont have a ton of sharpie colors and before I go spend a decent amount of money I would like to know the reason behind using the markers instead of the alcohol inks.. cant wait to try these now that spring break is over and my minions are back in school!…All the best
Isabelle
Hi Isabelle, you could certainly use alcohol inks instead if you wish. We have done a similar blend in the Frosted Flower Bead Tutorial. I used the Sharpies in this Foxgloves Tutorial because it was a different way to do things than I had shown before… and a lot of people already have access to Sharpies. But you can do it what ever way you want :)
Great idea for transferring the Sharpie inks to the clay!
I have to agree with that. Notes on any video would be a great help as I find myself taking notes a lot too.
Hi Jennifer – There are no written note supplements for the video tutorials at this time… although it is something that is on the discussion table. As you can imagine with over 500 videos, this would be quite the undertaking to pull off.
If having written notes would be of interest would be of interest to others… please speak up to let us know if this is something we should invest in.
Thank you, maybe it would be easier to add notes going forward, and not worry about those already done.
For myself I know I would find them handy.
Hi Cindy, do you provide notes to go along with your videos? While the videos are great! I actually prefer written tutorials, or at least notes to go along with the video.
Cindy – I love your videos and wouldn’t want to be without them!
I just want to say that your video tuts are very helpful – the best I have seen. I made a good investment. Thank you.
I love the tear drops, what a great tutorial, thank you Cindy, your videos have been a great help.
Hi Rosemarie, thank you for the compliments.
As far as the little cracks in your translucent clay, that is really common. They are often called monies or plaquing. They tend to be caused by moisture trapped in the clay when raw. To avoid them (or keep them to a minimum) make sure that your hands are dry, your work surface is dry and that the inks you use have dried. Also try and avoid trapping in any air, or overworking the clay, because that can also cause more moons. I kind of like them… they are like flaws you find in real stones. In fact they are often desired when making faux stones.
Hi Cindy , I do enjoy your tutorials very much and I try them out as soon they come out. In your latest tutorial: rain drops and foxglove flowers, I encountered a problem with my beads, after I fired them I noticed than every each one of them had crack like flaws in it. I don’t know what I did wrong as if allowed your instructions and use the Premo clay. Would you have any idea what could have happened?
Regards
Rosmarie
Thanks Cindy… Just joined and love learning from you.
Hi PCT folks- here in New Orleans the Michael’s store has Premo, Sculpey and Fimo on sale
50% off starting today ( Sunday). Just got home with my haul – yay, finally got some Pomegranate!
Don’t know if they do it everywhere at the same time, but that’s the news from down here :)
Laurie, it’s on sale here also in Cedar Rapids Iowa so have to assume it’s in every store. :)
I love this video series, you make it so easy to understand. Thanks Cindy.
I have so many ideas floating through my brain after watching these tutorials. The foxglove is such a pretty delicate flower. I can’t wait to make them. The wire wrap put just the right finishing touch on the bead. I never made kidney wires because they always looked a little complicated but the video was so detailed step by step I am so anxious now to make some as I have a problem losing earrings all the time especially the heavier ones. Short necks and woolen neck scarfs always seem to create this problem. I was equally impressed with the way the sharpie ink was transferred to the clay. Great idea there Cindy! Good to “see” you back Peggy, you’ve been missed.
Hannah, welcome to our clay family! Take it a step at a time, you will love working with clay and don’t hesitate to jump right in here with questions or input. We love helping one another and share a lot of ideas. Cindy has a search bar at the top of this page that is a virtual library of answers for any questions you might have. Just type in a question and multiple help will pop up for you and if you can’t find it, ask the Blog.
Best of luck to you and above all, “Have Fun”
Just loved this tutorial! You tuck so much info into each video. I love the translucent with marker Skinner blend, love the wire wrapping, and of course, love learning how to make the kidney wires. Where can one get so much value from one tutorial? Well done, Cindy and Doug!
I do have to order the Sharpies! SOOOOOOO, while I am waiting, I will use inks instead. THEN, naturally, I will have to make more………………Grin.
This is such a versatile tute ! Wonder what we will make? TY so much. Can’t wait to get started!!
This is a great video and I think I can do the wire wrap. It looked pretty easy. Thank you Cindy for this tutorial and including the wire earrings and wrap.
Thank you Cindy for such a pretty tutorial – Foxgloves bring back nice memories of growing some from seeds, it took 2 years but my goodness they were worth the wait
also want to add that the wire working – as you do it, takes the fear of messing up, out of the project – so thank you so much for taking the time to make sure we see each and every step it’s quite the confidence builder
it is just amazing how you come up with such creative ideas/tutorials each and every month Cindy – Just Amazing:)
WOW is right! These are magnificent. Imaginative and beautiful. What a way to begin my membership.
And the added benefit of the wire work lesson is great, too.
Since I am so new to all of this, I am not familiar with using alcohol inks at all. But I watched a video on YouTube about making alcohol inks from Sharpies, and I plan to do that.
My question to you, Cindy, is what would happen if you used alcohol inks instead of the Sharpies? Would the inks not bleed or mix into the clay as well and not provide such a muted color range? I will play with both when I get my Sharpies ’cause I know experimentation is the best way to learn, but I am wondering what you think.
And what about painting directly on the clay instead of onto the work surface?
Thank you so much for such inspiring work.
Welcome Fran V Welcome
To answer your questions, yes you could use alcohol inks and Cindy has some great back issues using these. You have to wait quite a while to let the inks dry and yes they are very strong hues. Sharpies are cheaper, readily available in most stationery stores and dry quicker.
I think Cindy’s concept and way she uses the Sharpies IS to get this exact effect using muted colours.
When using translucent clay and muted colours, the finished items seem to have an inner glow reflecting and radiating light. To find out more’ type in chosen words in search box at top of page, where you will find heaps of information useful to you…………………cheers xx……………………….
Elaine,
Thanks for your words of welcome and advice. I have seen your name & comments sprinkled throughout these pages, and you always seem to have something interesting to say. (What a great community)
You are exactly right, it is that “inner glow reflecting and radiating light” that makes this techniques so special. I plan to experiment with both Sharpies and inks and will let you all know what happens.
Signed up today. I am a newcomer to PC (not much better with the computer). I find working with PC fascinating and am anxious to make the gorgeous things I see in the books. I am 96 years old so I guess I’ll have to hurry.
Welcome Hannah, it is so wonderful to have you here! I love it that you are 96! That gives you all sorts of experience you can bring to your craft! Just because polymer clay is new to you, it doesn’t mean that all the other skills you have learned in your life won’t come in handy when learning about it.
You are right about polymer clay being fascinating! I am truly mesmerized every day by all the things that can be done with this versatile medium. I think you are going to really love all the great people here in our little PcT family too. Everyone is so helpful and supportive. Just a bunch of real sweeties! Have fun with your new adventure!
Hi Hannah, I just wanted to welcome you also. Cindy and Doug have a wonderful little clay family here. Everyone is so kind and very helpful. If you have a question just pop in and ask, really just pop right on in and someone will help:)
Have you found the search box at the top right of the home page yet? That little box is a huge help, I use it all the time.
Have fun and let us know how your doing with the projects. Speaking of projects I’m off to try my hand at these pretty Foxgloves.
Hi Cindy,
I know where I am going as soon as I’ve finished my coffee. Down to the print and copy shop as I spotted the coloured Sharpies on sale last week but only bought the dark set. They only had a couple of the light sets on display, so just hoping they haven’t sold out as it was a good offer.
Both the wire wrapped teardrop and kidney shaped ear wires I hadn’t attempted before.
Young sister’s birthday next week, guess what she’s going to get, made by my own fair hands, with expert tuition from our very clever tutor. Thanks so much for for choosing the rainbow as know these colours go with everything…..cheers xx……….
Hi Cindy and Doug, LOVE the foxglove flowers!! The rainbow rain drops are just too CUTE!!!! My question to you is: if you used the marker to paint the dots on the inside of the foxglove, can you brush it right on the clay. If you can, I think the colors would be brighter. Just a thought…
Thanks!!
Stephanie Bargelski
Hi Stephanie, if you try and do it that way, you will ruin your pens. The tiny dot is ok but coloring it isn’t. Just do it the way I showed you and it should be fine. If you want more color, do the process twice.
WOW see I picked a great project to come back on. Love the foxglove flower and the jewelry you have designed in reference to it is magnificent. I haven’t been working with clay much at all this past winter and now spring. Hoping to get back into it a little more very soon. I love using translucent with inks and markers. The colors you can come up with are endless.
Love this tutorial and have missed visiting with everyone here so much. Can’t promise I am back to stay but I will try harder to come around more often.
Cindy and Doug have once again hit the ball right out of the park with another grand tutorial.
Thanks so much
We all missed you too……Peggy, this tute is awesome
Good to see you back xx
Welcome back, Peggy! Don’t you just love the colors? Spring has really sprung!
Cindy, just love this concept and design, especially using foxglove, one of my favorite flowers. In the lower part of the picture, the row of foxgloves radiate like the aurora borealis is bouncing off them.